@LBC (2/25/2015)

by David Zhang

Sermons

The Everlasting King by Patrick Cho (2 Samuel 7:1-17)

  • This past Sunday Patrick introduces the Davidic covenant. Find out more about this unconditional promise God has made with David regarding the lineage of the Messiah!

Way of the Shepherd by Roger Alcaraz (John 10:7-15)

  • College life bible study is doing a series on the gospel of John. This week Roger focuses on the provisions for salvation.

Special Feature

This past Sunday a couple of LBC’ers got baptized. Praise the Lord for their declaration of faith! Here is a link to a hub of resources talking about the theology behind baptism.

…Stood A Lamb As It Had Been Slain

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Revelation 5:6

Why should our exalted Lord appear in His wounds in glory? The wounds of Jesus are His glories, His jewels, His sacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is passing fair because He is ‘white and ruddy’ white with innocence, and ruddy with His own blood. We see Him as the lily of matchless purity, and as the rose crimsoned with His own gore. Christ is lovely upon Olivet and Tabor, and by the sea, but oh! there never was such a matchless Christ as He that did hang upon the cross. There we beheld all His beauties in perfection, all His attributes developed, all His love drawn out, all His character expressed.

Beloved, the wounds of Jesus are far more fair in our eyes than all the splendour and pomp of kings. The thorny crown is more than an imperial diadem. It is true that He bears not now the sceptre of reed, but there was a glory in it that never flashed from sceptre of gold. Jesus wears the appearance of a slain Lamb as His court dress in which He wooed our souls, and redeemed them by His complete atonement. Nor are these only the ornaments of Christ: they are the trophies of His love and of His victory. He has divided the spoil with the strong. He has redeemed for Himself a great multitude whom no man can number, and these scars are the memorials of the fight. Ah! if Christ thus loves to retain the thought of His sufferings for His people, how precious should his wounds be to us!

‘Behold how every wound of His
A precious balm distils,
Which heals the scars that sin had made,
And cures all mortal ills.

‘Those wounds are mouths that preach His grace;
The ensigns of His love;
The seals of our expected bliss
In paradise above.’

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LBC Weekly SPARK – February 20, 2015

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear Lighthouse family and friends!

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

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

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some opportunities for ministry for you to consider:

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

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

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

Weekly Links (2/20/2015)

[T]he Bible’s account of origins (along with its other accounts) must be true. Only the God described in the Bible can provide the foundation for the things we take for granted. Without God’s Word, we would not have a good reason to believe in the preconditions of intelligibility: the basic reliability of memory and senses, laws of logic, uniformity of nature, morality, personal dignity and freedom… (Jason Lisle, The Ultimate Proof of Creation)

Feliz Friday! I hope your week has been a blessing and a joy! To help with that, here are this week’s links!

  • Sometimes we need to look at believers who have been faithful in their callings as singles to see our need to be faithful, and have a ‘tangible’ picture of how that applies to our lives. One example is Pastor Voddie Baucham’s daughter, Jasmine Baucham Holmes.
  • In light of the recent killing of 21 Christians by ISIS, one helpful perspective with respect to Islam has been pastor and apologist, James White. Here is his article giving a Christian response, followed up with thoughts on his podcast.
  • Doug Wilson is at his best in responding to atheist actor Stephen Fry, who recently ranted about what he would say to God if He existed. This is a perfect example of Wilson’s summary of the tenets of atheism: 1. God doesn’t exist. 2. I hate Him.
  • If you’ve ever considered cross-cultural/overseas missions at some point in your life, you probably struggled with deciding whether to learn the community’s native language or not. If you’re unsure which way to go, it may be best to consider whether language learning will glorify God or not. I think what is shared in those posts applies to learning languages in general, not strictly for travelling as a missionary.
  • GirlTalk has some great articles focusing on turning to God when dealing with broken relationships with other believers, biblical attitudes to express during that time, and practical aspects of forgiveness. You do not want to miss out on these great posts.
  • The Master’s College had their Truth and Life Conference last month, and the audio has just been made available. The theme was on “Practicing the Biblical ‘One Anothers.’” If you haven’t studied those passages before, or are in need of biblical teaching on how to relate to those in the church, consider this a jump start to growth.
  • The Grace to You blog has been posting a number of articles related to inerrancy and the controversy surrounding creationism. Here’s their most commented to date: “Evangelical Syncretism: The Genesis Crisis.“
  • In this week’s PeaceMeal, attention is drawn to the temptation to want to win the conflict rather than preserve the relationship. Wise words to heed.
  • If you were tasked with coming up with clues for faithful, biblical preaching, what would you come up with? Well, The Cripplegate already has a list of marks of faithful preaching. Guess you have your work cut out for you.

That’s all for this week! Make sure to prepare for this Sunday’s service to our Lord, and also celebrate the joy of baptism with our brothers and sisters!

Soli Deo Gloria

Marriage Check Up: Session 4

by Ivan and Nancy Cheng

Marriage is not just a covenant relationship between a man and a woman, but actually two families coming together. In Grace Life, we recently covered the chapter “God’s Blueprint for Marriage” from Preparing for Marriage God’s Way by Wayne Mack. An important concept to consider is how your individual family backgrounds would affect your marriage. It would be valuable to discuss the similarities and differences between your families, personality features of your mothers and fathers, family values, views about responsibilities and roles of the husband/father and wife/mother, and the impact your family background has on you positively and negatively. Even In-law relationships can affect how two independent lives merge into a one-flesh relationship.

We read two narratives from the Bible to discern what characteristics make a good in-law relationship.

  • Exodus 18 describes Moses’ relationship with his father-in-law, Jethro. Moses displayed respect and affection for his father-in-law, he guarded himself against pride, and communicated in a loving, affirming way. When Jethro saw Moses struggle with judging Israel, Jethro gave Moses some advice that he graciously accepted and put into practice.
  • In the book of Ruth, we see another model of a good in-law relationship. Naomi showed love and concern for others in her time of affliction. By her life, she inspired her daughter-in-law, Ruth, to serve God also. In Ruth’s life, we see she is recognized for her noble character and exemplified faithfulness, loyalty, and compassion towards Naomi.

Having a healthy relationship with the in-laws can bring tremendous harmony to your marriage. Consider some practical ways of expressing appreciation for in-laws and indicating the type of relationship you want to have with them. Most importantly, express gratitude and respect towards your father, mother, and in-laws while expecting that the future will bring new and enjoyable aspects to your relationship.

@LBC (2/18/2015)

by David Zhang

Sermons

The Intimate Incredible Blessedness of Our Adoption in Christ by James Lee (Romans 8:14-23)

  • This Sunday we had a special speaker pastor James Lee. Listen in on his journey with God which helps to illustrate the beauty of our adoption in Christ!

Forgive As God Forgave You by Joseph Ho

  • Single life bible study continues the peacemaker series by Ken Sande with the 4th G  “go and be reconciled”. Check out this sermon to understand what exactly is true forgiveness.

Special Feature

Forgiveness is easy to receive but hard to give. Check out this article by Roger Alcaraz on the mindset we should have when in conflict.

We Are More Than Conquerors Through Him That Loved Us

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Romans 8:37

We go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul thus rebukes us, ‘O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?’ Take your sins to Christ’s cross, for the old man can only be crucified there: we are crucified with Him. The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear which pierced the side of Jesus.

To give an illustration-you want to overcome an angry temper, how do you go to work? It is very possible you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted Him to save me. I must kill my angry temper in the same way? It is the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it, and say to Jesus, ‘Lord, I trust Thee to deliver me from it.’ This is the only way to give it a death-blow. Are you covetous? Do you feel the world entangle you? You may struggle against this evil so long as you please, but if it be your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any way but by the blood of Jesus. Take it to Christ. Tell Him, ‘Lord, I have trusted Thee, and Thy name is Jesus, for Thou dost save Thy people from their sins; Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!’ Ordinances are nothing without Christ as a means of mortification. Your prayers, and your repentances, and your tears-the whole of them put together-are worth nothing apart from Him. ‘None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good;’ or helpless saints either. You must be conquerors through Him who hath loved you, if conquerors at all. Our laurels must grow among His olives in Gethsemane.

4.23a

Weekly Links (2/13/2015)

Ultimately, pride is a worship issue . We cannot think about ourselves less unless we think about something else more. The rivers of self-forgetfulness flow down from the Godward heights of worship. He is the only God (1 Tim. 1: 17) and the only Sovereign (1 Tim. 6: 15). No one can outlast God in foolish opposition because he is the King Eternal (1 Tim. 1: 17). God has opponents, but he has no rivals. He, and he alone, is worthy of all worship and praise. (Jason Meyer, Killjoys: The Seven Deadly Sins)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Lots to look at, so make yourself cozy, and click away!

  • In light of recent events regarding ISIS and mentioning the Crusades in light of that, Ligonier Ministries have uploaded Robert Godfrey’s lecture on the Crusades. Take it as a small glimpse of church history, which, by the way, will be taught in Sunday School in the next couple of weeks.
  • With the unfortunate release of 50 Shades of Grey, many will decry and devalue Scripture’s view of morality in favor of immorality portrayed in the film. Denny Burk has some telling observations, and biblical clarity, in relation to this upcoming feature. Marshall Segal writes of 10 promises that are truer than any fantasy. Al Mohler gives a worldview analysis of the book, along with the cultural acceptance of this distorted view of reality.
  • In light of a new book coming out from the “Theologians on the Christian Life” series focusing on the creator of “Amazing Grace,” Tony Reinke has linked to all of Pastor John Newton’s writings into one spot, free to download. Please don’t tell me I’m the only one excited about this!
  • Valentine’s Day, another day to put our hope in God, not in someone else.
  • This looks to be a refreshing post on what it really means to be a Proverbs 31 woman…kind of.
  • Jonathan Dodson is back with another great post on evangelism, this time answering the question, “How is the gospel good news to those we evangelize?“
  • In a series on biblical counseling and women’s issues, Julie Ganschow writes about the difference between “Stop It!” and biblical counseling. Very helpful to see the contrast. Don’t miss the previous posts, which are linked at the top.
  • People often struggle with reading the Bible, some even calling it a “chore.” Why is that? Aaron Armstrong gives three reasons, and some helpful correctives.
  • Ever wonder how to evaluate films from a Christian worldview? Well, let John Frame and Brian Godawa be your guide.
  • Eric Davis at The Cripplegate wrote an article about reasons why he isn’t a Mormon. He follows that up with five reasons why he isn’t a Jehovah’s Witness.
  • How can churches engage believers and unbelievers who experience same-sex attraction? Hear from those who have/still struggle with it.

That’s all for this week! Looking forward to spending time with you all this coming Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

Singles Recap: Speaking the Truth in Love

by Esther Cheng

Have you ever received a death grip handshake where you felt like your hand was being crushed by a vise? Or perhaps the opposite – a handshake so limp you might as well have been grabbing a jellyfish tentacle? When we speak the truth without love, it’s possible that we crush the people we interact with due to a lack of love and empathy. On the flip side, if we neglect sharing the truth of God’s Word in the name of “love,” we provide no substance to the other individual and in that way, actually withhold the love of God from them too.

This past week, Kevin Tse spoke on chapter 8 of Ken Sande’s The Peacemaker on the topic of speaking the truth in love. I was particularly thankful for this sermon because it is all too common where I see myself wanting to give counsel focusing only on half of “speaking the truth in love.” At times, I fail to genuinely love and care for the person but instead bombard the person with Scripture. Scripture is profitable for all things (2 Timothy 3:16), but without love, I can just be a noisy gong (1 Corinthians 13:1). On the other hand, there are times when I withhold from pointing the other person in the name of “loving” them. When I pause to evaluate my heart, it is often from a fear of man that I do so and in this case, is actually unloving to them that I withhold the goodness of God’s Word (Proverbs 27:6)! We must be on guard of our own thoughts and motives and seek speak the truth in love.

In conflict situations, there is a presumption that there is already a perceived wrong; that something is off and requires gentle restoration (Galatians 6:1). This would not simply be a chance to fix your relationship with the offender, but of their relationship with God. Sure, we know 1 Corinthians 10:31 by heart and understand that glorifying God is of utmost importance, but do we seek His glory in restoring a relationship? In our hearts, are we actually desiring the other individual to fess up for treating you in an unpleasant way? Or do we want the awkward silence and tension to end in the room when they’re around? No matter how much they sinned against us, most importantly, the sin was committed against God. In Psalm 51, David was convicted of his sin towards the Lord alone; in verse 4, he cries out to God saying, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” It’s not to say that he didn’t sin against Bathsheba or Uriah, but the magnitude of the offense to God was exponentially greater when faced with His holiness. We must keep this perspective as we speak the truth in love to our brothers and sisters – that ultimately, we seek their restoration with a holy and just God. In Ephesians 4:29, it mentions that we ought to seek to build the other person up in their relationship with God – we can do this by pointing them to their sin which Christ died for. This also fits the occasion that they desperately have a need to repent of their sins to the Lord.

Before we go revealing every detail of a person’s sinful actions, we need to remember to restore others gently… and remember, we are not the Holy Spirit! Even if we reveal their sins against God (and perhaps to others, or even to their own bodies), only the Holy Spirit can convict them of sin. In humility, be quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). It is possible that there was miscommunication, or they could be a young / immature believer who does not understand that what they did was sin. After all, “we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). Bear with the failings of others, not by sweeping sin issues under the rug, but encouraging others in truth and love. Rewind back to when Christ first saved us – how as immature Christians, there was much to learn and many mistakes made along the way… and yet, our shortcomings and sins could not separate us from His grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) and nothing could separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). God is gracious and thankfully, He uses these difficult situations to sanctify us until the day we die (Philippians 1:6).

May we prayerfully and humbly seek the Lord for wisdom as we struggle with our flesh to seek God’s glory amidst the painful impacts of another’s sin against God.

@LBC (2/11/2015)

by David Zhang

Sermons

State of the Church 2015 by Patrick Cho

  • This week we heard some thoughts Patrick had towards the spiritual climate of the church. Check out this sermon to hear more about the reasons for this year’s theme: “The Gospel Wins”.

The Final Steps of Gently Restoring by Johnny Kim (Chapter 9 in book)

  • This week the singles continued their study on the book “The Peacemaker” by Ken Sande. Johnny wrapped up on the third G of peacemaking: gently restore. Check out why and how we should reconcile with each other.

Please also check out Michael Wang’s testimony.

Special Feature

This week’s members meeting was heavier than usual. It reminded me how we need to pray more both as a church body and in our own lives. Here is an insightful article on the purpose of and attitude we should have toward prayer.