New Life Irvine

Giving thanks does not come naturally to us. Giving complaints does. When life doesn't go the way we want, we're left frustrated, jilted, and disappointed. How then can we move from giving complaints to giving thanks? Join us this Sunday as we celebrate Thanksgiving by studying an alternative way to live. Jesus shows us how to move away from joy-sucking entitlement and towards the life-giving power of gratitude.

How do we face the failures of our past and the challenges of the future? In Nehemiah 9 we see the path we're called to follow is one of confession. A deep connection with the Lord will always involve a deep confession. It's an easily misunderstood spiritual practice, but one that if we engage in properly can lead us into greater joy.

Last Sunday, Nehemiah 8:1-12 taught us that the ultimate reason why walls were rebuilt was so that worship would be restored. Walls were necessary. Worship was the goal. We saw the people of Jerusalem rediscover God's Word, repent of their sins, and rejoice in the Gospel. This Sunday, Nehemiah 8:13-18 reveals one additional step they take in their journey from ruins to revival: the step of obedience. We hope you join us this Sunday to discover how obedience to God completes our joy.

After months of sweat, struggle, and opposition, the walls of Jerusalem finally stand tall again. The gates are hung, the guards are stationed, and for the first time in decades, God’s people feel safe. But Nehemiah knows the wall isn’t the end goal—it’s just the beginning.This Sunday, we'll explore how God moves His people from walls to worship--from mere survival to spiritual revival. Join us as we see how the Spirit of God can turn our lives upside down.

We live in an age where lies are weaponized, emotions overrule facts, and our algorithms shape us more than Scripture. From “alternative facts” to echo chambers, from conspiracy theories to rage-bait headlines, our world is saturated with misinformation. But this isn’t new. Nehemiah faced his own “post-truth” world. In Nehemiah 6, he is bombarded with lies, threats, and gossip. Their goal? To derail God's work. Yet Nehemiah stood firm—discerning truth from lies, courage from fear, and God’s voice amid the noise. This week, we’ll explore how Nehemiah’s wisdom and perseverance speak directly to our modern crisis of discernment. We'll learn how we can remain wise in a world full of noise.

Our lives are filled with more and more information, but less and less wisdom. More data, less clarity. More opinions, less truth. More speaking, less listening. The average church member spends around 20-25 hours a week consuming media, news, and opinion pieces, significantly more than a generation before. We are bombarded with information while we are driving, while we are jogging, wherever we can find access the internet and our phones. Compare this to the amount of time we spend reading God's Word and it's easy to see how we can be discipled by our algorithms rather than our church. Though Nehemiah lived thousands of years ago, he too was bombarded with partial truths and outright lies. Yet, he did not waver or succumb to these lies but stood firm on God's Word. Join us this Sunday as we study Nehemiah 6:1-14 and learn to discern wisdom in the age of clickbait.

This Sunday we examine Nehemiah 5. Here we see Nehemiah confronting injustice, choosing generosity, rebuilding trust. It's a story on how the fear of the Lord turns power into service.

Fear is powerful. It can paralyze our decisions, cloud our vision, and steal our joy. In Nehemiah 4, God's people face ridicule and the threat of attacks from enemies who do not want them to rebuild Jerusalem's walls. Yet while fear closes in, they do not give in. Through prayer, careful preparation, and courageous action, they move forward. This Sunday, we’ll explore what it means to have faith that rises when fear closes in.

You are invited to a very special service as we celebrate Vision Sunday. We will step aside from our normal liturgy in order to trace God's faithfulness and give thanks for the many ways God has been at work in us this past year. We will hear multiple grace stories, hear God's Word through Nehemiah 3, sing songs of praise and unveil our Discipleship Pathway. Afterwards, we will continue our celebration with lunch, a Matcha bar for missions, New Life merch and a raffle. We hope to see you this Sunday.

This Sunday we continue our series in Nehemiah, looking at chapter two, where we see how faith meets bold action — discovering how God empowers ordinary people to rebuild what seems irreparably broken. When the walls are still in ruins and the waiting feels endless, Nehemiah steps out in faith on the promise that God is not done.

This Sunday marks the launch of a new teaching series on the book of Nehemiah called, "God is Not Done". The Babylonian invasion and total destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC marked the lowest point in Israel's history. For the next 70 years, Israel lived in exile, displaced from home, while the temple laid in ruins. It was during this time where many began to doubt and question God's faithfulness. "Has He forgotten us? Is He finished with us?" Through Nehemiah, we are reminded that though life may look bleak at times, God is not done with us. Join us this Sunday as we collectively gaze at the One who is not finished with us yet.

We arrive at the final installment of our three part series on forgiveness where we will discuss the how of forgiveness. How do we forgive when the offender refuses to repent? How do we forgive when the offender is no longer alive? Does forgiveness always lead to reconciliation? What if I don't want to forgive? These are some of the important questions that we'll be answering.

We live in a cultural moment that hungers for justice and struggles with forgiveness. In recent years, voices from the #MeToo movement and other abuse survivors have raised poignant questions: Does forgiveness only perpetuate harm? Is it just a way to silence victims? Does it minimize justice? These are real concerns—and show how forgiveness is often misunderstood, misapplied, and even weaponized. Yet, in the parable of the unforgiving servant, we see that forgiveness does not abandon justice or enable abuse. Join us this Sunday as we look at the nuts and bolts of forgiveness and understand how forgiveness is a friend of justice.

Forgiveness. It’s one of the core teachings of Jesus, and yet one of the hardest commands to obey. When someone wounds us deeply—whether it’s a single life-shaping event or years of accumulated hurt—forgiving feels impossible. In fact, it feels doubly cruel as we must process the attack of our offender and the guilt of withholding forgiveness.Yet the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant teaches us that forgiveness is not designed to punish us but to free and empower us. It is not a path towards great oppression but deeper joy. Join us this Sunday as we explore how forgiveness transforms us into forgivers.

Joy is a defining characteristic of following Jesus. The difficulty with this though, is joy isn't something we can just produce on our own. This Sunday we will see how despite being out of our power to produce, joy can be uncovered.

This Sunday, we’ll explore one of Jesus’ most challenging parables — the story of a master, his servants, and what they did with what was entrusted to them. In a world where it’s easy to play it safe or bury our potential, Jesus calls us to live boldly and faithfully with what we’ve been given. Whether it's our time, talents, or treasures, how we steward our lives matters to God. Join us as we discover what it means to live for the Master and hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Few thoughts are more terrifying than to be on your death bed and come to the realization that "I have wasted my life." We only have one life, one chance to live in this world. What a pity it would be to realize that we wasted it. In the parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus shares about a man who thought he had it all—bigger barns, early retirement, and a future full of ease. Unfortunately for him, God calls him a fool. Join us this Sunday so that we don't make the same mistake and instead understand what the good life truly looks like.

In a world that often values the crowd over the individual, Jesus tells a story that flips the script, one of Jesus' most beloved parables, the Parable of the Lost Sheep. This Sunday we’ll examine the scandalous grace that seeks out the wayward and throws a party when they are found. Whether you've wandered far or stayed near, this parable invites all of us to meditate on the radical, pursuing love of the Good Shepherd.

This Sunday, we continue our series Sacred Stories as we examine some of the parables Jesus used in his teaching ministry.Luke 18:9–14, at first glance, appears to be a simple story about prayer—but it’s really about something deeper: our craving for approval, our need to be accepted, and the quiet calculations we make to prove we belong.In this short parable, Jesus exposes the games we play—and offers something better.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we encounter a fascinating story about a rich man who suffers in hell. Through the rich man's folly, Jesus reshapes our understanding of sin. We see how sin doesn't just break God's rules, it ultimately breaks us. More specifically, sin disintegrates our souls. Join us this Sunday as we come face to face with the wonder of our sin and the greater wonder of God's love.