Monthly Archives: March 2010

Photography Ministry

by Brian Song

You’re at church and you see a flash of light out of the corner of your eye followed by a series of clicking sounds. As you whip your head around, you barely catch a glimpse of what appears to be a person moving and carrying a rather large object in their hands…

The Photography Ministry at Lighthouse is comprised of men and women who share a common passion for taking pictures. Our ministry’s goal is to ensure that we capture the life of the church in pictures so that the church can relive them for many years to come. Generally, we meet 30 minutes before each event so that we can assign tasks for each team member. It may seem that we’re roaming around at random, but it often takes coordination and planning so that we don’t end up all shooting the same thing. Afterwards, everyone is responsible for uploading all the photos to our church’s photo website (http://www.lbcsd.smugmug.com). It usually takes our team anywhere from one to two weeks to filter through, process, and upload their shots online.

One of our other responsibilities is to maintain the member photos posted on the walls of the church. With all the changes taking place in the body (new members and growing families), we will continue to shoot members photos before, during, and after each member’s meeting. So if you’re a member and either need a photo taken or want an updated photo, please don’t hesitate to visit our “studio” during the next member’s meeting.

I’ve been so encouraged by our team’s willingness and faithfulness in serving the church through this ministry. One of most challenging aspects of this ministry is that whenever we’re serving, it oftentimes keeps us from fully enjoying the event with the rest of the body. As different (life stage) ministries hold events, team members from the other ministries have graciously taken time out of their busy schedules to volunteer to take photos so that the rest of the team can partake in the fellowship.

It is our great joy that God can use our passion for photography to capture his body carrying out the MVP of our church. All of us are more than excited to share our passion with others. So if you ever have want to know what camera to buy, to learn about different photography techniques, or even to join the photo ministry, please let us know!

Photo Team

Book Review: The Walk – The Life-Changing Journey of Two Friends

Book by Michael Card

Book Review by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Living a life that enables you to disciple someone else is one of great joy and hardship, of service and sacrifice, being mindful of the end goal, and filled with spontaneous moments of instruction. I think every time I read a book on discipleship, I see the many weaknesses I have and how I hope to be better. Reading The Walk has not been any different, since I can imagine myself placed in the many different situations the two men in this book were often in. Although I am definitely not an expert in leading another to growth in Christ, I try to find as much teaching as I can get.  Since I have such narrow vision, I need outside help to see what Christ wants me to see.

From the beginning, the book is about Michael Card, a Christian musician, and William Lane (not William Lane Craig), a biblical scholar, and their discipleship relationship. Interestingly enough, both Card and Lane are respected in their own field, which can appeal to either fans of Card’s music (count me one of them), or those appreciative of Lane’s writings (not yet). The book is written is in the same style as the famous Tuesdays with Morrie (by Mitch Albom), which emphasizes telling a story as a means of teaching. However, this book has a little of both: the teaching (or the walk, as Card puts it) and the truth of it lived out (or the story). Compared to other books on discipleship are popular now, this book is special in that Card recites some of the teachings that Lane had taught him, and he shows how his teacher’s life is in conformity to that truth. Most books will emphasize the teaching at the expense of showing how you apply it, and so this book does offer something new.

What caught me off guard while reading this book is the insight, wisdom, and love William Lane expressed to Card. Of course, being a biblical scholar, he had to have a working knowledge of the Word of God to be able to function as a seminary professor, but he shows those traits much more as a discipler. Their story begins when Michael is attending Western Kentucky University, with Lane as the interim pastor of his church.  Knowing him to be one who knows God, Michael asked if they could start meeting for a while, hoping to benefit from having Lane as his mentor. From their hikes, Michael grew to learn what Lane would later call the cycle of discipleship:

Bill saw three phases in Jesus’ pattern of discipleship. The first we find in Mark 3:13-15; it is the call to be with Jesus. The second phase, which is in Mark 6:7, 12-13, represents the commissioning of the disciples. The third is in Mark 6:30-31; here we see the disciples returning to Jesus, reporting to him all the things they had seen and heard. At this moment they heard the word from Jesus, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31). Bill used this pattern in his relationships with the students he mentored as well as in his own walk with the Lord. (46)

Those three phases form the structure for the rest of the book, and also serve as a metaphor for a Christian’s spiritual walk, as well as the structure for discipleship.  They became foundational for how Michael saw his life, as he relates towards the end of the book:

As I look at this cycle of discipleship and ministry, it’s interesting to apply it to the context of each day. I wake in the morning, and I’m with Jesus. I learn from Him. I read His Word. I spend time with Him. I realize my commission, and then I go out. I do His work and I speak His Word. Then, at the end of the day, I come back and report to Jesus everything I’ve done and everything I’ve said….You can apply the cycle over a day, over a matter of months, or over a lifetime. That was my experience with Bill, who first shared this concept with me. (125-126)

Many of the aphorisms in the book are reoccurring, such as: “When God gives a gift, He wraps it in a person” (22), “It is more important to say ‘I trust you’ than it is to say ‘I love you’” (43), and “Sonship/daughtership is established in the wilderness” (83). These sayings he had would end up pointing to the one he would keep in his heart most: “I want to show you how a Christian man dies” (109). William Lane found out in 1995 that he had cancer. His life now took a new turn towards returning to Christ, and he wanted to show Michael, both in teaching but now more than ever in modeling, how a man redeemed by his Savior is to die. Even in death, he wanted to die as one who honors Christ with his all.

This story has drawn many lessons I want to model in my own life, especially in regards to showing others how to understand God’s gift of Christ to us. Their unique friendship drew each other closer to Christ, and a exhibited the love Christian men have for one another: sacrificial love, love that will always sharpen, instruct, and nurture. The sad reality of it is, the world mocks this kind of love. The only reason they seem to do so is they don’t understand this kind of love because they’ve never experienced sacrificial love. This kind of friendship will always give hope, because it points back to Christ whom we are to be with, sent out by, and return to all throughout our lives.

Beware of Hypocrisy

by Pastor JR Cuevas

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

I’m under no assumption that we will ever be a perfect church. Neither am I under any assumption that I will ever be a perfect person, nor should you. Apart from the person of Christ, no one ever walked the planet in perfect sinlessness, nor will anyone ever do so. One manifests the Spirit’s working in him not on whether he is free from sin, but on whether he fights sin. A Christian is nothing less than a soldier who wages war against the sinfulness that is dead in him yet still present in him. He who claims sinlessness calls God a liar, and the truth is not in him. Be aware of ever thinking that you have arrived, and guard yourself from becoming so insecure about your salvation every time you feel yourself struggling against your body of death.

Yet, as I followed the life of Christ and observed the way He treated sinners and handled different situations, oh so clear it has become that the Lord did not treat all sins equally. Every sin is worthy of condemnation – yet some sinners Christ still deemed as sons of God while some He deemed as sons of hell. True, we all struggle with sin. Yet, why is it that there are certain sinners in the Bible to whom Christ displayed His wrath? Every encounter that Christ had with a person – from his disciples to the Pharisees to the lepers to the adulterers – was an encounter with a sinner. And to many, He showed mercy. Yet, to some, He was harsh and condemning. True – God hates all sin. But is there a particular sin that, when unchecked, can almost surely lead him to being a vessel of wrath? All sin must be mortified, but is there one to which we must be particularly wary of and acidify all the more at its earliest roots? Christ seemed to think so, for He had a particularly intense aversion towards the sin of hypocrisy.

If you disagree, listen to the words of Christ Himself in Matthew 23, as He confronts the Pharisees for this very sin. In no where else do the Scriptures record such a wrathful condemnation of sinners as in this discourse of Christ’s condemnation of the Pharisees. To the tax collector Matthew, he simply told him to follow him. To the woman caught in adultery, He told her to sin no more. To the prideful and quick-to-speak peter, He rebuked him. But to Pharisees and the scribes, He called sons of hell. And, amidst all the things He mentioned in this long condemnation, the following was His main accusation: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Seven times he repeated this, and thus you and I must heed. You who call yourself a follower of God, beware – BEWARE! – of hypocrisy. The sinner of a humble and contrite spirit He will not reject, but the sinner who breeds hypocrisy of the Scribes and the Pharisees He will condemn.

The word “hypocrite” in the Greek literally means “actor,” or “stage player.” One of the most appealing things about the “Behind the Scenes” or “Bloopers” section in the DVD of a movie is seeing the stark difference between the personality of the actor when in front of the camera and the one behind the scenes. The sin of hypocrisy, then, is this – a lack of wholeness in character that results in an inconsistency between who a person make himself out to be versus who he really is. It is the act of staging – pretending to be someone before people whom you are really not. Thus, spiritual hypocrisy is the staging of godliness that one does not have nor wish to have.

Listening to Christ’s several accusations against those hypocritical Pharisees and scribes, one learns much about how hypocrisy is manifested. Hypocrisy is the external staging of caring for people’s spiritual growth coupled with the internal reality of apathy and even animosity towards people. Hypocrisy is seen when one engages in so many external Christian activities such as praying and singing and teaching only for the sake of impressing people. Hypocrisy is being overly zealous about upholding certain aspects of Christian living such as tithing while neglecting the more important aspects such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Hypocrisy is pretending to be worshipful externally, when internally one writhes in self-worship, pride, and hatred for people. Hypocrisy is seen when one aligns himself with certain keynote theologians in their doctrines, yet fail to emulate them in their living. Hypocrisy is when one flatters people before their faces and slanders them behind. Hypocrisy is seen when one engages in spiritual activities and yet harbors unrepentant sin. Hypocrisy is when one assumes a different identity or personality before different people with the intention of pleasing them rather than serving them (a.k.a. acting). Hypocrisy is seen when one pretends to be without sin when inside he is swimming in it. The hypocrite is the one who claims to love God yet hates his brother. The underlying message that Christ had to these Pharisees: “Woe to you hypocrites, because you pretend to be godly externally when your hearts are filthy internally.”

Fighting for integrity, then, is a non-negotiable pursuit in Christian living. Everyone has the tendency to be hypocritical in one area or another, but not everyone is willing to fight it. One may have the sin of hypocrisy in him, but one becomes hypocritical when he refuses to fight the sin and allows it to master him. The man of integrity, then, is not so much the man who is absolutely free from hypocrisy but one who passionately fights against it and contritely repents when he exhibits it. Take heed, then, and flee from all hypocrisy. Pursue wholeness in character; pursue integrity in speech and action. Let the person you are before God be the same person you are before people – regardless of whom you are in contact with. Beware of hypocrisy, oh fellow saint, lest Christ say to you on the day of judgment, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?”

Church Plant Interviews – Pastor John (part 1)

by Richard Shin

Pastor John and I met within the confines of his office. As someone who hears him preach on a semi-weekly basis, and given his openness during his messages, I thought I had him figured out for the most part. But after having gone through this interview with him, I realized there is much more to Pastor John Kim than what he reveals on the pulpit. I hope this interview will motivate you to talk to him, get to know him, and squeeze every bit of wisdom from the man as you possibly can before he leaves. Within reason, of course.

What is your role in the San Jose church plant?

My role for the San Jose church plant is to be the senior pastor and pretty much the point person to help provide leadership and direction and hopefully encourage everybody and shepherd everybody along the way as we get going.

What has been a significant challenge or concern so far? And a significant blessing, if different?

Probably one of the more significant challenges that seem to affect people is the practical considerations. Trying to relocate, find a new job, sell your home… all those things in this economy especially is raising concerns among parents, questioning, is this the right time? Understandably, there’s a lot of difficulty having to handle the practical side of things. So, I know the people have been wrestling with that, having just the reality of making a major move. That too has been difficult for a lot of people, even for us, having to sell our home, and to anticipate uprooting our family. On the practical end, that has probably been a significant challenge.

At the same time, it’s a blessing. We’re seeing that people are willing to live out Matthew 6:33: “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness”. To really see the point of planting a church to be actually something that would guide one’s life direction as opposed to work or school. I think a lot of people don’t realize how much they let the worldly elements of life to dictate their life, not to say that it’s all evil and bad, but sometimes people don’t realize how much they need God to accommodate their agenda as opposed to saying we need to follow God’s agenda, and orient everything around that, whether it be school, work or even buying a home.

I think that’s what’s been most encouraging to see, the commitment of the people who have been willing to act on that, especially the younger group of people. Some of them have never been to San Jose; for them it’s a huge step of faith. Initially I think I was a little disappointed because I thought maybe more of the older members might be considering going. Understandably, it’s difficult when you’ve got a young family, and you still got young kids. I think I’ve come to understand that God has to be the one who moves people’s hearts to go and God is also going to be responsible for people staying. He has a purpose in it all. So I think I’m okay with that now.

That played into something too. I thought, “Is our team young?” It would be helpful to have mature, older, more experienced people and I think that is definitely something that is important. But I think on the other end, having younger people also bring a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy. And I think because they’re willing to take some risks too, it does definitely lend itself toward giving a very positive outlook for what we hope to see happen.

What are you looking forward to for the church plant?

I’m looking forward to just being able to spend time with people a lot more again. As our church got bigger here, my role had to adjust because the dynamics aren’t the same. I’m not complaining about that or anything; I’m very grateful that our church has grown. But I think I particularly enjoy interacting with people a lot more. I’m looking forward to just developing things from the beginning again. And some people think that’s the hard part of it. But I think it’s the more enjoyable part, being able to interact with the majority of the group and getting to know everyone on a first name basis and actually remembering who they are. And just to be more involved in their lives on a more personal level. I miss that. That aspect, as the church gets bigger, it’s just impossible to maintain that kind of relationship with everybody. So the developmental stage I think I really enjoy.

I’m also looking forward to getting to know people in the community. Being evangelistic, hoping to just let everyone who comes know that they are welcome and that we would love to get to know them, and hopefully seeing people come to know Christ. Having that be a more distinguishing mark than just transfer growth.

What are some fears you need to trust God with both for LBCSD and LBCSJ?

For San Jose, there are just practical concerns like, “Will we have money?”, “Will we have resources?”, and “Will we have a place to meet?” I think a lot of basic things because we don’t know what to expect. Will we be able to build a relationship with the church community at large? That’s a very important thing, that we’re not just there to do our own thing, but to partner and build relationships. That’s something I wish we could have seen happen more here.

Another fear is the realities of church. Conflicts, disappointments…that’s just a part of life. That’s something you don’t look forward to. I think especially when it involves people you become close with. The relational side is what carries the most weight for me both in terms of what I look forward to and what do I fear. Like betrayal. That’s already happened several times; it’s something painful to go through. While I hope those things don’t happen, unfortunately they do. But we know God is in control even in those things to shape the church and to help us trust Him more.

On the San Diego side, there’s going to be a lot of transition and adjustment. I’m concerned most for how people will treat Pastor Patrick. I hope they would be respectful and that they would not look down on the fact that he’s younger, but I hope that they can see the pattern of his faithfulness already since the church has started. And that they wouldn’t do any comparing. I think in a lot of ways Pastor Patrick has a lot of gifts and talents that I don’t. He has a lot to offer, and I think he’s shown his faithfulness to the church. I hope people will look at that as opposed to age or experience. Those things are just not fair to compare with someone who has been doing it for like twenty years.

And then for people to not place their hopes on people. The church doesn’t depend on me and so my leaving shouldn’t dictate how the church does. I know there will be practical facts because of relationships and all, but I hope people can just trust God and do their part in filling the gaps and whatever void they think might have been created. Not only with my family leaving, but others leaving. I hope it will lead to people stepping up, instead of people just complaining or moaning and groaning why things are the way they are. Hopefully people will not resort to being negative about all the change. It’ll be hard; it’ll be a challenging. Hopefully it’ll cause people to trust God more, and hopefully they’ll step up.

How do you feel about leaving Pastor Patrick? And how do you feel about taking JR?

I think we shared this at members meeting and at the ordination service. There’s no one else I would trust than Pastor Patrick. He has shown himself to be the most loyal and faithful partner in ministry that I’ve ever had. And that hasn’t come easy. I know he has had to put up with a lot with all my idiosyncrasies and differences, just the way he is. And I’ve been tough on him. And at times, I’ve probably made him cry. But he’s persevered. He’s teachable. He has shown me his willingness to work hard. And his willingness to do anything I’ve asked him to do from pastoral duties to simple things like cleaning up to running missions trips to even stepping in during my leave of absence and to run things and see what it’s like. I’m very confident that he’s going to do a great job. I’m honestly saying that; I’m not just saying that to get people psyched up.

I know Patrick will have his set of struggles, and he’ll have to adjust to being the senior pastor. That just has its own set of challenges that he’ll have to go through. But I hope people would know that he has definitely proven himself over the years. I can honestly say that he has shown himself to be a true friend and partner in ministry and he’s probably the one who has kept me sane over the years because he has made me laugh. Sometimes he would just be silly and help me not be serious about all these things. I’m confident that he’ll do a good job. Hopefully people would be patient with him too, give him room to adjust, and be himself.

Taking JR… I have mixed feelings about it. Personally I’m thankful. At the same time I know it takes a hit for the church because I know he’s been doing such a great job with the youth ministry. And I know the kids love him here. My kids love him too. So we’re fortunate to get him to continue on with us. JR’s heart has been with church plants. When we prayed whether he should be part of the plant or not, honestly I thought he should stay because I thought he could help Patrick. But he told me he fasted and prayed for over a month, and he prayed and trusted that it’s God’s direction for him to go. So, what can I say to that?

I know things don’t always go in the way of conventional thinking. I know that because that’s the way I look at a lot of things myself too. I couldn’t just say that’s not conventionally right or the best thing to do. At the same time I’m definitely thankful that he could come as a ministry partner would be helpful. JR has done a great job pastoring the youth, and not only that, he’s done a great job in developing in his preaching and he’s really grown in his ministry skills and I think it would be good to just have someone who I can count on to be there in case I get sick which happens often or be able to fill in on various ways and for Kathy to come with him. I know it’s going to be a challenge for the church as well to have two of the three pastors leaving.

What are some more encouraging words that you have heard regarding the church plant?

Some of the older folk have come up to me and told me that they are challenged that at this stage of life that we’re willing to do this. I think Angela and I imagined ourselves living in San Diego and just watching the kids grow up and enjoying the nice weather after leaving the east coast where it was cold, appreciating the warm weather more… As God has lain on our hearts to do this, we don’t want to make excuses because of “stage of life” issues. There are those who have been encouraged to not use “stage of life” excuses, and that’s been encouraging to hear.

Others have been encouraging to reaffirm our commitment to church planting. Especially the ones from northern California, they’re thankful that we’re going up there. But I think more than just going up there, they’ve learned a lot and grown here. It’s not just for the sake of having a church, but they want to show what they’ve learned here and have a place where family and friends they can share the gospel with and also bring them out to church. It has been encouraging to see the responses of people looking forward to see what’s going to happen up there.

Even some of the pastors up there have been very encouraging and receptive to partnering, at least developing friendships. When I came to San Diego, it wasn’t like that. No one wanted to be my friend. Churches were not very nice. That’s kind of nice to look forward to, pastors saying, “Yes, we need more churches planted!” In fact one pastor has said he’s willing to offer whatever support he could. When I came to San Diego, there were people actively opposing the church plant. It’s kind of strange. We thought we would encounter opposition from non-Christians, but we encountered more opposition from other Christians. So in San Diego, that was kind of a big difference. So that’s been an encouraging response from people too.

Do you ever have second thoughts? And if so, for what reasons? If not, what thought or conviction helps you stay determined?

I always wonder if I’ve made the right decisions because I don’t know at the time. There’s no 100% guarantee in everything, but I’m just trusting in God. I think one sure thing is trust God, and know that He will work everything out for good. I think I’m learning more and more through the Scriptures that God’s sovereignty really is something we can find comfort in. We can’t forecast or guarantee anything we do in life. Even from a human vantage point, we try to do all our homework and evaluate everything, and maybe make the best decision we think possible, but even then that’s no guarantee that it’s God’s will. I think trusting God is the one thing that keeps me hopeful.

But yeah, sometimes I wonder if we should have sold our house, should we start all over again? Some people say things like, you’re getting older now… why don’t you let the younger guys do it? And sometimes I think, yea, maybe that would be good because I’m tired, my health has not been as good. So sometimes is it the stress of doing these kinds of things that is getting to me more? I think just trying to get re-established all over again for everything, not having relatives close by… that’s the kind of things that come to mind, is this the best thing to do?

But I think about the long term picture, and I ask, what are we living for? We are not living for our own comforts. We’re not living to have our needs met, or have things convenient for us. Are we really considering Matthew 6:33? Is it really our heart’s desire? At a human level, it’s hard. But we trust God’s Word to be true, and that is actually what’s worth living for. And then we strive for that. And we know God will sustain us. But yea, sometimes it’s hard… especially when I think about Mexican food and Evangelical (the bookstore) and my friends there.

Will you be the only on-site elder? And should we be concerned?

Initially in principle, yea. But we already have in place what we call an “Administrative Team”. It’s kind of how we started things here as well, and that we would work together with the team in terms of making decisions. This is not a dictatorship. Yes, I think I need to provide leadership, but at the same time work as a team. There are already certain kinds of things we’re talking through, and having checks and balances for decision-making issues so that it’s not completely just my will being imposed on everybody. At the same time, I would hope that God would use me to provide clear leadership and direction, but not at the expense of just simply imposing my own will. I’ve always been a team guy; I don’t think I’m the guy that’s supposed to make all the calls for everything. But at the same time I’m in a position to teach and equip and challenge people. In good time, our goal would be to appoint elders who would fulfill the qualifications, and we hope to do that very early on in the life of the church.

to be continued…

Weekly Links (3/12/10)

by Stephen Rodgers

Alright, there’s a lot of good stuff this week, so I’ll just jump right in. Besides, there’s really no chance of exhausting all of it, so we’ll save some for a rainy day.

Pro Rege

Fireflies Nursery Ministry

by Carol Lim

LBC Nursery Ministry, aka Fireflies, serves the youngest members of our church, ages 0-3 yrs. I’m sure by now you’ve seen some ladies with pink or blue smocks each Sunday morning enjoying the worship time with the little ones on your way into the sanctuary. I currently serve as the director of Fireflies along with Lillian To (scheduling coordinator) and Brenda Hom (curriculum coordinator). Our staff of about 30 ladies of all ages (college & up) absolutely loves the children that the parents entrust to us while they worship. Each staff member is currently scheduled to serve about once every 3 weeks. Besides on Sunday mornings, we also serve on other occasions such as Christmas Concert, LBC Annual Banquet, and other events as needs arise.

Fireflies are divided into 2 areas: Nursery 1 (from birth to about 16 months old), and Nursery 2 (from about 16 months old to 3 years old). We not only have play time, snack time, and potty time, we also have Bible lesson time for Nursery 2 children where they learn different attributes of God. For instance, during the month of February, they are learning about God’s sovereignty through the story of Jesus calming the wind and the sea and how He is the boss of everything (Matt. 8:23-27). They are taught the same lesson for the whole month along with a memory verse. For February, they are memorizing Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

I’m particularly blessed to be part of this ministry not only because I get to participate in the lives of these children who grow up ever so quickly, but also because I get to be involved in the lives of other fellow sisters who serve here. We encourage the ladies to consider the times of serving as an act of worship. We try to hold each other accountable in our spiritual walk and be intentional even in our conversations while we serve. Because we have a number of moms serving as staff members, younger ladies are finding this ministry to be such a valuable opportunity to be learning from the older women in dealing with children (as in Titus 2).

If anyone is interested in joining Fireflies, we ask that you be:

  1. Female
  2. A member in good standing
  3. Interested in caring for children
  4. Desiring to grow spiritually and to learn from other ladies

For more information please contact Lillian, Brenda, or myself. Thanks!

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #61

by Pastor John Kim

To the LBC family!

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #61
Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it – that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc.

Listlessness is something that we would often disguise as “I just need to clear my mind” kind of mentality and is ultimately revealed to be an escape from being fixed and focused on seeking Christ. Our tendency to being easily distracted contributes to this as well and the main consequence really is a loss of a discipline for the sake of godliness. While we must be careful that duty alone does not govern our motivation, there are times when the patterns of disciplines are disrupted by seasons of mindlessness that go back to our heart motivations.

Why is it that we are so easily moved away from Christ in our minds? Is it not the enemy that seeks to tempt us with thoughts that would sway us from the Savior? Are we not often pulled to conform to the world instead of being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2)? Knowing that we have this tendency as we face the daily onslaught of worldly thinking, it is no surprise that we are exhorted by the apostle Paul to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). It is only in the Word of God that we find the center of our thinking provided and that is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. When the cross is the focal point of our mind, it will not lead to listlessness because to dwell on the gospel can only result in the glory of God becoming the end to which our whole life can then find its ultimate fulfillment.

Colossians 3:1-2
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

If our mind is sent on Christ and the things of Christ, we will be able to transcend the earthly mindedness that we are often found wallowing in and instead we can be seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). When we are mindful of Christ and following the way of the cross, not only do we individually find benefit but we are then able to truly contribute to the unity of mind that should characterize the church.

Philippians 1:27
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

When we are living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, it will be revealed through a firm unity shown in one spirit and one mind striving for the faith of the gospel. The work of the gospel is then maximized by our Christ-mindedness.

Philippians 2:1-5
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

When we are of the same mind, it will result in a self-sacrificing service of one another that follows in the footsteps of Jesus, who displayed the ultimate self-sacrifice through His obedience to the point of death on a cross so that we might have a Savior who could save us from our sins.

To put it another way, let me ask a series of questions regarding the state of your mind:

  1. Do you find yourself easily distracted from the things of God?
  2. Does the glory of Christ seem like a fading shadow to you?
  3. Do the things of this world seem more attractive than the things of heaven?
  4. Are you disinterested in the lives of your fellow brothers and sisters?
  5. Do you rarely think of the gospel in your everyday life?

If the answer to these questions are more a “yes” than “no”, you might have some issues with how you take care of your mind. It is not a good thing to be lazy about the care of your mind. In fact, if you do not set a proper guard over your mind, you just mind find yourself listing off so far from the cross of Christ that you no longer even think or feel or act like a Christian. The price for listlessness can be costly so don’t underestimate the amount of time that is lost in your mindless wanderings apart from Christ.

As the Great Command in Matthew 22:37 states, let us love God with all our mind and in so doing offer up our minds in worship along with the rest of our whole being to His glory.

Praying that you would be mindful of Christ,
Pastor John

Announcements:

  1. LKC will continue this Wednesday at 6:30pm.
  2. There will be no Friday Night Bible studies this Friday as we will be having our all-church Mission Bowl Pep Rally at 6:30pm at the church. Everyone is invited to come for a fun evening as we prepare for the Mission Bowl.
  3. The Women’s Mission Bowl will be held at UCSD Muir Fields this Saturday. All participants are asked to meet at the church at 7:30am for a joint service with the other churches. The tournament itself will start at 9:30am at UCSD and end around 5pm.
  4. For the Mission Bowl, we need a count of those who are interested in purchasing lunch that day. We need to know ahead of time because of the arrangements that need to be made with UCSD. If you an e-mail Naomi Yu by Wednesday evening with the number of lunches you would like to order, it will be $3.50 per lunch. Please contact Naomi at naomiyu@gmail.com.
  5. For the Mission Bowl, there is also a need to help with the food prep and distribution. If you are available to help this Saturday, please contact Naomi Yu as well for this opportunity naomiyu@gmail.com.
  6. Project Ahualle is continuing until March 19 and there is still opportunity for you to contribute to their fund as we hope to help the Ahualle family not only enjoy their time here but to also provide for them resources and gifts that would be an encouragement to them in their ministry. You can pick up an envelope at church and then give your contributions to Pastor Patrick by this Sunday. We would like to have all the contributions by this Sunday because we hope to send any additional funds that we raise with them when they leave on March 19. **One thing that we would like to ask is if anyone has any extra guest passes for Disneyland or California Adventure that you can donate, please let me know as soon as possible. We are also continuing the fundraising for Project Ostrava (April 20-28, 2010) so please prayerfully consider supporting that trip as well.
  7. This Sunday, we will be having an all-church fellowship at 5:30pm to celebrate our time with Pastor Jorge and his family. It will be a potluck dinner so we are asking if you could bring a contribution of a dish that would be one of your favorites that you would like the Ahualle family to try. If you could bring a generous portion to share with everyone, that would be much appreciated. Please mark any serving dishes or utensils with your name so that we can know who it should go back to at the end of the evening. There is a rumor that Pastor Jorge and Norma will be custom making a 1,000 Tucumanian empanadas so you will not want to miss this event!
  8. This Sunday we will be having a special 2nd hour presentation by Pastor Jorge as he will be sharing about the work in Tucuman as well as his perspective on missions. So the adult Sunday School classes will not be meeting this coming Sunday but will resume the following week. Please stick around for this as it is going to be a great opportunity to see what God has blessed our partnership with in the ministry at Tucuman.
  9. We will be going over John 10 this Sunday so please read the chapter in preparation for the message. For the children’s message we will be going over the aspect of PEACE from the fruit of the Spirit. Please remind your children to keep a good record of their notes and pictures. They are doing a great job!
  10. This Sunday will be the last Sunday to signup for the Singles Retreat, which will be on March 19-21 at Pine Valley Bible Conference Center. The cost is now $150 – please signup this weekend! Also, for those of you who have already signed up, we will be getting hoody sweatshirts so please give the appropriate size to Maria Oh if you have already registered. If it is the same size as the t-shirt size you submitted, then you don’t need to do anything else – we will just use that size. But if you need it a little bigger, please let Maria know by tomorrow no later than 5pm. If you have not yet registered for the retreat, you will need to register by tomorrow in order to get a sweatshirt as we will not be ordering any extras due to the extra cost. If you know someone who wants to register, please make sure they do so by e-mailing Maria Oh at ohmaria@gmail.com.
  11. We will be having one last DTR series on the following dates: March 21, 28, April 11, and 18. They will be held on Sunday evenings at the church from 6-8:30pm and will be focused on presenting a God-centered, gospel-oriented, biblical worldview towards the issue of dating. We will be addressing some issues that have not been addressed in previous sessions so it will be mostly new material that will build on previous messages. So invite your friends, both Christian an non-Christian as we will be presenting the gospel through this series as well.

Living Theology #15 – Miracles

by Garrett Glende

“It’s a miracle!” The expression is heard often in our culture, but do we ever pause to give much thought to what is actually being expressed by these few words? Most likely the person really just means that something highly unlikely just happened, maybe by luck or good fortune, but for the Christian the term “miracle” has a much more profound significance. When we think of miracles in the US, thoughts of defeating the Russians in Olympic hockey or something that happened on 34th street at Christmas time come to mind. But are these really miracles? Did God really have anything to do with an underdog US squad defeating the mighty pros from Russia? What is a miracle anyway and does God still work this way? Most importantly, how should we respond as Christians?

As we make our way through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, it may seem like a weird time to bring up this topic, but he places it here because it is under the larger umbrella of God’s interactions with the world, two of which we looked at earlier (creation and providence). Grudem defines a miracle as “a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself.” The qualifying phrase “less common” is necessary, as everything in the world is brought about by God’s action or decree, so there has to be some sort of distinction between a normal action of God and a miracle. Miracles are used specifically to make God’s name known and bring people to worship Him. Jesus and the apostles performed miracles so that their message would be authenticated and we often see that the crowds react in fear and amazement at what they have witnessed.

There are three words used in Scripture to speak of miracles. The first is “sign” (semeion) which is something that distinguishes itself from something else, usually referring to God’s power and omnipotence. The word “wonder” (teras) is also used when an extraordinary act causes people to be amazed and awe-struck. Thirdly, “mighty work” (dynamis) is used to describe the great power behind the miracle. These three words fit well into the definition that Grudem provides, showing that miracles are powerful events that point to the majesty and wonder of God, leaving the audience astonished.

Do miracles have anything to do with us today though? We don’t see seas parting, people feeding thousands with a few loaves and fish, or men rising from the dead. So is it logical to think that God doesn’t act in this way anymore because we never see it? We must first recognize that the high concentration of miracles throughout the period of biblical revelation was purposeful. The many miracles that Jesus and the apostles performed were done with the intent of authenticating their message. We no longer see these things performed by believers today because we have something more sure than signs and wonders, the holy word of God. Still, we must not think that God could not intervene in this way if it was pleasing to Him to do so.

We don’t see the same spectacles that the Israelites and early church members saw, but we still can see God’s hand working every day in our lives. Surely God does intervene directly throughout our time here on earth, but many times we might not notice. He could allow a car to swerve just in time to stay clear of you on the freeway or bring about a generous friend in a time of need. If we acknowledge the doctrine of God’s providence, then we know that He really has a chief role in all of life’s events, but there are certainly things that happen that are out of the ordinary. We should not presume on God that He is unable to get us out of seemingly impossible situations, as we so often do. When tough times come, it’s easy to give lip service to God’s faithfulness and provision, but do we really believe in our hearts that God can work miracles? Hopefully our knowledge of God’s power and sovereignty will cause us to trust Him more in all circumstances.

Encouragement of Children

by Elder Mike Chon

Since February is “Encouragement Month” at our church, I was thinking about what it means to encourage one another. I first began to think about our church and how we can encourage each other, especially since every Sunday many opportunities are presented in how we can accomplish this. Whether serving in the different aspects of the Care Ministry or writing encouragement notes or even a music note, which by the way I’m hoping to see soon, which are all good ways to encourage one another. But the question we all have to wonder is “for what purpose am I encouraging my fellow brother or sister toward?” And hopefully we can all answer and say that we are encouraging one another so that we will help each other to love God and Christ more in our lives. As I began to think more about this, I couldn’t help but think about how my family, especially how my kids encourage me to love God and Christ more.

For those that do not know, my wife and I have three kids. Our oldest son is three and a half years old, our next son is two years old and our youngest is a daughter and she is 9 months old. You may be wondering how three such young children can ever encourage me to love God and Christ more. Let me explain. For those that know our family, you know that our three kids are pretty active and loud. Usually what you see at church is not even half of what occurs at home. Defining them as “active” is one of the biggest understatements that you can ever say to us. Here are a couple of examples of what our kids can do, especially our boys. One day, our boys decided to come into my office and within a matter of minutes they emptied my shredder and covered the entire office with the shredded paper. Then on another day, they managed to go into our bedroom empty out all the clothes from our drawers, pull all the sheets off the bed, and knock off the clock from the wall in a matter of a few minutes. Now these are a couple of incidents that our “active” boys can accomplish in record time. So how do they encourage me to love God and Christ more?

Before I had children, I always wanted children. But my motive for wanting to have children was purely selfish. The only reason I wanted to have children was that they were fun and cute, and that it was something that married couples have to call themselves a “family”. But soon I realized that having children is not about meeting my needs but instead they are one of the instruments that God uses to make me holy. There is not a day that goes by that God humbles me in my role as a parent. In my attitude toward my children, my selfishness, my anger, my frustration, my lack of patience, my lack of love, and my belief that I need to have control over them. Even though they make mistakes and even sin against me and with each other, my heart continues to be challenged in how I respond in those moments. As parents our greatest desire is to see our children love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. My greatest fear is that I would provoke them and cause them to be discouraged (Col. 3:21). That they will grow up thinking that they need to please daddy and that they will be fearful of punishment if they don’t do that. What kind of God am I communicating to our children when fear of punishment motivates them to please another man? So how do they encourage me to love God and Christ more?

My children have shown me that being a godly parent cannot be done by reading books on parenting, by going to seminars on parenting, by listening to “advice” from other parents alone, but instead it needs to be founded on God’s love for us. Each day has its challenges, but through them and spending time with our children my love for them continues to grow. I cannot imagine the love that God has for us to be willing to sacrifice His own Son for people that hated Him. Not only that, but my children are the greatest examples of God’s forgiveness in my life. I have often asked for forgiveness to my children for my lack of patience, for my anger, for punishing them too severely, and they have always been so quick to forgive me and extend love to me. With all of these things, they remind me so much of the gospel that has saved me from the life that I once lived and how truly it is something that I don’t deserve. They are a daily reminder of God’s love for me and Christ’s sacrifice on my behalf. As parents, we face many challenges and difficulties, but through them all, we have the blessing to be able to grow in our love for our Lord and Savior through the ministry of encouragement from our children.

Church Plant Interviews – Pastor JR (part 2)

by Richard Shin

You just got married. You’ll graduate soon. Then you’re going to help plant a church. All this within a year. Are you comfortable with all the changes?

Actually, I won’t be graduating for another year. I’ll be flying up and down every week like some of the Eastbay (now Evangel) guys. That’s something Kathy and I had to think about and pray about. We weren’t sure in the beginning if we wanted to go up after I finished, or fly up and down every week. So we prayed about it individually, and it’s something I had already saved up for, to fly every week. So it wasn’t about the financial aspect. It was about whether she would be on board with me on that. And actually last Saturday, she was like “yep, we should do it.” So I was like “yep, I agree”. Hahaha. So by December I should be done.

In terms of your question, no I’m not comfortable. But then that’s the story of my life, and God has always been faithful through those times. The way that’s been for me is that I’ve always been cautious in terms of getting my feet wet. I’ve never been the guy to be reckless; I’m more the guy who has to be pushed and that’s what Pastor John has been telling me, to take more risks. God’s basically led me that way. I remember my whole plan in seminary has been: be in seminary for four years, be an intern for four years, and then think about going into pastoral ministry. But then all of a sudden I’m 23 and I’m asked to be a youth pastor; I wasn’t ready for that. But God led me that way and I can trust Him. I had never been exposed to the youth before, I had never worked in this ministry, and I had never been in youth group. So that was a big change. But I trusted in God. And He made all these things work out.

Same thing with marriage. I was kind of freaked out before I got married. But just because I’m uncomfortable, who am I to question God? So that’s been kind of my story. I’m back in that familiar place where I’m not comfortable with transitions. But with God leading me that way, I have no reason to not trust Him; I have every reason to trust Him. I’m nervous about what it’s going to be like when I graduate, I don’t know what our life is going to be like up there, what if we have a kid, that’s a possibility, what if something goes wrong with flying and the pregnancy and all that. But as long as I trust in God, I know he’ll work out all things for good for my life.

As a follow-up to the question above, what doctrine/passage from the Bible has encouraged you the most during these times?

Well my life verse at least since a couple years back has been Philippians 3:7-8. That verse has been true in me. I know I’m called to do everything out of my love for Christ it’s not so much about the church plant but it’s more about am I doing what I’m doing because I love God and would I throw everything to gain Him? When that resonates in my heart and whenever I remember that, every decision I make would be a righteous decision. It’s not even about doing things for God, it’s about me wanting to be with God and be close to God. Having that verse has always led me right. It led me to the church plant, and it led me to marrying Kathy.

In terms of a more practical sense, Proverbs 3:5-6 and Proverbs 9:10. I realize can’t trust in myself or my abilities. That’s the thing I always fear, my lack of wisdom but I realize I need to fear the Lord. Not trusting in my own abilities, but trusting in the Lord with all my heart and acknowledging him in everything I do.

Matthew 28:18-20. I just can’t get around that verse. You know, make disciples of all nations. That’s the mission statement of Lighthouse, and that’s the mission statement of my life too. I don’t know… how do you get around that? As authoritative as Christ is, He gets up on that mountain and says go and make disciples of all nations and to teach them to be like Him. You don’t argue with that; you just go.

What will you miss most about LBCSD? About San Diego?

Nothing so much about San Diego…I mean I like the weather here, and as beautiful as San Diego is, I grew up in Hawaii…so SD has always been kind of like second class to me. The beach is nice, but I realized I don’t go there a whole lot any way. Oh, one thing I WILL miss is the zoo! Everyone knows I love animals. I’m going to miss using the zoo pass because that’s been one of the most worshipful experiences for me, going to the zoo and thanking God for His creation. So I’ll miss that for sure.

But really I’ll miss the most is the church, the people. My heart’s always been in the ministry. There’s nothing in San Diego that would make me stay, but the reason that made my decision-making so hard is the people. Some of the guys who I’ve invested in, some of them will stay here to serve the church here. Some of my closest friends will be here. My groomsmen, half of them will still be here. The youth group, I’ll miss. I had hopes of seeing Zach go through high school with the other youth kids. You know the relationships I’ve developed here… that’ll be the biggest thing. The reason I stayed here is the church, so inevitably, the thing I’ll miss the most is the church.

What would you like to see happening at LBCSJ in the coming years?

As general as it sounds, I want to see Christ exalted in the church. I don’t want the church to be about ourselves and this man-centered agenda. I really want to see Christ glorified in everything. I want to see all the members on board with that. To let go of our selfishness and pride, and see God glorified. I want to see everyone ultra-passionate in pursuing that, and not be satisfied with being complacent. It’s hard for me to say what I want to see in terms of practical goals for the church plant because that’s hard. Fruit is the Lord’s work. What I want is our team to be faithful to God’s calling. But do I want to see the congregation to grow to be 100 or something? I don’t know. That’s not the measure of success to me. The measure of success is how faithful we are. I’d like to see the team to be humble before each other and learn to work together. I want to see the younger guys step up into leadership, and some of the older guys to help lead them. I would like to see the San Jose community be impacted whether it be through us or the other churches there. I love Lighthouse and I love what it did to me personally because the teaching that Pastor John, Pat, and the elders provided really changed me and helped me struggle through college. And I know there are others in San Jose who don’t have the resources and I would love to help provide that.

Let’s say you stepped into the building of LBCSD on one Sunday morning ten years from now (should the Lord tarry), what would you like to see?

I would like to see Tim Yu have at least 2 kids and hopefully one of them is a boy and so if we have a boy, we can have them play together. I want to see Eugene Park married. I’d like to see Pat just doing his thing as Senior Pastor. I’m excited to see how that’ll turn out. I’m nervous for him as I watch him struggle through some things right now. I’m excited to see what God’s going to do. I guess Cameron Preslar would be in youth group, so I would want to see what they look like. Hopefully I see more brown people come out. I would like to see the youth group grow… that’s like my baby. I want to see whoever’s taking over the ministry to step it up and have the ministry flourish in the Lord.

How can we as a congregation encourage you and Kathy in the upcoming year?

Be praying for us. For both of us to be individually grow and stay close to the Lord individually. When that’s set, together we’ll be a strong couple. And together we’ll be an effective team for the church plant. Pray for us to work together as a family. Pray for my schooling. I would like to end at the end of 2010 just to make things less complicated. So I can also open myself up for the church plant as much as I love seminary. Pray for the team, that’s been on my heart as well.

Any last words?

I love Lighthouse Bible Church San Diego. I really do. I hope you realize that it was a very hard decision to make. I fasted for ten days! And I’m already thin! Youth kids, I hope you realize how much I love you, and it kills me to be apart from you. But I know this is what the Lord’s calling me to do, to plant churches. I’m going to miss you guys a lot, a lot, a lot. And I’ll be praying for you. And the church body: Know that my prayers will always be with you. You can always e-mail me if you want prayer support. I’ll forever be thankful for the guys who have invested in me, and I mean…I know who’s going up, but the ones who are staying… Pat, I want Pat to know that he would have been the main reason for me to stay because he invested so much in me. Be praying for him a lot. I don’t want him to think I’m ditching him.. and for guys like Peter, Mike, and Tim Yu, and Ted who will be here. All those who have invested in me either as mentors or as brothers. I don’t give up on my friends easily. And all the ones I’ve invested in. You’re not off the hook, man. If I come here in ten years and you’re not in shape, I’ll take you up to San Jose with me, and lock you up in my basement. Hahaha.. I’m just kidding. I’m in prayer for you guys too. I discipled you guys in light of what could happen (the church plant). The whole purpose was to get you guys equipped for ministry to grow in your character to be available and to really mobilize for God. Just be available to do that, and let God do amazing things through you guys. To God be the glory!

to be continued next week with Pastor John…