This Sunday we are blessed with a message from Pastor Cho on the Book of Philemon. We witness a letter from the Apostle Paul to Philemon that demonstrates how being forgiven in Christ changes us and our relationships with other people. Regardless of where we are in this life, because of His forgiveness, we can radically forgive and love one another with whole hearts. For through Jesus, we are all equally blessed and loved.
This Sunday is the final week in the sermon series on the book of Ruth. Pastor Ulysses teaches through the last chapter of the book, and we learn about the theme of the entire narrative—God’s faithfulness to his people. He challenges us to, like Boaz, step out in faith in our lives. To stop asking “What’s in it for me?” when it comes to serving God, and to not waste our lives by playing it safe. We don’t realize the blessings we may miss out on if we do that.
This past Sunday, Pastor Ulysses goes through Ruth 3, where we learn about the deep, soul-level rest found only in our ultimate Redeemer Jesus. Like Ruth approaching Boaz in humility, we see how we can come to Jesus not on our own terms, but with open hands and surrendered hearts.
This past Sunday, Pastor Ulysses preached from Ruth 2, reminding us that God’s providence and grace are often at work behind the scenes, even when we don’t see them. He encouraged us that while we live in an “age of gleaning,” marked by hardship and persecution, God’s provision is always present. What may seem like luck or coincidence is often the incredible hand of God, moving through ordinary circumstances for His greater purpose.
How often have circumstances in life led you to compromise, thinking “what choice do I have?” Can we confidently see God as our King even when life gets difficult? These questions are in focus today as we kick off a new sermon series through the book of Ruth: As we dive into the first chapter and explore the background of the story, we see how a similar sentiment — compromising and asking “what choice do I have?” in difficult times — likely preceded and led to the state of affairs at the start o...
What do you do when you’re in pain or in the midst of life’s challenges? Are you quick to fall into despair or do you, like the psalmist in today’s passage, hold on to a deep hope in the midst of it all? In this week’s talk, we reflect on this question as Pastor Jonathan walks us through Psalm 42, a passage that conveys the emotional and spiritual journey of a psalmist who held on to hope in God through great turmoil. As we explore this passage, we can be encouraged to learn what it means to hav...
Now that we have finished our mission’s month sermon series, Pastor Jonathan guides us through a lesson on fear this Sunday. How should we deal with and cope with fear? How should we view fear biblically? What does it mean to fear the Lord, and why should we fear Him?
This Sunday is the last service of our missions month, for which guest speaker Pastor Di Leonardo shares about his experience as a missionary in Italy—including some of the challenges of reaching the people in that region of the world. He also illustrates through a variety of passages from the Bible what missions are truly about holistically, and how they can enable us to live our lives in the presence of God to the glory of God.
This week our guest speaker, Pastor Phil, invites us to reimagine the Christian life not as something we do for God, but with God. Drawing from John 15 and Matthew 11, he unpacks Jesus’ invitation to walk in intimate friendship and shared burden. Through his personal stories and illustrations, we’re challenged to see mission as a daily journey of presence, rest, and partnership with Christ.
This week, we continue our missions series as guest speaker Pastor Keith challenges us to break out of a “Christian ghetto” mindset and embrace the global mission God has given us. Drawing from Acts 1:6–8 and Revelation 7:9, he reminds us that the abundant life Jesus promises is not about material gain, but about living with purpose—making disciples, spreading the gospel, and seeking first God’s kingdom.
This week at Renewal Church, we begin an exciting new series of talks on missions, starting with a message from Pastor Mark Chun on church planting. In this sermon, Pastor Mark reminds us of the importance of the local church and church planting and shares some of the hallmarks of a church built the proper way, on the foundation of Christ.
In this week's sermon, Pastor Ulysses concludes his sermon series through the book of Zechariah. This final chapter, which features apocalyptic literature that may be difficult to understand, shares an important message about what lies ahead. As we dive into the passage, we are reminded to not shy away from difficulties that may await us as believers; instead, we can be encouraged knowing what's to come and challenged to live in response to it.
This week we celebrate Easter and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Pastor Ulysses takes us through a passage in Acts where Paul shares about the one true God to the people in Athens, who were at the time completely consumed by daily news—much like we are today in the Bay Area. He explains how each of us can experience the resurrection life today if we look upon the cross and acknowledge the sacrifice he has made that we might live!
This week Pastor Ulysses teaches through the 12th chapter of Zechariah, in which both victory for Jerusalem and a time of deep mourning are described. He details how Christians today often swing too far one direction, either towards victory where we know we are forgiven so we ignore our sin, or towards morning where we feel total despair or worthless and unloved. We should truly morn and weep over our sin, but at the same time have the spirit of encouragement within us to know that there is vict...
This Sunday we read through Zechariah 11:1–17, where God's judgment unfolds through powerful imagery and prophetic sign acts. Pastor Jonathan walks us through Zechariah’s portrayal of both a faithful shepherd and a worthless one, revealing Israel’s rejection of God and the consequences that followed. This sobering chapter ultimately points us to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, reminding us that true peace and protection are found only in Him.
This week, as we continue through Zechariah 10, we’re challenged to ask: What are we trying to handle through our own strength and control? Pastor Ulysses reminds us that God is our ultimate provider. Yet, like the Israelites, we often foolishly turn to “false idols” and worldly solutions instead of seeking Him first. Through this Sunday’s sermon, we learn about trusting in His provision and rejecting the temptation to rely on anything else.
Pastor Ulysess teaches us that only through God will we find everlasting peace with this passage in Zechariah. It is too easy and tempting, when we are young, to put our peace in worldly things. But the trials and slings of fortune will come in time. If we are to truly stay steadfast and unshaken by this life, we must put our faith in the one place where no one can take it away. That in the arms of Jesus Christ and His promise of everlasting peace.
This Sunday we continue our series in Zechariah with a message of blessing. This world is a broken place due to our sin. But in spite of all of that, God wishes to bless us. There is freedom from the tyranny of the present if we look at the blessing God has given us and the final blessing He has in store for us. If we accept this in our hearts, it will renew and repair us until the day we join Him.
Pastor Jonathan continues our series through the book of Zechariah with the 7th chapter. From this passage we learn about the dangers of religiosity, self-righteousness, and having a hardened heart. We also discover how his grace has freed us from a need to do spiritual acts to earn his favor, and accordingly what it looks like to instead live for God out of a humble spirituality.
This week, Pastor Ulysses continues teaching from the book of Zechariah, this time from chapter 6. The passage details Zechariah’s 8th and final vision, as well as a prophetic sign that Zechariah is to perform upon Joshua. We dig very deep into the text to gain a strong understanding of who Jesus the Messiah is - Is he a king? Is he a priest? Can he be both? And we also learn about the price one must pay to follow him.
This week, we delve into Zechariah's sixth and seventh visions, which call us to reflect on our lives. Are we living with integrity and obedience to God's commands? These visions not only reveal God's justice in addressing sin but also His grace in removing wickedness and restoring His people. Even in our shortcomings, He invites us to walk in holiness, reminding us that His ultimate plan is not just judgment but transformation and renewal.
We continue our series in the Book of Zechariah with the fifth vision he sees, that of a lampstand and two olive trees. Pastor Ulysses teaches us with this parable that greats works are done with small steps of obedience to God. And that to build a joyful, radiant relationship with God also takes small, thoughtful and deliberate actions. There is no fast track to spiritual growth despite what we may hear otherwise in the Silicon Valley.
This Sunday we are blessed with a guest message from Pastor Mark. He teaches us how we are to grieve as Christians and how we can bring comfort to one another. Through the suffering of Job, we learn how to lament, mourn together and maintain our faith through difficult times.
On this Sunday's message, we discuss the fourth vision of Zechariah: "The High Priest". Through his vision we see how unclean God's people are and that we have no right to receive His blessing. But because of God's grace and the coming sacrifice, we are restored. Satan stands ready to condemn us and we are helpless, but God chooses to defend us.
As we continue our series through Zechariah, Pastor Jonathan leads us through the second chapter of the book. Here Zechariah describes his third vision, which is one of a man with a measuring line and a wall of fire around Jerusalem. Through the chapter, Pastor Jonathan helps clarify for us what it means to be secure in the Lord, and how this vision demonstrates the depth of God’s love for us.
This week Pastor Ulysses continues our series through the book of Zechariah. In this section, we read about the first two of the eight visions that Zechariah has—one of horsemen and one of horns and craftsmen. We learn that God sees everything that happens in this world, and also that He is a God of perfect justice. The message is one of hope, however, because the sins of those who put their faith in Christ has already been paid for by Jesus on the cross.
This Sunday, Pastor Ulysses begins a new book from the Old Testament, Zechariah. From these verses, we learn that God wants us to return to Him and repent from our evil ways. It is a message of love, of grace and mercy. Similar to how the prodigal son returns to his father with open arms, through Jesus' sacrifice, we too can return to His fold.
As we prepare for our congregational fast, Pastor Ulysses guides us through Ezra 8, where Ezra takes a bold leap of faith by choosing to forgo military protection on their journey to Jerusalem. Similarly, we are sometimes called to embrace "impractical" acts, like fasting, as an expression of trust in God. In this sermon, we explore how such actions demonstrate humility and deepen our commitment to living out our Christian faith.
For our last Sunday gathering of the year, Pastor Ulysses takes us through 2 Kings 22 where we read about King Josiah and his rediscovery of the Book of the Law. In this story, we observe a nation so far away from God’s will and heading towards it’s demise. While you might be amazed to observe the state of the nation, we should recognize that it’s just as easy today as it was then to drift away from God’s word. In today’s sermon, we use this story as a reminder of the importance of God’s Word an...
This week, we celebrate Christmas and reflect on its profound implications. While we sometimes adopt a superficial view of Christmas, often enamored by the idealized portrayal we see around us, we should also remember that Christmas is more than just a perfect image. In this Christmas sermon, Pastor Ulysses takes us behind the scenes of the airbrushed Christmas image to reveal the messy reality surrounding our Savior’s birth and lineage. Let us be encouraged to know that we celebrate a Savior wh...
