Category Archives: Affinity Groups

Youth Retreat Recap

by Roger Alcaraz

Long drives, late nights, early mornings, fun games, adventurous days, and plenty of time in God’s word. That sounds like the perfect ingredients to our latest youth retreat. To anyone wondering where all our teenagers were a few Sundays ago, no, there wasn’t a Justin Beiber concert. We had much greater plans.

Our destination was UC Santa Barbara which ended up being a 5 hour drive…one way. Why so far away? It was to reveal our big surprise. When we all arrived, everyone went into one of the rooms for a “meeting” when suddenly, out popped the LBCSJ youth ministry! Everyone was super excited to see each other and after all the commotion, everyone was ready for the first of four messages from JR and myself.

The theme of the retreat was “Set Apart.” To be set apart is what it literally means to be holy. Our studies took us from how Christians are set apart to why they’re set apart, and for what they’re set part—going from theology to practice. The first message was titled, “Set Apart by God, For God, and Because of God,” and it focused on how without God, there is no reason or motivation to be holy because he is the one who chooses people to be holy, Christians are to be holy for God’s glory and because he is holy himself.

The rest of the messages spoke on what ways the Christians is to be set apart in, namely evangelizing, good works, and suffering. It’s safe to say that the call to be holy is a high calling that every Christian has received and yet continues to falls short, but we were encouraged to see examples in Scripture of people seeking to live as the shining lights to the world.

Aside from the messages and small groups, the weekend had its share of play time. We learned a fun game called Spool that involves a lot of running back and forth across a pool table. We also played a new version of volleyball involving huge water balloons and a blanket as teams try to fling the balloon over the net while the other tries to catch it with their blanket. We had extra water balloons so, naturally, we started a water balloon fight! Sopping wet, we walked 50 yards to the beach and split into two teams for a new game, “Build a Pastor.” Each team would build a sand body of either JR or me and were judged according to creativity, accuracy, and presentation.

The winning team and their life-like sand body, complete with dry seaweed for hair.

We also enjoyed plenty of time fellowshipping in the dorms, eating at the all-you-can-eat UCSB dining hall, singing songs, and touring the beautiful UCSB campus. Our last night there, we stayed up doing some memorable improvisational acting and performing in an “Untalent Show.” Actual talent was optional as we got to witness amazing, singing, choreography, clapping, gleeking, and knuckle walking. Who knew we had such a talented youth group?

All this is to say we had a great youth retreat, drawing closer to God and to one another. How much greater can it get?

Sonlight 2011-2012: To Be Like Jesus

by Abram Kim

The start of the new year brings a lot of anticipation, change, and excitement. The start of the Sonlight year is no different. About half the staff from last year have stepped down for various reasons (i.e., moving away, other ministries, etc.). New staff will join soon, but will take some time for them to be trained. Two of our most faithful kids (Katie and Jordyn ) have moved on to the youth group, Lumos. Five kids (Melody, Tyrone, Noah, Abby, and Kasey) have moved up from the preschool group, Sparklers. Amidst all the change, the Sonlight ministry, which serves Kindergarten through 5th grade, remains steadfast because the Word of God remains steadfast and unchanging. Just like in every other ministry at church, the Bible is the final authority for Sonlight in all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

This year we have a new curriculum from Children Desiring God, called “To Be Like Jesus.” The curricula from Children Desiring God have been consistently faithful to the Scriptures, and for the most part aligned with the teaching at Lighthouse. We anticipate the same level of faithfulness this year, all the while remembering that the curriculum itself is not inspired, only the Bible is inspired.

This year’s curriculum will cover the biblical message of the gospel, and in particular, what it means to call yourself a Christian. This is an appropriate topic for our Sonlight kids who are growing in their knowledge of the God, Jesus, and the Bible. I can personally attest as one who has grown up going to church all my life that knowing the facts of the gospel and having those facts effect my life were two completely different, yet obviously connected, realities. As the stories and teachings of the Bible begin to formulate in the young minds of the children in Sonlight, we as a staff will challenge and encourage them this year to consider the fruit in their lives to really evaluate whether or not they have true saving faith. Our Lord said the world will know His own by their fruit and practice (Matthew 7:15-27). Being a Christian is so much more than assenting to a set of facts and ideas. Being a Christian includes a total life change. Once we were slaves to sin, which leads to death. Now we are slaves to Christ, who ransomed us with a very costly and precious price, His own blood. Only then can eternal life be assured and secured. Only a few find it. We pray all the children in Sonlight are part of that few.

Grace Life Update

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Grace Life has been taking a break for the summer, but things will be picking up again really soon! And even though we have not been meeting, it doesn’t mean things haven’t been busy. Couples have been getting engaged, getting married, and having babies! The ministry has been growing and all this time we have been taking a break!

One of the things we are looking forward to in the fall is the return of our Wednesday evening parenting class. Taught by elder Peter Lim, the parenting class will be a fifteen week course running from October to March. Each week, different topics will be discussed while examining what the Bible teaches about being a parent. Children are certainly a huge responsibility, but they are also a tremendous blessing from the Lord. Every parent knows that raising kids can at times be challenging and even frustrating. But the Bible gives godly wisdom about how successful parenting can be achieved to the glory of God. This will be an invaluable class especially for our new and expecting parents.

Also beginning in October our weekly Grace Life fellowship will resume. Once again, Grace Life will be meeting during the Sunday School hour on Sundays. It will be great to pick up in our study of Mark and this year will present greater opportunities for fellowship, accountability, and interaction.

Hopefully after the summer break, everyone is itching to get started again!

Act Your Age this Summer

by Hansol An

Editor’s Note: This was supposed to be posted on June 30th, but I posted the Single’s Update by mistake.  So the collegians will be getting this as a reminder halfway through their summer instead of at the beginning of it.

“Summer break” is a term that has a very positive connotation for most people. And why wouldn’t it? No school, playing all day and virtually no responsibilities. What’s not to like if you’re a kid? But now you’re 18, 19, 20 or 21 years old. By now your summer break will look a bit different, right? You’re old enough to vote now and fight for your country if you want. You’re no longer legally bound to your parents’ authority. You’re an “adult” now. So then, shouldn’t your summer break be more than just about having fun?

If this were the first century, in Israel or another part of the Roman Empire, a college age kid would likely be married by now. In that culture, ladies were often married at 13 or 14 years old. Mary, the mother of Christ, was probably 14 or 15 when she was carrying the Savior of the World. Guys were usually given a bit more time to prepare for that responsibility. The average age for marriage was around 18 for men. It was highly discouraged for men to be single past 20, even to the point that some Jews considered it sinful. By 19 the average man was a father for the first time. Think about that for a second. How many collegians can even fathom being a parent at 19, let alone 14?

Today’s society will tell collegians that they are still kids. And in certain ways that’s true because this society allows young people to extend the responsibility to become mature until much later in life. “You’re still in school.” Marriage? “There’s always time for that. There’s a lot to experience first.” Children? “Whoa now, that’s way later. Maybe when you’re too old to have fun.” Even in the church, this type of thinking is prevalent. Would it be difficult to find a 30 year old man playing video games for hours each day? To put that in perspective, remember that Jesus was about that age when he started his ministry.

In all honestly, it took me a while grow up. Post-college life for me during the week was pretty simple. I went to work, came home, hung out with my roommates, played a lot of Halo with my roommates, went to sleep late and started it all over again the next day. I’m only being slightly facetious. Sure I did maintain involvement in church activities on the weekends but I could look back on some weeks and think, “I accomplished zero.” It is sad to think about the lack of maturity I exhibited. As Paul warned the Ephesians, I was foolish and not “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” But thank God, I was challenged by those around me and what I was learning at church to grow up. Eventually I took that to heart and started making changes to that end. Not that I’m there yet, but it’s something I continue to strive after.

The point is this: You can be a responsible adult at 18. The vast majority of human history and societies around the globe would attest to that truth. Relative youth was no excuse for Timothy to be less than a mature man. Paul instructed him to, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” You might be young but even the young can be an example for others to learn from. You have the gift of time (time to learn God’s Word; time to grow closer to the Lord; time to invest in people). Use it to become an adult.

Single Life Update

by Chris Tang

Time for another Single Life update! Pastor Patrick has been continuing to teach through Colossians with a particular focus on how false gospels fall short of the one true Gospel. Living and thinking in Gospel-centered way sounds like such a simple thing to do, yet our sinful hearts can so easily corrupt the Gospel in very subtle ways. One recent message preached from Colossians 2:16-17 dealt legalism, and how it is grows out of our hearts.

In Colossians 2:16 Paul admonishes the Colossians not to subject themselves to the judgment of man regarding “food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” Obviously there were some people (legalistic people) who were denying that others were saved because how they ate, drank, or treated certain days. In hindsight this seems completely absurd. We know that food and drink do not corrupt (Mark 7:15, 1 Corinthians 6:13) and we would never bat an eye at dressing up on Halloween (would we?). Unfortunately, knowledge can only take you so far. Despite our knowledge, the remnants of sin within our hearts make it easy to fall into the trap of legalism.

In Pastor Patrick’s sermon he spent some time on the differences between convictions and legalism. It may not be immediately obvious where the line is drawn. The two are both extra-Biblical precepts which a person thinks are necessary to follow in order to live in a God-glorifying manner (black and white issues which have explicit instruction, such as not committing adultery, fall under the category of obedience). Convictions vary from person to person and issue to issue. This includes things such as exactly how and how much time is spent in God’s word, trick-or-treating on Halloween, and even what food is acceptable to eat. Living out these convictions is fine (Romans 14:5-6). Where it crosses the line, however, is when we impose our own convictions on others in a way judgmental way. Legalism elevates the weaknesses (or strengths) of our consciences to the level of something which can make God love them more, or affirm His choice in saving them. As if, for example, praying before every single meal could somehow make you worth saving! For me such a habit is a good way to stay mindful of God’s abundant provision, but I haven’t yet seen the passage where Jesus says, “It is finished. . .as long as you remember to say grace.”

Ultimately, we succumb to legalism due to the sin which remains in our hearts. Pastor Patrick made several great points about the heart behind legalism. They all come down to having a high view of self and a low view of God. It has roots in pride, elevating our own man-made rules over the commandments of God. It comes from lack of love, placing personal convictions over the care for others (Matthew 12:1-2, 7). Legalism can also come from guilt, where we doubt the work of the cross and try atone for our own shortcomings, making little the great cost of God’s grace (Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 2:24).

This message was very convicting for me, as I have seen legalism pop up in the most surprising and unexpected places in my own life. I hope that, as God continues to reveal the depth of our depravity, we would all grow in our love for Him, knowing that the Gospel is not just sufficient, but powerful to save. Cleaning toilets does not save. Being a parent does not save. Doing ministry to all hours of the night does not save. Counseling others does not save. We receive grace not because of what we do, but in spite of it. Our own standards should be set aside for God’s so that we may grow together as followers of Christ in love (2 Corinthians 12:19).

Interview with Keilah (Youth)

By Grace Wu

This month’s youth ministry highlight is an interview with Keilah, who recently graduated from her K-6 elementary school. She will finally be entering middle school as a 7th grader in the fall. She is one of the younger members of Lumos, having only been in youth for the past year.
Keilah loves to dance and enjoys spending time with her friends.

How long have you been in youth ministry?

For about a year.

How is youth ministry different from the Sonlight children’s ministry?

In youth group, we have small group and we meet twice a week for Friday Night Bible Study. There are also more activities than when I was in Sonlight. We also learned things that I didn’t learn in Sonlight.

Was it intimidating at first entering Lumos being taught so much theology?

Yeah, but after a while it made sense. Some of it was hard to understand at first but the teachers and small group leaders tried to make it as clear as possible and answered any questions I had.

What do you enjoy most about Youth Group?

I like that it’s not such a big group so I can get more individual attention. I also like the activities and the small groups.

How have the small group times helped you?

I’ve been able to share with my small group leader, and they make the sermons relevant to me for what I should do. The sermons are about the Bible and small groups help me apply the sermons to my own life.

What’s something you learned this year from youth group?

I learned about the Lord ’s Prayer and how we should pray. Sometimes when I pray I take it really lightly and I make it really brief so I can start eating. But in Lumos I learned what it really means to pray and how to understand it. I pray differently because of it. At school it’s hard to pray in front of other people, but when I think about why I’m praying it makes me unashamed of doing it.

What’s it like being one of the youngest in youth group?

I’m the only one in elementary school and everyone’s older. For the ones in high school, they have more experiences and more opportunities to apply what you learn. In elementary school, most people just tell on you the teacher and you get in trouble.

Are you nervous about starting middle school?

Yes, because there will be homeroom and some teachers might not care too much about what goes on outside the classroom.

What do you like to do for fun?

I do a lot of dance. I’m in Girl Scouts, and I like hanging out with friends. On school nights when I have lots of homework I feel really busy.

Do you have a favorite subject in school?

I like language arts and writing.

LBC Nursery

by Becky Areekul

My journey with LBCSD nursery started when I was a junior in college. At that time I was a new member in the church, and I was looking for a ministry in order to serve and grow spiritually. With my very limited experience caring for young children I thought that joining the nursery ministry would be a great place to start learning this womanly trait. I realized that if I served in the nursery I would not only learn about children, but I would also have opportunities to build relationships with the moms at our church.

After the first few times of being scheduled in the nursery I was struck with great surprise. I didn’t realize how exhausting it was to spend two to three hours with 15 kids! For the first three months serving in nursery I remember going home immediately after Sunday School and passing out for at least two hours. Moreover, my initial perception that children are always perfectly cute and sweet was shattered by the reality of sin. To this day I see willfully sinful attitudes in the kids as they rebel against authority. This was the most humbling aspect of this ministry. Not only was I seeing rebellion and poor attitudes in these kids, but I also saw my own depravity in its most natural form. The only difference between my sin and their sin was my sophisticated tactics of hiding it or concealing it behind a mask of piety.

Serving in the nursery has provided me with a greater understanding of the weight of responsibility that we have to pass on the greatness of God to the next generation (Psalm 78:4). During my six years of service I’ve witnessed most of the kids grow and mature with godly teaching and discipline. By God’s grace I’ve been able to witness the fruits of godly parenting and the effects of raising children in the church body. I believe the greatest spiritual growth I gained through this ministry is learning how to love each child as individuals, to allow them to be the person God has created them to be, but also to temper that with teaching them about God and His righteousness. When I joined this ministry I sought to learn what it takes to love and care for children and to build relationships with the moms; I can now say with certainty that God has definitely grown me in these areas.

In addition to spiritual lessons I’ve also experienced many funny moments with the kids. Most of those times involve some kind of poo incident. The greatest lesson was learning that I should be absolutely certain that the child is finished with their pooing efforts before I attempt to change their diaper. My most memorable incident was trying to change one the young ones and not realizing they were not finished; as I was wiping them I had diarrhea squirt all over my smock and arm. Now when we have new nursery staff I try to teach them all the tricks and things to watch out for, especially when changing a poopy diaper.

As my service in the nursery at LBCSD is coming to an end (Ted and I will be moving to San Jose to join the church plant after our wedding), to our nursery staff I would encourage all of you to love the children as Christ loves the little ones. Ask God to reveal to you the significance of passing on the greatness of Him to the next generation and pray for wisdom to do it accurately. I would also encourage the staff to really get to know the moms that serve with us and also the parents who drop off their kids. We are so blessed to have many older, godly women in the church; use this time to practice the Titus 2 principle and learn as much as you can from these women. Lastly serve and love the kids as an act of worship to God! It’s been such a privilege to serve in the LBCSD nursery.

Grace Life Update

by Ivan Cheng

Learning to be a parent is a constant growing process with God and with Nancy. Each day is an opportunity to practice the Four G’s of the peacemaker principle. When our children were infants, parenting was relatively easy with feeding, changing diapers, and putting them to sleep. As they grew older, the issues of behavior, discipline, and how to train our children in righteousness as the Bible commands became more central to parenting. I never imagined that parenting would require so much intentional planning and foresight.

The first G of “glorifying God” sounds simple, yet it takes conscious effort to put into practice. It is easy to just want to parent by reflex, but it ultimately leads to worldly standards. Putting God first means evaluating my attitudes, words, and actions in light of what pleases Him and modeling biblical values to our children.

The second G of “getting the log out of your own eye” has been the most humbling as a parent. Every day I’m confronted by how my own sins may be the cause of the problem in a conflict with our children. My quick temper, my selfish agenda, my unrealistic expectations are really the underlying issues at hand. Praise God for His mercy that each day is a brand new day for God to start afresh to mold me to His likeness!

The third G of “gently restore” is one that I constantly need to monitor. It is easy to crush the spirit of my children with my harsh words and anger even though they have erred and need discipline. I’m learning that the process is to rebuild the relationship and not just about correcting behavior. They need so much more encouragement and affirmation from me.

The forth G to “go and be reconciled” is so easily left out. I can dish out rebuke and discipline, but reconciliation seems such an afterthought. Sometimes I think that I have it all wrong. I spent the majority of the time focusing on correction and only minimal time on rebuilding. Instead, it should be the other way around, focusing on God’s redeeming grace and reaffirming my unconditional love for my children. The main effort should be on moving past the error and restoring the broken relationship through forgiveness and reconciliation.

God has been gracious to allow me to grow as a parent. I’m grateful that God has put Nancy by my side to work together as parents. Each day we are able to come together to evaluate our goals and mistakes as parents, pray, and depend on the Holy Spirit for His wisdom and to transform us to be Christ-like. We are constantly reminded that our goal is not to raise successful children, but ones who have a loving relationship with Christ and experience His grace. Ultimately, we need to trust that God’s plan for our children is far better than anything we can conceive for them.

Single Life Update

by Jen Shih

One marked characteristic of our Bible studies at Lighthouse is that our pastor does not skimp on giving us the details; at any given time of the year, we are digging into a book of the Bible verse by verse. The Single Life ministry started studying through the book of Colossians on Friday nights back in July 2010 and now we’re approaching the end of chapter 2! By way of introduction to the book, one reason why Paul wrote to the church at Colossae was in response to false teachings that were arising. Paul warns the church to be wary of false teaching based on human traditions and elementary principles created by man and instead to trust and depend on the sufficiency of Christ. Understanding what “hollow and deceptive philosophy” looks like is helpful especially because we live in a world where lies are commonly the mainstream belief.

While studying Colossians 2:8, Pastor Patrick highlighted some characteristics of false teachings for us. False teaching often contains error mixed in with truth. It appeals to the desires and intellect of men (1 John 2:16), and causes us to question the true word of God. A picture of this false teaching is clearly illustrated in Genesis 3 – Eve saw that the tree which God commanded not to eat from was a “delight to the eyes and she saw that the tree was desired to make one wise.” Satan twists the word of God and tempts Eve with a reasoning that sounds appealing and good. I encounter a modern day example of this at my workplace. It’s often times much easier to complain and gossip with co-workers in a frustrating situation because there might be seemingly legitimate reasons to do so – the situation is unfair or there is not enough recognition by management or one person is not contributing to a team effort. Grumbling, complaining, and gossip is inexcusable because these are things that God commands against in his Word (Philippians 2:14, Psalm 34:13). Or when things don’t go the way I’ve planned – it’s simple to blame circumstances and a situation for a hardened heart and the world reinforces this.

The Christian does not need to rely on these types of reasoning but instead the Christian has a solid foundation on Christ. It is sure, unwavering, never misleading or wrong. In Colossians 2:9-10, Paul emphasizes three powerful statements about Christ: in Jesus the fullness of the deity dwells in bodily form, we have complete sufficiency in Christ, and this is assured by His full authority. Christ is God incarnated – the very being of God. His perfect life satisfies what we can never make up to be reconciled with God. It is an amazing truth that our wisdom, reconciliation, and righteousness are complete in Christ. Studying through Colossians 2:11-14 specifically has been tremendously encouraging and eye opening. Pastor Patrick pointed out that the same Greek word “energeia” for the “powerful working” of God to raise us from the dead is the same powerful working that God uses to raise Christ from the dead. That’s a pretty mind-blowing thought. Our entire old self is gone. Our old flesh is removed or “circumcised” and replaced entirely with new life in Christ. This has helped me to put into better perspective the fact that salvation is truly a miracle by a gracious, merciful and loving God. We were dead in our sin and trespasses – completely dead – which means that there is absolutely nothing we could to earn salvation or please God or earn God’s favor in any way. Yet, God chose to save us.

Recently, my more specific prayer is that I would not get caught up in the busyness of work and life and live each day in perspective of the awesome salvation I have in Christ. Understanding that my old self was buried with Christ and that I am raised again ignites an inner joy and excitement that I know is rooted in amazing gospel truth. Practically, for me, this means that I need to prioritize and not put all my time and energy into working to please men, but put my best effort forward, understanding that I cannot be perfect and my aim is not to please man and build myself up. It means that I cannot find my security in my career or income or success, but I need constantly to depend, rest, and draw strength on truth that Christ is sufficient for me.

My encouragement to those in the Singles Ministry is simply this reminder: God has specifically and purposely carved out this stage of life, this study through the book of Colossians, and the relationships we have with one another to learn and grow and live out his Word. Let’s continue to strive to do this with full dependency on God and increasing love for God and one another!

Make It Count

by Hansol An

Even though I’ve realized it for some time now, I’m always amazed to reflect back on a year and realize how fast time has passed. In the beginning of the school year I wrote the first College Life article for the Beacon. In it I expressed some early excitement (and apprehension) about the 2010-2011 school year due to all the changes that were happening. All I can say is that it’s been an amazing year! The staff: amazing. The collegians: amazing. God: amazing, of course. No one knew what to expect but God has given us a year where I have witnessed the equipping and growth of so many in so short a time. The ministry has displayed tremendous servant-hood at every turn. Peter Lim, Johnny Kim and I can attest to the graciousness of this ministry, firsthand (thank you for the kind gifts!). I’ve seen how so many students are eager to serve one another as well. I’ve witnessed the discussions about what people have been learning. I know people are reaching out to those who are hurting. But what really amazes me is that these external actions are pointing to something more – the manifestations of what’s in the hearts of our collegians. To see them applying what they have learned, becoming doers of the word and not hearers only, is the greatest encouragement. The external fruit is nice but the prospect of what God is doing in the hearts of our collegians is the most exciting part.

Having attended a commencement ceremony this year brought back many memories of my own graduation and college life. It gave me a chance to remember where I was in my walk with Christ and how it could have all turned out so differently. By God’s grace, I can say that I am not at the same place, spiritually, that I was back then. How sad would it be if I was in exactly the same spiritual state? I have seen God work in my life and in my heart to live more for Him and less for myself. Though I’m very much still a work-in-progress I can safely (and gladly) say that who I am now is a testimony to a devotion to God and his desire for my life. That devotion was nurtured in college. That’s why I like to say that college is so formative. It’s not just myself either. Those that truly loved the Lord and made decisions for His kingdom before their own desires while still in college, are the ones I still see faithfully seeking His glory.

For the 20 graduating seniors (and for the rest of you collegians for that matter) my prayer is that you will be able to look back and say, “I’ve changed…for the better.” Sadly there are many who peak spiritually in college. In a way it’s understandable. All of your close friends are Christians. You’re going to church activities constantly. Your life is very much infused with Christianity. The danger here is that when you enter the “real world” you’ll lose your source of spiritual zeal, if that source is misplaced. It might be a good time to assess the source of your Christianity. If it’s the people around you, Lighthouse Bible Church or anything else other than Christ, you need to acknowledge that now. In John 14:6 Jesus makes a clear statement about the exclusivity of the source of our salvation. Luke affirms this in Acts 4:12.

Hopefully all you College Lifers have grown as much as it appears you have. You might feel like there’s so much time for you to address any shortcomings later. Time will only go faster and faster as you get older and you don’t get any of it back. Before you know it you’ll be looking back on your graduation ten years prior. How you look back on that time will depend on what you do with your life now. Live like you believe that Christ is the way, the truth and the life.