Progressive Dinner, 2/18 @ 7pm

Hey Guys! I'm looking forward to the Progressive Dinner activity coming up next Wednesday and I hope you are too. There's going to be a lot of good food and getting to know people from the other fellowship groups!

Here are the groups you'll be in for the dinner on Wednesday and the house order you will be following. Dinner starts at 7pm so please on time to the first house on your list. You will be receiving an email this week with directions to your first house by the hosts. Cooks, you will also be receiving an email from the hosts with a set menu. Also, please let me know if your name is listed below but you can't make it. Thanks!

group A: linda's, steve's, josh's
ansel
david chen
arthur
kate
kellen

uland
grace

group B: josh's, linda's, steve's
vincent
sam chen
brian
dan yun
jason
hank

group C: steve's, josh's, linda's
justin
leo
gracie
dan yen
alan
ming-gih

Announcements

January 31-February 1: LSCC skii/snowboard trip

Week of Feb 4th: Huddles group (meet with your new huddles groups and fellowship!)

• Yukari (QB), Marina, Bonnie, Kiki
• Tak (QB), Ben, Justin, Leo
• Vincent (QB), Jeff, Sam Kao, David Chen
• James (QB), Sam Chen, Ansel, Arthur
  

February 18th: Progressive dinner (more on that later!)

God bless! :)

Thank you, come again!

Last week we had a farewell party for Sam and Kiki. The dashing duo will be transitioning into the family ministry with the arrival of "K.B." (Kao Baby). While we will miss them from our mid-weekly meetings we know that they'll be a great addition to the family ministry.

Thank you so much for serving and for your loving presence.
Thank you Sam for your wisdom, leadership and guidance.
Thank you Kiki for your kind heart, contagious laughter and diligence with the small groups administrative duties. We're excited for your new chapter in life with the baby on the way. We pray for the safe arrival of your newest member of your family, as well as strength for the mother and father!

Thank goodness this isn't a real goodbye. We'll be seeing you on Sundays, joint small groups and other misc. functions.

Thank God for friends! Our brothers and sisters in Christ!


http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=benkeenkong&target=ALBUM&id=5294994164978066113&authkey=9shldkxrKUs&feat=email

Paninis, birthdays and more of the Word

This past week was Marina's and Sam's birthday week! We celebrated with chef J-Lue's homemade brownies and ice cream! Happy birthday to you~! Happy birthday to you~!!!

As for the food Tak and Marina made us some toasted, gourmet sandwiches-- aka PANINIs! mmMM! Who knew that a grill can make an ordinary sandwich EXTRAordinary! haha.

Our study was on Matthew 7: 15-20:

15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

From this we learned to stay informed! Be active not only in your ministry (reaching out to others, showing God's love through giving actions, worship)--but in your knowledge of the Word. There are a lot of false prophets out there who can interpret the Word incorrectly. (In fact, I ask that you, fellow readers, take my comments as supplemental but not primary information.) Knowledge is power only if used correctly. Remember, even Satan knows the Word inside and out (Matthew 4). Know the Word and understand things in context.

Secondly, we learned that we can tell that someone is a true follower of Christ by the fruits they bare. What kind of fruit are you baring?

Cheers to 2008! Looking forward to 2009!

Hope you guys had a Merry Christmas and spent some quality time with your loved ones. I want to take this time to thank you guys for a great year at LSFG San Jose. We've have grown so much both physically and spiritually. Looking forward to more memories in 2009!

Here is a recap of the announcements from our last meeting along with new huddles and cooking rotation groups.

Calendar of Events for 2009:
1/7: Huddles
We are starting off the new year with one last meeting with your current huddles group. New huddles starting 2/4.

1/14: Resume Bible Study at Berina Lair

1/21: Activity

1/28: Bible Study


New Huddles Groups: Names with an * are quarterbacks.
- Tak*, Ben, Justin, Leo
- James*, Sam Chen, Ansel, Arthur
- Vincent*, Jeff, Sam Kao, David Chen
- Yukari*, Bonnie, Marina, Kiki

Cooking Rotation
- Tak, Marina <-- January 14
- Kiki, Sam
- Bonnie, Jeff
- Yukari, Ben
- Justin, James
- Vincent, Ansel

LSFG Core Vision for 2009: We'd like to grow a new small group thing coming year which means we all need to be more intentional about inviting and praying for friends. Please have some target members in mind and we will share in our upcoming meetings.

See you in 2009!

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

We won't be meeting for the next two weeks because of the Christmas and New Year's holidays but we hope you have a very safe and loving break.

We'll see you again on January 7, 2009.

the LSFG leadership
(aka the TRiaD)

the straight and narrow

This week James and Ansel cooked up some mighty good beef stew. Thanks for the warm and hearty dinner, guys!

Matthew 7:13-14:
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

This week we discussed the topic of "the narrow gate". It's eye opening to think, "wow, not everyone will find the road to salvation". This includes people who call themselves, "Christian". This is reiterated further down in verse 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 in heaven." What does this mean?
--Don't take your salvation lightly. Follow His commandments. Carry your cross. The path won't be easy and there will be plenty of distractions. Don't be worldly during the week and then "christiany" on Sunday at church and at small groups. Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk.

So much pressure!

Tak and I will be cooking the first San Jose meal of 2009! What pressure. We need to come up with something good. I'm taking suggestions!

Matthew 7: 7-12 Ask, Seek, Knock

Tonight was Texan steak night for food. We filled up people's stomachs with food and the Kong's house with smoke! But it was yummy! hehe.

The study was on Matthew 7: 7-12:

7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

A lot of questions were asked-- primarily about how He provides. Sometimes our prayers are answered and we are satisfied -- we pray that we get into college, we pray that we finish college...--and after a lot of struggle we find that we got into college and are done! Straightforward, right?

Our prayers are sometimes not answered the way we expect it (or want it). We pray for God to bring those who we love to know Christ. We pray for healing of the very sick. And sometimes, this doesn't happen. Did God fail to answer our prayers? No. He knows what must happen for Him to be truly glorified.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 1:1)

Happy birthday, sister!!!!

A very awesome birthday to our lovely lady, Mrs Kiki KaoooooOOOOOOOOOooo!!!!

May God bless you and your family!

'Hooray for food, good company, laughter and memories!

Another lesson in Matthew

First off, thank you to Kiki and Marina for the taco/burrito fiesta! yummalicious! Secondly, a very happy (and now, belated) birthday to Arthur! (wooot!).

This week we studied Matthew 7: 1-6:

1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

We discussed what it meant to judge others. "Judging" implies putting yourself in a higher position of others and pointing out how bad that person is versus "rebuking" in love which points out the sin or the wrong action that's taken.

We noted that we always make mistakes, we are not sinless-- but does that mean we should never rebuke others to avoid being hypocrites? I hope not! I feel like this passage is a reminder to be careful when we rebuke others. Do so in love, always!

Announcements:

November 19 (Wednesday) -- NO SMALL GROUPS

November 21 (Friday) -- LSFG LARGE GROUP. Bowling. Let me or Marina know if you need more info. Pebbles activity.

Week of November 23-29 -- HUDDLES!!! Quarterbacks-- please work with your groups to come up with what you will be donating to for Harvest of Hope. Remember, there is matching involved. This is a great opportunity to bring some hope into people's lives around the world. Contact Bonnie for more info.

October 31st (Halloween)

Happy Halloween, friends!

What a great time to hang out and enjoy each other's company.

Be safe! --and see you at the next small group!

Reminder of upcoming events!

October 31, 2008: Halloween!
@Ben and Marina's club-house.
time-- 7:00pm
other info-- there will be food and dessert! come in your best costume!

November 2, 2008: Operation Christmas Child
@Crowne Plaza Hotel after service
Bring shoe boxes, $7 and toys for a girl or a boy. We'll wrap together and pray over the gift.

First week of November: HUDDLES!
Meet with your huddles groups. Your huddles lead should contact you regarding when and where.

Matthew 6: 25-34 Do not worry.

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Thanks to Ben and Vincent for cooking their delicious salmon and veggie dinner! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture but that's because it disappeared before I had time to bust out my camera! ;p

At this small groups we tried something a bit new-- ice breakers!

"What is one blessing you can share this week?"

Some people shared their victory in condo and apartment cleaning! Another shared a prayer answered after years of keeping the faith! And yet another shared a victory at work. Thanks for sharing!

This time around we talked about what it means to worry. The Bible tells us not to worry because God has us covered! He will provide us with the basic means of life.

Worrying is pointless, not beneficial! We'll end up spending our time in on the problem and fretting instead of working towards solving that problem.

Note verse 33-- this reminds us that we need to seek Him and His kingdom first!--then God will provide. --All things will fall in place.

He knows that we must get overwhelmed, as humans, too, as he tells us to take things one day at a time in verse 34.

What encouragement!

After the study we shared root beer floats with our birthday boy of the week, Ben!!!! Happy birthday! Thanks for being one cool kat!

Matthew 6:19-24 (Oct 15, 2008)

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

This evening we talked about treasures--both earthly and heavenly. We discussed the differences between the two. One is perishable, desirable, storable. The other is imperishable, eternal. The problem and danger with earthly treasures is the pride, joy and comfort that comes with it and how it takes away our focus from God and His promise. While money/treasures can be used to further God's kingdom we must be wary of our intentions and not let personal greed tempt us into accumulating wealth for personal gain. Serving wealth is to want more wealth which is used to accumulate more wealth... what a vicious and futile cycle!

We cannot serve two Masters! Choose your adventure wisely, traveller.

Announcements:
- We'll be having ice breakers going forward to get people talking! Don't fret, we won't ask you to solve calculus problems.
- Halloween for SJ is at the clubhouse at Marina/Ben's complex. Dress us and invite some friends. Keep in mind that we can't have too many guests due to space, though!
- Oct 19 (Sunday) = Men's Meat and Greet at Cheasapeake. Contact Sam K. It's a great time to meet people and scarf down on MEAT!
- Oct 19 (Sunday) = Women's card making at Acacia. Contact Yukari. Come and get crafty! We'll be making nifty cards that you'll have a hard time giving away because you'll want to keep them for your own enjoyment!

And now for your enjoyment -- pictures of the food crew!

Thanks to Sam and Justin for cooking up some awesome apple chicken and veggies! MMM MM good!

LSFG - San Jose game night (10.01.08)

This time Jeff and Tak made us yakisoba. mmmmmmm Japanese noodles!
Thanks to the awesome chefs for our delicious meal!












































*******************
************************************************************
**************At this meeting we continued our journey in Matthew 6:9-15:

9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.^[a]'
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew shares with us that when we pray it should be real, personal and honest. The old-schoolers of prayer would regurgitate words and called it prayer. It lost it's point. God wants to hear us; He wants us to have a conversation with us. Note that Matthew suggests verses 9-13 as a format to pray, but we do not have to pray this word for word. What's important that we do pray to Him. Recognize that He will always provide for us. And that we should share His love to others.

LSFG - San Jose game night (9.26.08)

This past Friday was Ansel's scheduled monthly activity. Thanks for putting it together! We had a game night at Yukari's place. Will so graciously picked up some select Chinese dishes from "King Eggroll" to satisfy our hunger pains. Afterwards, we played a hilarious round of Cranium. So many jokes and memories.

Thank you, Jesus for such blessings as simple as friends gathering together to share a meal and laughs together. May we continue to strengthen our relationships with our family!

Matthew 6:1-6; 16-18 discussions...

When you fast, pray, share the gospel or serve at church-- what are your intentions and motives?

On our last Bible study we studied how we need to focus on God when we live our lives. The focus should never be "me" centered.

Where is your heart when you do those "church-y" activities?


When you give food or money to the poor are you offended when they complain at your gifts? Remember, the only One you need to please is the Lord. He sees what you're doing even though others won't. So be obedient to Him! :)

Happy Birthday to Yuk!

Happy Birthday Yukari! Thank you for sending out weekly evites and emails to keep LSFG SJ on track! We appreciate all your support and hope this coming year will bring many blessings. Good luck with wedding planning!

P.S. Enjoy your freedom while you can. ;)

LSCC Outdoor Service!

Don't forget everyone, next week, Sunday Sept 14, we're having outdoor service for Sunday worship with sport, BBQ and mayhem, so invite your friends!