by Pastor Patrick Cho
Dear LBC family and friends,
Consider the following excerpt from Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins. I found this analogy to be extremely helpful in conveying the deadly nature of sin:
“Cancer! It’s a dreaded word, a word that often invokes a sense of despair and sometimes even hopelessness. . . . Another term for cancer is malignancy. Medically, the word malignant describes a tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally into adjoining tissue by invasion and systemically by metastasizing into other areas of the body. Left alone, a malignancy tends to infiltrate and metastasize throughout the entire body and will eventually cause death. . . . Sin is a spiritual and moral malignancy. Left unchecked, it can spread throughout our entire inner being and contaminate every area of our lives. Even worse, it often will metastasize from us into the lives of other believers around us. None of us lives on a spiritual or social island. Our attitudes, words, and actions, and oftentimes even our private unspoken thoughts, tend to have an effect on those around us.”
With this analogy in mind, it’s no wonder the Lord Jesus called His disciples to deal with sin in a radical way (Matt. 5:29-30). Even unrepentant sin in the church, like a cancer, must be removed because of the deadly influence it can have (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; Titus 3:10-11).
As believers in Christ, it is not that we should walk around defeated because of our constant failures. Actually, we should rejoice in the grace of God that He forgives sinners (cf. 1 John 1:9). The problem is that all too often the opposite is true of our attitude towards sin. Instead of treating sin with seriousness, we have a flippant and casual attitude towards it. We justify our ungodly behavior with excuses and we cover up our sins.
We need to remember how dangerous personal sin is. We have been called to walk in holiness as God is holy. We are called to be set apart from this world, denying the flesh and its desires. We certainly aren’t going to do this perfectly (Praise God for His patience and grace!), but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t constantly strive for it. Instead of making excuses for our sin, let’s remember the amazing grace of God and our love for our Savior by fighting for personal holiness and excising sin from our lives with surgical diligence and precision.
In His grace,
Pastor Patrick
Here are some opportunities for ministry for this week:
- MIDWEEK BIBLE STUDIES. All of our regularly scheduled midweek Bible studies and fellowships will continue this week. This includes Kids’ Club, Lumos Youth, College, Singles, and Grace Life. Here is the schedule: Wednesdays at 6:30 PM – Single Life (Main Meeting Room), Thursdays at 6:30 PM – Kids’ Club (Room 108) and Grace Life (Room 107), Fridays at 7:00 PM – Lumos (Room 107) and College Life (Main Meeting Room)
- SUNDAY. With our collegians off for spring break we will not be having Sunday School classes this weekend. Classes will resume on Sunday, March 30.
- SUMMER MISSIONS. Applications are now available for our summer missions trips to Argentina and the Czech Republic. If you are interested in applying for missions, please talk to Pastor Patrick for more details and for an application. Applications are due by March 23. Pastor Patrick will contact the references once applications are submitted. You must have been a member of LBC in good standing for at least a year to apply.
- FLOCKS. March 26-29 is flocks week for LBC, so our regular Bible studies will be cancelled. For more information about flocks, please visit the church website.
- WOMEN’S SEMINAR. The Women’s Ministry will be hosting the last women’s event of the 2013-2014 term on Saturday, April 5, from 9:00am-12:30pm for all LBC ladies, youth group on up. The theme is “WORD-ly Wise: Building up the Body” and will be a study in Ephesians 4. Please email Mrs. Grace Lee to RSVP (gracelee357@aol.com). There is no cost to attend.
- GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE. On Friday, April 18, at 6:30 PM, we will be coming together for a communion service in observance of Good Friday. This will be a wonderful opportunity to remember the cross of Christ that has saved us. Be sure to invite family and friends for this time.
- RESURRECTION SUNDAY. Sunday, April 20 is Resurrection Sunday, so we will be having a special morning service focused on the resurrection of Christ and our hope in Him. That morning, we will also be having a breakfast fellowship in the parking lot starting at 7:30 AM.
- ANNUAL BANQUET. Signups are now being taken for the annual banquet. The cost is $35/adult and $15/child ($100 max/family). You can sign up with Cesar Vigil-Ruiz in the foyer on Sunday.
- ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND. Don’t forget to mark off May 2-4 on your calendars as we will be celebrating the church’s 15 year anniversary that weekend. Here is the tentative schedule:
FRIDAY, MAY 2
7:00 PM General Session 1 – The Mission of LBC (Pastor Patrick Cho)
SATURDAY, MAY 3
9:00 AM General Session 2 – The Vision of LBC (Pastor Jim Kang)
12:00 PM Lunch Fellowship (FREE!)
2:00 PM Break
5:00 PM Annual Banquet/General Session 3 – The Passion of LBC (Pastor Chris Mueller)
SUNDAY, MAY 4
9:00 AM General Session 4 – Reflections on 15 Years of Ministry (Pastor John Kim)
11:00 AM Fellowship and Refreshments (No Sunday School classes)