THANK YOU PASTOR FRANCIS

Pastor Francis,

We at Covenant Community Church would like to send to you our sincerest thanks for generously sharing your time, wisdom, and knowledge with us this past Sunday. Your visit was a true source of encouragement, not only in the words of advice you offered, but also in the fondness to see that our own pastor is blessedly amongst respectable, knowledgeable, and supportive peers. Although God continuously sprinkles our days with endless challenges, He also occasionally reminds us that none of them are wholly insurmountable under His guidance and providence. Because your church and congregation are planted on the east coast, we hope that you would drop by anytime you are on the west (warmer and better) coast again, as our doors are always open. We pray that you have a safe trip back home and we wish you, your family, and your congregation a wonderful new year!


Sincerely,

Covenant Community Church

SERMON TEXT: MALACHI 3:6-10 ESV (COURTESY OF PASTOR FRANCIS)

6 For I the LORD do not change, therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, "How shall we return?" 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, "How have we robbed you?" In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

*This week's sermon was generously provided by Pastor Francis Chang.

BLOGGING TIP #1

Hey All,

I forgot to mention before that there's an easy way to keep up with the blog. I know it's difficult to remind ourselves to check the blog on a regular basis, what with our tightly knit daily routines and all. Sometimes there's no time in our day, or we just simply forget. Well follow these steps and you can keep the blog right in front of you whenever you are online:

1. Open your Firefox browser (If you're still using the virtually obsolete Internet Explorer or Safari browsers you need a serious upgrade. Download Firefox here: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/)
2. Go to this blog (well I guess you're already here).
3. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.
4. Left of center you will see a link that reads "Subscribe (Atom)." Click that.
5. The next page will ask you to subscribe using "Live Bookmark." Do so.
6. Save in your Bookmark Menu.
7. A "Covenant Community Church" tab should appear at the top of your browser, just under the URL field. Voila!

From now on you can access any and all updates by clicking on this tab.

Contact Eric if you have any questions:

(310) 622.5903

eric.bong.nam@gmail.com

PUPPY NEEDS A HOME

We have a Blue-Nosed Pit Bull up for adoption. She's purebred and AKC certified with all her documentation. She has all her shots for the year. Her name is Lima and she's 2 and 1/2 months old. Super smart and super sweet. She's already fully potty-trained and can follow basic commands. These dogs are hard to come across, and grow up to be beautiful. Lima needs a good home, preferably someone with Pit experience, not because Pits are such a scary breed or anything. On the contrary, Pit Bulls are amazing and very intelligent animals that deserve a proud owner and good care. Let me know if you're interested.

RECIPE: "DANGEROUS" PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Lord knows I don't need anymore cheesecake, or any other form of cake for that matter. So in the spirit of "letting go" I want to share my cheesecake recipe with you all. Well it's not really mine, it's based off of Emeril's recipe with a few tweaks here and there. Play around with it and see what happens...

















Crust Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups of Honeymaid Graham Cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup of ground pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of regular unsalted butter

Filling Ingredients:

• 24 oz. of softened cream cheese (3 x 8oz. packages)
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 14 oz. can of Libby's Pumpkin Puree

Kitchenware:

• Oven
• Mixing bowl
• 9-12 inch Springform pan
• Pestle and mortar AND/OR
• Electric chopper
• Shallow baking pan
• Wooden spoon

Steps:

1. Leave cream cheese out of refrigerator in order to bring it to room temperature. Trying to mix cold cheese is like churning asphalt.
   
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Start on crust by finely grinding graham crackers and pecans. It's a bit more work, but I like to use a pestle and mortar. You get more control over the fineness (or coarseness) of the ingredients, but you can always use an electric food chopper or coffee grinder if you want.
   
4. Mix the dry crumbs, pecans, and cinnamon in a bowl.
5. Melt butter in a microwave for about 1-1.5 minutes, depending on the power level of your microwave.
6. Stir butter into the bowl until the dry ingredients become evenly moist.
7. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and press down to an even thickness. The crust should climb up an inch or two up the side of the pan. I like to make a fist and push down with my knuckles and dorsal digits like a gorilla.
   
8. Put aside and work on filling.
9. In a large mixer bowl combine the softened cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. You can use an electric hand mixer or mix by hand. I burned out two hand mixers in a row making this cake so I now go with the latter method. It's harder on the elbows and you'll end up with small lumps of white unmixed cream cheese in the final product, but the taste is all the same. Mix and beat this until everything is combined and fluffy.
10. Now add the eggs and yolks all at once. Stir slowly until all combined.
    
11. Finally, fold in the heavy cream and pumpkin puree until evenly mixed (or you can mix halfway to make a sort of marbled effect).
12. Pour this mixture over the crust in pan until every last drop is out. I like to think that every little bit I can scrape out is another bite I can have later so I'm usually very thorough on this part. This mentality is also why I should be banned from eating cheesecake altogether.
13. Place the Springform pan onto the shallow baking pan or sheet and place in oven. This because the butter tends to seep through the Springform and can burn at the bottom of your oven. It also helps to evenly distribute the heat.
    
14. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center. Also do a shake test. The center of the cake should appear almost set when you shake the pan. I once had to cook a cake for over an hour, but this all this depends on how often you open the oven and let the heat out.
    
15. Cool for 15-20 minutes.
16. Loosen the snapped sides and cool for another 30 minutes.
17. Then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
18. Serve liberally.
19. Smile.
20. Stop nagging your husband.
    

SERMON TEXT: MARK 4:1-20 ESV

The Parable of the Sower

1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. 9 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."


The Purpose of the Parables

10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven." 13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them 18 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And other are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

Happy New Year! Want to encourage everyone to trust the Lord in 2010. May we not worry about our life here on earth for we have our Heavenly Father who loves us and takes care of us. This will be a big challenge but this will also bring us closer to our Father in heaven. Think how amazing it is...we were once sinners, the enemies of God but now in Christ, God the Father obliged himself unto us as our Heavenly Father...we are now his children...we are now his beloved. Therefore, we don't have to worry about what to eat, what to drink and what to wear for our Father in Heaven knows our needs and provides us. This is the reason why we can now seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Our Christian life has to be a relfection of this reality and must be a presentation of our identity in Christ. So let me challenge you...better yet, let me give you the glorious privilege...seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. May 2010 be served for His glory...God bless.

PB

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