LBC Weekly SPARK – September 10, 2014

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends,

I know it has been a while since I last sent out one of these, but there are so many exciting things going on at the church that I want to communicate with you all! Please take some time to read through everything!

Before we get to the ministry opportunities, I wanted to share what a wonderful time our family had in San Jose this weekend with LBCSJ. If you don’t know, Lighthouse San Jose officially installed Dr. Mark Chin as their pastor this past Sunday. Mark and Julie and their two boys, Athan and Joshua, are an amazing family, and it was really great to witness the church’s warm reception of their new pastor at their installation service and annual banquet. If you don’t know the Chins, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future to meet them and hopefully have Mark come down to preach for us here in San Diego. But for now, please pray as the family continues to get acclimated to their new city, new surroundings, and new church family. Personally, I’m really excited to have Mark as part of the pastoral team for the Lighthouse Alliance. Every opportunity we’ve had to get together has been an incredible blessing.

I’m sure it will take a little time for the church to get to know Mark and for everything to get into a good groove, so please pray for LBCSJ especially during these opening weeks and months as they get used to the changes. With Pastor Mark coming in, that also meant this past weekend was the last that Pastor John Kim was helping with pastoral duties at LBCSJ. We are so grateful for his sacrificial commitment to provide support for the leadership while also working to get LBCLA off the ground. Praise God for His sustaining care and grace. It was a bittersweet moment to see the church say goodbye to John while welcoming in their new pastor, Mark.

Well, be sure to “mark” this momentous occasion for LBC’s church history! Praise God for how He has worked in the lives of those in LBCSJ to bring them to this point.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are the happenings at LBC San Diego:

  • FINANCE WEEKEND. Please mark your calendars for September 26-28. We are pleased to have Jim Rickard, of Stewardship Services Foundation, come to minister to us and walk us through an extremely practical weekend conference on financial stewardship. The cost for the weekend is free but lunch on Saturday will be $10/adult (children eat free). Here’s the schedule:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
7:00 PM – General Session 1: Fourteen Steps to Financial Freedom
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
10:00 AM – General Session 2: Estate Planning Seminar
12:00 PM – Lunch with the Church
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
9:00 AM – General Session 3: Convictions for Biblical Stewardship
11:00 AM – Q&A

Please feel free to invite your family and friends to benefit from this weekend conference. In order to ensure we have enough handouts and food for lunch, we will be taking a signup. If you plan to be at the weekend conference (and you should!), PLEASE EMAIL PASTOR PATRICK TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT (pastorpatrick@gmail.com).

Also, we are hoping to provide childcare for the general sessions. If you are available to help out, please contact Carol Lim (nursery) or Josh Liu (older kids). Your service will help free up parents who would benefit greatly from the conference.

  • GRACE LIFE BEACH FELLOWSHIP. This Thursday, September 11, we will be having a Grace Life hangout at the beach! It all starts at 5:30 PM at La Jolla Shores (by the volleyball courts). Hot dogs and s’mores will be provided, but we need to know if you’re coming. PLEASE EMAIL PASTOR PATRICK TO RSVP BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. If you would like, bring a side, snack, or dessert to share!
  • MIDWEEK BIBLE STUDIES. The college and youth ministries will be having Bible study at the church on Friday at 7:00 PM. Contact Josh Liu (youth) or Roger Alcaraz (college) for more information.
  • MISSIONS REPORT NIGHT. The Czech Republic summer missions team had a wonderful time ministering overseas and want to tell you more about it! We will be having our Missions Report Night on Saturday, September 20, at 5:00 PM. Come learn about what the Lord is doing in the Czech Republic! Food will be served.
  • SOFTBALL FELLOWSHIP. On Saturday, October 4, a group of people will be heading up to Orange County for some softball with LBCOC and LBCLA. If you are interested in playing, please talk to Randy Tsuchiyama. You’re welcome to join us even if you just want to cheer or hangout, but we need to know how many people are going (so CONTACT RANDY).
  • ALL-CHURCH RETREAT. Our annual All-Church Retreat is coming up on October 24-26. Our speaker this year is Dr. Greg Harris of The Master’s Seminary. Please mark your calendars and save the dates! More information is forthcoming.
  • BEACON. Please don’t forget to check out the LBC Beacon on the website as well as to take advantage of “Stoogle.” Stoogle is an extremely helpful search engine if you are looking for something and want to filter out unhelpful websites. Give it a try on the Beacon!

A More Important Challenge

by Elder Johnny Kim

Lately, there’s been a new Internet fad making the social networking rounds. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, on a different planet, and without Internet access for the past month, then chances are you’ve heard about the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”. In short, it involves people posting a video of themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on top of their heads for the sake of ALS awareness and soliciting donations for the ALS Association. Regardless of what you might think of the method by which the awareness is being spread, there’s no denying that it’s been highly effective. According to Forbes, the ALS Association has received over $100 million dollars in the past month attributed to the popularity of the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”, which amounts to a 3,500% increase in donations compared to what was received this time last year.

Perhaps lost in all the hoopla surrounding this latest trend are some facts that most participants might overlook in their haste to fill their buckets with ice. From all the publicity and attention that the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” has received, if you had not heard about ALS before, then one might think that this illness is widespread and prevalent within the US population. As horrible a disease as it may be, ALS actually affects less than 0.01% of the US population. It is estimated that approximately 6,000 people in the US die each year due to ALS. Compare that to the approximately 54,000 people who die each year in the US due to influenza and pneumonia. Furthermore, unless ALS donors specifically stipulate limitations on how their donations can be used, they will find themselves contributing to research which involves the destruction of fertilized human embryos.

ALS is a horrible disease and Christians would be right to want to support finding a cure for it in an ethical and responsible way, just as with other diseases and illnesses. But out of all the people who would participate in the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”, Christians should be the ones to recognize that there is actually a disease far worse than ALS or any other disease known to man. A disease that affects 100% of the world’s population, present in every man, woman, and child on this planet from birth…the disease of sin (Psalm 51:1-5). Without a cure, the pain of living with ALS ends with death. But for the one afflicted with sin, physical death only marks the beginning of an eternity of agony and suffering in hell (Revelation 14:9-11).

It seems that people who participate in the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” find themselves to be emboldened, doing what they normally wouldn’t do but for the sake of a good cause. Yet, how much more emboldened should Christians be when it comes to raising awareness about the issue of sin? If we are willing to submit to 30 seconds of indignity in the form of ice water on our heads, then how much more time, even on social media, should we be willing to devote to bringing awareness to the sin in people’s lives and their need for repentance and a Savior? Compared to 30 seconds of indignity for the ALS cause, how much more should we gladly accept the shame, ridicule, and insult from an unbelieving world for the Gospel cause (Romans 1:16)? Now I am in no way condemning the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” or those who participate in it, but simply seek for all of us to consider how much more loudly, boldly, daringly, repeatedly, desperately, and urgently then, should we be the clarions for the greatest, most serious problem to face all humanity, past, present, and future?

As Christians who have come to a saving knowledge of Christ, not only can we preach awareness of the disease of sin, but we can also preach the cure. Unfortunately, in a fallen world we can’t dismiss that there may never be a cure for ALS, but God has made the cure for sin known to us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His Word. So will you take up the challenge to preach the Gospel to those who are in desperate need of it? And as you do so, will you “nominate” your fellow brothers and sisters by way of exhorting them to do the same? This challenge of preaching the Gospel may not be trendy, popular, and widely accepted, but it’s the most important challenge that God has set before those He has cured and saved through Christ.

The King’s Garden

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Nehemiah 3:15

Mention of the king’s garden by Nehemiah brings to mind the paradise which the King of kings prepared for Adam. Sin has utterly ruined that fair abode of all delights, and driven forth the children of men to till the ground, which yields thorns and briers unto them. My soul, remember the fall, for it was thy fall. Weep much because the Lord of love was so shamefully ill-treated by the head of the human race, of which thou art a member, as undeserving as any. Behold how dragons and demons dwell on this fair earth, which once was a garden of delights.

See yonder another King’s garden, which the King waters with His bloody sweat-Gethsemane, whose bitter herbs are sweeter far to renewed souls than even Eden’s luscious fruits. There the mischief of the serpent in the first garden was undone: there the curse was lifted from earth, and borne by the woman’s promised seed. My soul, bethink thee much of the agony and the passion; resort to the garden of the olive-press, and view thy great Redeemer rescuing thee from thy lost estate. This is the garden of gardens indeed, wherein the soul may see the guilt of sin and the power of love, two sights which surpass all others.

Is there no other King’s garden? Yes, my heart, thou art, or shouldst be such. How do the flowers flourish? Do any choice fruits appear? Does the King walk within, and rest in the bowers of my spirit? Let me see that the plants are trimmed and watered, and the mischievous foxes hunted out. Come, Lord, and let the heavenly wind blow at Thy coming, that the spices of Thy garden may flow abroad. Nor must I forget the King’s garden of the church. O Lord, send prosperity unto it. Rebuild her walls, nourish her plants, ripen her fruits, and from the huge wilderness, reclaim the barren waste, and make thereof ‘a King’s garden.’

4.12p

Weekly Links (9/5/2014)

“If evil is that which displeases God, then it is not possible for Him to be evil. He is the standard, the ruler, the inch, the ethical metric system (assuming, of course, that the metric system isn’t evil).” (Nate Wilson, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl)

by Stephen Rodgers

Alright, it’s the first Friday of the month, and that means I’m loaded for bear with enough free and cheap resources to last you until next month.

  • The free audio book of the month from christianaudio.com is Francis Schaeffer’s How Then Shall We Live? This one is absolutely worth your time and attention.
  • The free book of the month from Logos is Pete Wilcox’s Living The Dream. I know nothing about this one, good or bad, but it’s there if you want to check it out.
  • The free ebook of the month from Ligonier is Daniel Hyde’s Welcome to the Reformed Church. It’s an excellent little primer on the history and doctrine of the Reformed church.
  • The topic of the new Tabletalk is “Church and Parachurch,” and I suspect that it’s as excellent as always.
  • Themelios 39.2 is out, and in addition to more book reviews than you can shake a stick it, it has a number of interesting articles on Jonathan Edwards.
  • Normally I only bring up free resources, but it’s worth mentioning that WTS Books is currently selling the Kindle version of John Frame’s Introduction to Systematic Theology for $2. That’s a ridiculously great price, and considering the paper version weighs in at 1,276 pages, that’s an awfully good value per page as well.

That’s it. See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

From Forgiven to Forgiving

by Roger Alcaraz

If you don’t know already, my wife and I love each other. Get to know us a little bit and you’ll find that this is more difficult than it sounds. In fact, there were many opportunities while dating for us to throw in the towel, but we persevered. A large part of this is because we choose to forgive one another as Christ forgave us (cf. Eph 4:32). I’ve learned that the words, “I forgive you” can sometimes be more difficult to say than “I love you” because we hear it so less often. Watch any romance film and you’ll know what I mean. In fact, for many people, saying “I forgive you” or asking “Do you forgive me?” can be downright awkward. But if there’s ever an area in which Christians need to exemplify, it’s forgiveness.

Imagine you and another Christian friend have just gotten into an argument on your way home. It begins as talking about a simple disagreement but progresses to shouting until you both are tired of even talking to each other. Both of you are to blame for the uncomfortable silence that fills the air. Upon arriving home, you just make your way out of the car, not speak to each other for the night, and eventually shrug off the offense because time acts as the great Vicodin to numb the pain. Yet even with the pain gone, the deep seated cause for the pain can linger. Not only that, but the trust that binds you two has been severed and risks being broken altogether. But imagine, instead of leaving the car, you both endure the awkward silence until you have the courage to speak, “What I did was wrong.” Not just that, but what if you explain everything that was going on in your own heart that fueled the conflict until you finally utter the difficult words, “Do you forgive me?”

The person might be taken aback and wonder, “Do I forgive you? Why should I?” But if he is in Christ, then it should cause the person to think about forgiveness and see how important it is in a relationship. Certainly, the relationship was severed by sin and it isn’t enough to pretend it never happened. True forgiveness acknowledges the wrong that is done but promises not to treat the person according to what they deserve. It’s difficult to forgive, but you get to think about God’s forgiveness and all that he did to reconcile you to himself through his son Jesus Christ.

It was Jesus who, though he was God, came in a uniform of flesh so that he could reconcile sinners to himself. He did this by living a perfect life that no one has ever lived. Yet he was despised and nailed to a cross so that he would bear the wrath of God being stored up by sinners. Not only that, but after Jesus died, he resurrected and so when believers die, they will also be resurrected to be with the one who loved them and forgave them by giving up his own life. In this way God truly forgives by recognizing the wrong done to him, not ignoring it as if nothing happened. Yet he provides a way out of the due judgment through Christ and will never condemn those who trust in Christ to forgive and who turn away from their life of selfish sinning.

As you both meditate on these truths, your conclusion should be the same, “If God can forgive me, a sinner, then I can forgive this person.” Not only that, but this should also cause you to think about your own sin and that no matter how badly a person speaks of you or mistreats you, they can never paint you as bad as you really are or treat you worse than you deserve. And when you’re able to find forgiveness because Christ has forgiven you, then praise God for how the gospel has shaped both of your lives to be able to forgive and experience the blessings of true reconciliation.

My Heart Is Like Wax…

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Psalm 22:14

Our blessed Lord experienced a terrible sinking and melting of soul. ‘The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?’ Deep depression of spirit is the most grievous of all trials; all besides is as nothing. Well might the suffering Saviour cry to His God, ‘Be not far from me,’ for above all other seasons a man needs his God when his heart is melted within him because of heaviness.

Believer, come near the cross this morning, and humbly adore the King of glory as having once been brought far lower, in mental distress and inward anguish, than any one among us; and mark His fitness to become a faithful High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. Especially let those of us whose sadness springs directly from the withdrawal of a present sense of our Father’s love, enter into near and intimate communion with Jesus. Let us not give way to despair, since through this dark room the Master has passed before us. Our souls may sometimes long and faint, and thirst even to anguish, to behold the light of the Lord’s countenance: at such times let us stay ourselves with the sweet fact of the sympathy of our great High Priest. Our drops of sorrow may well be forgotten in the ocean of His griefs; but how high ought our love to rise!

Come in, O strong and deep love of Jesus, like the sea at the flood in spring tides, cover all my powers, drown all my sins, wash out all my cares, lift up my earth-bound soul, and float it right up to my Lord’s feet, and there let me lie, a poor broken shell, washed up by His love, having no virtue or value; and only venturing to whisper to Him that if He will put His ear to me, He will hear within my heart faint echoes of the vast waves of His own love which have brought me where it is my delight to lie, even at His feet for ever.

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Weekly Links (8/29/2014)

“Knowledge of God without knowledge of man’s wretchedness begets pride, and knowledge of man’s wretchedness without knowledge of God begets despair, but knowledge of Jesus Christ furnishes man knowledge of both simultaneously. ” (William Lane Craig, summarizing Pascal’s Pensees)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! This week, different sources continued to produce great output for us believers in this dark world. With that said, here are this week’s links.

  • The Oxford English Dictionary has announced their word of the year: selfie. Nathan Eshelman has a concise and pointed diagnosis of the urge to take selfies.
  • Michael Kruger has begun a series responding to professors who no longer believe in inerrancy, with a contributory piece from Professor Greg Beale, one of the leading defenders of inerrancy contra Peter Enns. His response was to Enns’ interpretation of 1 Corinthians 10:4 about Paul’s mention of the rock that accompanied the Israelites during the wilderness period.
  • For anyone who participated, or plan to participate, in the ALS ice bucket challenge, I’d recommend this important FAQ for you.
  • The events at Ferguson have brought a flurry of responses from many. A sane and helpful perspective comes from former law enforcement officer, pastor, and police chaplain Tony Miano, with his provocative post, “Why Many Police Officers Won’t Enter the Doors of Your Church, Pastor.” At The Cripplegate, seeing riots from a biblical perspective brought back John MacArthur’s message from 20 years ago during the L.A. riots. Much wisdom to glean here.
  • Here’s a telling insight in understanding God’s sovereignty from the life of Job. Do we “blame God for evil?”
  • Richard Dawkins tweeted that it would be immoral of one who, upon learning their child has Down’s Syndrome, would not abort him or her, given the choice. Much (digital) ink has been spilt in response to Dawkins, but I thought Clinton Wilcox gave some good rebuttals to Dawkins, including Dawkins’ follow up article. Here’s part 1 and part 2
  • Summer’s almost over and schools are starting again. Sammy Rhodes from Desiring God published an article sharing what he believes six things every freshman should know.
  • Don Whitney gives some wisdom for how to view the workplace, no matter where you are, or how (dis)content you may be.

That’s all for this week! Make much of Christ this weekend, and look forward to celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Sunday with one another!

Soli Deo Gloria

 

Lumos Summer Update: Welcome Matthew and Megan!

by Josh Liu

Since the summer began, the Lumos youth ministry has been taking a break from its usual Friday night Bible studies to join the combined Wednesday night Bible studies with the collegians and singles. The summer schedule allows a bit of a break for staffers to recuperate and to manage church summer activities (e.g. mission trips, park days, youth retreat). During the school year, many of the students are overwhelmingly busy and often unavailable; during the summer, many of the students become freer. To take advantage of this time, the youth staff have been hosting various activities. We have had birthday surprises, sleepovers, and pre-Bible study activities. During those pre-Bible study activities, we have gone hiking, worked on a scrapbook, played board games, and even made plastic yarn from used plastic shopping bags! It has been great getting to spend more time together!

youth_summer

As the summer draws to an end, we officially welcomed two new youth to Lumos as they moved up from the Sonlight elementary ministry: Matthew and Megan. I have personally known and served Matthew and Megan through the children’s ministry. It is quite exciting to see them grow and enter this next stage of life. I know that they have long awaited the moment they could join Lumos. To welcome them, some of the youth planned a welcome party. By tradition, the new youth were greeted with a human tunnel to run through–there was a lot of cheering and excitement! We began with lunch, which Janet helped prepare. After lunch, the youth sang a song that Jessie rewrote lyrics for. Then, Zach led a time of games (the “couch game”). It was encouraging seeing the youth care for and serve others. It was also fun hearing them share their own experiences when first joining Lumos and other memorable events during lunch.

We ended with a brief devotional. During the devotional, I asked the youth what the M.V.P. of Lighthouse was–they knew each part and their respective Scripture references! I explained the purpose and goals of Lumos, that we are seeking to make disciples of Christ through the vehicle of the local church because we love God and love people, all of which is appropriated to the unique circumstances and experiences of youth age students. As with the other affinity groups and ministries, Lumos is not independent of the local church. It is merely a means of furthering the purposes of the local church as set forth in Scripture. Our hope is that the youth see Lighthouse as their church family. Also, in challenging the youth to consider whether or not they are part of the family of God, we looked at Matthew 5:1-16. I briefly reviewed the characteristics of those who belong to the Kingdom of God (vv. 1-12), and the activity or purpose of those who belong to the Kingdom of God (vv. 13-16). I reminded them that Lumos (which means “light” in Latin) is here to challenge those who profess Christ as his or her Lord and Savior to be a light representing Christ the King to others–family, friends, other youth, classmates, and so on. We also communicated that we the staff are committed to serving, encouraging, and walking this life with them. Might I encourage you, church, to do the same, especially with those who are growing up in our church family.

Look Upon Mine Affliction And My Pain; And Forgive All My Sins

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Psalm 25:18

It is well for us when prayers about our sorrows are linked with pleas concerning our sins-when, being under God’s hand, we are not wholly taken up with our pain, but remember our offences against God. It is well, also, to take both sorrow and sin to the same place. It was to God that David carried his sorrow: it was to God that David confessed his sin. Observe, then, we must take our sorrows to God. Even your little sorrows you may roll upon God, for He counteth the hairs of your head; and your great sorrows you may commit to Him, for He holdeth the ocean in the hollow of His hand. Go to Him, whatever your present trouble may be, and you shall find Him able and willing to relieve you. But we must take our sins to God too. We must carry them to the cross, that the blood may fall upon them, to purge away their guilt, and to destroy their defiling power.

The special lesson of the text is this:-that we are to go to the Lord with sorrows and with sins in the right spirit. Note that all David asks concerning his sorrow is, ‘Look upon mine affliction and my pain;’ but the next petition is vastly more express, definite, decided, plain-‘Forgive all my sins’ Many sufferers would have put it, ‘Remove my affliction and my pain, and look at my sins.’ But David does not say so; he cries, ‘Lord, as for my affliction and my pain, I will not dictate to Thy wisdom. Lord, look at them, I will leave them to Thee, I should be glad to have my pain removed, but do as Thou wilt; but as for my sins, Lord, I know what I want with them; I must have them forgiven; I cannot endure to lie under their curse for a moment.’ A Christian counts sorrow lighter in the scale than sin; he can bear that his troubles should continue, but he cannot support the burden of his transgressions.

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Weekly Links (8/22/2014)

“Faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic.” (Tim Keller, The Reason for God, xvii.)

by Cesar Vigili-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! It’s been one busy week, with all of the output for this week’s links. There are lots to go through, so here we go!

That’s all for now! Looking forward to worshiping God together as He truly deserves to be this Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria