Services between December 2021 and January 2022
Recordings from each individual service is below
No video or camera switching during this service.
No video or camera switching during this service.
Worship on Wednesdays in Advent is meant to prepare our hearts and minds to better celebrate Christmas and live in it. This year, our focus will be on three great Advent hymns and the Bible readings on which the writers of the hymns based each one.
The Advent Conspiracy
How do you feel right after Christmas? If you are like millions of other Americans, December is jammed full of busy-ness (..have to get it all done!) and worries (…have to get the perfect gift!) and buying sprees (it takes most American 3-5 months or more to pay off their Christmas debts!)…that at the end of December leaves most Americans feeling worn out, tired, let down, and empty.
What if through all of this we are really missing Christmas altogether? What if it was meant to be different? What if there was a better way? What if it was the way of Jesus, the One born on that first Christmas night? What if this is, finally, why Jesus came? Maybe we’ve taken a wrong turn; maybe we’ve missed the peace, joy, hope, love, and rest that Christmas is all about. And maybe Jesus wants to give it back to us as a …. Christmas gift!
This is what the Advent Conspiracy is all about. Advent: The arrival of Jesus. Conspiracy: plotting and planning to actually enter into the Christmas story in order to live in its gifts. Yes, we are starting our Christmas preparation a little early this year. But we are serious about making it different. And it takes time to plot to make it so. But then, we think Jesus is serious about it as well. We think He wants to give you this gift; the gift of Christmas reborn in your life!
November 7, 2021 Worship Fully
“Come and worship. Come and worship. Worship Christ the new-born king.” (From the well-known Christmas carol “Joy to the World.”) To have the Christmas and its gifts that we all seek – love, peace, joy, hope, and rest – one needs to worship Jesus, the One born on Christmas. What does it mean to worship something? Well, what is the most important thing in your life at any given moment? That is what you are worshipping. We were created to be happy and whole and complete only when we are worshipping this God revealed in Jesus. This Christmas, Jesus would give us the gift of showing us what this means anew – and what it can look like in our lives.
November 14, 2021 Spend Less
Christmas is about God entering our world and our lives personally. It is the gift of His personal presence with us together with all that this means! This is called the “Incarnation” which simply means that God became man and entered our world as one of us so that we might be His. This is the story of Christmas! But the question remains, how do we enter into this story and live it out in our lives? How do we embrace and know the joy of living out Christmas in our lives?
November 21, 2021 A Time of Thanksgiving
Sometimes there is something so important that it calls for one to just stop everything else and do it. This National time of Thanksgiving is one of those times. Please join us either personally or online for this, “Time of Thanksgiving” as we turn our hearts to our gracious God through whom every good and perfect gift is given to us! O give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever!
November 28, 2021 Give More
“For God so loved the world that He gave…” Giving is the heart of Christmas. On Christmas, God emphasizes that He gives us Himself as the name of Jesus spoken by the angel is, “Immanuel – God with us!” What does it look like to live this out in our lives? What does it look like to “do” the REAL Christmas?
December 5, 2021 Love All
Ok. This is the story of Christmas. “For God so loved the world that He sent Jesus at Christmas…” How do we enter into this truth of God’s love for all revealed at Christmas? How do we live out Christmas for our great joy and for the good of many? It’s what we talk about today.
This 7-week study focuses on how to live more like Jesus so that our lives become a better testimony to the world. Jesus had a lot to say about how we, as His followers, are called to live out our faith. The RLC takes Jesus Christ’s words - printed in red letters in some bibles - as the basis of practical daily challenges. We’ll learn how to deepen our relationship with Jesus, as well as how to be sure of God’s forgiveness and give grace to others. As we grow together, our hearts for serving will grow and we will live more generously. Last but not least, we will gain confidence to speak about what Jesus has done in our lives.
“Before we do what Christ asks us to do, we need to be with Him. Our doing flows out of who we are and who we become when we spend time with Christ.”
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
“One of the biggest problems we have in this world is that we listen to the lies and accusations of the enemy far more than we listen to the truth of the Gospel that says Jesus came to save us and justify us.”
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1 John 2:1
“You have been made by God to serve and to live for something bigger than yourself.”
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.16In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
“You cannot truly go all in for God if you cannot trust God with your money.”
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10
“You cannot be with Jesus and stay put. That’s not the life He wants you to have. Your being will result in going.”
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21
We know it. We weren’t made to go it alone. It is not healthy…emotionally, psychologically, physically, or spiritually. We wither away. We don’t grow. We are not what we could be – or should be – if we live our lives alone. Yet, studies show that half of us do not have one person they can really “talk to.” How about you? Where do you find yourself living an “alone” life?...a disconnected life?...a life apart from community?...And how’s that working for you?
Jesus was born into a family. The first miracle He did was at a wedding. When He began His public ministry, He called 12 disciples to do life together with Him. He was not a loner. He doesn’t call us to be alone. He calls us to be in His Family. Even the Greek word translated “Church” reflects this; it is a “gathering of people.”
“Blessed is the one who hears my words and puts them into practice.” Jesus said these words over and over again. Blessed. Happy. Whole. Complete. Which one of us does not long for this? In the month of September, we will begin a focus -the RED LETTER CHALLENGE – that is meant to grow us in “hearing the words of Jesus and putting them into practice.” And as we do it, we have Jesus’ promise that we will be blessed.
But here’s the crux of the matter; if we try to do it alone, we will never be what we could be. We are not made to go it alone. We were created for Community and Community happens most powerfully in small groups. Jesus calls us into the blessing of Community, and it is in Community that He works most powerfully to grow us in the blessing of hearing His words and putting them into practice.
This is why we will spend the next four weeks focusing on Community. May God, the Holy Spirit, use these weeks to move each of us to do whatever it takes in our lives to come together in small-group Community as we look forward to “hearing His words and putting them into practice.”
For you will be blessed!
Someone once said, “if you don’t commit to getting where you want to go, you will never get there.” Today, we will focus on the examples of Jesus and the first Christians. They knew where they wanted to go when it came to Community. They made it priority number one. They committed to it and so they got there. But finally, this isn’t about them. It is about each of us. Will I commit to the blessing of small group community as priority number one?...at least as a beginning for 8 weeks in September and October? How about you?
Readings: Acts 2:42-47, Mark 1:14-20
Attend. It is a word that is used when a student goes through Clinical Pastoral Education. It means to fully focus and be present with the one you are talking to, trying to help. You listen first. You notice the facial expression and the body language. You ask questions. You listen…really listen. And you don’t condemn or give advice or try to fix them. You support them. You encourage them. You speak back what you have heard, showing that you have listened and have empathized with them. You are fully there. And when you pray, you pray back what you have heard, asking God into the situation. In a small group Community, it is very similar. It is what we focus on today.
Readings: Colossians 3: (12-14) 15-17, Mark 3:13-15
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus spoke these words. In the Bible, love always seems to be an action word. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and Only Son…” Small group community is the place where we are meant to begin to give and receive love. It is what we talk about today.
Readings: I Peter 4:7-11, Mark 6:30-44
We all know it’s true. As the ancient Greeks said, “repetition is the mother of learning.” In order to grow in something, it must be repeated again and again and again. And all one has to do is to ask the piano student how ugly it can get until something beautiful comes.
Small group community is a gift from God. Today, we talk about our commitment being one of a lifestyle repeated over and over again, to our great benefit and the good of the world.
Readings Hebrews 10:24-25, Matthew 11:28-30
Music is powerful. It gives words and rhythm to our joy and pain. His Spirit speaks into our hearts in a unique and moving way. This summer we are diving into the music that touches our hearts, stirs our spirits and inspires us to do and believe great things. Join us this summer as we talk about our favorite songs and find Jesus waiting for us in the words.
June 6 -
“You Say” -Lauren Daigle
June 13 -
“God So Loved” -We The Kingdom
June 20 -
“Praise to the Lord (Joyful, Joyful)” -Shane and Shane
June 27 -
“Is He Worthy” -Chris Tomlin
July 4 -
“Let Freedom Ring” -Dennis Jernigan
July 11 -
“For the Sake of the World” -Bethel
July 18 -
“Throne Room Song” -People and Songs
July 25 -
“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Amazing Grace)” -Shane and Shane
Aug 1 -
“All My Fountains” -Chris Tomlin
Do you have some things in your life that you would love to be able to see with a “fresh set of eyes?” Easter is meant to give us such eyes in the key places of our lives. It’s what we explore in the next few weeks.
April 11, 2021 In The Desert
Does life at times seem “dry” to you? Do you feel like you’re just going through the motions? Have you lost that sense of purpose and meaning? Are you at times running on empty wondering if there is anything worth living for? There is. It’s what we talk about today.
April 18, 2021 In the Crises of Faith
Do you ever doubt the things you thought you’d never doubt? Do you ever come to that moment when what you thought was absolute settled solid ground turns into quicksand? In these times, Where is God for us…for me?... Even when I doubt everything that I thought I believed? Is He close to me…even then? And if so, what does He think of me and what is He doing? In my crises of faith where is God and what is He about? It’s what we talk about today.
April 25, 2021 In the Try-Hard Life
Are you like me? It seems like I am always trying to find the right rhythm in my life…but I always feel a little off. I just can’t seem to find it. But it’s there. We just need to see it. It’s what we talk about today.
May 2, 2021 In the Loneliness
Where do you feel alone? And what has brought you to that place?
Anger? Frustration? Disappointment? Defeat? Fear? Or perhaps just not being able to “put it all together?” What would it mean if you were not alone? If someone was with you who knew you perfectly, listened to your heart, and knew how to help? Because there is. It is what we talk about today.
May 9, 2021 In Death (And Life )
Ok. I know we don’t like to talk about it, but not one of us is getting out of here alive. Death is reality. So, what’s your take on it? And how does it affect how you LIVE? And what would it mean if you could have your questions answered? Because you can. It’s what we talk about today.
Even in the midst of the brokenness and struggles – the hard places - of our lives, every human being knows deep down that God is there.
But what does this mean for us? How does God intersect the “hard places of our lives” with His love? For a thousand years or more Christians have set aside the days of Lent (the 40 days before Easter not counting the Sundays) to remember just this – to be comforted, rejuvenated, and reoriented in living in His love. Deep down we all know He is there. We all know that somehow His love intersects our brokenness. In the next few weeks we will explore anew just what this means for us.
Sunday, February 21st Kingdom.
The children of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus spent 40 days there. John the Baptist rotted in prison until the time he was beheaded. Paul wrote much of the New Testament from prison. Where are you in a desert? Where are you in the dungeon of a prison? Right in these places is where the love of God intersects with our lives. It is what we focus on today.
Sunday, February 28th Peace.
Have you ever noticed? Peace – real peace – transcends the circumstances; it doesn’t come from them. I have seen it again and again. The woman who lost both legs and an arm to diabetes and lived in a very dirty and smelly nursing home – yet dwelled in an aura of peace. The man who….and I could go on and on. This is what we focus on today. Peace that transcends/intersects every hard place in our lives.
Sunday, March 7th Questions.
Questions. We all have them, especially in the broken places – the hard places – of our lives. A famous Christian who lived about 500 years ago (His name was Martin Luther) wrote about the “deus abscondicus” - the hidden will of God, the questions. He cautioned trying to look into it because, after all, it was hidden and was meant to be hidden. Instead he said to look where the love of God intersected into the questions. It is what we look at today.
Sunday, March 14th Light.
There is a rule of thumb when dealing with addiction. That which is left in the darkness continues to have power over you. But that which is brought out into the light can begin to be dealt with and overcome. Jesus is the light of the world. His light would intersect with every darkness that holds sway in our lives. It is what we focus on today.
Sunday, March 21st Greatness.
No child fantasizes about being on the losing team in the Super Bowl. We all want to “win!” To “amount to something.” To “make our lives count.” To “live for something greater than ourselves.” To “be great.”
It is as if someone made us this way – and He did! But have you ever noticed?...as we get older we tend to lose hope for greatness, especially in the hard places? Today the love of God intersects with our hearts desire to be great, even if we have given up hope.
Sunday, March 28th Presence. Palm Sunday
I worked in a grocery store in Newport Beach, CA during college. One day John Wayne comes sauntering in bigger than life. He was quite a presence as He gestured to all of our rafts and boomed, “I’ll take them all, my grandkids are here!” Another time, hot and sweaty with three young children and being the very next ones in line, we were held up at LAX while they ushered ahead of us Magic Johnson, bigger than life. What was even better was that after we boarded the plane, He came back to us – he stepped into our world from first class - and apologized to me and my family. What a class act. Today Jesus saunters into our world, intersecting with us especially in the hard places. Amazing.
Sometimes we forget. We talk so much about Jesus and the cross and think so much about what it means. We see literally thousands of pictures and paintings from animated films to Renaissance works to the historically realistic setting of the Jesus of Nazareth film. But in spite of this – and maybe because of it – we forget that Jesus was a real man who lived in the real world and who had real people – people just like us- around Him, reacting and responding to Him. We forget that He is the real flesh and blood Savior who stepped into the lives of flesh and blood people…and who would step into our flesh and blood lives as our real Savior as well. This is our focus on these Wednesdays in Lent.
Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021 “The Absent”
They should have been there, all twelve of them. But one had betrayed Him, one had denied Him, and the rest had run out on Him. Only one had returned. The others were “The Absent” or “The Missing.” Tonight is about them….and Jesus as their Savior… and about Jesus as the Savior of all “The Absent,” even when we are among them.
February 24, 2021 “The Haters”
It must have been a terrible scene. The haters “hurled insults at him” and made fun of him in the midst of His suffering as He bled from His wounds and struggled for each breath; as He was dying. Tonight is about them…and Jesus as their Savior … and about Jesus as the Savior of all the haters, even when we are among them.
March 3, 2021 “The Hopeful”
Have you ever been “on the outside looking in,” knowing that there was no way you could “get in?” When Jesus died, amidst all the haters there was one who against all hope desperately wanted into His kingdom. Tonight is about him and the open arms of Jesus. But it is also about us…and all those who are on the “outside looking in,” yet dare to hope for more.
March 10, 2021 “The Faithful”
All four Gospels – the eyewitness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – there are short lists of the followers of Jesus who were there at the cross. These were the faithful. One who is mentioned by name in every list of the women who were there both at the cross and the tomb is Mary Magdalene. Why? What made her faithful? How did she know this flesh and blood Savior? What are we to see here? And how does this empower us to know Him in such a way to be faithful as well?
March 17, 2021 “The Family”
There is an old popular song entitled, “We are Family.” And we are. Jesus calls us His Brothers and Sisters – and declares God the Father to be our Father. So what does it mean? On the cross, we see how He treats family. It’s our focus tonight.
March 24, 2021 “The Outsider”
I grew up next door to a Roman Catholic family. They had a son, Tom, who was a year younger than I was and we were close friends. When he graduated from the 8th grade he threw a party and asked me to come. So I did. All the rest of the guests were from the Roman Catholic Grade school he had attended. Nobody would dance with me the entire night….and then came the last song and one girl walked over and asked me if I wanted to dance. It felt good not to be an outsider anymore. Tonight is about the outsiders – including us – and Jesus making us “insiders.”
Together. How’s that working for you? One of the great paradoxes of the past 8 months is the great need for connection – for relationship – and yet the great challenge to be healthy in them. Healthy. In the “together.” This is what we explore through the wisdom of God in our next series. We begin January 17th .
January 24, 2021 Be Present
Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? If we want to “be together” and “do together” well, we have to be present – really present – for one another. When we don’t feel like it. When we are tired. When life’s a mess. When life’s going great. Bottom line. We need to show up. Be present. How are you tempted not to be present? And where are you not sure how to “be present?” Today we focus on God’s wisdom and power as we look to “be present.”
January 31, 2021 Be Grace-filled
Grace is God’s undeserved love. It is by grace that we know and receive by faith our “togetherness” with God through the forgiveness of sins. Today, we focus on what it means to be grace-filled; to live grace filled in our relationships as we do life “together.” Imagine, we really can give others what Jesus has given us. Grace.
February 7, 2021 Be Open
Theatre teachers – and Psychology Professors – talk about having an open or closed “posture.” That is, the body language communicates before a word is spoken whether that person is open or closed to connect with another. What is your “posture” when it comes to being “together.” Is it “open?” That is, authentic, genuine, real, transparent…or something else. Today, in our longing to be “together,” we focus on being open toward God as well as one another. The place we end up may surprise you.
February 14, 2021 Be a Blessing
The other day a friend of mine who used to be my neighbor, a professional painter, dropped by to answer some questions I had about a job I want to do myself. He was great and very helpful. As we talked, he shared how he was struggling over how hateful people are to each other – especially when they don’t agree on something. He even gave me a colorful bumper sticker he had designed and had printed up and was giving away. It said simply, “B-Kind.” In our doing life “together” God would simply say, “Be a blessing.” And then He would come alongside us and show us how. This is our focus today. While it may be the last Sunday in our series, it just may be the most important!
