New City Church

What does it mean to be great? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres kicked off our NAAMAN series with a message about the grace and greatness of God.

2 Kings 5:1

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

Sandwiched in these stories about the prophet Elisha and God’s people is the story of God's great mercy toward one of Israel’s enemies.

1) God does not abide by our categories of greatness.

At the beginning of the story we are introduced to both Naaman and a servant girl. Their interaction becomes the engine that drives all of the events that follow, and it causes us to ask, “What does it mean to be great?”

2) God sees us as we truly are.

The story calls us to see that Naaman’s identity as a great man was not his whole story, and the girl's identity as powerless was also not her whole story. 

3) God frees us to do for others what he does for us.

Through a miracle of grace, the young girl in the story has concern for Naaman, and so shows that she is actually the hero of the story. She refuses to be defined by her situation, and instead has compassion on the very person responsible for her suffering. 

“Christian” is the only identity that's received, not achieved.

Timothy Keller

If who I am in Christ is received, then this identity is to be discovered, nurtured and experienced, not performed. It’s an identity that doesn't exclude others who aren’t on my level, because MY LEVEL was NEVER ACHIEVED in the first place, IT WAS RECEIVED.

Which habits are shaping your house? This weekend, Pastor Steve Andres concluded our TAKE CARE series with a message on how to Take Care of Your House.

Joshua 24:14-15

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth. Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

At the twilight of his life, Joshua addresses the people he has led for a generation. What does Joshua have to say about serving the Lord for the long run?

1) Keep it real. Authenticity has longevity.

Joshua tells the people to serve the Lord with both PASSION and INTEGRITY. Sin thrives in secrecy, so a commitment to honesty and openness is key to a faith that lasts.

2) Prioritize. Every YES in one area means LESS in another.

Joshua tells the people to CHOOSE. We can choose in advance to be committed to certain practices and people, and it will often make the difference in our faith.

3) Be intentional. Habits shape the house.

Children spell love T-I-M-E. Joshua’s commitment is to lead his house in faithfulness to the Lord. This kind of legacy never happens on accident, but through habits practiced for years.

Because of Jesus, we are received into the house of God, and our sense of identity and belonging is healed. His grace is the foundation for us to take care of our own house!

Dirty feet, ugly toes! This weekend Pastor Joaquin Pardo concluded our SUNDAY BEST series with a message about serving one another. 

John 13:5

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

In the final hours before His death, Jesus chose to spend His remaining moments humbly serving His disciples, kneeling to wash their feet.

1) Greatness is spelled S.E.R.V.I.C.E.

The Gospel of Luke gives us a glimpse into the conversations happening at the Last Supper.

Luke 22:24

A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

In a moment when Jesus deserved all the attention, all the support, and all the love, His response was unexpected. Instead of demanding to be served, He said, in essence, “Let me show you what true greatness looks like.” And then He showed them—it looks like love.

2) Service is spelled S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E.

Jesus sacrificed and served even those who would betray Him. True service means laying down our bitterness, offense, and idols—the things that consume our hearts and blind us to others’ needs. Instead of asking, “What have they done for me?” We follow Jesus by asking, “What can I do for them now?” Sacrifice is giving up what holds us back so we can serve with love.

3) Sacrifice is spelled L.O.V.E.

Jesus washing His disciples’ feet was more than an act of service; it was a powerful picture of the sacrifice He was about to make on the cross. He took on our dirt, shame, and sin to make us clean and free. We sacrifice because we love. As He loved us first, we are called to love others through sacrifice.

Are you growing in grace? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our SUNDAY BEST series with a message about the value of living in community with others.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 

The miracle of God’s grace is experienced personally, but expressed in community. In Christ, God is doing more than rescuing individuals, he is remaking a people for his name!

1) We are saved out of sin, saved into community. 

All throughout the New Testament we see that God’s purpose is to place us in his family made of people from all walks of life. The differences that mark this community highlight the creativity and generosity of God’s rescuing love.

2) We are purified through practicing grace. 

Everyone comes to this new community wounded and broken in some way. The prescription for our healing is to love one another and bear with the faults and weaknesses of others.

“Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Community is a workshop for forgiveness and grace. How can we become like Jesus if we won’t practice forgiving others who don’t deserve it?

3) We are vessels in a great house. 

All kinds of people are welcomed in the great house that God is building (2 Timothy 2:20-21). To serve them, God is preparing vessels that are pure and honorable. You are that vessel!

Is God’s presence a priority? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres kicked off our SUNDAY BEST series with a message about the gift of God’s presence in our lives.

1 Chronicles 13:10

The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.

From the beginning, God’s people have been defined by His presence. From Genesis on, one central theme of the scripture is the movement toward a renewal of human experience in the presence of God. King David’s hope was to experience that blessing when he moved the ark of God, but there were lessons to be learned.

1) Revival is a restoration of the presence of God.

From the incarnation to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on every believer, the hope of the Old Testament finds expression in the experience of the Christian who has access to the life-giving presence of God. God has designed us to experience his presence.

2) Revival is not just about what comes to life, it’s also about what dies.

The death of Uzzah was a reminder that God’s uncommon presence should never be treated as common. As believers, we have access to an uncommon grace that gives life, but we are also called to put to death those things belonging to our sinful nature.

3) Revival is a return to fruitfulness.

Obed-Edom was an outsider to God’s people, but God blessed his house and his family because he welcomed the presence of God. Wherever God’s presence is, life and flourishing follow!

Psalm 84:10

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

This Sunday, Pastor Joaquin preached a message out of 1 Samuel 1. We looked at the life of Hannah, a woman who didn’t have a promise to cling to, just a problem she couldn’t control.

1 Samuel 1:18 

Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

1) When it’s out of your control, it’s not out of God’s hands.

Hannah had a problem she didn’t choose, a problem she didn’t cause, and a problem she couldn’t control. Her womb was closed, but not by the enemy. 

1 Samuel 1:5 

 '…though the Lord had closed her womb.’” 

This wasn’t punishment, it was positioning. Sometimes we rebuke the devil when it’s God allowing the storm not to destroy you, but to direct you.

2) Bitterness doesn’t make it better.

Sometimes the hardest part of waiting is the watching. Watching others receive what you’ve been praying for. Watching someone else’s testimony while you’re still stuck in the middle of your test. That’s when bitterness creeps in. But Hannah didn’t let her pain poison her perspective. 

Even though Peninnah mocked her year after year, not just at home, but the house of the LORD. Hannah didn’t retaliate. She didn’t throw shade. She stayed silent and surrendered. Bitterness won’t fix what only God can restore. But pouring it out in His presence will.

3) It’s in His presence where the broken are met and the breakthrough begins.

Hannah left the altar with no promise. No guarantee. No son in her arms. But her face was no longer sad. Why? Because a breakthrough doesn’t begin when God gives us what we want. A breakthrough begins when we finally give God all of ourselves.

In his presence, God shifted her heart before ever opening up her womb. In the Presence of God, we are undone and remade. Our will begins to align itself with his, and he even changes the way that we pray. 

1 Samuel 1:11

And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life... 

Samuel wasn’t just her miracle; Samuel was God’s answer for a nation! 

Do you have Kingdom reflexes? This week Pastor Steve concluded our ReFormation series with a message from Jesus’ Sermon On the Mount.

Matthew 7:24

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

In Jesus’ closing parable, both men heard his teachings. Both men were building, presumably with the same materials. Both men experienced the same storm. The only difference was the foundation. 

1) Foundations are invisible.

Both men are hearing the teaching and building houses that APPEAR SIMILAR. The difference came down to one word: PRACTICE.

“Most Christians are educated way beyond the level of their obedience. We don't need to know more. We need to do more with what we know.”

Pastor Mark Batterson

When we come to Jesus, we have access to a grace that can transform. Spiritual disciplines are the means by which we access that grace on a daily basis.

2) Foundations are deep.

Practice builds a pattern of accessing God’s wisdom and grace that goes so deep it becomes REFLEX. 

Hebrews 5:14

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.

Not every practice has to be a success. The most important part about practice is showing up.

3) Foundations are revealed in storms.

It’s impossible to work on your foundation in the middle of a storm. But when you practice building on the rock of God’s grace and truth, your house will stand through every storm!