Immanuel Community Church

The deepest, most authentic rest for our souls is found when we respond to Jesus' direct invitation to come to Him – and Him alone – where healing and restoration await.

When we encounter the sins and failures of others, our instinct is often to respond with judgment and condemnation. But Jesus responds with mercy—not because he takes sin lightly, but because his deepest desire is to restore what sin has broken in our lives.

The Christian life is not built on the illusion of perfection but on the truth of Jesus, who meets us in our brokenness. In Him, honesty is not weakness but worship. And as we confess our sins and live vulnerably with one another, we become a community where grace flows, healing begins, and the light of Christ overcomes all shame.

We often put Jesus on trial, scrutinizing whether he conforms to our expectations, but ultimately we are the ones who are being tested by how we respond to him.

Where we invest our precious resources is a reflection of what really matters in our lives.

A vibrant life, centered on God, flourishes through a genuine rest that can only be found in the presence and embrace of Jesus Christ.

Speaker: Pastor Peter Cho God calls us to not only sing to Him but to sing to one another so that we might be filled with the Spirit of unity and grow in Christ's love as a witness to the world and to the glory of God.

Sin drives us into hiding, but God desire to create authentic community through the practice of confession.

Repentance calls for the brave honesty to confront who we truly are. In that vulnerable confession, we open ourselves to receive God's mercy and forgiveness.

True righteousness is to restore the dignity of those who are most marginalized in society--helping them in any way we can. This is the true fast that pleases God.

​Jesus fed the 5,000 to show them that he is the Bread of Life who alone can satisfy our deepest needs. Total commitment and surrender to him is needed to experience this life of abundance that Jesus offers.

Jesus perfectly represented the Father's heart and gave rest to the weary and made dead hearts come alive to God.

True faith is rooted not in how many prayers that are answered but in a relationship of trust in God regardless of our circumstances.

The path of salvation takes us to the core of our brokenness, before leading us to the hope and healing that Jesus alone can offer.

Repentance awakens us to the gravity of our sin, which prepares us to receive with true rejoicing the good news of forgiveness through Jesus.

Through spiritual rebirth we come alive to God and are given new eyes to see the heavenly realities breaking into our world all around us.

God is not only patient and kind towards those who need his mercy, but also to those who struggle to share it and He longs for His people to share his heart for all who need His love.

Jesus cleansed the temple to show God's desire for his house to be a place of undivided worship.

 It's fitting that the first public miracle of Jesus is turning water to wine at a wedding--a sign of the joy that he had come to restore and the answer to every Old Testament promise.

The way back to God is through the path of discipleship as we surrender ourselves to Jesus' leadership and follow his ways. Such faith and obedience is made possible through the cross of Jesus and his Spirit who empowers us.

God dwelt among us in the person of Jesus to show a wayward humanity the way back to relationship with him and to discover the quality of life that we were meant to live.

An active prayer life requires us to trust in the goodness of God and to believe that our prayers really make a difference in our world.

I am free to do all things; but not all things are wise. I am free to do all things; but I will not let myself come under the power of any.

The following podcast is based on a sermon series entitled "The Gospel Marriage" given by Pastor Peter Cho at Immanuel Community Church. It was created by an AI powered tool by Google called NotebookLM. While not perfect, this podcast not only shares many of the big ideas introduced in the messages, it also interacts with it in an easy-to-listen format. If you would like to hear the full sermons visit our website or podcast to hear them.

Speaker: Peter ChoWe have reduced marriage to being about “me and my happiness” and so we often struggle when we don't get what we want out of it or give up when it gets too hard. But the Bible begins and ends with the story of a marriage union, not only to reveal the nature of God's love for us, but to reveal what is to come and give resurrection hope to those who are united with Christ.

God often works through what we already have, multiplying it and turning our scarcity into abundance when we trust in Him.

Pastor Steve shares reflections on what he experienced during his recent sabbatical.

There is so much carnage and confusion around sex because there are so many lies that have distorted the divine vision for it. But God created sex to reveal what it means to be fully known and truly loved and as a powerful model of self-giving love. In Christ alone we find sex's true meaning and healing and wholeness out of our own sexual brokenness.

We are both slaves to power and victims of abuse because our sinful brokenness results in a relentless desire to serve ourselves using power, manipulation and control. But Jesus shows us that when the power of his love is greater than our love of power, his kingdom is brought near and unity is fostered through the exercise of self-giving love and mutual submission.

We want to set our own terms for who we love and how we love, but just as God has revealed how two become one in the mystery of the marriage union,Jesus is calling the Church (his bride) to become ONE with one another, reflecting the “oneness” we share in Christ and the perfect community of love found in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In order to be a faithful follower of Jesus, play and fun need to have a place in your life.

We struggle to live at peace with others because the brokenness inside us inevitably leads to brokenness around us – impacting all of our relationships (especially marriage). But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus has come to restore our broken union with God, make us new and whole again so that we can bring his shalom into this world and fulfill our created purpose as God's image-bearers.

We all struggle with insecurities because we are all in search of a true love that will make us feel secure, accepted and whole. Through the covenant of marriage God is expressing his unconditional love to the world and inviting us all into an inseparable union with Jesus that is secured by an unbreakable promise received by faith.

We fall short of loving others perfectly because we are disconnected from the perfect love of God. But God created us with a powerful desire to love and be loved to draw us to Himself and created the marriage union between a husband and wife to reveal the nature of his great love for his people.

The joy of serving others with selfless humility can come only by understanding the mindset of Christ and reflecting on his cross and his glory.

When we face persecution and insult for the sake of the gospel, it is easy to feel lonely and defeated. However, God is teaching us that we are to conduct ourselves worthy of the gospel at all times, and that would give us the courage and confidence to stand and strive together as a community of faith .

When we are wronged by someone, we often default to the ways of the world by harboring resentment or exacting revenge. But the gospel calls us not only to reconciliation but to a radically different way of relating to one another. Philemon is far more than a story of hopeful reconciliation, it is God's call to the Church across all time to mutual submission and a demonstration of what self-giving love in this new community should look like.

Christ reconciling power through his death and resurrection transforms our negative view of conflicts into redemptive opportunities.

​God has created light to be one of the most valuable parts of his creation and also a huge part of his character. We are the light because He is light,  embracing our call to love others as God loved us.