Need a Place to Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner?

If you weren’t with us on Sunday, you missed out on a family announcement that we wanted to share with you! Steve and Abigail Hopkins, a newer couple to the Restored Church family, will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at their house for anyone who does not have a place to spend their Thanksgiving. Whether you are a part of Restored or not, they are opening their home, cooking a bird, and would love for you to join them for a great Thanksgiving meal! If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Hopkins on Thursday for dinner, email Steve at hopkins.steven@gmail.com to RSVP! The plan is to eat around 3:30 p.m., but you are welcome over any time after 2 p.m.

Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1FnOAtH

SUNDAY SERMON RECAP – THE BEAUTIFUL MESS – PART 5

Yesterday, we had an exciting morning as we launched several new Missional Communities and heard from various leaders in the MC’s of what God was doing in their communities. Brad continued our series, “The Beautiful Mess,” in 1 Corinthians and showed us how we are called to make disciples in San Diego in the same way Paul did 2,000 years ago in Corinth. Paul’s message was Christ crucified and his method contradicted culture, so that Christ would be clear.

While the culture of ancient Corinth and modern day San Diego are a little different, we are called to proclaim the same message Paul did and demonstrate it in such a way that shows the world around us what life under God's rule and reign looks like. The central message we proclaim as Christians is that God has made a way for us to be welcomed back into His family through the death of His very own Son, Jesus. The way we demonstrate this message most clearly is by living in such a way that contradicts our culture because this helps people see Jesus’s Kingdom more tangibly. San Diego is known for its comfortable lifestyle, but we Christians live in such a way that our ultimate comfort is found in Jesus rather than possessions. San Diego is known for its consumption of beer, but we Christians are able to enjoy a beer, but not be mastered by it. San Diego is known for its wealth, but we Christians live generous lives because Jesus has given us everything we already need.

If you are interested in joining the “Introduction to Gospel Community Life” that was mentioned by Andy yesterday, please email Brad at brad.restored@gmail.com for more info.

If you missed the sermon, be sure to listen to it here, "The Method of the Cross": http://bit.ly/1xJHlZo

SUNDAY SERMON RECAP – THE BEAUTIFUL MESS – PART 2

During our Sunday gathering yesterday, we continued week two in our sermon series, “The Beautiful Mess,” through 1st Corinthians. Last week we saw how the church at Corinth was a beautiful mess. They were beautiful because they were saved by Jesus, covered by His grace, and called together; but messy because of their ongoing sin, division, and confusion of the Gospel. Yesterday we dove into Paul’s major concern about how the church was divided into different groups. While this may not seem to be a huge issue to us because we are familiar with hundreds of Christian denominations, Paul explained that divisions are completely at odds with who Jesus is and what He has done for them.

While we may not have divisions in our church that are exactly like the divisions in the church at Corinth, we certainly are prone to dividing over similar issues. Paul didn’t simply command them to be united, but begged them to act united because we have already been united in Jesus. One of the beautiful aspects of the Gospel is that through the death and resurrection of Jesus, everyone who has put their faith in Him are united to Him and given all of the blessings that He earned. Paul argues that if every Christian is united to Jesus, then every Christian is united to one another as well. Division in the church is contradictory to the reconciling work of Jesus. As Christians, our dream is to help the world see Jesus clearly and nothing does that better than being a people united together in His name!

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, “The Unity Jesus Brings,” listen to it here.

SUNDAY SERMON RECAP – THE BEAUTIFUL MESS - PART 1

This past Sunday, Brad kicked off our new sermon series, “The Beautiful Mess,” which will be a verse-by-verse look at 1st Corinthians over the next year. Paul planted the church in the city of Corinth (modern day Greece) in AD 50 and stayed with the new Christians for 18 months before taking off to Ephesus. After Paul left Corinth, things began to get crazy as the Corinthians went back to the habits of their life before Christ in a city famous for its immorality. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is primarily a rebuke to the church that they are not living in light of the good news of what Jesus has accomplished through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future return.

While 1st Corinthians is a letter primarily of rebuke and correction to a church that is delighting and indulging in sin, Paul begins his letter by encouraging the Corinthians with the grace of Jesus. In verse 4, Paul writes, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.” Paul encourages the Christians/saints in Corinth by reminding them of the grace of Jesus. He encourages them by pointing them to the finished, continuing, and future work of Jesus.

• “You were enriched in Christ” v.5
• “You are not lacking in any gift.” v.7
• “Jesus will sustain you till the end.” v.8
• “You will be declared guiltless on that day.” v.8
• “God is faithful.” v.9
• “You have been called into the fellowship with Jesus.” v.9

Brad showed us that while the Corinthians are a complete mess, Paul reminds them of Jesus’ beauty at work in them. As Christians, we are a Beautiful Mess. We have been called into relationship with Jesus and called together as a family. We are a family who sins, yet are saints. We are a family with brokenness, yet covered in grace. We are a messy family, yet a beautiful one. And this is all because of Jesus and the greatest Beautiful Mess of the cross. At the cross, Jesus took on our sin so that we could receive His righteousness. His beauty for our mess. Let us be encouraged today in Jesus’ gracious past, present, and future work in us.

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, “The Beautiful Mess,” listen to it here.

Our 1 Corinthians Series, “The Beautiful Mess” Kicks Off This Sunday!

The book of 1 Corinthians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a church he planted in Corinth (modern-day Greece). You can read all about the beginning of the church in Acts 18. The letter is written some time after Paul had planted the Corinthian Church and a lot of problems had started to spring up for these new believers. The church was struggling with division, unreconciled conflict, blatant sexual sin, questions surrounding marriage, divorce, singleness and spiritual gifts.

The beauty of the letter is that Paul shows them how every problem in their church from seemingly random issues like incest or speaking in tongues to more common ones like singleness and marriage can all be dealt with through the Gospel of Jesus. Paul’s faith in what God is doing through the Gospel in his calling and ultimately transforming this church into something beautiful is what keeps him from giving up on her. He sees this church through a Gospel lens, a lens sees a “beautiful mess” men and women who are so bad Jesus had to die for them and so loved that Jesus was glad to die for them.

Everyone is invited join our church family as we work our way through this profoundly deep, wildly practical, gospel drenched letter written to a young urban church in the middle of a secular culture just like us. A church made up of people who are saints and sinners at the same time, just like we are. A church that Jesus that Jesus died for, a church that Jesus loves, a beautiful mess like us.

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, “The Beautiful Mess,” listen to it here.

OUR TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION GATHERING

Hey Restored Church Family!

On Sunday, October 5th, we will be celebrating our two-year anniversary as a church! God has been so gracious to us over the last two years as we have witnessed Him save men and women, send out missionaries into the city, and equip leaders who have been raised up to make disciples. October 5thwill be a huge celebration of Jesus and all of the things He has done in us and through us. During the gathering, we will have the privilege of hearing 2-minute testimonies from 12 people in our church about how God has changed them over the last two years through the Gospel and His family, Restored Church.

Because God keeps growing Restored Church, our two-year anniversary on October 5th will be our last 10 a.m. Sunday gathering. We will launch two gatherings the following Sunday, October 12th, at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Please come out and join us in celebrating God’s grace over us! Bring friends and family as we also baptize several people in celebration of the life change that He continues to do through Restored Church!

When: Sunday, October 5th

Where: Adams Elementary School (4672 35th St, San Diego, CA 92116)

Time: 10 a.m.

SUNDAY SERMON RECAP – POURED OUT PT. 2 – GIVING

During our Sunday gathering, Andy continued our sermon series, “Poured Out,” by teaching on how we can worship God through our finances. While giving of our finances is often a topic that makes us uncomfortable, he started the sermon by focusing our eyes on God, who is the model for our giving. God is the One who has given us everything we need by creating us and saving us through His sacrificial gift of His Son. We are not commanded to give in order to get God to love us, but we are enabled to give as we see and believe that God has already loved us perfectly and proved it through the cross of Jesus. His love for us frees us up so that we can serve Him instead of money.

Andy explained that the method of giving throughout the New Testament is generous stewardship. Paul tells the Corinthian church in 2 Cor. 9:7, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” As Christians, we are called to give joyfully, sacrificially, and consistent. But more importantly than our method, our motivation must be the Gospel. It is only through seeing Jesus dying in our place can we ever truly give joyfully or generously. It is by seeing that Jesus joyfully endured the cross in our place that we can and get to surrender all things to Him, including our finances.

If you are a part of the Restored Church family, we cannot encourage you enough to worship God through your finances by giving joyfully, sacrificially, and consistently to the Gospel work through Restored Church. If you would like to set up recurring giving, please go here and sign up. If you missed the sermon, be sure to check it out here.

We are so grateful to see the grace of God over our church and we are excited to see how He is going to continually provide for us.

Important and Exciting Announcement about Sunday, September 28th!

If you were with us yesterday, you heard the exciting announcement about this upcoming weekend! This Sunday, September 28th, we have the privilege of gathering with another local church in San Diego! New City Church is a like-minded church that we have a Gospel-partnership with that gathers at 11 a.m. on Sundays downtown at San Diego High School. Because of the Adams Ave. Street Fair in Normal Heights, Restored Church will not be able to use our usual gathering location (Adams Elementary), so we decided it would be an incredible opportunity to gather with other brothers and sisters in the city and worship our King together.

While we have never attempted to do something like this before, we cannot encourage you enough to join us this Sunday, the 28th, as we gather with our extended family, New City Church! We hope you won’t see this as a Sunday to skip and chill at home, but a life-giving opportunity to see Jesus’ bride united together amongst two churches in the same city!

Here are the important logistics for the morning:

• Time: 11 a.m.
• Location: San Diego High School Perkins Theater (1405 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101)
• Kids ministry will be available for the kids!

If you have any questions, please email Brad at brad.restored@gmail.com

SUNDAY SERMON RECAP – POURED OUT PT. 1 – SERVICE

This past Sunday we started a new sermon series, “Poured Out”, on worshipping in the everyday. Andy taught on the topic of service and we looked at two primary Bible passages. The first was Philippians 2:12-18 where Andy explained the heart behind the series by highlighting Paul’s words in verse 17, “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Paul worshipped God by pouring out his life for the sake of the Gospel. But he did it in joy because he was a man who was deeply aware that His Savior poured out His life for the sake of Paul on the cross. It is only when we see what Christ has done through His sacrifice that we can respond in joyful service to King Jesus.

Lastly, Andy read through John 13:1-8, where we witnessed Jesus washing the feet of the disciples on the night before He went to the cross. Andy pointed out that if there were ever a moment where Jesus could have been justified in self-pity or wanting to be served by people, it would have been at this point. Yet Jesus used that very moment to get on his knee and wipe the blood and filth off the disciples’ feet. Jesus truly came to serve. If He, as the King of Kings, served us through His life, death, and resurrection, who are we to think we are too busy, important, or powerful to serve Him and others? We pour our lives out through serving one another because King Jesus poured out His life on the cross so that we would be reconciled to the Father.

If you missed the sermon, check it out here: Poured Out through Service. Join us next Sunday as we look at how we are called to pour ourselves out with our finances because Jesus has blessed us with every spiritual blessing!

SUNDAY SERMON RECAP – SACRIFICIAL SERVICE

This past Sunday we had the privilege of having Chris Wienand, an apostolic father to Restored Church, preach to us from Mark 8:27-37 on sacrificial service. Chris showed us how essential it is that we first be servants to Jesus before we can possibly serve one another. It is only by seeing how Jesus has first served us through His life, death, and resurrection that we are even capable of being freed to serve Him and others. Chris then spent a large chunk of time explaining how the world is looking for a community of Christ followers who are zealous, compassionate, and loving. When they encounter this kind of community through the church, they will be experiencing the zeal, compassion, and love that Jesus has for them. As a result of them experiencing Jesus’s love through our sacrificial service, they will be able to trust in Him who alone is good and gracious.

As we go into this next season of starting a second Sunday gathering, we are asking everyone who calls Restored Church their family to serve sacrificially. As Christians, we are called not only to serve on Sundays, but lives of service to the King who served us. Serving on the hospitality team, environment team, or with our kids ministry on Sundays is merely a glimpse of what we have been saved into. As Paul says in Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” If you weren’t able to sign up for a ministry to serve in on Sunday, there will be another opportunity this Sunday during our worship gathering at 10 a.m. Hope to see you there!

If you missed the sermon, be sure to listen to it here: Sacrificial Service