The Real Deal: 1 John 1:5-2:2

1 John 1:5-2:2

5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an [1] Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Notes from the study:
John writes that God is Holy and in Him, there is no darkness. Therefore, in order to have fellowship with God, we must strive for holiness and not walk in darkness. In order to have fellowship with God, we need to recognize His holiness along with his other characteristics. His holiness is what prevents him from having fellowship with sinners, who are not made holy by the blood for Jesus. It is what causes him to bring righteous wrath on the world that walks in darkness. In the coming day, he will not abide that which is not made holy by His work through Jesus (what do you mean by he will not abide that which is not made holy...). We as Christians need to understand this if we are to have fellowship with God.
John then goes on to contrast those that understand and those that don’t. Verses 6 and 7 are paired as well as verses 8 and 9. One could make the case that verse 10 and 2:1-2 are a pair, but it doesn’t really follow the form of 6/7 and 8/9. The content of 10 and 2:1-2 do contrast each other.

“If we say” verses are lies of the false or Gnostic teachers. They are compared against the next verse, which is truth. Verse 6, 8, and 10 all contain lie or some form of it (v6 lie, v8 truth is not in us, v10 liar). So as to say, if you do this, you are sinning or walking the path of a sinner / walking in darkness.

Verse 7,9 and 2:1-2 all contain the forgiveness of sin, extremely important to the central message of the gospel but even more so as this stands in opposition to v8 and v10 (we have no sin, we have not sinned). We use the term of walking in light as a metaphor for full disclosure, not hiding anything. A man who walks in this way acknowledges his sin and asks for forgiveness (if a Christian). A person who walks in darkness uses that darkness to hide away their sin, thus making the claims that they have no sin or have not sinned or even do not sin. Walk in the light, strive to be holy, and ask for the forgiveness of the Lord and he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us in the blood of his son, Christ Jesus, who paid the price for our sin, nay for the whole world’s sin.(2:2)

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Announcements:

No small groups 7/21, Wed as we have in-person prayer on Monday 7/19 at Cheasapeake Manor (34756 Chesapeake Ct, Union City, CA 94587). For more information contact Justin Chien at slk23022@gmail.com.

Vincent has been so kind to set up daily Bible selection distributions to whomever asks. Please let us know if you'd like to be included in these emails.

7/7/2010: HUDDLES: Complete Surrender (St Augustine)

Our session was on the battle within! The body is pretty darn good at listening to our mind-- we want the food, we grab it, we eat. But sometimes the mind won't listen to itself! Habits, bad habits, conflicting wills, get in our way...

We read an excerpt by St Augustine's "Confessions". St Augustine freely expresses the struggle he faces with his own mind! Why can't he just make his decision immediately? What is holding him back? Why are old habits so hard to shake? Who will free him? He was drawn to read the Word and he read a passage from Romans 13:13- 14 and realized the Lord Jesus Christ would be the one to set him free! He needed to get away from his sins and arm himself with the Lord. His hope should be on the Lord, we should no longer be a slave to our flesh, but a slave to God.


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Other news:

Don't forget to sign up for retreat! Remember, this means submitting payment AND filling out the appropriate paperwork. See details in previous post, below. The early sign up (and cheapest price of $115) is by this coming Sunday.

Pool party on Aug 14th (Saturday): more info to come!

Study on 1 John 1:1-4: Passage and Summary

Incarnation: Fellowship with One Another and Him
1 John 1:1-1:4
1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life--
2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us--
3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made

What is the main thing we are trying to get from this study?
Validation of Christ and who he was. John has some authority in this manner, being a close associate of Jesus. This beginning is setting up his assertion of the supremacy of Christ. This was to battle the Gnostic belief that Jesus was never in the flesh. John is linking the spirit and the flesh by saying he was always there and he came in the flesh, and we (John and the disciples) have see him in the flesh.
We’ve heard, touched, seen with our eyes.
V1 is talking about the physical manifestation of Christ. V 2 is talking about the spiritual. Both are important regarding the gospel. V3 is about the gospel and having faith in Jesus which allows you to have fellowship with God. Both physical and spiritual manifestation of Christ is important to the validity and power of the gospel. He could not die for our sins if he was never flesh. He could also not conquer death for us if he was not divine.

2010 Retreat Info

Hey Guys, here's the info for retreat this year.

August 27-29, 2010 (Friday to Sunday)
Westminster Woods
6510 Bohemian Hwy.
Occidental, CA 95465

Register HERE

Early Bird Price (register by next Saturday 7/18):
Individuals - $115

Regular Price (register by 8/1):
Individuals - $140

Late Price (register after 8/1):
Individuals - $175

NOTE: You are not registered until you've completed the registration form AND paid the registration fee. Please pay the registration fee with cash or check payable to LSCC to Alan. Scholarships are available for those with financial need, please talk to Alan.

*the photograph used in this post does not reflect the retreat site, nor is it an accurate representation of Westminster Woods. It is merely used here to encourage you to sign up for retreat.

LSFG San Jose activity: Second Harvest Food bank

For those who want more information about our activity, please contact Marina Kong:


Hey Guys,

We are having a small group volunteer activity on Wednesday, June 2nd from 6-8pm. We will be sorting food for Second Harvest Food Bank at their San Jose Distribution Center located at 750 Curter Ave. San Jose CA. There is a cap of 10 people so please let me know if you can make it. We will be going to dinner together after volunteering at a restaurant in Japantown called Hukilau. Please eat a snack or something beforehand so you're not starving since we will be having a late dinner.

PLEASE READ THROUGH THIS EMAIL, OR AT THE VERY LEAST THE BOLDED RED SECTION. I want an email confirmation from everyone. :) If you want to learn more click here: http://www.shfb.org/volunteer

Thanks!
MarinaPLEASE CONSIDER BRINGING A DONATION OF NON PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS WHEN YOU COME TO SORT

SUBJECT

Living Stones Christian Church Warehouse Food Sort on Wednesday, 6/2/2010, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the San Jose Distribution Center. Please refer to the address of the location listed at the end of this email.

We are looking forward to having your group come and volunteer with us. We value you spending time with us and we strive to start your volunteer experience on time. Please plan on arriving no sooner than 10 minutes prior to and no later than 10 minutes after your scheduled sorting shift time. Specific to evenings and weekend food sorts, due to training and securing of our warehouse, we are sometimes unable to accommodate late arrivals as registration closes 20 minutes past the schedule sorting shift time.

Watch a video about how we work and share it with friends!

ENTRANCE FOR FOOD SORTING

San Jose Distribution Center: Weekday Monday to Friday - use front administrative entrance. Evening and Weekend - use warehouse entrance located on side of building.

REQUIREMENTS

All volunteers must bring completed and signed forms with them to the Food Bank.

The dress code at the Food Bank is casual and comfortable. No shorts and no tank tops are permitted. Closed toe shoes and long pants are required. Please leave all valuables in the trunk of your cars. No purses or backpacks.

ATTACHMENTS - VOLUNTEER FORMS AND DIRECTIONS

We look forward to working with you!

Regards,

Second Harvest Food Bank Volunteer Services Staff

Found it!

The logo for our team! ;p

IRON CHEF (San Jose)

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to post some pictures from our Iron Chef Event. Thanks for all your hard work everyone. I don't have a picture on me at the moment, but Arthur designed a nifty logo for our team! :) It was egg-cellent! We also got praise for the consistency of our dishes and for best presentation! Woohoo! I'm sure the families enjoyed our dishes (and won't want to eat eggs for months after this event, haha!).

Upcoming Activities

March 24th, Prayer Activity for LSF San Jose and Santa Clara groups.
Meet at Yukari and Ansel's house at 7:00 then eat at Chipotle at 7:30. Afterwards we'll have Prayer Activit at Yukari and Ansel's.




LSF Cancelled during the first week of April because....
Good Friday service is on April 2nd.




Easter Sunday Service, April 4
Crowne Plaza Hotel @ Union City



LSF Cancelled April 28th because....
Iron Chef competition amongst small groups on May 1st

Lessons on James

Our latest lesson was on James 2: 14-26:

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^a]">[a]? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"^b]">[b] and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

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Our actions should be an overflow of our heart. While we are saved by our acceptance of Jesus dying on the cross as our Awesome God, let us not be "useless" Christians. The next time you are given the opportunity to live God's Word, by all means, LIVE IT!

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Thanks always for the cooks for feeding our physical bodies!




Even after a long day of work, they keep on smiling.... At least one of cooks is ;p
Fellowship.
After feeding the body.... we feed the soul. Sharing and prayer.

^{1 John 3:16-20:
16}This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ¹⁹This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Happy 2010~!

Hello friends!

I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year's. Welcome to 2010!

This year we'll be reading devotionals as part of our Bible study. It's called:

Devotional Classics, Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups
by Richard Foster and James B Smith
We'd appreciate $5 for the book. Marina will be collecting the payments.
On our study last week, Jan 6th we read and discussed the first chapter which was a piece from C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity". It's a good read so check it out!

Annoucements:
LSFG San Jose Huddles (Wed, 13th): We'll be either eating out or ordering in at the Kong's place. In any case, after dinner we'll conduct Huddles at the Kong's place. See you there!
Worship training (Sunday, Jan 10th) : If you want to belt it out for Jesus (or play it out for Jesus) Please contact Vincent Mo for sign ups.
Prayer on Mondays -- Justin will be hosting the weekly Prayer sessions as usual. Come by and pray for our loved ones or let us know what you need. :) Please see the weekly emails for the dial in information.
Christian Foundations Classes: Originally geared towards those getting baptized this is also open for those who want to learn the foundations of the Gospel.
Snow trip (Feb 6th weekend): Danny Kai Cheng is the organizer. Please sign up if you're interested. It's should be fun!
Children's Ministry: We're still looking for helpers for Sunday school and Friday baby sitting during the Family Ministry. Please contact Jenny Chien or Elena Liu for more info! We'd love to have you!
Impact Team: Impact Team is looking for more volunteers to create some movement in our community. Contact Bonnie Mo or Will Li for more!


God bless you!

Announcements

Here are the announcements~!!!

LSFG San Jose
There will be no small groups on December 23rd and 30th since it's Christmas or New Year's week.

Sunday, January 4th, 2010
Church service will not be held at Crowne Plaza. Instead, we will be visiting another church. Stay tuned for an email with details.

February 2010- LSCC Snow trip
For those interesting in hitting the slopes LSCC will have it's annual snow/boarding/skiing trip in February of 2010. Contact Justin Chien if interested. It's a good time to get away from it all, fellowship with brothers and sisters, and show your skills on those hills!

Changes / Growth

Hello LSCC'ers!

There's been a change in our South Bay group. Jeff and Justin have decided to head up with the start of a Santa Clara group. This change and the transition is not always easy, but we hope it will allow the San Jose group to have room to grow once again and let us continue to support each other as our brothers step out from their comfort zones.

May God watch over Jeff and Justin in LSFG Santa Clara, and may God continue to build leaders and new members into the San Jose group!

LSFG South Bay!

Retreat this weekend!

Hey Everyone,

Just a reminder that we wont be meeting for small group tonight. Instead, we'll be meeting this weekend in Santa Cruz for our LSCC Retreat! Here's some info below for this weekend.


Retreat Location: Sequoia Retreat Center (11445 Alba Rd Ben Lomond, CA 95005)
Arrival Time: Friday 10/23 @ 7pm
Things to pack:

- Sleeping bags/Own bedding (sheets and blanket)
- Pillow

- Towel
- Toiletries

- Bug spray
- Comfortable sturdy shoes for walking/hiking
- Jacket (check weather)
- Bible
- Journal
- Books "Jesus with Dirty Feet"
- Own devotional materials
- flashlight with fresh batteries

- layered clothing (check weather and pack accordingly)
- Ear Plugs if you're a light sleeper
- Alarm Clock
- Water bottles (Siggs, Nalgene, Camelbak, Contigo!)

- Games to play with the others (board games, card games...)

Directions from San Jose

• Take Highway 17 toward Santa Cruz
  

• Exit at Mt. Hermon Road and turn right at the signal onto Mt. Herman Road.
  FYI: Google maps and navigation systems will take you via Bear Creek Road – while it is possible arrive via Bear Creek Road it is a longer drive.

• Take Mt. Herman Road 4.5 miles through Scott's Valley, on through the hills down to the town of Felton.

• You will come to a "T" with a signal at Graham Hill Road. (If you go straight you will be in the parking lot of a park.) Turn right onto Graham Hill Road.

• Turn right again onto Highway 9 (next signal).

• Continue north through Felton and on to Ben Lomond.

• Go straight through the 4-way signal in Ben Lomond.

• Go 0.5 mile and turn left onto Alba Road. Be careful not to turn too soon or you will end up on Hubbard Gulch Road. Hubbard and Alba are close together.

• Go 1.5 miles to The Sequoia Retreat Center sign on your left. Enter the next left.

• Follow the signs to Check In, park and walk to The Welcome Center for check-in.
  
  
  

Drive safe and see you all there!

Pot Pies & Putt Putt!

Thanks for everyone who came out and joined our activity! It was awesome to play with everyone and hang out outside of the bible study context. For those who couldn't make it, we missed you and hope you'll are feeling better!

ANNOUNCEMENT: We're having large group bible study at Crowne Plaza next week.
When: 10/7, Wednesday @ 7:30pm
Where: Crowne Plaza
Dinner will be served so be ontime!
Please don't show up at Berina Lair otherwise I'll know you didn't read this!!

Here are some photos from our activity... Enjoy!

The Putt Putters

Crazy Eyes!

Surprise! blinding flash!

Shot on goal... oops, wrong sport. ;)

Work it Asah! Work it!

Pretending to pass gas...

Actually passing gas.... Yes, this is the winning team...

ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!

Our next meeting on September 30th will be at!!!!!!

Marie Callender
751 East El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
408-245-3710
@7:00PM

then, onto some friendly competition at:
Golfland
855 E. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
time TBD--after dinner (8:30???)

See ya'll there!!!

Colossians 3:18-21 Wives, Husbands, Children and Fathers.....

18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

In this study we learned about God's design for families! This was a design created to preserve unity in the family, expanding again on the topic of unity in the church. Some interesting points that were brought up:
In verse 18 the word, "subject"-- this word shows us that the action is voluntary rather than obligatory. Women have the option to submit to their husbands...should they or shouldn't they?
Verses 18-21: A good point that a fellow brother brought up-- women seem to get riled up at verse 18 and men at verse 19 and they get mad at the opposite sex-- but you know what? This is what God personally asked of the wife, and personally asked of the husband. If you're going to get riled up, take it up to the Boss!

Lots of good stuff!

This was noted earlier in the NT in the good book of Ephesians. And you know, when something's repeated in the Good Word, you KNOW how important the topic is!

Ephesians 5:22-39 (New International Version)

Wives and Husbands
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[b] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Last study... There's a memory verse!!

Our last study was on Colossians 3: 15-17:
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father..

Following our last study which spoke of us putting on our new identity in Christ, these last set of verses teaches us that we need to KNOW the word by heart. This allows us to live it out.

With that, make sure to remember our memory verse:
Colossians 3: 17:
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father..

Colossians 3:10-14 Putting on our new identities

Colossians 3:10-14 (New Living Translation)

10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,[a] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,[b] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
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Our latest discussion was on casting off our old self and putting on the new. God promises us a love that is unconditional--where our identities do not matter, except that we are followers of Christ. Clothe yourself, fellow brothers and sisters, with love! Love others like He loves us!

Announcements

LSCC Retreat !

October 23-25, 2009 @ Sequoia Retreat Center
There will also be retreat activities on Thursday, Oct 22nd (optional)

Here's the link to register for the retreat. http://lscc.weebly.com/retreat.html

Please submit payment by writing a check to LSCC or paypal Vincent Mo at veensantmo@gmail.com
$100 before Aug 31<-- BEST PRICE!!!
$120 before Oct 1
$150 before Oct 23
**SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE so if finances are an issue please talk to Bonnie.
Note that your application is not yet complete until you submit a check or paypal before each deadline.

Please contact Bonnie if you have any questions about the retreat. Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday to Jeff & Congrats to the Shaws!

Happy Happy Birthday Jeff!

Congratulations Ansel & Yukari! Welcome back from Kauai!

We'll be having bible study this week so see you tomorrow at 7:30pm!