New Life Community Church

Human history can be summarized in the stories of two men—the first man, Adam, and the second man, the God-man, Jesus Christ. Every human being will discover that their personal story fits into one of these stories. These men’s actions triggered dramatic consequences. Adam's actions triggered an avalanche of personal and social dysfunction, while the actions of Jesus triggered an avalanche of grace. Sin and death entered our world through Adam’s disobedience, while Christ's obedience triggered the reversal of sin’s curse and the birth of a new creation for those who trust Him for it.

Romans 5 introduces theological truths that can profoundly contribute to your experience of joy and assurance in the gift of salvation. Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam further unpacks gospel repercussions- “An Avalanche of Grace” (Romans 5:12-21).

Believers can rejoice in what God has done, is doing, and will do in the future. They can rejoice in their position ‘in Christ’. They can rejoice in their ongoing experience of the love of Christ. They can rejoice that they are becoming what God has already declared them to be. They can rejoice in their sufferings. Why? Because they know they are being restored to the true function for which they were created: to be beholders and reflectors of God’s glory!

As we unpack gospel truth in Paul’s letter to the Romans, we are reminded that no matter what happens in our lives, we never lose our reason for rejoicing- We belong to the Lord!

Join us this Sunday as we consider further causes for rejoicing!

C.S. Lewis said “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” The Apostle Paul says that the Christian can know that “joy is the logical outcome of being justified by faith.” That joy-inducing faith is rightly placed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Believers who, by faith, take hold of the merits of Christ and His finished work of redemption are a joyful people. They have a peace that passes understanding and an indescribable, irrepressible joy. Their joy is related to hidden factors in their present reality and promised factors concerning their future hope of glory.

Do you have peace with God? Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam encourages us to unpack the blessedness of what God has provided for those who put their trust in Christ.

The resurrection impacts us personally. Apart from Christ’s resurrection, the verdict of condemnation upon our sin cannot be removed. Apart from the resurrection, the promise of salvation is powerless. Apart from the resurrection there can be no personal assurance of sins forgiven and no personal experience of the peace and joy of being restored to a right relationship with God.

Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam leads us across the threshold between Romans Chapters 4 and 5 and unpacks the liberating truths from the Book of Romans that can give us rock-solid assurance of our salvation.

Sunday is Father’s Day. It is a time to express our appreciation for dads, especially those who have exhibited to their families a life of genuine faith in the gospel.

Abraham is credited as ‘the father of all those who believe’. Just as physical attributes of parents are reproduced in their children, the Apostle Paul says that we can expect certain spiritual characteristics of Abraham’s faith to be reproduced in the lives of genuine Christ-followers today.

How did Abraham, who was once far off from God, become a ‘friend of God’ (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23)? How can we, as New Testament believers, develop a life of faith and exhibit a walk of faith?

Abraham has eight encounters with God recorded in the Book of Genesis. Although far from perfect, he developed a life of obedience, communion, appropriation, perseverance, restful assurance, intercession, compassion, and selfless sacrifice that proved he was in sympathy with God's heart.

Join us this Sunday as we are encouraged by the faith of our father Abraham and maintain a walk with God that is strong and brings Him glory. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6).

Imputed Righteousness is one of the greatest doctrines in the Scriptures. For the believer in Christ, there is a "double" or "dual" imputation: Christ's Righteousness is imputed to the believer, and the believer's sins are imputed to Christ. In this week's sermon, with speaker Bob Fardy, we will explore this doctrine, which is found in both the Old and New Testaments, from Genesis 15:6 to James 2:23.

Teachers periodically test their students to ensure that they are comprehending what is being taught.

The Apostle Paul is testing the ’gospel comprehension’ of church members in Rome. Do they understand what it means to be ‘justified by faith’? Do they know how God justifies sinners? Have they believed the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Righteous Justifier’? How do these gospel truths affect their daily behavior?

Before we move on with our study of the Book of Romans, let’s think about the six rhetorical questions that the Apostle Paul asks in Romans 3:27-31.

How well are you comprehending the gospel? Do you still gravitate to the default positions of your old life? Do you still practice ‘self-justification’ or relate to God as if your acceptance depended on your performance rather than the performance of Christ on your behalf? Does your behavior indicate that you are living in the light of the gospel? Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam guides us through questions that test our gospel comprehension.

At least 10 important theological truths converge in Romans 3:21-26! God proves to be true to His righteous character in the way He rescues sinners – He righteously convicts, redeems, justifies, forgives, regenerates, delivers, adopts, empowers, sanctifies and perfects the sinner who puts their trust in Christ Jesus.

In recent weeks we have been learning what the work of Christ accomplishes for the believer, but what does it accomplish for God? What is often overlooked is the Godward side of redemption.

Join us this Sunday, Mother’s Day, to learn how the heart of God is perfectly satisfied with the display of His glory in the cross of Christ.

Rarely does the Bible bring together so many important theological ideas in one passage. In just a few sentences the Apostle Paul references ten major doctrines pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ! (Romans 3:21-26)

Why is it important to learn these truths? They have been given to us by God. They belong to us. We need to own them. We need to experience them personally.

Join us this Sunday as we discover afresh the liberating truths of the gospel and are encouraged to firmly rest our “Faith in the Finished Work of Christ”.

The Apostle Paul has proved from every conceivable angle that the entire human race is hopelessly enslaved to the power of sin and condemned as guilty under the Law of God (Romans 1:18-3:20).

Then, suddenly in Romans 3:21, his theme pivots with two words— “But now”. “But now the righteousness of God has been displayed in Christ’s perfect work of redemption. The gospel is the good news of what God has done through Jesus Christ so that a penitent believer can be legally pronounced righteous in the sight of God.

Do you realize what it means to be justified by faith in Christ? It is the opposite of being pronounced guilty. It is a changed verdict. God credits the believer with the righteousness of His Son. He declares that there is now no legal ground for the condemnation of the sinner. His sin has been paid for. He has fulfilled the Law on behalf of those who have been united with Him by faith.

If this good news does not put your heart at peace and a smile on your face you either do not understand it or you are unwilling to acknowledge your personal need for it.

Come and be inspired to worship the God of all grace. Join us this morning (Sunday) at 10:15 am as we rejoice in Christ’s perfect work of redemption. Pastor MacAdam has three goals this Sunday. He wants you to know what justification is and what it is not. And he wants to be sure that you have been justified before God by putting your faith in Christ. For there is no other way to have peace with God.

When humanity has its day in court, every mouth will be stopped. When the verdict is given, there will be no room for argument. The evidence has been presented and the case has been indisputably proved. We are guilty as charged.

The struggle to get rid of guilt is universally felt, even when it is not consciously acknowledged. Just as pain signals injury to the body, our character, conversation and conduct signal the deadly working of sin in our hearts. And we can’t get rid of sin and guilt ourselves, as hard as we may try.

In the first 3 chapters of his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul methodically exposes the universal need for God’s remedy for our sinfulness. This conclusive evidence is a necessary prerequisite to understanding the gospel. We need ‘humble submission to the divine diagnosis if we are to avail ourselves of the divine cure.

Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam further unpacks truths from the Book of Romans that will illuminate our understanding of why the gospel is good news!

This weekend we commemorate the most important accomplishment in human history- Jesus Christ’s perfect work of redemption, sealed, signed, delivered and validated by His bodily resurrection from the dead. The fact that Jesus of Nazareth died by crucifixion is well-attested by even the most liberal and skeptical historical scholars. But the fact that His death accomplished what thousands of years of prophecy said it would is attested by His resurrection.

There were over 513 individuals who claimed that they had seen the same Jesus who had been publicly crucified and buried, alive from the dead. They were willing to seal that testimony in blood, and many of them did, dying as martyrs.

According to their reports, Jesus gave ample proof of the physical reality of His resurrection body during the 40-day period before His ascension when He taught about the kingdom of God - the privilege of living in fellowship with God as those who have been reconciled to Him through faith in His atoning sacrifice. This teaching makes sense of His exclusive claim: “Unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24). He is the One and Only Savior because He is the One and Only Sin-Bearing Substitute.

Each year on ‘Resurrection Sunday’ we invite those among us who have been personally impacted by Jesus’ redemptive accomplishment to give brief public testimony in a couple of short sentences during the worship service. It is always encouraging to hear how the resurrection has changed the way in which we view ourselves, the world around us, the past behind us, and the future before us!

We encourage you to come prepared to worthily celebrate the Lord of Life and invite others to join us in doing so this Sunday at 10:15 AM in the Upper Room at the New Life Ministry Center. You won’t want to miss it!

Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer;
Death is strong, but Life is stronger;
Stronger than the dark, the light;
Stronger than the wrong, the right;
Faith and Hope triumphant say,
Christ will rise on Easter Day.
- Phillips Brooks

All four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, devote the largest amount of their narrative texts to the events that took place on the week of Jesus’ death by crucifixion, and His resurrection on the third day. All four accounts include His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This day is known as ‘Palm Sunday’ and is packed with Biblical significance.

Jesus would arrive in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration where later in the week He would be sacrificed as the Passover Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

The festive waving of palm branches was a way of honoring a great Deliverer or King.
In the last Book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, worshipers are pictured before the Throne of God waving palm branches in honor of the Lamb of God.

Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;

Join us this Palm Sunday at 10:15 as we recognize (and honor) the Kingship of Jesus and the reality of the Kingdom in which He will rule forever in righteousness.

How does God deal with people who think they are righteous but are not? What about a person who mistakenly believes that they are acceptable to God because of their orthodox practices, their religious heritage, or their allegiance to religious rituals and observances?

One day, when all is laid bare at the Final Judgment, all truth will be unsuppressed. God’s righteousness and mankind’s sinfulness will be fully revealed. There will be no excuse-making. Every mouth will be silenced. There will be no boasting in any righteousness of our own. We all need the power of God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves—to make us right.

What about you? Have you laid hold of the power of God to rescue you from the dysfunction and condemnation incurred by your disobedience to God?

We must be stripped of all the fig leaves of self-justification before we can be clothed with the gift of God’s righteousness in Christ. Mouths must be closed before the heart can be changed. The gospel’s power will not leave the heart unchanged. The sign of conversion is not a mere profession of faith, it is a matter of possessing a new life with a new heart.

Join with us this Sunday at 10:15 AM as we learn more of the power of the gospel to fully salvage those who lay hold of it by faith.

“It is appointed for men once to die and after this comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

On that Day it will be more important what God thinks about us than what we think about God!

Jesus describes the tragic shock of those who have false confidence on the Day of Judgment when they hear the words, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)

C.S. Lewis writes, “In the end that Face which is the delight or the terror of the universe must be turned upon each of us either with one expression or with the other, either conferring glory inexpressible or inflicting shame that can never be cured or disguised.”

We dare not be apathetic about this issue. The good news of the gospel is that there is a way to rest assured that we are loved and accepted by God.

Don’t forget to set your clocks one hour ahead so you are not late joining us this Sunday at 10:15 AM as Pastor MacAdam takes us through the Apostle Paul’s diagnostic questions exposing the very real danger of having false confidence before God.

Think of the last time you had a disagreement with someone. Perhaps it was your spouse, a co-worker, or the driver of the car in front of you. You have your opinion of the situation, but it does not line up with their interpretation and now there is strife. What happened? Why didn’t we see eye to eye? My conscience is telling me that I am right so why doesn’t this person see it, too. And why is my default response to “be right”?

God has given all of us a conscience as well as natural law – His moral law. He has included it in our person as he fashioned each of us in our mother’s womb. This law can tell us about rightness and wrongness and our conscience plays the role of interpreter. Yet, there is a problem with our interpreter, it has suffered the effects of sin and it can be wrong. Moreover, we might not be using natural law to interpret the situation, but our own! Yes, we can insert another law where God’s law ought to be.

Regardless of the law we choose, if it is not His, there will be limited justice. We will not see eye to eye and I may consider taking it up a notch to defend my position.

This was some of the trouble between the Romans. Thankfully, Paul will confront them in truth and love and explain what is going on and what the law has to do with each group. Join us this Sunday as Pastor James continues preaching through Romans (2:11-16).

Since Adam, sin has affected the hearts of all men. And through God’s work of redemption, salvation has been given, but pride and hypocrisy remain stubborn sometimes. In Romans 2, Paul reminds the church at Rome that all people need the same salvation provided by a beautiful saviour. One things that marks a person who knows Christ, both then and now, is a heart that sees its need for repentance. Do you experience this? Paul begs us not to miss the chance to turn and know the Lord. It’s a hard truth, but eternally important. Join us this Sunday as we walk through Romans 2:1-8 together and marvel at God’s kindness for us.

The nature of God’s righteousness is to respond rightly to wrongdoing. When His warnings and corrections are ignored, He leaves people to face the consequences of their choices. They pursue the things they crave for. They act out their rejection of God and reap the destructive results. This is called the Judgment of Abandonment, and it is a fitting description of what we are facing in our culture today.

When the truth is suppressed in unrighteousness, we manifest that we are mentally handicapped idolaters. Professing to be wise, we become fools. Paul switches pronouns from ‘they” (in Romans 1:21-32) to ‘you” (in Romans 2:1) in case we think this judgment pertains only to pagans.

Join us this Sunday as we appreciate the brilliance of the gospel as the power of God for the full salvaging of the repentant believer and learn how to live in its deliverance.

Articles, books, and documentaries have attempted to chronicle ‘the greatest crimes of all time’. However, the GREATEST crime of all time is rarely reported. This is because it strikes very close to home and it is in our nature to suppress our complicity in it.

In his introduction to his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul exposes the cosmic treason committed by human beings against their Creator. It is the crime behind all crimes. Human beings were the crown of God’s creation. They were created as God’s chosen image-bearers. Yet their choice to dishonor their Creator and rebel against Him gave rise to all the crimes of human history.

Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam reminds us why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news. It alone has the power to not only offer forgiveness to repentant rebels but to bring about their full salvaging!

“If God exists, why are there atheists?”

God does not believe in atheists. He cares for them but does not believe in their defense of atheism. He tells us that down at the core of every human being, there is a recognition of His existence, although it is suppressed. All have sufficient external evidence in the design of all things that there is a Designer.

Some ask the question, “What about those who were never told about God?” The Apostle Paul would reply, “Who are these people?” The witness of every human being’s conscience points to the existence of a Moral Arbiter.

We need to understand God’s righteous indictment against human nature. All have evidence that He exists, but they suppress the truth in unrighteousness. All are without excuse.

This is the bad news.

Now take heed to the good news- There is a rescue available to all. The observant Jew is in as much need of the Savior as the licentious pagan. Those who suppress the truth in the guise of ‘atheism’ are in as much need of salvation as those who have manufactured their ‘golden calf’ religions.

God’s message to us in the Book of Romans is relevant to our day! Join us this Sunday as we learn how the gospel is the power of God to deliver truth-suppressing rebels and bring them from death to life.

This Sunday, we champion the sanctity of human life. We also celebrate the power of the gospel to deliver us from a world of deception.

The prophet got it right: “The human heart is more deceitful than all else” (Jeremiah 17:9). By nature, we resist, twist, and suppress self-evident truths to protect our egos or justify our selfishness. The human heart develops its own ‘cancel culture,’ silencing inconvenient and unpleasant truths, especially the realities of both the righteousness and wrath of God.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans1:18).

Suppressing the truth is highly consequential. It leads to self-deception, destructive behaviors, societal deterioration and eternal ruin.

The gospel has the power to deliver us from the residual forces that would hold us forever captive to a world of lies.

Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam continues to teach from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Vital Truths Ignored and Suppressed” (Romans 1:18).

Join us this morning at 10:15 am in the Upper Room for the continuation of our series in Romans with a message titled “The Gospel- The Just Shall Live By Faith”.

Tonight's class, "The Attributes of God" with Pastor James McGowan has been canceled due to the weather. We will plan to host the first of this Tuesday Night's School of Ministry Class next Tuesday, January 16 @ 7:15 p.m.

Register to attend at https://awakendiscipleship.com/biblical-counseling-workshop/

Starting tonight at the New Life Ministry Center at 7:15 p.m., Pastor McGowan will teach a 7-week course on the Attributes of God. All are invited to attend!