Downtown Pastoral Library

Sermon, Pastor John Son Gigi Lin Sermon, Pastor John Son Gigi Lin

“Invitation to God's Mission”

Many of us don't actively keep a missional imagination at the forefront of our eyes. One possible reason is because we limit, when and where God's mission and activity takes place to the walls of the church - a kind of Temple spirituality.

  1. What is God inviting us into with His plans?

  2. How can we participate with Him?

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Sermon, Elder Yong Gigi Lin Sermon, Elder Yong Gigi Lin

“Identity in Christ”

As we wrap up the series on the ‘Heart Detox’, we look into what defines our identity in the everyday. In order to discover where our identity and purpose flows from, we need to go back to the beginning. We don’t begin with ourselves, but we begin with God; after all, He is the Creator (Gen 1:1-2) and the beginning of all things - the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 1:8), including our own existence.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“Detoxing the heart of forgiveness”

This week, we dive into exploring the the tension of having been forgiven by God and our response in forgiving others in love and Christ-likeness. In our passage, both servants were forgiven an immense amount of debt relative to their position - unthinkable in those times. We will look into the similarities of the weight of our sins before God and why a willingness to forgive is characteristic of those who have been saved by the Lord.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“Listening to your heart as a way of discernment”

We take a break from our series on ‘The Heart Detox’ to examine another part of our heart we ought to offer up to God: our thoughts, feelings, and desires that surface as we discern a major decision in our life. The art of discernment isn’t an easy skill but is one that as we sharpen and refine it, aids how we come to delight in grasping and living out His good and perfect will for us.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“Detoxing sexual sins (Pt. 1)”

Though the church may often focus on and explore topics of theology, prayer, solitude, etc. - the intersection of sexuality and spirituality is often spoken about in hushed tones. In today’s sermon, we’ll look at Part 1 of examining engrained assumptions we may hold on the topic of sexual sins and how to broaden our understanding of a life of sexual wholeness.

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Sermon, Pastor John Son Gigi Lin Sermon, Pastor John Son Gigi Lin

“Detoxing Pride”

A life of transformation in Christ is oft accompanied by many facets of change by the power of Christ. You might think the issue of self-centredness is the worst of them all; or the sin of gluttony and self-indulgence; or the love of self-pity and self-condemnation. Across many bible scholars, underlying the manifestation of all these sins lies the ultimate sin of a justified love of oneself: pride.

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Sermon, Pastor Jason Noh Gigi Lin Sermon, Pastor Jason Noh Gigi Lin

“Life Being Poured Out”

As we grow to know God more and more, we come to know Him as a good Father who wants to give us every spiritual blessing (ref). More than just a good or perfect job, a good or caring spouse, or a good and easy life, His gift of spiritual blessing for us is greater than a life without worry or pain. Inevitably there will be a disconnect in receiving His blessing and living a comfortable life reflecting the truth that He is good. What does it take to be like the drink offering from the olden days, an offering given under circumstances of great passion and fervour for the Lord continuously (v17)?

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Sermon, Min Jae Yi Gigi Lin Sermon, Min Jae Yi Gigi Lin

“Job’s comfort”

Though some may debate whether the story of Job actually took place, we can see that Job is referenced in both the New Testament and Old Testament more than once. Job embodied many great qualities before God on a continual basis: he was righteous, devoted, deeply spiritual, and truly loved God through his actions. Though Job was declared righteous by God Himself, he experienced deep pain and calamity. He faced loss in many areas of his life: family, wealth, property, belongings, health, etc. Some may say without reason, Job succumbed enduring the lowest of lows. When we look at Job’s life, we may ask how can our God let suffering happen to obedient, humble, and good people?

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“Wait. Pray. Plan.”

Last week, we looked into the historical context in which Nehemiah was written. This week, we dive deeper into what happens after Nehemiah weeps and mourns in fasting and pray for God’s help in delivering the people of Judah. Nehemiah isn’t immediately mobilized by God, but instead we see a 4-month gap between Nehemiah receiving his calling and making his first move. We will focus on what Nehemiah’s 4-month delay can teach us about the posture we bear as we carry out our callings in a godly and successful manner.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“Secondhand spirituality”

The Book of Acts is the story of the church - continuing the story of Jesus, through the church. In Acts 19, we see a contrast in the power of Apostle Paul and a small group called The Seven Sons of Sceva. Paul encountered God and was transformed from the inside out. He became someone who God performed extraordinary miracles through. Word was also spreading that in the name of Jesus, there is power; in the name of Jesus, miracles can happen.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“You shall not covet”

This week, we finish off our sermon series on the Ten Commandments. We look into how coveting is prominent in our society today and how we may overcome its influence on shaping the way we define and measure our life satisfaction. We will explore the new reality available to us as believers who are freed by God’s love and freedom for free people are joyfully content.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“You shall not make for yourself an idol”

We look at the second commandment today - “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Exodus 20:4-6) We question in our daily lives in what ways we have chosen to make idols in the form of something — choosing to worship them — other than God alone.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“Living as Free people”

The Ten Commandments given to us in the Bible are often perceived as outdated, not applicable in modern society, or contentious in driving people into legalism. We will dive into a new sermon series where we examine each Commandment and seek the Lord’s divine purpose and significance for us.

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Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin Pastor John Son, Sermon Gigi Lin

“The towers we build”

There are two ways to build our lives. We can build our lives in faithfulness to God - Noah building an ark out of faithfulness to God. We can build lives in isolation from God - the ambitions of the Tower of Babel. The towers differ not only in the materials used or the time of when it took place; no, the towers differed largely because of the wrong motives for one (Babel) and the right motives for the other (the Ark).

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