All Sermons A-Z

50th Anniversary Service
The celebration service for IFL's 50th anniversary in 2004, with the church choirs, Pastors Okubo and Thai, and sermon by Pastor Carl Nelson with Vietnamese translation by Mimosa Nguyen. The entire service is about 50 minutes.
Nov 14, 2004/32 kbps/11.5 MB

Anger, Justice and Forgiveness
Jesus commands us to forgive one another, but it's tough because He asks us turn over our need for justice to Him. In his final message of 2006, Pastor Okubo challenges us to forgive for our own sake and looks at the obstacles to asking and granting forgiveness.
Dec 31, 2006/16 kbps/1.99 MB

Be Still and Know I Am God
Guest pastor Larry Alb says that our lives are to be centered around God; to give Him our burdens and cares, let Him come into our lives in prayer, and lead us in how to live our lives.
July 22, 2007/32 kbps/4.16 MB

Beyond the Matrix
Using "The Matrix" movie trilogy as a backdrop, Pastor Okubo teaches that rejecting Christ's real gift of eternal life for the perceived pleasures of this world is like willingly returning to The Matrix after having been set free from its evil control.
June 13, 2004/32 kbps/4.27 MB

Candy Canes
The pastor's mom, Kay Okubo, explains the biblical symbolism behind the popular holiday candy. For starters, the cane is shaped like a shepherd's staff - Jesus is our Good Shepherd.
Sept 4, 2005/24 kbps/668 KB

The Choir of God
Pastor Okubo's 2006 Easter sermon uses the analogy of a choir to describe how God brings together people of various races, talents, backgrounds and personalities to sing the praises of His risen Son.
April 16, 2006/16 kbps/1.4 MB

The Christmas Story
LeRoy Hotz and Pastor Okubo read the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth of Christ and the story of his birth according to the Gospel of Luke from our 2005 Christmas Day service.
Dec 25, 2005/16 kbps/580 KB

A Cinderella Sermon
For anyone who has been rejected, abused, or put down by others like an evil stepmother, God wants you to know that you are so precious that He had Jesus die for you that you wouldn't be lost.
June 27, 2004/16 kbps/2.1 MB

The DaVinci Code: Fiction and Confusion
Pastor Okubo takes on and dismantles the claims of the controversial book and movie, and warns that the need to look for secret knowledge or to follow conspiracy theories is based on the sin of pride.
May 21, 2006/16 kbps/1.78 MB

The Facts are the Facts
Ignoring the facts about the birth of Christ is as sensible as believing the earth is flat. For to believe it is to also believe in and submit to a power greater than ourselves, which rebels against our sinful nature.
Dec 23, 2007/32 kbps/4.33 MB

The Faith Hall of Fame
An ark builder who got drunk, a prostitute and a stubborn people are commended for their faith, despite their sinfulness, because they lived in expectation of a promise given by God.
Aug 12, 2007/32 kbps/4.16 MB

Faithful Unto Death
The pastor of an Iranian church in Los Angeles was put to death after returning to Iran to preach the gospel of Christ. Pastor Okubo reads the moving transcript of his defense before the courts.
June 18, 2006/16 kbps/301 KB

The Fellowship of Suffering
Like the apostle Paul, we will suffer for our faith. But because Jesus suffered too, He's got our back and will build our faith in the process.
Mar 25, 2007/16 kbps/1.7 MB

The Fish and the Loaves
The miraculous feeding of the five thousand, as told by IFL teacher Eileen Scheideler, shows that Jesus provides for our needs.
July 31, 2005/24 kbps/480 KB

Forgiveness
Easier said than done. As God's children, we are called to forgive one another so that harmony may reign. If it's hard for us to forgive, perhaps deep inside we really don't believe that God has forgiven us of our own sins.
Sept 11, 2005/16 kbps/1.61 MB

Freedom to Follow God
With freedom comes responsibility. On the Sunday before July 4th, Pastor Okubo calls us to count the cost of following Christ, but also to rejoice in what He has done for us in return.
July 1, 2007/16 kbps/1.99 MB

From Death to Eternal Life
On All Saints' Sunday, when we remember brothers and sisters who have died in the faith, this message admits the reality of our loss in this life, offers a glimpse of what awaits us in heaven, and asks if we know where we're going after our own death.
Nov 6, 2005/16 kbps/1.75 MB

Fulfilled in Your Hearing
Pastor Carl Nelson's sermon from our 50th anniversary service, with Vietnamese translation by Mimosa Nguyen.
Nov 14, 2004/32 kbps/6.49 MB

A Great Light in the Darkness
Like the Grinch, have you "puzzled and puzzled until your puzzler was sore" about the true meaning of Christmas? It is indeed something more—the first six letters in the word itself and His purpose for coming is the answer.
Dec 24, 2007/32 kbps/2.63 MB

He is Risen!
Pastor Okubo's message on the resurrection of Christ from our 2004 Easter sunrise service.
Easter 2004/16 kbps/1.08 MB

A Hope of Renewal
Life is not defined by the sufferings we endure. God can bring good out of evil situations. That is the focus of this message that was delivered one week after the devastating Asian tsunami of 2004.
Jan 2, 2005/16 kbps/1.85 MB

Hurricane Katrina: Why Did It Happen?
In this sermon clip, days after Katrina and before the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Pastor Okubo said that both disasters happened not because of God's judgment on America, but because this is a sinful, fallen world that awaits the return of Christ.
Sept 4, 2005/16 kbps/563 KB

I Am Thankful, You Are Blessed
Leroy Hotz reads two poems on gratitude for the small things in our lives that make a big difference. From our 2004 Thanksgiving service.
Nov 2004/32 kbps/511 MB

Ignore This Sermon If You Never Sinned
If you have never sinned, or think you're not as bad as a politician or pop diva, then DON'T hear this sermon! It's for those who struggle with sin and temptation daily, know they can't win alone, and know the One who never sinned stands with them and for them.
Feb 10, 2008/32 kbps/3.30 MB

Immanuel - God With Us
Pastor Okubo's message from our 2005 Christmas Day service looks at the meaning behind the Hebrew name Immanuel and how God came to live among us with the birth of Jesus.
Dec 25, 2005/16 kbps/1.79 MB

It Was Told in the Stars
Pastor Okubo, who is also a physicist, looks at the amazing astronomy involved in the star that the Wise Men followed to Bethehem, and its being foretold in bible prophecy, in his 2006 Christmas Eve sermon.
Dec 24, 2006/16 kbps/1.88 MB

Just As He Said
Pastor Carl Nelson's 2003 Easter message says that because Jesus has risen from the dead, the Christian not only has hope for the life to come, but also that all things will work for God's glory in this life as well.
Easter 2003/32 kbps/4.08 MB

Lord, Teach Us to Pray
The Lord's Prayer teaches us three things: God loves us, He is active in our lives, and has plans for our good. "Abba, Father" means "Daddy" in Hebrew, and that's how wonderfully He loves us.
July 29, 2007/32 kbps/3.5 MB

Love One Another
On the day after Valentine's Day, Pastor Okubo looks at agape love, the sacrificial, selfless, serving love that is the core of our relationships to one another in the body of Christ.
Feb 15, 2004/32 kbps/4.55 MB

Making the Grade with God
People are struggling with a major project they haven't prepared or done the homework on: being accepted by God. They need to hear that they are invited to the table of fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.
Sept 2, 2007/32 kbps/3.54 MB

The Miraculous in the Ordinary
Christ's family fleeing evil King Herod was an amazing fulfillment of bible prophecy. And when we face struggles and trials in our lives, we can be confident that God is working in us.
Dec 25, 2006/16 kbps/1.69 MB

A Mother's Love
The expression of a mother's love for her children is a great illustration of our Heavenly Father's love for His children, as Pastor Okubo teaches in his 2004 Mother's Day message.
May 2004/32 kbps/4.21 MB

A Mountaintop Experience
Peter, James and John beheld Christ's divine glory in His transfiguration on the mountaintop. So do we, when we receive the His body and blood in Holy Communion.
Feb 26, 2006/16 kbps/1.73 MB

One Word Shall Fell Him
Demonic activity is real. But so is the One who has already defeated the devil once and for all at the cross. Pastor Okubo gives a thought-provoking sermon on Jesus healing the demon-posessed man in Luke 9.
June 24, 2007/16 kbps/1.84 MB

Passing the Baton
Will our children or friends carry the baton of faith? Even if they walk away from God, the seeds of faith aren't planted in vain, for God's powerful word will not return to Him void.
Dec 3, 2006/16 kbps/1.76 MB

A Personal Inventory Check
Just like a business, it's good to take an inventory check of ourselves and discover the good things we have in our lives. Pastor Okubo calls us in his 2007 Thanksgiving message to seek God as the source of all contentment.
Nov 21, 2007/32 kbps/3.07 MB

Prodigals and Older Brothers
Sinners like The Prodigal Son need the saving grace of God as much as those who think God owes it to them because of their obedience... like the older brother.
Mar 18, 2007/16 kbps/2.0 MB

The Reason for the Passion
Why did Jesus have to die such a violent death as dramatized in "The Passion of the Christ"? Pastor Okubo explains the symbolism and the reasons for Jesus' taking the punishment that we deserved so that we wouldn't be lost.
Feb 29, 2004/32 kbps/4.86 MB

Second Thoughts
Like John the Baptist, we can have second thoughts about Jesus. Second thoughts aren't bad--if they lead us away from false, unbiblical images of who Jesus really is.
Dec 17, 2006/16 kbps/1.63 MB

Seeing Ourselves as We Truly Are
Outward respectability and wealth are not the signs of God's favor upon us. Pastor Okubo teaches from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus that we are all spiritually poor before Christ and must turn to Him for eternal riches.
Oct 10, 2004/16 kbps/2.28 MB

A Sermon About Nothing
No, Jerry Seinfeld didn't write this one. Nothing can separate us from the love and protection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as Paul writes in Romans - not our failures, not our doubts, not our past... nothing!
July 31, 2005/16 kbps/1.82 MB

Should I Get Involved?
People don't want to get involved; it's none of their business. But the parable of The Good Samaritan teaches that in reaching out to others in need, we share the love of the God we profess to believe in.
July 15, 2007/32 kbps/3.67 MB

The Source of Good
Being good doesn't come from not being bad or obeying the law.It starts with a change of heart, a change of soul. That change -- repentance -- only comes through a relationship with Christ.
Dec 10, 2006/16 kbps/1.88 MB

Spiritually Lost
You may be lost, and don't want to be found. People resign to staying spiritually lost because they feel they'll never be good enough for God. The good news is that God has found them and through Christ wants to bring them home.
Oct 3, 2004/16 kbps/1.9 MB

Think About These Things
Pastor Okubo's message from our 2004 Thanksgiving service reminds us that an attitude of gratitude, from the little daily miracles in our lives to Christ's sacrifice for our sins, can change our attitude toward our lives and what God has given us.
Nov 2004/16 kbps/1.76 MB

Three Persons, Three Purposes, One God
Pastor Okubo teaches on the doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and gives the biblical basis for a triune God.
June 6, 2004/16 kbps/2.21 MB

The Three Trees
The most popular download ever on our site, this youth skit from our 2004 Easter sunrise service is about how our wildest dreams cannot compare to God's plan for us.
Easter 2004/24 kbps/544 KB

A Very Big Burden
Carrying grudges and unforgiveness against people can weigh down your heart the same way carrying a stack of big books can weigh down your back. It's also a sin that Jesus warns us against.
Sept 11, 2005/24 kbps/1.34 MB

A Well-Ordered Heart
There is a need in all of us that all the world's knowledge and pleasure will never fill... an eternal, spiritual need that can only be filled by a relationship with God.
Aug 5, 2007/32 kbps/3.29 MB

What Goes Around Comes Around
Actions have consequences, but that doesn't always mean God is punishing us when bad things happen to us, nor that we're right with God when all is going well.
Mar 11, 2007/16 kbps/2.0 MB

When the Dark Hates the Light
Sometimes it's dangerous to bring the light of Christ to places where it's not wanted. Pastor Okubo teaches about the reality of persecution and God's strength to endure it with the story of an Iranian pastor who was killed for sharing his faith back home.
June 18, 2006/16 kbps/1.86 MB

When You Ask, Be Ready for the Answer
When we come to God with a prayer request, do we already expect Him to answer in a certain way on our terms instead of letting God be God? That's the challenge guest pastor Carl Nelson gives us in his sermon based on Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus in John 3:1-17.
Feb 17, 2008/32 kbps/6 MB

When You Think You Know It All
...you really don't. We rob ourselves of all the possibilities God has for us when we lean on our own understanding. Like Peter at Christ's resurrection, we then remember that with God all things are possible.
Apr 22, 2007/16 kbps/1.62 MB

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Us?
Because this is a sinful world, things such as death, war and disease will happen, even to committed Christians. But God has promised to carry, strengthen and grow us through each bad situation... and even bring good out of it.
Mar 12, 2006/16 kbps/1.37 MB

Why Do We Come to Church?
Being in fellowship with other Christians at church is how we publicly worship God, but Pastor Okubo teaches that the church is also where we learn to pass the baton of faith to the next generation and where all generations can encourage each other in the Lord.
July 13, 2008/32 kbps/3.51 MB

Why Does God Allow Injustice?
Pastor Okubo teaches from the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30 that God is waiting for unbelievers to come to salvation, just as He did for a ruthless persecutor named Saul of Tarsus, who later became the great apostle Paul.
July 20, 2008/32 kbps/3.27 MB

Why Is It So Hard to Forgive My Brother?
From the parable of the ungrateful servant, we learn that even as Christians baptized in Jesus' name, we struggle to forgive others because deep down inside we don't believe God has forgiven us of our own debt load of sin. A sobering sermon with a message of God's amazing grace.
Sept 14, 2008/32 kbps/2.95 MB