by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear Lighthouse family and friends!

This past week, I had the pleasure of traveling to the Bay Area to spend some time with the other Lighthouse pastors. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun! It also served as a great reminder of the truths that have brought us together in the partnership of the gospel. I was reminded of how so often in the New Testament Paul wrote of his gratitude for his co-laborers in the faith and how they provided much needed support and encouragement along the way.

In the same way, I’m very thankful that the Lord has assembled this team to work together in the ministry of Lighthouse. It has been tremendously encouraging to see how like-minded and committed these men are to the MVP Statement, Peacemaker Pledge, and doctrinal distinctions of LBC. May the Lord continue to be gracious to cause us all to grow together in Him and give us wisdom to consider all the various opportunities and advantages we have in striving together with a common purpose and towards a common goal.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some opportunities for ministry for you to consider:

1. Midweek Bible Studies. Our midweek Bible studies continue tonight as College Life and Lumos Youth Ministry meet at the church at 7:00 PM. Visit the church website for more information about these ministries!
2. Membership Class. There is a membership class this weekend for all those interested in pursuing membership at Lighthouse Bible Church. The class will meet on Saturday, February 21, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and again on Sunday, February 22, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Attendance at both classes is required. Please email Pastor Patrick if you have any questions.
3. Baptism Service. We will be having a baptism service on Sunday, February 22, at 4:00 PM, at the church. Please come out and support all those who will be sharing their testimony of God’s grace to them.
4. Singles Retreat. The singles retreat is March 13-15 at Pine Valley Bible Conference Center. Our speaker this year is Pastor Alton To of San Francisco Bible Church. The cost for the retreat is only $150! You can register with Jonathan Eng and Larry Wu.
5. Flocks. Our next flocks week will be on February 25-28. During flocks week, all our regularly scheduled midweek Bible studies are cancelled. If you would like more information about our regional flocks, please visit the church website or contact Cesar Vigil-Ruiz (jn316niv@gmail.com).
6. Czech Republic Missions. The dates for this year’s trip to the Czech Republic are July 1-18. If you are interested in applying for the team, please contact Pastor Patrick for an application. Applications are due by March 1.
7. The Dropbox Film. If you are not planning on attending the Shepherds’ Conference, I would highly recommend that you go and see “The Dropbox” film. It will be playing at the AMC La Jolla 12 and at Edwards Mira Mesa. This is a wonderful story of compassion about a pastor in Seoul who rescues unwanted children. I believe the movie is only showing on March 3-5 with limited showtimes. Visit www.thedropboxfilm.com for more information.
8. Needs for Prayer.

Emily Choi. Please continue to pray for Emily, who is the daughter of Pastor Aaron and Tina Choi of Berean Mission Church in Millbrae, CA. Emily has been diagnosed with stage 4, high risk neuroblastoma, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. The Choi family is very dear to us at Lighthouse. Please pray that God would show grace to this family and for healing for little Emily. Pastor Patrick will be preaching at Berean Mission Church on Sunday, March 1.

Esther Yi. Please continue to pray for our sister Esther who has been diagnosed with a mass in her head. Doctors are still assessing her condition and looking for the best way to monitor and treat her.

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC friends and family!

I know it’s been a couple weeks since the last Spark (there goes that New Year’s resolution!). I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord! These last couple Sundays, we have been walking through a biblical understanding of church membership and church discipline. I hope it has been a helpful series. My plan is to continue walking through a short series on the church before moving on to other things, but this Sunday we’ll be introducing the theme for 2015. We have been doing this since 2000. Here are the themes we have covered in the past:

2000 – SHINE THE LIGHT
2001 – SEE THE GLORY
2002 – JESUS IS LIFE
2003 – LIVE THE LIFE, LIVE TO TELL
2004 – LIFE IS NOT ABOUT YOU
2005 – MUCH ABOUT JESUS
2006 – LOVE THEM LIKE JESUS
2007 – BUILDING THE BODY
2008 – IN CHRIST ALONE
2009 – FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST
2010 – UNTIL THE WHOLE WORLD HEARS
2011 – BOUND AS ONE
2012 – DYING TO KNOW HIM
2013 – MAKING GOD BIG
2014 – ONE THING I DO
2015 – ???

As always, I hope you are looking forward to opening up God’s Word together on Sunday morning and delighting in the fellowship He has provided for us through the church. Have a wonderful weekend!

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are this week’s ministry opportunities:

1. Grace Life / Single Life Fellowship Activity. Yeehaw! Grace Life would like to host an evening of food and fun with the folks of Single Life! Come on out on Saturday, February 7, at 5:00 PM, for some good ol’ country fun! Singles, please sign up with Lance Toy. Grace Lifers, please sign up with Kristie Rudolph.
2. Members Meeting. Don’t forget that we’ll be having a members meeting on Sunday at 4:45 PM. All members are highly encouraged to come. As always dinner will be served!
3. College Life Retreat. Please be praying for our collegians as they head up to retreat on the weekend of February 13-16. Pastor John Kim of LBC Los Angeles will be their speaker as they cover the topic of “True Love.”
4. LBCLA. Please also keep praying for LBC Los Angeles (and all the LBC church plants!). This weekend, LBCLA will be celebrating one year of ministry! Congratulations to Pastor John and the members of LBCLA!
5. Membership Class. Our next membership class will be on the weekend of February 21-22. Part 1 of the class will meet on February 21, from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, at the church. Part 2 will meet on February 22, from 1:00-4:00 PM. Attendance at both classes is required. Please contact Pastor Patrick for an application or if you have any questions about membership (pastorpatrick@gmail.com).
6. Baptism Service. We will be having a baptism service on Sunday, February 22, at 4:00 PM. Come out to support those who will be sharing testimony of how God has worked in their lives to bring them to faith in Christ.
7. Single Life Retreat. The Single Life annual retreat will be taking place March 13-15 at Pine Valley Bible Conference Center. This year’s guest speaker will be Pastor Alton To from San Francisco Bible Church. The cost will be $150 per person and registration will open in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned for more details!
8. Czech Republic Missions. If you are interested in applying for the Czech summer missions trip, please join us Sunday after Sunday School hour for a brief introductory and info meeting. We will plan to meet as soon as Sunday School is over in Room 107.
9. Care Month. Don’t forget that February is Care Month! Stayed tuned each Sunday as the Care Ministry provides unique opportunities encourage your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear Lighthouse family and friends!

I hope you are all enjoying another wonderful week full of the Lord’s blessings. If you have been keeping up with our Bible reading plan for 2015 (New Testament in 90 days), you should have spent the last week and a half reading through Mark and most of Luke. One of the greatest joys in reading the Bible is examining the life of Christ.

Mark is the shortest of the Gospel accounts, but it packs quite a punch. One passage that was particularly challenging to me was Mark 10:42-44:

42 And Jesus called them to Him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

This is a theme that pops up repeatedly in the Gospel accounts. Jesus teaches His followers that true greatness is found in humility, self-sacrifice, and service. The Christian life is not about building personal kingdoms and gaining self-glory. True greatness does not come down to what you get but by what you give.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some upcoming ministry opportunities! There’s a lot going on, so please take time to read through all the announcements.

1. Midweek Bible Studies. On Thursday, Grace Life and LKC meet at the church at 6:30 PM. Grace Life is our ministry for married couples and parents and meets in Room 107. LKC is our midweek children’s program and meets in Room 108. On Friday, Lumos meets at 7:00 PM in Room 107. Lumos is our youth ministry.
2. Mommy and Me. Don’t forget about our Friday morning program for mothers with young children (ages 0-4). They meet in Room 108 at the church on Friday mornings at 9:45 AM. If you would like to participate or just want more information about Mommy and Me, please contact Jane Kim (janeminkim@gmail.com).
3. College After-Christmas Party. The collegians will be having their annual After-Christmas Party this Friday at 7:00 PM at the church. Dinner will be served. Please bring a gift for the gift exchange ($5-10 limit and no gift cards). For more information, please contact Roger Alcaraz (rogeralcaraz@gmail.com).
4. Flocks. Next week, January 28-31, will be flocks week. All of our regularly scheduled midweek activities will be put on hold including our affinity group Bible studies. Instead, we will be breaking up into regional flocks, which meet throughout the community. If you would like more information about flocks, visit the church website or contact Cesar Vigil-Ruiz (jn316niv@gmail.com). Don’t forget to complete the flocks homework! Worksheets can be found in the foyer or downloaded HERE.
5. Baptism Class. Our next baptism class will be on Tuesday, February 3, at 7:00 PM. If you have not yet been baptized as a believer in obedience to the command of Scripture, or if you just want to learn more about baptism, please come out to this class!
6. Grace Life/Single Life Fellowship Event. Yeehaw! Grace Life would like to host an evening of food and fun with the folks of Single Life! Come on out on February 7 at 5:00 PM for some good ol’ country fun! Singles, please sign up with Lance Toy. Grace Lifers, please sign up with Kristie Rudolph.
7. Members Meeting. Our next members meeting will be on Sunday, February 8 at 4:45 PM. All of our members are highly encouraged to attend. Dinner will be provided.
8. College Life Retreat. The College Life retreat is coming up on President’s Day weekend, February 13-16. This four day retreat will focus on the theme of “True Love.” We are pleased to announce that our speaker this year is Pastor John Kim of Lighthouse Bible Church, Los Angeles! Talk to Roger Alcaraz for more information (rogeralcaraz@gmail.com).
9. Membership Class. Our next membership class will be on the weekend of February 21-22. Part 1 of the class will meet on February 21, from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, at the church. Part 2 will meet on February 22, from 1:00-4:00 PM. Attendance at both classes is required. Please contact Pastor Patrick for an application or if you have any questions about membership (pastorpatrick@gmail.com).
10. Single Life Retreat. The Single Life annual retreat will be taking place March 13-15 at Pine Valley Bible Conference Center. This year’s guest speaker will be Pastor Alton To from San Francisco Bible Church. The cost will be $150 per person and registration will open in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned for more details!
11. Care Month. February is Care Month at LBC. Please make an extra effort to be a blessing to your brothers and sisters in Christ! Each week, the Care Ministry will present special ways you can love and serve others in the body.
12. Czech Republic Summer Mission. If you would like to participate in this year’s trip to the Czech Republic, please contact Pastor Patrick for an application. The tentative dates for the trip are June 30-July 21. You must have been a member at Lighthouse for at least one year to apply. Contact Pastor Patrick for more information.

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear Lighthouse family and friends,

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

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

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

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some ministry opportunities and announcements:

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

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear Lighthouse family and friends,

I hope you all had a safe and fun time ringing in the New Year! We had a great time at the church on New Year’s Eve, though no one made it to midnight! Maybe we’re all just getting too old? Hehe. The new year calls for adjustments to life. For example, I’m sure it will take some getting used to, but we need to remember to write “2015” instead of “2014.” This is the time of year when people are setting their minds on resolutions and goals for the upcoming year – reading their Bible, losing weight, saving money.

Whatever your resolutions, have you taken time to consider how the Lord wants you to move forward with your various enterprises? Are your resolutions in line with God’s will for your spiritual growth and well being? It’s easy to fall into the thinking of wanting to simply be a better you. But God’s will is not just self-improvement through self-projects. God’s desire is that everything we do would also have an upward focus, to do all things for His glory and honor (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31). As you set your resolutions for 2015, remember to ask prayerfully, “God, is this what You desire of me?” Consider also, “Am I going about this in the way the Lord would want?” And, “Are my motives right before God?” Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.”

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some upcoming ministry opportunities!

1. Communion Sunday. We will be taking communion together on Sunday so please come with prepared hearts. Because of the proximity to the New Year holiday, Sunday school hour will be cancelled this weekend.
2. Members Meeting. Our next members meeting will be on Sunday, January 25, at 4:45 PM. All members are highly encouraged to attend. If you are a ministry coordinator and would like to give a ministry update, please notify Pastor Patrick.
3. Anniversary Yearbook. Remember that we are still taking signups for our anniversary yearbook. The cost for a printed copy is $18. Please sign up with Wen Zou or online at http://bit.ly/1tFeTE7. There is also a web version available at http://lighthousebc.com/blog/2014/09/20/anniversary-book/.
4. Grace Life. Since Pastor Patrick will be out of town this week, Grace Life will NOT be meeting on Thursday evening. Have fun with the night off! LKC will still be meeting, but we will NOT have nursery care at the church.
5. Affinity Groups. Lumos Youth, College Life, and Single Life will all be meeting up this week. Single Life meets on Wednesday at 6:30 PM. Lumos and College Life meet on Friday at 7:00 PM. More information about our affinity groups can be found on the church website.
6. Mommy and Me. Mommy and Me, a ministry for mothers and their children 0-4 years of age, meets on Fridays from 9:45-11:30 AM at church in Room 108. If you are a mom of a 0-4 year old and are interested in participating, please contact Jane Kim (janeminkim@gmail.com).
7. Lumos Youth. Please pray for the youth ministry as they wrap up their retreat this weekend. Pray that it would be a great time of fellowship and growth together in Christ.