Storefront Church

The final of our five denominational vows. “Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the church, and promise to study its purity and peace? Vow #5 is about AUTHORITY. Here we place ourselves under the authority and discipline of the church, committing to strive for sound doctrine and also to live at peace within the faith community.

The 4th of our 5 denominational vows.  “Do you promise to support the church in its worship and work to the best of your ability?” With Vow #4, the theme is SERVICE and commit to participate to uphold the church in its worship and in the work

David unpacks the 3rd of our 5 denominational vows.  “Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?” The major theme of Vow #3 is SANCTIFICATION. Or, our growing spiritual Christian maturity. Once you professed faith, you resolve to live as Jesus’ follower with the aid of the Holy Spirit...

David unpacks the 2nd of our 5 denominational vows.  “ Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest on Him alone, as He is offered in the gospel?” With Vow #2, FAITH is the main theme. Here we proclaim and confess that we are relying on Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.

David provides an intro into the why behind membership vows and unpacks the 1st of our 5 denominational vows. “Do you acknowledge yourself as a sinner in the sight of God, justly deserving his displeasure, and without hope except for his sovereign mercy? The main theme of the first vow is REPENTANCE. Here we acknowledge that we're a sinner, and that because of this, our only hope of salvation is f...

(Scripture Reading: Jonah 3:1-10)

The Book of Jonah is a story about one man's miraculous journey of self-discovery. But as we see Jonah's journey is a painful one, because he doesn't like what he finds. However, today everything changes. Jonah comes to the end of himself, and through prayer finds grace and hope in God.  (Scripture Reading: Jonah 1:17-2:10)

Jonah had experienced friendship with God in ways few others have, and yet now, we see that he’d rather be hurled into the sea, than simply re-engage God in order to quiet the storm. Since our relationship with God is not unlike Jonah's we can learn a lot through this passage. (Scripture Reading Jonah 1:1-16)

Everyone from Tim Keller to Ta-Nahesi Coates has written a commentary on the Book of Jonah, and it's not because they’re flummoxed by the idea of “ great fish”, but because some of the very same sociological issues that we deal with today, Jonah dealt with, too. Today, we learn that whenever God does something new it's always because he’s up to something good. (Scripture Reading: Jonah 1: 1-3)

This week we focus on how even the most mature followers of Jesus, become children of God (again). (Scripture Reading from John 3:1-15)

This week we're looking at governance of the church and seeking its purity and peace , through Matthew 18:15-20.

With 1 Corinthians 13, Paul pastors a church that has lost its way. They have been blessed with gifts and they gotten busy doing “the things” the church is supposed to do. Yet, in doing them they've lost sight of God. When we lose sight of God, we cease to be the vessels of God’s sacrificial, never-ending love, which is what he intended. As we look at the fourth of our five membership vows... &nbs...

Immanuel Kant said that what defines a truly rich man, not by what he/she has, but by what he/she can live without.  What we learn from this passage is that in world full temptations, the one thing we cannot live out is the Holy Spirit. So dependent are Christians on the Holy Spirit, that we cannot even promise to follow Jesus without recognizing our reliance upon Him. As we endeavor to follo...

This week we reflect on the 2nd of our membership vows:   "Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?" Jesus came to reverse our brokenness. Even in the face of desperation and death, Jesus comes with his touch of compassion while challenging the status quo. Faith in...

As a Church we are revisiting the doctrine of membership and being part of the Body and we are doing that by teaching through the five vows of our denomination which can be categorized as follows: Our Predicament, Our Provision, Our Power, Our Participation and Our Privilege. This week we’re talking about our Predicament. Christians acknowledge that we’re “sinners in the sight of God” that we’re “...

Now, if you were to ask someone living along the High Line what exactly does an Ambassador of Christ represents you might hear words like Love, or Grace, but I doubt we would here the topic we are being asked to consider today. Which is one of “reconciliation.”  Christians, are Ambassadors of God’s reconciling work to the world, through Jesus Christ. (Scripture Reading 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (...

This week, we unpack what it means to be a “believer.” “Believing” into Jesus means that you move from an agnostic, atheist, or a general, “worshipper of God” to trusting in Jesus as Lord. For the disciples (and each of the new followers found in these verses) this meant that Jesus ruled over human hearts and entire households, over our bodies and our suffering. (Scripture Reading from Acts 16:13-...

(Scripture Reading from Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Timothy 2:1-3)

(Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:25-30)

When Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem and his imminent death on the cross, he loved his disciples to the end. That can be interpreted as "loved them to the last breath and love in its highest intensity." (v 1-5) The dialogue (v. 6-11) between Jesus and Peter shows us in vivid form, the lengths we are willing to go to cover up our shame, refusing Jesus who wants to serve us and wash us. Jesus sh...

“Citizens of Rome”, wherever they found themselves, were called to live out the "cultural distinctives" of the Roman Empire.  Paul reminds followers of Christ as “Citizens of Heaven” that they’re to live out the "cultural distinctives" of the Heavenly city in whatever earthly city they live in. Now there are many distinctives about the Christian faith, but they often begin with a return to Jo...

Not one time is the word “friend” mentioned in this passage. However, with the story of Zacchaeus we have a “case study” of how one becomes a friend, and the responsibility that comes with being a friend. Through friendship with Jesus, Zacchaeus transforms from being the foe of everyone to a humble friend to all who he has wronged. Friendship with Jesus is the kind that changes lives, transforms c...

The Apostle Paul, like everyone, knows that being a servant is not easy. And yet, He says "we do not lose heart." With today's message we learn that being a servant of the Lord is challenging not because God is impossible to please, but because humans are. (Scripture reading from 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 ESV)

In the New Testament, followers of Christ are rarely referred to as “Christians.” In fact, in both the old and new testaments, God’s people are given other titles and descriptions; like “soldier” or “citizens'', “servants” and “saints.” These Christian synonyms do what mere principles cannot, they shape our moral imagination, provide a broader understanding of Christian identity, and further our u...

These verses, quite helpfully, say something about how Christians face conflict in community. The injunction here is that before making judgements about others, the disciple is to engage in self-examination, avoiding hypocrisy. This passage is an invitation into the needed but too often neglected practice of self-examination. This week Pastor Bijan explores Jesus’ famous statement, ‘Do not judge’....