Sermon Reflections from Forgiveness | Karyn Sorenson | May 26, 2024  

What a pleasure it was to hear from Karyn Sorenson this Sunday.  As her sending church, we take ‘pride’ in claiming her as one of our own and marvel at the way God had mightily used her counseling and teaching ministry gifts.  We stand alongside her in prayer for the suffering people of Micronesia that are held in bondage spiritually and culturally by sin.  She has been witness to many of these chains of bondage being lifted and cleansing redemption take hold of lives in the name of Jesus.  She spoke to us from her heart this Sunday as she pointed us to forgiveness and the mighty character of God.

In Matthew 18:21, Peter asks Jesus about forgiveness. “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”   Jesus answers this question with a parable which is the text of Karyn’s sermon.  Matthew 18:23-35 recounts the story of a King, who is the picture of God in this parable, and his servant who owed him a ‘ton’ of money.  When settling up his accounts the King finds out the servant owes him way more money than he could ever possibly repay.  He tells the servant he is accountable for this and that his wife, children and he himself will be sold so the King can at least recoup some of his losses.   The servant begs, ‘Please be patient with me’.  The King took pity on him and forgave his debt and let him go.    Directly after being released the servant found another of his fellow servants who owed him a bit of money. The forgiven servant grabbed him and began to choke him.  The fellow servant begged, ‘Please be patient with me.’   The forgiven servant did not listen, was not moved or wasn’t even reminded of his recent close call with the same situation and had his fellow servant thrown into debtor’s prison where there was no possibility that he would ever get any monies from him- nothing but punishment without hope.  Other servants saw how the first servant was forgiven and how he was unmerciful towards his fellow servant for the same exact problem.  They were outraged and went and told the master, the king. The master, king, took immediate action and called the forgiven servant before him.  He called him wicked for being forgiven and yet refusing to show forgiveness to his fellow servant.  At that point he was handed over to jailers and was to be tortured until he should repay the debt he owed.  Since there was no way to ever repay that debt, his was he was left without hope.  Jesus concluded this parable saying in verse 35, ““This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

What do we learn about the King, God, from this parable?   Karyn named several attributes of God that are clearly portrayed in Jesus’ parable.  God is compassionate.  The servant did not deserve his forgiveness and there was no possible way he could pay off his debts.  The king forgave him all of it. God did this for us through Jesus’ work on the cross.  Colossians 2:12-14 “ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”   God is calling us to be compassionate too.  Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The parable also revealed that God has forgiving love.  The king forgave the servant all his enormous debt.  It was all wiped clean away.  That is what God does for us when we accept Jesus into our hearts and trust in him. What the servant deserved was death in prison.  Likewise Romans 6:23 tells us how God responded to our debt of sin. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  God’s word tells us why God did this in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   God’s love motivated him to seek us out and offer us forgiveness, John 3:16-17 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” 

Lastly, Karyn reminded us that God holds us accountable too.  Just like the king in the parable, God desires that we ‘pay it forward’ and treat others with the mercy and forgiveness that was shown to us through Jesus’ work on the cross.  The heart of our forgiveness needs to rest upon how we were forgiven completely when we did not deserve it at all.  James 2:12-13 puts it this way, “ Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”  God expects us to live lives filled with mercy because we have received such mercy from God our father.  God will hold us accountable for the way we treat others.  He expects us to be forgiving, loving, compassionate and merciful even when it is undeserved.

This is an unattainable attitude for our human nature so it is only through Christ within us that we can walk this pathway.  Matthew 19:26 ““With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Thank you Jesus!

Linda
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​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass

Sermon Reflections from Jesus is Alive| John Klobuchar  | April 21, 2024
 
It was a pleasure to have John with us this Sunday giving the message and telling us more about the Bay Area Chaplin’s ministry.  John oversees this ministry and works directly with inmates on a daily basis.  His goal is “To Make Christ Known.”  Working with the segment of society that is incarcerated is a calling and requires understanding, insight and wisdom as he seeks to make Christ relevant and meaningful to those in hard circumstances.  Regardless of where we are in life, Christ is the answer.  Showing the inmates the pathway to life and true freedom holds a spiritual challenge for the one who is delivering the message.  Knowing that God is impartial and His Holy Spirit can cut across any boundary or barrier is essential. John knows this and walks this pathway each day.

John encouraged us from the book of Colossians as he read 3:1-17. As John does with the inmates, he sought to show us that the things we have in Christ are already there, accomplished, finished.  We have these things by faith and are now hidden within Christ ourselves.  We are secure in Christ.  Knowing this we are instructed by Paul to put aside our old self, our old nature and put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  We are to leave that old life and those sins that came so easily to us and take up a new course with Christ.  Even though we may not be in jail for crimes, we too have committed crimes against God.  We are all sinners as we are reminded in Romans 3:23 “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”  Thankfully, in Christ we are all new creations 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”   All of us, regardless of who we are or where we live or what we’ve done need Jesus.  He is the answer, John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”  Jesus is the answer. 

Whether John is at the prison, at home with family or with us, he is striving to make Christ known as he knows that Jesus is the answer!  2 Corinthians 1:20 “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
Linda

MESSAGE LINK
Click Here to View the Message on Youtube
Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass

 Sermon Reflections from Embracing Grace | Alex Hardt | February 25,2024  
 
Pastor Alex addressed the last rhythm for staying close to God which is service.  When you draw close to God with prayer, study and reading the Word, try to cultivate Love for others sincerely, seek to witness to the transforming power of Christ, it leads you to service. 

What do you do with your faith?  Now that you know God, desire to commune with Him, are practicing His love when with others and telling others about Jesus, you may ask what more do I need to do?  All of these things leads you to love God more deeply, have a genuine love for others and desire to see them with you in the kingdom of God.  But, not everyone is ready and willing to listen.  Service is a way of showing others the love of God in a tangible way- no words required – just smiles and an open hand.  Reaching out to others in love with food, a kind email, cookies, a welcoming smile and words of greeting are ways of showing God’s love.  Nothing is expected in return.  You aren’t doing the kind deed to ‘get’ something, only to give.   This something very foreign to the world’s system of getting, doing and working for gain. 

How does this happen?  Paul tells us in Colossians 2:6-7 “ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”  Our actions are a direct result of Christ being in our lives, indwelling and motivating us to love the world as He did. Pastor Alex had many scriptures of Jesus’ actions as He modeled this while here on Earth.   Being rooted in Christ leads us to reflect God’s goodness to the world.

Are you overflowing with grace and love because of your faith in Christ?  Are you rooted and grounded in our faith?  This is not something you get quickly but it grows over time as you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life.  The sanctification process of becoming more and more like Jesus begins at the moment of belief in Jesus and continues growing throughout your life.  It is truly a life changing process made possible only in Christ. Christ alone is the reason for our change.  Without Christ, good deeds are just good deeds and have no eternal value.  Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can be rooted and grounded in Christ producing a life that is abundant and filled to overflowing with thanksgiving, hope and love.   A life motivated by Jesus is one that loves to serve others and express His love for them.  Deeds are done out of love and gratitude.  It is the process of giving out the love of God.

As you made the bags with goodies to give to someone in need, you were motivated by the desire to help someone else and show them a bit of God’s love.  Lianna got the blessing of leading and helping others to do something nice, possibly creating an opportunity for someone to talk of Jesus and His love, and showed others a tangible way they could act.  Lianna also got the joy of giving and being able to participate in God’s kingdom. You get the blessing of participating, giving out and possibly talking to someone about Jesus.  You also get joy in giving out and participating in God’s kingdom.  A win-win with blessings and joy for all in service to our King.  Thanks Lianna for this great lesson in tangible love.
Linda

MESSAGE LINK
Click Here to View the Message on Youtube
Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.