Weekly Update Archive

Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of March 4, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Brian Tekawa for the message from Acts 24:1 – 25:12, “Higher Ground.”  Last week pastor Eric’s sermon was about standing for the truth. Often when you stand for the truth people get upset. Some might get angry and bring false accusations. Such was the case for Paul as he stood for the true message of God. He was falsely accused. Followers of Jesus can expect to be misunderstood and face false accusations. How should I respond to false accusations?

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Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of February 26, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Eric Yata for the message from Acts 22:30-23:11, “God-Insanity”. There are those who stand out for publically testifying to the truth of God and His Word. Most recently, there is NBA star, Jeremy Lin, giving glory to God in his life. There was Martin Luther, who took a stand for the reformation of the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. In this passage, Paul takes a bold stand before the ruling Jewish council. As Christian believers, followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be prepared to answer, “How to stand for the truth”.

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Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of February 19, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Scott Shimada for the message from Acts 21:37 – 22:21, “Talk the Walk.” Opportunities may come up when we can share our faith with others. It can be met with mixed results. We may have difficulties explaining what we believe or fear how it may be taken. Paul was on trial, beat up and arrested. The mob was yelling for him to be taken away. It seemed everyone was against him and yet he remained focused on defending his faith. What should we do when we need to defend our faith?

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Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of February 12, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Rod Yee for the message from Acts 20:17-21. “Never Can Say Goodbye.”  People may remember us inaccurately. How does God want us to be remembered? We continue in the 3^rd missionary journey of Paul, seeing how the Holy Spirit is at work establishing the church. Encouragement is the key theme of this chapter. (v.17) ¹⁷ From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. Paul wants to share how he hopes to be remembered, so at a stop in the harbor town at Miletus, he sends for the elders of the church in Ephesus, 30 miles away, to come to him so he can say good bye.

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Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of February 5, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Brian Tekawa for the message from Acts 19:11-41, “True Religion”. The main point of this passage is beware of false teachers.  We are continuing our study in the book of Acts, a study of the beginnings of the church after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven. An obstacle to church growth that plagues us even today is false teaching. The question is, “How can I identify false teaching?”

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Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of January 29, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Eric Yata for the message from Acts 19:1-10, “Marked By The Spirit.” The world is watching and looking for Christians to live out their faith in God. It longs for Christians to display the glory and love of Christ, and for us to demonstrate what we believe, that we be consumed by God in order that they might know God. Luke records a situation in which Paul explains John the Baptist, because they are missing something in regards to their relationship to God and in their understanding of the Holy Spirit. Paul points out something crucial in order that they might live out their faith in Christ. We’re going to ask a simple but significant question, “What are the marks and characteristics of the indwelling of the Spirit?”

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Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of 1/22/12…

Thank you to Dr. Vernon Kam for the message from Acts 17:16-31, “Making God Known.” As Disney is good at creating a fantasy theme park, so were the Athenians at creating gods.

A.  Athens. Paul was in Athens about 50 AD (Acts 17:16). Everywhere he looked, he saw sculptures of the Greek gods and goddesses.  Alexander the Great conquered much of the ancient world.   He brought Greek culture with him.   Paul was very familiar with Greek culture.  He was brought before the Areopagus who were the leaders of Athens.  He tells them that he noticed an altar to the unknown god and uses it as a way to tell them about God (v.23).

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Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of January 15, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Brian Tekawa for the message from Acts 16:11-40, “Second to None”. In Christ you are a first class citizen of the Kingdom of God, but have you ever been treated like a second class citizen?  In God’s Kingdom you are a first class citizen because you know Jesus. In God’s Kingdom you are second to none. We need to constantly remind ourselves that God is in control, it is God who COUNSELS, it is God who CLEANSES, and it is God who CONVICTS His people, bringing them to the highest level of worth, children of God, the Father. So, how do you enter God’s kingdom?

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Dear San Lo Community, an update for the week of January 8, 2012…

Thank you to Pastor Scott Shimada for the message from Acts 15:22-32, “Revealing God’s Love.” When we come to faith in Christ, some people go through a period of time figuring out how to live as a Christian. It was similar for the Gentiles in Acts.  They had come to Christ and left a life in darkness to live in the light.  But they were still unsure what that exactly meant. The Jerusalem Council (apostles and elders) not only helped them but also set for us an example of how God’s love is revealed. At the beginning of this chapter, some were being taught they needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. One group of Jewish Christians pointed to the laws of Moses which required that.  Paul, Barnabas and other church leaders believed Old Testament laws were very important, but did not need to be obeyed in order for someone to be saved.  Converted Pharisees, on the other hand, preferred a legalistic religion.  They believed that faith alone was not enough, that Gentiles would have to be circumcised in order to be saved.  Had this been the case, Christianity would have been just another Jewish sect. So the council met and discussed this and agreed that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised. The Gentiles are waiting to hear what they should do which poses the question – How is God’s love revealed?

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Dear San Lo Community, a New Year’s 2012 update…

Thank you to Pastor Rod Yee for the message from Acts 14:8-18, “An Unexpected Walk.” There are times when we may find ourselves walking into something quite unexpectedly, however, most likely not as much as did the man in this passage. We learn about a man who was without any hope and how he responds after he encounters God. As we consider this man’s experience, we should ask, “How can we make an impact for God?”

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