by Randy Tsuchiyama

Having been at Lighthouse for almost 9 years, I have been to many great retreats and have heard many fantastic messages. This singles retreat continued the trend. Pastor Jim Kang from Lighthouse Bible Church – East Bay titled the retreat theme, “How We’re Made.” Each message that Pastor Jim preached was from the first two chapters of Genesis.

The first message was titled “What God Reveals About Himself Through Creation.” In this sermon, Pastor Jim was able to expound on the some of the attributes of God that He reveals to us and how that ought to affect the way that we live. Having a background in science, I have always seen creation point back to the greatness of God. So this sermon resonated with me. Seeing God’s perfection through His creation and because of that perfection, I am able to trust more everyday regardless of how I may think various situations appear to be. God is worthy of all praise and this sermon helped me to render Him the praise that He is due.

The second sermon was titled “The Origin and Purpose of Man” and dealt with how God originally created us and what we were intended for as His creation. Pastor Jim was able to show us that we (mankind) have a special place in creation and have the unique privilege to rule over creation and glorify God and worship Him. The application of this sermon that Pastor Jim provided was extremely challenging and helpful. The fact that we have this special position in creation requires there to be a need for valuing the sanctity of human life, regardless of any other factors that may make us think otherwise, to be good stewards over God’s creation, and to trust God in salvation alone. I was incredibly challenged by being good stewards over His creation. By thinking I can treat creation in a way where I would selfishly obtain pleasure, I was not acknowledging or appreciating God through His creation. I am not the creator of everything around me and cannot treat it that way. I have been appointed by God to maintain it in a way that would bring glory to God.

The third sermon was about what God reveals to us about work in Genesis 1-2 in a sermon called “The Theology of Work”. Pastor Jim showed us from Scripture that work is not something that God provides in our life as a thorn in our side but something that we are predestined to do as Christians. This challenged the way that I think about work and my attitude at work. I need to think deeply about how I ought to be working knowing I am representing Christ in my workplace. Am I known to complain about everything? Am I known as a slacker? A clown? I am not working just for a check, and the way that I carry myself ought to reflect that as well.

The last sermon was titled “The Theology of Rest” and Pastor Jim laid out the biblical foundations for godly rest. When I looked at the title of the retreat, I thought Pastor Jim would talk about how we ought to rest in Christ while still doing the things in our daily lives. This was not what he preached on. Not even close. Pastor Jim explained to us that we need to understand that the ability to rest is an outpouring of God’s kindness and mercy in our lives. Pastor Jim also preached that we should understand that as Christians, our rest is different than the world. We are called to rest in Christ on Sundays by being expository listeners during the sermon and praying for the people in our church. The rest that we are called to do as Christians is different but still restful because God is kind and merciful to provide us with exactly what we need.

This is just a preview and one man’s reflections upon the sermons. I would strongly encourage you to (re)listen to the sermons if you have an opportunity. Pastor Jim does an excellent job of bringing the truth of God to the forefront of the sermon and how those truths ought to affect the way that we should live. Looking at who God intended us to be and comparing it to who we are now is an incredibly humbling, yet necessary, exercise. Praise God that we aren’t left to ourselves to change our hearts. The Holy Spirit will continue to grow us as we strive for spiritual maturity. I’m excited to see all of us as a church grow in our understanding of God’s truth and how that will be carried out in all our lives. As one slave of Christ to the other slaves of Christ, may Philippians 3:12 be our goal:

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”