New or Newish?
January 8 – February 19, 2023
The Law Can't Deliver
February 19, 2023 • Jon Morales • Romans 7:7–25
War is an awful thing, but never more so than when it is a civil war. The internal forces that should work in harmony to bring about good instead turn on each other. The result is not life but death. Civil conflict can tear apart nations, companies, and even churches. But the war the apostle Paul addresses is a personal struggle – we are the battleground! Before entering into the beauty and hope of Romans 8 next week, we must first traverse this last thorny section of Romans 7 as we reach the end of our series, “New or New-ish?”
A Fruitful Marriage
February 12, 2023 • Jon Morales • Romans 7:1–6
Is there a tool or appliance in your home that doesn’t really perform? Maybe it takes your vacuum six passes to pick up a piece of popcorn. Yet, instead of replacing it with a new model, you hang on to it because it still kinda-sorta works. How can you be released from such a dysfunctional machine? It would probably have to die completely. This week in our New or New-ish? series, we continue exploring our union with Christ and what must die to give us the freedom to move into a life-giving relationship with Jesus.
The Freest Slave
February 5, 2023 • Charlie Koopman • Romans 6:15–23
“Hey buddy…wanna buy a watch?” Have you ever been on the receiving end of a bait and switch? You’re enticed to purchase an apparent bargain (say, a Rolex from a street vendor) but receive a vastly inferior product (it tarnishes quickly and doesn’t keep time). Sin is constantly making us such offers regarding our freedom. It promises greater liberties, but we end up more entangled. This week in our series, New or New-ish, the Apostle Paul encourages us to make an exchange that will bring true and lasting freedom.
A New Master
January 29, 2023 • Jon Morales • Romans 6:8–14
The Christian life has never been for the faint of heart – not in the first century and still not in the twenty-first century. Doubt, sadness, and temptation are as present as ever, waging war internally, harassing our souls, and seeking to snuff out our faith. So how do we escape the constant assault of sin on our hearts and minds? Romans chapter six has an answer for us this week.
The New Life of Grace
January 22, 2023 • Jon Morales • Romans 6:1–7
In 1911, Julia H. Johnston penned the lyrics to the hymn, Grace Greater Than Our Sin. The chorus is quite simple: Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin. That last line causes so many Christians to wobble in their faith. The operative word is “all.” Do you believe that God’s grace exceeds ALL your sin? To see us move from merely newish to genuinely made new, Pastor Jon challenges us this weekend to match up two critical facets of the Christian life.
May Grace Reign
January 15, 2023 • Jon Morales • Romans 5:12–21
Let's say you're in Hollywood, California doing street interviews, and you ask a few passers-by this question: Who are the two most important people ever to live? What do you think they'd say? A few would mention U.S. presidents. Steve Jobs or Bill Gates might also get a shout-out, as would founders and leaders of the world's religions. It's a tricky question. Or is it? In week 2 of our Romans series, Pastor Jon explains how the Bible's answer to this question has enormous implications for whether our lives in Christ become new or just newish.
Only Sinners Welcome
January 8, 2023 • Jon Morales • Romans 5:1–11
Are you made new? Or are you just new-ish? That’s the central question of Pastor Jon’s series that begins this weekend in the book of Romans. Even though Jesus came to make all things new – including you and me – our transformation from old to new can be slow and shallow. But how we view ourselves is the catalyst to real change. Coming to grips with the depth of our sin allows the gospel to transform our lives profoundly.