TFPC EM NEWSLETTER - OCTOBER 5, 2022

The Church, In Action, Together

Today is October 5, 2022

Welcome to your mid-week!

The bible tells us in John 8:44 that the devil is known as the father of lies.
The bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8 that the devil is like a lion trying to devour us. In the original language the word ‘devour’ has a direction, and that direction is downward. Meaning, the lies of Satan are heavy. They want to see us fall.

However, if the church is in action...

If the church is obeying the commands of God
If the church is moving as the body of Christ should
If the church is being the hands and feet of God
If the church is doing the good work that God has prepared in advance for us to do
If the church is running with perseverance the race marked out for it
If the church is striving to be united under the banner of Christ,

...then the lies of the enemy do not affect us. Then, not only do we resist the lies, but, in Christ, we stand victorious.

And what is one action that Jesus commands the church to do together? Communion. 

Amidst all the lies that Satan would tell us that would attack our insecurities or pride, it is through the act of communion that we remember our true identity, our purpose, and our hope. 

And so, let us recommit to being the church in action for, when the church is in action together, then all are blessed.

God's blessing upon you as you mediate on the actions God calls us to do together, and I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday.

- Rev. Frank Kim

Youtube link from last Sunday's Worship: HERE
Cell Group Discussion: HERE

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Announcements​

• EM Ministry Needs - Praise Team Members
• The Praise Team is looking for more members to help for both the 9:45am and 11:30am worship service. If interested, please contact our praise leader, Allison

• Upcoming Ministry Calendar
  • ​Oct 9 (Sun) - Ministry Council

• ​​Finance Office Announcement
  • ​For Online Offering (found HERE) please make sure to select 'English Ministry' and to scroll down and type in where you would want your offering to go in the 'Note / memo' area. 

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TFPC EM NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

The Thing About the End Times

Today is September 28, 2022

Welcome to your mid-week!

When I was the boy, I remember watching a movie about the rapture and being scared about being left behind. Ever since then, I've always had a mild fascination about the topic of the end times, aka the apocalypse. 

However, in Jesus' teaching on the topic in Mark 13, he doesn't give that many details on it. He doesn't talk about the rapture or the anti-Christ or Armageddon. Yes, in his comparison to the 'Fall of Jerusalem', Jesus alludes to the devastation that the book of Revelation talks about. However, Jesus' main point is not concerned with those sensational topics.

Put simply, Jesus teaches us to not be deceived, to continue the good work of evangelism, to not worry - even if things get so bad that the sky turns black - because Jesus will come back.

When it comes to the end times, the return of Jesus is the main point that Jesus wants to convey. And the reason for this is two fold:

One, to remind his disciples that the righteous will ultimately triumph; that appearances are deceiving; that no matter how uncertain or chaotic the world may be, God is still in control.

And two, to motivate his disciples to continue to be faithful. That, in the face of persecution or uncertainty or war or disaster, to continue to be his disciples and do the good work of evangelism.

This is the last lesson of Jesus before his death in the gospel of Mark. 

With so much speculation and theories on the end times, let us be encouraged by this lesson. We are victorious in Christ. Jesus will return. Therefore, let us press onward in faith till his return.

God's blessing upon you as you mediate on the end times and what Christ's return means, and I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday.

- Rev. Frank Kim

Youtube link from last Sunday's Worship: HERE
Cell Group Discussion: HERE

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Announcements

• World Communion Sunday is THIS Sunday
• Our annual, bi-lingual, multi-generational, multi-cultural joint worship will take place next Sunday at 11:30am. There will be NO 9:45am EM worship service and NO education worship service that Sunday. 

• New College Small Group Leader
• Starting October 1, Pastor Haein, our Youth Pastor, will also be taking on the responsibility of being our 'EM College Small Group Leader.’ EM College students will continue to come to our EM adult worship, but a weekly small group and all outside events will be led by him. Question? Please contact Pastor Haein 

• EM Ministry Needs - Praise Team Members
• The Praise Team is looking for more members to help for both the 9:45am and 11:30am worship service. If interested, please contact our praise leader, Allison

• Upcoming Ministry Calendar
  • Oct 2 (Sun) – World Communion Sunday – Joint Worship
  • Oct 2 (Sun) - PV Cell Group
  • Oct 9 (Sun) - Ministry Council

• ​Finance Office Announcement
  • ​For Online Offering (found HERE) please make sure to select 'English Ministry' and to scroll down and type in where you would want your offering to go in the 'Note / memo' area. 

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TFPC EM NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

The Thing About Discipleship

Today is September 21, 2022

Welcome to your mid-week!

In Mark 10, one chapter before Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, there are three seemingly random interactions with Jesus all dealing with various topics. However, taken from a larger view of the book, all three interactions teach us about discipleship.

• From the interaction with the Pharisees, Jesus is teaching us that discipleship requires us to live a higher standard than the world or the law.
• From the interaction with the little children, Jesus is teaching us that discipleship requires us to go to the object of our faith; to abide in Jesus Christ.
• From the interaction with the rich man, Jesus is teaching us that discipleship requires radical trust in our Lord. 

And, by framing discipleship amidst all these interactions, the gospel of Mark is showing us that discipleship expresses itself within relationships. That discipleship is not an academic exercise but something that is lived out with the people around us.

Now, yes, all of that is hard to do. Discipleship is hard and costly and it takes sacrifice. However, ultimately, Jesus is teaching us that discipleship is worth it. That discipleship is worth more than what this world can give us; more than any material wealth or fortune. As Jesus says in Mark 8:

Mark 8:36
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

And that is ultimately why Jesus calls all of us to follow him.

God’s blessing upon you as you meditate on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday.

- Rev. Frank Kim

Youtube link from last Sunday's Worship: HERE
Cell Group Discussion: HERE

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Announcements

• Joint Mexico Missions with KM – November 4th-6th (Fri-Sun)
  • Where: Tijuana & Mexicali
  • Cost: $100 [Updated]
  • Training Schedule: 10/9-10/30 (4 Sundays)
  • Register in the Main Lobby starting next week

• Upcoming Ministry Calendar
  • Sept 22 (Thu) - YMF Cell Group [UPDATE]
  • Sept 25 (Sun) - Pre-K Open House
  • Sept 27 (Tues) - YP Cell Group
  • Oct 2 (Sun) – World Communion Sunday – Joint Worship
  • Oct 2 (Sun) - PV Cell Group

• ​Finance Office Announcement
  • ​For Online Offering (found HERE) please make sure to select 'English Ministry' and to scroll down and type in where you would want your offering to go in the 'Note / memo' area. 

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TFPC EM NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

The Thing About Perseverance 

Today is September 14, 2022

Welcome to your mid-week!

In one way, John the Baptist's death is a reminder of the danger of sharing the gospel. That, as Apostle Paul says, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

At the same time, seeing the evangelistic work of John the Baptist thrive after his death, should remind us that the evangelistic work we do is not in vain. That, no matter the opposition, the work we do will not only last, but it is effective.

For the Roman Gentile Christians hearing this message from the Gospel of Mark, it would have encouraged them to persevere in the midst of the persecution that they were going through. And, historically, we know that their evangelistic work - as impossible as it might have seemed at the time - did make an impact. For, in ~300 years, Christianity would become the official religion of the Roman Empire.

For us, whatever impossible evangelistic dream or goal we have, the Gospel of Mark challenges us to not give up on it but to persevere through the persecutions we face. That, just as the good work of the gospel thrived despite all the oppositions against it, so will the kingdom work we do thrive.

God's blessings upon you as you persevere in living the evangelistic life, and I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday.

- Rev. Frank Kim

Youtube link from last Sunday's Worship: HERE
Cell Group Discussion: HERE

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Announcements

• Joint Mexico Missions with KM – November 4th-6th (Fri-Sun)
  • Where: Tijuana & Mexicali
  • Cost: Free. 
  • Training Schedule: 10/9-10/30 (4 Sundays)
  • Register in the Main Lobby starting next week

• Upcoming Ministry Calendar
  • Sept 18 (Sun) - Elementary Open House
  • Sept 22 (Thu) - YMF Cell Group [UPDATE]
  • Sept 25 (Sun) - Pre-K Open House
  • Oct 2 (Sun) – World Communion Sunday – Joint Worship

• ​Finance Office Announcement
  • ​For Online Offering (found HERE) please make sure to select 'English Ministry' and to scroll down and type in where you would want your offering to go in the 'Note / memo' area. 

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TFPC EM NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

The Thing About Evangelism

Today is September 7, 2022

Welcome to your mid-week!

For the audience of the Gospel of Mark - Gentile Christians - sharing the gospel would have been incredibly challenging and frustrating. Unlike their Jewish counterparts, Gentiles had no common ground, no shared history, & no mutual understanding of the Messiah with other Gentiles. Their attempts at obeying Jesus' command to 'go and make disciples of all nations' would have resulted in many failures. 

And so, how to encourage them? Cue the Gospel of Mark.

In the first formal lesson of Jesus recorded in the Gospel, we have precisely what the readers needed to hear when it came to evangelism. 

• ‘The Parable of the Sower’ reminds us that evangelism is dependent on the heart of the listener. That, no matter how eloquently or sincere or logically sound our presentation might be, we should not get frustrated if we are not seeing results.
• ‘A Lamp on a Stand’ reminds us of the importance to continue to evangelize despite not seeing results.
• ‘The Parable of the Growing Seed’ reminds us that ‘successful' evangelism is also dependent upon the divine power of God. That there is a ‘God factor' or 'God's timing' to evangelism. 
• ‘The Parable of the Mustard Seed’ reminds us that evangelism is worth it. That when one is saved, many are blessed by it.

In the face of the challenges of trying to live the life of evangelism - something all Christians are called to do - the Gospel of Mark pauses the action and gives us these important lessons on evangelism.

May they encourage you as it did the original audience of Mark to continue the share the gospel message - both directly and indirectly, and I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday.

- Rev. Frank Kim

Youtube link from last Sunday's Worship: HERE
Cell Group Discussion: HERE

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Announcements

• Women’s Seasonal Cell Group 
  • Starting THIS Friday, September 9 from 7pm-8:30pm (which runs alongside with the FNF of the Education Department). Location: Room adjacent to the Youth Chapel, behind the AV room. This 9-week bible study will go through the first season of ‘The Chosen,’ a drama about the life of Jesus Christ. Led by Anna Benedict. If you have any questions, please contact Anna.

• Joint Mexico Missions with KM – November 4th-6th (Fri-Sun)
  • Where: Tijuana & Mexicali
  • Cost: Free. 
  • Training Schedule: 10/9-10/30 (4 Sundays)
  • Register in the Main Lobby starting next week

• Upcoming Ministry Calendar
  • Sept 9 (Fri) – Women’s Cell Group Begins
  • Sept 11 (Sun) - Ministry Council Meeting
  • Sept 11 (Sun) - Youth Open House
  • Sept 18 (Sun) - Elementary Open House
  • Sept 22 (Thu) - YMF Cell Group [UPDATE]
  • Sept 25 (Sun) - Pre-K Open House
  • Oct 2 (Sun) – World Communion Sunday – Joint Worship

• ​Finance Office Announcement
  • ​For Online Offering (found HERE) please make sure to select 'English Ministry' and to scroll down and type in where you would want your offering to go in the 'Note / memo' area. 

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