Sermon Reflections from A New Way to Live | Damon Hopkins | January 29, 2023
 
We had the pleasure of hearing from Damon Hopkins again this Sunday. He graciously spoke for Pastor Alex as he was beyond jetlagged after his week spent time at Mid-Winter Covenant Conference in Florida. This was the last of the current series A New You.  The scripture from Matthew 25 points us to the importance of caring for those around us with a new gracious attitude. The memory verse for this week is Matthew 25:40. “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

In his message, Damon challenged us to use our gifts to glorify God and to serve others selflessly. He pointed us to several areas in which we can look to serve God by showing His love to those around us. Opening our lives and our hearts to Him will bring guidance and direction from God.  God has opportunities awaiting us each day if we will listen and look around us. God does his best work when we are outside our comfort zones.

First, Damon pointed us to look for those who are weak or sick.  God calls us to love others, help the helpless, love the less fortunate, and care for those who are sick.  When was the last time you picked up a card, made a call, or brought a meal to a sick friend?  Sometimes we have to disrupt our routine or get a bit uncomfortable in order to care for someone else’s needs. Perhaps there are other ways that you can tangibly express God’s love for those around us. 
How about praying for someone who is sick or feeling emotionally challenged?  The world around us is hard and being uplifted in prayer is a specific way God has for us to support one another.

James 5:16 puts it this way, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” 

Prayer helps us too as we seek God, talk with Him about our concerns, get right with Him ourselves and tap into God’s power to heal and save.  We are promised in Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  God’s Word will never come back empty and will accomplish His will in our lives. Pray and keep on praying and seek to diligently lift others to Him.  Prayer is a gift He gave to all of us. Do not be afraid to use it daily!

Damon also spoke of visiting the sick and those in prison. The blessing of one’s presence might be how one experiences the presence of God.  And though we might not all be capable of such a feat; All can pray, call, write, or express compassion through other mediums. Prisons, for example, have a specific set of rules and restrictions for entry.  As a congregation, we support Bay Area Chaplains, which minister to those in prisons within Contra Costa County.  Their mission goal is to make Christ known.  Join us in prayer as they reach a population that is inaccessible to the majority of us. 

The last area Damon mentioned is speaking to strangers about the Lord. It’s about planting seeds for the kingdom and taking advantage of those opportunities where we can speak of our Savior.  Those moments where we can express how God is affecting our lives. Damon reminded us that we are called to do great things for God. God calls us to reflect his love for those who are broken, weak, lost, sick, lonely, and in prison. 

Perhaps this is challenging and out of our comfort zone.  But following God is not about our preference, it’s about our posture.  We are submitting our desires, our plans, and our comfort before God so that he may be edified and glorified.  He asked us to go and do this for those in need, showing our love for them in His name.  

John 13:34-35 puts it plainly, 4 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” 

Jesus asks us to do this for Him.  And what we will discover is in doing these things for others reveals our love for Him and those around us. God calls us to love regardless of whether or not the person will love us back. God does his best work when we are outside our comfort zones.

Who will you seek out this week? Will it be someone sick, weakened emotionally or physically, or someone you do not yet know?  Be there for the world around you as Jesus asked. We are to do these things as if we were doing it for Jesus.  Do it and you will be blessed!
​
By Alex Hardt

SERMON LINK
A New You | A New Way To Live
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Sermon series, "A New Community " Today Damon Hopkins share how to live a New Way To Live. 

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.   

Sermon Reflection from January 22, 2023 | A New You
 
One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  Baptism like Communion is an outward expression of an inward change. The first step towards that New You is repentance.  We need to confess our sins and recognize our need for a Savior.  That repentance leads to an open heart that is ready to receive Jesus and believe in His death, resurrection and power to save!  He came to redeem us, by us back from the powers of sin in our lives.  I love the connection between belief and trust and the power God gives to live for Him.  Following Jesus leads to a desire to tell others and make a public profession of faith through baptism. 

Does baptism save us?  NO! But the profession and confession as part of what is described by Paul in Romans 10:9-10 “ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”  

Saying something out loud and not just in your head requires a belief and commitment.  Making our belief known by our mouths is very important.  When one is baptized the pastor always asks, do you believe in Jesus and do you want to follow Him?  This is the public declaration with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and comes from your heart.

What happens after you profess that Jesus is Lord?  The transformation begins in earnest as the Holy Spirit works His miracle of rebirth and sanctification within you.  It is not done in a day or two but starts when you profess Jesus as Lord and will continue within you until you are with Him.  What happens to you during this sanctification process?  The Holy Spirit seeks to mold and shape you into the one Christ sees you to be in Him.  As you yield more and more to His Holy Spirit you will see character change as described in Galatians 5:18-23. 

It is a putting off of the world and its values and putting on the things of the Spirit and God’s Kingdom.  “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”   Paul tells us we will recognize the world and its actions and because of our love for Jesus we will seek to be fruitful in our lives for Him.  It will result in a change of character!  As Stephanie mentioned it will result in a new heart, Ezekiel 36:26-27 “ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”  With the new heart will come a desire to look into His Word and follow God’s ways.

Lastly, we see that belief and trust lead to confession and transformation.  All these are worthless without commitment to Jesus.  Our lives, our faith need to be more than lip service to God.  He knows our hearts and knows when our faith and repentance is sincere.  Sincere faith leads to obedience.  True obedience to God rises from a heart that loves and trust him and responds to His wonderful grace.  How are you doing with true obedience?  Is your heart right with God?  What do you need to put off in this New Year that is leading you away from God?  What do you need to put on that will lead you to a closer walk with Him? 

• Maybe you need to follow Him in Baptism and make that public declaration of faith. 
• Maybe you need to commit to join a local body of believer and put your roots down so you can fellowship regularly with the body of Christ. 
• Maybe you need to open the Word and make a commitment to read daily to see what God has for you so you can grow in Him. 
• Maybe you need to pray for others in a new a dynamic way so that you are open to God’s leading to share His love with others. 

Look again at 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  God promises a New You; you are His New Creation!  Step out in faith and claim the New You in the New Year!  God is faithful and will not disappoint those who follow Him.  Isaiah 49: 23b “Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
Linda

SERMON LINK
A New You | A New Yout
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Sermon series, "A New Community " Today Stephanie Soltero share how Baptism creates a New You

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.   
 

Sermon Reflection from January 15, 2023 | A New Community
 
Pastor Alex has been seeking to awaken in us a sense of newness in this New Year.  He started with our need to look into God’s ageless scriptures for direction and purpose.  Did you ask God for a word from His Word for your year? Our challenge verse for the 1st Sunday of the year was from Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”  Cling to God’s Word and the truths revealed there and claim His promises that He so freely gives. God is eternal and so is His Word.

Hopefully, you have begun to focus on prayer as Pastor Alex directed us towards on the 2nd Sunday of the New Year.  Prayer for your own needs and for the needs of those around you, for direction, purpose and for the salvation of those you know that are without the Savior. Prayer is a weapon God has given us along with His Word to combat the forces of evil in our world and to communicate with Him so we can seek His guidance in our lives.  Our memory verse for this week was Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  What a precious promise to know that anyone who repents and turns to God can and will be saved.  For your loved ones that are not walking with God or do not even know Him, keep on praying as there is always hope for their salvation as long as they draw breath. 

Pray, pray, pray!

This Sunday Pastor Alex focused on the newness of heart that we need and find in community. Our community of believers is to hold us up in prayer and together in hope in times of distress, hardship, worry, as well as times of joy and rejoicing.  The encouragement of believers to believers is powerful.  Just as we have a relationship with Jesus through His death and resurrection we have a relationship held together by our mutual love for Jesus.  The love He showed us, we are to show to others.   Pastor Alex reminded us through the act of taking communion that we are reminded continually of Jesus’ love and sacrifice for us.  We are reminded that He wants us to be in community supporting and loving one anther just as He loved and continually loves us. 

Our verse for this week is 1 Corinthians 11:26 “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 

The fact and the act of communion serves to remind us of His great sacrifice and keep us moving forward in community.  Jesus said these words when he was breaking bread, communing with his beloved disciples.  I like to imagine the Lord’s Table extending from that time into this and that we are all gathered there with the disciples as we are all joined together by Jesus.  Where are you exercising community in your life?  Do you associate with your fellow believers just on Sunday or do you see them in a small group, a bible study, or in a time of service?  Does your community invade and pervade your life?  Do you consider your brother and sisters in Christ family?  Jesus is saying that as we proclaim His death and join together with Him we are with Him, we are community, we are His family.  Where can you infuse more of Christ’s community into your life this week?  Let the new YOU who is now in the Word of God, praying daily and seeking community with others, reach out and seek to bring someone else into the family this week!  Touch a life with the love of Jesus.  God has you where you are for a reason.  Look for those God opportunities this week.

Linda

SERMON LINK
A New You | A New Community
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Sermon series, "A New Community " Today Alex Hardt share how Communion is a Covenant For God's People

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.   

Sermon Reflection from January 8, 2023 | A New Prayer
 
       As we begin a New Year, Pastor Alex is challenging us to look at the ‘old’ ways were have been doing things and seek a New way which through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit will produce a New You!  Last week, he looked at God’s Word and challenged us to dig in, dive in and immerse ourselves so that our Newer You would be pointed to God through His Word.  This week he is challenging us to talk to God and establish a firm and lasting connection to carry us through this New Year of 2023.
     
To start this New journey we need to have a conversation with God.  That sounds easy enough but in reality it can be difficult.  Finding and taking the time to stop the distractions that surround us and focus on communicating with God and be a challenge.  There are some tools that might be helpful in this:  your Bible is a great resource of how to talk with God, what to ask of Him and why you need to talk things over with Him.  For example in Psalm 23 the psalmist, David, point us to God’s ability to provide, calm, guide, eliminate fear, protect from evil, provide tools for me to use, has prepared a place for me to be and will always have my best in mind.  As you read the psalm you can pray for these things to be manifested in your life or the life of someone you are seeking to uplift.
 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Another idea of how to start this conversation with God is to use the ACTS method.  A- adoration.  Start your prayer time with praise and adoration for who God is.  A way to do this is to use the alphabet and pray an attribute of God with each letter, thanking him for his character that sustains you. C-confession.  Over and over in scripture we are told to repent, which is being sorry for our sins.  Tell God your failings and ask Him to help you over come through His Holy Spirit which dwells within you as a believer.  T- thanks.  Before we ask God for more, we need to be aware and thankful for all He has done for us.  It puts things into perspective as nothing else can.  Lastly, S- supplication which is talking to God about your needs and the needs of others.  Hopefully, you will find scripture, the alphabet or ACTS helpful in starting that conversation with Almighty God.

     How does one create a connection with God?  Through prayer certainly but also reading His Word and fellowshipping with other believers helps us to see the importance of family, hope, relationships and strength that comes from linking ourselves together by faith.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we join God’s family.  He is our Father and we belong to Him and with Him.  That is a connection that cannot be severed.  I love John 10:28 “ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”   Through faith in Jesus, I belong to and with God for eternity, and no one or nothing can remove Him from me or me from Him! Praise God!

     Why wouldn’t you want to have the Newer version of yourself?  You can talk with God anytime or anyplace.  You can be assured of your place in His family and will always have brothers and sisters in Christ to share in your hopes, joys and sorrows.   You have a permanent relationship with God that no one can take away from you, ever!  You belong to God and He desires a relationship with YOU!
     Take time in this New Year to cultivate this God provided relationship through faith in Jesus and let the benefits spill over into each and every day of 2023!
 
Linda

SERMON LINK
A New You | A New Prayer
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Sermon series, "A New You" Today Alex Hardt share how Prayer Transforms the Heart

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.   

Sermon Reflection from January 1, 2023  | A New Word

Pastor Alex’s sermon to kick off our New Year was filled with challenge, chaos and change.  Why is that?  He was looking into God’s Word that is always ageless, alive and active.  Are you looking for a new beginning this year?  Are you hoping this year will be different than those of the past?  If so, the answer lies within God’s Word. 

God’s Word is timeless and can be applied to our 21st century lives.  Amazing but true that the principles set forth in God’s Word are always true no matter the time period in which one lives.  Not only God’s principles but the examples He provides in the lives of Abraham, Sarah, David, Peter, James, Paul…. show us how to live godly lives through their successes and failures.  God includes His promises in His Word, many of which have been fulfilled especially in the life and death of Jesus, but also those we can claim for our lives today and ones that give us hope for the future.  God’s Word challenges us to live our lives on His terms using His ways.  It is contrary to our old nature but doable through the power of His Holy Spirit which indwells each believer.  Take up the challenge to live by the Word this year seeking to use His truths to guide you each day.

God’s Word is also active and will cut deep into our lives to uplift, prune and aid in discernment which we desperately need to survive the chaos of our times.  Hebrews 4:12b tells us what the Word of God can and will do, “penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”.   The Word of God gets right down to who we are and helps us see the errors of our ways, the errors in our thoughts and motives and it judges or convicts us of things were are doing that are not according to God’s standards.  God’s Word holds us accountable, 4:13b “Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account”.   God knows all things and will hold us accountable for what we say and do.  God’s Word leads us to confession, hope and repentance. 1 John 1:9 reminds us of His way, “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   God’s way turns the chaos of today’s living into hope and direction as we listen to His Word for our lives.

Hebrews 4:12 also speaks of God’s Word being active. “ For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword”,   God’s Word will not be passive and non-interactive in our lives.  The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to convict and transform us into the ones God can and will use to give out His Word to a hurting world. God’s Word leads to change in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.  God’s Word has power and will move you into 2023 in a new way if you listen, seek and allow Him to penetrate your heart and soul with His Word.

Lastly, Pastor Alex challenged us to search God’s Word for a guiding word for the year.  This is something I’ve done for the last 5 years and have found it profoundly helpful in seeing how God is moving in my life in tangible ways. Here are some thoughts from my blog today about choosing a guiding word.  
Just like Pastor Alex, I would challenge you to pray about a Word from His Word as you read and study this week.  Ask God what Word he would give you from His Word for this New Year.  He may give you more than one word to pursue so do that and see where He leads you. The Word you have for your focus has others that are or will be related to it.  Make a list of your main word and then 5-10 related words.  God will guide you to hone and zero in on the Word He has for you.  Now that you have your list, look to scripture for verses that use your word or words and see how God guides in choosing your focus verse for the year.  I generally end up with 1-2 verses.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking and praying: 
Joy- Psalm 16:11, Psalm 63:7, Habakkuk 3:18, or James 1:2
Hope- Psalm 62:5, Psalm 147:11, Jeremiah 29:11, Lamentations 3:21-22, Romans 5:4-5 or 1 Timothy 4:10.
Trust- Psalm 28:7, Psalm 31:14, Proverbs 3:5-6, or Jeremiah 17:7
Grace- John 1:16-17, Romans 3:24, @ Corinthians 12:9 or Ephesians 1:7.
Peace- Isaiah 26:3, Matthew 5:9, John 14:27, or Philippians 4:7

Or you many choose to examine words like: unity, compassion, mercy, steadfastness, stability, generosity, service or enough.  When examining words like these you need your list of 10 related words to aid you in your search for verses.  Remember Pastor Alex said his word for last year was More than.  Your Word may be conventional or unconventional word.   Be open to His leading.

Have fun with this and make it an adventure in listening to God and hearing what He has to say to you about your New Year!  When you are done, go to the free website www.wordart.com and make a graphic of your word and related words.  Here is my graphic from last year to give you an idea.  Enjoy God’s Word in a new way this week. Make your graphic and post it where you can refer to it all year!

By 
Linda

SERMON LINK
A New You | A New Word
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Sermon series, "A New You" Today Alex Hardt share how God's Word is Eternal

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.   

Every year we make New Years Resolutions or Goals in hopes that this year will be the best ever or that we can improve ourselves in some shape or form. Those lofty goals that we make tend to fizzle out after a month or two and we wonder why we always seem to be doing the same thing over and over. We never see any real change.
This year as I was searching for Goals or New Years resolutions, I sought something more than superficial fluff.

• I was desiring something that was timeless, alive, and active
• I wanted something I could grip and hold onto
• Something that would help inspire me to go further than I had gone before without the simple platitudes or instant gratification of today’s world
• I wanted something that would impact all aspects of my life and my family’s life
• Something that was fresh yet familiar at the same time
• It should shape me into a New Me by transforming from the inside out
• It should penetrate the heart, soul, body, and spirit
• Cultivate different thoughts and attitudes not just superficial habits
• I wanted it to transform all of me not just the mask of me

​
If that was my desire, then I had to change what I focused on. And I began to think...What if my goals weren’t based upon what is on the outside but what is different on the inside?
What if my goals didn't just affect the superficial mask of me, but the whole of me?

The only think I knew that could change me in such a way...was the thing I always knew to be true, God. 

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Acts 2:42
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

We are created in the image and likeness of God.  If we really want to discover a New You then we have to reorient ourselves back to God.  Our thoughts, words, and actions would have to reflect our creator.  They would have to mirror the life and teachings of Christ.  We would have to be in responsive obedience to God.  In other words, be in communion WITH God and allow his word and spirit to guide us.  Though we messed up and fractured our relationship WITH God, which allowed sin to enter the world and us to experience brokenness, God in his grace and mercy, sent his son, Jesus Christ, so that our relationship WITH God might rightfully be restored.  

What I discovered is that A New You is only possible through conversations and connections WITH God, which leads to a conversion of the heart.  Are you ready to take a journey to discover A New You?

By Alex Hardt