Weekly Links (9/9/2011)

There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God, and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God’s favor to them in life, through death and on for ever. (J. I. Packer, Knowing God)

by Richard Shin

Editor’s Note: In order to give me more time to work on BOB, Richard Shin has kindly agreed to shoulder some of the load of the Weekly Links articles.  Just so you know, we don’t read the same set of blogs, (although if you’re looking, I know some good ones), so this is a chance to discover some material that might otherwise not have come up.  So thank Richard when you see him, and I hope you enjoy!

 

  • It seems we’re making a habit of linking the Cripplegate. Well, that’s not a problem as long as the articles are worthy. And this one on the mission of the church is worthy.
  • On that note, Parchment and Pen has a great article on compassion for the lost that goes really well with the one linked above.
  • This one’s kind of old and long, but I would be robbing you if I didn’t at least make you aware of it. John Piper interviews John Knight on having a disabled 16 year-old son in part 1, part 2, and part 3. And here are the transcripts.
  • Paul Tripp shares his thoughts on the most transformational word in Scripture: grace.
  • One of my favorite blogs to follow is Ray Ortlund’s. As long as you see me linking articles on the Beacon, it’ll be rare for me to not link at least one article of his. In case you’re unfamiliar, that’s a quote from a demon to a fellow demon in C.S. Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters.
  • Lastly, I leave you with a video. Justin Taylor reshares an older clip of Ask Pastor John (Piper) on self-promotion and influence that hopefully leads you to promote Jesus in your life.

Small Groups (Single Life Update)

by Daniel Yee

In the past year, God has blessed the Lighthouse family tremendously with new visitors from all walks of life, many of whom have gone on to commit to membership, and I am certain that the church will continue to experience even more growth in the coming months. While it’s exciting to see so many newcomers, one can easily be lost among the sea of people. Even when Single Life meets for our smaller, more intimate Bible study, getting to know one another better can still be an arduous task. It can be tempting to just slip out quietly without anyone noticing and even when one does muster up the courage to say “hi,” the conversation doesn’t always seem to amount to much more than a moment of awkwardness.

This is where small groups can help. Should one desire to know others better in the body, small group is a fantastic way to start. After all, small groups are… small. For those fearful of crowds like I am, it makes speaking up a little easier. Everyone has the chance to share and be heard. People are not just another face anymore. We get to know more than just a name, job title/description, and hometown. As a result, we begin to build friendships with one another.

However, there is so much more to small groups. Yes, meeting together with a more intimate group of brothers or sisters allows us a better chance of getting acquainted, but more than that, we have a grand opportunity to carry out the multitude of “one another” commands found in Scripture. We get to serve one another (Gal. 5:13), teach and admonish one another (Col. 3:16), encourage and build up one another (I Thess. 5:11); just to name a few. Those last two mentioned in I Thessalonians 5, in particular, have been of great value to me and something I look forward to every week as I meet with several other like-minded brothers.

There is so much I can say about small group, but in short, it has been a challenging time for me. I’m challenged to consider how I have spent my time the previous week. I’m challenged to think through the sermons I have heard and how I might actively apply them in my life. I’m challenged to speak up even when I don’t feel comfortable. I’m challenged to listen to different perspectives and learn from others. I’m challenged to be humble when I am wrong. I’m challenged to keep up my disciplines for the sake of godliness. I’m challenged to be confronted with my sins and repent. I’m challenged to pray for others and ask them to pray for me. I’m challenged to love these other guys, whom for the most part I didn’t know very well before our small group and even now, I’m still learning more about them. I have been encouraged and built up by all of these challenges and I know it’s something that I would not have experienced if I were not involved in a small group.

One more thing I might add is that throughout this past year, I am reminded I cannot run this race of faith single-handedly. At Lighthouse, we’re told there is no such thing as a “lone ranger” Christian, and it is so true. I love the imagery found in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 because it illustrates why Christians should not be alone. So many times I’ve fallen down and I wonder to myself, “How am I still standing?” There is no doubt God has used this group of brothers to come along side me, lift me back up, and urge me to keep going. The trials keep rising, but I am comforted to know God has provided fellow believers so I don’t face them in isolation. By joining a small group, my social life might just have improved a little. But more importantly, I know there are people I can count on to share God’s truth with me as we continue to run together as part of the same body.

BOB – Introduction

by Stephen Rodgers

My father has a story he tells from time to time about something that happened when he was a Sunday School teacher.  He was doing “sword drills” for a group of 2nd or 3rd graders (for anyone who doesn’t know the term, those are basically games where kids compete to see who can look up verses the fastest).  The kids were doing pretty well, and just to see what would happen, he asked them to look up “2 Hezekiah 3:15.”

There is no such book as 2 Hezekiah.

The first thing that went wrong was that the kids kept looking for the non-existent book. He kept dropping hints that they should check the table of contents, and a few of them did just that.

The second thing that went wrong was that one child leapt to his feet, called out in an excited voice that he “had it,” and proceeded to read…something…aloud.  The other children were disappointed that he “found” the verse before they did; my father was disappointed for an entirely different reason.

Martin Luther once wrote that “it is a sin and shame not to know our own book or to understand the speech and words of our God.” I’m afraid that the sin and shame that Luther observed in his time has only grown more prevalent in ours.

For the next 70-80 weeks, we’re going to have a new series here on the Beacon.  The working title for it is “BOB”…Books of the Bible.  We’re going to go over the meta-narrative of Scripture, the various genres that comprise the Scriptures, and each book of the Bible in some detail.  In particular we’ll discuss things like authorship, chronological context, historical/theological themes, background and setting, literary features, summaries, and anything else that comes up. I’m hoping we’ll even have time for some tangential issues like the Canonicity of the Bible and the Apocrypha.

These articles won’t be exhaustive; if you really want to dig into one or more books of the Bible you’re going to need to go well beyond what we’ll cover in this series.  But it’s a start.

I hope that you will stay tuned, keep reading, and that this series will give you a renewed love, understanding, and appreciation for God’s word.

The Glorious Gospel (Part 3)

by Kevin DeYoung

Editor’s Note: Given his recent sermon on understanding the place of the doctrine of Hell in light of the Gospel, Pastor Patrick was gearing up to write an article to that effect.  However, he was quite pleased to discover that Pastor Kevin DeYoung (whom I am provably fond of, as he occupies a place on our Top 10 Recommended Blogs) had already written one, and done a fantastic job.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, he’d like to present it to you here.

To Hell with Hell

Lighthouse Kids’ Club (Update)

by Josh Liu

Since LKC has been taking a break for the summer, it’s allowed a blessed time of reflection and planning. I have been incredibly encouraged and challenged while leading this ministry.

Looking back on 2010-2011…

From a ministry coordinator’s perspective, I was immensely challenged in how to minister to children, to parents, and to my staff.

Being the youngest child of three boys in my family, single with no children, and minimal experience with children, I was surprised – to say the least – when asked to serve in the Children’s Ministry as LKC’s ministry coordinator. I was humbled that the leaders of the church would trust me with such a seemingly (and true) high calling of ministering to the next generation. Beyond learning how to prepare for a message and to teach it, I had to learn how to do so for children, many of who have yet to learn how to read. I was challenged to begin thinking like a parent – which is much more complicated than how it sounds. I wrestled with how to serve and encourage the parents of the children. I struggled to learn how to take care of and lead my staff.

Yet God continues to be mightily good. The staff, parents, and even the children have all been so gracious and patient. I was blessed by the general knowledge and conduct of the children. I was humbled by the seeds already planted by their parents. And I was incredibly encouraged to see the staff ministering to and sharing the gospel with the children.

It was an awesome time of challenge, encouragement, and study of the attributes of God.

Looking ahead toward 2011-2012…

I intend to take all that I was challenged by and lessons that I learned from with me to the next year. I am very excited for the new term, and the changes that I plan to make. I am blessed and humbled to continue serving alongside some returning staff. And I am honored with another opportunity to partner with parents in the discipleship of their children.

This year’s theme centers on peacemaking, taken from The Young Peacemaker. We will walk the children through understanding conflict, and how to respond to conflict in a God-honoring manner. The gospel continues to be central. Our vertical offense against and reconciliation with God confronts our horizontal conflicts with each other.

While we are not aiming for mere behavior modification, confronting these behaviors and actions grant opportunities to confronting heart issues of conflict. Imagine for a moment that you have an open wound that refuses to heal. You go see a doctor who takes a quick look at you and concludes that you just need a good band-aid. In reality, you have a flesh-eating infection that will continue to spread unless properly treated. Similarly, actions, words, and thoughts are manifestations of the true problem, rather than the source. If the source is not treated, there is no hope for true change. From Scripture, we know that the source of our problems, our sin, is the heart (Mark 7:20-23). In fact, this is our condition: we have an ill heart, bent against God (Jeremiah 17:9-10). More than that, we are spiritually dead beings who refuse to worship God, yet God acts and saves sinners (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 5:8). God grants those who repent from their sins and believe in Christ a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). This new heart evidences true believers, true citizens of the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:8). Only then can we live a life that pleases God. Mere good and obedient behavior does not save us; solely Christ’s death and resurrection makes us right and pleasing before God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:4-11).

So then, in our endeavor to make disciples of Christ, to serve the parents in discipling their children in the way of the Lord, we plan to confront the heart through peacemaking this coming year.

Without the Shedding of Blood is No Remission

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Hebrews 9:22

This is the voice of unalterable truth. In none of the Jewish ceremonies were sins, even typically, removed without blood-shedding. In no case, by no means can sin be pardoned without atonement. It is clear, then, that there is no hope for me out of Christ; for there is no other blood-shedding which is worth a thought as an atonement for sin. Am I, then, believing in Him? Is the blood of His atonement truly applied to my soul? All men are on a level as to their need of Him. If we be never so moral, generous, amiable, or patriotic, the rule will not be altered to make an exception for us. Sin will yield to nothing less potent than the blood of Him whom God hath set forth as a propitiation. What a blessing that there is the one way of pardon! Why should we seek another?

Persons of merely formal religion cannot understand how we can rejoice that all our sins are forgiven us for Christ’s sake. Their works, and prayers, and ceremonies, give them very poor comfort; and well may they be uneasy, for they are neglecting the one great salvation, and endeavouring to get remission without blood. My soul, sit down, and behold the justice of God as bound to punish sin; see that punishment all executed upon thy Lord Jesus, and fall down in humble joy, and kiss the dear feet of Him whose blood has made atonement for thee. It is in vain when conscience is aroused to fly to feelings and evidences for comfort: this is a habit which we learned in the Egypt of our legal bondage. The only restorative for a guilty conscience is a sight of Jesus suffering on the cross. ‘The blood is the life thereof,’ says the Levitical law, and let us rest assured that it is the life of faith and joy and every other holy grace.

‘Oh! how sweet to view the flowing
Of my Saviour’s precious blood;
With divine assurance knowing
He has made my peace with God.’

2.2a

Weekly Links (9/2/2011)

Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live for ever, and this must be either true or false. Now there are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going to live only seventy years, but which I had better bother about very seriously if I am going to live for ever. (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity)

by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome back!  It’s Friday, and that means I’ve got a collection of links and quotes (technically just “quote) for you.  So sit back, relax, and let’s catch up on what happened this week on the internet…

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you today.  Don’t forget we’ve got the time of fellowship with the Lippas/Mellwigs tonight at 6:30pm.  Bring “California food” and we’ll see you there!

Pro Rege

College Life Update

by Hansol An

Why We Do It

As a ministry of LBC, College Life inherently has the same Mission as the rest of the church: to make disciples of Christ. No matter what other goals or objectives a campus ministry has, nothing else should take precedence over that. Fellowship with other collegians, having fun, and even accumulating Biblical knowledge fall short of the most important thing a campus ministry does: foster the true spiritual growth of each member. Even small groups are offered primarily to provide accountability and guidance which aid spiritual maturity, not as an exclusive club for good times. Does that mean we can’t have fun? Of course not. I think College Life has the most fun of all the affinity groups! But when it gets down to it, what it really needs to accomplish over a fast-paced school year, is spiritual growth.

All the reports (from the small group leaders) would seem to indicate that the ministry seems to have been successful. Of course this is not to say that every individual that came in contact with College Life became the next Jonathan Edwards. But the majority of the students have shown growth, evident through their lives. AW Pink once said that “Growth is silent and at the time imperceptible to our senses, though later it is evident.” Basically, it’s difficult to quantify, but the way a person talk, acts, and makes decisions over time is the fruit that gives evidence of a person’s growth and faith. Even through casual interaction I could see that many of the College Lifers were showing maturity in May that they didn’t have in September.

This is why we do it. This is why the staff works tirelessly to invest our time, energy and resources into those we have been called to lead. Not to deter any potential staffers in the future, but Peter Lim described it well – it’s a sprint for nine months! But at the end of the year, when it’s time to take an account of what was accomplished, we look to growth as our unperceivable measuring stick; not attendance or fun activities or anything else.

We can’t see it but we can see it. And when we see it, it’s all worth it. Quote me on that.

Changes This Year

For those of you who actually read this, you get a sneak peek at some changes for this year. First, we will be meeting at church on Fridays nights at 7pm. This will allow us to have more flexibility, activities, food and a full praise band. If we want to hangout after bible study, play ping pong and eat, we can. Also we got us a shuttle! Well it’s not just for College Life but still…

Gray Issues Part 5 – Standards, not Legalism

by Elder Peter Lim

If you’ve read Parts 1 – 4 (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4) of this series, you hopefully understand my heart behind this subject…that it’s not a simply a matter of trying to define where lines ought to be drawn. I think we can move on to another aspect of this subject that may help us to understand how things fit together.

First, some definitions from dictionary.com:

Legalism

  • strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit.
  • in Theology: 1) the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works, 2) the judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws.

Standards

  • those morals, ethics, habits, etc., established by authority, custom, or an individual as acceptable.

Legalism is generally considered to be a bad thing and should be avoided since it produces arrogance and heartless adherence to behaviors. Jesus Himself condemned legalistic behavior, especially in His chastisement of the Pharisees. Paul treats this topic in detail in his letter to the Romans in chapter 2. It would be helpful to read this chapter carefully before continuing here. Judging others sounds bad (Rom. 2:1, Matt. 7:1) but judgment itself is not necessary bad (Rom. 2:2, 1 Cor. 11:13). It is good when it is determined using God’s standards rather than man’s. This is also known as “discernment” or “righteous judgment” and is indispensible for people, Christian or not. Bad judgment is known as being “judgmental” and should be avoided because it disregards God’s righteous judgment.

Standards, on the other hand, are generally good. Jesus Himself sets standards, such as in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5). More germane to our discussion, the writer of Hebrews commands us to obey our leaders (Heb. 13:17). What are we to obey? Don’t we already know that we are to obey what the Bible has to say? In context, this passage is talking about the subjective moral, ethical, habitual conduct established by the leaders of the church (Heb. 13:7). These are standards. Of course the leaders are not to establish strange teachings as though they are on equal footing with God’s Word (Heb. 13:9). The congregation is to pray for their leaders to be accountable to God not to overextend their authority (Heb. 13:18).

Let’s summarize some thoughts that we have so far:

  1. It is the responsibility of every Christian to please God in all respects.
  2. It is the responsibility of the elders of the local church to set the example for the rest of the church.
  3. It is the responsibility of the members to obey their leaders.
  4. The pastor-teacher must be faithful to preach what he believes is the correct interpretation/application of Scripture.
  5. What the pastor teaches may not necessarily be completely agreeable to all Christians, even the other elders, since people are different.
  6. Leaders must be careful not to lord over the sheep under their oversight.

If anyone in the congregation feels that the leaders are being unreasonably restrictive to their Christian liberties, they should voluntarily leave peacefully and not cause divisions nor grumble nor complain. It would be displeasing to God for them to remain within the congregation and subvert the authority of the leaders of the church that God has established. This is especially true with respect to gray issues. Although we have the same Word of God, each church and each individual will have their own set of standards. I do personally and I know you do too. But most people don’t think about the fact that there are standards which are set by the leaders of the church. These can be frustrating to people who don’t understand that biblically, the leaders have the authority and the responsibility to do this. Furthermore, these standards are often vague and unwritten. These factors combined cause some of the interesting dynamics which exist at every church. Typically, leaders try to set some sort of standard of behavior because they are trying their best to follow God with their lifestyles while trying to deal with the differences among themselves. The rest of the congregation either don’t care what the church’s standards are since they’re busy trying not to violate the clear sins as explicitly prohibited by the Bible, or they try to follow their favorite leader, all the while being careful not to be legalistic.

As an Elder here at Lighthouse Bible Church, I understand that I must not be legalistic in how I live nor in how I judge others in the lifestyles they choose unless it’s sin. However, it is my responsibility to be the best example that I can be in order to help them to grow. Because sin is so hideous to God, I must voluntarily stay away from both sin and the appearance of sin. I must seek to be above reproach even in areas that I believe are not necessarily sin, if it may cause others to stumble. In the end, we all try to do our best to please God with every aspect of our lives and devote ourselves to the furtherance of the gospel because ultimately that’s what we’re here for: to live for God and to spread the gospel of the saving grace of God.

Thy Love to Me Was Wonderful

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From 2 Samuel 1:26

Come, dear readers, let each one of us speak for himself of the wonderful love, not of Jonathan, but of Jesus. We will not relate what we have been told, but the things which we have tasted and handled-of the love of Christ. Thy love to me, O Jesus, was wonderful when I was a stranger wandering far from Thee, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Thy love restrained me from committing the sin which is unto death, and withheld me from self-destruction. Thy love held back the axe when Justice said, ‘Cut it down! why cumbereth it the ground?’ Thy love drew me into the wilderness, stripped me there, and made me feel the guilt of my sin, and the burden of mine iniquity. Thy love spake thus comfortably to me when, I was sore dismayed-‘Come unto Me, and I will give thee rest.’

Oh, how matchless Thy love when, in a moment, Thou didst wash my sins away, and make my polluted soul, which was crimson with the blood of my nativity, and black with the grime of my transgressions, to be white as the driven snow, and pure as the finest wool. How Thou didst commend Thy love when Thou didst whisper in my ears, ‘I am thine and thou art Mine.’ Kind were those accents when Thou saidst, ‘The Father Himself loveth you.’ And sweet the moments, passing sweet, when Thou declaredst to me ‘the love of the Spirit.’ Never shall my soul forget those chambers of fellowship where Thou has unveiled Thyself to me. Had Moses his cleft in the rock, where he saw the train, the back parts of his God? We, too, have had our clefts in the rock, where we have seen the full splendours of the Godhead in the person of Christ. Did David remember the tracks of the wild goat, the land of Jordan and the Hermonites? We, too, can remember spots to memory dear, equal to these in blessedness. Precious Lord Jesus, give us a fresh draught of Thy wondrous love to begin the month with. Amen.

2.1p