New Life Downtown

We live in the wilderness - in the place between redemption and restoration, between Egypt and the Promised Land. As Pastor Jason Jackson begins a new series, we see that the wilderness, wild as it is, is the place of both salvation and transformation. In the wilderness, God causes dry land to emerge to save us from the enemy and He leads us through dry land to purge us from sin so that we might l...

What does it look like to pray during Lent, a season where we remember the sorrow and suffering of Jesus? Pastor Glenn Packiam explores petition and protest in the Psalms, and helps us see why they are forms of praise, proof of our relationship with God, and pathways to intimacy with God.

Sermon Slides

When God spares Nineveh, Jonah burns with anger. He judges God's actions as unjust, and he distances himself. He sits outside the city and waits for God to change. But God doesn't change. The God who he is merciful and compassionate once again provides the means to deliver Jonah from his evil. In this final sermon on Jonah, Pastor Jason Jackson shows us how even in the Old Testament God reveals hi...

In Jonah 3, we see God's warning of judgment on Nineveh and their immediate response of repentance. Pastor Glenn Packiam guides our reflection on the nature of justice and judgment, and helps us to see how both spring from God's deep love for us. Repentance is always possible, and Jesus the one who is greater than Jonah has come to save.

Jonah goes to great lengths to get away from God. He would rather die in the sea than speak God's word to his enemies. When death draws near, he cries out to God and learns that God's presence is inescapable and his mercy is unpredictable. However, as Pastor Jason Jackson points out, Jonah has yet to align his desires with God's and to willingly participate in God's mission.

When God calls, he invites us to be with him and join him in his work. But sometimes the word of God makes us uncomfortable. It confronts us. Exposes us. Asks us to risk. When that happens, we often want a different word ... or even a different God and like Jonah we take flight. But as Pastor Jason Jackson reminds us, Jonah's story and our stories are not primarily about our response to God but ab...

Many, if not most of us, feel like we're failing at prayer. We don't pray long enough or often enough, and we're not sure if we're praying the right way or for the right things. The truth is we're all novices at prayer, and we all need someone to teach us to pray. In this sermon, Pastor Jason Jackson reminds us of what Jesus taught us about praying and encourages us not to give up on seeking God t...

One of the hardest ways to embody our pursuit of God is with our money. We have many ways of justifying our control. Yet, as Pastor Glenn Packiam explains, the invitation to a practice of worshipful giving is what prepares us and propels us into generous living.

We all ache for community, but few of us find it, even in the church. This week Pastor Jason Jackson discusses how Christianity is genetically communal and community is genetically difficult. This is particularly true in our culture where we prefer a life without restraints, but community requires constraint. In this light, Pastor Jason encourages us to move against the spirit of our age in order...

How do we seek God through Scripture? We want to read the Bible, but we're not always sure why or how. Pastor Glenn Packiam outlines the 6 Acts of Scripture's Story, and then helps us know how to enter the Story, to let the Story enter us, and to see Jesus as the center of the Story.

Keys in the Bible, not unlike our world, are symbols of power and authority. But the person who holds the most powerful keys must be the person who is most trustworthy. Pastor Glenn Packiam helps us see what it means to call Jesus the Key of David, the one who opens doors no one can shut and who shuts doors no one can open.

This Advent, wait for the coming King with historic songs called the 'O Antiphons'. Drawing from Old Testament imagery to describe the hope of the Messiah, each song reveals something about the character of Jesus who comes to us in our waiting. Pastor Glenn Packiam begins the series with an exploration of Jesus as the Wisdom of God.

In this final sermon of the series on Philippians, Pastor Glenn Packiam examines Paul's secret to being content. While we tend toward indulging our desires, denying them completely, or detaching ourselves from the world, the Christian's life sits at ease with her circumstances through an abiding communion with Christ.

Aaron Stern from Mill City Church speaks to us today! He and his wife Jossie are long-time dear friends of Pastor Glenn and Holly Packiam. They were pastors on staff here at New Life Church for 12 years, so it's great to have him back!

The Christian life takes practice-not as a way of earning God's favor, but as part of receiving His gift of grace. As Paul's letter to the Philippians begins to wrap up, he gives them a few things to practice. Pastor Glenn Packiam helps us understand why practicing reconciliation, joy, gentleness, prayer, and focus matter, and how such practices are even possible.

What do we hope for? Much of our conversation about hope is anchored in this life, but what about our hope for afterlife? This week Pastor Jason Jackson looks at the substance of Paul's hope in his letter to the Philippians. As he awaits trial and faces the possibility of execution, Paul is filled with hope. Hope for life after death, and hope for life after life after death. The hope of heaven an...

What is the goal of the Christian life? Is it better behavior? Is it a better eternal future? While these may certainly be results, they are not the actual goal. Pastor Glenn Packiam helps us see why knowing Jesus was Paul's prize and pursuit.

When Christians rejoice, are we being naive or escapist, or living in denial? Paul urges the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord as a way of keeping from placing their confidence in the wrong things. Pastor Glenn Packiam unpacks the signs of our misplaced confidence and calls into a joy in Christ that keeps us rightly centered.

There are no heroic individuals in the Kingdom of God. Everybody needs somebody? Paul certainly did. Pastor Glenn Packiam focuses in on two of Paul's close friends, Timothy and Epaphroditus, helping us to see how the Gospel redefines our notion of family. There are people in our community who embody for us what it looks like to live and love like Jesus.