All posts in Pastor’s Corner

Thoughts on DC inner city outreach

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34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25, NASB)

Here I sit at the start of a new week, and yet it is somehow different. I imagine that it’s a little bit like what Frodo mentions in his monologue after returning to the shire at the end of his great adventure. And just like Frodo, I find myself saying, “How do I go back to a life, when so much has changed – when everything has changed?” And so the question now turns to: what adventure has caused such change? My answer is: a week in south east DC, partnering with TeamEffort and 3 other churches from Ohio and N. Carolina to serve and minister to the weak, poor, and overlooked in the name of Jesus.

I must admit that when it comes to Christian ministry, I talk a big game about past experiences and like to position myself as some expert in it. And yet when it comes to missional work – I am sadly INexperienced. There were numerous stories, encounters, and lessons learned – too much to mention all here – and I can say with great confidence that in spite of the physical woes (due to my out of shape status), my spirit soared and finds itself now renewed and recharged. This seems odd to some. It was a response of one when they asked about the trip upon our return – that despite physically draining activities, my spirit had somehow been well fed and rested.

How can this be?

The answer lies in the above passage from Matthew 25. It’s that when we go out to be “Jesus with skin on” – that’s where we find Him. And so contrary to popular belief, preconceived notions, and maybe even common sense – I found Jesus in spite of physical hardships, in the hot, humid streets of southeast DC – in the roughest neighborhoods. And in Him, I found true rest.

Check out this song by Steven Curtis Chapman!

Why We Don’t Like Watching the Passion of the Christ

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Easter 2013 has come and gone.

For some, it was a monumental day in their Christian walk, while for others it was mostly an ordinary Sunday. Still a few others were confused at how or why spring break came at the end of March instead of somewhere in April. Nonetheless Easter, whether it was massively celebrated or largely ignored, is (for Christians) the culmination of the Passion Week – the week where Christians mark and remember the final week of Christ’s life. And ever since 2004’s Passion of the Christ, modern Christians have had the option of glimpsing, through the lens of hollywood, the final 48 hours of Christ’s life.

After that lengthy intro, let me finally get to the real point: in honesty, many Christians don’t want to watch the Passion. This is a sentiment that is fairly common, whether it is ever made public or not. This phenomenon also occured in our church this year. We’ve got to ask, why? Why do Christians, God’s own people, not enjoy watching the Passion? After all, the Cross is a central point to a Biblical Christian faith. It is where our sins are dealt with in one final blow by Christ not with a tool or a weapon but by his own hands.

And so what is going on?

I propose that we, as Christians, generally do not enjoy watching the Passion because we don’t like the fact that it makes us confront our sins and our sinfulness, both of which we so easily grow accustomed to. Another way to put it is this: we don’t like watching the Passion because it actively attacks our complacency. There is no way to sit through the movie without having some heavy thoughts upon our love affair with sin, and our unwillingness to give it up. And that thought is at the least uncomforting, and at most horrifyingly damning. If this be true, then what is more unsettling is the thought that it is not the movie itself that disturbs us, but it is the Gospel. The Gospel rudely confronts us where ever, whenever, however we are and reminds us of the enormous size of our utter sinfulness. And as Rev. John Piper once said, the Gospel isn’t very precious or valuable without the horrible justice of God from which it saves us (from the Forward in Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution). And so our easy complacency will have our focus locked in on the graciousness of God apart from seeing the whole beautiful picture which shows us that God’s grace is indeed beautiful and magnificent because of the horrible judgement which it saves us from!

Perhaps this is what the writer of Hebrews was shooting for when he wrote: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” We can all easily imagine that having a sword thrust in your body is painful and unpleasant. But in a sense, that is what the Gospel does. It penetrates deep into our lives, and into the parts where we want to keep God out. But Jesus made sure that can’t happen when He tore the curtain in the holy of holies (Matt 27:51). No the Gospel rudely interrupts our complacency and forces us to confront the truth of the Gospel daily.

And so in the end, no matter how much we don’t really want to watch the Passion. We must. If for no other reason than to be reminded once more of the monstrousity of sin upon, not just damaging upon humans, but robbing God of His people, and at what great cost (praise God) He’s willing to go to reclaim us. We need a daily dose of the Gospel, in the whatever way it comes to us.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

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Greetings all.

Last Friday (Jan 18, 2013) marked a monumental moment in our youth group. We finally concluded a Bible study series that stretched approximately 14 months (with 3 months break during Summer 2012). And I don’t mind that at all, after all what is a Church that does not study Scripture, and study it carefully (like the Bereans in Acts 17:11)? Thank God for the Apostle John and his gospel, which in the hands of the Holy Spirit is able (and we are witnesses) to transform us from the inside out and nurture within us faith in Christ and love towards God.

Starting this Friday, we will be embarking on a whole new series… on the Westminster Shorter Catechism (find it here). You can see what it is in this short article here. The article covers the history of where it comes from and why it’s helpful for us today. Nonetheless, there are a few more personal reason why we as Risen Sun family should go through this document:

1. The Korean-American immigrant Christian community and their children are, mostly, very ignorant of the catechisms. This is bad because it causes us to be inarticulate (or unable to talk well) about our Christian faith. The catechisms go over the very basic points of the Christian faith, which when learned, are very useful in giving us words to describe our faith (both to ourselves or others).

2. The current fad of renewed spirituality dangerously disregards or disdains good traditions of the Church. There is a difference between traditions and traditionalism. Traditions, as one professor once said, is the “living faith of dead people” whereas traditionalism is defined as “dead faith of living people”. In the young generations’ effort to rid ourselves of many bad things connected with traditionalism, we are also starting to throw out traditions. This is bad (see 1 Peter 1:10-12). This is unhealthy. This is dangerous.

3. The WSC also helps us to understand and answer some of our own questions considering the nature of God, Bible, and salvation in a concise and easy to understand manner. While it doesn’t replace Scripture, it does (in many cases) help us to understand how to apply the Scripture to our lives. This only helps us to grow in our Christian faith.

This is why we embark on this new series. The format may or may not change. We will still incorporate the small group set up. We pray that God will use this mightily in our midst.

Fasting like Daniel

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Starting on Thursday January 10, 2013 our church will be launching a “Daniel Fast”. And so in order to avoid confusion and for instruction and spiritual nourishment, I thought it’d be great to take a look at what it is, where it comes from, and what it is NOT.

Where it came from.

The whole idea of the “Daniel Fast” comes from Daniel 1. The background of the story is that around 605BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came and captured Judah (Dillard, R. & Longman, T., An Introduction to the Old Testament. Daniel., pp. 332-334). Daniel and his friends were a part of Babylon’s relocation program whereby the best and brightest of the Jewish population was relocated to Babylon and were trained to serve in the government (Dan 1:3-4). Furthermore, while these young people were being schooled in their Babylonian education system, they also were fed the king’s meal – the best in the land. Seems like a good deal, yes? Not really.

What it is.

Daniel resists Nebuchadnezzar’s offer of a fantastic meal plan (which most college students would easily go for) and instead opts for vegetables and water. What gives? There are many ideas and conjectures, the best of which is that Daniel & co. could not further defile themselves (having already been given pagan names to replace their God honoring names. See chart below) by eating the king’s food which would have been blessed by pagan priests in the name of a pagan god. However there is no biblical evidence of this.

Hebrew Name

Hebrew meaning

Babylonian Name

Babylonian meaning

Daniel

God is my judge

Belteshazzar

god protects the king’s life

Hananiah

God has favored

Shadrach

Command of Aku (Babylonian god)

Mishael

Who is like God?

Meshach

Who is like the moon god?

Azariah

Person the Lord has helped

Abednego

Servant of god Nebo

 

 

The first reason would have been that Daniel & co. were attempting to escape the king’s temptation to abandon God and follow all of Babylonian culture, including their gods (Calvin, John.  Daniel). It is important to note that later in the book Daniel is assumed to have gone to a regular diet and that chapter 1’s special diet was for this specific purpose.

The second reason is that Daniel, by rejecting the king’s food and eating only vegetables, would have been eating food familiar to him from his homeland of Judea AND during this specific period of intense temptation and testing, he wanted to remind himself of his TRUE identity (in spite of his new Babylonian name) which is that he was a member of God’s people in exile. And so he wanted to eat like an exiled man (Calvin, John. Daniel).

A third reason is that Daniel shows that though the people of God are in the world, we are not of the world (Henry, Matthew. Daniel 1:8-16).

What it is NOT

There are many ways this lesson in Daniel 1 can be misunderstood or even wrongly taught. So here are some things that Daniel 1 does NOT teach:

1. A veggie & water diet is a path to special holiness. It is not. Veggies are good for you. You should eat more. They are however NOT effective for you to earn God’s love. Only Jesus can do that.

2. The Daniel Fast gets us a special favor with God. Or in other words, since we did this super holy thing, God is either obligated or supremely impressed and will grant us just one wish. It is not. God is not obligated to us for anything because He’s God and we’re not.

3. The Daniel Fast will ignite our lame Christian lives into a super holy fire forever. It will not. Only the Holy Spirit’s power combined with faith/obedience and prayer and meditation on the Bible will do that.

4. The Daniel Fast is a secret shortcut in the path to spiritual success/glory/maturity. It is not. As it was said by an Old Testament professor, “THERE IS NO SHORTCUT TO GLORY!” God doesn’t believe in shortcuts, hence the crosss.

 

Hope this helps.

Running this race with you.

 

Thoughts on Matthew 7:21

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Many people struggle, or perhaps worse, never struggle with their salvation.  Some people never feel the security that comes with saving grace and a relationship with Christ, while others cruise through life relying on the old adage, “Once saved, always saved.”  In its most simple form, the saying is true.  However, there should always be the asterisk asking “…but are you saved?”

This is the very case we see in Matthew 7:21-23.  Jesus tells us of people who claim Jesus as “Lord”, but in reality did not follow Christ at all.  The people described in this passage believed that they were true Christians.  How could they have possibly gotten it wrong?  They seemed to have acknowledged Jesus as “Lord” and apparently even did wonderful things in the name of Christ.  Why did they fall short?  The answer comes in the form of a swift, verbal slap.

There was no relationship with Christ. There was no repentance of sin.  No one can claim to be a Christian without a living relationship with their Savior.  No one can claim to be a Christian, while living a “lifestyle” of sin.  Sure, Christians struggle with sin like everyone else, but the main idea is that we “struggle”.  Christians fight and resist sin.  Christians deny themselves things that they know displease God.  A telltale sign of someone pretending to be a Christian is a lifestyle that is completely devoid of repentance and who justifies their wickedness instead of crying out to Jesus for mercy and help.

No one is a Christian simply because they believe they are Christian. Only Jesus can determine whether or not you are His follower.  No amount of Bible study or church attendance can save a person outside of Jesus Christ reaching into their life and grabbing a hold of their soul.  Only within His grasp is one saved.

I am definitely not writing any of this in order to scare people or shake their confidence in Christ’s power to save.  Christ will not lose even one person that has been given to Him by the Father (John 10:27-30).  However, what I am doing, is trying to wake up a generation that is in danger of cruising through life/”Christian walk” and ending up like the people described in the passage.  Yes, as Christians, be secure in your relationship with Christ (Romans 8:16), but do not allow security to lull you into a spiritual slumber.  I have seen many, many brothers and sisters fall away from Christ on account of friends, drugs, boy-girl problems, etc… What shall I say about them?  Did somehow Jesus fall asleep on the job?  Did Christ just decide that He did not want them anymore?  No!  The answer is that they were never Christians in the first place.  The Apostle John made it clear; If you leave Christ, you never had Him (I John 2:19).

So what should we, as Christians do?  Fight the good fight! Run the race! Keep the faith!  The Bible tells us to do everything possible to not leave a shred of doubt about our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13, II Peter 1:10, II Corinthians 13:5).  A young Christian recently told me that he wished to not only run the race, but to get a head start.  That ought to be the attitude of every Christian no matter where they are in their walk.

 

Johnny Nguyen

worship team or praise team?

praise & worship logo

And so for a long time, there has been an ignored confusion concerning what to call the ministry team which is involved in leading the congregation in song during Sunday services. Some churches called them praise teams, while others worship teams. Some had reasons why their ministry team was called “praise team” or “worship team”, while others did not. This left many in my generation, and perhaps even the current one with a lingering question as to the true difference between the terms “praise” and “worship”.

The first place to start in this discussion (as in all matters of faith) is in Scripture. In the Old Testament Hebrew, the term “praise” is almost always the word “halal” (that’s the word used in hallelujah – “praise Yahweh” as in Psalm 150:6). There is no confusion to its meaning, especially in its use in the Psalms (also known as “the psalter”). It refers specifically to the activity of giving praise, and most of the time it is a direct command. That’s easy enough. The term “worship” is a little bit more difficult. There are two words, “shachach” and “kara” which means “worship” but more specifically refers to the act of bowing down in reverence (holy respect) before God. The New Testament Greek uses the cognate “proskuneo” which refers to basically the same thing. Now, this seems a bit confusing.

What do we do with this mess? Again, we must look to Scripture. In the New Testament, we find in Acts 2:42 no mention of any singing in the early church’s worship. There is mention of preaching/teaching, fellowship, communion (breaking of bread) and prayer. We also know that from passages such as Ephesians 5:19 that there was also the practice of singing in the church. And so here is the conclusive lesson: praise or singing to God is a part of worship, and the term “worship” refers to the whole activity when the church gathers on a weekly basis to acknowledge, thank, and adore God for who He is. And so the Bible’s view on this debate would be that it would be a “praise team” which facilitates the musical part of the worship team. Whereas a member of the “worship team” could be helping out in a number of different areas (such as ushering, welcoming, lights, etc) to help the worship service proceed.

And so we see that praise is very important, yet we are not free to elevate praise and equate it with worship. Praise is an important part of worship, but it is “merely” a part. If anything, the Bible calls our entire lives to be worship unto God (Romans 12:1). From that perspective, it is evident that the Christian’s entire life is worship, and all the different parts of his/her life – work, family, friends, and not just “church life” – are all equally important parts to this massive worship unto God. Let us then all be faithful worshippers of the true God.

Working Hard vs Working Too Much

This past Monday, we celebrated Labor Day, a day in which (supposedly) we are to enjoy a nice day off from work… a kind of a sabbath. But most people took this opportunity to go on a small break filled with fishing poles, small diners, and the like. This got me to thinking that perhaps the American tendency to use Labor Day to “do work” or “do something with family/friend” is also reflected in the Christian church – whereby we consistently ignore God’s commands to rest and focus only on the commands to work (for example 1 Corinthians 5:58).

Now don’t get me wrong. There is a very real command from the Lord for us to do good work (Ephesians 2:10) in light of our salvation in the Lord. Or in other words, only in Christ can we truly do good work which is fulfilling and meaningful, freed from any self-centered ambition or impulse. Indeed Christians are tasked with the command to do good in numerous places (another example Matthew 5:16). For the most part, we have very little difficulty grasping this concept. After all, it is human logic which says that if we have received something, then we should somehow pay it back. And applying this awesome human logic to Christian life and Scripture, most people think along the lines of (1) God has saved me, and therefore (2) I/we must do good works. However good this may sound, it is in the end not a Biblical concept. God has commanded to work and work hard and diligently (Philippians 2:12).

HOWEVER, we must remember that it is our faith in Christ’s finished works, not our own which has saved us (Romans 4:4-5)! What is the Bible’s lesson on works then? I believe the Bible teaches us to work hard (doing good works), however it warns us from working too much. This lesson is pointed out in the Christian life example given by Christ wherein He took a lot of breaks. There are many examples in the Gospels (one of which is Mark 1:35), where Christ seems to get away from the crazy schedule of life and ministry just to relax.

Now there is something that must be said about Christian rest, which is in contrast to worldly rest. Jesus shows us that Christian rest involves renewing the spirit by praying and enjoying the presence of God, NOT in zoning out in front of the TV.

As said before, we the church need to work hard, but refrain from working too much. Again here is an example of quality versus simply quantity. Furthermore, Jesus shows us the lesson of taking breaks and working well at a steady pace.

 

special shout out to Rev. Sam Kim, assistant pastor at Great Commission Community Church who taught me this valuable lesson so many years ago

Bunker Buster Blessings

At the conclusion of church/fellowship retreats, there are always a few that I find who are left a little sad. Their sadness comes from the fact that while they witness many others being given sweet spiritual blessings/healings/salvation in other people, they themselves seem to have missed out or even been passed over. This is where the notion of the bunker buster blessing comes in.

In my fascination of military TV programming, I once stumbled upon a show on bunker buster missiles and bombs. These things are no ordinary explosive weapons. They are highly specialized because you can shoot them through walls or through dirt underground to detonate hidden bunks/buildings/bad guys’ hangout.

Now, for those who seem to have “missed out on blessings” at retreats – in fact, have NOT. What has happened is that the blessings of God had so deeply penetrated our hearts, souls, and/or minds that it isn’t so very obvious as the “ordinary kind”. However, upon hours or days or weeks after the event has passed, we see the inevitable signs of these blessings which God has so deeply penetrated in our beings. This type of blessings, it seems, usually happens when there are deep rooted things within us which we may not even be aware of – but praise God, He is! (Romans 8:26-27) And so God shoots deep and then allows the spiritual “bomb” to “explode” and lead us to realization, thankfulness, and/or repentance.

And so this is for all of those who feel as if God had passed by without blessings. Though your particular encounter with God may have not had the same outward expression, God has touched you deeply. One pastor once told me that the true measure of a retreat or an encounter with God cannot be fully seen or understood until some time has passed. I am confident in saying that those who are hit with these bunker buster blessings end up reaping great rewards of spiritual growth over the long haul.

 

(Related: P. Sam’s blog from 2011 Summer Youth Retreat)

 

Cute Syrup Containers and secret prayers

Many people may not be aware, but there has been for about almost half a year now, a small handful of our Youth and English Ministry members who have been meeting every Saturday morning at 7am to pray for our church. In many cases the numbers are very “humbling”. And yet to me, this is very encouraging. Why? My old mentor had a way of always being a humble leader. He had “succeeded” in the eyes of the world and the typical Korean-American perspective on a successful/blessed ministry. However, when various people asked him how many attendees he had the previous Sunday, he would just smile and tell them “we had about xx show up for Saturday morning prayer meeting”. I once asked him why he did this and he answered, “It’s never about the number of kids who show up on Sundays, but the ones who show up to pray. That number gives you a good perspective on what your actual membership is…”

And so I, in line with what my mentor told me years ago, am greatly pleased, humbled, and encouraged to see that still small number of young believers showing up to pray. It may not be popular or even really all that fun. Yet there it is. Every Saturday, in the Choir Room, at 7am… a small number of young people praying for themselves and praying for their church family. And it is these small secret prayers that I believe God is most well pleased. (Matt. 6:6)

 

The Power of the Few

Today was one of those seemingly regular, if not a particularly annoying/frustrating days. It seemed as there were overwhelming odds against us in the carwash. In fact, it would have been easier to simply quit. After all, it seemed like such a big task for such a small group of people to undertake. Surely, it was foolishness! One student even asked if it wouldn’t be more wise to reschedule when there were more hands on deck, so to speak.

After coming home and taking a shower, I’ve had some time to ponder the events earlier in the day and the spiritual significance of them, if any at all. And I am reminded of the Biblical lesson of God working through the few and weak. All throughout the Bible, God chose to work through the weak and the few (some examples):

In Genesis 12, Abram is chosen by God out of all the other people and groups to eventually become the father of Israel and all believers.

In Deuteronomy 7:6-7, God explains that He had chosen Israel out of all the people groups of the earth because they were few and weak.

In 1 Samuel 16:6-13, God chose young David, the runt of the family to be king over Israel.

In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, God explains that the Church is weak and few, so to shame the world’s strong and many so that God may be the only one glorified.

And so we see, that in fact when it seems to our mortal eyes that we are so very feeble and weak, it is then that perhaps God is pleased to work in and through us SO THAT He may receive our reliance and the glory. Let us not be so easily discouraged. God gives the Power of the Few