Interview with Keilah (Youth)

By Grace Wu

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

How long have you been in youth ministry?

For about a year.

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

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

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

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

What do you enjoy most about Youth Group?

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

How have the small group times helped you?

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

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

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

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

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

Are you nervous about starting middle school?

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

What do you like to do for fun?

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

Do you have a favorite subject in school?

I like language arts and writing.

Caution: Humility – Bumpy Road Ahead (Part 2)

by Elder Mike Chon

There are many ways to decrease pride and cultivate humility in our lives. I want to highlight a few that may help in cultivating humility. Of course this is a lifelong pursuit since pride is something that we will have to continue to battle until God calls us home.

1) Love one another (Matt. 22:39; Phil. 2:3-4)

Loving someone else first means that you love yourself at least second. Find ways to encourage others by using your words, writing a letter, praying for them, and/or meeting their needs. If you know of a particular need someone has, use your time and resources to meet those needs. When we begin looking for others to love and take care of, the less time and energy we will use to think about our own wants and desires that we think we deserve. We will usually find ourselves in situations that are not convenient to our schedules or lives when we put others before ourselves, love is not about convenience. What better way to cultivate humility than to trust and love our Sovereign God and at the same time loving others.

2) Confess sins to each other (James 5:16)

Our sins bring us back to the cross of Jesus Christ. It is a great reminder of our frailty and propensity to fail. To be able to confess those failures to each other requires us to humble ourselves and be willing to admit to someone else our weaknesses. One of the signs of a prideful heart is the unwillingness to admit to any wrongdoing. Confessing our sins to each other will help our hearts from becoming prideful as well not allowing us to become familiar with sin.

3) Evangelize

Evangelism is helpful in cultivating humility by keeping us totally and completely dependent upon our Lord. When we share the gospel with someone we realize that it is the work of God that helps the person understand and accept what they hear. We are also dependent upon our Lord in what we say and helping us answer questions that those we are evangelizing to may have. If you want to cultivate humility by being completely dependent on our Lord, go evangelize.

4) Follow Christ, not others (Luke 9:23)

Following Christ means death to ourselves. We are called to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Him. When we start to follow man or someone in particular, we lower that calling to a person. We begin to compare ourselves to others and our lives begin to look better than they really are. Following Christ humbles us because it causes us to deny our desires, our dreams, our goals and replaces them with Christ’s.

The pursuit of humility is not something that comes easily, but hopefully as believers we see the reason why it is so important that we never grow weary in pursuing humility in our lives. May we continue to decrease so that Christ would increase in our lives.

The Dove Came in to Him in the Evening

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Genesis 8:11

Blessed be the Lord for another day of mercy, even though I am now weary with its toils. Unto the preserver of men lift I my song of gratitude. The dove found no rest out of the ark, and therefore returned to it; and my soul has learned yet more fully than ever, this day, that there is no satisfaction to be found in earthly things-God alone can give rest to my spirit. As to my business, my possessions, my family, my attainments, these are all well enough in their way, but they cannot fulfil the desires of my immortal nature. ‘Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.’

It was at the still hour, when the gates of the day were closing, that with weary wing the dove came back to the master: O Lord, enable me this evening thus to return to Jesus. She could not endure to spend a night hovering over the restless waste, not can I bear to be even for another hour away from Jesus, the rest of my heart, the home of my spirit. She did not merely alight upon the roof of the ark, she ‘came in to him;’ even so would my longing spirit look into the secret of the Lord, pierce to the interior of truth, enter into that which is within the veil, and reach to my Beloved in very deed. To Jesus must I come: short of the nearest and dearest intercourse with Him my panting spirit cannot stay. Blessed Lord Jesus, be with me, reveal Thyself, and abide with me all night, so that when I awake I may be still with thee. I note that the dove brought in her mouth an olive branch plucked off, the memorial of the past day, and a prophecy of the future. Have I no pleasing record to bring home? No pledge and earnest of lovingkindness yet to come? Yes, my Lord, I present Thee my grateful acknowledgments for tender mercies which have been new every morning and fresh every evening; and now, I pray Thee, put forth Thy hand and take Thy dove into Thy bosom.

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Weekly Links (6/17/2011)

[When Paton declared his intention to take the gospel to the New Hebrides islands] a Mr. Dickson exploded, “The cannibals! You will be eaten by cannibals!” The memory of Williams and Harris on Erromanga was only 19 years old. But to this Paton responded:

Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer. (HT: John Piper)

 

by Stephen Rodgers

Since we’re running out of time before they leave town, I thought this would be an appropriate time to take a quick break and do a missions-themed Weekly Links.

First of all, if you’re looking for a broad overview of word missions, then there are a few sites you should be aware of:

And of course, if you’re looking for a small treasure-trove of missions-related materials, you could do far worse than check out what John Piper and DG have made available.

Meanwhile, here’s a few articles to help you be missions-minded whether you are going, sending, or sent:

See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

LBC Nursery

by Becky Areekul

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

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

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

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

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

Peacemaker – Hub Post

by Stephen Rodgers

This is the hub post for Cesar Vigil-Ruiz’s series on The Peacemaker. From this page, you can easily find and refer to all posts in this series.

All posts in the Peacemaker series:

And while each article contains links to study notes, the sermon itself, and related materials, for those of you just looking to download/stream the audio can find the sermon series here.

Peacemaker: Conclusion

by Stephen Rodgers

Since our series on the Peacemaker has come to an end, I wanted to briefly cap it off with some links to related resources.  For those of you who found this series helpful, this would be a great jumping off point to dive deeper into the subject matter.

  • Obviously, there’s the series here on the Beacon. Cesar did a great job summarizing and outlining the chapters for everyone, and he took the series on short notice.  Make sure you give him a high-five the next time you see him.
  • On top of that, there’s the audio of the messages that were taught in the second-hour Sunday School, as well as the Peacemaking for Families messages that the Grace Life group went through.
  • Peacemaker Ministries also maintains a website where they make available some of the more fundamental sections of the book. You can find everything from the “Four G’s” to the “Seven A’s” in there.
  • For those seeking a broader view, they also have a section of key articles which have been published since the book, and focus on specific areas.
  • And if you still want more, they also maintain a blog which is updated several times a week.

In conclusion, I would also point out that the Peacemaker falls under the general category of what is known as “Biblical Counseling,” and if you’re seeking more material on that subject, either the CCEF blog or the BCC blog would be great places to start.

Thanks again for reading.

The Happiest Place on Earth?

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Being at Disneyland this past week, I am reminded of the irony that this is called the “Happiest Place on Earth.” I had the opportunity to people watch a little bit as Eden napped in her stroller, and quite a few very unhappy people walked by consistently. One after the next, I was witness to angry mothers, exasperated fathers, complaining children, and crying babies. I could imagine some of these parents yelling at their children, “You’d better have a good attitude! We’re at Disneyland for crying out loud!”

It was a good reminder of a sermon I once heard by C. J. Mahaney that church is actually the happiest place on earth. C. J., I wholeheartedly concur (because it certainly isn’t Disneyland!). Church is the place where you can find Spirit-filled people who are committed to each other in love. Everything isn’t about simply looking after yourself. This is why the attitudes at Disneyland are so disappointing. It’s a park full of people who do not have a biblical, God-centered, redeemed view of love.

1 John 4:7-8 states that “love is of God” and “God is love.” Without the grace of God to redeem our minds to think His thoughts after Him, we cannot understand this. The natural man simply doesn’t get it. Love is defined by God because God is the definition and source of love. This is why if a person has not trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior, having received the Spirit of God, he cannot truly grasp what love is. An unbeliever can have a partial understanding of love but not a full one, because the fullest sense of love can only be achieved, comprehended, and practiced in God.

It is no wonder there is so little genuine happiness at a theme park. When you are thinking of yourself, the “fun” is not really worth the long lines, hot weather, expensive food, and crowds of people. It is easy to bicker, complain, and whine. But when in Christ you are considering others more important than yourself, it’s ok to wait in a long line, bear the heat, and pay expensive prices to make sure those who are with you are having a great time.

There is no better place on earth to be than the church in order to see this demonstration of God-pleasing, selfless love. Yes, at times we lose sight of our responsibility to love others this way, but by God’s grace the church gets to display the love of Christ for the world to see.

I still enjoy spending the day at Disneyland, but not because it’s the happiest place on earth. I like the corn dogs and turkey legs. But as enjoyable as Disneyland might be, let’s not lose sight of the fullness of joy we have in Christ. Let’s not forget our call to love one another with the love of God. If we strive for this by God’s grace and through His strength and enablement, we will always rightfully lay claim to the title “Happiest Place on Earth.”

The Things Which Are Not Seen

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From 2 Corinthians 4:18

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith. Looking into the future we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which standeth the celestial city; he seeth himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with Him, and made to sit together with Him on His throne, even as He has overcome and has sat down with the Father on His throne. The thought of this future may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth. Hush, hush, my doubts! death is but a narrow stream, and thou shalt soon have forded it. Time, how short-eternity, how long! Death, how brief-immortality, how endless! Methinks I even now eat of Eshcol’s clusters, and sip of the well which is within the gate. The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there.

‘When the world my heart is rending
With its heaviest storm of care,
My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,
Find a refuge from despair.
Faith’s bright vision shall sustain me
Till life’s pilgrimage is past;
Fears may vex and troubles pain me,
I shall reach my home at last.’

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