Category Archives: Lighthouse News

LBC Weekly SPARK – February 25, 2011

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends,

I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord. The second chapter of The Trellis and the Vine, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, is called “Ministry Mind-Shifts.” The challenge presented in this chapter is that most ministries need to rethink and reevaluate what its ministry’s goals and methods are. As we learned from chapter 1, programs are not the essence of what biblical ministry ought to be. Programs are nice and helpful, but they serve the purpose and are not the purpose of ministry in themselves. The goal of ministry ought to be to see a body of believers who are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission – disciples of Christ making disciples of Christ.

One shift in ministry philosophy that needs to take place is to move from running programs to building people. Instead of thinking about what you want the finished product of your program to look like, you should begin with the people you have and mold the ministry to their giftedness and availability.

Another shift involves moving from running events to training people. Think about how much more effective evangelism in the church would be if the focus were less about having evangelistic events and programs and more about training up your members to preach the gospel and be committed to it. The program might be run by a small team of members, whereas the training would address and involve the entire church.

Other shifts that the authors propose are to move away from using people to growing people, and to move away from filling gaps to training new workers. When I was in college, I remember visiting various churches and having them try to get me involved in their children’s ministries. They didn’t know much about my gifts, talents, and abilities, but they needed workers to watch the kids. Unfortunately, a lot of churches function in this way, simply trying to fill the gaps that are left by members who have moved away or resigned.

The book offers eleven of these “ministry mind-shifts” that help us to evaluate what really ought to be the focus of what we do. If the Great Commission is about people building up people, then our focus should move away from solely mounting up programs and events. The programs and events help serve the work of the Great Commission, but are not the fulfillment of the Great Commission in and of themselves.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are the announcements for this week:

  1. Bible Studies. The youth and singles will be having their regularly scheduled Bible studies tonight. The college group will not be meeting on campus this week due to the College Life Retreat at Pine Valley. If you are in college and not going to retreat, you are welcome to join the singles tonight at the church at 7:00pm. Check out the church website for more information about our Friday night Bible studies. Also, please pray for our college ministry as they have retreat this weekend at Pine Valley! Pray for safe travel to and from the retreat site as well as a wonderful weekend learning God’s Word!
  2. Flocks. Next week, our regular midweek Bible studies will not be meeting. Instead we will be having our regional flocks. Visit the flocks page at the church website to download the sermon response worksheet. Fill it out and come prepared for the large group discussion. For more information about flocks, you can either check out the website or contact Peter Lim ( peterlim@yahoo.com ).
  3. GraceLife Picnic at the Park/Fun in the Sun Day (FITS). Due to the poor weather forecast, this GraceLife event has been cancelled. However, the Care Ministry will be hosting a Fun in the Sun Day event on Sunday, March 6 to provide a time of fellowship and fun for all. FITS will be at the church beginning at 1:00pm. Lunch will be served for $5/person (youth and kids eat free!).
  4. End Times Bible Study. To coincide with our study in 1 Corinthians, Pastor Patrick will be hosting a Sunday evening series on the end times. Come find out what the Bible says about eschatology through this helpful series. The meetings will be at the church from 6:00-8:00pm on March 6, March 20, April 3, and April 17. For more information, please talk to Pastor Patrick.
  5. Parent/Child Dedication. We will be having our next Parent/Child Dedication during the worship service on Sunday, March 13. If you have recently had a child and would like to participate, please contact Pastor Patrick.
  6. Single Life Retreat. The singles will be having their retreat on the weekend of March 18-20, at Pine Valley Bible Camp. Our speaker this year will be Pastor James Lee of Pillar Bible Church, and he will be addressing the theme of “Dependence.” The cost is only $130 (including a $50 non-refundable deposit). You can sign up with Brian Song tonight at Bible study or on Sunday at church!
  7. Prayer. Don’t forget to come to church a little early on Sunday for a time of corporate prayer in the sanctuary. The sanctuary will be open for prayer at 8:45am, and prayer requests will be projected on the wall. If you are out in the foyer talking with one another, I would encourage you to remind each other of this time and come in to pray for the church.
  8. Vision Quest. The winner of the skit competition from last Sunday’s Vision Quest is Team Banana! Congratulations to all the teams! It really was a great night together and a helpful look into the Vision of LBC.

Recommended Resources Updated

by Stephen Rodgers

Just to let you know, the Recommended Resources page has been updated once more.  There is now a section on Preaching, which contains resources to aid in preaching and the discovery of good theological reference materials (since it is assumed that diligent study precedes preaching).

Because this section has been added, a couple of resources which had previously been found in the Software section have been moved (since there is now a much more appropriate home for them).

Enjoy!

Pro Rege

LBC Weekly SPARK – February 18, 2011

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends,

I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord. At our last All-Church Retreat, you all received a copy of The Trellis and the Vine, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. I hope you have had a chance to take a look at it because it really is a helpful book about church ministry.

In the first chapter, the authors describe the difference between trellis work and vine work. To summarize, the trellis is what supports the vine. It represents the structure of ministry – the programs, administration, and ministries of the church. The vine is the life and growth of the church, and is supported by the trellis.

The problem in many churches today is that there is much focus on trellis work at the expense of the vine. Churches offer amazing programs and a wide array of ministries, but the people in these churches are spiritually weak and unhealthy. This imbalance is explainable given that trellis work is easier than vine work. Tending to the vine requires getting to know people and invest in them, and people can make things difficult and messy. Not only is trellis work easier, but it is also more impressive. Much vine work is done without any appreciation or recognition. Think of it practically. Many people would be much more impressed to hear that Lighthouse was hosting a regional pastors’ conference than they would be that a group of individuals in the church were growing spiritually. More attention needs to be given to the vine, and that is the basis of the book.

The authors also explain that the heart of this ministry philosophy comes straight from the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). This is something that we at LBC can appreciate. Notice that Jesus doesn’t command His followers to make church members or to carefully structure church programs. He tells them to make disciples. While trellis work is necessary in order to promote the healthy growth of the vine, the thrust of Jesus’ command is to minister to people. Helping people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus and helping them to grow in faith is what the Great Commission is all about. It is people work. Since this command was given to all who would follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, it underscores the applicability to us today. We are to make people our goal and focus, not programs. Souls, not structure.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some trellis things in order to provide opportunities for you to do vine work:

  1. Bible Studies. The youth, college, and singles will be having their regularly scheduled Bible studies tonight. The youth and singles meet at the church at 7:00pm, and the collegians will be meeting on-campus at UCSD and SDSU. Check out the church website for more information about these Friday night Bible studies.
  2. Membership Class. We will be having a two-part membership class this Saturday, February 19, from 9:00am-12:00pm, and Sunday, February 20, from 1:00-4:00pm. Attendance is required for both classes. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Pastor Patrick for an application ( pastorpatrick@gmail.com ).
  3. Vision Quest. The Vision Quest is this weekend!!! On Sunday at 5:30pm at the church, this is going to be a great time to fellowship with the church family, as well as to hear more about the MVP of LBC. The theme for the night will be the Vision of LBC. This time the activity will be a skit night, so it should be a lot of fun! Bring $5 for food and be prepared for a fun-filled evening! If you would like to participate please contact Pastor Patrick ( pastorpatrick@gmail.com ).
  4. College Retreat. The college group will be having their annual retreat from February 25-27 at Pine Valley Bible Camp. Our speaker this year is Pastor Dan Nah of Cornerstone Bible Church, and he will be speaking on the theme of “Scandalous Grace.” The cost to go is only $120. There is currently a wait list to attend, but the staff is working to procure additional space!
  5. Single Life Ladies Appreciation Tea. Tea anyone? The singles will be having their first ever Ladies Appreciation Tea this Saturday, February 19, from 2:00-4:00pm, at the church. This event is intended to encourage the gals in the faith and to provide a time of fellowship together. All singles are encouraged to attend! Please RSVP with Eugene Park ASAP ( e1park@gmail.com ) so we can adequately plan for the event!
  6. Single Life Retreat. The singles will be having their retreat on the weekend of March 18-20, at Pine Valley Bible Camp. Our speaker this year will be Pastor James Lee, who will be addressing the theme of “Dependence.” The cost is only $130 (including a $50 non-refundable deposit). You can sign up with Brian Song tonight at Bible study or on Sunday at church!
  7. Grace Life Picnic at the Park. On Saturday, February 26, from 11:00am-1:00pm, we will be having a GraceLife Picnic at the Park (Torrey Hills Community Park). This is an opportunity for families to spend an afternoon together in the sun while the kiddies play! Bring a lunch for your family as well as parky type fun things (e.g. kites, Frisbees, footballs, etc.). Talk to Pastor Patrick if you have any questions.
  8. Parent/Child Dedication. We will be having our next Parent/Child Dedication during the worship service on Sunday, March 13. If you have recently had a child and would like to participate, please contact Pastor Patrick.
  9. End Times Bible Study. To coincide with our study in 1 Corinthians, Pastor Patrick will be hosting a Sunday evening series on the end times. Come find out what the Bible says about eschatology through this helpful series. The meetings will be at the church from 6:00-8:00pm on March 6, March 20, April 3, and April 17. For more information, please talk to Pastor Patrick.
  10. Prayer. Don’t forget to come to church a little early on Sunday for a time of corporate prayer in the sanctuary. The sanctuary will be open for prayer at 8:45am, and prayer requests will be projected on the wall. If you are out in the foyer talking with one another, I would encourage you to remind each other of this time and come in to pray for the church.

Recommended Resources Updated

by Stephen Rodgers

Just to let you know, the Recommended Resources page has been updated again.  Specifically, I’ve added in a Shopping section (to bring to your attention where some of the better deals are, and when they are likely to happen).  Also, I’ve updated the Software section with a new piece of software, as well as links to fantastic resources for preaching different books of the Bible (technically that’s not software, but I wasn’t sure where else to put it).

Thanks for reading!

Pro Rege

LBC Weekly SPARK – February 11, 2011

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends,

I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord. I trust it has been a good week for you, but even if it hasn’t, this weekend will surely lift your spirits! Mission Bowl is one of the highlights of the year, and the ladies will be taking the field on Saturday! It will be particularly encouraging to watch as many new faces will be participating. I encourage you to come out to the Pep Rally tonight (2/11) and to the tournament tomorrow (2/12). It’s going to be a great time and a lot of fun!

Also, as this Monday is Valentine’s Day, let us take some time to remember God’s amazing love for us. This holiday may present some opportunities to share about that love with others.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are the announcements for this week:

UPCOMING EVENTS

  1. Pep Rally. The Mission Bowl Pep Rally is at the church tonight at 6:30pm. Because of this event, the regularly scheduled Friday night Bible studies will be cancelled this week (Lumos, College Life, and Single Life). Come out to the Pep Rally and cheer on our teams! All are invited to participate!
  2. Ladies Mission Bowl. The ladies will be having their Mission Bowl tournament on Saturday, February 12 at UCSD’s Muir Field. There will be a time of worship at the church at 7:30am, and then the teams will head to UCSD at 9:00am. Especially as we are the host church, let’s be sure to come with a welcoming spirit and be examples of Christ’s love.
  3. “Fireproof.” This Sunday, as part of Care Month, we will be having two showings of the movie “Fireproof” at 1:30pm and 6:00pm. In order to serve our families, childcare will be provided for both showings. After each showing a few of our married couples will be sharing about the gospel and its impact on marriage. This is a great opportunity to invite family and friends to come and hear about God’s view of marriage.
  4. Membership Class. We will be having a two-part membership class on Saturday, February 19, from 9:00am-12:00pm, and on Sunday, February 20, from 1:00-4:00pm. Attendance is required for both classes. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Pastor Patrick for an application (pastorpatrick@gmail.com).
  5. College Retreat. The college group will be having their annual retreat from February 25-27 at Pine Valley Bible Camp. Our speaker this year is Pastor Dan Nah of Cornerstone Bible Church, and he will be speaking on the theme of “Scandalous Grace.” The cost to go is only $120. You can sign up with Ryan Short this Sunday in the foyer with a $50 non-refundable deposit!
  6. Single Life Ladies Appreciation Night. The singles will be having their biannual LAN on Saturday, February 19. This year, things will be a bit different as we will be serving an afternoon tea from 2:00-4:00pm at the church. Singles guys who are interested in helping plan this event should communicate with Eugene Park. Single gals who wish to attend should RSVP with Eugene Park (e1park@gmail.com).
  7. Single Life Retreat. The singles will be having their retreat on the weekend of March 18-20, at Pine Valley Bible Camp. Our speaker this year will be Pastor James Lee, who will be addressing the theme of “Dependence.” The cost is only $130 (including a $50 non-refundable deposit). You can sign up with Brian Song!
  8. GraceLife Picnic at the Park. On Saturday, February 26, from 11:00am-1:00pm, we will be having a GraceLife Picnic at the Park (Torrey Hills Community Park). This is an opportunity for families to spend an afternoon together in the sun while the kiddies play! Bring a lunch for your family as well as parky type fun things (e.g. kites, Frisbees, footballs, etc.). Talk to Pastor Patrick if you have any questions.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

  1. Prayer. Don’t forget to come to church a little early on Sunday for a time of corporate prayer in the sanctuary. The sanctuary will be open for prayer at 8:45am, and prayer requests will be projected on the wall. If you are out in the foyer talking with one another, I would encourage you to remind each other of this time and come in to pray for the church.
  2. Sunday School. Don’t forget that this Sunday is the beginning of the new Sunday School term. Fundamentals of the Faith (FOF1) will begin again on chapter 1. The new classes being offered are:

The Peacemaker (Peter Lim, Mike Chon, Stephen Rodgers)
Peacemaking for Families (Patrick Cho; for GraceLife)
Fundamentals of the Faith (Min Kim and Steve Preslar)

PRAYER NEEDS

  1. Please be in prayer for the elders to diligently prepare for teaching, to lead the church well, and to continually walk in uprightness and holiness.
  2. Please pray that the members of the church would walk in the fear of the Lord, not driven by the fear of man. Pray that decisions would be based upon the principles of God’s Word and not on emotions, feelings, or personal beliefs. Pray for an overall sense of godly wisdom for the church.
  3. Please pray for the preparation for summer missions.
  4. Please pray for our engaged and dating couples to maintain their relationships in holiness and purity.
  5. Please continue to pray for Erick Min and Alex Lim who are currently deployed with the military in Afghanistan. Pray for their spiritual wellbeing and that they would shine the light of the gospel while away. Please also pray for their safe return.
  6. Please pray for the events mentioned in the email above that they would bring glory to God. Pray especially for the Mission Bowl tournament that all the churches participating would have godly attitudes and would enjoy the fellowship more than the competition.

LBC Weekly SPARK – January 19, 2011

by Pastor Patrick Cho

To all our dear LBC family and friends!

I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord. Ephesians 4:11-14 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible because it describes what church ministry looks like when everything is happening as it should. Leaders are providing helpful instruction, members are actively involved in service, and the church grows together in unity and doctrinal fortitude. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that church? There is a lot in this passage that deserves attention, but one thing in particular is to see how important it is that each member be a part of the ministry of the church. Each member is to actively invest in others and serve to be a blessing to the other members of the church. Not until this is accomplished does Paul consider the church to grow into maturity and into the fullness of Christ.

There is a lot going on at Lighthouse right now and there are many opportunities for you to invest in others and encourage them in the faith. This really should be a regular part of your life and not just something that happens from time to time. If you are not very involved in the ministry of the church, consider how you might get more involved. Keep in mind that we are not just trying to maintain nice little programs but are seeking to provide opportunities for the church to practice the “one anothers” and grow together in Christ. Ministry is not something that only the “professionals” do. It isn’t only for pastors, missionaries, elders, etc. As each member of the church gets involved in each other’s lives, as we speak truth to one another and encourage each other in the faith, the church will grow in strength. In this sense, the church is not only as strong as its leaders, but really only as strong as its members are committed to one another in this way.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Please read through the following announcements:

  1. Kids’ Club. Kids’ Club meets again this tonight (January 19) at 6:30pm. This is a great time for the kids to have a fun evening together and grow in their understanding of God. All kids from preschool to 5th grade are welcome to participate. The cost is only $30/child for the entire year ($20 for each additional child of the same household). Contact Josh Liu for more information ( liu.joshuac@gmail.com ).
  2. Mommy and Me. Please don’t forget that Mommy and Me meets again this Thursday morning at 9:45am. If you are a mom of a 0-4 year old and would like some time midweek to spend with other moms and kids, join us for this time. Contact Jane Kim to get involved ( janeminkim@gmail.com )! The cost is $25/family for registration.
  3. Single Life Table for Six. Single Life will not be meeting this Friday for Bible study. Instead, we will be having a Table for Six fellowship activity. If you are interested in participating, please sign up with Brian and Beverly Chan by tonight (Wednesday, January 19; bchan1127@gmail.com ; bevs802@gmail.com )! This will be a great opportunity to get to know fellow singles and enjoy an evening together over a meal!
  4. College Life After-Christmas Party. This Friday evening (January 21), both the UCSD and SDSU Campus Fellowships will be meeting at the church for an After-Christmas Party! This is an annual tradition for College Life and is always a wonderful time. Meet at the church at 7:00pm for a time of fun and fellowship. There will be a “white elephant” gift exchange (limit $10), so be sure to bring a wrapped gift to participate! Contact Hansol An for more information ( hansolan@gmail.com ).
  5. Women’s Ministry Car Rally. This Saturday, January 22, the Women’s Ministry will be having its first ever car rally! The event will take place from 9:30am-2:00pm. Sign up with Christine Cho by Thursday afternoon in order to participate ( christinescho@gmail.com ). Also, don’t forget to bring some money for lunch and gas.
  6. Sunday Morning Prayer. Please try to come out to the church at least fifteen minutes before service begins to pray for the needs of the church and for one another. This prayer time takes place in the sanctuary and prayer requests are projected onto the wall. There is also a group that meets for prayer at 8:00am in Room 107. Contact Josh Lee for more information ( joshuaglee@gmail.com ).
  7. Members Meeting. We will be having a members meeting this Sunday, January 23, at 4:45pm, at the church. All members are highly encouraged to attend. As always, dinner will be served.
  8. LBC San Jose Inaugural Weekend. LBCSJ will be having its official inaugural weekend from January 28-30. If you are planning to go up to support the church plant, or if you would like more information about that weekend’s events, please contact Pastor Patrick ( pastorpatrick@gmail.com ).
  9. Flocks. Our various monthly flocks will be meeting again between February 2-5. If you are not part of a flock but would like to be, please contact Pastor Patrick. This is a great way to get to know the church family!
  10. Care Month. If you would like to help out with our February Care Month, whether you are officially part of the Care Ministry or not, please contact Ryan McAdams for more information on how to get involved ( ryan@mcdoulos.net ).

“Best” of Beacon

by Stephen Rodgers

Given that I mentioned it in a previous post, a few people have asked what I meant by the “best of Beacon.” So I’ve decided that for today, I’ll pull back the curtain just a little to give you a glimpse of site statistics and how we use them here at the Beacon.

Site statistics are a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, they can provide valuable insight into your community. On the other hand, they can easily become an idol, and when you find yourself worshiping at the alter of almighty web traffic, you’ve gone too far.  By far, the most popular articles we’ve had are about marriage, former member Tia Han, and photography.  Someday perhaps, we’ll do an article that features taking pictures of Tia getting married, and our servers will simply melt from the traffic.  But it goes without saying that simply doing that so that we can be proud of our numbers would be wrong.  Very wrong.  Note to future editors: don’t do that. Seriously.  No.

So just to be clear, “Best of Beacon” might not be the best title (but given the alliteration, I couldn’t resist). However, for those who are curious, here are some of the top 7 lists of Beacon site stats…

Top 7 Posts

The overwhelming number of our readers seem to land on our home page and poke around to see what’s new.  I’m always a bit surprised how little direct traffic articles get, but considering that we’ve only been driving traffic to particular articles for a little while now, I shouldn’t be.  I am encouraged however, by how many people visit the site.  Once you get past the front page however, these were the most “popular” posts on the Beacon, at least as far as page count is concerned.

  1. Home Page
  2. LBC Ministry Overview
  3. Is Marriage In Your Future?
  4. Life After LBC #2 – Tia Han
  5. Photography Ministry
  6. You’re Not at a Conference
  7. What to Look for in a Church

Top 7 Searches

Did you know that when you search for something on your favorite search engine, then click on a link, the site you go to is able to capture the search term that you used to get there?  Whether you knew that or not, these are the most popular searches that people used to find the Beacon by searching on Google, Yahoo, etc.

I think that quite a few of them were sad that we were a church newsletter, and NOT a company that cleans churches.  And ironically enough, the search for “lighthouse bible church beacon” was a popular one, but not popular enough to make the top seven.

  1. “church cleaning ministry”
  2. “photography ministry”
  3. “knowability of god”
  4. “cleaning ministry”
  5. “pastor john kim”
  6. “thoughts for young men”
  7. “what is a convalescent home”

Top 7 Referrers

And last but not least, these are the top seven referring pages to the Beacon.  A referring page is just a place where your visitors come from.

So we obviously get a lot of traffic from people who are hanging around the church website(s) already.  We seem to get a big chunk from people emailing links to each other, finding older versions of the blogs that were combined into the new Beacon, people reading their RSS feeds, and Facebook.  What’s remarkable is that Facebook is in the #2 spot, and we’ve had our official Facebook presence for only a few months.  However, it was by analyzing the traffic patterns of our top referrers that we determined that creating a Facebook page might be the best way to to reach people with the Gospel.  We didn’t do it to become popular; we did it because we saw a need and an opportunity to tell people about Jesus.

  1. lighthousebc.com
  2. facebook.com
  3. mail.google.com
  4. google.com/reader
  5. shine-the-light.blogspot.com
  6. lighthousebc.com/media/sermonlist
  7. lbcbeacon.wordpress.com

Well, that’s all that we’re going to share for now.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour.  I also hope that perhaps this helped you find an article you missed, reconsider volunteering for a ministry, or encourage you to share the Beacon with someone today.  And just so that I send you away with a big smile on your face, this is the most popular picture that the Beacon has ever linked to.

No, that’s not Photo-shopped.  Yes, that’s exactly what you think it is.  And it’s still one of my all-time favorites as well.

Pro Rege

Recommended Resources

by Stephen Rodgers

Editor’s Note: Just because a source is recommended here does not indicate that every doctrine it professes reflects the beliefs of LBC or it’s leaders (if you are interested, you are welcome to read LBC’s Statement of Faith) or with each other.  Faithful men of God have held positions on secondary and tertiary issues that differ from our own, and we hold them no less Christian for doing so.  God calls Christians to love Him with their mind (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27) and to examine every teaching in light of the totality of Scripture (Acts 17:11).

Pro Rege

Guide to Recommended Resources

  1. Bible-Reading Plans
  2. Blogs
  3. Daily Devotionals
  4. Journals
  5. Preaching
  6. Sermons
  7. Shopping
  8. Software and Study

Bible-Reading Plans

This section is for various Bible-reading plans that you may wish to pursue in order to bring some order and method to your time in the Word.

  • First up is Professor Grant Horner’s Bible-Reading System. This is the plan that Pastor John mentioned during his recent visit.  It it more of a “life plan” than a “year plan.”  The idea is that you read 10 chapters a day, but never the same combination of chapters twice.  This allows you to become very familiar with where things are in Scripture, as well as see relationships between different parts of the Bible.
  • In terms of one-stop shopping for familiarizing yourself with various plans, it’s really hard to beat the collection of ESV plans. They offer 10 different plans in 5 different formats, and there’s even a podcast subscription for those of you who have joined the iCult (just kidding…mostly).
  • If that’s still not enough for you, then I would refer you to any or all of the following articles and posts…
  • The MacArthur Daily Bible is also available for free in a variety of formats.  I’ve used this plan before, and found it to work well.  Each day you have four small readings: One from the OT, one from Psalms, one from Proverbs, and one from the NT.
  • A number of years ago, I was really struggling with my Bible reading (and honestly, had been for several years at that point), and I took it upon myself to develop a plan that was so focused and forgiving (in terms of schedule) that I would have been ashamed to have failed.  It’s a very simple plan: really read one chapter from the NT every weekday, and use the weekends to catch up.  (It has the benefit of being mathematically elegant since 5/7 of 365 is 260, and there are 260 chapters in the NT). It gave me a renewed appreciation for the word, and a much deeper understanding of the NT to boot.
  • I would think that should be enough for most people.  I’ve personally really enjoyed Horner’s plan, although you do need to read his article to really understand his intentions in designing it.  I would encourage you to be familiar with the others and at least read the articles from DG and JT; they both provide some great links to background information and other resources.  And if you’re still raring to go, there are many other options as well.  (Seriously, there are a lot of options). But as Pastor Patrick wrote, the important thing is how you read the Word, not which plan you use.

Blogs

For anyone looking to fill their mind with great Christian content, I’ve compiled a “Top 10” list of blogs that you might want to start with.  Each of these writers (or groups of writers), consistently put out excellent content.  If there’s interest, perhaps we’ll expand this to a “Top 20” list in the future.  For now it’s just a list, but I’ll update this in the future with more information about each person/place.

And just to be safe, I’ve put these in alphabetical order so that no one can accuse me of favoritism.

  • 9Marks – 9Marks is the ministry of Mark Dever and friends.  They regularly post here on issues related to the church.  9Marks also puts out the excellent 9Marks eJournal.
  • Al Mohler – Al Mohler blogs several times a week with a focus on current events and cultural issues. Just reading him is guaranteed to make you smarter!  And if you’re interested, he has a couple of podcasts you might like as well.
  • Desiring God – This is the blog of John Piper and several other folks at his church.
  • Grace to You – This is the blog of John MacArthur and several other folks at his church. (Note: John MacArthur does not actually blog regularly here, but they routinely post excerpts from his books, articles, and sermons.  Occasionally he will pen a specific article as well).
  • Justin Taylor – Justin Taylor is the VP of Editorial at Crossway, and his blog (along with Tim Challies, see below) serves as a content clearinghouse for the Christian web.
  • Kevin DeYoung – Kevin DeYoung is a pastor and author.  4/5 days of the week, he posts though-provoking articles that make me jealous. 1/5 days of the week he posts a video about comedy or basketball.  Nobody’s perfect.
  • Pyromaniacs – Updated daily, this is a team blog by Phil Johnson, Dan Phillips, and Frank Turk. They are some of the most outspoken voices (who can actually support their statements Biblically) on the internet today, and you would do well to give them a read.
  • Russell Moore – Dr. Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He also has a podcast you might enjoy.
  • Sovereign Grace (the CJ blog) – This is the blog of CJ Mahaney and several other folks at his church.
  • Tim Challies – And last but not least, Tim Challies is another great author and blogger who puts out a remarkable amount of high-quality content.

Daily Devotionals

This section is for various daily devotionals that you may wish to use to augment your study and understanding of the Word.

  • DA Carson has an online devotional entitled For the Love of God. For the Love of God is a daily devotional designed to walk a person through the Bible in a year while assisting the reader in discovering the riches of God’s Word. Originally published by Crossway Books (volume 1 in 1998 and volume 2 in 1999), this “blog” is really not a blog at all, but a free digital version of the devotional provided by TGC and Crossway.
  • John MacArthur has a number of online devotionals available, also based on some of his previously published works.  They are available for free, in a variety of formats (I prefer RSS myself):
  • Ray Ortlund has a bit of a mini-devotional blog. Each day, he typically posts a picture, and either a quote or a verse that illustrates a theological truth.
  • Charles Spurgeon wrote some fantastic devotional material as well.  The website for this is a bit strange (in a technical way; in a theological way they are AWESOME), but you can find the daily readings for both Faith’s Checkbook and Morning and Evening here.

Journals

Basically, these are like magazines on the internet. There’s a number of articles, usually centered around a theme, that come out on a scheduled basis. I should warn you that some are far more technical than others, and the length of the articles can vary widely from publication to publication.  But this is a fantastic way to challenge yourself to read wider and deeper at little-to-no cost.

  • 9Marks eJournal – As you know, 9Marks is an organization that mostly revolves around Mark Dever and his folk. Every two months or so, they put out a new collection of articles on a particular topic. Right now the topic is “Deacons,” but previous issues include topics like “Missions,” “Young Pastors,” and others. There’s also an archive where you can browse past issues.  And here on the Beacon, Stephen Rodgers created a topical index of all past issues of it as well, which is an easy way to find what you’re looking for.
  • Acts & Facts – An online journal from ICR dealing with scientific issues pertaining to the doctrine of creation.
  • Bibliotheca Sacra – DTS has published this journal for over 165 years.  Most of the articles require a subscription, but you can find an archive with some sample articles as well.
  • Christ on Campus Initiative – This is another TCG publication, and is relatively new but promising. They don’t have a lot of articles up yet, but some are quite good.  They focus in particular on issues and objections that collegians encounter on campus.
  • Creation Magazine and The Journal of Creation
  • CREDENDAagenda – This is the journal of Douglas Wilson and friends. They have several new articles each week, along with an archive of past printed issues.  Truthfully, the publication of new articles has slowed down significantly, but the archive has some real gems.
  • CredoMag
  • DBTS Journal – I can tell you this: if the books sitting on my shelf are any indication, anything by Doran is going to be excellent.
  • JBC – The Journal of Biblical Counseling has re-launched after a four-year hiatus.  Issues are free for the first month, and are then archived (and retrievable for a fee).
  • JBMW – The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) actually has a Journal on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (JBMW) and you can view past issues for free.  You have to wait 90 days after publication for it to be posted online, but that’s a small price to pay for good material.
  • JETS – What was once the Bulletin of the Evangelical Society has grown into one of the larger theological journals.  Their website also does a great job of letting you view and search for past articles.
  • Kategoria
  • Pulpit Magazine
  • Reformed Faith and Practice
  • RPTS Journal
  • SBTS Journal of Theology – SBTS (“Al Mohler’s Seminary”) has put all their back issues online for free!  Justin Taylor has some recommended articles to get you started. There are some amazing authors there: Carl Henry, Al Mohler, DA Carson, Mark Dever, John Piper, Douglas Moo…the list goes on and on.
  • Tabletalk – Ligonier Ministries is the ministry of RC Sproul and friends, so you’ll see articles from other notable folks like Joel Beeke, Tim Challies, and John MacArthur. For example, April’s edition dealt with the topic of changes in culture and technology. They also have an archive where you can check out past issues. They make a number of articles available for free, but to get access to everything, they’d like you to subscribe for a nominal fee. And here on the Beacon, Stephen Rodgers created a chronological index of several past issues of it as well, which is an easy (or at least easier) way to find what you’re looking for.
  • Themelios Journal – This is a TCG publication, which has been running strong since 1975! DA Carson is the editor, so expect good stuff. It can be a little hard to navigate, but very useful for finding gems. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s the latest issue, a list of some of the highlights, and a sample book review by Kevin DeYoung.
  • TMS Journal – The Master’s Seminary puts a portion of their student/faculty journal online for free.  They also publish an issue on a particular theme per year, so hit the link and see what you can find.  It’s a fantastic resource.
  • WTS Journal – Last but not least, Westminster Theological Seminary also publishes a portion of each issue (usually to articles) online for free.  They encourage you to buy a subscription (or a particular article for a nominal fee), but a good selection of sample articles can be read and downloaded for free.

Preaching

Originally I hadn’t anticipated this section, but I realized that there were a number of good resources out there for preaching that our church could benefit from.  After all, while Pastor Patrick handles the vast majority of Sunday morning sermons (for which we are grateful to him), there are others who step up when the need demands (such as our elders and staff).  So, here are some resources that they might find helpful.

  • Links for Expository Preaching – This isn’t exactly software (mostly it’s PDF files), but I wasn’t sure where else to put it.  Basically, it is a website devoted to providing links to free, online commentaries, notes, and resources.  And it’s broken down in a handy fashion by books of the New Testament.  If you have to preach regularly, or you are studying your way through a book of the Bible, you don’t want to miss this!
  • Preaching Christ in the Old Testament – TGC just recently launched a site dedicated to preaching Christ in OT passages.  They are continuing to add resources and articles even as this post is being written, so if that overlaps with your preaching, it’s a resource you might want to check out.
  • Recommended Commentaries – There are a couple of good lists of commentaries out there, particularly those at bestcommentaries.com and the list that Keith Mathison put together for Ligonier.  Bestcommentaries.com is particularly good, in that it often lets you save money on buying other commentary guides (such as the two excellent ones by Dr. Jim Rosscup).
  • Recommended Reading for Seminary – Here are some links to various recommended reading lists from several seminaries.  In alphabetical order they are: RTS (short list, long list), SBTS (Theology, Culture and Politics, Miscellaneous), TMS, WSCAL, and WTS.
  • Recommended Systematic Theologies – The aforementioned Keith Mathison also put together a list of recommended systematic theologies.  By and large, I also liked the list that C. Michael Patton put together as well.

Sermons

Didn’t get enough of the Gospel on Sunday? Good for you! Listed below are links to a LARGE libraries of available and trustworthy sermons freely available on the internet.

  • Christ Fellowship Baptist Church – And while he doesn’t blog (at least as far as I know), another fantastic place to get some sermons is from Steve Lawson’s church. The man has a distinctive voice and a distinctive style that really make his messages come alive. And he’s one of my favorite expositor’s to boot.
  • Desiring God – John Piper has 30+ years of sermons available here, as well as messages from innumerable conferences. And yes, they are organized, categorized, and have transcripts as well. Honestly, I don’t know what DG feeds their webfolks, but the speed, quality and sheer amount of material that they make available is staggering.
  • Grace to You – Another fabulous resource is what GCC affectionately calls “The Vault.” Here you will find 40 years (!) of sermons by John MacArthur, organized by title, scripture, date…if you can’t find something here to help you, then you’re just not looking hard enough. And the vast majority of the sermons have a transcript as well, so you can read them if you prefer that to listening.  John just recently finished preaching through the entire NT, so you’ll definitely want to drop by.
  • LBC Sermons – Our first stop is the sermon library at our very own church. Ever wish that you could be in two (or more!) Sunday School classes at the same time? Now you can be! As I update this article, there are 695 messages available.  The web team is adding and categorizing more sermons all the time, so if you don’t see something up there, ask Kyle or myself and we’ll try to track it down for you.
  • RefNet.fm – A free 24/7 internet radio station that streams sermons, teaching, music, and news.
  • Sovereign Grace – The folks at SG recently redid their archive, and now you can search by category, speaker, or topic.  You’ll find a number of sermons from Joshua Harris, CJ Mahaney, and notable guest speakers as well.

Shopping

There are a number of good places to get Christian resources from, and a number of them run special deals from time to time.  In my experience, here are some of the better places, along with a few you might not know about.  The short version is that if you’re trying to build your library, you should spend a little time understanding where the deals are.  That’s just a matter of good stewardship.

  • Amazon – Amazon does a good job of having consistently low prices.  They don’t usually have sales with significant markdown, but they’re a good place to start your search to know what a baseline price is.  And they offer free shipping on orders over $25.
  • Christianbook.com – Christianbook.com generally also has prices in line with Amazon or slightly higher, and they don’t give you much of a break on shipping.  However, where they really shine is their twice-a-week discounts (“Midweek Markdowns” are discounts from Tuesday to Thursday; “Fabulous Friday Specials” are discounts from Friday to Monday), their annual catalogs, the “slightly imperfect” section, and the occasional bulk item.  They also heavily discount older editions of books when new editions come out (which is a great way to pick up normally-pricey items like commentaries, at $3-$5 per book).  You can sign up to only receive email notices for their weekly specials as well.  I also like the way they let you run complicated filters to drill down to the products you’re interested in.
  • CVBBS – This is a store that Pastor Patrick likes.  From what I saw, they had some good clearance prices, but some of the other places (Amazon, Christianbook.com, WTS Books) seem to be about the same.  But it’s always good to compare, so I include them here.
  • GBI Store – Again, I hate to say it, but generally I’m not impressed with the prices at GBI.  They do have a sale section however, and I think that they let you pick up books from their bookstore at GCC to avoid shipping (at least they used to; if they still do this, then make friends with one of our seminarians; actually, make friends with them anyways).  Very occasionally they do have a good-to-great deal though, so I’d recommend signing up for their email list.  And on top of that, the once-a-year sale they do in conjunction with the Shepherd’s Conference is amazing (but you have to go onsite to get those prices).
  • Ligonier Store – Overall, I’m not thrilled with the prices at the Ligonier store, with one MAJOR exception.  Every Friday, they do something called $5 Friday where they select a number of resources that are sold for the flat rate of $5.  When they sell out, that’s it.  Depending on what they’re offering and how many copies you want, that can sometimes be a great opportunity, but do remember to watch out for shipping.
  • Scripture Truth Book Company – Again, Pastor Patrick has historically liked this site.  I’ve never used them, so I can’t comment much except to say that from the comparisons I did, you come out ahead at Amazon (it’s just nearly impossible for a smaller company to compete with the free shipping that Amazon offers).  But I’ve seen the occasional great deal there as well, so I include them here for you.
  • WTS Books – The Westminster bookstore normally has books around the same price as Amazon, although their shipping offers are not as beneficial for the consumer.  However, they do have current specials that occasionally are fantastic, a clearance section that is pretty good as well, and they have an “imperfect books” section where they sell discounted copies of books that have minor damage.  (I’ve been quite pleased with the imperfect books I’ve bought from them; generally the wear and tear was somewhere between minor and insignificant).

Software and Study

While there is a variety of Christian software available, I chose to highlight the following resources on the basis of my own personal experience with them, or on the strong recommendation of trusted friends, pastors, and/or colleagues.

  • Amazon.com – You’d be surprised how often that “look inside” feature comes in handy.
  • Biblegateway.com – I’m sure you’re probably already aware of this resource, but this is a handy website for grabbing multiple translations of verses quickly.  What you might not know is that they also have more robust search options for passage lookups, keyword searches, and even a topical index.  They are also the online home to the IVP commentaries, which is one of the few modern series available for free online. There’s some other tricks that you can do with the site, but that should get you started for now.
  • Biblestudytools.com
  • Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) – CCEL is basically an online library of a bunch of old Christian books.  That might not sound terribly interesting, but think about it…this means you can have the writings of Athanasius, Augustine, Calvin’s Commentaries, etc…all at your fingertips.  It can take a little bit of practice to get used to their web design, but once you figure it out, it’s a powerful tool to have in your arsenal.
  • CSNTM
  • e-Sword – My personal favorite Bible-study software, e-sword makes the ESV Bible freely available. Other study guides such as commentaries, dictionaries, devotionals, and other translations of the Bible are available as well. Some require a small fee, but many are freely available. For ease of use, price, and value, I honestly believe this is the best software out there.  (Please note, not everyone agrees with me.  e-Sword has made some fantastic improvements lately, but in terms of having digital library support, it falls behind both Bibleworks and Logos, which are generally considered more serious resources…with a more serious price tag. Still, I think that most Christians would benefit from using this software…especially compared with not using any).
  • Faithlife Study Bible – I’m still evaluating this, but it’s worth mentioning.  I believe you can still sign up for free.
  • Google Books and Google Scholar
  • Kindle – No, I don’t mean the hardware.  The Kindle software (which is free) enables the reading of ebooks, and is available on an absolute slew of platforms (PC, Mac, phones, etc.).  Once you have the ability to read ebooks, you might be surprised how many are also free (although you have to hunt around a bit to find them).  Typically, anything that is in the public domain can often be found for free, so if you’re more interested in content than fancy formatting, this can be a great deal!  I’ve compiled a short list to get you started:
  • Libronix/Logos – If you have an ESV Bible, then you have qualified to download the ESV demo version of Libronix. It comes with the full ESV text, several other resources, and it is quite common for new resources to be made freely available (you’ll receive email notifications after you’ve registered). For example, a while back they gave away John MacArthur’s Study Guide to the book of Romans. It’s a bit more complicated to use than e-Sword, but it does give you access to material that e-Sword doesn’t. And since it’s free…why not have both?
  • Mongergism.com
  • The NET Bible – The NET Bible is a fascinating project.  Essentially it is a translation with all of the associated translation notes exposed to the public, and made available to the public for free.  They’ve upgraded their website several times recently, which means you have your choice of the web version, the classic learning environment, or the new learning environment.  I’m old-fashioned, so I prefer the classic version, but play around with them and figure out what works best for you. The parent site (Bible.org) also hosts a variety of articles that are worthy of your attention as well.
  • Online Commentaries – I would caution against only using older commentaries, but they’re a great place to start.
  • Online Seminary Classes – There are a number of places you can find these; iTunesU is an obvious resources (with great courses from places like WTS, RTS, Dallas, Biola, etc.) In fact, RTS puts their entire correspondance curriculum online! The Theological Resource Center is another winner.
  • Post-Reformation Digital Library
  • STEP Bible
  • The SWORD Project – The SWORD Project in many ways is similar to e-Sword (my understanding is that e-Sword is actually an offshoot of the project).  I include them here for several reasons: they are free, they are committed to providing their materials in multiple platforms, and they have certain resources that e-Sword is missing (for example, they have four Czech translations of the Bible, whereas e-Sword only has one (CBK), and it’s not a modern translation).  The packaging of the program isn’t quite as slick as e-Sword, but once you get used to it, it’s still very powerful.  In my opinion, this is one of the most-overlooked resources out there, and that’s unfortunate.

Merry Christmas from LBC!

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear family and friends of Lighthouse,

Merry Christmas! We hope your day is full of joy and that you have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus with those closest to you. Praise God for the precious gift of a Savior. Because of His amazing grace, we can know Him and be made right with Him by our faith in Christ’s work on the cross. It is this salvation offered by God that is our only true hope in this world. So take some time to read and be grateful the account of the coming of the King. This excerpt is from Luke 2:4-14:

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

May the Lord God bless you and your family and friends this Christmas as we all hope in Christ our Savior!

Let us also take some time to remember the men and women in the military who are overseas fighting for the freedoms we enjoy. Especially as they are part of our church family and aren’t able to spend Christmas at home, please pray for Erick Min and Alex Lim that God would encourage their hearts and keep them strong this Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

LBC Weekly SPARK – December 23, 2010

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Hello LBC church family!

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday and spend it remembering Christ our Savior! This is a wonderful time of year when we can particularly appreciate the grace of God in sending a Savior.

I wanted to send a quick email with some reminders for the upcoming weeks.

  1. Potluck with Pastor John. Don’t forget that Pastor John and his family (and perhaps some others from the San Jose church plant team) will be here in San Diego this weekend! We are planning an informal get together on Sunday, December 26 at 5:30pm at the church. This will be a potluck dinner, so be sure to email Pastor Patrick and let him know you are coming. He will assign you something for the potluck. This will also be a great opportunity to hear more about what’s going on in San Jose.
  2. New Year’s Eve Fellowship. On Friday, December 31, we will be having a New Year’s Eve fellowship at the church. The event begins at 5:30pm with a potluck dinner. Please sign up with Jonathan Yang if you would like to come (jonathan.mynameis@gmail.com)! There will be activities for the kids as well as fun games for adults, so come out and count down to the New Year together!
  3. Midweek Fellowships and Sunday School. Please keep in mind that all midweek fellowship groups will be taking a break until after the New Year. This includes Kids’ Club, Mommy and Me, Youth Group, College Life, and Single Life. We will also be taking a break with Sunday School until January 9. As always, nursery care will still be available during Sunday service.
  4. Prayer. Please pray for Thomas Fong and Karen Ngai as they get married on January 1, 2011! Please also pray for John Yang and Melody Yu who were recently engaged to be married! Congratulations to both couples!

That’s about it for now. Everything else you need to know will be in the Sunday bulletin.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick