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Why rest from work?

Pastor Stephen Hsu

Gen 2:1-3

2 Questions: Why and How do we rest?

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BIG IDEA: We rest from work because God made rest holy, so that we can love Him more.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

—Genesis 2:1-3

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WHY REST FROM WORK?

1. Because God stopped work on the 7th day. (v. 2-3)

2. Because God made the 7th day holy. (v. 3)

3. Because rest comes before work. (1-3)

Busyness is the enemy of spirituality. It is essentially laziness. It is doing the easy thing instead of the hard thing. It is filling our time with own actions instead of paying attention to God’s actions. It is taking charge.

—Subversive Spirituality, Eugene Peterson

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HOW SHOULD WE REST?

1. Crawl: Be With Him (Mark 3:14)

2. Walk: Be Yoked to Him (Matthew 11:28-30)

3. Run: Delight In Him (Isaiah 58:13-14)

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day,If you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord…—Isaiah 58:13-14

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Conclusion:

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. —Song of Solomon 6:3

Sermon notes

Palm Sunday

Lesson from a Donkey

Rev. Calvin Lam

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11

Choose to live for Him from this day onwards:

BE A DONKEY!

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1. Selected by God (v.1-3) through:

a. Pre-arrangement

b. Prophecy

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2. Sanctified in Christ (v.6-8) by:

a. Preservation (Mark 11:2, 2 Timothy 2:21)

b. Preparation (1 Peter 3:15)

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3. Satisfied for God’s Glory (v. 9-11):

a. Hosanna to the Son of David

b. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

c. The prophet from Nazareth

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There is a plan for all of us in Jesus:

Jeremiah 29:11

Galatians 3:27

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Action:

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.

—Ecclesiastes 12:1

Sermon notes

The Holy Place and the Law

Rev. Julian Wong

Scripture: Acts 6:8-15

Introduction

Moses Prepared the People (Deuteronomy 12:10-13)

1. Separate and Be Holy

2. People of God keep moving, God is always with the people

3. Jesus fulfilled the law

4. Scatter and be Missional

Sermon notes

Church at Work: Integration of Faith and Work

Rev. Reuben Foncardas

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20, 3:22-4:1

“The task may appear unimportant or trivial, but the person doing it is never that, and he or she has the opportunity to turn the job into an act of worship.” —N.T Wright

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How do you integrate your faith with your work?

1. Change your MINDSET: Learn to work WITH Christ!

• What we do is connected with what God is doing.

• "...and through him (Jesus) to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (1:20)

• EXPERIENCE God in your everyday life.

2. Change your MOTIVE: Learn to work FOR Christ!

• What we do is connected with who God is.

• "Is it he Lord Christ you are serving." (3:24b) "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." (1:15)

• EXALT God in everything you do.

3. Change you MANNER: Learn to work LIKE Christ!

• What we do is connected with who God is.

• "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for ht human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." (3:23-24a, 1:20)

• EXCEL in the output of your work and in the outcome of your walk.

Sermon notes

Church at Work: HOW should we work?

Pastor Stephen Hsu

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-6

Big idea: The Spirit empowers our work & witness to be His priests & ministers in the marketplace.

(Isaiah 61:1-6, NIV)

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3 Questions:

1. Why the Spirit?

2. How did Jesus work? (Luke 4:14-18)

3. Why Isaiah?

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How should we work?

3 ways:

1. The SPIRIT empowers our witness (v.1-2)

a. But is it appropriate for us to say this today?

b. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” - Acts 1:8

2. The SPIRIT empowers our work (c.3-5)

a. Why did Jesus Work?

b. Why do YOU work?

3. YOU are to be priests and ministers (v. 6)

a. “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:13

b. “I’m prepared to contend that the primary location for SPIRITUAL FORMATION is the workplace.” - Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

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Conclusion:

‘and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”’

—Luke 3:22

Sermon notes

Church at Work: The Theology of Work

Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28

What is the story you’re living out?

• Purpose: What is the universe all about? What am I doing on this planet? 

• Problem: Why are things not the way they should be? What obstacles should I overcome to accomplish this good and meaningful goal? 

• Solution: What is the main way to resolve what is wrong? How do I overcome the problem so I can fulfill my purpose? 

{note}

What is Work in the Christian Story? 

1. Purpose: Work is a means by which God extends His love to the world.

  a. We were created to resemble God 

  b. We were created to represent God

2. Problem: Work has been corrupted by sin

3. Solution: Work can be redeemed.

There are 3 purposes God calls us to fulfill (“Exiles on Mission” by Paul Williams)

1. The Creation Mandate (to fill, cultivate, and rule the earth), ie. "First Commission"

2. The Great Commandments (to love God and neighbour)

3. The Great Commission (to scatter, be witnesses, make disciples) 

  a. See our work as redemption• displaying

  b. Treat our work as mission• advancing 

Sermon notes

In our Own Tongues:

The Promise of Pentecost

Pastor Alex Lee

Acts 2:1-12

1. Spirit of Easter, Spirit of Pentecost

2. Speaking to our stories or to someone else’s?

3. Heart Language

4. God’s Spirit makes our stories His own

5. The stories of women, children, servants…

6. Some “gentle” suggestions for hearing the Gospel in our own tongues…

Sermon notes

Re-Energize: The Letters of John

Love in Truth

Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui

Scripture: 3 John

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Love in Truth (v.1-4)

1. Love without Truth is sentimentality

2. Truth without love is brutality

Jesus was love in truth personified perfectly

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Hospitality: Creating Spaced for “Love in Trust” to Abound (v. 5-8)

1. Hospitality is creating a space where we reflect who Jesus

2. Hospitality is creating a space where we re-enact what Jesus did for us

We are creating sanctuaries (soul) and shelters (body)

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Conclusion: Hospitality has the power to change the world.

Sermon notes

Re-Energize: The Letters of John

Balancing Love and Truth

Pastor Angela Luk

Scripture: 2 John 1:1-13

1. Love and Truth are inseparable for Christians

2. Beware of those who have distorted the balance

3. Be diligent in walking in the truth