Beginning to Sink…

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Matthew 14:30

Sinking times are praying times with the Lord’s servants. Peter neglected prayer at starting upon his venturous journey, but when he began to sink his danger made him a suppliant, and his cry though late was not too late. In our hours of bodily pain and mental anguish, we find ourselves as naturally driven to prayer as the wreck is driven upon the shore by the waves. The fox hies to its hole for protection; the bird flies to the wood for shelter; and even so the tried believer hastens to the mercy seat for safety. Heaven’s great harbour of refuge is All-prayer; thousands of weather-beaten vessels have found a haven there, and the moment a storm comes on, it is wise for us to make for it with all sail.

Short prayers are long enough. There were but three words in the petition which Peter gasped out, but they were sufficient for his purpose. Not length but strength is desirable. A sense of need is a mighty teacher of brevity. If our prayers had less of the tail feathers of pride and more wing they would be all the better. Verbiage is to devotion as chaff to the wheat. Precious things lie in small compass, and all that is real prayer in many a long address might have been uttered in a petition as short as that of Peter.

Our extremities are the Lord’s opportunities. Immediately a keen sense of danger forces an anxious cry from us the ear of Jesus hears, and with Him ear and heart go together, and the hand does not long linger. At the last moment we appeal to our Master, but His swift hand makes up for our delays by instant and effectual action. Are we nearly engulfed by the boisterous waters of affliction? Let us then lift up our souls unto our Saviour, and we may rest assured that He will not suffer us to perish. When we can do nothing Jesus can do all things; let us enlist His powerful aid upon our side, and all will be well.

1.14p

Weekly Links (10/29/2010)

by Stephen Rodgers

It was kind of a bad week for rounding up articles, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I found ONE article that I wanted to share with you and discuss a little bit.  Over at the Practical Shepherding blog, Brian Croft explained the concept of a membership prayer guide.  I’d encourage you to go check out the article and then swing back here for the discussion.

Alright, you’re back.  Now, slow week notwithstanding, I think this is probably a more important topic than anything else I would have dug up anyhow.  You see, with the new website that Kyle and Crew have implemented, we can actually do this.  We have a members section, and a member’s roster.  Now I’ll be honest, it’s a bit of a hard habit to form, and my memory is so poor that instead of evenly dividing up the church members, I’ve found it easier to just equate letters of the alphabet with days of the month (1=A, 2=B, 3=C, etc.).  But even though that might not be the most balanced way to do it, it’s something.

Maybe you’re already a prayer warrior of the first order and you’re doing this already.  God bless you.  But if you’re like me, and you needed a little nudge and a little help to get this going…well, here’s your chance.  Now, it might be a good idea to review a few things about prayer before you rush off, but God knows that we probably don’t pray enough.  And as part of that, we probably don’t pray for each other enough.  Scripture speaks of prayer in the context of the “one another” commands, which means that it is supposed to be happening in the context of the local church.  Once upon a time this wouldn’t have mattered much to me, but these days, having fellow believers pray for me is a powerful argument for why membership is important.  (And yes, there are others as well).

Anyhow, that’s all I had to say.  I realize that this may not have been what you expected when you clicked over today, but I hope that you’ll consider the merit of it.  And regardless of your process, your procedure, and/or your system, I sincerely hope that you make time to daily pray for your brothers and sisters in the church.

ps. And if you haven’t gotten your photo taken for the membership roster yet, I hope that you do so soon, because until then quite a few of my prayers start with “Well, LORD, you know who this person is…”

Pro Rege

LBC Weekly SPARK – October 28, 2010

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Hello dear LBC family and friends,

I hope you are doing well and walking in the Lord. It’s been several weeks since I last sent an email out, so I apologize for that. As the holiday season approaches, we are entering a time of the year when many friends and family who do not typically go to church might be open to the idea. It really is a wonderful chance to invite them to come and hear God’s Word preached. Even still, this is a mindset that we should keep all year. Instead of waiting for special events and activities, we should always look for opportunities to share the gospel with others and help them come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Every week, there are multiple opportunities to at least invite friends to events at church. Not only do we have our regular Sunday service, but we also have our Friday night Bible studies, monthly flocks, etc. Take some time to consider Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 9:23, “I do all things for the sake of the gospel….” Let’s really seek to live up to our name and serve as a bright shining beacon here in San Diego to our family, friends, coworkers, and roommates.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are the announcements for this week:

  1. Flocks. Don’t forget that this is flocks week, so our regularly scheduled mid-week activities will be put on hold. Flocks information can be found at our church website http://lighthousebc.com/welcome/flocks/. You can also download the flocks worksheet from the website.
  2. Fall Festival. This Sunday is our annual Fall Festival! It will be at the church from 5:00-10:00pm. We will be offering a variety of food, games, and activities, so come out and invite your friends! Adults are $5 and kids are free! Be sure to bring a decorated pumpkin for our pumpkin carving competition (carve it and then bring it). We will also have a mini-pumpkin competition for the kids (draw on it and then bring it). Costumes are encouraged, but please keep them appropriate and non-scary. See you all there!
  3. All-Church Retreat. This Sunday is the last day to sign up for the All-Church Retreat!!! Be sure to see Ryan Short and Jonathan Yang in the foyer to reserve your spot. The retreat will be on November 5-7 at Pine Valley Bible Camp. Our speaker is Jonathan Leeman, who will be addressing the theme of “True Love.” The cost is $150/adult, $140/ for college and youth, and $75/child. Different financial aid options are available, so please do not let money be the reason you do not go. If you have paid the deposit to reserve your spot, please pay your remaining balance this Sunday with the registrars.
  4. Membership Class. We will be having our next two-part membership class on Saturday, November 13, from 9:00am-12:00pm, and Sunday, November 14, from 1:00-4:00pm. Both classes are necessary for attendance. If you are interested in becoming a member, please see Pastor Patrick for an application.
  5. Thanksgiving Potluck/Vision Quest. This year’s Thanksgiving Potluck will serve as a Vision Quest event for the church. The dinner will be on Sunday, November 21, at 5:30pm, at the church. We’ll have a chance to reflect on the year and to learn more about the Mission of LBC. More details to come!
  6. Christmas Concert. The Christmas Concert will be on Saturday, December 11, at 6:00pm, at the church. This is a great opportunity to invite your family and friends to come listen to good music and hear the message of the gospel. If you are interested in performing in this year’s concert, please contact Eugene Park.
  7. Engagement. Congratulations to Garrett Glende and Wury Kim on their engagement! I know they are up in San Jose now, but we’re still thinking of them and want to support them in their engagement.
  8. New Babies. Congratulations to several of our families who recently delivered a baby! Let’s be praying for our growing families:

Hansol and Angella An – Marcus Nolan (8/12)
Randy and Elaine Sarmiento – Charlotte Rose (8/27)
Min and Jane Kim – Charles Andrew (8/30)
Brian and Beverly Chan – Solomon Brian (9/16)
Eugene and Sallie Yang – Matthew Ryan (10/10)
J. R. and Kathy Cuevas – Jayden Christopher (10/14; San Jose)

Single Life Car Rally 2010

by Abram Kim

“It’ll pretty much be the funnest thing you’ve ever done.”  (Pastor Patrick)

“What is a car rally? Well, it’s where we get into cars and rally together!” (Lillian To)

October 9, 2010 was a historic day in Lighthouse Singles Ministry history. That day witnessed the craziness that is the car rally for the first time in the Singles Ministry. Pastor Patrick had planned car rallies for College Life in the past, and those have become things of legend. Now it had finally come to Single Life!

Almost 40 guys and gals from the Singles ministry spent the morning and afternoon scouring the depths of San Diego to figure out clues and take silly pictures. You see, the car rally is a photo scavenger hunt that takes you to different locations in San Diego. Pastor Patrick and Randy Tsuchiyama planned the event to take the participants to four well-known locations throughout San Diego with a variety required and optional tasks at each location. The tasks involved finding unique and iconic items or places at each site and having your group take a picture there, as well as doing something silly as well.

The car rally participants gathered at church at 10am. During Bible Study the night before, each of the ten teams were given a costume theme, and Saturday morning showcased some creative outfits for themes ranging from “backwards” and “Hawaiian” to “80s” and “Hollywood.”  And of course, who could forget the “superheroes?”

At the start of the car rally, each car received a large envelope that contained four smaller envelopes with clues to the four locations, which turned out to be Old Town, Balboa Park, Horton Plaza, and Seaport Village. We were allowed to use any resource we could think of to solve the clues and find the places where we needed to take pictures. We also had to have lunch together at a sit-down restaurant and answer three questions designed to share more about yourself with the rest of your team. Pastor Patrick admitted that the car rally was designed so that we wouldn’t be able to finish in the time allotted, and most of the cars did not get to all four locations.

Regardless of each team’s result, the four hours spent together by those in the same car were certainly time well spent with one another. Obviously there was the time in the car and during lunch when we had the opportunity to get to know each other better. But the car rally also provided unique opportunities to reveal random facts people knew, to see how people deal with pressure and competition, and to work together as a team.

All the photos (and even video) taken during the car rally from all 10 cars were compiled and made into a slideshow to view once all the teams got back to church around 2pm. The video of E. Park’s team dancing at Balboa Park was particularly funny! (I tried finding it on YouTube but no luck yet.) Points have been tallied and the winners were announced last Friday during Bible study. Regardless of the fact that only one team won, everyone had a memorable and enjoyable time!

Pastor Patrick already has already begun to plan the next two car rallies, so stay tuned and be sure to sign up when the opportunity presents itself!

In short:

  • Gasoline for driving all around San Diego: $15
  • Lunch at a local San Diego restaurant: $10
  • Fellowship with 2-3 of your new best friends at church for 4 hours: Priceless

Living Theology #43 – The Power of the Church

by Garrett Glende

It appears that God has decided that we need to learn more about the subject of church discipline, seeing as Patrick has begun a short series on the issue and that the current chapter of Grudem’s Systematic Theology addresses the topic as well. As Patrick stated previously – and I wholeheartedly recommend that you read his article – the idea of church discipline is not one that we like to talk about much as Christians. For most people, the thought that a church would end fellowship with a person seems unloving and archaic. But the Bible has not become irrelevant for our culture and there are very few practices of the church that are any more loving than church discipline. Because there is such strong Scriptural support for the power of the church in this matter we cannot simply ignore it, but there must be a commitment to fully understanding the issue and then practicing it faithfully.

The discussion begins under the broader topic of the power of the church. When we think of the different things that the church has the authority to do, certainly the power to preach the gospel comes to mind, for Christ has indeed commissioned His church to do so. However, what kind of authority does the church assume within its own walls (for our purposes, the following discussion is generally geared toward the local church as opposed to the universal church)? The main passages concerning this issue come from Matthew chapters 16 and 18. In chapter 16 we see that Jesus affirms Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (verse 16). He says that this is the truth upon which His church will be built and proceeds to promise to give him “the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (verse 19). Grudem writes that the keys imply “authority to open a door and give entrance to a place or realm [and also] the authority to exercise discipline within the church.” The idea that the power of the keys carries over into church discipline can be seen in the passage in Matthew 18:15-20, where Jesus also speaks of “binding” and “loosing.” The main point of this passage is clearly about confronting sin within the church, so there is a clear link between the authority of the church, its possession of the keys, and its ability to bind and loose. Essentially, Jesus is telling them that the actions of the church will represent a spiritual reality, in that whatever is bound or loosed on earth shall have been bound or loosed in heaven. So the church is not “unsaving” a person, but rather echoing an already true and ongoing spiritual process.

As Patrick mentioned in the previous article, the goal of church discipline is not the promotion of some sort of exclusive group, but rather it is love that comes from a desire to maintain the purity of Christ’s church. If the motivation of the church is not to restore their brother to a right relationship with God, then the church has lost its proper focus. The passage regarding church discipline in Matthew 18 comes immediately after Jesus’ discussion of the love of God in seeking after the single stray sheep. He tells them, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” This is a clear portrait of the love that the Father has for each of His children. He truly desires that each of them maintain a right relationship with Him and He has given the local church the authority to deal with sin for this purpose. As always, the goal is to “gain your brother.”

Of course, we are not to shout a man’s sin from the rooftops the moment we hear of it. Jesus gives three different stages in this process. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matt. 18:15-17). There is clearly a gradual increase in the scope of the disclosure of sin within the church seen here, so we must be careful that we don’t reveal more than necessary when dealing with these types of situations.

Assuming Pastor Patrick will touch on the various applications of church discipline in his next article, I want to look a little more closely at the idea of church discipline as a testimony to the world. As Patrick mentioned in his article, the degree to which the church deals seriously with sin will illustrate the holiness of God to our unbelieving neighbors. The world absolutely loves to see the hypocrisy within the church when its leaders are publically shamed for their transgressions. Every time this happens, it gives them another reason to believe that God doesn’t really transform people’s lives with the gospel. So when we go out and preach the good news that there is freedom from our slavery to sin, our words lack power due to inconsistent testimonies. This also happens when we tolerate the sin around us in our daily lives outside of church. At work and at school we see sin abound almost unbridled, it seems. But as Christians, we have a choice to make: we can join in, ignore it, or speak up against it. Obviously we know that we should not join in, but I think our silence often times conveys acceptance. When we act like sin doesn’t bother us, the world will believe that we approve of it. This is not to say that we should go around condemning everyone in an unloving way, but I do think there are appropriate times where we can confront someone, whether it be at our workplaces or on our campuses. Of course this needs to be done gently and with humility. If practiced correctly, this hatred of sin will be evident to the unbelievers around us and they will be able to see the theology behind it. God will not tolerate sin in His church and I pray that we all can adopt the same attitude in our own lives.

The Reasons for Church Discipline

by Pastor Patrick Cho

I can understand why so many people would object to and cringe at the idea of church discipline. At first glance, it seems so mean, and besides, isn’t “excommunication” a Catholic thing? Churches in antiquity might have disciplined its members, but we would prefer to love people today. It is this last point that stumbles most people when they hear that we practice church discipline at Lighthouse: “How can LBC be a loving church if it disciplines its members?”

In this article and the next, I want to discuss both the reasons for church discipline and the practice of it. While it is easy to formulate a personal opinion on church discipline, as with any other issue, the believer must be careful to consider what the Bible has to say before coming to firm conclusions. It is important to consider whether or not church discipline is something the church should be practicing, and how to practice it if it is indeed biblical.

The Bible offers at least five reasons why church discipline is something a church should not only practice, but also embrace! They can be summed up with the words: 1) Obedience, 2) Worship, 3) Holiness, 4) Testimony, and 5) Love.

  1. OBEDIENCE – The most obvious reason why church discipline should be practiced is because it is commanded in Scripture. Not only did Jesus instruct His followers about how to deal with a brother that falls into sin (Matt. 18:15-17), but the Apostles also followed this instruction and removed members from fellowship (1 Cor. 5:1-2; 2 Thess. 3:6-15; Eph. 5:7). As with any other biblical mandate, we bring glory to God in our adherence to the truth.
  2. WORSHIP – The Bible tells us that the church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:24-33). As such, the church should not be stained with sin. Church discipline is worship because it upholds the holiness of Christ and vindicates His righteousness. Paul teaches that as members of the church we are also members of Christ, and as such, we should not join Christ with sin (1 Cor. 6:15-17). Christians are to be holy as the Lord is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16). Treating Christ as holy by walking in holiness ourselves is worship unto the Lord.
  3. PROTECTION – Church discipline also maintains the purity of the church and protects it from sin. If the church allowed sin to continue amongst its members without consequence, it would only encourage more and more sin. Paul speaks of the “leaven” of sin in 1 Corinthians 5. Leaven in Scripture is an analogy for influence. Just as a little leaven leavens the entire lump of dough, so a little sin left alone can eventually permeate the entire church. The practice of church discipline keeps members from falling into sin because the dismissed member serves as an example to the body (1 Tim. 5:20). Besides all this, but the Bible indicates that if a church tolerates sin, Christ will stand against it just as He did with Pergamum and Thyatira (Rev. 2:12-29). Certainly a church would not want to be opposed to Christ and so should deal with sinful members to protect against His judgment.
  4. TESTIMONY – Another reason for church discipline is that the world is watching. It is sad when we hear of high profile Christian leaders falling into sexual sin and disqualifying themselves from ministry. Such sin makes the gospel seem powerless. If the people in the church act just like those in the world, how would the world view the faith? Paul rebuked the Corinthians for tolerating a sin that was not even tolerated by unbelievers (1 Cor. 5:1)! By living in holiness, and treating sin seriously, believers serve as a powerful testimony for the gospel (1 Pet. 2:12).
  5. LOVE – It is interesting that in most passages dealing with church discipline, the goal is to serve the one being disciplined. Even in one of the sterner passages, Paul says he practiced church discipline so that Hymenaeus and Alexander would “learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:19-20). In 1 Corinthians 5, with the incestuous man at Corinth, Paul says that by removing him from fellowship it might result in the salvation of his spirit (1 Cor. 5:5). This is really the goal of Matthew 18:15-17 as well. The hope is that by confronting someone who has fallen into sin, they would listen and be restored (cf. Gal. 6:1). All this supports the truth that church discipline is really a loving practice. For the person who falls into deliberate, continual, unrepentant sin, it is the most loving thing you could do. It is completely unloving to treat someone who is in sin as though nothing is wrong. It is unloving to allow them to continue in sin and to let their lives be an offense to God. By confronting their sin and helping them come to repentance, you serve them and show them faithful love.

What growing Christian would not want to be associated with the words Obedience, Worship, Protection, Testimony, and Love? Biblically, this is what church discipline is all about. It comes down to doing ministry God’s way and trusting that He knows better than we do. Essentially, when we say we disagree with the practice of church discipline, we are saying that we think we know better than Christ. Christ is the one who is committed to building His church (Matt. 16:18). We should trust that in the instructions He gave, He left us with the best way possible to accomplish this.

Many people say that they commit to Lighthouse because they want to be held accountable in their Christian walk. I’m so happy to hear this because all believers should desire this accountability provided by the church. Stated plainly, a church that does not practice discipline falls short in its provision of accountability for its members. This is why I tell young Christians that when choosing a church, one of the things they should look for is to see if it practices church discipline. This is one of the true signs that a church loves its members and seeks the healthy growth of the body.

Book Review: Every Thought Captive

Book Review by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Book by Richard L. Pratt, Jr.

I always had a passing interest in all things apologetics, from all the evidences that could prove the existence of God to the logical arguments put forward to conclude that Christianity is the only truth. I was enamored with whatever book I could get my hands on that dealt with how to refute evolution, and prove the Mormons had it wrong. My high school days were filled with staying up reading the latest evidences that science discovered that, without a shadow of a doubt, annihilated any opposition concerning whether the universe had a beginning. My favorite book at the time was Peter Kreeft’s Handbook of Christian Apologetics, and I ate that book up.

Much has changed since then. Sure, I still love the area of apologetics, but now I’ve realized the mass of uncertainty in the methods I was uncritically accepting at the cost of biblical truth. Among many influences, Greg Bahnsen and James White introduced in my life presuppositional apologetics, what I’m convinced is the biblical method of engaging the non-Christian. Gone are the days where I have to keep an eye out for new discoveries in science and philosophical arguments to persuade those within my circle of friends who do not believe that they have no reason left to argue for their position. I wasn’t expecting some of them to reject God out of apathy, ignorance, or even hatred of God because of Christians. The issue became one of living a life consistent with the Gospel, and acknowledging sin when I fail to honor Christ, the same Christ I am supposed to point them to.

Upon joining youth staff, my heart went out for all the young adults in our group who have a young faith, and yet are very impressionable to the teaching they receive at our church. They’re learning many things throughout their days at school, and always with a perspective that tells them they are getting just the facts, and nothing else. No religious bias, no preconceived philosophies…or so they say. How I longed to be taught the truth about each of our commitments to independence apart from the God who made everything we study. I sought for books in the presuppositional apologetic category that would be helpful and clear for the youth to understand.

It was in the providence of God that once mentioned that a class on apologetics would be taught at our church, I was made aware of Richard Pratt’s work, Every Thought Captive. As its subtitle says, it is a training manual, specifically designed to help train Christians how to do apologetics. The amazing thing about it is that Pratt wrote it for high school students! 14 lessons (chapters) that cover broadly the method of trusting completely in the Bible as the source and foundation of our approach in engaging with the unbeliever. Pratt’s goal in this book is summed up in 2 Corinthians 10:5, which states, “We are (a) destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are (b) taking every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ.” What he expresses in the chapters that follow demonstrate that

Non-Christians are in need of salvation from the presence and consequences of sin and rebellion against God. This salvation comes only through whole-hearted belief in and commitment to Christ. When such commitment is made, the thinking of the one who was once an enemy of God becomes submitted to the “obedience of Christ.” (p. ix)

What I found refreshing in this book was to place the emphasis of Scripture in determining our approach to defending the Christian faith, and the importance of knowing our faith in Christ robustly. Each chapter builds on what comes before, so that there is a progressive flow of thought forces you to think deeply of the worldview that the Bible lays out. Pratt first deals with the fatal flaw in most Christians’ view of Scripture in relation to how they do apologetics: using human wisdom and reasoning to establish the Bible as the Word of God and not having the Word of God as the foundation for your reasoning and wisdom. To place reason as the foundation of your confrontations with unbelievers is to place reason at a more fundamental level than Scripture itself, which is a foreign concept that Scripture never agrees with. It’s a disregard of what Peter writes in the oft-quoted 1 Peter 3:15, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (emphasis mine). If Christ is not Lord over your thoughts, you cannot say you’re obeying this command if you regard His Word as a result of your reasoning, and not the starting point.

The structure of the book goes from establishing a biblical worldview of how man relates to God and the world, from the beginning of time to after the fall, and even after death. Pratt understands that the world never gets this, nor teaches this, so there must be groundwork laid in our renewed minds, even of our own history, that we may have the right framework with which we call sinners to faith and repentance in Christ. He goes into a systematic theology of the creation of the world, the types of revelation God has given, the fall and curse of man, the redemption of man by Christ, and the glorified man in heaven. What Pratt establishes inescapably is that God is independent, and we are all dependent on Him for knowledge, life, and morality. A Christian recognizes this, and submits to God in all matters of thought and practice:

The character of man redeemed by Christ is basic to an understanding of biblical apologetics. The work of Christ on the cross and in His resurrection has renewed to true knowledge and righteousness those who believe in Him. Though sin is still present, the one who is redeemed by Christ can depend on God for knowledge and morality. (p. 42)

What follows is a contrast between the non-Christian and Christian point of view. This isn’t a listing of where the Christian and non-Christian stands on issues like abortion, social justice, homosexuality, or economics. The issue focuses more on where one stands in relation to God primarily. The Christian claims to be dependent on God. The non-Christian claims independence from God in their denial of His existence:

Commitment to independence is so fundamental to non-Christian philosophy that no matter how much the unbeliever may claim otherwise, every reason he may give to support his commitment is actually resting on it. (p. 46, author’s emphasis)

The Christian is in a better position to lay claim to knowledge that doesn’t appeal to himself, since he is dependent on another:

As with non-Christian philosophy, there is circularity also in Christian philosophy. Yet, one important difference remains: the notion of human dependence does not depend on itself for ultimate support. It rests on the solid ground of God and His revelation. (p. 54)

What all this leads to next is a life that is consistent with what the Christian claims reaches true knowledge and make correct moral decisions. It is dependence on God for everything you think, say, and do. This will affect your attitudes and actions (chapter 8) and also your defense (as opposed to what is popular in Christian apologetics today; chapter 9). Chapter 10 is given to explaining what a biblical method looks like in practice, appealing to Proverbs 26:4-5 for a hands-on approach that will keep your discussions from straying off-topic and keeping the tension of independence and its utter futility of finding certain at the forefront. Chapters 11-13 then give helpful summaries of various issues that the Christian will most likely have to deal with under that rubric, and give a start in building a biblical apologetic that will give honor to Christ and bring all willing to listen to the Gospel of grace. The book ends with a parable that gives a fleshly example to what Pratt has been talking about all along.

The most helpful element of this book are the drawings he has that puts heady concepts into easy-to-understand categories. It’s with his method of apologetics and ease of use that makes this book a must-read for any Christian who is seeking to grow not only in defending the faith, but also in growing in faith. You are confronted with the sovereign God who demands nothing less than complete dependence on Him not only in thought, but in word and deed, all to bring Him glory and praise. May we never seek to defend Christianity without introducing them to the one who makes that word meaningful: Jesus Christ, Creator, sustainer, and redeemer. To do less is to defend a lower god.

Editor’s Note: This is also the book that was used recently in one of the adult Sunday-school classes here at LBC.  The lectures can be found in the media section of the LBC website, and the study guide is available for the asking from Stephen Rodgers.

Mighty To Save

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Isaiah 63:1

By the words ‘to save’ we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parvo: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only ‘mighty to save’ those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him.

Nay, this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by ‘the Mighty God.’ The bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep His people holy after He has made them so, and to preserve them in his fear and love until he consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ’s might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to shift for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory.

Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is ‘mighty to save.’ You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength. Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for His strength is sufficient for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is ‘mighty to save;’ the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you. What a thousand mercies that you have not found Him mighty to destroy!

1.14a

Editor’s Note: “Multum in parvo” is Latin for “much in little.”

Weekly Links (10/22/2010)

by Stephen Rodgers

Well, it’s Friday again, and that means that I’m back with another round of links for you.  I’m still catching up from a rather unfortunate Google Reader implosion, but never fear, I’ve got your fix:

Well, that’s all I have right now.  I’ll see you again next Friday with another set, and hopefully I’ll see you at the Lord’s house on the Lord’s day before then.

Pro Rege

College Life

by Hansol An

God has seen fit to bring about many changes at Lighthouse Bible Church in 2010, the most notable being the San Jose church plant. That one stone caused ripples that have effected every ministry at the church and to no small degree, College Life. Since its inception in 2001, Pastor Patrick Cho stoutly led this college-centric ministry from a handful of students to a thriving presence on the campus of UCSD and a ministry plant, of sorts, at SDSU this past year. Now with Pastor Patrick becoming the Senior Pastor of LBC and taking on various other ministry responsibilities, for the first time since it’s inception, he would not be leading College Life. In addition there have been many changes to the rest of the staff as well. Some have left to be a part of the church plant while others were called to new ministry opportunities. The composition of the staff this fall is very different from graduation day only a few months ago.

When I was asked to help lead College Life, post-Pastor Patrick, along with Johnny Kim and Peter Lim, I had my concerns; many of which related directly to the staff. What member of LBC would step up and fill staff needs? Was there anyone willing or qualified that wasn’t already serving in other affinity groups? Who was going to preach every week!? As the summer went on God started to answer these questions. Several people would soon express interest in joining staff. Other were identified and “recruited.” Eventually Sam Chong, Terence Kim, Richard Shin, Alice Ting, Emily Kuo, Sarah Hu, Grace H. Lee, Jonathon Yang, Deborah Wong, Mike Hasegawa, Jen Hasegawa, and Michael Chung would all be affirmed as new staff members. They now join the 10 returning staffers to form what is the largest College Life Staff ever.

Each staff member brings their unique experiences, gifts and talents to serve the collegians, but more importantly they bring a passion for God and His people. As a staff they all understand how formative this life stage can be, having experienced it themselves. For most people the convictions they form in college lasts the rest of their lives.

As the school years begins God has once again shown his abiding faithfulness. The staff is working hard to prepare for messages and opportunities to fellowship. The teaching responsibilities will be shared among the men on staff. Every week a different staffer will rotate through a schedule that begins with the Parable of the Soils, continues on through the book of James and intersperses lessons on various other religions/cults throughout the year. The goals for the teaching schedule are to make sure they collegians know the true Gospel, respond to the Gospel and live out the Gospel.

With all that has changed, somethings will not. Many traditions will live on, many familiar events will continue and, God willing, the life of LBC collegians will be impacted by this ministry and the Word of God.