JICF Sunday Sermons: Recent Episodes
JICF
Welcome to JICF's Sunday sermon podcast where we upload our sermons each week. We pray you'll be blessed through each listen!
This week, millions of Muslims celebrate Eid Al Adha (Feast Of Sacrifice). On this day, they commemorate the devotion of Abraham to sacrifice his son. As Christians, let’s use this momentum to learn and apply the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ as the lamb of God that takes away our sin.
On Sunday, we explored Acts 8:26-40, about Philip the Evangelist and the Ethiopian eunuch. This passage highlights the powerful work of the Holy Spirit and the profound impact of sharing the Good News. Come and be inspired by Philip's obedience and the Ethiopian eunuch's pursuit of God.
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church' is the famous saying by the church father, Tertullian. Persecution does not contain the gospel, but it helps trigger the expansion of it as we see in the Acts 8: 1 -25 and beyond.
Last Sunday, we read about Stephen being the first Christian martyr almost 2,000 years ago. In fact, the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12 that "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted". This Sunday, please join us to be encouraged by the testimonies of modern day Christians throughout the world who have been persecuted for their faith as we watch the video "The Power of the Persecuted Church".
Has God ever put you in a situation where you have to defend God's truth or confront sin? Think about current hot topics like LGBTQ. What did you do? Or what would you do if God puts you in a situation like that? In what situation should you confront or be more patient and tactful? Come and learn how Stephen reacted and learn how to apply the Bible in our various situations.
Stephen was a wonderful man, used by God in amazing ways. Yet his Christ-like ministry, while certainly used to draw people to Christ, provoked a familiar reaction from the Jews: Anger, slander and lies, leading to his arrest. Stephen's very godliness and wisdom led to his persecution. Stephen's lifestyle, ministry and character under trial is a much-needed example for us as we seek to stand for Christ and boldly speak the truth amongst people who could well react the same way the Jews did. Do you believe that God can use your life and words for His glory in your context?
What would you do if you have the greatest gift of all time and you want the whole world to know about it and to receive it? How would you empower a small group of your discouraged disciples to spread this Good News? Hear how the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus and makes him real to us.
As believers, we are all commanded to share the Good News about Jesus Christ. But as we present the evidence for the truth of the Good News, we should expect and be prepared for others to react in a variety of ways - and we need to understand what motivates others to react as they do!
Often, our discussions about God center on His love, forgiveness, and mercy, overlooking His holiness. God’s holiness and His nature are not two things, they are but one! God’s holiness is His nature, and God’s nature is His holiness. This holiness presents a dilemma for mortal beings—we are drawn to Him as our creator, yet we also feel small and unworthy in His presence.In the Old Testament, God's wrath is portrayed as a response to human sin and disobedience, contrasting with human anger, which is often unjustified. The difference lies in the holiness and justification of God's wrath compared to the often unholy and rarely justified wrath of humans.
As JICF goes through the book of Acts, we find that the early church was zealous to proclaim the gospel as Jesus had commanded them. All Christians are commanded by Jesus to proclaim the gospel.Are you faithful in proclaiming the gospel? What is hindering you? Many people don't share the gospel faithfully because they do not know how.In this sermon, we learn how to share the gospel faithfully and be equipped to teach it to others.
Resurrection of our Lord, which was prophesied by prophets of old, took place on the third day after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, just as He said it would. Not only the resurrection of Jesus is the first fruit guaranteing our own bodily resurrection on the last day, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now in us who belongs to Him. Are you experiencing victories in your life today made possible by this resurrection power?
On Sunday we gathered on what Christians have often referred to as “Palm Sunday”. It is a day that we celebrate the beginning of the most important week in history. This is the week that Jesus’s whole earthly life was building towards. And at the center of this week is the cross. The Gospel writers spend around 40% of their narratives on this one week. This one week, usually referred to as the Passion week, in Jesus’ earthly life represents about .1% of His time on earth, but the Gospel accounts, as one theologian put it, “are essentially passion narratives with extended introductions.” The cross is not only at the epicenter of Jesus’ life and ministry, it is at the epicenter of everything. Consider the cross and what Jesus’s suffering and death means for us and the world.
After the apostles Peter and John were released from jail, they did not stop preaching the gospel. This required boldness in the face of opposition. In fact the early church believers joined them in prayer that all of them would not be discouraged from doing God’s will (Acts 1:8). The persecution continued to intensify but that did not stop the believers talking about Jesus being the Messiah and the only name that can bring salvation. Lets learn how the early church Christians lived out their faith so that we may emulate their boldness.
The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again to save us from our sin. But the same good news can be offensive to many who may want to oppose us. How can we continue to be a witness of the gospel in the face of opposition? Lets us learn how the Holy Spirit used Peter and John to witness with courage and wisdom in Acts 4:1-22.
This week, we learn about Peter's second sermon to the Jews after Jesus death and resurrection and seeing how he boldly proclaimed the Gospel them.
Often, we are busy with life that we miss out on ministry opportunities around us. Other times we don’t want to be inconvenienced so we just toss a little money to the poor as we go on our way. Do we have margin in our busy lives to allow the worship of our lives to flow naturally into spontaneous opportunities to serve others and proclaim the gospel? Peter and John give us an example of how their abiding relationship with Christ naturally flowed into an opportunity for Christ to be exalted publicly. Are we also ready for the unexpected, spontaneous ways in which God will provide opportunities to us?
As we study Acts 2:42-47, we unwrap about how the apostles directed the first Christians to use their time and resources - and lessons we can learn for ourselves.
Sharing the gospel is vital for fulfilling the Great Commission as it is a top priority for all Christians. However, are you unsure about how to share the gospel or what to say? This Sunday, we will learn how the apostle Peter shared the gospel. From his example, we can learn how to share the gospel faithfully also. Even seasoned evangelists can learn from Peter. Come join us this Sunday.
What would you do if you had the greatest gift of all time and you wanted the whole world to know about it and to receive it? How would you empower a small group of your discouraged disciples to spread this Good News? Hear how the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus and makes him real to us.
(Correction Timestamp 10:45 and 12:07, Jesus did not appear to 500 witnesses in the Gospel of Luke but 1 Corinthians 15:6)
Waiting for something is not the easiest thing to do in life, especially when it comes to God’s promises.
Most of us find it extremely difficult to NOT do anything while waiting. We are like always antsy. Always trying to find something to do. It is extremely difficult to just “sit and do nothing”.
As we go through Acts 1:12-26, I want us to pay special attention to the lives of the disciples. Their behaviors, their demeanors, their attitudes and their actions while they were waiting for something BIG to happen.
Acts 1:1-11
Our God is a missionary God. Our is also a global God . And therefore, His vision is that all the people on earth will come to know and worship Him. He wants each Christian to be part of this vision. The book of Acts tells us about how God empowered christian to do it and will continue to do so.
The last few weeks the sermons have challenged us to trust in God as we begin this new year. But do we really trust God with our future? With our finances? Our children? Our safety? Come join us Sunday morning as we unpack the larger story of the battle of Jericho in the book of Joshua and explore what we can learn about trusting God with our future from Joshua, Rahab, and Achan.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
We do not know what the future will hold for us in 2024. We do know at least two things: The world is always changing, but our God remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We therefore need to learn to trust Him more'.
Featuring testimonies from various people in our church about their experience of an authentic Christian Community.