Renewal Church

This week Pastor Ulysses continues his series in 1 Corinthians from a particularly hard passage in Chapter 7 verses 25 through 40. As Paul considers marriage he also exposits on the benefits of being single like himself. What are we to make of this exhortation by Paul to remain single? It tells us that marriage is not ultimate and there is nothing wrong with being single. And this is because our temporal identities are not a reflection on our eternal identity in Christ. For this reason being married is not superior to being single. In fact, being single provides us with a special period in life when we can be fully devoted to god, even if we look forward to marriage. In Christ, we can be single and whole.

This Sunday we are taking a break from our series on Corinthians and instead Pastor Ulysses will be discussing the significance of baptism with Naaman's story from 2 Kings. Through this story of a leper who seeks mercy, we witness many parallels with the gospel. Naaman has everything except his health. Similar to how we can have all the worldly things in the world yet still never be satisfied. Because without God, we will always be missing something.

Pastor Ulysses continues his series on Corinthians with a teaching on how unnecessary it is to "prep" ourselves to serve God. The truth is we are perfectly equipped to serve God as we are. The Corinthians had thought they needed to change themselves before being fit to follow God. In reality, regardless of our situation, if we believe we are saved by Christ, we are free instantly to follow Him and serve Him.

This Sunday Pastor Ulysses walks us through 1 Corinthians 7:1-16. In this passage Paul emphasizes the importance of sex as a means to safeguard the marriage. Afterwards, we dive further into Paul's perspective in regards to other marriage topics ranging from separation to marriage with unbelievers.

In this sermon, Pastor Soosang Park encourages us to reflect on the idols in our life. What glory do we seek? Worldly things, which in 1 Peter is compared to grass that eventually withers away? Or do we put our hope in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for us and is eternal?

Should Christians make fasting a more integral part of our lives? Pastor Ulysses, in this week’s teaching, contends from Matthew 9:14-17 that it should. In this passage Jesus gives a new reason and purpose for fasting. While the Jewish leaders and people who observed the law fasted in order to appear religious, Jesus calls us to fast as we grieve our distance from him. We fast because we recognize the great need for Jesus in our hearts. We fast because we need Him more than ever, yet often He feels so distant. For Christians, in fasting, our intimacy with Jesus is what we seek and find.

As the world enters a new year, many of us soon get busy planning for it. Companies plan for how to meet their business goals, families plan their finances, and many individuals plan to get fit this year. But how should Christians heed James' warning against planning in chapter 4 verse 13-17 of his epistle? Are Christians not encouraged to plan for their life? Or is there a deeper more significant truth at play here? Pastor Ulysses in his first sermon of 2023 teaches from this passage to help the Christian see our planning as ultimately futile if not subservient to God's sovereign will and working. And in doing so find the appropriate framework of humility and submission to God's sovereignty under which a Christian should plan.

Renewal Elder, Pastor Mark Chun delivers a special message this Christmas Sunday reminding us of the true purpose of Christ's birth and how we can celebrate Christmas with the rest of the world. The light that is found in Jesus shines on everyone especially in times of great darkness. It's important for us to share that light. It's also important to remember how the birth of Jesus changed everything about our relationship with God.

This Sunday we are blessed to hear about The Great Commission from Guest Speaker Ryan Beneke. Through the gospel and his experience as a missionary from Kyoto, Japan, he leads us to a journey of where we came from, where we are now and where we're going. Ryan also discusses how we can get involved and bring to fruition God's command to make disciples of all nations. We are blessed to know Christ. Now, its our turn to be a blessing for others.

We don't always attend church with prayer in mind. Instead we come expecting a sermon exposition. Pastor Young speaks about the importance of prayer in our lives and how it's more about our encounter with God during prayer rather than what we are asking or the answers that we may get. By using the ACTS method of prayer, we can better focus on God and find excitement and true fulfillment in prayer.