VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 | SPRING 2009 LIVING HOPE BIBLE CHURCH NEWSLETTER theclarionLIVINGHOPEBIBLE.Org SING TO THE LORD, BLESS HIS NAME; PROCLAIM GOOD TIDINGS OF HIS SALVATION FROM DAY TO DAY. PSALM 96:2 ANDREW CHANG | CONTRIBUTING WRITER p until 1980, most of the modern- day missionaries were from the UUnited States or Great Britain. However, over the past twenty to thirty years, the makeup the missionary force has changed. This movement, commonly called the Emerging Mission Movement, has gained momentum in the past decade, and soon missionaries from the developed “Western World” will be the minority among the Asian, African and Latino missionaries. I first encountered the effects of this movement in Central Asia where I met a group of newly arrived Chinese students at the International church. Though Emerging guarded at first, they later hinted they The are part of the Back to the Jerusalem movement (www.backtojerusalem.com). The underground house church is sending Mission Movement out 100,000 missionaries to plant them in countries from China all along the way back to Jerusalem. In this same closed welcomed. Some nationals may also be more willing to accept country, I also came across many Korean families sowing the the Gospel from someone of a similar culture. Churches in the seed of the gospel behind official roles of conducting “business.” West need to support and follow this movement. It is exciting to Foreign mission movement began in Korea in the early 80’s, witness what God is doing as He raise workers from across the and today they have more than 20,000 missionaries around the world. globe in order to draw all nations to Himself. However, this movement is not limited to Asia. On the Missions at LHBC last night before I was heading into Sudan, many of the SIM missionaries gathered for dinner in Lokichoggio, Kenya. I couldn’t be more amazed at the cultural diversity looking We encourage you to keep LHBC’s 2009 summer around the table. Half of the group was Western missionaries. However, there was a woman from Northern India representing missions teams in prayer: the first missionary from her region, a young Kenyan man about to head into Sudan for his first term, two Nigerians and one TEAM UgANDA — JUNE 17-JULY 4 Ethiopian family. Despite their differences, they were united TEAM LA PUSH — AUGUST 10-14 with the goal of bringing the gospel to Sudan. Pick up prayer letters and information about LHBC This new trend is bringing excitement to the mission field: there is a greater supply of workers which brings cultural sponsored missionaries at our literature table. diversity as well as new approaches. Furthermore, this new force is able to penetrate areas where white missionaries are not THE CLARION 2 } } PASTOR ’ S CORNER God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.” Trusting God in As difficult as it may be to accept, God is sovereign in both good times and bad. Such was the case of the apostles James Difficult Times and Peter. Both were called to follow Christ and became influ- ential leaders. However, in Acts 12, James was put to death by the sword of Herod, but Peter was miraculously spared. Have JOE LUM | PASTOR you thought about what their wives must have felt (1 Cor. 9:5)? One had to accept the reality that her husband was no longer “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy coming home while the other must have been overjoyed at his in Jesus…but to trust and obey.” release. James’ wife undoubtedly needed to trust God “when he lyrics of that old hymn are as true today as they times are bad.” were in the nineteenth century when they were writ- In tough times, God still asks us to trust in Him. In the ten.T Of the many things people struggle with, one of the most Old Testament, difficult days of destruction and calamity ahead difficult things is trusting God. Perhaps we’ve memorized the were revealed to Habakkuk. The prophet did not understand familiar passage in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all why, voiced his objections and asked, “Why God? Why?” In your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your the end, however, he surrenders himself to the Lord, trusting in ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” God his savior and determining he will rejoice in Him regard- But when the storms of life blow and topple our sense of secu- less of what the future holds. Is that your heart as well? rity, we realize where our trust has been. Was it in our health or abilities? Was it in our job or finances? Was it in our family Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, or friends, or was our anchor truly in God our rock? When the “ anchor is not God, our faith turns into fear. Our serenity turns though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, into anxiety. Our peace turns into panic. It is then the true though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, nature of our faith is tested, and the question the Lord asks is: yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Do you trust Me? The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, Consider Ecclesiastes 7:14 (NIV): “When times are good, be happy; he enables me to go on the heights.” but when times are bad, consider: HABAKKUK 3:17-19 (NIV) “You need to be like everyone else.” Resisting Temptation “Oh come on, everyone is doing it.” Some of the things we’re tempted with are obvious in their sin- KAREN CHIN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER ful nature and are easy enough to avoid, but there are the subtle “No temptation has seized you except what is common ones that look nice and seem harmless at first glance. These are to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be the ones that I feel like have seized me, and before you know it, tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are you’ve given in. The temptations we face aren’t things out of the tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can ordinary. They are things which we all face. stand up under it.” This verse gives me a certain comfort. It tells me that God has I CORINTHIANS 10:13 given me the strength to bear the temptation and that it isn’t beyond what I can bear. God has also provided us with a way out iving a life that is holy and pleasing to God; being in the of temptation. We can go to Him when we are faced with what world and not of the world. It doesn’t sound too hard, but seems like inescapable enticement. Lthere are times when it seems like all that the world has to offer Being in a relationship with God and knowing that He is faith- screams at us. ful not only gives comfort but also confidence that I can with- “This is what you need.” stand temptation. By being able to withstand or resist what the “This is what you want.” world offers brings me closer to living in a way that is holy and pleasing to God, and this is something I can be joyful about. } } 3 irthd THE CLARION y B ay A Lasting Legacy p , LHBC turns 17 this April! Our first L p H service was on Easter Sunday in JAMES BARBOULETOS | a CONTRIBUTING WRITER B 1992 (as Asian American Alliance H “… Tell to the coming generation the C Church). Since then we’ve glorious deeds of the Lord, and His ! gone through a couple of name might, and the wonders that He has changes, but our aim to be a done … that the next generation Christ-centered, Bible-believing might know them … and arise and church has remained the same. tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not We praise God for His faithfulness forget the works of God, but keep His to LHBC! commandments.” PSALM 78:4, 6-7 2008 CHURCH FAMILY RETREAT he famous Puritan 1992 2008 Richard Baxter once wroteT “If ever we would have the Church of God to continue among us we must bring it into our households and nourish it 2004 in our families.” Unfortunately, today many parents leave the ORIGINAL CHUR 1ST (1994) CHURCH CH teaching of God’s Word solely PLANTING FAMILY RETREAT GROUP up to their pastors and Sunday 1996 school teachers. While the help of these teachers is good, the Bible says that parents also need to be regularly teaching their children God’s word at home (not just on Sundays). 1996 This is the spiritual mandate that God has given to all parents for their children – to teach them to obey His word and lead by example. If you are not doing so, I 1992 would like to encourage you to 1997 start spending a little time each CAN YOU SPOT THE CURRENT CLARION STAFF? day reading, discussing God’s word and praying together as 1992 a family. By doing so, you not only enrich the relationship between you and your children, but you also teach them that praying and reading the Bible is a lifestyle and not just a 1992 1997 Sunday morning activity.