ADOPT-A-FAMILY

Thanks to everyone who contributed items to the family we adopted this Christmas. Along with the gifts we also gave them a $80 gift card to vallarta so they could purchase food items and a basket of snacks. They were very grateful. I hope that we can do this next year for Christmas but it would be nice if we can do something all year around.

SERMON TEXT: MARK 3:7-19 ESV

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. 13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might sent them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here is a Christmas Gift from me to you and your family!
You see, Eric does not enjoy Christmas and I happen to love Christmas. So here is our compromise!

Happy Holidays CCC,
Sarah Nam

SERMON TEXT: MARK 2:23-3:6 ESV

23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" 25 And he said to them, "Have you ever read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" 27 And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come here." 4 And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

CHRISTMAS SHINDIG

On behalf of the OH FAMILY (younger one that is) we would like to thank all of those that came out to our house to make our annual COVENANT CHRISTMAS PARTY a memorable one. And to those that couldn't make it - we missed you. Great food, great laughs, and unforgettable white elephant gifts. At least David, didn't walk away with the crummiest gift this year. I believe the award for the most unwanted 2009 white elephant gift goes to ....... the Nam's and their beautifully handcrafted (i think) crystal (or was it glass?) serving platter. The highlight of the night was definately giving Pastor Ben his well deserved gift - a Taylor guitar. Thanks to the Covenant family for all the help in making this happen. Thanks to Eric for the great idea.I pray that everyone has a wonderful time with your families during the holidays and look forward to the new year with the Covenant family.

HUMBLE AND GRATEFUL

I received the most wondeful gift from you guys today...i'm not a great musician and i do not pretend to be one but i do know a wonderful instrument when i see one...who would thought that i can have a Taylor guitar...probably the most beautiful guitar out there =) i really had no idea. it was awesome...but what touched me and humbled me, more so than the guitar, is when Hetty told me that my church members had planned this for the whole year...and i can't explain in words how i felt when i read those wonderful and encouraging words from each one of you today in the card...to be quite frank, i do not deserve any of these. i know my flaws, my shortcomings...you guys deserve someone so much better than i. But thank you...thank you for demonstrating God's wonderful grace to me...thank you for considering me as your pastor and thank you for loving me unconditionally...

PB

NEW FASTING: OUR HUNGER AND THIRST FOR CHRIST

So here's a brief summary of last week's sermon. In today's passage, Jesus is confronted by his opponents. Apparently, Jesus' diciples failed to practice fasting like the disciples of John and the Pharisees. Fasting as we know is abstinence from some, or all, food, or water, or both. So then why didn't the disciples fast? And further, why do we fast as believers and what is the goal behind our fasting?

Christ here does not prohibit fasting. In fact, he tells us that his diciples will fast later on. The issue at hand was not fasting itself but it was the way the Pharisees and the disciples of John fasted. Jesus refutes the fasting of the Pharisees b/c of their self-rigtheousness. The Pharisees fasted voluntarily on Mondays and Thursdays as a way of attaining righteousness. Here Jesus condemns thier self-righteous attitude and their hypocrisy.

But what about the fasting of John's disciples? In all likeness, the fasting of John's disciples refers to the fasting of the old covenant. As we have learned, John was the last representative of the old covenant (chapter 1). If so, then we have to ask what was the fasting in the old covenant? In the OT, fasting, particularly on the Day of Atonement, calls for a need for repentance. The saints of the OT fasted in fear of God's judgment as they repented for their sins before the Lord.

But Jesus' disciples do not fast like the Pharisees and they do not fast like the OT saints. Their fasting is different. And this is the point! In today's passage, Jesus does away the old and he gives us something new: The old fasting is gone but a new fasting is given. Consider the analogies given by Jesus in today's passage: Wedding feast, a new cloth and a new wine. What is the common thread? There is an element of 'incompatibility." Wedding feast and fasting are incompatible; a new cloth and old garment are incompatible; a new wine and old wineskin are incompatible. Yes, the old fasting and the new fasting are incompatible.

Our Christian fasting has a different dimension. The goal of fasting is not to earn righteousness or to receive forgiveness but rather it is Christ and Christ alone. Jesus says, "They (his disciples) will not fast when they are with the bridegroom but they will fast again when he is taken away." The phrase 'when he is taken away,' has two-fold meaning. One, it refers to a time when Jesus is arrested and tried and crucified on the cross. And there on the cross, Jesus ultimately fulfills the old covenant fasting. Yes, he hungers and he thirsts and he fasts for the sake of our sin on the cross, does he not? Jesus says, "I thirst" on the cross so that he may take away our sin once for all. And this is why we fast as believers in the Lord. We fast so that we may now come to confess our faith in the One who is the Bread of Heaven and who is the Living Water. We fast so that we might be drawn to Christ; we fast so that we might eat of Him and we might drink of Him.

And this is the second meaning of "when he is taken away." Here we refer to our condition as a church of Christ in between comings of Christ. Yes, Jesus is with us in the Spirit but he is not with us in the flesh. So we fast as a church of Christ b/c we believe in the Son of God as our Saviour. We fast as a church b/c we know that one day we will be with the Lord in heaven. John Piper said, "We hunger so that we'd know what it means to hunger after Christ who is the Bread from Heaven. We thirst so that we'd know what it means to thirst after Christ who is the Living Water." Do you see how radically different our fasting is in the Lord?

So do fast, but more so, do hunger and thirst after your Lord. Are you truly content in the Lord? Is He sufficient enough for you in your life? How many of us are willing to say, "I need not food and water as long as I have Christ"? May the Lord bless you and challenge you.

PB

NEW MEMBERS: THE JU FAMILY

This past Sunday we experienced another awesome blessing from the Lord as we welcomed the newest members to the Covenant Family, Kevin and Christine Ju and their two wonderful children Cadyn and Katie. They've been sharing their time with us in worship and fellowship for the past few months and now they have graciously become members of Covenant Community Church. It's always a blessing to see our church grow with great people.

UPDATE: COVENANT CHRISTMAS DINNER

More details about the big Christmas Party:

Sunday December 20, 2009 @ 4:00 PM

The Oh Residence
11780 Doral Ave.
Northridge, CA 91326

We will be having our traditional White Elephant Gift Exchange so bring a little something around $10. Remember, no re-gifting or used items! Nobody wants a box of used condiments from the fridge.

Also, we will be playing fun games. We're still open to suggestions so if you have any please share. So far we have Cranium, MAFIA, and Taboo.

Oh, and it's going to be a potluck so please talk to Grace (I think) about what to bring.

See you all there!

SERMON TEXT: MARK 2:18-22 ESV

18 John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, " Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19 And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. If he does, the wine will burst the skins - and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins."

COVENANT CHRISTMAS DINNER!!!

Christmas-Time is here again...da da da...doo doo doo...blah blah blah...

It's time for the famous Covenant Christmas Dinner again!

This year The Oh Family will be graciously hosting the event at their home.

Sunday December 20, 2009 @ 4:00pm

We'll have lots of goodies and games for all to enjoy so mark your calendars. More details to follow so stay tuned...

THOSE WHO ARE SICK

Since Eric (At least i think it is Eric) posted the past Sunday's text, i felt somewhat obligated to give a short summary. A wonderful passage, isn't it? We clearly see the gospel, both the law and grace. The law first b/c it reveals our unrighteousness. Jesus reminds us that we are sinners. He shows us that we are sick. But there's more...so much more, so much more of His glorious grace. Jesus says, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners." Yes, Jesus is our heavenly physician. He has come to us because we are sick. He has come to call sinners. So we thank the Lord. We thank Jesus. We have been healed by the power of the gospel.

Think about this more...Jesus has come to serve us. Pretty amazing, isn't it? And that's what our Lord's Day worship is all about. We come to Jesus because he is our heavenly physician. We come to Jesus b/c we are sick. Yes, worship is indeed "Divine Service," it is a place where Jesus comes to give us a heavenly remedy called 'grace.' So many people think that worship is something that we do onto God but it is just the opposite. Worship is where Jesus ministers to us, he serves us, he heals us...it's entirely His doing, not ours.

So come...come to Jesus. Come b/c we are sick...come b/c he is your heavenly physician. And would you also share that with those who are sick. Bring them to Christ b/c he is the one who can heal them. So how can we not share the gospel with others? How can we not let others know of Christ's amazing power to heal us? I was greatly humbled and touched by God's grace this past Sunday. I'm so thankful that i have this privilege of serving you as your pastor...have a wonderful week and remember your heavenly physician.

PB

SERMON TEXT: MARK 2:13-17 ESV

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at the table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

MORE COUPONS

Ok, so I have another coupon to share. I know all you mommy's shop at Gapkids and I know our entire family shops at Gap! So here's a little something for you to use during the holidays! This coupon can be printed multiple times. You get 20% off everything! Have fun shopping.
-Jeanny

FRESHOP

For all the mommys, check out this cool online store. It's run by my good friend's wife, but that's not why I'm telling you about it :)

Every high-quality item on the site is hand-picked and eco-friendly. They are very passionate about providing the best organic products for children that's available. And they're having a holiday sale right now.

Click on the coupon to link.

BABY JOEL IS FINALLY A WHOLE NUMBER!

This Saturday Mr. Joel Shin, recipient of the 2009 Cutest Baby on Township Avenue Award, will have his 1st birthday!

Come celebrate with the family!

Info:

Great Wall of China Restaurant
989 S. Dewey Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90008
(213) 384-1119

Saturday December 5, 2009 @ 5:00PM

ADOPT-A-FAMILY

Hey Everyone. I just sent out an e-mail regarding Adopt a family. Please sign up if you can. Let me know soon.

WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP: 9/26/09

Our last women's ministry was held at Santa Monica Pier. It was a lot of fun... We rode bikes along the beach, ate some hot dogs, and had some quality time over some ice cold drinks. It was a wonderful day of laughter, sharing, and girls just having fun... I cannot wait for our next women's ministry day so stay tuned for more... =)

GREAT BLOG

Great blog Eric. Looks very professional. Thanks for doing this.

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

My GT Performer bicycle. That's what I was thankful for in 1989. Well that and the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the '88 World Series a year before against the Oakland A's (which we all still appreciate here in LA seeing that the Dodgers haven't clenched so much as a fist since then). Passing my Modern American Poetry mid-term in college even though I usually preferred grabbing coffee and bagels with friends rather than going to class. That's what I was thankful for in 1999. Oh and of course the fact that the Y2K scare turned out to be nothing more than a reason to blast Prince on the stereo on New Year's Eve.

This year I am thankful for many things, of course, the main item being the most obvious item: getting married to Sarah. And I have to say I think I've grown up a bit in the past 20 years. Don't get me wrong, my Performer was a top-o-the-line BMX machine and although I appreciate poetry my professor couldn't have made T.S. Eliot any drier than he already is. But I think this marriage thing is a pretty big step.

I...we are most thankful that we grew and matured under God's providence and grace, and together with everyone at Covenant Community. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

(Oh and special thanks for the New York Yankees taking the Series for the first time in nine years. They've secretly been my favorite team since Don Mattingly manned first base.)

Here are some pics of everybody from our wedding three months ago (already!)

MORE PICTURES

Just wanted to share pictures I took this past Sunday...

Roman's Dad looks super happy!

Little Women

Allen and Eric grubbing

Banqueting Table

Mini Banqueting Table

i AM THANKFUL FOR OUR CHURCH!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

LOVE, JEANNY CHANG

MR.NAM

Kudos on this blogspot Bong. Much obliged. I see you were able to get a picture of Roman. I guess he got tired of running away from you.

richard

Thanks Eric for setting this up. I'm excited about this. Wish I could take credit for the yummy creamed corn but that was all Jeanny. I made the mushy yams. To finish what I was trying to say on Sunday during our time of sharing(or should I say "To start") I am especially thankful for Marcus getting better and Kylee doing so much better. I am thankful for that challenge and all that God taught me through it.

WHAT IF...

What if we have no family? What if we have no friends? What if we have no neighbors? What if we have no church? What if we have no grace? What if we have no heaven? What if we have no Christ? We often struggle to find a reason for thanksgiving. But ponder and see, "What if...?" Then you'd come to say at the end, "How can I not thank the Lord?" Happy Thanksgiving!

PB

EARLY THANKSGIVING

Covenant Community don't mess around when it comes to Thanksgiving. I mean just look at all that beauty: a perfect 16 lb. bird (a la Donald), rosemary mashed potatoes and gravy (a la Jay), creamed corn (a la Jeanny), candied yams (a la Hetty), Honeybaked ham and cranberry relish (a la Jerry), fruit & veggie stuffing (a la Jeanny), and not to mention what Richard referred to as a "dangerous" pumpkin cheesecake (not pictured). Today's sermon (Mark 1:40-45) was a bit excruciating to endure as the aroma of all these glorious goodies were wafting into the prayer hall from the kitchen. Is it just me or did Pastor Ben wrap up his message just a little faster than usual? Before plating up we did our tradition of going around the room to hear each member's list of things to be thankful for. This part always seems like a hassle at first because who really wants to be put on the spot? But once the round is done it's always nice to hear about everyone's sincerest blessings and we all realize we are thankful to have things to be thankful for.

Needless to say we all immediately bee-lined it to the serving tables, eager to load up our styrofoam plates with about 3,000 calories worth of pure heaven. You never heard as many groans and cries of joy from adult men.

Afterwards all the little Covenanteers joined Pastor Ben in singing and dancing to praise songs, while the old folks slowly succumbed to the onset of food coma and tryptophan sedation.


























































At the end we all walked away feeling a little warmer, a little closer to each other, and a little more settled in our hearts. It's funny how soothing it can be to fix our gaze upon those things that God blesses us with. It's also funny how easily we sometimes forget.

-Eric