Luke 1:28-29

The angel said to Mary, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 

1) Christmas is an answer to the cry of every human heart.

Mary thought deeply about what the angelic announcement meant. Even though she had questions, she continued to trust God’s plan.

2) Christmas is God’s light breaking in our darkness.

There is a simple but significant shift that takes place when God’s goodness and power become the foundation of our decision-making, priorities, hopes and longings. 

Isaiah 9:2

The people walking in darkness

 have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

 a light has dawned.

Is there any darkness where God’s light won’t reach? Is there any life that his love can’t reach?

3) Christmas is a gift to be received.

At Christmas God drew near to a people who were beaten down, to a family that was in crisis, to a woman who was powerless. If he did that, the Gospel says, would he not come to you or me, or even the people we dislike and dismiss? 

Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?

Are you expecting? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME series with a message about Simeon.

Luke 2:34-35

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”

Simeon is a picture of hopeful expectation, waiting to see God’s rescue and light for all people. What can we learn from his example?

1) When you are expecting, it shows.

When a woman is expecting, everything about her life and behavior begins to change. The greater the expectation, the more obvious the signs. 

2) When you are expecting, it can get uncomfortable.

Simeon’s prophetic words about Christ are not all easy to swallow. This child’s claim to authority would expose the hearts of many.

3) When you are expecting, something better is coming.

All of the discomfort and pain of waiting gives way to the joy of hope’s fulfillment. 

Romans 8:22

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

The groaning that God’s people experience is not a groaning that leads to death, but that will inevitably give way to life and joy!

What does Christmas mean to you? This weekend Pastor Devin Gough kicked off the Christmas season at New City with a message and every family received a custom Advent Kit!

Luke 1:12-13

When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but what about the Christmas moments that we don’t want to post? The Bible says that Zechariah and Elizabeth were both righteous and disappointed. Their hope to have a child had long since been extinguished.

1) God revives hope in the silence.

God appeared to Zechariah in the ordinary course of his duties. After so many years of silence, hope was still not lost. The prayers that you have retired still remain on God’s desk!

2) God revives hope in the impossible.

Be careful not to measure your hope against your circumstances. What you consider to be a limitation might just be God’s launching pad!

3) God revives hope for something greater.

The angel connects Zechariah’s personal miracle to God’s redemptive plan for the whole world. God is able to bless you in your need, and to make you a blessing!

Do you need God to revive your hope this season? The gift of God in this season is the unexpected, undeserved hope that Jesus still brings to everyone who trusts Him!

We do available, God does amazing! This weekend Pastor Steve Andres concluded our DARE TO DREAM series and our church committed to walk in faith and generosity.

Acts 3:4-6

Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

The very first miracle after the upper-room outpouring was to bless a man who could never have reached the upper room. If Peter and John had never left the building, the lame man would never have received his healing!

1) The dream is not for a church building, but for changed lives.

The man in the story was close to a magnificent church building, but he remained unchanged. Our dream is not to host church activities, but for multitudes to experience the life-changing grace of God in Christ.

2) God gives his people vision for something better.

Peter and John were equipped to see something better for the lame man than just begging for help. They knew that Jesus could heal the man, because they had seen him do it with others.

3) Your obedience is an answer to someone else’s prayers.

In one moment of obedience, Peter and John became the answer to countless days and nights of prayer and searching. God is already preparing us to be an answer to someone else’s prayers.

When we are thinking days and dollars, God is thinking nations and generations. That is why we give with faith and generosity, trusting that this is only the beginning of a blessing that will last for generations!

Where does God’s grace shine brightest in your life? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our DARE TO DREAM series with a message about the power of community.

Acts 2:46-47

They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

The experience of the early church is a pattern for the church today. What can we learn from the events of Acts 2?

1) Gospel blessing is for your household and for the nations.

Because we live from an abundance mentality, Christians don’t have to choose between blessing our own people and blessing others.

2) Generosity is the prize, not the price. 

There is no membership fee to the kingdom of God. The ability to be generous is part of the blessing that we receive freely from God.

3) Blessed is not a status, it is a story. 

Every one of us is ordinary. Religion is what I am trying to do for God. The Gospel is the story of what God has done for me in Christ.

4) Broken becomes beautiful in the hands of Jesus.

The places in our lives where we have experienced brokenness are the places where the grace and love of Jesus are most visible.

5) Bread that isn’t broken can’t be shared.

From the place of your deepest wound will often come your greatest gift to those around you. God blesses us, and He transforms our brokenness to be a gift given to others, for their blessing and for God’s glory!

Your situation is a setup for God’s purposes! This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our DARE TO DREAM series with a message about the early church.

Acts 2:17-18

‘In the last days,’ God says,

‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

In those days I will pour out my Spirit

even on my servants—men and women alike—

and they will prophesy.

The small community of Christ-followers were characterized by a radical humility, a radical generosity and a radical hope. What do the events of Acts 2 teach us?

1) Unity comes before suddenly.

It’s easier to get in one place than to get in one accord. Before experiencing the outpouring of God’s presence, they were united in heart and mind.

2) How does God move? Gradually, then suddenly.

After the remarkable outpouring of God’s presence, Peter tells the people that this miracle has been promised for generations. We need our hearts trained to be faithful in the gradually, while we wait for the suddenly.

3) All people means all people.

God’s promise is to make his presence available to everyone who would come. The church's mission is to announce this incredible news to those who are far and those who are near.

When sinners are careless and stupid, and sinking into hell unconcerned, it is time the church should bestir themselves. It is as much the duty of the church to awake, as it is for the firemen to awake when a fire breaks out in the night in a great city.

Charles Finney

When Jesus was on the cross, he cried out but was shown no mercy. Because he paid the penalty for our sin, now “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!"

Happy Birthday New City! This weekend Pastor Steve Andres kicked off a new series called DARE TO DREAM as we celebrated the seventh anniversary of New City Church.

Acts 2:10-13

"We all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” The people stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

The birthday of the church was a miraculous moment that inaugurated the greatest movement for good in human history. Still, some who were present were asking, “What can this mean?"

1) There is a meaning to the miracle.

More than just noise and commotion, the events of the day of Pentecost were a return of God’s presence. It was God breathing life into humankind as he did at the beginning. 

2) There is a mess that comes with the miracle.

We choose messy over easy when it comes to people. The Holy Spirit is the gift of God’s presence to influence toward Christ-likeness.

Ephesians 5:18

Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The first believers were mistaken for having too much to drink because they were smarter, bolder and more loving than they were before! 

3) There is a mission for the miracle.

Jesus is not finished with the work he began. The church’s mission is to live the life of Jesus for the sake of the world that God loves!

Do you have faith that won’t quit? This weekend Pastor Joaquin Pardo shared a message about persevering through faith.

Mark 5:36 

But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’

1) Desperation is the catalyst to humility. Humility is the catalyst to faith.

In this passage we see two desperate people: A respected leader and a rejected woman. One lived high. The other lived low. But both ended up in the same place, at the feet of Jesus. That’s the beauty of desperation. It levels the playing field. Because desperation humbles us and humility opens the door for faith.

2) Faith that won’t quit. 

The woman with the issue of blood wasn't just desperate, but determined. The woman didn’t just believe Jesus could heal her; she acted on it. A faith that won’t quit always puts action behind what it says it believes.

3) Do not fear, only believe.

When Jairus heard, “Your daughter is dead,” fear could have paralyzed him. But Jesus said, “Do not fear, only believe.” He ignored what others said and reminded Jairus that the final word belongs to Him. 

Faith doesn’t stop when bad news comes. It ignores the voices that tell you to quit, refuses to stop believing, and keeps pressing on because Jesus can still make dead things live again!

Growth isn’t about me, it’s about we! This weekend Pastor Devin Gough shared a message about the blessing of remaining connected to the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:16

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Growth doesn’t happen in isolation, it happens through connection. How can we do our part in the body of Christ?

1) Grow by being joined.

Hebrews 10:24

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

The church is not an organization, it is a living organism. Each part helps the other grow.

2) Grow by serving in your place.

1 Corinthians 12:27

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Every part of the body of Christ has a place. When one part is disconnected, the whole body hurts!

3) Grow by building in love.

Colossians 3:14

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Love is the cement that holds each brick of God’s house together. God’s rescuing love for each one of us is the reason we can remain united as one body!

Experiencing true grace produces deep change! This weekend Pastor Steve Andres concluded our NAAMAN series with a message called SIGNS OF LIFE.

2 Kings 5:15

Naaman stood before Elisha and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”

Naaman is showing signs of new life as he responds to the work God is doing in him. What do we see in his story of transformation?

1) Pain is the symptom, pride is the sickness.

Every step forward that Naaman takes toward his healing is a step of humility. Why does this matter?

James 4:6

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

Naaman’s affliction is the very thing that saves him by creating humility and hunger for change.

2) Self-pity is self-sabotage.

Naaman’s pain magnifies his already self-centered way of living. The self-pity that results almost causes him to miss his miracle!

3) A new heart creates a new way.

The evidence of a new heart is clear by how differently Naaman is operating. This conquering warrior who took whatever he wanted is now humbly asking for dirt to carry with him. 

Ezekiel 36:26-27

And I will give you a new heart—I will give you new and right desires—and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. And I will put my Spirit within you so that you will obey my laws.

Naaman did not deserve his healing, but God showed him grace, and that grace changed his heart! It is this same grace that we experience in Christ which produces transformation in all who receive Him!