by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear Lighthouse family and friends,

I hope the new year is off to a great start for you! If you came out to the New Year’s Eve fellowship, you know that I am encouraging the church family to read through the New Testament (at least) four times in 2015. Reading plans can be found in the foyer at the church building. If you have been keeping up so far, you should be wrapping up the Book of Matthew today. Here are some observations from Matthew that I found helpful:

• 1:1-16 – Five women are mentioned (not all by name) in the genealogy of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.
• 3:11-12 – John the Baptist teaches that Jesus would come to baptize with fire (v. 11), and then explains that the fire is a fire of judgment (v. 12).
• 7:5 – It is not necessarily wrong to be worried about the speck in your brother’s eye. It is hypocrisy to ignore and not deal with first the log in your own eye.
• 8:29 – It seems the demons understand and are afraid that there will be an appointed time for their final judgment. In other words, they know they will not win in the end.
• 8:34 – Sometimes crowds witnessed the wonderful things Jesus could do and just wanted Him to leave. Sometimes they responded with fear and worship (9:8).
• 13:10-17 – Jesus spoke in parables to hide the meaning of His teaching. His teaching in parables was a form of judgment for the unbelief of the Jews, not a clever means of illustrating His points.
• 13:18-23 – All of the hearts represented in the parable of the soils heard the Word of God. The seed that fell on the good soil was the one who not only heard the Word of God but also understood it.
• 14:23 – Even Jesus needed to get away from everyone at times to pray.
• 17:5 – We heard these words before (cf. 3:17).
• 20:18-19 – Several times Jesus revealed to His disciples why He was going to Jerusalem (before He arrived in Jerusalem).
• 20:24 – James and John were not the only ones who wanted to sit next to Jesus in the kingdom.
• 22:31-32 – Jesus bases His entire argument about the resurrection on the tense of a verb (present tense).
• 23:13-36 – Seven times Jesus says, “Woe to you,” to the Pharisees.
• 24:13-14 – These verses are found in the context of the Tribulation and not the church age.
• 24:40-41 – You want to be left behind and not taken away.
• 27:37 – There is such irony in the sign that was placed over Jesus’ head on the cross.
• 27:43 – There are some who argue that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God in the Gospels. The Jewish leaders certainly believed He did.

I hope you are enjoying your time in God’s Word. Whether you are following this plan or not, strive to be in the Scriptures daily this year. You will not regret it!

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some ministry opportunities and announcements:

1. A very big CONGRATULATIONS to Johnny and Mimi Kim for the birth of their second son, Philip Isaiah! He was born on January 9, at 10:45 PM. Mom and baby are both doing well and are thankful for your prayers!
2. Some of you may be following what has been going on with the daughter of Pastor Aaron and Tina Choi of Berean Mission Church. Their daughter’s name is Emily, and the family would greatly appreciate your prayers as Emily has been diagnosed with stage four high risk neuroblastoma. They are placing their hope and trust in the Lord but it has obviously been a very difficult time for them. Please pray for God’s grace as Emily continues to receive treatment. Pray that the Lord would strengthen Aaron, Tina, their young son Silas, and their daughter Emily through this time.
3. Grace Life. Since Grace Life Bible study was cancelled this week, we will be meeting on Thursday, January 15. Come out as we continue to walk through Preparing for Marriage God’s Way, by Wayne Mack.
4. Flocks. Flocks week will be on January 28-31. For more information about our regional flocks, you can check out the church website or contact Cesar Vigil-Ruiz (jn316niv@gmail.com).
5. Members Meeting. Our next members meeting has been postponed to Sunday, February 8, at 4:45 PM. All members are highly encouraged to attend! As always, dinner will be provided.
6. College Life Retreat. The College Life retreat is coming up on President’s Day weekend, February 13-16. This FOUR DAY retreat will focus on the theme of “True Love.” We are pleased to announce that our speaker this year is Pastor John Kim of Lighthouse Bible Church, Los Angeles! Talk to Roger Alcaraz for more information.
7. Shepherds’ Conference. The Shepherds’ Conference this year will be on March 3-6. The focus of the conference will be on the inerrancy of Scripture. If you have registered for the conference and are planning to attend, please let Pastor Patrick know via email (pastorpatrick@gmail.com).