Hi friends! Here's your preview for what's going on this Sunday!

Sunday Synopsis:

This Sunday we continue to explore the theme of prayer with a NEW series that explores what lives look when you combine a passion for prayer with a broken heart for others.  The series is called "Prayer at Work: Pictures of Possibilities" and I am very excited for our first glimpse into a life devoted to prayer and mission - Kevin Blue. There is so much I could say about Kevin - he is an author (Practical Justice, Faith on the Edge), pastor (Church of the Redeemer in south central LA), urban ministries director (Servant Partners), and all-around man of God. He will be speaking about the essential integration of prayer and justice together. As we learn from Kevin and hear stories from his life of prayer, I pray that the Spirit would speak to each one of our hearts and give us pictures of the beautiful possibilities He wants to paint in our lives as well.

Songs we will be singing:

(For your downloading pleasure to sing your guts out!)

Again I say rejoice - Israel Houghton

Wait on the Lord - Enter the Worship Circle

Hungry - Kathryn Scott

Surely we can change -  David Crowder Band

Multiply your love - Andy Park

Thanks and see you Sunday!

krista-dawn 

Sunday synopsis:

This Sunday we will have a guest speaker Michael Koh coming to teach us on prayer. Michael Koh is a pastor at Vision Christian Fellowship in Pasadena, CA.  He pioneered several churches in Malaysia before moving to Pasadena for studies at Fuller and pioneering a church planting ministry there. He will be speaking about prayer and the life of faith and then sharing more deeply with anyone who would like to come over lunch at SJSU. Please try to make your lunch plans flexible so that you are able to come and have any questions answered that arise from his teaching. We are so glad to have him lead us this Sunday!

See you soon!

krista-dawn

Sunday Synopsis:

This sunday we are continuing in the series "accessing the 3G network" about life in the Holy Spirit. Tony will be teaching us about connecting to the Holy Spirit within us. Our worship response will continue to allow people to pray to receive the Holy Spirit or awaken the life of the Spirit that hasn't been accessed in awhile.

Songs we will be singing:

Come to the Water - Compassionart  This album was created by many well known worship leaders around the world that came together to create an album about God's heart for justice that would raise money for various ministries. Learn more about it here. 

Pour out your Spirit - Tom Lane

Take my life - Passion

In Christ Alone - Newsboys

Remain - Starfield 

See you Sunday!

Krista-Dawn Kimsey

Hello friends! Here's your sneak peak at what Sunday morning will be like for us all! This sunday is our quarterly family service so it will only be one hour long.

Sunday synopsis:

I'm excited to have the kids join us in the ballroom as we celebrate Pentecost together. Pentecost is often described as "the church's birthday" and a time to remember when the Holy Spirit came to us (Acts 2). Our Kids' Community Pastor Jill Bekaert will teach a Godly Play lesson, sharing the story of Pentecost. Mark Phifer-Houseman will then offer some words of reflection as we ponder what Pentecost means for us today. For those of us who are not that familiar with Pentecost, I hope and pray that we come away with a sense of wonder and awe at the power of the Holy Spirit among us. 

Response:

The children are invited to do their regular work time at stations in the back of the room. There will be reflection questions for the adults to use during this time so that adults without children can stay in their seats. 

Songs we will hear and sing:

Marga Darshan - Aradhna

Santo Santo Eres 

Come people of the Risen King - Keith and Kristin Getty

Baba Ye - Yoruban Praise Song

Sunday synopsis:

This Sunday we conclude our series, "When Faith is Broken". Mark Phifer-Houseman will be our teacher as we learn what it means to take all that we have learned these past 5 weeks and be "Praying and Growing in every season". We have journeyed with the apostles in their post-resurrection encounters with Jesus so this Sunday we will spend time reflecting on our own lives.

Worship Response:

Mark will speak on the various stages of faith and we will have the opportunity to locate which stage fits with our current experience of Jesus. After we spend some time gaining clarity with where we are at, we have created reflection questions to help you continue to process. Each stage has a corresponding station that you can go to continue your reflection. We have created this space to digest what we have been hearing throughout the series and I hope that you will use as much time as you need to take a next step forward in your journey with Jesus. We have created extra time for reflection this morning because we realize that time for authentic conversation and conversion with God is often at the mercy of our packed schedules.

A few songs we will be singing:

I will lift my eyes - Bebo Norman 

Nothing is Impossible - Vicky Beeching 

From the Inside Out - Hillsong United

I really enjoy these "end of the series review" mornings. I pray that God will increase your expectations for what He could do in your heart as Sunday approaches. 

see ya soon!

krista-dawn 

Sunday synopsis:

Pastor Brad will be speaking on the hope we have through the resurrection of Jesus. In the midst of troubled, uncertain times, this is good news for all. Brian Legates will also be sharing his testimony... a story that only Jesus could author. In addition to our usual worship team, we will also have a 30+ person choir on stage led by Jamie Wolf. I am excited for the energy that all those worshippers on stage will add to our corporate praise!

Music:

Download these quick so you can sing along with gusto:

Again I say rejoice - Israel Houghton

So Great - CompassionArt

Saviour King - Hillsong United

Here I am to worship - Israel Houghton

see you Sunday!

krista-dawn

Sunday synopsis:

This Sunday is Palm Sunday and marks the beginning of Holy Week. Mark Phifer-Houseman will be teaching from John 12, helping us look at what it means to die to ourselves so that the Father may bear much fruit. We will be learning what it means to "plant our very lives." I pray that the Holy Spirit would meet us this Sunday, and in the upcoming Holy Week, as we examine our own lives, what we must let die, and how Jesus literally did die. And may we all feel the awe and wonder of how our greatest good actually came out of death.

-Angela

Ramp:

Our ramp continues the story told by The Bible Experience. You can learn more about this recording here.

This sunday's response:

We will have a card for you in your invitation as you arrive to fill out your thoughts in response to Mark's invitation of faith. You might be asking "Why do we ask you to write stuff down during service?" The extra effort of putting exact words onto a piece of paper can sometimes be very helpful in bringing clarity for you in the moment of worship. This card is meant for you to take home and remember what you believe God spoke to you at the time. I often find myself a month or two away from a moment in time that I remember was significant, but I can't remember exactly why. This is also why we encourage you to bring a journal and bible to church with you. By journaling sermon notes, response thoughts and prayers, you can chronicle all of your whispers and inklings of the Spirit as they happen, and over the course of the year you can gain a lot more clarity about the themes that God has been speaking to you.  

Music:

Last week we sang God in This City - Chris Tomlin

Next week for Easter Sunday we are singing a few newish songs. Download them here so that you'll know them by heart for our Easter Celebration!

Again I say rejoice - Israel Houghton

So Great - CompassionArt

Saviour King - Hillsong United

And then a few songs for this Sunday:

Mighty is the Power of the Cross -Chris Tomlin

Hosanna - Hillsong United

Living for your glory - Tim Hughes

See you sunday!

krista-dawn

This Sunday Tony Traback will be teaching us from John chapter 6 as we look at the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. Tony will be sharing how Jesus invites us to love the world with HIm and, in doing so, be known by Him. Based on the number of people who came forward last week following David's message, I know that there are many people in our congregation who desire to do good in our world, but who feel thirsty and hungry themselves. My prayer for all of us is that we would not let that stop us from loving the world, for often that is the very way Jesus fills us up!

Ramp:

The narrations of all the stories in this series from John are from The Bible Experience, a project that includes 400 Hollywood actors, musicians and producers. Check it out here.

Music:

Check out these songs to help you participate more fully on Sunday morning!

So Great - CompassionArt album

Nothing is impossible - Vicky Beeching

Hungry - Kathryn Scott

Mighty to Save - Hiillsong United

Multiply your Love - Andy Park

Forever - Chris Tomlin

See you sunday!

krista-dawn

This sunday is our final sunday in our series called "In God We Trust". Pastor Brad will be teaching out of 1 Chronicles 29, inspiring us to invest in a common mission. Throughout the scriptures we see God's people joyfully bringing heaven to earth, worshipping God with all they are and have. My prayer is that as we finish off this series hearing the call to invest in Kingdom that we would experience joy from our common commitment, and a peace from placing ourselves under our Creator's care. 

Worship Response:

This week, there will be a blank card in our invitations for us to use to write down our response to God. These cards are meant to help us concretely respond to what we feel we hear from God in the moment. They can be completely anonymous and will not be followed up. I encourage you to use these cards as it feels helpful after the sermon so that your worship is not just about words that you sing, but a honest offering of your life.

Songs that we will sing together:

You are Good - Israel Houghton

Jesus all for Jesus - Robin Mark

From the Inside Out - Hillsong United

Hosanna - Hillsong United

Awesome is the Lord Most High - Chris Tomlin

See you Sunday!

krista-dawn

Sunday Synopsis:

This Sunday Brad will continue to help us re-orient our thinking about money. He will be speaking about the tithe - what it is, why we should tithe, and what formational power it has in our lives. We will also have the opportunity to hear from Jeff Hopkins who will be sharing about his experiences with money and trusting God these past few months. As I've been talking to people this week about money and as I heard Jeff's story, my prayer for all of us is that we would truly be able to experience the freedom that God wants to give us... a freedom that involves trust, obedience, generosity and thanksgiving.

Songs we will be singing to help you prepare:

Take my life - Christ Tomlin

From the Inside Out - Hillsongs United

I will offer up my life - Matt Redman

Those who trust - Waterdeep

Te Alabare - Danilo Montero

See you tomorrow!

krista-dawn

After a bit of a break, we're back in the routine of sending out this blog to help you prepare for sunday morning. We hope it helps you participates fully in worship. 

Sunday synopsis:

This week Pastor Brad begins teaching a new series called "In God We Trust". For 3 weeks we will be looking at what it means to trust God with all our resources. This week, we'll start at the beginning, opening up our checkbooks and credit cards statements to allow God's gracious Spirit to speak an inspiring word to us about using our money for Kingdom transformation. I am excited to hear God's instructions above everyone else in the country about how to live in these anxious financial times.

Songs we will be singing together:

Take my life - Chris Tomlin

Remain - Starfield

Enough - Chris Tomlin

See you soon!

krista-dawn

Worship Set:
Be Magnified
Kindness
Holy Love
From the Inside Out
Be Glorified

See you Sunday!
Angela

I'm sorry it has been so long since there has been a post on here. Krista-Dawn went on maternity leave at the end of November and I dropped the ball on updating the blog. But it's a new year and I'm ready to bring you regular updates once again.

This Sunday synopsis: David Alvarez will continue to help us combat older brotheritis (as Mark called it last week) with a message titled "Forgiving others again and again". David will remind us of Jesus' powerful words from Matthew 18 21-25 about the forgiveness we have received from the Father and the forgiveness we are instructed to extend to our brothers and sisters in return. Please join me in praying that the Spirit would empower us to take this teaching to heart... that we wouldn't just agree with our minds, but really practice it and live it out in our lives.

Worship response: There will be handheld mirrors on the red carpet in the back. David will be inviting us to look at our faces in the mirror and do some self-examination.

Worship set:
We are Your Children
Only You
Amazing Grace
Your Love O Lord
Stir in Me
You are Holy

See you Sunday!

Angela

This Sunday Mark Phifer-Houseman will be helping us relate more deeply with the younger son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son that we are steeping ourselves in these next few months. Mark will help us see how conflict starts in the heart by walking us through pats of Chapter 3 and 4 of the book of James.  I hope you will find this Sunday to be very eye-opening and practical as we continue to explore what it means to be Peacemakers.

Worship Response:

This morning we will be take some time to think about ways that we might identify with the younger son, running away from God's love because of our idols within. In order for our time together to not just be interesting information to apply at a later time, we will use half of the message portion to be led in a guided reflection process. This time of journaling and prayerful reflection is meant to help move the practical information from our heads into becoming life transforming habits that form from a conviction in the heart. Journalling is a great way to process your thoughts, to see what you really think about a topic, and then be able to remember those thoughts later on for more further action and reflection. 

In response to our guided reflection time, I encourage you to use a number of the worship stations in the back of the room to allow your whole self to engage in the process of letting go of our idols. 

1. After you feel done thinking through the questions in the booklet that we will give out, please move to the red carpet in the back where there will be large bowls of water and towels for you to wash your hands. Please take your time to consider what things you would like to confess and turn from today. Then, wash your hands and move from the red carpet to another station in order to give others time at the bowls. This small act is a symbol of your heart's desire to be clean and receive the forgiveness that God rushes to offer you this morning. 

2. After you have repented at the bowls of water, you can either move to the communion table to receive the body and blood of Christ as grace and strength to you. Or you can choose to confess your sin to another by moving over to the intercessors who will be gathered in the back right side. Your confessions are always confidential, and the tangible hearing someone speak over you that you are truly forgiven is a helpful way for our minds to hold on to that truth. If you are not ready to speak out loud your confession, consider who and when would be a safe person to invite into God's process of transformation. 

3. Please receive communion at the communion tables as a reminder that the gift of God's love and sacrifice was given before you turned back to him. The table is a place of radical grace and a place to receive hope that God's power is at work in you to complete what He has started. 

We are praying that this morning will be a powerful beginning step in our community to live out our calling as peacemakers in God's Kingdom. 

Songs for this sunday:

Pre-service:

Prodigal - Casting Crowns

Santo Santo Eres - Public Domain

Song for the Bride - Brian Doerksen

Be the Center - Vineyard UK

Enough - Jeremy Camp

Your grace is enough - Chris Tomlin

This Sunday we kick off a new series around reconciliation and peacemaking. The series is called "Blessed are the Peacemakers" and we will be immersing ourselves on the very important topic and practice of peacemaking for the next 12 weeks. Brad will begin us on the journey by looking at the story of The Lost Son as a profound reconciliation lens. This Sunday, and throughout the series, we will look at each of the three main characters in the story (father, younger son, older son) and how we can learn from their broken, then reconciled, relationships. Please join me in prayer that God would illuminate for us any areas in our relationship with Him or with one another where there has been hurt and brokenness. And together may we trust that hope and restoration are possible!

Songs on Sunday:

Be known - Jamie Wolf

Hosanna - Brooke Fraser

Mighty is the power of the cross - Chris Tomlin

Hungry - Kathryn Scott

See you sunday!

krista-dawn

This Sunday we will conclude our series "Worship: the ancient and true reality series". We will spend a good portion of our time reflecting on the teachings from the past 7 weeks. Brad will lead us in the reflection with a look at Exodus 28 when the Lord instructed Moses to tell His people to consecrate themselves. Now, if you're like me, the word "consecration" is not one I use regularly in my vocabulary... it simply means to "dedicate to a sacred purpose". So just as Moses instructed the people on how to make sacred garments so they may serve the Lord as priests, we will be looking at how we can live as priests in our world today. Please join me in praying for the Spirit's anointing on our time together.... that He would help us search our hearts as we consider how we can more fully dedicate ourselves to His purposes.

Worship Response: Journaling

This week, we will set aside 2 spaces of time in our worship together for journaling our reflections. Journaling is a great way to get out your thoughts to God and have a record of your prayers and then how God is speaking to you.

Songs for this sunday:

To him who sits on the throne - Carlton Pearson

Jesus all for Jesus - Robin Mark

Living for your glory - Tim Hughes

Awesome is the Lord Most High - Chris Tomlin

This Sunday, I will be leading us all morning to explore the idea that the fruit of worship is a life transformed. I will be sharing my own story of how God is transforming my heart through a broader understanding of worship that has both the vertical and the horizontal dimension. We will be steeping ourselves in Isaiah 58, uncovering a window of worship that connects the grit of daily life to our intimacy with God. My prayer for us this morning is that our hearts would welcome the creative work that God would want to do. May we be inspired in worship to be the blessing that He is creating us to be in this world.

Post-Sermon Reflection Questions:

TBA

Psalm of the day:

Our psalm is 146 and the hook that we will be singing this week is:

I will worship as you've chosen

spend myself to love the broken

when we worship as you've chosen

we'll find our joy.

Songs for this sunday:

These things are true of you - Tommy Walker

Humble King - Brenton Brown

Surely we can change - David Crowder Band

Jesus all for Jesus - Robin Mark

Reflection songs before and after the service:

From the Inside Out - Hillsong United

Take to the world - Derek Webb

See you on Sunday!

krista-dawn

Sunday reflection questions: JUST ADDED!

1.  Read Deuteronomy 4:9

Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. (ESV)

What language would you use to describe the state of your soul?  What practices tend to the health of your soul?

2. Read the text from Deuteronomy 8:2

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

Times of testing show what’s really in our hearts.  What has this time of testing shown you about your heart?  Do you have anyone with whom you share your deepest wrestlings?

3.  Read Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (mammon).

Jesus tells us that worshiping wealth will destroy our devotion to God . . . like the adulteress destroys a marriage.  Brad made the following assertions:

·      Worshiping wealth causes us to despise God’s path – wisdom/character

·      Worshiping money makes our love grow cold (for God and others)

Malachi 3:8

·      Worshiping wealth destroys faith

Matthew 13:22

Have you seen or experienced the reality of Jesus’ hard teaching?

4.  How do you feel about the proposal is that the world’s crises might be the church’s finest hour?  What do you need from God in order to carry out your calling as an instrument of His peace?  Take a moment of silence and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to specific people He wants you to bless.

Psalm for the week:

The psalm this week is Ps. 37 and the hook comes from the song "He's always been faithful" by Sara Groves. See below for the link.

New songs for this sunday:

He's always been faithful - Sara Groves

Jesus, all for Jesus - Robin Mark 

See you tomorrow!

kdk

Sunday Synopsis:

This Sunday Brad will be speaking about what it means to worship as a community. The message is titled "Survivor vs. Real Belonging". We'll look at 1 Peter 2 and the imagery Peter uses of people being like living stones, being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. What does it mean for us to be stones that rub against one another, but are ultimately meant to form something so much greater than our individual selves? Please join me in praying that our experience of worship would be one of the ways we are formed into this holy priesthood and that we would reflect the words from Peter - "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (v.9)

Post-Service Sermon Reflection questions:

 How do you feel about greeting those who are outside your circle of friends on Sunday morning?  How often do you do it?  What keeps you from doing it more often? 

 Are there worship songs that don’t connect with your preferred style?  What do you normally do during those songs?   What feelings arise in your heart?  Do your feelings change if you consider the possibility that those songs may connect with someone else in the community?  What invitation might God be extending to you during songs that aren’t in your preferred style?

 What do you do when you feel “stuck” spiritually (can’t get out of discouragement, anxiety, etc)?  How do you feel about the prospect of asking someone else to pray for you during service?  How would it feel to commit yourself to asking someone for prayer on those occasions when you feel stuck?

 Have you ever gotten a sense that God is giving you a word or message for someone in the community?  How do you feel about the possibility that God wants to move through you to minister to others?  (Excited?  Intimidated?  Skeptical?)  How might you make yourself more available to be a vessel of God’s truth and grace to others?

Worship Response:

Our psalm this week is Ps. 84 and the lyrics to the hook are as follows:

We are chosen people, like living stones

built as a household of mercy.

We also will be practicing a few more prayer postures just like last week to help prepare our whole selves to receive and worship God together.

On the red carpet this week we will have a temple foundation built of "bricks" that have the names of  global Church saints and our own church leaders written on it. We used this visual as a station at our leaders retreat, inviting all of our leaders to glue their brick onto the wall and allow God's voice to speak a word of promise as they reflect on being built together. We will be inviting everyone in the congregation to do the same during our response time. May the Holy Spirit speak of word of hope to you as you pray through your commitment to be built into a holy temple with the rest of the saints here at The River.

Songs for sunday:

Hosanna - Hillsong United

Multiply your love - Andy Park

See ya Sunday!

krista-dawn

This Sunday we continue our series on worship with a message titled "The Biggest Loser vs. Real Resurrection". David Alvarez will be teaching from Genesis 15 as we look at the interaction of God with Abram. As we will learn from Abram, the promises of God often involve waiting. But it is in the process of sitting and waiting that we come present to God and enter into worship. For many of us who have a hard time waiting and are often looking for quick fixes or some kind of assurance in this world, I pray that God's words to Abram would bring about renewed hope that God's promises are really the only ones worth holding on to.

Worship Response:

1. Singing the psalms:

We will be singing the following response as we read Psalm 121: 

Nothing can trouble,

Nothing can frighten,

for I will will wait for you O God,

Nothing can trouble,

Nothing can frighten, 

with you alone I have enough

Just in case you were wondering, last week's Psalm was 138, and the previous week was Ps. 96 with the hook "Only You are worthy, we'll give glory, honor, power and praise"

2. Offering our whole bodies in prayer to God:

Throughout the bible we see examples of God’s instructions for His people to worship him through physical activities: bowing down, building altars, making incense to have a certain scent remind his people only of Him, clapping, dancing and lifting our hands. There are many words in Hebrew and Greek that are used to describe worship, and they all involve an invitation to take a physical posture of humbling oneself as well as a heart submission. Physical movement and meaningful postures indicate more fully whas is on the heart of the person who is offering prayers to God, just like all the other non-verbal communication that we use when talking with other people. So in preparation for worship, we will practice 3 body postures as we pray and wait. May these postures help integrate your mind, body and heart as you prepare to meet the living One this sunday.

Songs for this sunday:

Wait on the Lord - Enter the Worship Circle

Beauty of your peace - Tim Hughes

Everlasting God - Brenton Brown

Te Alabare - Danilo Montero

Songs for reflection pre-service, post-service and during:

I have to believe - Rita Springer

Song for the Bride - Brian Doerksen

Looking for You - Kirk Franklin

See you sunday!

krista-dawn

This week, Brad will be teaching from Revelation 5 with a message titled "Fear Factor vs. Real Reconciliation". Brad will unpack this meaty text for us as we learn how worship means seeing the immeasurable worth of Christ's sacrificial death on our behalf... and how that leads to a reconciliation between us and God and between our brothers and sisters. We will also hear another story from Krista-Dawn as she shares what God is teaching her about worship. Come prepared for the Spirit to meet us and speak to us.

Worship Response:

Communion Tables & Bowls of Incense: Brad will be teaching about the meaning of the communion table this sunday as our table of reconciliation. We will invite you to spend some time at the communion table in reflection. You will notice that there will be bowls of incense there this week, representing the prayers of the saints described in the Rev. 5. We invite you to consider the state of your relationships at the table of grace and pray for those with whom you need further reconciliation. 

Songs this week:

Hosanna - Hillsong United

Amazing Grace - John Newton, Chris Tomlin 

Beautiful One - By the Tree

Lost in Wonder - Martyn Layzell

See you sunday!

krista-dawn

This Sunday we launch an exciting new series called Worship: The ancient and true reality series. Our hope is that this series will lift people's eyes to a Biblically grounded vision of what it means to worship a Holy God and to explain why we do what we do on Sunday mornings. This week Brad will be giving the message titled "American Idols vs. Real Authority". He will share how our consumer culture often places us (with our opinions/preferences) at the center... but how worship is supposed to be radically God-centered. Throughout the series, Krista-Dawn will also be sharing personal stories from her trips around the world and how they have shaped her as a worshipper and worship leader. Please join me in praying that God would use this series to expand our hearts, surface our assumptions about worship, and help us grow as church community that worships the one true King.

Worship Response: Submitting our crowns at the foot of the throne

This week I invite you to spend some time on the red carpet enacting the Rev. 4 passage that we will be studying together. The throne symbolizes Jesus' ministry in heaven, and the basin of water symbolizes Jesus' ministry on earth. We will ask you to consider what your own personal crowns are in worship and life in the church. Moments that cause you to take the posture of sitting on the throne and pronouncing judgement by asking the question of "did I like it? Am I getting my needs met?" As we submerge our crowns in the water, we enact a prayer of faith, believing that our needs and preferences can be submitted to serve the community and that God who knows our every need will provide for us. In Rev. 5, there are bowls of tears that represent our prayers. Submitting our needs and preferences is not a trite experience and is often a painful act full of grief and loss. The bowls of water can also symbolize hope for those of us in grief as we let go of our needs, believing that our tears are never lost in His sight. 

New song this week: 

Hosanna - Hillsong United

Opening Song for reflection: 

Revelation Song - Gateway worship

See you sunday!

krista-dawn

This Sunday we will be learning about how to have Kingdom Eyes for the places God has placed us in. Brad and others will share about what God is teaching them about loving others as we love those in our city. Pri Lerza will be sharing from Jeremiah 29, showing us how God is bringing shalom on the San Jose State campus. It is our hope that God's shalom will reign in our hearts as we begin to seek the shalom of the city and the campus where we worship each week. 

Worship Response: Intercession

In the midst of our worship response time, we will be taking the opportunity to pray for San Jose State Campus and the other places in the city that we find ourselves placed by God. Speaking out our prayers all together can sometimes be an intimidating act. We become more focused on what the person next to us might be thinking of our words rather than what God thinks of them. Our merciful Father who is able to see our hearts is also able to listen to hundreds of prayers at the same time, eager to answer, eager to encourage us into greater boldness with our requests. So while everyone is praying at the same time, let us hold firmly to the charge to the Hebrew church, "let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb. 4:16

Welcome Lunch for San Jose State students right after church!

If you are a student on the campus, please join us for a free lunch to celebrate the new year. We are excited to see what God will do on campus this year and are excited to meet you!

Some of Sunday's music:

The first 4 are worship songs that we will sing together. The last two are songs we will just enjoy listening to before and after the service to continue to shed light on the theme of looking for the Kingdom of God wherever we are.

God of this city - Chris Tomlin 

This is our God - David Crowder & Chris Tomlin

Victory Chant - Donnie McClurken

Oh our Lord and King - Alan Rose

Kingdom Comes - Sara Groves

Upside Down - Jack Johnson

See ya Sunday!

Krista-Dawn Kimsey

This sunday Brad will be concluding our series on Spiritual Warfare. This will be our final community call to engage in warfare together for the health of our church. I am excited for Brad to help us integrate the concepts that we have been learning about this summer into the nitty-gritty of our daily life choices. 

Worship Response: Sitting around the cross

As an option for you to respond to the call to enlist in the battle, we will offer a space on the red carpet for you to come and pray at the cross and take with you a bookmark that reminds you of our image of banding together to fight side by side. We are offering this option because we believe that engaging our whole bodies in worship is a helpful way to align our whole selves with what we are thinking. Sitting in our chairs can unconsciously help us to take a distant or analyzing posture to words that we are reflecting on. Getting up and moving is a way our whole bodies engage in a posture of action, a way of saying "yes" to God with our whole bodies, instead of just our minds. May you be met by God, the gracious eternal "yes" running towards you, as you come to the red carpet and receive this reminder to stay in the battle with us all. 

Changes to the room atmosphere in SJSU:

For our first sunday back at SJSU we will be making some atmosphere adjustments to the room to adopt a few things we liked from being at Westminster. We will be lowering the stage and moving the chairs forward so that Brad and myself can feel like we are more closely connected to everyone in the room. We'll also raise the lights a little more, so that we can see one another better. And the red carpet and prayer boards will have a new home in the back of the room, so that the entire area behind our congregational seating is reserved for personal response options. Our intention in putting all the individual stations  together in the quieter and darker area of our space is to foster an intimate space for you to be with Jesus however He leads you.

Sunday video clip: Gladiator

Some of Sunday's music:

Breakable - Ingrid Michaelson

You are Good - Israel Houghton

Let your glory fall - David Ruis

Those who trust - Don Shaeffer

Everlasting God - Brenton Brown

I am free - Jon Egan

Viva la Vida - Coldplay

See ya Sunday!

Krista-Dawn