IGSM Sunday Service Podcast – Daniel 1 (3/27/11)

Posted on April 3, 2011 by howardlei82

This message examines the life of Daniel and his friends after they were taken captive in Babylon. In spite of the Babylonians’ taking articles from the temple of God in Jerusalem, Daniel was unfazed by his situation, and resolved, along with his 3 friends, to continue to commit their lives to God by not eating the royal food and wine that the King of Babylon had ordered them to eat. Daniel and his friends decided to eat only water and vegetables, and God was with Daniel and allowed him and his friends to look healthier and better-nourished than people who ate the royal food and wine.

Several lessons are learned from this story of Daniel. First, when the structure of his life (i.e. the tradition of temple worship) changed, his faith in God did not change. Second, Daniel was persevering to the end, and was extremely committed to worshiping only the true God by whatever means necessary. Third, Daniel was probably able to draw strength from his friends, who encouraged and supported him in what he did. Daniel took his spiritual commitment seriously, in spite of the worldly demands of the new culture he was placed in. Reflecting on our own lives, there may be times when we’re forced to leave a certain Christian community that has a certain structure by which we worship God. How we respond to such changing situations would show how much actual faith we have in God, and how committed we are to Him.

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

IGSM Friday Forum Podcast – The Love of God (3/25/11)

Posted on March 26, 2011 by howardlei82

This message focuses on the characteristics of Satan and the way he relates to God and His creatures. It looks at Satan in detail through passages in Ezekiel 28, Revelation 12, John 8, Genesis 3, and Job 1, where the Bible either describes Satan directly, or suggests various characteristics of Satan. The message attempts to explain why so many people fall for Satan’s attacks and abandon God, and the means by which Satan wars against God’s creation. In particular, one main tactic Satan uses is that he causes people to doubt God’s goodness and love towards them, suggesting that perhaps God is holding something back, or is using us for self-serving motives. The message discusses how God is able to overcome Satan’s schemes by Jesus dying on the cross, ultimately conveying His clear love for us.

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

Friday Forum Podcast — “Finding Faith Through Films (II)” — 3/18/11

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Brian

For the second part of our series Finding Faith Through Film, Chul Kim considers the topics of faith, hope, and love as seen through the movie Finding Nemo. After pointing out how Nemo’s limited perspective of his father leads Nemo to have false beliefs about what his father can do, Chul guides us to consider what we believe about life and why we believe it to be true. Chul points out how the values we believe from the world do not adequately address our fundamental values. Further, he points out how to consider a new perspective that can come our way, particularly from the Bible. But in order to have faith, it is necessary to have hope; Chul points out how these two elements build upon one another. Hope leads us to act and have faith. Chul ends the night with a consideration of love and how a faith in God is fundamentally defined by love. We see how love is truly expressed through a scene from Up.

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

IGSM Sunday Service Podcast – 03/13/11

Posted on March 16, 2011 by eliahk

Sharon Kim talks about the life of the most notable and fearless apostle, the Apostle Paul. She discusses the four components in the apostle’s life that were keys to his explosive ministry through many different hardships and sufferings. First, she tells about his conversion. He was like a superhero when we look at his life and the trauma that he endured. God chose the tough and intimidating person that was fit for the job. Second, she describes the community that was a big part of his life. Third, she speaks about the Holy Spirit that enabled him to overcome fears and lead the early church movement. Lastly, she focuses on the hardships that the apostle embraced so humbly and with grace…

Acts 13:44-50, 16:19-23, 21:30-36, 2 Cor. 11:21-29

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

Friday Forum Podcast — “Finding Faith Through Films (I)” — 3/11/11

Posted on March 12, 2011 by katekfeng

To start off our new series on Finding Faith Through Films, we studied clips from the movie Toy Story I, particularly focusing on the lives of Woody and Buzz Lightyear. After establishing that our identity governs the purpose and meaning of our lives, Chul helped us realize that, like Buzz, we are often self-deluded about our identity, which is shaped through other people and how we evaluate our lives. By viewing ourselves as “not that bad” or “pretty good,” we turn a blind eye to sin, which according to Romans 3:23, is evident in everyone. Sin is ignoring God, and our response is to either 1) to deny it through covering it up with distractions and entertainment, or 2) accept it. Although truth often hurts by shattering our deluded self-perception, welcoming truth is a good thing because it helps us confront reality, thus leading to richer, happier lives.
According to Genesis 1:26-27, we are created in God’s image, and our inherent desire is to love and be unconditionally loved (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Unfortunately, however, as we grow older, more and more of our relationships are work-based, and even our friendships and love relationships become overshadowed by performance-based ones. 1 John 4:17 states that “We love because God first loved us”–doing so requires shifting from a performance-based to a relationship-based identity.

To hear the podcast, click the link below:

IGSM/VSM Sunday Service Podcast – Acts 16 (3/06/11)

Posted on March 12, 2011 by howardlei82

In this message, Chul Kim discusses Apostle Paul as he follows God’s will to Macedonia during his second missionary journey in Acts 16. Paul met various people affected by his preaching, including Lydia, a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit, and a jailer. The spirit allowed the girl to predict the future (even proclaiming that Paul and his companions are men of God), bringing money to her owner. The message talked about Paul’s genuine concern for the girl, whereby her worth was previously defined by how much money she was able to bring to her owner; after the spirit was driven out, the owner was noticeably upset, because he probably did not view the girl as anyone other than a person who brings him profit. Even as the girl prophesies about Paul’s association with God, Paul did not want God to be associated with the spirit, and may have been concerned that her prophesying gave only an incomplete view of God.

After Paul was thrown in prison because of his driving out the spirit, Paul and his companions prayed and sang hymns to God at night, even as they’re in prison. The message talks about how this is likely due to the fact that Paul was first given by God the vision to go to Macedonia, and probably knew that there will be suffering and persecutions involved. Hence, Paul was prepared to suffer for God, and understood that things may not go smoothly. Lastly, after having the chance to escape from prison due to an earthquake, Paul showed his concern for his jailer by gathering his companions and not running off. Overall, the message conveys the sense that despite the busyness of Paul’s life and ministry, he continually shows concern for particular individuals, such Lydia, the slave girl, and the jailer.

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

IGSM/VSM Friday Forum Podcast – “Knowing God” (3/04/11)

Posted on March 6, 2011 by howardlei82

In this message, Chul Kim discussed our fundamental need and desire to love others and to be loved, and the fact that, according to the Bible, this desire comes from God. In this sense, we are different from animals, because the Bible claims that we are created in the image of God. We often have a desire to build relationships with people rather than glorify ourselves via pursuit of fame, and in this sense, we value things that are longer-lasting (i.e. our relationships) versus things that aren’t (i.e. our achievements). The Bible teaches us these things, and Chul strongly encouraged us to place our faith and trust in a solid foundation for our lives, which the Bible provides.

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

IGSM/VSM Sunday Service Podcast — John 2:13-17 (2/20/11)

Posted on February 24, 2011 by katekfeng

John 2 portrays one of the rare instances in the Bible where Jesus acts out of anger and clears out the Temple courts. However, his anger is justified in that the Israelites, by turning God’s Temple into a marketplace, shifted the focus from a house of prayer to one filled with worldly values of bartering and profit-making. In effect, they had robbed God of His honor and gravely offended God with their ignorance and self-delusion. Referencing Mark 11:6-8, our speaker Chul emphasized the fact that God ultimately cares about our hearts–not our outward acts, which may be good or bad, but our inward relationship with our Heavenly Father. Rather than just focusing on external spiritual disciplines, which often lead to self-righteousness, God wants us to grow in our relationship with Him. It is through our continued struggles and repentance of our sinful hearts that we may experience God’s grace, in which we find hope that God will transform us.

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

Friday Forum Podcast – “The Narrow Gate, Pt 3″ – Luke 13:1-9 (2/18/11)

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Brian

podcast sq Friday Forum Podcast The Narrow Gate, Pt 3 Luke 13:1 9 (2/18/11)

In this Friday’s message, Chul Kim considers Jesus’ response to a discussion of a series of killings that occurred at the temple, as written in Luke 13:1. This event was thought to bring a curse on those who were killed and showed the triumph of the brutal Roman oppressors of the Jews, and those with Jesus were seeking a response of authority or judgment from Jesus. Instead, Jesus does not give a direct response, but warns the people present to consider their own guilt and come to repentence. Chul emphasizes how we are not isolated observers of a broken world, but we are part of the situations. We may not always know why a situation is the way it is, but we also come from this sinful world. Thereby, we must repent before we also perish, and learn to bear fruit for God through our compassion for one another.

To listen to the podcast, click the link below:

IGSM/VSM Sunday Service Podcast – 02/13/11

Posted on February 14, 2011 by cece

Matthew Kim addresses what true community is through Acts 2:42-47. It is through community that we can finally break through our own “delusional bubbles:” those ways of thinking we all have that increase the gap between who we really are and how we perceive ourselves. It is through the “apostle’s teachings,” “prayer, ” “breaking of bread,” and “fellowship” that we can really see our true character–what we’re really like through the responses and feedback of others, in the safety of loving and meaningful relationships possible through the church. Through other passages in Romans 12:3 and 1 John 3:16, each of us are challenged to not just speak boldly of love, but to actually live out what we claim, to concretely love people in our lives now, so that our actions live up to our words. We need to see that within the church, we can feel like the most blessed and lucky people, accepted and loved having accomplished nothing at all, while in fact seeing ourselves with sober judgement and as undeserved. This kind of love is contrary to the teachings of the rest of the world, which tells us we must strive and achieve before such acceptance and love can be offered to us, and this kind of love is offered to all of God’s children.