NC3 Sermons

From Sight to Unseen - Jim Villalobos - 1/19/2025

From Sight to Unseen

It’s almost bedtime and mom is cleaning up the house. Just a few more things to put away and she can hop into bed. But her teenage daughter still isn’t home. Mom keeps worries and anxiety at bay by reminding herself that God sees what she can’t and He’s in control.

Just as she finishes brushing her teeth, her daughter pops her head in to say she’s home. Relief and peace fills the mom. She’s back and all is well.

We can imagine this is partly what the apostles felt when Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection (along with astonishment and confusion!). Jesus is back, all is well. But just as the teenager leaves home again next weekend/semester/year, Jesus leaves His disciples to return to heaven. When then?

Join us this Sunday as we answer that question with our new series How the Church Acts and Jim’s message From Sight to Unseen.  

2024Dec1-Christmas Stump-Jom Villalobos

Where did I come from? While historically people may have asked this as an existential question, today it’s possible that someone is inquiring about his heritage. With the advancement of technology, many have turned to sites like FamilySearch, Ancestry, and 23andme to get answers.  

Exploring a family tree might be a hobby for us, but in the Bible, great importance is put on your lineage.  This was true for the important roles of kings and priests in Israel but of utmost importance for the awaited Messiah. Come this Sunday and start the Christmas season by focusing on Christ with Jim’s message “Christmas Stump.”

On Christ The Rock I Stand 11.24 Jay

On Christ The Rock I Stand

Matthew 7: 24-29
Jesus Is The Authority vs. 28 & 29

Use the Materials Jesus Gives to Build vs. 24 & 26

Life Will Happen vs.25 & 27

Call To Action / What Is Your Response To Jesus’ Sermon?

Two Trees With Discernible Fruit- Jay Jefferson

Matthew 7:15-20

The Warning Vs 15

The Identifying Fruit I John 4:1-4

Good Fruit/Bad Fruit Galatians 5: 19-25

Dead, Useless Trees Mark 11:12-14

What Kind of Fruit Are you Producing? Vs 20

October 27, 2024- Jay Jefferson- Ask.Seek.Knock

Ask / Seek / Knock

 

 

Ask / Seek / Knock
If you have spent any real time praying or examining what prayer is, then you have undoubtedly heard the phrase “Praying Through.”  But what does that really mean? Some say it means to pray until something happens, others say that it means to pray a certain way, and still others will tell you its meaning is to pray using scriptures. Well, in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus gives us a real clear understanding of what it means to “Pray Through” This Sunday Jay will expound on Jesus’ words concerning this mode of persistent prayer in the sermon, “Ask / Seek / Knock.”

 

Matthew 7: 12 & 7-11

A Golden Reminder vs. 12

Persistent Faith vs. 7 & 8

Ask - Pray

Seek - Pursue

Knock - Overcome

Bricks & Snakes vs.9 & 10

Good Gifts From A Good Father vs11

Follow The Narrow Brick Road- Jim V

The Wizard of Oz is iconic for many thing; among them the yellow brick road. The promise made to Dorothy is if she follows it she will get what she desires at the end; to go home. The journey is long with difficulties, but Dorothy finds help, and helps others along the way. All she has to do is,"Follow the yellow brick road." 

How many of us with we had something like this? A marked out path showing us where to go? While many wish for more details and clarity, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us what path to take. Join us this Sunday as Jim challenges us with the message Follow the Narrow Brick Road. 

Who's To Judge?

Matthew 7:1 (“Do not judge”) has possibly superseded John 3:16 as the most easily recognizable and popular verse in our broader culture. The words of the great 20^th century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, could easily serve as one of our cultural mottos: “Do not judge people. Try to understand them.”

Just a moment later, however, Jesus is comparing certain people to “dogs” and “pigs” and warning his followers against trusting them with anything important (Mt 7:6). This seems just a little “judgy.” Can there be a distinction between “judging” a person and criticizing his or her behavior? And are we ever in the position to do either?

Please join us this Sunday as David helps us work through this famous, tricky and critically important passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with his sermon Who's To Judge?

No Worries

Matthew 6:25-34

 

No Worries

 We live in a society where people are plagued with anxiety. As if that was not bad enough, anxiety has infiltrated the church and the ranks of God’s people. This is a problem because the people of God, through His redemption, have been freed from such things as sin, shame, doubt, and fear. So if we are free, then why do we embrace the normalization of anxiety in our lives? For the scriptures tell us that “He that the Son has set free is free indeed…right?  This Sunday, Jay will remind us of Jesus’ remedy for the plague of anxiety in the Sermon, “No Worries.”