Renewal Church

In the third part of our Advent series, we examine one of the most well-known Christmas passages in the Bible: Luke 1:26-38. The angel Gabriel calls Mary ‘favored’, and yet the passage says Mary was troubled upon hearing those words. In this week's message, we reflect on two questions: What is God's favor? What does it truly mean to be favored? If God is calling you to participate in His plans, are you willing to let Him disrupt yours?

In part 2 of our Advent series, we focus on themes around what this season is really about. This week, we read Luke 2 to examine how God reveals His will through the powerless and the ordinary. Through the birth of Jesus Christ in a lowly manger during difficult times, God's message is abundantly clear: nothing can prevent God from accomplishing His will in your life.

In the first part of our new series, "A Thrill of Hope," we kick off the season of Advent. This week, we look at the story of Zechariah in Luke 1 to see how his longstanding desire for a child grows to become something bigger than he could ever imagine: for God to save the world.

If one had to choose between being rich or being poor, most people would choose the former. In the perspective of eternity however, could this be a bad decision? Our guest speaker for today - Pastor Mark Chun - delves into the nightmare beneath the surface of the American dream.

Thanksgiving is the one day a year that we celebrate gratitude, but in Christianity, it can be viewed as a 'lesser' virtue compared to others in the Bible. But here's why thanksgiving is important: it helps us go from entitlement to an attitude of gratitude. Today we examine the Samaritan leper's heart of gratitude towards Jesus in Luke 7, and how it gained him more than just healing.

The Bible calls Christians by many names - children of God, servants, slaves, saints, etc. One name that sometimes flies under the radar is that of "ambassador." Yet being an ambassador of Christ is central to our mission as Christians. Today we will learn more about the amazing privilege that believers have to be called by this title.

What do you look for in your friends? Some of us might look for common interests, hometowns, or sports teams. But the greatest example of love from a friend might be their willingness to speak the truth in love. Today's sermon explores how we might cultivate a 'faithful wounding' culture in our church so we can go deeper in building each other up in God.

Experiencing God's grace leads us to freedom in our relationship with God and freedom in our relationship with others. Today's sermon reminds us how important it is to pursue a community of grace if we are to really experience all that God intended.

Everybody wants to be somebody - it's a fundamental truth of human existence. When others tell us we're somebody, it makes us feel valuable, worthy even. But such validation is a two-edged sword - it can quickly make us slaves to the approval and affection of others. Today's passage shows us how it's possible to live a life free from the cares of what others think of us.

Throughout human history, there have been temples. Ubiquitous monuments symbolizing and facilitating man's connection with the divine. The Old Testament people of God had their temple as well, but it represented far more than just a place to meet God. Today we start with a temple of old but end our story with the true purpose and meaning of the temple.