by Josh Liu
At the beginning of August, the Lumos youth ministry had its annual summer youth retreat! This year’s summer retreat focused on the theme of “Holiness.” The staff took the youth to Lake Elsinore, California–just north of Murrieta. While it may not have been the typical youth retreat many of us are familiar with (e.g. cabins, ridiculous (gross) games, complete isolation from society, cafeteria food), it was a blessed time of studying God’s Word, deepening friendships, and enjoying exciting activities!
On the first night, Friday night, we had dinner at the church–good ‘ol Costco pizza. We joined College Life’s praise time and retreated to the youth room for our first session. To introduce the theme and first message, we briefly examined the awe-inspiring and sin-exposing holiness of God from Isaiah 6:1-7. Then, I preached on 1 Peter 1:13-23, “Be Holy: Set Apart and Clean.” Through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ has justified (redeemed, declared innocent, imputed His righteousness upon) those who by faith have submitted to Him as Lord and Savior. In that sense, God has sanctified the genuinely saved believer–set him apart for the Kingdom of God; he was once in Adam but is now in Christ (cf. Rom. 5:12-21; Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:49). Thereafter, God is continually sanctifying the believer–setting him apart from the world (sin), which will be completed at death or at the return of Christ (cf. John 15:19ff; Rom. 8:29; 1 John 3:2-3; Phil. 1:6). In the midst of that progressive sanctification, God has commanded believers to be holy, to actively participate in becoming more like Christ (not like the world) and to pursue purity. The obedience to this command is a result of treasuring Christ’s precious blood, which paid the penalty for sin. After our first session, we packed up and drove to our hotel in Lake Elsinore.
At the hotel
We began Saturday with our second session at a park. Cesar preached on 1 John 2:15-17, “For God So Loved Worldliness?” It was a great and challenging message, one that I wish had been recorded! One cannot love both the world and God; one cannot both pursue sinful desires and Christ; one cannot both persistently consort with sin and live in obedience to Christ. To pursue and invest into worldly treasures will prove futile–it will all pass away–and it will prove fatal–the world stands against God who is the final judge. After our second session, we headed over to the lake and rented jet skis! Kristen and I piloted the jet skis while the youth rotated as passengers. While at the lake, Roger and Grace Alcaraz made a surprise (planned) visit! We got back to the hotel and had In-N-Out for lunch.
Cesar preaching at the park
After lunch, we drove over to UC Riverside for a low/high ropes course program! We played some fun games, tried some low-ropes obstacle courses, and tackled high-ropes challenges. Many of the youth completed a rock-climbing wall and tried Giants Ladder, parallel beams that increased in gaps between each beam and required a partner. They all worked well together and had a good time! After, we had dinner on our way back to the hotel and had our third session at another nearby park. I preached on Romans 12:1-2, “True Spiritual Worship: Total Self Dedication.” When one is gripped by the holiness of God, goes to Him in faith and repentance, the result is worship through the total dedication and sacrifice of self. I challenged the youth to consider how they are worshiping God with their lives with what they treasure and pursue. Afterward, we hung out and had free time.
On Sunday, we joined Faith Bible Church’s worship service at 8:30am. While Chris Mueller was away, John Pleasnick preached on “Sanctification: Set Apart by God” (http://media.faith-bible.net/series/gospel-greatness/sanctification-set-apart-by-god). It was an extremely helpful, encouraging, and challenging message, and a great way to end our sessions. After service, we drove an hour north and had lunch at Portillo’s Hot Dog in Orange County. After lunch, we surprised the youth with Knott’s Berry Farm! While at Knott’s, Cindy Tran made a surprise (planned) visit to hangout with the youth as she leaves San Diego for the LBCLA church plant.
It’s been such a joy to be part of the youth ministry, to share in the youth and staffs’ lives and to extol the greatness of God through His Word to them. Personally, I am constantly encouraged and challenged by these individuals to pursue Christ harder, to love, worship, and know Him more, to live a life set apart and pure for God’s glory. I thank God for them and look forward to sharing more of our lives together (and more retreats)!