Fresh Wind
Miracle in Macedonia | Fresh Wind | Pastor Steve Andres
October 29, 2023 • Pastor Steve Andres • Acts 16:12
Have you ever witnessed a miracle? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres concluded our series, FRESH WIND, with a message about the beginning of the Philippian church. Acts 16:12 We reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days. After the Apostle Paul and crew arrive in Philippi, the book of Acts gives us stories of how three different individuals came to faith in Christ. 1) Lydia, the dealer of purple from Thyatira. Lydia is a wealthy and well-established businesswoman who has a deep spiritual commitment as well. Why does Paul share the Gospel with her when she is already successful and good? It’s precisely because she is that she needs to hear the truth of how God came to save all sinners. 2) The enslaved girl who spoke the truth. When Paul cast out the demon from the young girl, those who were exploiting her were enraged. When her God broke through the psychological and spiritual oppression she was experiencing, she no longer fit in the system that used to profit from her. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation, and the doorway to a transformed life. 3) The jailer who was doing his job. When Paul and Silas are beaten and imprisoned, the jailer is simply doing his job, not searching for truth. But then God sends an earthquake to set the prisoners free. The jailer is moved to repentance, but not by the earthquake. He was moved to repentance by the mercy that Paul and Silas showed him. These three radically different stories of people coming to faith in Christ are the beginnings of the church at Philippi. There are miracle stories in Acts 16, but the greatest miracle is the CHURCH!
Finishers | Fresh Wind | Pastor Steve Andres
October 22, 2023 • Pastor Steve Andres • Acts 8:4–7, James 1:2–4, Romans 12:4–6, Hebrews 12:1–2
It’s all about the finish! This weekend Pastor Steve continued our series, FRESH WIND, and New City celebrated our 5th Anniversary! Acts 8:4-7 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. At the beginning of the story in Acts we see the start of Philip’s ministry. 28 years later, Philip appears again. Acts 21:8-9 The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. Philip served the Lord faithfully for those 28 years, even though his assignment changed. What are the keys to being faithful to the finish? 1) Authenticity has endurance. Nothing lasts like the real thing. Philip’s commitment to Jesus was authentic, and it had staying power. 2) Everyone runs their own race. Philip didn’t have to do everything. It was just as important to raise those four daughters to serve the Lord as it was to preach to the city. 3) Forward is a pace. It’s easy to dwell on past successes or disappointments. To finish strong we need to stay focused on what God is calling us to do today. 4) It’s we, not me. Your race impacts others, and that is the legacy that we leave. Philip was intentional about preparing the next generation to serve the Lord. 5) It’s all about the finish. We don’t run our race against anyone else. In the end, it’s finishing that matters! Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.
FREE | Fresh Wind | Pastor Terrence Sutton
October 15, 2023 • Pastor Terrence Sutton • Galatians 5:13, John 5, James 5:16
Are you living in freedom? This weekend Pastor Terrence Sutton from Tahoe Forest Church continued our series, FRESH WIND, with a message about living in the fullness of God’s grace. Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters. Too many people live short of the plan of God for their lives. Though we are offered grace and mercy, we sometimes persist in shame and disgrace. 1) What sin or past experience are you allowing to keep you in bondage? In John 5 Jesus is at the Pool of Bethesda, where he asks a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years if he wants to be well. The man explains to him why he has remained in sickness. 2) What excuses or reasons are you offering yourself and others for your lack of freedom? Why does Jesus ask the man before healing him? Because the choice is ours whether we want to receive God’s transforming grace. 3) Are you willing to ask Jesus to change your life? Are you ready to receive God’s gift? To do so, all we need is to be humble enough to admit it. Something powerful and supernatural happens when we open our hearts to Jesus and to one another! James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
Saved, Called, and Sent | Fresh Wind | Pastor Joaquin Pardo
October 8, 2023 • Pastor Joaquin Pardo • Acts 13:2
Have you been sent? This past weekend Pastor Joaquin continued our series, FRESH WIND, reminding us that God's plan doesn't stop at salvation. We are saved, called, and sent! Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 1) Jesus transforms sinners into soldiers. Despite Paul's past as a persecutor of Christians, the Holy Spirit called him for a specific purpose. 2) Embrace your calling and leave your past behind. Don't let your past, whether filled with mistakes or accomplishments, hinder you from moving forward in your calling. 3) Opposition can lead to transformation. Paul's intense opposition to Jesus and his followers ultimately led to his own transformation. 4) Grace works harder than sin. Paul's life is a testament to the power of God's grace to transform lives. When grace captures you, everything changes, and you become someone that God intends to use. 5) You don't get to be saved and not sent. God’s plan doesn’t stop at salvation. Every believer has an Acts 13 calling -- “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Outsiders | Fresh Wind | Pastor Steve Andres
October 1, 2023 • Pastor Steve Andres • Acts 8:26–27, 1 Peter 2:10
There is no wrong kind of person for the GOOD NEWS! This week Pastor Steve continued our series, FRESH WIND, with a message about God’s love for the outsider. Acts 8:26-27 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians. God sends Philip in a direction to meet the man from Ethiopia. When he finds him, the man’s heart has already been stirred with questions about Jesus. After Philip explains the Good News about Jesus to him, he believes and is baptized! 1) The Good News of Jesus is for all people, everywhere. To think there is a WRONG kind of person is to assume that we are the RIGHT kind of person. Instead, the early church realized that what Jesus had done was swing the doors wide open to all people everywhere. 2) The Good News of Jesus is that outsiders are insiders now. There are no exceptions to God’s exceptional love. Historically, Christianity has called people from the margins of society to the center. 1 Peter 2:10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. That means that Christians don’t think with an US and THEM mentality. Everyone is a candidate for God’s grace. 3) God is already preparing hearts for the Good News of Jesus. God was working in the heart of the Ethiopian official before Philip ever arrived on the scene. Whatever God has called you to at home, at work, or at school, he is already preparing the work!
Faithfulness | Fresh Wind | Pastor Steve Andres
September 24, 2023 • Pastor Steve Andres • Acts 6:5
What is your WHY? This weekend Pastor Steve continued our series, FRESH WIND, with a message about Stephen’s FAITHFULNESS. Acts 6:5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. If you are too big to serve, you are too small to lead. Stephen was a man full of faith who became an example of leadership through service. 1) Faithfulness is (faith)(fullness). When we trust that God is able to meet our every need, we can serve without worrying about who sees or approves. 2) Faithfulness is a YES. One great prayer says, “Lord, the answer is YES before you even ask.” No one has to be perfect to say YES to God, they just have to be willing. 3) Faithfulness has endurance. A wrong motive has no endurance, because our doing only lasts as long as we get what we want in return. Faithfulness can weather disappointments. 4) Faithfulness is a doorway to greater things. Jesus told us the pattern in the kingdom of God is: faithful with little, ruler over much. Be faithful to your assignment and God will take care of the greater things. 5) Faithfulness is what heaven celebrates. In Acts 6, Stephen waits tables and looks after widows, then in Acts 7 he preaches the longest sermon in the New Testament. When he is killed for preaching, Stephen is welcomed to heaven with a standing ovation!
Where Is The Shaking? | Fresh Wind | Pastor Devin Gough
September 17, 2023 • Pastor Devin Gough • Acts 4:31, Acts 4:23–31
Where is the shaking? This weekend Pastor Devin Gough continued our series, FRESH WIND, with a message about unity through prayer. Acts 4:31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly. Peter and John had been brought to court because of the healing that had taken place. But the case against Peter and John was exceedingly difficult to prosecute because the man, lame from birth, was standing in their presence as indisputable evidence of the miracle. Not only that but Peter and John spoke with wisdom and authority, astonishing the council who was judging them. When they were released with a warning, the believers all prayed together. Unity is NOT sameness. Unity has to do with the same purpose. In order for there to be unity, there must be something out there that everybody is tuned to. That something is actually someone: the Holy Spirit. So we ask a few questions about ourselves: 1) Where is the shaking in our gathering? 2) Where are the fillings in our gathering? 3) Where is the boldness to speak and declare God’s word?
Witnesses | Fresh Wind | Pastor Steve Andres
September 10, 2023 • Pastor Steve Andres • Acts 1:8, Acts 1:3, Acts 2:1–4, Acts 2:16–17
Do you believe in miracles? This weekend Pastor Steve began our fall series, FRESH WIND, with a message about the miracle of the Church. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Two thousand years ago, a tiny group of peasants believed God had raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead in order to fulfill of a long list of promises to bring healing to the world. This emerging movement of Jesus followers empowered the poor, elevated women, built diverse communities, remade their culture and, ultimately, upended an empire. What did God give them to do this? 1) TRUTH Acts 1:3 talks about “all that Jesus BEGAN to do and teach.” Our faith rests in what JESUS has done, not in what we are able to do for ourselves. And our hope rests in the promise that Jesus is not finished yet. As we like to say: If it isn’t fixed yet, God isn’t finished! 2) POWER When the earliest believers experience God’s empowering presence (Acts 2:1-4), some people thought they were drunk. They were smarter, bolder and more loving than they were before, but not because they had been drinking. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and power. Acts 2:16-17 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.’ These disciples who had been afraid before, were now declaring the wonders of God in miraculous fashion to people from all over the world. Thank God that he gives power to be witnesses to the truth of Jesus’s resurrection!