RHCCC DTM Latest Sermon

Behold: God with Us

Speaker: Rev. Kelly J Tam

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Behold! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

—Isaiah 7:14

A “Blue Christmas”

Honest Hope:

Isaiah 7:14

1. Isaiah 7:14 is a promise spoken amid uncertainty.

2. Isaiah 7:14 is revealing a new perspective.

3. Isaiah 7:14 is a reminder that God is near.

Application:

1. What is the context of your life?

2. Behold, look above.

3. Behold, look again.

4. Behold, look inside.

Knowing Jesus, Modelling Jesus

Speaker: Rev. George Mah

Scripture: John 1:1-14

Big Idea: To follow Jesus, we must first know Jesus – who He is shapes who we are and how we live. Knowing Jesus leads to modelling Jesus, and modelling Jesus multiplies disciples.

In John 1:1–14, the Gospel unveils four profound revelations about who Jesus is and why they matter for us.

1.Jesus is the Eternal Word (vv. 1-5)

2.Jesus is the Promised One (vv. 6-13)

3.Jesus is God in the Flesh (vv. 14)

4.Jesus is the Model of God’s Mission (vv. 4-5/14)

Call to Action

Know Him

Model Him

Join His Mission

When God Interrupts

Pastor Michael Seto

Matthew 2:1-16

Our human nature is to control everything (we reject God’s rule)

Embrace God’s disturbances

(Matthew 2:1-9)

Who was King Herod?

Herod: “King of the Jews”

Herod was disturbed

• Herod was disturbed and all of Jerusalem with him.

• Jesus’ arrival signifies a massive disturbance.

• The idea of Jesus as King vs. The reality of Jesus as King

• We’d rather have the posture of comfort than surrender to God

Herod fights against God’s plan

(Matthew 2:10-16)

• Herod destroys others to save himself

• Jesus offers Himself to save others

A “fully-surrendered” life should look DISTURBED

Living surrendered to Jesus’ rule:

discern - listen - embrace

Where am I experiencing disturbances?

• Conflict

• Choices

• Changes

Jesus invites us to let go of our grip and trust His way.

POWER: Empowered & Gifted for The Missional Life

Speaker: Pastor Shu-Ling Lee

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Alive By the Spirit - Presence: God Has Entered The Chat

Speaker: Pastor Susie Choi

Scripture: John 10:27

My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow.

—John 10:27

God is always communicating but the question is, can we hear him above the noise pollution that surrounds us? How does God work in our lives to tune our hearts to the Shepherd’s frequency?

Jesus points us to four truths in John 10:27:

1. My Sheep Relationship

2. Hear My Voice Result

3. I know them Reason

4. They follow Me Response

Alive By the Spirit - PERSON: More than a Force

Speaker: Pastor Angela Luk

Scripture: John 14:15-21, 26-28

Who…or what do you seek for guidance in life?

Person of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit is more than a force

Personal God: The Holy Spirit interacts personally with believers

Personal Relationship: The Holy Spirit brings us into relationship with God

Big Idea: The Holy Spirit is more than some distant all-powerful “force” of divine energy from God.

The Holy Spirit is God who is a faithful guide, companion, and helper in our lives for God’s purposes.

Sermon Notes

Alive By the Spirit: PURPOSE

Speaker: Pastor Quang Nguyen

Introduction

Over this month, we’re going to be teaching about the

• PURPOSE of the Holy Spirit

• PERSON of the Holy Spirit

• PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit

• POWER of the Holy Spirit.

Who He is

1. “Another”

2. “Counselor” / Paraclete

3. The Holy Spirit is a person, a divine person of the Trinity who is called alongside us to be our helper, advocate, comforter or counselor forever.

What He does

1. Testifies about Jesus

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

—John 15:26-27 (NIV)

2. Convicts us of sin, especially unbelief

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

—John 16:7-11 (ESV)

3. Guides us to truth in Christ

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come

—John 16:13 (NIV)

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

—John 14:26 (NIV)

4. Brings glory to Jesus

14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

—John 16:14 (ESV)

5. Unites the Church – binding us together in peace and creating one body in Christ

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you.

—John 14:16-17 (ESV)

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

—Eph 4:3-4

The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin, guides us to truth in Christ, unites the church, and constantly points us back to Jesus for the Christian life today!

Being With

Speaker: Pastor Jesse Sudirgo

Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:1-5, 7-11

———

1. Idealism and Realism

The Year for Canceling Debts

1 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.

2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.

3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you.

4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,

5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.

6 For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them.

8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need.

9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.

10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

—Deuteronomy 15:1-11

God’s law calls for both idealism and realism:

“There need be no poor among you” (v.4) a vision of justice and abundance.

“There will always be poor in the land” (v.11) a recognition of ongoing human need.

Idealism grounded in the eschatological hope, Realism grounded in an unreasonable grace

———

2. Moving from Doing for to Being with

(Based on Samuel Wells)

There are different ways to engage in God’s mission:

• Working for – Doing things on behalf of others.

• Working with – Partnering alongside others.

• Being for – Advocating for change at a larger scale.

• Being with – Sharing life, presence, and relationship.

“Being with” shifts our focus from outcomes to relationship. It is not about fixing others but about entering their experience and walking with them in mutual trust.

“Being with is not about finding solutions, but about companionship amid struggle and distress.”

—Samuel Wells

———

3. Faithful Presence and Proximity

God’s call to love the poor is not fulfilled from a distance. It happens through presence, proximity, and participation.

Henri Nouwen reminds us that compassion requires entering another’s pain:

“No one can help anyone without becoming involved, without taking the risk of being hurt, wounded, or even destroyed in the process.”

—Henri Nouwen

We meet Christ when we draw near to those who suffer. Transformation happens not through power, but through presence.

Mission: Beyond Inviting to Sunday Service

Speaker: Rev. Shu-Ling Lee

Mission: Lessons from China

Speaker: Pastor Quang Nyguyen

Scripture: Luke 12:16-21

16 And he (Jesus) told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” —Luke 12:16-21

———

1. Life is not about becoming more and more comfortable

Application:

• Where in your life are you just coasting, trying to become more and more comfortable?

• Is it in accumulating riches but not being rich towards God?

• Are you trying to keep relationships with others too comfortable?

• Is your spiritual life too comfortable?

———

2. We all need to do something meaningful with our lives

Rick Warren

a. God designed us to make a difference.

b. We were created to make a contribution.

c. We were knit together to meet needs.

“[God] has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do” —Ephesians 2:10 TEV

“Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.” —Jeremiah 1:5 NCV

Application:

• What are you doing for Christ that will last?

———

3. People need Jesus

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.” —Acts 4:12 ESV

Application:

• Who are you reaching out to?