Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

A Tale of Two Seasons

by Elder Johnny Kim

The start of the month of April signals the start of the Major League Baseball season and the start of fans flocking to stadiums everywhere to enjoy America’s favorite pastime. Following the off-season hiatus, excited fans are eager to start rooting for their home teams and to start cheering on their favorite players. However, save for the most committed fans, some of that excitement will inevitably wane as the season progresses. At 162 regular season games, the baseball season is the longest out of all other major professional sports in terms of the number of games (82 games for the NBA and NHL, 34 games for the MLS, and 16 games for the NFL) so understandably, only the most die-hard baseball fans will follow each and every game.

Even the professional baseball players themselves realize that they are in for a long season and it’s always interesting to note how that affects their attitudes towards the game. When a sports writer interviews any given player or manager whose team might be off to a horrible start, the response is almost always along the lines of, “There’s still plenty of season left to turn things around!” Likewise, a player who might be going through a terrible hitting slump early on might respond, “Don’t worry, I have many more at bats ahead to get back in the groove.” A long season coupled with the certainty of knowing exactly when it ends allows for the luxury of such attitudes, attitudes that certainly don’t apply off the playing field out in the real world.

Yet even as Christians, we can find ourselves harboring this same type of attitude about life in general. I would even say that the younger we are, the stronger those sentiments might be. It is easy for us to think that we are still in the early stages of the season of our lives with plenty of life left to live. If we find ourselves lazy with our spiritual disciplines, we might think to ourselves, “I’m okay, I have plenty of time to get serious about Christianity!” Likewise, given an opportunity to share the gospel with an unbeliever, we might be inclined to put it off for a more convenient time in the future. Or if we find ourselves falling for the temptations of sin over and over again, we might even rest in the thought that we have more than enough time to turn our lives around.

However, God makes it clear to us through His Word that Christians are to live a life of urgency and intentionality. James 4:14 reminds us of the brevity of our lives and that tomorrow is never a guarantee. Far from being just scare tactic, the Word here is presenting us with yet another precious truth. One doesn’t have to look any further than the front page of the newspaper for proof that indeed our season here on earth is short and can come to an end at any time. Proverbs 27:1 advises us against presuming upon the Lord to provide us with more days of life ahead. In the end, God desires for us to live our lives with urgency; urgent to know Him and everything in His Word, urgent to conform our lives to Christ’s, urgent to share Christ with people who are physically and spiritually dying all around us.

Do you live your life with a sense of urgency? Are you intentional in how you spend your days, and even hours, living for Christ? Are you doing your UTMOST to bring God the most glory TODAY? Because unlike in baseball, the time for a “late-season comeback” in life may never come at all.

To Whom Belongest Thou?

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From 1 Samuel 30:13

No neutralities can exist in religion. We are either ranked under the banner of Prince Immanuel, to serve and fight His battles, or we are vassals of the black prince, Satan. ‘To whom belongest thou?’

Reader, let me assist you in your response.

  • Have you been ‘born again’? If you have, you belong to Christ, but without the new birth you cannot be His.
  • In whom do you trust? For those who believe in Jesus are the sons of God.
  • Whose work are you doing? You are sure to serve your master, for he whom you serve is thereby owned to be your lord.
  • What company do you keep? If you belong to Jesus, you will fraternize with those who wear the livery of the cross. ‘Birds of a feather flock together.’
  • What is your conversation? Is it heavenly or is it earthly?
  • What have you learned of your Master?-for servants learn much from their masters to whom they are apprenticed. If you have served your time with Jesus, it will be said of you, as it was of Peter and John, ‘They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.’

We press the question, ‘To whom belongest thou?’ Answer honestly before you give sleep to your eyes. If you are not Christ’s you are in a hard service-Run away from your cruel master! Enter into the service of the Lord of Love, and you shall enjoy a life of blessedness. If you are Christ’s let me advise you to do four things. You belong to Jesus-obey him; let his word be your law; let His wish be your will. You belong to the Beloved, then love Him; let your heart embrace Him; let your whole soul be filled with Him. You belong to the Son of God, then trust him; rest nowhere but on him. You belong to the King of kings, then be decided for Him. Thus, without your being branded upon the brow, all will know to whom you belong.

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Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbour

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Matthew 5:43

‘Love thy neighbour.’ Perhaps he rolls in riches, and thou art poor, and living in thy little cot side-by-side with his lordly mansion; thou seest every day his estates, his fine linen, and his sumptuous banquets; God has given him these gifts, covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look upon thy neighbour, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him.

Mayhap, on the other hand, thou art rich, and near thee reside the poor. Do not scorn to call them neighbour. Own that thou art bound to love them. The world calls them thy inferiors. In what are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors, for ‘God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon the face of the earth.’ It is thy coat which is better than theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men, and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbour even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty.

But, perhaps, you say, ‘I cannot love my neighbours, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt.’ So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbours through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but to please thy Master; and remember if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is as acceptable to Him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbour, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps of Christ.

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Weekly Links (5/3/2013)

“Redemption doesn’t make us more emotional (as some charismatics might suppose) or less so (as many Reformed would prefer), anymore than it makes us more or less intellectual. What redemption does to the intellect is to consecrate that intellect to God, whether the I.Q. is high or low. Similarly, the important thing is not whether you are highly emotional or not; the important thing is that whatever emotional capacities you have should be placed in God’s hands to be used according to His purposes.” (John M. Frame, Doctrine of the Knowledge of God)

by Stephen Rodgers

It’s the first Friday of the month…and that means I’ve been loading my article gun for a whole month. Enjoy!

RESOURCES

NEWS

  • If you haven’t heard about the Jason Collins / Chris Broussard story this week, you should check out Denny Burk’s coverage.  And then cruise on over to Triablogue for two very smart insights on our culture and its lack of logic.
  • Have you tried Stoogle yet?

See you Sunday!

Sparklers as a Place for Staff to Grow

by Hanka Rodgers

The more I thought about this article, the more I was convinced that God gives me the desire to serve – generally, but also specifically in Sparklers – to teach me and help me grow, rather than because people really need me to serve them.

I feel like sometimes we focus so much on the fact that we serve in our ministries that we fail to notice how much we can learn and grow in them. Honestly, if you go on a mission trip to the Czech Republic or Argentina and you come back talking only about how much you helped them, I am not sure you really understood what you were doing. The same is true for ministries at church – we do serve to serve (and ultimately to glorify God), but at the same time, God is so gracious that He helps us benefit from our ministries as well, and we would be foolish if we didn’t see it. Sometimes I am not sure if He puts me in a ministry because He wants me to serve the other person, or because He wants the ministry to serve me.

Serving the body of Christ and people who don’t know Jesus is a privilege. Philippians 2:13 says that He works in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure – even the fact that we want to serve is only by God’s grace. Without His changing our hearts to grow the desire to serve, we would never want to serve Him or other people. Serving in Sparklers is a privilege, and that is what I would like to focus on here.

To be honest, as much as we sometimes love talking about “planting seeds” in children’s ministry, the reality is that we don’t always see much fruit. If you ask a random Sparkler what they learned the past Sunday in Sunday school, most of them will say, “I don’t know.” Or they will say they learned that Jesus had long hair. Or something equally important and spiritually enriching. It is ok. God doesn’t tell us to only do ministries that “bear much fruit”. He tells us, however, that if we stay in Him, we’ll bear much fruit (John 15:5) and that’s the kind of fruit we can see if we look at our ministries from a different perspective than the “I am serving them so much” perspective.

One of the privileges we have as staff on Sparklers is teaching. I am not planning on fighting for women’s rights to preach more at church (I did go through that stage in my early Christian life, but I promise it’s over), but I am very thankful that Sparklers are also taught by women. Not because I love preaching to people and telling them what they should do (even though I kinda like telling people what they should do), but because of the studying and the listening part. Don’t get me wrong, I am not that dumb. I know I could be studying the Bible for hours, even without teaching at Sparklers. But I am a sinner. And in my sinner’s life, really deep study of the Bible moves up the to-do list much faster when I have a lesson to teach, or a Bible study to prepare for. And you know what’s best? When you start studying for one lesson and the lesson gets changed the week before you teach. That is God’s grace. From certain perspective.

It is not just the studying though, but also the actual lesson. Every Sunday morning we all meet before the service to listen to the person who is teaching that day. Everybody always first teaches the lesson in front of all the staffers, so that we can criticize – excuse me, encourage – him or her and share some comments. Seriously though, it is one of the times I am very thankful for. There have been lessons that made me thankful for the truth of the gospel more than “adult” sermons. I myself just taught a lesson on Acts 5, where God sends an angel to let the apostles, who were thrown in jail for preaching the gospel, out of prison. I talked about God’s amazing power and the amazing power of the Holy Spirit who can do great things through us – not because we are so good, but because He is so powerful. It was the Holy Spirit who gave the apostles words, courage, and wisdom to teach God’s Word, and I have the same Holy Spirit as they did. That is quite encouraging to know when you mess up the “morning teaching training” in front of the adults, and you feel like those kids won’t learn anything from you that day.

Another great advantage of serving in Sparklers is that children are so honest. We should all do our best to show everybody around us how great God is, and be good examples. However, with adults we sometimes get away with things. Adults won’t ask their parents what was Mr. This-and-That doing with his phone (that had the word “Facebook” on the screen) while pastor Patrick was preaching. You also won’t see adults innocently copy some of your sinful behavior or calling you out on it when you do something wrong.

We don’t get to only listen to the kids tell us things, but we should also listen to us talking to the kids. In some way we are getting used to telling kids all the time they are sinners. Whenever they disobey, we try to show them that in disobeying us, they disobeyed God. And we try to help them understand that they disobey because they are selfish sinners. But do WE understand what great sinners we are? Do we try to find the “heart issue” behind our disobedience, or do we only care about “heart” when children are involved? When children get in conflict, we always tell them to talk to the other child first and if it doesn’t work, we help them resolve it. How do we resolve our conflicts though? Do we go to the person first, or do we talk to everybody else? If you are in children’s ministry dealing with quite honest sinners all the time, you can’t avoid examining yourself from time to time concerning some really important issues.

Last, but not least, if you serve in Sparklers, it takes about two weeks for you to discover R.C. Sproul’s book The Poison Cup. For some reason, some of the kids love the book and want us to read it all the time. I’ve read the first half of the book much more often than the second half, but I don’t mind. I can never be reminded too much of how evil we were before God saved us, and what a great price He had to pay to do it.

These are just a few lessons you learn if you serve on Sparklers staff. There are definitely more, but I think you got the idea. If you really want to learn and grow, come serve in Sparklers. Or any other ministry.

Thou Shalt Be Called, Sought Out

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Isaiah 62:12

The surpassing grace of God is seen very clearly in that we were not only sought, but sought out. Men seek for a thing which is lost upon the floor of the house, but in such a case there is only seeking, not seeking out. The loss is more perplexing and the search more persevering when a thing is sought out. We were mingled with the mire: we were as when some precious piece of gold falls into the sewer, and men gather out and carefully inspect a mass of abominable filth, and continue to stir and rake, and search among the heap until the treasure is found. Or, to use another figure, we were lost in a labyrinth; we wandered hither and thither, and when mercy came after us with the gospel, it did not find us at the first coming, it had to search for us and seek us out; for we as lost sheep were so desperately lost, and had wandered into such a strange country, that it did not seem possible that even the Good Shepherd should track our devious roamings. Glory be to unconquerable grace, we were sought out! No gloom could hide us, no filthiness could conceal us, we were found and brought home. Glory be to infinite love, God the Holy Spirit restored us!

The lives of some of God’s people, if they could be written would fill us with holy astonishment. Strange and marvellous are the ways which God used in their case to find His own. Blessed be His name, He never relinquishes the search until the chosen are sought out effectually. They are not a people sought to-day and cast away to-morrow. Almightiness and wisdom combined will make no failures, they shall be called, ‘Sought out!’ That any should be sought out is matchless grace, but that we should be sought out is grace beyond degree! We can find no reason for it but God’s own sovereign love, and can only lift up our heart in wonder, and praise the Lord that this night we wear the name of ‘Sought out.’

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A Heritage From The Lord

by Pastor Patrick Cho

The term “heritage” is not used much in our day, but this is the word employed by the Psalmist to describe God’s gift of children to parents. A heritage is equivalent to an inheritance or legacy. It is something passed down from one generation to the next, intended to be a blessing. In Psalm 127, however, children are not a gift from the previous generation, but from the Lord. Indeed the Psalmist says that the “fruit of the womb [is] a reward.”

This passage comes in the context of a Psalm dedicated to the raising up of families. It is one of two Psalms attributed to Solomon, the wisest man to ever walk on earth (excepting Jesus). Solomon recognizes, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (v. 1). In other words, we are not in control when it comes to family planning and bearing children. Children are a gift and blessing from the Lord. He exercises His sovereignty and grace to give or withhold children. Because of these truths, Solomon confesses that the one whose family is filled with numerous children is considered blessed (vv. 4-5). A couple’s children help provide strength to the home and fill their parents’ hearts with joy and pride.

It is no surprise that the prevailing attitude towards children today (sadly even in the church!) is completely antithetical to the principles of this passage in God’s Word. Children are often considered a chore, nuisance, and inconvenience. Parents are sometimes resentful about the things they have had to sacrifice in order to raise their children. In order to pursue personal ambition with their careers, many parents have surrendered the responsibility of raising their children to grandparents, daycares, and nannies. Many couples put off having children so they can pursue personal pleasures and freedoms like traveling and other hobbies.

The great heart issue that needs to be addressed is whether we believe the Scriptures and trust that children are a gift according to God’s goodness and grace. Instead of cultivating worldly and even sinful attitudes towards children, we ought to promote parenthood and be thankful for God’s grace to us. Many godly couples come to find that they are unable to have children, though they intensely desire it. For whatever reason in the plan of God, He has withheld this blessing from them (perhaps to bless them by some other means).

If God has blessed you with children, it is important to develop a biblical understanding of your role as a parent and to view your children as God views them – a gift of His grace. We need to guard ourselves from having a worldly attitude and think God’s way. For the sake of our children, let us consider ourselves tremendously blessed by God because of the precious heritage he has passed on to us. Parents serve as stewards of God’s gift and our children are entrusted to our care so that we can raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).

Sin…Exceeding Sinful

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Romans 7:13

Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, ‘Is it not a little one?’ Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: ‘We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent.’ So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names.

Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer’s head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be ‘exceeding sinful.’

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Single Life Retreat

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.”

The Work of a Shepherd (Part 2)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

In my previous entry, I was prompted to look at 1 Peter 5:1-4 and the responsibility of shepherding the flock of God, thanks to my attendance at the recent Shepherds’ Conference. Just being in that setting with all those men was truly humbling, even though it was my thirteenth time going. It served as a helpful reminder of the daunting but joyful task of preaching God’s truth as well as the great and awesome responsibility of caring for His people.

The work of being a faithful pastor requires discipline, patience, and especially perseverance. Too often have I heard of pastors contemplating quitting to pursue other vocations. One fellow pastor once quipped, “I haven’t met a single pastor who hasn’t at one point in their ministry thought about quitting.” It was with these sorts of thoughts in my mind that the Lord led me to 1 Peter 5:1-4, which details who God has chosen to provide leadership for His church and how that leadership is to be carried out. Last time, we looked at the person for the work, and I thought it would be helpful to consider further the work itself.

The Apostle Peter begins by saying that the work of shepherding should be done “not under compulsion, but willingly.” In one sense, all believers are driven by an inner compulsion. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the knowledge of the true gospel and the love of Christ compel us as believers to persuade others about Christ (2 Cor. 5:11-15). But at the heart of what pastors and elders are called to do, nothing other than a sincere devotion to Christ should ultimately motivate their ministry. Leaders in the church should not be driven by the fear of men, the desire for personal glory, or a sense of dutiful obligation as if God needed us. It is willing service because of a sincere devotion to Christ.

The text continues, “not for shameful gain, but eagerly.” The Apostle Paul always made it clear that he wasn’t simply peddling the gospel for money (cf. 1 Thess. 2:8-9). He took great care to ensure that others could not reasonably accuse him of preaching the gospel for financial gain. Instead, he worked with his own hands even though he was entitled as an Apostle and preacher of the gospel to receive compensation. God’s leaders are not to be driven by a love of money (cf. 1 Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:7). They are to minister for the Lord with eagerness. This word is used in other contexts in the New Testament to denote desire in generosity (cf. 2 Cor. 8:11-12). Paul said that he was eager to preach the gospel (Rom. 1:15). The one who is called to pastoral ministry is eager to perform the work because of God who calls him.

Finally, Peter writes that the leader is not to be domineering, but an example to the flock. Jesus pointed out that the Gentile authorities lorded over their people and that His disciples were not to lead in this way. A godly leader should be the servant of all (Matt. 20:25-28). It is such a sad thing to hear of ministries that are falling apart because of a pastor’s heavy-handed and domineering style of leadership. Too often, leaders do not accept criticism well and refuse to be crossed and exact vengeance on those who would oppose them. Too often we hear of ministries seeking to micromanage people’s lives and determine life decisions for their members. Paul sought to be parental in his care for the church. He treated them gently like a nursing mother while exhorting them as a loving father. Because of his style of ministry, he could instruct the church to “Be imitators of me” (1 Cor. 4:16 and 1 Cor. 11:2; cf. 1 Thess. 1:6). Needless to say, the qualifications of elders listed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are all about leading an exemplary life.

How will elders be rewarded for their faithful service? Peter encourages shepherds to remember that the Chief Shepherd will give the reward (v. 4). One of my dreams as a child was that perhaps some rich relative would die and leave for me some large inheritance through his will. Peter promises that the Creator of the universe and the God of all would be the one to richly bless those who faithfully serve as his “under-shepherds.” Jesus is going to come again and judge the shepherds for their faithfulness. Faithful leaders will receive the unfading crown of glory that will never wilt, rust, or break. For all of eternity these shepherds will be known for their faithful, excellent, and self-sacrificing service. They will be known for following in the example of the Chief Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.

This is all a humbling reminder of how I need to do things better and how my ministry could be marked by greater care, discipline, and diligence. Praise God for the faithful men at the Shepherds’ Conference who serve as a huge example for me, men who have been faithful for many years and have endured tremendous trials and suffering. And praise God for sending Jesus our Chief Shepherd who cared for His flock enough to lay down His life.