Calvary Youth Ministry

Discerning the World’s Needs

Posted on April 23, 2021April 23, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Acts 11:19-30 What's the purpose of a solution? It's to fix a problem or to fill a need. But we cannot determine what the comprehensive solution should be without first understanding what the problem is. For instance, it's difficult to conceive of what a car should be - that is, the required space, capabilities, and...Read More

Joining the Unexpected

Posted on April 21, 2021April 21, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Acts 11:1-18 The circumcision party was a group of Jewish Christians who believed it was necessary for Christians to adopt Jewish laws and practices. And by the time Peter reaches Jerusalem, we see they had already received word of him fraternizing with the uncircumcised, or those the Jewish law considered outside of God’s covenant. They...Read More

Peter and Jonah: Two Responses to Divine Inclusion

Posted on April 20, 2021April 20, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Acts 10:34-48 God shows no partiality. Regardless of one's race, class, gender, or nationality, God accepts all who do what is right and walk in the fear of his name. Peter receives this stunning revelation by way of his encounter with Cornelius, as he - along with his close friends and relatives - receives the...Read More

Kill and Eat

Posted on April 20, 2021April 21, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Acts 10:9-33 Peter and Cornelius are the most unlikeliest of companions, because one is a Jew and the other a Gentile. In Acts 10:1-8, we saw the Gentile moving towards life with the Jews. Now, in this passage, we see the Jew moving towards life with the Gentiles. But how is it that these two...Read More

Divine Pull

Posted on April 19, 2021April 19, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Acts 10:1-8 Luke tells us that Cornelius is a centurion, which means he is a man of war in league with the Roman state. He is a master of slaves (Acts 10:7) and a leader of well-trained soldiers. In many ways, he is what so many of us aspire to be, that is, strong, commanding,...Read More

Betrayers of Disruption

Posted on April 16, 2021April 16, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Acts 9:23-43 Once he gives his life to Jesus, Saul goes from being persecutor to persecuted. By his own people, he is now seen as the great betrayer. "How could you, Saul? How could you abandon your faith, your identity, your people, and your God like this?” As a teacher of the law, Saul carried...Read More

Go to the Killer

Posted on April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Acts 9:1-22 In the book of Acts, Saul appears on the scene in chapter eight. Saul is a zealous teacher of the law, who exercises his power and authority to kill Christians in the name of the law. For he sees them as a danger to Israel and as betrayers of the faith. On his...Read More

The Gift of Loving God

Posted on January 21, 2021January 24, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your grave, O my people. And...Read More

Where Life Comes From

Posted on January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in...Read More

Come Alive!

Posted on January 19, 2021January 19, 2021 by cyg-pd

By Pastor David M. Choi The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold,...Read More

Cry for Help (God’s Listening Ears of Love)

Posted on May 6, 2020May 7, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi Psalm 109 Here's a prayer that many of us might have a hard time praying. For in a number of ways, it acknowledges defeat, loneliness, and even deep hatred towards enemies. Although not many of us are bold enough to pray a prayer like this, David is. And through him, God is teaching us to...Read More

The Veil of (Mundane) Suffering

Posted on April 19, 2020April 19, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi Psalm 105 For many of us, we don't feel like praising God or turning our hearts to Him in worship. Not necessarily because we are directly affected, but because we see no explicit reason to. It's in such periods of testing that our response of worship, or a lack thereof, reveals the true nature of...Read More

Where Do You Stand?

Posted on April 5, 2020April 6, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi Mark 11:1-10; Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19 Today is Palm Sunday! This day not only launches us into Holy Week, but it commemorates that day when Jesus entered into Jerusalem in triumph. The gospels tell us that large crowds have gathered together, and that the people have lined up, to see their King and...Read More

An Invitation to Lent

Posted on February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi Time Now Redeemed: Calendars are a wonderful tool, are they not? We all know that calendars help us keep track of time, but something we may not always be aware of is that they also help us locate our existence within history. That for whatever reason we live in this particular moment, and not in any other....Read More

Knowing Christ

Posted on February 17, 2020February 20, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God....Read More

Weep No More

Posted on February 3, 2020February 4, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was...Read More

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Posted on January 27, 2020January 28, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that...Read More

Despair and Salvation

Posted on January 21, 2020January 22, 2020 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. -Romans 7:15 There is certainly more to fear in enjoying a life of unrepentant sin than in despairing over a life of ongoing sin. With regards to the former, their happiness...Read More

Why We Pray

Posted on October 5, 2019October 5, 2019 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi In his theological magnum opus, Karl Barth reminds us why we pray: “How can we understand [prayer] properly without perceiving at once that perhaps the very highest honour that God claims from man and man can pay Him is that man should seek and ask and accept at His hands, not just something, but everything he needs.”[1] What...Read More

Exceeding Righteousness

Posted on May 13, 2019May 14, 2019 by cbcnhyg

By Pastor David M. Choi For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 5:20 If you've been around the church for some time, you'll have noticed, whether from the pastor's preaching or from your small group bible studies, that the scribes and Pharisees are often...Read More