Category Archives: Affinity Groups

A Guide to Counseling One Another

by Roger Alcaraz

So you’re at church on Sunday and everything is going peachy as you’re getting to know some of the newer faces of the church. You find yourself bonding with a younger member who reminds you of yourself from 5-10 years ago–perhaps they’re even struggling through some of the same issues that you once did. You pray with them and tell them if they ever need someone to pray with, to find you. Then they ask you the all terrifying question: “Can we meet up regularly?”

Gulp. “Regularly?” I mean, praying with them is one thing, but how would you go about counseling them week to week? Well, I hate to break it to you, but as the church gets bigger, the more impossible it becomes for the leaders to counsel everyone. And so the church must rely on its members (including you if you’re part of Lighthouse) to point each other to Christ, to shoulder one another’s burdens, and weep with those who weep.

But if you’ve never done this, it could be a daunting task. Heck, I’ve done it many times and I still get scared. Questions run through my mind like, “Do I have the time to invest in this person’s life? What if the situation is more than I know how to handle? What if I make things worse?” Still, I trust God with all of those things and find the experience rewarding every time. So even if you’ve never regularly counseled someone, I encourage you to serve the church in this way. And to help you in this, I’ve written out some steps to guide your times together in counseling.

Gain Involvement

Interestingly, your very first goal as a counselor is to gain involvement—establish the kind of relationship with the individuals that they tell their problems honestly and honestly take the counseling to heart. Without this, there is a lack of trust and the counseling becomes questionable for the individuals. I cannot emphasize this enough. If the counselee doesn’t trust you, they will likely hide their deep struggles from you. And even if you manage to draw them out, they will likely ignore any counsel you give. So building trust is a must.

Gather Data

Next, you need to gather data that would allow him to understand the individuals and the problem as much as possible. This should be done regardless of how well you think you understand the person or the situation because there will always be new things revealed that will affect how you counsel. Often times, gathering data is done by asking a lot of questions. The questions range from focusing on what happened, to why it happened, to how the person felt when it happened, all to gain clarity on the situation. It may seem like a tedious time and perhaps even a waste of time, but you should not feel bad if you spend a majority of your early sessions just asking questions and learning. Data gathering can also be used to gain involvement and trust from the individual. It can also be used to know just what homework to assign. Overall, it sets the foundation for the rest of the time with the individual and helps make all those times profitable. Once the you feel confident that you have all the relevant data, you must then proceed to interpreting that data.

Give Hope

After this, you need to give hope. It starts as early as the first session because most people who come for counseling are lacking hope. It is your job to offer the hope that can only come from God and his word. Look for the promises God gives concerning their situation and continually remind your counselee of them. They might be comforted by God’s word, but it’s up to you to have them meditate on Scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to bring about change.

Provide Instruction

After all of this, you are finally ready to provide instruction from God’s word. The warnings in Scripture towards those who teach should cause a healthy fear during this time. Hopefully, by this point, you understand the person you’re counseling and the situation in full to know how to instruct. The most important thing to consider is that your instruction is biblical. For this, it’s helpful to categorize your instruction as either a biblical mandate (such as avoiding fornication), or a helpful instruction (such as setting a curfew in dating). The difference between the two is whether or not Scripture commands it. Disobeying would then be a sin. But our instruction can also include things that would serve as a help to our counselee, even though Scripture doesn’t directly command it. But we should always make the distinction clear to our counselee so we don’t promote legalism (the idea that if we follow man made rules, we’re more righteous before God). The helpful instruction we give is meant to help people obey biblical mandates.

Assign Homework

In school, homework is used to improve one’s ability to perform some task and it is also used to mark progress. The same can be true for homework regarding one’s spiritual life. More than just the need for homework is the need for specific homework. The difference between that and vague homework is that specific homework can be monitored and directly measured. For example, for someone who is struggling with selfishness, homework that consists on putting others’ needs before your own is vague. What does it mean to put someone’s need before your own and how would one be sure it was done? However, more helpful homework would be to require the person to treat three people out for a meal or ask five people for prayer requests and praying with them. The difference is that at the end of the week, one can be sure whether or not the homework was done. This allows you to provide greater accountability, and give the counselee a time to build better habits. This is all aided with the use of specific homework, cleverly chosen according to the need of the counselee.

Pierced for Our Transgressions

“Jesus did not come to meet friends; He came to save enemies.” (Pierced for Our Transgressions)

by Josh Liu

In College Life, we have been studying the gospel of Jesus Christ. We followed Christ as He washed His disciples’ feet in the upper room (John 13:1-5), listened to His prayers in the garden in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-46), watched his trials before the councils and officials (Luke 22:54-23:33), mourned at His crucifixion (Luke 23:33-43), and rejoiced in His resurrection (Matt. 28:1-15). We are continuing to reflect on Christ’s life, death, and resurrection by considering biblical (theological) implications. Recently, we studied Christ’s penal substitutionary death that makes atonement for sinners.

First, it may be helpful to identify some misconceptions (the following beliefs contain errors at multiple points and are stated in the negative, indicating that they are to be rejected). Christ did not die as a ransom paid to Satan in exchange for souls held as his captives. Christ’s atoning sacrifice was not in the midst of a battle with Satan and the forces of evil. Christ’s death was not purely an example for others to follow or simply a demonstration of God’s love. Christ’s death did not reconcile all sinners in all time to God.

So then, what is the substitutionary death of Christ that makes atonement for sinners? To answer that, we must examine the Old Testament. The Hebrew term that is most commonly used in regard to atonement is kaphar. It literally means to cover. It is more specifically understood to atone by offering a substitute. Since death is the required punishment for sin, the life of a sacrificial animal, specifically symbolized by its blood, was required in exchange for the life of the worshipper. This is seen in the Passover sacrifice (Exodus 12:1-30), the Levitical sacrifices: burnt offering (Lev. 1:3-17), peace offering (Lev. 3:1-17), sin offering (Lev. 4:1-35), and guilt offering (Lev. 5:14-6:7), and the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:1-34; 23:27). These passages do not conclude that animal sacrifices ultimately cover a person’s sins, or saves them from wrath. It was abundantly clear that these sacrifices were limited. They do not fully atone for sins (cf. Ps. 40:6; 51:16; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6-8). They do not completely remove guilt (cf. Heb. 9:9-10; 10:4). The New Testament provides the final, perfect atoning sacrifice: Christ (cf. Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; Luke 22:19, 37; John 1:29; 11:49-50; 15:13; 1 Cor. 5:7; 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 3:13). Hebrews 9:11-14 says,

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (cf. Heb. 9:23-28)

Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty of sin–death. Christ’s death was substitutionary: He died on behalf of sinners.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18)

His substitutionary death that atones for sins is graphically described in Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:4-6; emphasis added)

Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution (by Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey, and Andrew Sach) summarizes Scripture’s definition and description of Christ’s atoning sacrifice: “The doctrine of penal substitution states that God gave himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin” (21).

Why is this important? You need atonement! Without Christ’s atoning death, you could not be made right with the holy, perfect, righteous, just God of the universe, since you are utterly sinful, depraved, rebellious, unrighteous, and spiritually dead. But take hope! If you will repent of your sins, depend on Christ to save you from God’s wrath, you will be saved!

Always remember the love of Christ who took the death that you deserved, suffered the wrath meant for you, and was forsaken so that you might be reconciled to God. May you be in awe of the suffering and passion of the Servant of God, the Lamb who takes away your sins, who dispels despair and fear of condemnation, who was pierced for our transgressions.

(For further study, I suggest Charles H. Spurgeon, “Our Suffering Servant” on 1 Peter 3:18).

Declaration of Dependence

by Elder Johnny Kim

One of the cooler things I get to witness as a parent is how my children gradually grow and develop. It’s particularly interesting to realize how they grow to become more and more independent from us as their parents. As newborn babies and infants, they are initially dependent on us for everything. They need us to feed them, to bathe them, to clothe them, and to pick them up to move them from one spot to another. But as they get older, some of the things that would have been impossible for them to accomplish apart from us, they start gaining the ability to do all by themselves. Before we know it, we find that our children can finally feed themselves, go to the bathroom by themselves, and dress themselves among other things.

As children physically grow and mature, it’s natural that they would grow in their independence as well. In fact, part of our job as parents is to train and equip our children to be self-sufficient with respect to practical matters. Yet while we might desire for them to cultivate a greater independence in certain aspects of life, our chief desire should be that spiritually, they would grow to be completely dependent on the one true and living God who is sovereign over all things. Likewise, when it comes to the youth of our church, our desire ought to be that they would constantly grow in their dependence on God to the point that they would live in light of the truth that apart from Him, they can do nothing. At the same time that we cultivate a practical independence, we are cultivating a far greater and more important dependence; a dependence that acknowledges that we always have a desperate need for God regardless of who we are or what we’ve accomplished.

In a culture and society that promotes and values independence and self-reliance, dependence is a biblical principle that stands opposed, but a biblical principle nonetheless. While the world would tell our youth that they can always pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, we must remind our youth that God alone can rescue us and provide us with refuge (Matthew 11:28-30). While the world would tell our youth that sheer determination is a powerful force, we must remind our youth that there is no power greater than our God (Psalm 145:1-3). While the world would tell our youth that they can accomplish anything by themselves so long as they set their mind to it, we must remind our youth that they are insufficient in and of themselves (John 15:5).

Youth often find themselves at a pivotal stage in life with new found independence and liberties. Yet in the midst of these things, our hope as a ministry is that they would recognize an active and ongoing dependence on God for all things. The One who created the universe and everything in it is the One who gives us all breath (Job 34:14-15). We not only depend on Him for our very lives, but for all the lesser things as well.

Sparklers Update

by Kyle Grindley

I have been on Sparklers staff for a while, and now that I have a daughter of my own, more than a few people have commented “Being in Sparklers must have made you feel more prepared for fatherhood” My first reaction is usually to point out that being with pre-schoolers for an hour a week, is a lot different than providing 24/7 care for a helpless infant. However, when I step back I must admit that Sparklers has given me one great advantage as I become a father; godly examples.

God has built wonderful supports into the church, where believers sharpen each other and the older instruct the younger through shared joys and struggles, advice from experience, and candor through the day-in-day-out challenges we all face. But as the church grows, it becomes harder to have contact across life stages. I often find it awkward to have conversations with people not in my affinity group or small group, or to ask a question to an older brother or sister who might have a helpful perspective on something I am experiencing.

Standing by the Sparklers door, checking kids out and exchanging brief updates with the parents has served as a great ice breaker that allows me to have these sharpening interactions with parents who are ahead of me. It has allowed me to maintain relationships with people who I wouldn’t normally have much opportunity to interact with.

These interactions have given me years of insights on the challenges faced by different parents with different kids. I have heard God’s faithfulness, working patience and perseverance in the parents as they work to strengthen their kid’s weaknesses, and to show them their sin and the Savior.

Often times a discipline issue during class gives me a peek behind the curtain at how the parent is shepherding their child throughout the week. I have been privileged to see how parents adjust their counsel and guidance to suit the differences from child to child, even within one family.

Sparklers has also given me a familiarity with parents that makes it easier to ask questions, to get advice. Sometimes it is very practical, something that came up just this past week. Other times it is addressing some anxiety I have about the challenges parenting will bring. Sometimes I am affirmed in my thinking, others I am given something new to consider. In all of it I am encouraged to look toward God; His past faithfulness to them reassures me of His promise of faithfulness to me.

The view from Sparklers has also humbled me, no parent has ever communicated that they everything all figured out, even the most experienced. The variety in the children’s personalities and bents means that I can never expect to get to a point in parenting where I have everything figured out. I will always need to lean on God.

So, yes, being on Sparklers staff has made me more ready to be a father; more confident in assuming the role. Not because of any practice that experience with the Sparklers has afforded, but because of the wealth of wisdom and encouragement I come face to face with at the end of each service when I get to squeeze in a quick chat with the parents.

Single Life Update

“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:1-5)

by Kevin Tse

In Roger’s update last month he excitedly revealed that we’ll be going over Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi for the upcoming new year in Single Life. When Roger first brought up the idea of going through the book of Philippians, I could tell he was really excited to share with us how God’s Word instructs us on how to live a joyful life in Him. But I know Roger is equally excited (and I am too) to go over passages like Philippians 2 where Paul reminds the church at Philippi how they ought to treat one another.

Paul reminds the Philippians that because of their common bond in Christ, and their confession of faith in the same Gospel, they ought to love one another as Christ did (v5). Paul outlines what sacrificial love looks like, which is to regard others are more important than yourself (v3). He reminds us also that we ought not to be selfish (v2), but that we ought to look out also for the interests of others (v4). I’m sure this is a section of scripture that is very familiar to us, and many of us have probably even heard it exposited before. But the challenge is always to put what you hear into practice. After all, a change of heart is only complete once we are obediently acting on the Word of God. As it pertains to Philippians 2, the question we have to ask ourselves is: “What am I doing to think of others ahead of myself?”

The new year is going to bring with it new comers. They’ll probably get the bulk of the attention since (generally) we all like to meet new people. We especially get excited to meet those who we could see spending time with outside of church because they share some common interest(s) with us. While taking the time to get to know new comers is a potentially good application of regarding another as more important than yourself, be careful not to only seek out those with similar interests and backgrounds. In fact, if you think about it, by only spending time with those who are like you, you have really done nothing sacrificial at all. You’ve merely found another way to love yourself, by surrounding yourself only with people who like the things you already like to do anyway.

This might sound like a harsh rebuke, and well….it is. We (myself included) all enjoy spending time with those who are similar to us. Ethnic churches, in large part, exist because people have a hard time relating to people who are different than them. Cliques often exist for the same reason, whether intentionally or not, and are a means of keeping others out of our exclusive club. If Christ loved even His enemies, we cannot claim to be living Christ-like lives if all we end up doing is loving others whom we find easiest to love.

True sacrificial love, which looks to the interest of others ahead of ourselves, is when we go out of our way to get to know somebody who is very different than us. They might look and dress kind of funny, smell a little nasty, or act with very awkward mannerisms. And yet, if they are in Christ, they have a common testimony of faith in the same saving Gospel. We need to love them as Christ has loved us (and we all know how unlovable we were before God saved us).

As we go through the book of Philippians, in addition to learning about how to be joyful in the Lord, I challenge us all to reach out to those whom we don’t know very well. This includes the new comers, but also the old timers. People who have been around at the church for a while who you still do not know (or choose not to hang out with because they’re different) are just as blessed by your sacrificial love as any new comer. Look to the interests of others ahead of yourself, and step out of your comfort zone, and go show love to somebody at church who you really don’t know well. Christ did this by humbling Himself, taking on the form of a man, and ultimately going to the cross to die for His enemies.

If we can all reach out to at least one person who we don’t know well this year, just think of how much encouragement we can spread through the Single Life ministry, and maybe even to the rest of the church.

“The Gospel Wins;” let’s show the world why it wins.

Be Like God

by Josh Liu

By the title of this article, you most likely drew one of two initial conclusions: (1) Blasphemy! There is one God and no man can be God! Or, (2) yes, how can we be more like Christ?

In a way, both responses can be valid. Pastors preach against opposing the King of kings, as well as preach the need to pursue Christ-likeness. However, our actions and attitudes often betray what we preach. Allow me to offer several clarifying principles.

Principle one: Man’s desire, pursuit, and activity of being God (or “playing God”) is wicked and evil. To believe in humanity’s divine nature (deification) or potential is blasphemy. Man sought to be God (Gen. 3:1-6); Satan sought to be God (Is. 14:13-14; Ezek. 28:17); and others acted in a way befitting only for God (acting like God): the friends judging Job (Job 42:7) and King Nebuchadnezzar ascribing himself glory (Dan. 4:1-37) – all of whom were judged by God.

Principle two: The Creator-creature distinction is a permanent distinction. It should always remind us of the evil of attempting to be God, act like God, or make something as God. Angelic beings, though holy and incredibly powerful, are still creatures and should not be worshipped or deified (cf. Rev. 19:10; Ps. 103:20; Heb. 1:5-7). Also, inanimate objects are never to be worshiped as God (cf. Ex. 32:1ff; Is. 44:9-17; Rom. 1:21-23).

Principle three: Man, who was created to be in relationship with God, needs the righteousness of God in order to dwell with God. Man is utterly unrighteous and sinful, which will not be tolerated in the holy, righteous presence of God (cf. Ex. 3:4-6; Ps. 15:1-5; Is. 6:5-7). Thus, for man to be with God, he must be holy as God is holy (cf. Lev. 19:2). The command is not to be God.

Principle four: God grants His righteousness to man so that their relationship may be restored (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-27). The gift of God’s righteousness is part of God’s redemptive plans (cf. Eph. 1:4).

Principle five: As a result, Christians demonstrate that inner, spiritual reality through an outward life consistent with the holiness of God (cf. 1 Pet. 1:14-16). The righteous life that God expects was exemplified in the incarnate Son of God. So, we pursue to be like Christ (cf. John 13:12-16; Phil. 2:5ff; Rom. 15:2-3; Eph. 5:1-2, 22-32).

Principle six: God has declared that by the power and work of the Holy Spirit, believers are being renewed into the image of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 15:49; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29; Phil 3:21). God has declared that we will rule with Christ (cf. Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:21; 20:4).

In response to the above principles, consider what you say, do, and think that may be communicating being, acting, or making something to be God. How might you be demonstrating an attitude of “if I were God…”?

Ask yourself the following God-checks:

  • Are you more concerned about man’s opinions about you than God’s?
  • Do you often lie or try to manipulate others?
  • Are there attributes of God that you struggle to believe, depend on, or rejoice in?
  • Are you more concerned with pleasing others than pleasing God?
  • Do you always give thanks to God for who He is and what He’s done?
  • Are there things you hate about yourself and would change if given the opportunity (e.g. physical appearance)?
  • If you had a time machine, would you go back in time to change events?
  • What do you value most in life? What do you spend most of your thought, resources, and time on?
  • What would bring you greatest happiness and satisfaction?

Back To School

by Elder Johnny Kim

With summer coming to a close, the new school year is now underway and the various affinity group ministries in the church are starting back up. For myself, the start of this particular school year has me feeling a bit like I am a new kid at a new school. Starting this year, I have the privilege of leading the Lumos Youth Ministry and it’s definitely a big change from leading the Single Life Ministry. Yet for all the changes that might make me anxious, I can’t help but to be excited for the year ahead and for all that God has in store for Lumos! Some of the excitement also happens to stem from my own personal experiences of when I was in youth group myself. Preparing my heart for leading Lumos this year has definitely brought about refreshing reminders of the joys that I experienced during that particular stage of my life. After all, it was during that time that I grew exponentially in my knowledge of God’s Word, became saved in Christ, and deepened in my desire to submit to His lordship.

It’s in between the time I’ve spent planning for Lumos and taking trips down my own memory lane that I’ve come to realize how I’ve gained additional perspectives toward youth group and youth ministry; perspectives that certainly weren’t on my radar back when I was in youth (when I was skinny and awkward, but only one of those descriptions “fits” me now). Perhaps through a combination of years later becoming a father, being a more spiritually mature believer (than when I was in youth group), and serving the church as an elder, some of these perspectives now can’t help but shape my heart and desires for youth ministry.

As a father, I’ve gained perspective and have come to realize more and more the importance of the duty and calling of Christian parents. And particularly as a father, passages in Psalm 78, Proverbs 4, and Ephesians 6 remind me that I am the one who is primarily responsible and accountable for the spiritual instruction of my children. But as incomplete of a representation of Christ-likeness and Christ-like living that I am even at my least sinful, I’m definitely thankful for God’s grace in providing a church with her ministries and her older men and women who can train, equip, help, and support me to fulfill my responsibility. Likewise, my desire then is that Lumos would fulfill its role in serving as a sort of “para-ministry ministry”; to come alongside parents and to help and support them in the main ministry that is them teaching and raising up their children in the Lord. Lumos will never aim to be a perfect substitute for or better option in lieu of parents faithfully heeding God’s call to be the primary disciplers of their children. Rather, my desire is that Lumos will seek to partner with parents in order that together, we might care for and love their children, pray for their souls, and teach and preach to them God’s truth and in doing so, reinforce what’s already been taught them in the home.

Secondly, as I’ve become more spiritually mature as compared to the days of my youth, I’ve come to understand the importance of holiness and living in light of the Gospel that not only saves, but sanctifies. It’s not enough just to know biblical principles. It’s not enough to simply know and understand sound theology and doctrine. In Ephesians 4:1, the Apostle Paul urges believers to live in a manner consistent with their calling in Christ; a common urging he implores in many of his other epistles. Christians ought to live consistently with what the Bible teaches, including the youngest of believers. Sound doctrine and theology is important and certainly serves to lay a solid foundation. But as in Matthew 7:24-27, the “house” is only complete and able to withstand God’s righteous judgment when one acts on the words of the Lord. Accordingly, this perspective gives way to my hope that Lumos wouldn’t merely aim to have youth who simply know biblical truths and principles, but would rather make the ultimate aim having a ministry full of fruit-bearing youth who by their obedient lives prove the genuineness of their faith. A faith that would never falter or prove false years and decades after their youth years.

Finally, being an elder in the church has given me the perspective to desire that Lumos would be a youth ministry that would take part in the greater work of the church in making disciples of Christ. My desire for us staff is that as we serve in Lumos, we might get to experience the privilege and blessing of being able to witness youth being saved and submitting their lives completely to Christ. I hope that God would use Lumos as His instrument to play even the smallest part in saving youth at an early age; not only to secure their eternal life, but to save them from sinning more and sparing them from the consequences of the sins that ensnare the youth and collegians of this world. I hope that the urgency of the Convalescent Home Ministry would always be the urgency of the Lumos Youth Ministry considering James 4:14 and the fact that even for youth seemingly with their whole lives ahead of them, tomorrow is never a guarantee.

Please pray for the Lumos Youth Ministry as we start our year! Please especially pray for me, that in light of these perspectives and desires for Lumos, I would be able to lead the ministry so that in all that we do, God would be glorified and Christ magnified through the lives of our youth!

Establishing a Foundation for Developing Minds

by Ryan McAdams

I grew up in a typical American church environment, hearing the familiar stories of the Bible many times over, and gaining a fair bit of facts that would serve me well in Bible trivia competitions later. I knew that David had gathered five smooth stones, and that Moses had heralded ten plagues before Pharaoh. I knew the books of the Bible and their order, and even that it contained history. But, I never really made any connections between the contents of the Bible and God, its author. To me, I treated the stories like I treated any other content in a school context: know the facts well enough to pass a test, and then move on with my life.

Today, part of my motivation to serve within the church’s children’s ministries stems from these errors of my youth. I can’t remember the last lesson I taught where the children did not hear a reference to 2 Timothy 3:16, that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. I want them to understand that whichever passage we cover comes from the will of God, and that it has tremendous value for we who learn. This alone can explain why we would teach from books like Leviticus and Lamentations.

But the following verse, 2 Timothy 3:17 explains that the teaching of any part of God’s word benefits the man of God. So, until a child receives saving faith and bows his knee to Jesus, he will not receive the full benefit from a particular passage. More than an appeal to heed God’s Word for the potential benefit, then, I also want to confront each child with God, particularly through his Word.

I can do this with manifold verses and passages, but also by example with my approach to God’s Word, by rightly handling the word of truth, as Paul exhorted Timothy. The children can detect if I haphazardly spray verses around, or if I reverently treat verses with extreme care and precision, showing that I actually believe I am communicating the very words of God. With my handling of the Bible, I want to demonstrate to the students how a Christian interacts with God’s Word, that God deserves reverence and awe.

Placing salvation in God’s hands, I want each child at least to understand the relationship between a Christian and the Bible, that for a child of God, the Bible is the final authority on all matters it addresses; that the Bible does not err or fail in any of the history, facts, judgments, prophesies, or other claims. I want them to understand that to downplay the Bible is to besmirch the character of God, so when they would hear self-proclaimed Christians contradicting God’s Word, it would not confuse them, because they would be able to see the clear delineation between followers of Jesus and those who don’t believe the Bible. Unlike myself as a child, I want each of the children to clearly know where he or she stands before God.

Ministry Update: Grace Life Fellowship

by Pastor Patrick Cho

The summer is winding down which means that Grace Life Bible studies will be back up and running in October. Things will be a little different this year as we will be introducing a different format for the Bible study. Everything will be explained in greater detail at our upcoming Orientation Night on October 8, but we will be splitting up the men and women for Bible study this year. The men will meet one week and the women will meet the next. This format addresses some needs like childcare (since one parent can remain at home to watch the kids), but it also affords our female leaders greater opportunities to serve and teach. The leaders are all very excited about the change in format and agree that it may be the best way to minister to the group at this stage of life.

The curriculum we will be walking through is The Story of Hope, which is produced by the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE). This is a forty-lesson study through the major events of the Bible, twenty in the Old Testament and twenty in the New Testament. The idea is to give us a general understanding of the contents of Scripture, but also to help us see what God is doing through human history to accomplish His purposes. One exciting aspect of this study is that the children will be walking through the same curriculum at the same pace in Kids’ Club. When Dr. Ernie Baker spoke for our Grace Life Weekend Conference, one of the lessons he emphasized was the importance and benefit of regular family worship. By walking through the same curriculum as the kids, we are hoping to foster more spiritual conversations in the home around God’s Word.

The study this year will also be a bit more intensive with homework assignments and Scripture memory. It will not be overwhelmingly demanding, but we believe it is helpful to cultivate a greater love for God’s Word through memorization. The homework will serve to provide accountability in the group to keep up with the lessons. It will also hopefully serve as a good first step in developing family worship and speaking to your children regularly about God’s Word.

We want to encourage all of our married couples and parents to join us for Grace Life this year! We are sure it will be an encouraging study. For parents of children ages 5 to fifth grade, registration forms are currently available for Kids’ Club as well. If your child is outside the age parameters, please contact Pastor Patrick if you would still like for them to participate. There will be a Kids’ Club Orientation Night on Thursday, October 1, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. This should be a great year for both Kids’ Club and Grace Life!

A New Year In Single’s Ministry

by Roger Alcaraz

Now that I’m leading Single Life, people sometimes ask me what my plans are for it. I joke and say that my goal is to get everyone married and eventually work myself out of a job. But while Singles ministry is a great place to meet a spouse, I don’t want people to think of it as a stepping stone to something greater.

Marriage will never satisfy someone the way way Jesus alone can. And marriage itself presents sacrifices that get taken for granted among singles. Even a few days ago, a happily married father saw people planning a volleyball event and said, “Ahhh…the days when I was the master of my schedule.” So while marriage brings much joy, it also brings restrictions. And it’s not just when it comes to playing sports but even in our Christian walk. First Corinthians 7:32-34 says “The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided.”

The adage of calling a spouse the ol’ “ball and chain” is a crude and inaccurate portrayal of marriage, implying that all a spouse does is hold you down in life. But let’s not get rid of the imagery altogether. There may not be a ball, but there’s definitely a chain. Two people are tied together for the rest of their lives. The person on the other end will be able to lift you up when you fall, but you will also have to carry them sometimes. And that’s just the beginning. Have you ran a race chained to someone you’re in conflict with? It’s not easy.

The point is that people imagine marriage to be a blissful stroll through a park when it will often be a uphill climb through a rocky forest. Marriage will disappoint any person putting their hope in it and the truth is that an unhappy single will make for an unhappy married. Wanting to see people get married is simply too small of a goal.

This is why our main focus for this coming year will be on deepening our relationship with God so that we’re not chasing every fleeting pleasure before us only to be disappointed or have our faith shaken. We want to be like the man who builds his house on the rock so that when the storm comes, the house stands. We’ll do this by going through Philippians for the first semester of our Bible study since it carries the theme of joy in Christ. The last thing I want Single Life to become is a cold and joyless ministry. It really should be a time of great joy and sanctification, more than any other time of their lives since the people there don’t have their interest divided on how to please their spouses.

Secondly, I appreciate that so many want to get married but it’s not enough to want a good thing. We have to want it for good reasons. Marriage is a very sweet gift of grace to many, but it can become sour if we go into it with wrong motives. So after Philippians, we’ll be going through a series on biblical marriage.

It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that marriage is a ministry to another person, and instead make it something that serves their own needs. Saying that you want to get married to have a companion in life is like saying you want to go on missions to travel the world. It ignores the real reason God would call you to the foreign mission field: to bring glory to God. Likewise, if a person marries without concern for God’s glory, and only for their needs, it is done selfishly. In the end, I want to see people married but only if they’re doing so for God’s glory and the other’s good.

And lastly, most people experience a decrease in the number of non-Christian interactions when leaving college and the same is true when people get married. Being single presents one with more opportunities for evangelism, and so sprinkled throughout the year will be an emphasis on sharing the gospel to our friends and community. I even want to do what I can to make Bible studies more friendly to new visitors so they can come and witness the love we have for one another as they hear about God’s love.

In short, we should all have a godly jealousy to those in Single Life. Some may see it as a pit stop to a greater destination, but I say stay, grow, serve, and evangelize in ways you may never get to again.