SCRIPTURE TEXTS: Habakkuk 2:1-4; Hebrews 10:32-39 

 As we ring in the New Year on Sunday January 1st, 2023, Pastor Court officially announces 2023 as "The Year of Perseverance" for PCF-LA. As a congregation, each year the Lord guides us in a spiritual point of special focus for our lives and times. In the midst of "Five Years of Purpose," this New Year of Perseverance calls us to press on and pursue all that God has for us in the fulfilling of His will in our lives and world. In this first message of a new sermon series on PERSEVERANCE, Pastor Court teaches out of the Old Testament prophet of Habakkuk and the New Testament epistle of Hebrews on "The PURPOSE of Perseverance."   

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  Series: 2023 - The Year of Perseverance (Part 1)  

Date: 1/01/2023   |    Time: 10:30 am

Sermon Slides

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Matthew 2:13-23  

The Christmas holiday corresponds also to the end of one year on the calendar & turning the page to a New Year ahead. Likewise, the arrival of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem is the fulfillment of one set of promises but also the beginning of another cycle of patient expectation, for all He will do in His earthly life & ministry. And immediately, the Holy Family faces fresh challenges that call for quick action yet enduring patience & perseverance. Christmas carries the same message for God's people today who also await the Return of the Christ & the Day of the Lord in the midst of ongoing persecutions, trials, & tests.  

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  

Series: ADVENT - A Season of Waiting (Pt. 6)  

Date: 12/25/2022   |    Time: 10:30 am

Sermon Notes

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Luke 2:21-40  

Our annual Christmas Eve candle lighting service in our sanctuary (& streaming live online) is when we gather as a family of faith to conclude the season of Advent. We'll celebrate the arrival of our Lord with Christmas worship and a message from Pastor Court on finding God’s “Patience in a Silent Night.” We’ll conclude our service hour with the lighting of candles to fill our sanctuary—and our souls—with God’s light.  

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  

Series: ADVENT - A Season of Waiting (Pt. 5)  

Date: 12/24/2022   |    Time: 6:00 pm

Sermon Notes

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12  

Every year at Christmastime, while most of us are gearing up for festivities with family & friends, some among us experience tremendous emotional challenges: the first Christmas without a loved one, yet another Christmas alone, or sometimes just the challenge of awaiting an answer from God in the seemingly interminable burden of the present moment. Like the Magi following a star in the dark or Joseph heeding the guidance of God in his dream, the Christmas story reminds us that sometimes—like children waiting to open their gifts on Christmas Day—we need to look to the Father with persevering patient trust while we wait on Him in the present moment of our challenge.   

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  

Series: ADVENT - A Season of Waiting (Pt. 4)  

Date: 12/18/2022   |    Time: 10:30 am

Sermon Notes

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20 

Some of our favorite Christmastime images are postcard-perfect scenes of quaintly lit cabins in the snow & families lounging in the warm glow of a fireside. Yet despite these visions of calm & quiet, our holiday season reality often presents us with pressure & HURRY: the rush & crush of shopping, traffic on the roads, demands of parties & meals, wrapping & decorating, bills & costs...and sometimes a tumult of turmoil even in our souls. None of this seems very conducive to a simple, peace-filled, submitted & attentive lifestyle of spiritual preparation. Yet the Nativity story includes many pressures & urgencies, too, and the people in it reveal how God leads His own in the ways of patient submission to His perfect plan, even in the most pressing circumstances.  

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall 

Series: ADVENT - A Season of Waiting (Pt. 3) 

Date: 12/11/2022   |    Time: 10:30 am

Sermon Notes

Tagalog Service  

Preacher: Pastor Art Cabrera  

Date: 12/11/2022   |    Time: 8:30 am

Sermon Notes

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Luke 1:5-79  

The Christmas season of December is also the Advent season of preparation, a time in which most of us find ourselves dealing with much PLANNING: of family & work gatherings, shopping & gift buying, festivities & meals, and so on. With our schedules so heavy-laden, we can find the joys of Christmastime overshadowed by stress as we struggle to maintain a spiritual sense of the season. In this message for the second week of Advent, we’ll consider the patient hope demonstrated by Zechariah & Elisabeth, parents of John the Baptist, as an antidote to overly-stressed seasonal fatigue & a tonic of spiritual centering in God’s word that can remind us of the reason for the season & the higher call of planning for the purposes of the Lord.  

*For those online: prepare your supplies to join us in Communion.  

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  

Series: ADVENT - A Season of Waiting (Pt. 2) 

Date: 12/04/2022   |    Time: 10:30 am

Sermon Notes

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Isaiah 7:10-25  ​

Advent, the traditional period of anticipating the arrival of Christmas that came in the birth of the Christ, is by its very nature “A Season of Waiting.” In this sermon series leading up to Christmas Day 2022, we’ll consider how our patient preparation for Christmas celebration relates to the ancient story of how God brings light, life, & hope to our world darkened by sin, death, & despair. In this first week of Advent, we focus on the prophetic power of WAITING in readiness based on the prophetic purpose of God’s promises reflected in His abiding word.  

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  

Series: ADVENT - A Season of Waiting (Pt. 1)  

Date: 11/27/2022   |    Time: 10:30 am

Sermon Notes

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Isaiah 40  

Our annual Wednesday night "Thanksgiving Eve" service in our sanctuary (and also streaming live online via our website & social media platforms) is always a joyous occasion. We'll worship and express our thanks to God for who He is and all He's done throughout our lives, in our church, and in our world in this Year of Patience. Pastor Court will share a message on how we can approach the praise-centered action of giving thanks with a special focus on faith-filled trust in God that will inspire our Thanksgiving celebrations and refresh our daily living.  

*For those online: prepare your supplies to join us in Communion.  

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  

Date: 11/23/2022   |    Time: 7:00 pm

Sermon Notes

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Luke 10:25-37  

We conclude our sermon series on “Parables of Patience” with one of Jesus’ best-known tales, the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Though the Jewish people of His day generally distained their northern neighbors (and close cousins) the Samaritans, Jesus framed His story around a Samaritan hero whose kindness to a Jewish stranger forms Jesus’ answer to the question “Who is my neighbor?” Thus Jesus underscores that those of genuine faith should prioritize patient sacrifice & care in the Name of the Lord, even unto those who would classify themselves as their enemies.  

Preacher: Pastor Courtney Hall  

Series: Parables of Patience (Pt. 6)  

Date: 11/20/2022   |    Time: 10:30 am

Sermon Notes