Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

And Joseph Knew His Brethren…

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

from Genesis 42.8

This morning our desires went forth for growth in our acquaintance with the Lord Jesus; it may be well to-night to consider a kindred topic, namely, our heavenly Joseph’s knowledge of us. This was most blessedly perfect long before we had the slightest knowledge of Him. ‘His eyes beheld our substance, yet being imperfect, and in His book all our members were written, when as yet there was none of them.’ Before we had a being in the world we had a being in His heart. When we were enemies to Him, He knew us, our misery, our madness, and our wickedness. When we wept bitterly in despairing repentance, and viewed Him only as a judge and a ruler, He viewed us as His brethren well beloved, and His bowels yearned towards us. He never mistook His chosen, but always beheld them as objects of His infinite affection. ‘The Lord knoweth them that are His,’ is as true of the prodigals who are feeding swine as of the children who sit at the table.

But, alas! we knew not our royal Brother, and out of this ignorance grew a host of sins. We withheld our hearts from Him, and allowed Him no entrance to our love. We mistrusted Him, and gave no credit to His words. We rebelled against Him, and paid Him no loving homage. The Sun of Righteousness shone forth, and we could not see Him. Heaven came down to earth, and earth perceived it not. Let God be praised, those days are over with us; yet even now it is but little that we know of Jesus compared with what He knows of us. We have but begun to study Him, but He knoweth us altogether. It is a blessed circumstance that the ignorance is not on His side, for then it would be a hopeless case for us. He will not say to us, ‘I never knew you,’ but He will confess our names in the day of His appearing, and meanwhile will manifest Himself to us as He doth not unto the world.

1.4p

Weekly Links (5/21/2010)

by Stephen Rodgers

Hey everyone! I hope that you’re having a good week, and I hope you’ll enjoy the following articles and resources as we head into the weekend.

  • In case you really enjoyed the Michael Horton interviews we’ve been posting, and you’re jonesing for something more, we’ve got a couple of treats for you today. First up is an article by him entitled Renewing the Great Commission that I think will be a benefit to all of us, considering our own MVP. And if you’re the type of person (like I am) who likes to print out the long versions of articles, including footnotes, there’s a PDF just for you. (WEB and PDF)
  • Speaking of the great commission, here’s some food for thought. Erik over at Irish Calvinist write about Why He Can Relate to Lazy International Ministries (and hates it). Convicted much? I know I was. (WEB)
  • On the other hand, if you just want to know what Michael Horton’s Bible-time looks like, I have an article for you as well. (WEB)
  • Moving on from Michael Horton, Justin Taylor has an article up discussing Alcohol, Liberty, and Legalism. I know that the topic has been discussed around the church before, and that article has some good points for your consideration. (WEB)
  • Speaking of consideration, Ed Welch has an article over at the CCEF website on how counseling is practical theology, and counselors are practical theologians. This is another article that is relevant to all of our lives, so I’d suggest reading it carefully. (WEB)
  • Hopefully, all of you know who John MacArthur and RC Sproul are. You might have some of their books, or even grew up in a church they preached at. Well, despite being great friends, they have different views on baptism. RC Sproul holds to the view of infant baptism; John MacArthur holds to the view of believer’s baptism. This discussion/debate is actually from the 1998 Ligonier National Conference, but is available for free now. (AUDIO)
  • I guess that this is just the week for really good PDF files. Tim Keller wrote an article on The Centrality of the Gospel in which he compares and contrasts the gospel with moralism/religion and relativism/irreligion. This is another great article, so I’ll let you get to it. (PDF)
  • In his contribution to this month’s Tabletalk, Kevin DeYoung wrote an article making a case for what he calls The Glory of Plodding. In it, he addresses the perception that many have that the church has become merely routine and we’re called to something more. His reaction may surprise you. (WEB)
  • Speaking of good PDFs, a couple of weeks ago we did an article on Christian Journals. I knew that I hadn’t recommended all of them, but I shamefully forgot a very important one: The Westminster Theological Journal. This is a publication of WTS, and you can always find their latest issue online along with an archive of sample articles. They only make 2 articles from each issues freely available, but those are almost always great reads (for example, Letham’s article: Catholicity Global and Historical: Constantinople, Westminster, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century). (WEB and PDF)

Pro Rege

Bulletin Ministry Update

by Hansol An

As with every other ministry at Lighthouse, the Bulletin Ministry will be going through some changes as we prepare for the departure of the San Jose church plant team. Two of members, Moon Choi and Courtney Chow, will be departing for the Bay Area. These ladies faithfully served by helping to print, cut, fold and assemble the bulletins. Their contributions to the team are greatly appreciated and both will be missed.

But with their departures new opportunities present themselves for other members to step in. Recently the team has welcomed two new members; James Lim and Jean Ma. It is always an encouragement to see the willing heart of those in the church. Both James and Jean inquired about joining the Bulletin Ministry without solicitation or prompting. They join the other team members (Daniel Yee, Daniel Kim, Yoonjee Kim, Angella An and Hansol An) in continuing to provide this service to the body.

If you are interested in learning more about the Bulletin Ministry, please contact Hansol An.

Editor’s Note: The Sunday Bulletin can now be viewed online.

Living Theology #23 – The Person of Christ

by Garrett Glende

On the heels of probably the most difficult article I’ve written to date, comes this one – probably the most important. There is no more central theme to Christianity that the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the main character of the story of Scripture and all of redemptive history is focused on Him. There has never been a more influential or controversial man to have ever walked the earth. I could go on and on with the sweeping praises of His worth simply as an object of study, but what is far more valuable to us is to actually know Him for who He truly is. What we believe about Jesus is foundational to our salvation and is what separates Christianity from all the other religions of the world.

Jesus as Human

In order to fully comprehend who Christ is, we must see both His humanity and deity in equal light. It is clear throughout Scripture that Jesus was not only in the form of a man, but that He had a complete human nature as well. As early as Genesis 3:15 we see that the promised Messiah would come from the seed of Eve, being fulfilled in the virgin birth. Jesus also experienced all the same things that any other human would feel. He was hungry (Matt 4:2), thirsty (John 19:28), tired (John 4:6), and felt pain. He expressed sorrow (John 11:35), agony (Matt 26:38), and wonder (Matt 8:10). He was even tempted in every way, yet was without sin.

The importance of Christ’s humanity cannot be understated. In order to obtain salvation for man, Jesus had to be their representative. It was Jesus’ humanity that enabled His sacrifice to be applied to us. As sinners, we needed someone to represent us before God and Jesus does that. In this way, He is the mediator between God and man, as 1 Timothy 2:5 says that “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Even more, Christ acts as our faithful high priest according to Hebrews 2:17: “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Had Jesus not been man, He would not have been able to satisfy the wrath of God against the sins of men. To put it simply: there is no salvation without the humanity of Christ.

Jesus as God

This is the point where Christianity stands out above all other religions. Most will admit that Jesus was a man who lived on earth and had good teachings. Many even go as far as to call Him a prophet, yet they are unwilling to submit to the clear teachings of Jesus himself about His deity. If I were to list all of the arguments for the deity of Christ, this article would be far too long. Needless to say, since the message of Christianity hinges on the deity of Christ, then the Bible better be fairly clear on this front. The gospel of John opens with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 of the same chapter tells us that this eternal logos “became flesh and dwelt among us,” clearly revealing that the logos in John 1:1 is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who explains the Father. In fact, Jesus says that “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). We must also be aware that Jesus is not only partly God and partly man. Paul tells us that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9) and we read in Hebrews that “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb 1:3).

The significance of Christ’s deity cannot be understated. What happens to the cross if Jesus is not God? It becomes just like any other death. Thousands of men were crucified before Jesus was, all of them providing nothing of worth for our souls’ benefit. But because Jesus is God, His death means something. No human being could ever provide salvation for another, for “salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). Again, the fact that Jesus is God allows Him to mediate between God and men. He is the one who represents God to us and us to God.

Application

One of the many applications of this great doctrine is the fact that Jesus’ humanity provides us with an example of how we are to live today. If we strive to emulate Christ in all our actions, we can be sure that our lives will be honoring to God. Because He lived a sinless life, there is no part of Christ’s ministry that we are to exclude when we follow after Him as disciples. This is not to say that all of Jesus’ actions were to be prescriptive, in that we would now need to do the exact same deeds as He did (for we are not to literally take up our crosses for the sins of the world), but rather His life shows us a pattern of living that is not to be ignored. He lived as a humble servant, even though He was the Lord of all creation. He fed the hungry and helped the weak. He confronted the false teachers of the day and invested His own life into those that would lead the next generation. All these qualities are certainly to be implemented in our own lives as we submit to His lordship and follow in His footsteps. May we always be thankful for this doctrine of Christ as both fully man and fully God, for there is no gospel without it.

Star Trek and the Local Church (part 2)

by Elder Peter Lim

When I wrote part 1 last month, I wasn’t able to get everything I wanted to say in it. Please refer to it before reading this article to get a better idea of what I’m talking about, especially about what Star Trek has to do with anything.

How the leadership structure of a church ought to be organized has been the topic of debates for a long time, probably since the Apostles were still around. I am generalizing here but Congregationalists tend to vote on everything, Baptists tend to have a head pastor who controls everything, and the Presbyterians tend to treat pastors as employees while the non-pastoral elders control everything. Please do not misunderstand my intentions here. I am not necessarily against denominations. There are many advantages to being in a denomination. There are various reasons for all this diversity of course and there are Biblical merits to each of these denominational polities. But therein lies a subtle problem: it is easy for the structure of the polity to dictate how issues get resolved, rather than Biblical principles. It is very easy to sidestep the priority of a plurality of elders, self-humility, and prayer for the tempting alternative of efficient decision-making, clarity of authority, and pragmatic solutions.

Some people hear of elders Retreats and our long meetings and think to themselves that the elders must be such close friends since we spend a lot of time together. It is true that we are friends, but perhaps not in the way many might think. Being partners in ministry at an elder level is a much higher level of friendship than mere friends in a worldly sense. (More on this in a future article) In some ways I think that the elders of LBC would be even closer friends if we didn’t have to deal with difficult issues that must be resolved. Battle scars result from having to discuss through difficult issues, especially when elders have differing views. Most people have the luxury of not having to deal with resolving differences of preference with their friends. To illustrate, let’s use the example of choosing a carpet color for the church. Most people don’t have to make decisions like these. They have the luxury of just living with whatever decision that has been made, and then criticizing whether they like it or not. The elders have the responsibility to make a decision on this, whether that entails making the decision themselves or appointing some committee to decide for them. If more than one elder has a strong preference on the choice, things get complicated very quickly. There is no written rule how to come to a decision when it’s a non-doctrinal issue. If the elders take a vote, there will always be losers. That can create bitterness. You may have heard that we only operate on elder unanimity here at LBC. That unanimity is not always accomplished very easily. There is much discussion and giving preference to one another. At the end of the day, there will be decisions made in elders meetings which don’t satisfy all the elders, guaranteed. It can often get to a point where an elder actually disagrees strongly with his fellow elders. How can that elder now support his fellow elders, especially in the eyes of the rest of the church? Only by humility and by the love of Christ. That disagreeing elder can show support for his fellow elders and even defend them because he loves them. Steve Preslar talks about his friend who says “Don’t confuse my meekness for weakness.” Similarly I’d like to say, “Don’t confuse the elders’ harmony with being mindless yes-men.” Mine doesn’t rhyme as well. Okay, mine doesn’t rhyme at all.

It would be foolish for a church member to lump all the elders together in one pot as if we all think the same way in every decision. We are not Borg. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I feel sorry for you…go watch Star Trek: First Contact) Unfortunately, some in the congregation actually hurt the church by trying to dig up dirt between elders. They may even gossip that elder A disagrees with elder B and that elder C isn’t happy about a decision that has been made. All of these things may even be true, but that is never the point. One should never say things like, “I agree with YOU, but that other elder is messed up.” It’s like when a kid asks his mom if he can play his Game Boy and upon hearing “no” he goes and asks his dad instead. Because of a selfish desire to get the answer he wants, he risks ill feelings between his parents. In the same way, no church member should tolerate that sort of comment from another fellow church member regarding anyone in the church, especially the leaders. Instead they ought to obey their leaders and submit to them and let the leaders lead with joy. (Heb. 13:17) Note that this is a Biblical command. How are you doing in it?

It may sound to some people that my last two articles here on the Beacon is a result of many frustrating disagreements that I have personally experienced with the elders of LBC. Let me put that gossip fodder to rest and emphasize that we have had many more agreements than disagreements. I’m happy to say that I have seen our elder board step up in many encouraging ways, far above I even expected. We have had more than our share of difficult circumstances to navigate through and many occasions where it would’ve been simpler to just quit. Much larger churches have told us that we are dealing with difficult and unusual problems that they’ve never had to go through. But God has blessed our church to this point where instead of a church split, we are purposefully planting a new church. What a blessed church we are, to be able to be used by God in multiple places. He has brought our church to the strongest we’ve ever been in the 11 year history of our church. More people have come to trust Him as Lord and Savior in the last few years than all the previous years combined. Friends, we are living in the “good old days” we’re going to be talking about in 10-20-30+ years. Praise Him!

p.s. For the record, it took LBC elders all of 10 seconds to agree on our carpet color choice out of the choices given to us by our landlord…and yes, there was more than one choice. 😉


Weekly Links (5/17/2010) (Monday Edition)

by Stephen Rodgers

“What? Weekly Links on a Monday?!” I know, it’s a shocker. An unexpected gift. Like Christmas in May, but without the months of annoying department-store music leading up to it. But here’s a few articles and videos we weren’t able to squeeze in the past few weeks that you don’t want to miss:

  • First of all, if you missed any of the interview with Michael Horton, you can catch all the parts here. I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did. (VIDEO)
  • For anyone involved in the operations of the church, you might find the Security at Church blog interesting. Not everything is relevant to everyone, but there are some real insights into some areas that we could benefit from by thinking about a bit more. (BLOG)
  • Over at the DG Blog, they have a great post up on the nuances of the road to Emmaus account in Luke 24:13-35. It’s entitled “The Eyes Jesus Opened First” and I think you’d really like it. (Yes…you!) (WEB)
  • Over at the Aristophrenium, Adam tackles some common misinterpretations and confusion surrounding the often-quoted statement that “God is Love.” (WEB)
  • And I saved this for last, because it is AWESOME. This is four and a half minutes of a fellow named Tony Carter. “Who’s Tony Carter?” you ask. Apparently he’s a pastor who is quite Gospel-centered in his preaching, AND illustrates his sermons with every book or play I had to read back in AP English. As someone with a degree in Literature, I am freaking out with joy. Check out “Every Time: Grace Wins” and then join me in searching out anything else he’s ever preached. (VIDEO)

Pro Rege

Grow in Grace…

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From 2 Peter 3:18

‘Grow in grace’-not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fulness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low, and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow upward-having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate fellowship with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit enable you to ‘grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour.’

He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus, refuses to be blessed. To know Him is ‘life eternal,’ and to advance in the knowledge of Him is to increase in happiness. He who does not long to know more of Christ, knows nothing of Him yet. Whoever hath sipped this wine will thirst for more, for although Christ doth satisfy, yet it is such a satisfaction, that the appetite is not cloyed, but whetted. If you know the love of Jesus-as the hart panteth for the water-brooks, so will you pant after deeper draughts of His love. If you do not desire to know Him better, then you love Him not, for love always cries, ‘Nearer, nearer.’ Absence from Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven.

Rest not then content without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus. Seek to know more of Him in His divine nature, in His human relationship, in His finished work, in His death, in His resurrection, in His present glorious intercession, and in His future royal advent. Abide hard by the Cross, and search the mystery of His wounds. An increase of love to Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension of His love to us is one of the best tests of growth in grace.

1.4a

Weekly Links (5/14/2010)

by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome back! So let’s try something different this week. I have a few very-short-yet-thought-provoking devotional-esque posts for you this week. Each of these will probably take you less than a minute, and you’ll get a LOT more than a minute’s worth of thought out of them:

  1. Joshua Harris starts us off with a post regarding the dangers of sin entitled “I Will Shake Myself Free.”
  2. Tia Han has an excellent thought on walking in obedience.
  3. Jared Wilson borrows from Anthony Carter who probably borrowed from Robert Louis Stevenson with a brief tale entitled “I Have Seen the Face of the Pilot, and He Smiled.”
  4. Douglas Wilson comments on the ridiculousness of envying sin in his post “A Can Opener for the Peaches.”
  5. And Jared Wilson (again) borrows from John Bunyen in “The Gospel Empowering its Own Implications Is Poetry.”

That’s a lot of wisdom crammed into very little time spent reading it. I trust that you’ll make up for all that time saved with diligent reflection.

Pro Rege

Youth Ministry Update

by Pastor JR Cuevas

We have had the great privilege this year of ministering to another incredible pair of high school seniors – Cole Short and Jenna Kim. As their youth pastor, it’s been an interesting experience shepherding the both of them, as there could not be more distinct in their personalities. Cole – state-ranked high jumper – began attending LBC in the latter part of 2008 upon the encouragement of his older brother. Jenna – a skilled videographer – has been at LBC as long as (or longer than) anyone else in the church. It’s hard to find a young man more energetic than Cole, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a young lady more initially reserved than Jenna. As in-coming college freshmen, Cole aspires a major in international studies. Jenna – home economics and communications. Cole grew as the younger of two brothers; Jenna – the oldest of four sisters. During his free time, Cole can be writing songs while picking his acoustic guitar; Jenna prefers reading and spending time taking care of her sisters.

But what I’ve found even more amazing is how – through the saving grace of God – these two Torrey Pines High School seniors are amazingly similar when it comes to their spiritual walks. Both have confessed – with both heart and life – Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Both love to write – and journal – about their spiritual insights (and both are incredibly good writers!) Both are extremely teachable – spiritual sponges always ready and eager to soak in instruction and wisdom from the Word of God and their youth leaders. During Friday night sermons, both look at me with an intense glare for the entire time I’m preaching without losing focus, indicating that they’re both listening, learning. Both have shared the gospel with non-Christian classmates and friends far more than I have – easily putting me to shame in the realm of evangelism. Both – individually – have asked me for copies of all of the outlines of the Sunday School messages that I’ve taught. Both hurled at me a flury of questions, as to how to make the most God-honoring decision concerning where to go to college. Both decided on their own volition to attend Christian colleges.

Recently, we held the second of our college table talks with Cole and Jenna, where I and a few of the other staff members gave them an opportunity to ask as many questions as they had about college – whether it be concerns or just general inquiries. The staff and myself were simply amazed with their maturity indicated by the depth of insight that they both had in the questions that they asked. It was clear both had a greater goal in mind than just doing well in college; they were both genuinely seeking to do college to the glory of God, and were eager to glean wisdom from their older brothers and sisters as to how they could do that. Chris Tou, one of the staff members who helped run the table talk, said it well: “These kids are intense!” Really, these two are anything but kids; they’ve proven themselves to be young adults capable of making God-honoring decisions.

I think it would be a fair conclusion to say that, aside from their parents, no one is more proud of these seniors than I am. To have had the opportunity to guide two college-bound seniors who have shown – through their daily growth and life decisions – a fear of the Lord is a privilege that I will always thank the Lord for. They’ve brought so much joy to my heart, and I’ll miss them both. Yet, I’m confident that the Lord who started a good work in them will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Cole and Jenna, I’m praying for you guys.