Renewal Church

What does a pearl mean to you? Do you find it precious or useful enough to give up everything--your net worth, a place to sleep--even your loved ones? Most people might think that the parable of the pearl is irrelevant in today's day and age. However, guest speaker Dr. Ryun Chang explains why this very passage is more relevant than ever, especially for believers in American churches.

Many people know the story and context around Tax Collector Zacchaeus, perhaps the most hated person amongst his own people. In today's passage, guest speaker Finny Abraham from Westgate Church challenges us to look deeper, hidden high above the leafy foliage of the Sycamore tree, to find one of the greatest miracles Christ has ever performed.

Why is worship usually paired with music? Even during the early books of the Old Testament thousands of years ago, music was a crucial part to God's people gathering together. There's something undeniable about music that speaks to our mind, body, heart, soul, spirit. Today, we hear how God designed worship to speak to us powerfully--and what happens when we don't come to the altar expecting the manifestation of His Spirit.

Prophecy, tongues, interpretation - oh my! Today we discuss the trifecta of spiritual gifts controversy. Unfortunately there are many people who have been burned by prophecy, weirded out by tongues, and haven't even heard of interpretation. But does this mean that these gifts should be excluded from daily Christian life? In the Corinthian church, Paul dealt with a similar situation, and we have the privilege today of learning from his experiences.

Spiritual gifts can often be misconstrued as supernatural gifts that only a few people have. But did you know that everyone in the body of Christ has at least one gift? We are all empowered to strengthen the church and advance God's kingdom, but sometimes we don't feel it. In today's sermon, we talk about what we can do for more spiritual gifts to show up powerfully in our life.

For some of us, the whole idea of a 'supernatural' God may be uncomfortable. We may have been hurt or put off by certain things we may have seen or heard, and yet, we yearn to see God's manifest presence in our lives. This week, we begin a series on this topic and examine why the time that we're living in now is the time that the prophets of the Old Testament--the same prophets who saw signs, miracles, and heard direct words from God--is most jealous of.

Today, Missionary Jon Moon shares how he and his wife Stephanie and two young sons came to decide to leave their “American dream” life in California to move to Guatemala. Jon shares about how he came to feel compelled to proclaim the good news of Jesus. How good is the good news to you? Listen to his invitation to learn why the feet of Jesus’ disciples are beautiful in the eyes of God.

Why do we brag? We might do it to get more likes from social media, or to get validation from others. Two thousand years ago, the reasons for boasting might be the same, although what people bragged about was probably very different from what we take pride in today in front of our friends and peers: for example, circumcision. Paul called out this need to boast in the law and warned the Galatians why having one foot in the world and one foot in Jesus could actually enslave them. Instead, he gave them only one reason for boasting, and one reason alone so they could start living in true freedom.

Have you ever been tired or burnt out on Christian life? Loving others and serving God is not always easy. The average pastor is in ministry for just 7 years--even they are not immune to growing tired from serving God. Today, we learn from Galatians 6 on how to unlock our full potential to run and not grow weary.