Welcome to Gratia Community Church
The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng, was on Matthew 7:24-29 entitled “Put the Word into practice in your house.” The message focused on building the church on the rock. Pastor Tzeng referenced Peter’s confession of Jesus Christ in Matthew 7, while saying that Gratia Church should focus on putting the Word into practice on campus. The hope is to build a church that bears fruit for God’s Kingdom.
On August 22, 2021, Gratia Church held its official dedication service for the new Chapel, located on the USF campus.
A video was shown that was made by brother Mario, that shared the history in pictures of Gratia throughout the years leading up the move.
To be able to hold service at the new location was only by the grace of God, that a church could be planted right on the campus, next to the place where Gratia ministers evangelize. The chapel is located in the upper room of St. Ignatius Church, a catholic church started in 1855 in San Francisco. The leadership at St. Ignatius Church warmly welcomed Gratia Church to hold services in one of their room.
Please pray for SF Gratia Church in its new location on the USF campus. May many USF students, souls in SF, and in the Bay Area truly come to faith in Jesus Christ and live for God’s glory and Kingdom.
Gratia church received the key for the new church building on August 12 by the grace of God. The new building is located 2 blocks away from the USF campus and it is very suitable location for the USF students can come to the Bible studies and fellowships. The USF chapel which was just moved yesterday is for the Sunday service, this location will be used for daily Bible studies, fellowship, and office room.
It is expected to take 2 weeks of remodeling and want to hold the dedication service by the end of August. We pray that these changes can bring more young people come to know Jesus Christ and they become the cornerstone for God’s Kingdom.
On June 6, 2021, Gratia Church held a graceful Sunday service, full of God’s word, praise, worship, and fellowship. The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng, was on Mark 20:20-35 entitled “Spiritual Family”
In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng spoke about the line Jesus draws when it comes to what a spiritual family is. Jesus is clear that a spiritual family is the one who does the will of the Father. It’s that Jesus himself is doing God’s Will, even though the Pharisee tried to accuse him of using the power of Beelzebub. However, it’s clear that all good things come from God, so the Lord performing miraculous signs is obviously from God.
Jesus’ physical family opposition is a bit different than the Jewish leaders, they simply think Jesus is “out of his mind”. This is the same accusation that many of us can get from our own families as we do God’s Will. It is because family values can clash against God’s Will. Family values may come from the world and Jesus draws a strict line, saying it’s only about doing God’s Will. Anything deviating from God’s Will is sinful and part of the world.
That being said, God did place us in our families, allowing us to be born into our families for a reason. Also, our families are blessed through us. Therefore, we must pray for our physical families to also be spiritual family as well. It is that the bond of the Holy Spirit is much more powerful than the bond of blood relations. Therefore, we must build our families to be united in the Holy Spirit to do God’s Will.
Also, we must remember that ultimately, we are building a spiritual family in the church. May we remember this live for God’s Kingdom together.
The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng, was on Mark 20:20-35 entitled “Spiritual Family”
In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng spoke about the line Jesus draws when it comes to what a spiritual family is. Jesus is clear that a spiritual family is the one who does the will of the Father. It’s that Jesus himself is doing God’s Will, even though the Pharisee tried to accuse him of using the power of Beelzebub. However, it’s clear that all good things come from God, so the Lord performing miraculous signs is obviously from God.
Jesus’ physical family opposition is a bit different than the Jewish leaders, they simply think Jesus is “out of his mind”. This is the same accusation that many of us can get from our own families as we do God’s Will. It is because family values can clash against God’s Will. Family values may come from the world and Jesus draws a strict line, saying it’s only about doing God’s Will. Anything deviating from God’s Will is sinful and part of the world.
That being said, God did place us in our families, allowing us to be born into our families for a reason. Also, our families are blessed through us. Therefore, we must pray for our physical families to also be spiritual family as well. It is that the bond of the Holy Spirit is much more powerful than the bond of blood relations. Therefore, we must build our families to be united in the Holy Spirit to do God’s Will.
Also, we must remember that ultimately, we are building a spiritual family in the church. May we remember this live for God’s Kingdom together.
Gratia church members had a graceful outdoor fellowship on May 31, on Memorial Day on Pacifica Beach right next to the Half Moon Bay. It was a bright sunny day that they enjoyed being outside in the warm weather, playing on the water, had lunch, and hiking on the trail by the beach shore. It was the first time of in-person fellowship ever since COVID and members were very happy to meet together. May the grace of God strengthen each other and continue the path of faith to grow together in Jesus Christ.
The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng, was on Acts 3:1-10 entitled “Look at us!”
In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng examined the difference between the disciples and the crippled beggar in front of the temple. The crippled beggar is the one who looks at the hand, reliant on money, and whose very being is confined in the world. The disciples were exactly like the crippled beggar before, confined in the upper room in fear from the world.
However, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and their very being was shifted towards God’s Kingdom, no longer confined in the world. That is why they were able to say “Look at us!” to the crippled beggar. They were able to be like that through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in their lives. While we are not individually strong, God has called us as a church to strengthen one another to be a part of God’s Kingdom.
May Gratia Church be full of the Holy Spirit as a body of Christ.
The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng, was on Acts 2:42-47 entitled “The Early Church”.
In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng explained about the characteristics of the early church which started on Pentecost as the Holy Spirit came down on the disciples. Prior to Pentecost, the disciples were gripped in fear and locked in the upper room of Mark. It was the Holy Spirit which empowered the disciples to go out to the world.
The blessing of the Holy Spirit has come to us all through Jesus Christ. Prior to Jesus, the Holy Spirit was only with a few people very hundred years and also in the temple as well. After Jesus, we understand that we ourselves are God’s temple and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, dwells in the church, and dwells in the body of Christ. Therefore, the church is important because it is the place where the people of the Holy Spirit are gathered.
The characteristic of the early church is that they focused on the Word, had fellowship, prayed, and shared everything, overcoming possessions. Our church must be a church that focuses on the Word, which is why we focus on Bible Study. We also must have good fellowship, developing a holy culture, not a culture of the world. Also, we live praying and sharing with one another.
Finally, the Bible teaches us that the early church spent time together in the temple courts and in each other’s homes. Our church must be one who people center their lives and grow as people in community. We don’t live lonely by ourselves, but we live among others. From the outside, it may look strange as if church should just be one activity among many. But we see the original image of the early church where the disciples centered their lives around the church.
May Gratia Church also be a church that models itself after the early church and live for God’s Kingdom.
The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng, was on Acts 2:1-41 entitled “When the day of Pentecost came”.
In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng delivered a message in preparation for Pentecost, explicating the meaning of it. The Shavuot celebrates the barley harvest after the Passover, while the Pentecost literally means 50th and is the festival celebrating the first fruits of the wheat harvest. The deep meaning correlates with the Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross and then 50 days after Easter was the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down with wind and tongues of fire. The kernel of wheat that died, produced many seeds which finally ripened as a fruit, when the 120 disciples received the Holy Spirit.
In his sermon, Peter explains that the coming of the Holy Spirit was prophesied since the Old Testament by the prophet Joel. Of course, the Holy Spirit existed in the Old Testament, but only a few prophets received it every hundred years. But through the precious blood of the Lord, he was resurrected and we all enjoy the Holy Spirit. The church started on the Pentecost with the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit.
We also must reflect on receiving the Holy Spirit in our lives and living for God’s Will. Coming to church is not just about staying the same, but it is about changing our lives to be fruits before God. As we approach the Pentecost, we must self-reflect deeply on receiving the Holy Spirit and being a fruit before God.
The Pentecost was amazing, because it showed the amazing power of resurrection and the Holy Spirit which came down. From the one who died for us all Jesus Christ, it became 120, and then 3000. It shows us that the power of the Holy Spirit works so powerfully and not just in a 1 to 1 way. If we are the kernel of wheat that also serves, loves, and self-sacrifices like the Lord, then God will help our church grow not just 1, 2, 3 people, but it will be 120 and 3000.
May we prepare our hearts for the Pentecost and truly rely on the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our church.
On April 11, 2021, Gratia Church held a graceful Sunday service, full of God’s word, praise, worship, and fellowship. The sermon delivered by Pastor Walker Tzeng, was on John 20:19-31 entitled “That by believing, you may have life in his name”.
In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng first explained about the connection between the ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, 10 day later. The Lord’s ascension and return to the Father opened up a new era of the Holy Spirit. When we return to our Father in heaven, it is also a new era, the seed on earth sprouting a new vitality of life that is unimaginable as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, the chapter on resurrection.
Second, doubting Thomas needed to see and feel the nail marks of Jesus, but the Lord told him to stop doubting and believe. We also need to stop doubting whether or not the Lord really resurrected. There is 1500 years of prophecy of the Lord with multiple prophets over multiple eras, multiple recording of the fulfillment by Jesus, multiple skeptics scrutinizing the Bible, yet the resurrection holds up in history. On Easter, the Lord rose.
Finally, there is an even more important reason why the resurrection is important. Apostle Paul says that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, our faith is futile and we are still stuck in sin. It shows us that just as the ascension is closely tied with our own return to the Father after we die, the resurrection has a deep connection to our life here on earth. It’s that we don’t have to die of our sin to live a new life, because Jesus already died and rose again. All we need to do is accept the Lord and we can live a new life and be born again. It means that our life that we live on earth is meaningful just as the Lord’s resurrection is meaningful.
May we live our lives with the faith and power of resurrection for God’s glory and Kingdom.