New Community Church of Tacoma

Bo Noonan kicks off our 2023 Advent series by digging into the HOPE we have through Jesus. In a culture of "get it now" we are called to be a people who grow in our capacity to wait in hopeful expectation for what will be revealed when Jesus returns. Yet, there is also a wonderfully rich experience in the right now of his presence, which serves as just a taste of what that day will ultimately be like.

Bo Noonan finishes our series The Upper Room by looking at John 18:1-18, where Jesus leads his disciples to a garden. There he will be arrested, led to the high priest to be tried, and ultimately crucified for the sins of all humanity. There is huge significance to Jesus being in the garden and saying yes to his Father's will, as this is the opposite of Adam and Eve's choice to follow their own way in a garden at the beginning of all things. Here Jesus changes everything...forever.

Bo Noonan teaches through John 17, taking a deeper dive into what it means for Jesus to be our High Priest. In Jesus' "high priestly prayer" he pulls back the curtain on what he is about to do through his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension...and what he shows us is breathtaking!

Lonnie Arnold shares from Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in John 17 during our series The Upper Room. In this prayer we find the beauty of reconciliation and Jesus' prayer that, as the Church, we would be one as he and the Father are one. We also find the amazing truth that God the Father loves us, as followers of Jesus, with the same quality and quantity as Jesus himself!

Bo Noonan teaches from John 16:5-33 in our series The Upper Room. Here we find Jesus' last words of teaching before he is arrested and crucified. In these last words we find the thesis statement for the Upper Room teaching, which is summed up in "don't let your hearts be troubled...believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Jesus' main "why" for not being troubled, having, peace, and trusting in a positive outcome for his death is that he is not alone and neither are they. God has forever been in relationship as a Trinity and will continue to be so as Jesus goes to the Father and they send the Holy Spirit. This can be our peace as well!

Bo Noonan teaches through John 15:16-16:4 in our series "The Upper Room". In this scene, Jesus lays out the truth that the systems of the world will hate his followers. This warning is not meant to instill fear, but rather to further help them see their need to abide in him, his love, and his sending of the Holy Spirit. Our response to hatred is not to respond in-kind, but rather to respond with the same love that Jesus responds with.

Bo Noonan teaches as we continue in our series "The Upper Room." As Jesus and his disciples are departing from the Passover meal, Jesus shares a metaphor for his, the Father's, and our relationship to one another. This metaphor is packed with loads of meaning for the original hearers. Jesus speaks of God that Father as a "vinedresser" who tends lovingly to each individual branch of a vine that is meant to find its health and fruit-bearing potential from the main vine, who is Jesus. We are the branches that are meant to be connected to the True Vine and carefully tended by the Vinedresser.

Wes Swarthout teaches through John 14:25-31 in our series The Upper Room. Even on a night that Jesus knew would end in his arrest and, ultimately, his crucifixion, Jesus cares for his disciples emotional and spiritual health. He shares his heart for them in no uncertain terms, letting them know that they will be greatly cared for by the empowering of the Holy Spirt, who will give them peace, joy, faith, and an unwavering belief in God's sovereignty.

Andy Cooley teaches through John 14:10-24 in our series "The Upper Room". As we continue through this final evening of Jesus with his disciples, we find a scene where Jesus is actively taking them from just being just "followers" to being restored as "family." This evening is full of the language of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and in this part of the conversation, Jesus speaks of our hearts and actions being changed as we find ourselves "in him".

Bo Noonan teaches through John 14:1-11 in our series "The Upper Room." In these verses Jesus speaks of leaving to prepare a place for those who are a part of his family. In the cultural language of the day, this is the language of a groom preparing a place for his bride to be with him and to become a part of his family. Jesus purposefully uses this language to help his disciples see the significance of his leaving. He is saying, "I am becoming the way for you to be in my Father's family." Jesus is the way to the Father, the truth of how to have relationship restored with him, and the source of eternal life that comes through that restored relationship.