Marina Christian Fellowship
Sunday 10 AM - February 23rd, 2020
Sunday Worship Service
Locations & Times
Marina Christian Fellowship
12606 Culver Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
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The Mission of Marina Christian Fellowship
To return the broken to wholeness in an expanding community of grace and compassion.
To return the broken to wholeness in an expanding community of grace and compassion.
Title: All About Your Glory
Text: Matthew 17:1-9)
(Transfiguration Sunday)
“Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant ‘To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart.’” –Brené Brown
I'm going to have courage today. I want to share what I believe God has put on my heart in terms of VISION for the future of Marina Christian Fellowship.
The Holy Spirit was calling us to move and to change. But change requires courage.
4 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Matthew 17:5 (NRSV)
“It is good for us to be here.”
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" Matthew 17:5 (NRSV)
"This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased….”
“Listen to him!”
The voice of Truth which told Jesus that his identity was that of a well loved child of God, is the same voice of Truth which tells us the very same thing. Unlike Christ, however, we are sin damaged and easily tune into other voices which tell us that we must earn God’s love by what we have, what we do, or by what others think of us. So we go off, not knowing we are already well loved, in search of love in all the wrong places. And as soon as we think we have found a spot which validates who we think we need to be, we think it is good to be there. So we stop and try to camp out.
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." Matthew 17:6-7 (NRSV)
We know we are going to have to make some major moves out of our comfort zones in order to shed what is false about ourselves so that our true, made in God’s image, beloved self can emerge. If we could suddenly see the glorious image of God in each of us, we would be floored.
“Get up and do not be afraid.”
It is at this point that Jesus comes down the mountain and heads to Jerusalem to be crucified.
"Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." Matthew 17:9b (NRSV)
When the three disciples are told to “listen to him,” they are being told to listen to what Jesus had to say about the way to resurrection. Resurrection for us is about being restored back to who we were created to be before we got off track and became someone we are not. It is about the new life available to us when we are willing to listen to Jesus, and by following him to the cross, put our false self to death.
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 (NRSV)
I’m not called to pastor a mega church. I’m called to pastor people who will do mega things for the Kingdom of God.
God called me to be an example of how God uses the ordinary and unlikely for God’s glory. He called me to be a testimony of how in God’s kingdom, “the weak” are strong, “the powerless,” unmistakably manifest the power of God, and how “the foolish” are used to shame the wise.
Jesus called 12 ordinary screw ups, and out of those 12, he especially invested in 3 knuckleheads, Peter included, and God used them to change the world. For me to be me, I have to live like I believe God uses screw ups and knuckleheads to change the world.
In the past 3 years, I’ve gone through a process of being restored to my true self so that I can be true to my original call to pastor people so they will be restored in order to restore others. It isn’t about butts in the seats here on a Sunday morning, as much as it is about being the hands and feet of Christ in our world between Sundays. And God is restoring many of you to be restorers of this world.
To return the broken to wholeness in an expanding community of grace and compassion.
At the center of our vision is courage to live true to all that God has put in our hearts.
We will be known as the hub of Christ centered restoration on the Westside of Los Angeles.
The people, and not the property, are the vision. The vision of restoration begins with you and me. If that is not the case, we will end up serving our property, rather than the property serving our restoration and those we are called to restore.
Can you imagine battling cancer, where you are fighting for your life
Can you imagine being at war and wanting to be with your wife
Can you imagine being a parent whose child has special needs
Can you imagine feeling so much anxiety it's hard to breathe
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Can you imagine being an orphan bouncing from home to home
Can you imagine coming to a new country and having nothing but a comb
Can you imagine living in a place where you are the first to graduate college
Can you imagine feeling invisible where you want to be acknowledged
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Can you imagine being a single parent of three
Can you imagine having a learning disability where you can't read
Can you imagine being laid off and feeling no value in me
Can you imagine losing a parent and having uncertainty
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Can you imagine being turned away for the color of your skin
Can you imagine feeling you are born in the wrong body and feeling like you are a sin
Can you imagine being teased about your religion so you don't pray
Can you imagine being rejected for being gay
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Let's have empathy not sympathy
Let's celebrate our differences
Let's use our experiences
Let's be inclusive not dismissive
Let's be diverse
Let's walk in their shoes today
Now look around – you are the people of MCF.
We need you. All of you.
All too often the church has tried to squeeze people into a mold in order for them to belong. That is not a healthy living body. That is a grotesque picture of conformity. The Glory of God is seen in our world when there is unity in diversity. Though we are many, we are one body in Christ. May we be the Body of Christ in this world who welcomes everyone with open arms, with no judgment, and only love. May we die to all that is false, to be restored to be a unique reflection of God's image. This dark world is in need of people who shine like Christ. This world is waiting for us to show up. By God’s power, we will show up as the restored Body of Christ, shining bright right here on the Westside of Los Angeles.
Text: Matthew 17:1-9)
(Transfiguration Sunday)
“Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant ‘To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart.’” –Brené Brown
I'm going to have courage today. I want to share what I believe God has put on my heart in terms of VISION for the future of Marina Christian Fellowship.
The Holy Spirit was calling us to move and to change. But change requires courage.
4 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Matthew 17:5 (NRSV)
“It is good for us to be here.”
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" Matthew 17:5 (NRSV)
"This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased….”
“Listen to him!”
The voice of Truth which told Jesus that his identity was that of a well loved child of God, is the same voice of Truth which tells us the very same thing. Unlike Christ, however, we are sin damaged and easily tune into other voices which tell us that we must earn God’s love by what we have, what we do, or by what others think of us. So we go off, not knowing we are already well loved, in search of love in all the wrong places. And as soon as we think we have found a spot which validates who we think we need to be, we think it is good to be there. So we stop and try to camp out.
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." Matthew 17:6-7 (NRSV)
We know we are going to have to make some major moves out of our comfort zones in order to shed what is false about ourselves so that our true, made in God’s image, beloved self can emerge. If we could suddenly see the glorious image of God in each of us, we would be floored.
“Get up and do not be afraid.”
It is at this point that Jesus comes down the mountain and heads to Jerusalem to be crucified.
"Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." Matthew 17:9b (NRSV)
When the three disciples are told to “listen to him,” they are being told to listen to what Jesus had to say about the way to resurrection. Resurrection for us is about being restored back to who we were created to be before we got off track and became someone we are not. It is about the new life available to us when we are willing to listen to Jesus, and by following him to the cross, put our false self to death.
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 (NRSV)
I’m not called to pastor a mega church. I’m called to pastor people who will do mega things for the Kingdom of God.
God called me to be an example of how God uses the ordinary and unlikely for God’s glory. He called me to be a testimony of how in God’s kingdom, “the weak” are strong, “the powerless,” unmistakably manifest the power of God, and how “the foolish” are used to shame the wise.
Jesus called 12 ordinary screw ups, and out of those 12, he especially invested in 3 knuckleheads, Peter included, and God used them to change the world. For me to be me, I have to live like I believe God uses screw ups and knuckleheads to change the world.
In the past 3 years, I’ve gone through a process of being restored to my true self so that I can be true to my original call to pastor people so they will be restored in order to restore others. It isn’t about butts in the seats here on a Sunday morning, as much as it is about being the hands and feet of Christ in our world between Sundays. And God is restoring many of you to be restorers of this world.
To return the broken to wholeness in an expanding community of grace and compassion.
At the center of our vision is courage to live true to all that God has put in our hearts.
We will be known as the hub of Christ centered restoration on the Westside of Los Angeles.
The people, and not the property, are the vision. The vision of restoration begins with you and me. If that is not the case, we will end up serving our property, rather than the property serving our restoration and those we are called to restore.
Can you imagine battling cancer, where you are fighting for your life
Can you imagine being at war and wanting to be with your wife
Can you imagine being a parent whose child has special needs
Can you imagine feeling so much anxiety it's hard to breathe
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Can you imagine being an orphan bouncing from home to home
Can you imagine coming to a new country and having nothing but a comb
Can you imagine living in a place where you are the first to graduate college
Can you imagine feeling invisible where you want to be acknowledged
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Can you imagine being a single parent of three
Can you imagine having a learning disability where you can't read
Can you imagine being laid off and feeling no value in me
Can you imagine losing a parent and having uncertainty
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Can you imagine being turned away for the color of your skin
Can you imagine feeling you are born in the wrong body and feeling like you are a sin
Can you imagine being teased about your religion so you don't pray
Can you imagine being rejected for being gay
Could you walk in their shoes? Would you walk in their shoes?
Let's have empathy not sympathy
Let's celebrate our differences
Let's use our experiences
Let's be inclusive not dismissive
Let's be diverse
Let's walk in their shoes today
Now look around – you are the people of MCF.
We need you. All of you.
All too often the church has tried to squeeze people into a mold in order for them to belong. That is not a healthy living body. That is a grotesque picture of conformity. The Glory of God is seen in our world when there is unity in diversity. Though we are many, we are one body in Christ. May we be the Body of Christ in this world who welcomes everyone with open arms, with no judgment, and only love. May we die to all that is false, to be restored to be a unique reflection of God's image. This dark world is in need of people who shine like Christ. This world is waiting for us to show up. By God’s power, we will show up as the restored Body of Christ, shining bright right here on the Westside of Los Angeles.
Spotify Playlist of Today's Songs
Click the link below to check out the playlist!
https://open.spotify.com/user/bfenwick/playlist/16mLB9DQcIhxgasTIQ8HDG?si=07fyoZpmRlenqSlNxXSEkASongs from Today's Service:
Give Him the Glory by Tommy Walker
I Have a Hope by Tommy Walker
Holy Spirit by Brian & Katie Torwalt
Shine Jesus Shine by Graham Kendrick
All About Your Glory by Tommy Walker
The Earth Shall Know by Urban Doxology
Give Him the Glory by Tommy Walker
I Have a Hope by Tommy Walker
Holy Spirit by Brian & Katie Torwalt
Shine Jesus Shine by Graham Kendrick
All About Your Glory by Tommy Walker
The Earth Shall Know by Urban Doxology
Your Giving Makes a Difference!
MCF “happens” because of your giving! Your generous financial partnership is vital and greatly appreciated!
https://mcfchurch.churchcenter.com/givingUpcoming Events
2/26/20 - Ash Wednesday (Supper 6PM and Gathering at 7PM)<br>3/1/20 - Youth Group in the Youth Room at 9 AM<br>3/1/20 - Worship Service 10 AM: Course Correction - Identity<br>3/4/20 - MCF Midweek: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Group is full/closed)<br>3/11/20 - MCF Midweek: Enough - Restoring Your Relationship with Money<br>(Registrations now open for Grace Trek Alumni)<br>3/8/20 - Worship Service 10 AM: Course Correction - Real Life