Renewal Church

In today's world, we often feel that with enough work, we can become experts and masters of anything. We can learn to control our domains and environments with such skill that we're tempted to view ourselves as the ultimate masters or gods. Today, Pastor Ulysses cautions us to practice self control. He teaches us that the most difficult and most important thing to master is our own hearts. If we are to follow Christ, we must learn to say "no" to many things that we might live godly lives.

Over the last ten months, our day to day lives have changed drastically. As Christians, we may feel that we cannot worship and serve God in the same way that we could prior to Covid, and may give up on those parts of our Christian identity. Today, Pastor Ulysses preaches from the book of Daniel on committing oneself to the Lord, challenging us to not let where we are determine who we are.

With so much division and conflict in the United States, it's hard to imagine the animosity is simply a result of politics and peoples' differences. This week, Pastor Ulysses reminds us that the Christian struggle is not just a physical one. We are not only managing difficult relationships with people with divided political views and opinions, but we are also up against powerful spiritual forces seeking to divide us. Let us seek to put on the armor of God with urgency that we may be prepared and ready to make a stand against the schemes of the devil.

Our country’s political climate has become increasingly more heated and polarized over the years, a fact that was highlighted once again with the events on January 6th. All of this prompts the question: how should Christians navigate and engage with today’s complex political landscape? Today, Pastor Ulysses’ sermon focuses on responding to the events that occurred at the Capitol, and how in the midst of all these political issues, we as Christians are called to "fight the good fight of faith."

The Apostle Paul visited and wrote to many of the early churches, but surprisingly, one of the most troublesome churches appears to be the most special to him. Why did he have such a special relationship with the church in Corinth? This week, Pastor Ryun teaches on a few reasons that made the church so important to Paul, and encourages us to likewise give our church a special place in our hearts.

How do you make big decisions in your life? And how much do you lean on God when navigating these uncertainties? No matter what life has in store for us, God always has a plan to lead us towards what’s best. Today, as we enter into a new year together as a church, Pastor Ulysses invites us to remember the importance of leaning on the Lord in prayer.

2020 has been quite a year filled with so much difficulty and suffering. It's the end of the year and many of us are looking forward to moving on. This week, Pastor Ulysses preaches from the book of Philippians on how Paul learned to be content in both times of need and times of plenty. He encourages us to take these last days of the year to contemplate how we can find our contentment more in Christ and less in circumstance.

When facing problems in your life, where do you turn to in order to resolve your issues? Do you rely on yourself and other worldly ideas to fix your problems, or do you lean on God and trust in Him to make things right? This week, Pastor Ulysses preaches on this topic from Isaiah 7, focusing on the story of King Ahaz and how instead of turning towards Assyria, we should turn towards Immanuel - the God who is with us in all of our affliction.

Sometimes we imagine the first Christmas as a warm fuzzy scene at the manger, and we gloss over the purpose of His coming. Jesus came to rule, and the wise men recognized this by going to worship Him as King. This week, Pastor Ulysses preaches from the book of Matthew about two different responses to news of Jesus' birth: one of apathy, and one of resistance. In this teaching, he urges us to long for Jesus' second coming and realize that Jesus kingship applies to every area of our lives, right now.

This Christmas season is very different than in past years. With Covid cases still spiking across the U.S., it is easy to feel like there’s not much to be hopeful for in these coming months. Today, Pastor Ulysses preaches from the book of Luke on how Jesus is the ultimate consolation for the sorrows of this world, and how as much as Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus, it's also just as much about waiting in anticipation of His Second Coming.