by Pastor Patrick Cho

Hello friends and family at LBC!

I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord. ‘Tis the season to be shopping for Christmas gifts, planning holiday parties, and vacationing with family. Our family enjoyed walking up and down our street last week to look at the Christmas lights on all the houses. One family invited us in and showed us their ten foot Christmas tree and holiday decorations. It was really pretty!

With all the fun of the holiday season, let’s also take some time to remember Jesus. Ironically, when he was born, there were no lights strung on houses. There were no ornately decorated trees. It was a humble birth in a stable and Christ was laid in a manger. How amazing to think in that humble scene that there laid the Savior of the world! Christmas should always remind us of the amazing grace of God. He sent His only Son to save sinners. This truth is the basis for real Christmas cheer. In comparison, all the festivities of the world, as bright and shining as they are, really are empty and meaningless.

Let Jesus be at the heart of all your celebrating this season!

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are the announcements for this week:

1. Christmas Service. Our annual Christmas service will be this Sunday, December 19 during our regular worship service time. Come and hear the message of Christmas as well as some special music performances from our Christmas concert. The kids will not be dismissed during the service, but nursery care will be provided.
2. Sunday School. We will not be meeting for Sunday School again until January 9. All classes will be taking a break for the holidays.
3. Kids’ Club. Kids’ Club will be meeting tonight at 6:30pm at the church. This will be the final meeting for 2010. We will resume on January 5!
4. Singles Christmas Party. The single adults ministry will be having a Christmas party this Friday, December 17 at 7:00pm. This will be a dessert potluck and gift exchange ($10 max). Please talk with Andy Shin if you have any questions.
5. Friday Night Bible Studies. The Friday night Bible studies will be taking a break until after the New Year. They will resume on January 7.
6. Potluck with Pastor John Kim. On Sunday, December 26, Pastor John and his family will be visiting from San Jose. As such, we will be having an informal potluck gathering at 5:30pm at the church. This will be a great time to find out more of what’s going on with the church plant. John will be sharing briefly as well as answering any questions you might have. If you would like to come, please email Pastor Patrick to sign up for the potluck (pastorpatrick@gmail.com)!
7. New Years Eve Fellowship. On Friday, December 31, we will be having a New Year’s Eve Fellowship at 5:30pm at the church. For this event, we will be having a potluck dinner. To sign up for the potluck, please contact Jonathan Yang. For the kiddies, we will have a countdown to 9:00pm. There will be plenty of games and activities so come out and have a good time!
8. Elders Retreat. Please pray for the elders as they have a planning retreat this weekend. Pray that it would be a productive weekend and that God would grant wisdom to work through decisions and planning.