Weekly Links (11/20/09)

Alright, there was quite a LOT of good stuff this week, but I think it really fits into a few convenient categories, so hopefully you won’t be too overwhelmed…

• On the topic of gambling, it was a very busy week. Over at the Pyromaniacs teamblog, Phil Johnson started by declaring his intention to show that Biblically, gambling is a sin. He followed that by defining his terms, answering some common objections, and clarifying an economic myth. And that series isn’t done yet, so keep checking back to see how he finishes the series. Kevin DeYoung also dealt with this issue this week, although his focus was more on the broader implications to society and the local community.
• Speaking of the Reverend DeYoung, apparently he is now blogging over at the 9Marks blog from time to time. That makes me happy.
• Mark Driscoll continues his interview of RC Sproul, addressing the question of “Does God really want all people to be saved?”
• The Stand to Reason blog has a very interesting post clarifying how pro-choice arguments generally fall into two untenable categories.
• A few more reminders: being Gospel-centered is not a bad thing, the Gospel is power, and a very brief reminder on early Gospel-centered preaching.
• Continuing on the theme of thankfulness, DJP writes about being thankful for the universe, and being thankful that God is God. And since we’re on the topic, reading this article may cause you to be thankful for your pastors as well.
• And last but not least, let’s take a look at living the Christian life for a moment. In particular, Kevin DeYoung reminds us to be careful how we pray. Jared Wilson reminds us that living the Christian life properly is never subtle. John Piper talks about strategies for doing what you ought to do, even when you don’t want to. And over at Justin Taylor’s blog, there’s an incredibly convicting video on the topic of evangelism…from a professing atheist.

Convalescent Home Ministry

by Teddy Yu

WHAT is a convalescent home?

A question that I anticipate from many is, “What is the convalescent home ministry?” Well, in order to answer that question, let me first start with describing what a convalescent home is. A convalescent home is a residence for patients to recover from long-term illnesses or medical procedures. It is this additional level of medical care and attention that distinguishes a convalescent home from other regular nursing or assisted-living facilities. And while some of the residents of convalescent homes anticipate a return to their own homes after recovery, there are also some that remain there for the rest of their lives. So while the residents at a convalescent home may have diverse medical conditions, they all require some sort of constant medical attention.

WHERE is it?

The specific convalescent home that we visit is called ‘Mission Hills Health Care Center’ and is located in the northern downtown area of San Diego in a region called Hillcrest. Nearby the convalescent home, you can find the UCSD Medical Center – Hillcrest and Scripps Mercy Hospital – Hillcrest.

HOW did the ministry begin?

The origin of the convalescent home ministry can be traced back to the Hillcrest ministry. The Hillcrest ministry consisted of a group from LBC regularly going out into the streets of Hillcrest to conduct street evangelism to the homeless. One of the homeless people that we were meeting up with regularly through the Hillcrest ministry ended up requiring medical attention at the Scripps Mercy Hospital. And when they were discharged to the ‘Mission Hills Health Care Center’, we followed them to the convalescent home and continued to visit and to minister to them. In doing so, we started building relationships with the other residents at the convalescent home and saw God provide even more opportunities for ministry. We have been regularly visiting the convalescent home ever since.

WHO do we minister to?

Some of the residents that we are currently meeting up with have been with us since the very beginning. And we have together experienced many joys and trials through the years. In one of the residents we currently meet up with, ‘George’, we’ve seen his demeanor change from frequent outbursts of anger and foul words to an outspoken desire to read and to hear the Word of God. He has even asked that we read the Bible with him in the presence of others so that they too may hear. And ‘George’ is not the only resident hungry for the Word of God. ‘Cecile’ is another resident that has been meeting up with members of our ministry to have Bible studies in the Gospel of John. But we have also witnessed some of the residents take a little more time to respond to God’s Word. ‘Rachel’ was actually one of the residents that we had been meeting up from the beginning. But after some time, she expressed that she did not want to hear about the Bible anymore and that she wanted to live her own way. However, she recently has shared with us a desire to repent and live her life pleasingly before God. These are just a small sample of the residents that we have had an opportunity to meet with regularly and either share the Gospel with again or encourage them in their walks.

WHY do we do this ministry?

It is into this environment that God has provided us an incredible opportunity to be ministers of the Gospel to the residents of the convalescent home. By any worldly opinion, there would be no reasonable explanation for well-to-do people like us to spend time with people at a convalescent home. Some may choose to endure those times for the sake of volunteer hours or as part of a job. But as Christians we have a great opportunity to willingly go and joyfully serve as witnesses of Christ to the residents and staff of the convalescent home. There are three major motivations behind our ministry:

#1: We have a Divine Joy

Our ministry at the convalescent home is motivated by so much more than simple dutiful obedience to ‘Great Commission’ to proclaim the Gospel. While we do desire to share the Gospel, we do so for the purpose that others may come to know the joy of knowing and worshipping the one, true God. We know that there can be no repentance from sin and a relationship with God unless the Gospel is preached. And so we preach and share and minister of the joyful relationship that we personally experience in Christ.

#2: We have a Divine Example

1 John 4:19 says ‘We love, because He [God] first loved us’ and it is this model of love that we practice in the convalescent home ministry. Even though the residents may have little or nothing to offer in return for our time spent with them, we are not motivated by what we can gain or receive from them. Instead our ministry to the residents is motivated by an understanding that God first loved us with an even greater selfless love. Indeed, true authentic Christ-like love can most clearly be demonstrated when it can not be reciprocated and it is not deserved. The practical implications of this understanding mean that even when we are tired and feel disheartened from seeing little fruit, we can still go and minister because of our love for these people. And by exercising this sacrificial love, we can provide a visible testimony of the love that Christ exercised in coming to die for sinful and rebellious man.

#3: We have a Divine Hope

By no means is a ministry like this without difficulty because it involves sinful people interacting with other sinful people. One aspect of this difficulty stems from the necessity to continually present the Gospel to sinners and call them to repentance. Another aspect stems from being confronted from within by our personal short-comings in our motivation for ministry and the depth of our love for others. But we can be encouraged that despite the battle with sin outside and within, that we have a divine hope for our ministry. We are reminded that it is the power of God that saves through the faithful proclamation of His Gospel and by the power of the Holy Spirit to convict sinners. This reassures us to remain faithful in clearly proclaiming the Gospel in every context and to simply trust upon Him for the results.

Without a doubt this type of ministry is challenging, but it is also extremely rewarding. Above all, it is a high privilege to share the Gospel with others and to see God at work in people’s hearts. I cannot begin to describe the joy that comes from knowing that you have faithfully testified of Christ to a dying and sinful world. And this joy is all the more enhanced when you can see Christ working through you to continue to personally minister to and encourage others as they progress in their Christian walk. And through these relationships, there is the additional blessing of being continually challenged to grow in personal sanctification, knowledge of the Word, and preparedness to wield the Word to better minister to others.

It is for these reasons that we can joyfully engage in this ministry. There is a great need for people to partake in this ministry. We are looking for people passionate to share the Gospel both in speech and conduct. We also require participants to be members in good standing at LBC. And since there will be many opportunities to share the Gospel and provide biblical counsel in a variety of contexts, training will be provided for those that commit to the ministry. We schedule weekly visits primarily on Saturday afternoons or weekday nights subject to other activities in the church schedule. Each visit typically lasts around an hour and a half. The content of each visit can vary from individual visitations to group craft activities to teaching and worship times. The responsibility expected from prospective members will be to participate and have a willingness to learn and develop relationships. The required commitment will be for at least school quarter (about 4 months).

All interested members are welcome to contact me. But regardless whether you participate in the convalescent home ministry or not, I do pray that you all will strive to grow in the joy of knowing of God and testifying of His grace.

Living Theology #1 – The Word of God

by Garrett Glende

God speaks. The truth is simple, yet profound. As the almighty creator of the universe, the one who has no beginning or end, God did not need to reveal Himself. However, He has indeed spoken to His creation through various means.

There are many different ways in which God has disclosed His word to us. The Old Testament is full of God’s word going forth either by His own speech, personal address to an individual, or through a prophet of His own choosing. We see God’s word in the opening words of Scripture when God says, “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3). Psalm 33:6 declares that “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made…” These passages describe God’s word of decree. God speaks and it is done. He also speaks directly to humans, which we call God’s word of personal address. God spoke personally to Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham, and many others. Those who listened understood that these were the very words of God and that any disobedience would be to sin against Him. The prophets were also used to proclaim God’s word to the people. He used the likes of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses and others by putting His words in their mouths. Jeremiah tells us that “the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth’” (Jeremiah 1:9). The words spoken through the prophets were equally as authoritative as any other form of revelation.

Each of these methods gives us a glimpse of God’s will, His character, and His nature, yet they all have been perfectly expressed through Jesus Christ, the eternal Word. John speaks of Christ when he writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). He continues the first 18 verses of his gospel account with a summary of the ministry of the Logos, concluding the prologue with the words, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). The Greek term for “made him known” is where we get the word exegesis, thus we can say that Jesus has explained God. This is, of course, the purpose of God’s word being proclaimed – that He might be known.

But God no longer speaks audibly and Jesus is no longer on Earth for us to observe, so we must turn to the written word of God in order to know Him. Thankfully, men carried along by the Spirit have written down for us all that we need to know concerning these things (2 Peter 1:21). Peter calls this word even more sure than his own first hand experience with the transfigured Christ. This form of God’s word allows us to deeply study and preserve God’s word so that it can have a long lasting impact on our lives.

When we read the words of Scripture we cannot look at them as just information about God. It is true that we do find words about God in the Bible, but do we see it as the very Word of God? This will be a key distinction in our mindset as we approach our times in Scripture because it will greatly affect our response to it. An attitude that sees the Bible as an encyclopedia of sorts will undoubtedly result in intellectual stimulation, but it will not affect our emotions. A true comprehension of the doctrine of the Word of God should make our quiet times more than just an exercise of our minds, but it should rather be a time where we seek to grow closer in our relationship with the glorious God who has revealed Himself to us. Emotions should be elicited while reading Scripture because the truths it contains are not just mere facts to be known. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it illuminates our hearts so that we can see the very mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:16).

If we claim that the God revealed in Scripture is more glorious, more holy, and more satisfying than any other created thing, then why do we not treat the means by which He has made Himself known as such? Our hearts should be captivated by the truths contained in God’s Word, yet so often we are drawn to other things. We are provided with a way to know the Creator of the universe, but sometimes we would rather watch the basketball game, update our Facebook status, or get an extra hour of sleep. When we choose these things before God we put ourselves in the same crowd as Israel and its idolatry. So the next time you engage in debate with yourself over whether to read your Bible or – insert whatever seems more important at the time here – may you be reminded that the book you have in front of you contains the very words of God and respond accordingly.

I’ll leave you with Spurgeon’s exhortation: “Drink of the unadulterated milk of the word of God, and not of the skim milk, or the milk and water of man’s word.”

Cut Off Your Hand

by Elder Peter Lim

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time. That’s right. It’s time to cut off your hand. To poke out your eye. Of course I don’t mean literally.

Matthew 5:29-30 says “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”

This passage is not teaching that we should literally dismember ourselves. Even if we did, it wouldn’t cure us of our sin since this solution doesn’t deal with the heart. But it is making a point that we need to take drastic measures to prune sinful behavior from our lives. Have you been struggling with the same sins for years and years? Have you made the same resolutions to not sin the same sin over and over again? Notice that this passage doesn’t say to cut off someone else’s hand if it causes them to sin. This hatred of sin is motivated by one’s own desire to deal with one’s own sin, not a desire to remove someone else’s speck.

What does this mean practically? Here are some suggestions. If your computer causes you to sin, get rid of it. Literally. Or only allow yourself to use a computer for particular purposes that you predefine as being legit. Are you tempted by your TV? Get rid of it. Or at least set some limits for yourself and ask someone to keep you accountable to them. It could be as simple as limiting the hours, particular programs, or only watching pre-recorded content on your DVR.

Getting someone to keep you accountable may be a little humbling because you’d be admitting that you have struggles in a particular area. Really, is eating humble pie so bad? Confess your proud hearts and take some bold steps to address your weaknesses. This isn’t legalism. This is a sincere desire to honor God. Remember that He is as concerned with holiness as he ever was in the Old Testament since He never changes. As we ask God to change our hearts so that our actions are more consistent with His character, we will become more useful instruments for Him to use to minister to others.

Weekly Links (11/13/09)

by Stephen Rodgers

Welcome to the first post of Weekly Links, an ongoing series where I’ll be sharing some of the links that caught my attention during the week. My hope is that the articles and posts would be timely, encouraging, and hopefully expose you to so great Christian resources in the process. So without further ado, (or as Pastor John would say, “Since this post is not about you…”), let’s get to it:

• First up, since I’m going to be sharing a lot of links with you in the weeks to come, this post from m’man Frank Turk over at Pyromaniacs is probably the best way to get things started.
• Next up, Mark Driscoll is in the process of interviewing RC Sproul. Has RC Sproul ever been on the internet?
• And if yesterday’s post by Pastor John on the topic of thankfulness seemed rather timely, Dan Phillips over at the aforementioned Pyromaniacs has started a series along similar lines.
• Jared Wilson reminds us that if you’re getting tired of Gospel-centered preaching, then you’re missing the point. Which I suppose leads naturally into something that the Gospel should be doing in our lives, if we’re really getting it.
• And last but not least, Russell Moore would remind us that sin is never attractive, and whining is a sin. That’s the 6-minute audio version; for a written version, check out Patrick Henry Reardon’s complementary essay.

Pro Rege

Thanks To God

by Pastor John Kim

2 Thessalonians 1:3
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

If there is anything that I hope to see as a pastor, it would be exactly what Paul shares to the Thessalonian church in this verse. I want more than anything for every brother and sister at Lighthouse Bible Church to be growing abundantly in your faith in Christ as well as to be increasing in your love for one another. Thanks be to God that I see both taking place in the life of our church.

There are a few things that I would like to share with our church family. First, I am learning to be more thankful to God for you. Being the senior pastor often exposes me to more of the problematic side of church life and it doesn’t take too much to get discouraged or a bit darkened in my view towards people, especially as I have to confront or take part in dealing with conflicts or other unpleasant circumstances. These situations frequently narrow my perspective toward a very negative outlook and so it is no surprise that I find myself either discouraged or even depressed.

But God is good to show me that there are also positive things going on in the life of the church and it really does show itself in those who are growing spiritually and those who exhibit genuine love for one another. So instead of focusing on those who aren’t growing or those who aren’t loving, I have become more conscious of those who are and I am incredibly blessed to see what God is doing.

As Paul shares in this verse, I ought to give thanks to God because it is the right thing to do. Now this is not merely an issue of duty or obligation, though it obviously has some aspect of that. It is right to do because it is the most God-honoring thing to do that also brings the greatest blessings. For when I am thankful, I have a greater sense of seeing the hand of God at work rather than just focusing on the immediacy of the circumstances around me. That’s why I can even experience joy in the midst of trials (James 1:2) because the focus is not so much on the trials as it is on the purpose for which God is building my character. I have to admit that it is not necessarily so easy to do. But when I do give thanks out of heart that truly is thankful to God, I realize that there is so much that I can be thankful about because there is so much to be thankful about who God is and what He has designed for me.

The second lesson that I have been learning is to be specific in my thanksgiving. There are two things that Paul shares that he is thankful for and as I mentioned earlier, I am thankful for these two things as well – the growing faith and the increasing love of the members of our church.

I have been greatly encouraged as I consider throughout the church that there are those who are really growing in their faith. Starting with the children’s ministry, I am so thankful to see that the hearts and minds of our young ones are being given every opportunity to be exposed to the truth of God and be directed toward the Savior. I will hear Olivia singing songs that she has learned and she even knows at times how to appropriately engage in our sharing time as a family when we share what we have been learning at church. Alyssa continues to grow in her understanding and has been quite inquisitive about things that she is learning.

The youth ministry continues to be a bright point in the life of the church as the youth soak up what they are learning. My great hope is that they will be spiritually well prepared to face the challenges that come as they look forward to college. I believe the youth staff are doing a great job in helping nurture and cultivate the youth in their walks with God. It gives great hope looking forward to the future.

I have been very encouraged to see our collegians as this year they have been challenged to really expand their capacity for participation. The campus ministries at UCSD and SDSU are continuing to move forward and it has been encouraging to see the staff step up to provide leadership. The third hour on Sundays for a joint time of teaching and fellowship for the collegians reveals how committed some are as they are literally at church for most of the day. It has been great getting to know some of the collegians and hear how they are growing.

The Singles ministry has been enjoying a study on the person and work of the Holy Spirit on Friday nights. It has been encouraging to see the response of many who have not had much background regarding the Holy Spirit. It has actually been a great study for me as well as I had never done any kind of focused study on the Holy Spirit other than in dealing with charismatic issues.

Grace Life has just started their men’s and women’s meetings during the mid-week and it has been good to hear how many of them are actually taking sermon notes for the first time and interacting with what they are learning on Sundays as they discuss the sermon. I know that it is not easy to do this when you are busy with life and work and children and other things that seem to drain you of life energy. But it is definitely a big deal that when the father and mothers of the church are growing spiritually, the benefits will be wide spread.

This past weekend, Pastor Carl Hargrove preached several powerful messages in light of our theme for this year, “For the love of Christ.” One thing that he mentioned was something I thought was very significant, though it was just a side comment he made. It is when we become too familiar with holy things. I think this really is a big factor when it comes to how our faith is growing. If we take the things of God and do not treat them as holy but become so familiar with them to the point of breeding contempt, it should not be a surprise to see that affect our spiritual growth. I think especially of those who come to church and have a very lax attitude or a critical attitude, revealing a self-centeredness that would even demand that God Himself would orient His thoughts and plans around them. It is unfortunate but true that this happens all too often and it can happen to any of us if we lose sight of how precious and holy God is. Carl mentioned the example of how people treat sermons, how even in preaching class he would admonish the men to pay attention when the others are preaching, even if it was for an academic exercise. How often do we treat the time of preaching or teaching lightly by taking care of other business, of being too easily distracted and given over to other things when we should be focused on hearing the word of God?

It is a great challenge but one that I am sure many are up to facing because it was encouraging to hear how many of you shared what you were learning with one another, not only during the retreat but even afterward. It is encouraging even to see how people would note on their Facebook status that they had been blessed in attending the retreat. I hope that we can make it a point to really share how we are growing as often and in as many ways possible through the various relationships as well as even the various media that we have at our disposal.

Coupled with growing in our faith is the increasing of love for one another. Note what Paul writes in his greeting to the Thessalonians – “and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” He points out that “every one of you” is involved in the loving of one another. It is not only for some, or for those who find it easy to love. It should be the fact that every one of you at Lighthouse Bible church should be loving one another and increasing in that love day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year. As God has already granted us ten years as a church, I would hope that in that time the love would have increased tenfold because we have been given the opportunity to be a part of each other’s lives and though it isn’t always easy or convenient, we should see everyone and each year as an opportunity to grow in our love for one another in Christ.

This has been such an encouragement to see in many of you as I see your service of love toward one another. Whether it be through serving in the church in some capacity, writing a note of encouragement, sharing your food with someone who looks hungry on Sundays (i.e. the pastoral staff =), or even coming in after work to help fix things or catalog books, there have been so many manifestations of love and they all are quite meaningful.

I give thanks to God for so many of you who have been growing in your faith and have been increasing in your love for one another. As we approach the holiday season when things get fast and furious and people get impatient and uncooperative, let us continue to walk in faith, exercising love, looking forward with hope in knowing that Christ will complete the work that has been started in us.

Living Theology (Introduction)

by Garrett Glende

The applications of systematic theology is a difficult subject to introduce. How do you begin to write about such a topic and its practical application to daily life? Do you dive head first into the weighty doctrine, or do you ease into it, providing the reader with a sense of purpose and direction? This article will do a bit of both, as it is the introduction to what is intended to be a series based on the book Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. In the coming weeks we’ll look at each of the book’s chapters, seeking to understand the doctrine and how it can transform our lives.

A few months ago JR and I began to walk through Grudem’s book during our weekly discipleship meetings. We chose to do so after I pointed out that I saw a disparity between my knowledge and my living. I wanted to continue to sharpen my understanding of what the Bible teaches about who God is, how He has redeemed us, and all the necessary effects. Our goal in going over Grudem’s book was to strengthen our theology, but more importantly to attempt to have it change the way we live every day.

This series will simply be an extension of the meetings that I have with JR. I probably won’t have much to say that is completely original, as I’m going to be stealing from either Wayne Grudem or JR (two men who are much smarter and godlier than I). My hope is that those who read these articles will be challenged in not only their understanding of who God is, but also in their personal lives as they strive to conform to Christ-likeness daily.

Why are we doing this? Everyone has seen the book. It’s big. It’s blue. It’s intimidating. Besides its sheer mass, its subject matter doesn’t always stimulate much excitement. This all makes Systematic Theology a very hard book to tackle. But should it be this way? Why are we put off by these things? Should we not be excited that there is so much to learn about our glorious God? And it’s so nicely formatted and organized in one place for us! Having a firm grasp of the deep truths about God is vital to living the Christian life in a manner that is pleasing to Him. In fact, the way in which we live our lives will often reflect what we believe about Him. Thus, we must gain a proper understanding of who God is so that we can live accordingly.

The first eleven chapters of the book of Romans are completely devoted to building a strong doctrinal foundation so that Paul has a basis for the commandments laid out in the rest of the book. He wanted his readers to know the reasons behind his practical exhortations. Jesus said that the Father is seeking true worshipers to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). The knowledge of the true God should affect our hearts so that our worship can be offered up to God in truth. Do we not distort the character of God when we live in contradiction to what we confess? For example, John tells us that “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). When we do not love one another, we demonstrate that we don’t really know the truth about God – that He is love (1 John 4:8). It does us absolutely no good to intellectually assent to orthodoxy, for “even the demons believe – and shudder” (James 2:19). This all goes to say that as we let the truth of God’s word sink into our hearts, we will live more godly lives because of it.

I should say a few more words about what systematic theology actually means. Grudem defines it as “any study that answers the question, ‘What does the whole Bible teach us today?’ about any given topic.” The particular method of study includes gathering all relevant passages for a specific topic and coming to a conclusion based on their understandings. A systematic theology is also organized in such a way so that no one topic is over or underemphasized. It also seeks to harmonize each aspect so as to come to a coherent and non-contradictory conclusion. The order creates a structure that allows each doctrine its appropriate weight. While no single topic is independent of any other, the divisions will help us scrutinize our own lives more closely in relation to a specific doctrine.

If you are passionate about living for God, then you should be passionate about knowing who He is. The two cannot be separated. I’m writing this in hopes that it will force me to further examine my own life first, to see where my living doesn’t match with my thinking, and to encourage you all to do the same so that, as a body, we all might worship God with all our hearts, souls, and minds.

College Life

by Pastor Patrick Cho

When late August rolled around, I couldn’t believe that we were already in full swing for College Life. In previous years we didn’t have to worry about the start of the school year until late September because UCSD’s academic calendar begins then. But with a heightened involvement at SDSU and their semester calendar, we needed to have things up and running much sooner. Even with the quicker start to the year, it has still proven to be a successful start. Pondering the first few months of the school year, I can pinpoint at least four reasons why College Life has gotten off to such a great start.

Fundamental Commitment

We began the school year with a message on the pillars of College Life. What principles do we want to build our ministry on? What commitments do we want to make now that we want to see ourselves faithful to a decade from now? We agreed that we want College Life to be committed to glorifying God, teaching God’s Word, representing Christ on campus, enjoying genuine fellowship, and providing helpful discipleship. We also wanted to help our students understand the importance of being committed to the local church and being a part of the church family. As the opening months of the school year have gone by, we have seen this commitment fleshed out.

Our collegians know that College Life is not just about entertaining them or making them feel good about themselves. In fact, this past summer we went through a series on the doctrines of grace and one of the topics they were most blessed by was the depravity of man. Only Spirit-filled, God-fearing Christians could get excited about learning more about their own depravity! Seeing these students’ desire to grow in the things of God evinces that they are committed to the same things College Life is committed to, and that they have decided to be part of this ministry so that we can all grow together in that direction.

Faithful Staff

College Life has always been blessed with an incredible staff. Their commitment to the students has really benefitted the group and, I believe, has influenced many students to stay at Lighthouse. The College Life senior staff consists of four married couples, one engaged couple, and eight single adults. They are Patrick and Christine Cho, Jin and Grace Lee, Hansol and Angella An, Johnny and Mimi Kim, Tim Yu, Stephanie Shin, Derek Chew, Simon Huang, Randy Tsuchiyama, Teddy Yu, Courtney Chow, Cindy Chu, Karen Yi, and Naomi Yu. Not too churches offer their collegians an opportunity to receive dedicated discipleship and counseling from older, more experienced believers. What is more encouraging is that these staff members applied for these positions. We didn’t have to coax them into serving. They wanted to serve in this capacity because of their love for the Lord and for the collegians.

Besides the senior staff, we have a team of student staff members who help with the planning and administration of the group. Some of them even help lead small groups for the first and second year students. The student staff has been an incredible encouragement as we have gradually given them more and more responsibilities each year. This year, our student staff consists of Daniel Chong, Byron Dang, Ryan Short, Joo Yoon, Amy Cheng, Yuen Kwong, Vicky Williams, and Kristen Yee.

Together, these staff members have committed themselves to the ministries at SDSU and UCSD. The men on staff have been doing most of the teaching midweek and the entire staff has worked hard to make sure the students are growing and being held accountable to their profession of faith. Besides the staff members, many of the upperclassmen have gone out of their way to meet up with the younger collegians and to make themselves available for them.

Freshman Involvement

For whatever reason, in years past, our freshman retention rate was never really good. Perhaps the first years were not used to the longer messages that Lighthouse has come to be known for. Perhaps other ministries were doing more to make the freshmen feel welcome. Whatever the reason, not too many freshmen stuck out their first year of college in College Life. This year, that trend seems to have changed. Of course, there are always freshmen who through their church hopping experiences decide to commit elsewhere. And that’s ok. But we are really thankful for the ones who have decided to stay. We hope we can challenge them in their walks with God and in their thinking to be more conformed to the teaching of God’s Word. They have also added a lot of color to the group with their unique personalities and vibrant spirits. It was especially great to see a number of them at this year’s All-Church Retreat.

Fanatic Excitement

As single adults and married people in the working community know very well, there is a great excitement and enthusiasm during college. This is not anything new, but still it is great to see our collegians channel their energy and enthusiasm for the Lord. This year, we have asked the collegians to stay for a third hour on Sundays for College Life large group. This makes for a guaranteed six hour Sunday. That’s not easy for anyone! Even though we have adjusted the schedule to meet every other week, we understand that we are still asking a lot. Still, the collegians didn’t complain (at least to me!), and we are hoping that in the end everyone will conclude that the effort was well worth it. There is great encouragement to not only see the collegians’ willingness to come out each week, but to also see the evidence of their love for the Lord and their fervent worship.

These are just some of the reasons why I feel College Life has gotten off to a great start. Certainly we haven’t done everything perfectly. With all the changes this year, especially with being more involved at San Diego State University, there was a lot of adjustment that needed to be made. The collegians, though, have shown great patience with me (as always!) and have striven to make the most of the opportunities we’ve had to fellowship. I’m excited to see how much more the Lord will do through the group for the remainder of the school year.

Editor’s Note #2: November 2009

by Stephen Rodgers

And we’re off! From this moment on, we will be attempting to keep a weekly schedule here at the Beacon, bringing you 2-5 articles each week from our Pastors, Elders, various Ministry Coordinators, as well as the staff writers here at the Beacon. I would suggest checking back daily if you want to keep up with the latest articles (although we’ll probably take a break over the weekends at first).

Thank you for your prayers and support, and please continue to pray for us as we strive to keep this going for the glory of God.

Pro Rege

(Good) Internet Resources for Christians

by Stephen Rodgers

I get a lot of questions about Christian resources: books, sermons, blogs, software…even Twitter, Facebook, and magazines. I hope that this article will serve as a helpful introduction to some excellent and trustworthy resources that will help you in your walk with the Lord.  And as always, if you need help with any of these, just find me at church.  They day I’m not happy to talk about the Bible and study-aids is the day I stand before my Maker.

Blogs

Sometimes a Christian just needs something good to read! Any of the blogs below would be a great place to start adding to your diet of Christian writing. And all of them support RSS as well, in case you just want to be notified when there’s an update. (If you don’t know what RSS is, ask Stephen Rodgers at church and he’ll explain it to you).

Shine the Light – This is the official blog of the Pastor’s of LBC. If you’re not reading it already, what are you waiting for?

Al Mohler’s Blog – Al Mohler blogs several times a week with a focus on current events and cultural issues. Just reading him is guaranteed to make you smarter!

Pulpit Magazine – Pulpit Magazine is the official blog of the Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church, and they recently redesigned their website to make it much easier to read. They post several articles every week.

PyroManiacs – Updated daily, this is a Team Blog by Phil Johnson, Dan Phillips, and Frank Turk. They are some of the most outspoken voices (who can actually support their statements Biblically) on the internet today, and you would do well to give them a read.

desiringGod Blog – This is the blog of John Piper and several other folks at his church.

Sovereign Grace Ministries Blog – This is the blog of CJ Mahaney and several other folks at his church.

Twitter

Twitter may be a relatively recent phenomenon, but already several Christians have moved into the space and are working hard to encourage fellow believers and redeem this corner of social networking for the King.

JohnPiper – John Piper takes Twitter to a whole new level. His tweets are frequent, timely, and incredibly Bible-centered.

johnmacarthur – John MacArthur mostly uses Twitter to link to relevant articles at either Pulpit Magazine or Grace to You.

Rick_Holland – Rick Holland tweets often about the Bible, pastoral ministry, and life as a pastor/husband/father.

Kim_S_Holland – Kim Holland (Rick Holland’s wife), may actually be more prolific than her husband, and offers interesting comments and insights as a Christian wife and mother.

iamresolved – Even the Resolved Conference is on Twitter! You’ll want to follow them to get the latest information on resources and scheduling related to Resolved.

Sermons

Didn’t get enough of the Gospel on Sunday? Good for you! Listed below are links to a LARGE libraries of available and trustworthy sermons freely available on the internet.

LBC Sermons – Our first stop is the sermon library at our very own church. Ever wish that you could be in two (or more!) Sunday School classes at the same time? Now you can be! And while it may seem that the sermons only go back to 2008, Kyle and his team are busy getting the rest up there soon!

Grace to You – Another fabulous resource is what GCC affectionately calls “The Vault.” Here you will find 40 years (!) of sermons by John MacArthur, organized by title, scripture, date…if you can’t find something here to help you, then you’re just not looking hard enough. And the vast majority of the sermons have a transcript as well, so you can read them if you prefer that to listening.

Desiring God – John Piper has 20+ years of sermons available here, as well as messages from innumerable conferences. And yes, they are organized, categorized, and have transcripts as well. Honestly, I don’t know what DG feeds their webfolks, but the speed, quality and sheer amount of material that they make available is staggering.

Sovereign Grace – Something happened to the old page, and there’s only 3 of CJ Mahaney’s sermons up here now, but if you poke around a bit you can find many more.

Christ Fellowship Baptist Church – And while he doesn’t blog, another fantastic place to get some sermons is from Steve Lawson’s church. The man has a distinctive voice and a distinctive style that really make his messages come alive. And he’s one of my favorite expositor’s to boot.

Software

While there is a variety of Christian software available, I chose to highlight the following two resources because they’re good, easy to use, and best of all: free!

e-Sword – My personal favorite Bible-study software, e-sword makes the ESV Bible freely available. Other study guides such as commentaries, dictionaries, devotionals, and other translations of the Bible are available as well. Some require a small fee, but many are freely available. For ease of use, price, and value, I honestly believe this is the best software out there.

Libronix – If you have an ESV Bible, then you have qualified to download the ESV demo version of Libronix. It comes with the full ESV text, several other resources, and it is quite common for new resources to be made freely available (you’ll receive email notifications after you’ve registered). For example, last week, they gave away John MacArthur’s Study Guide to the book of Romans. It’s a bit more complicated to use than e-Sword, but it does give you access to material that e-Sword doesn’t. And since it’s free…why not have both?

Websites

Let’s be honest, there are a lot of BAD Christian websites out there. But listed below you’ll find that three are actually quite good, and will help you a LOT as you study the Word.

Bible Bulletin Board – BBB collects a variety of sermons, articles, and notes with an emphasis on John MacArthur, Charles Spurgeon, and Christian classics.

Biblegateway – It’s not fancy, but Biblegateway brings together hundreds of translations of the Bible, makes them available, searchable, and free. If you just want to read a passage in several translations, this is a great place to do it.

Blue Letter Bible – Blue Letter Bible is a fantastic resource for Bible translations, notes, commentaries, study aids, dictionaries, and devotionals online.

NET Bible – The NET Bible is a very interesting site. In addition to being a very credible translation in it’s own right, they also make their footnotes, cross-references, index, and translator notes freely available. You can learn a LOT from checking out their site.

And don’t forget…if you have an ESV Study Bible, then you have a code that you can register to get access to the Bible, notes, and account software online for free as well! Anywhere you have an internet connection, you have your ESV Study Bible.