Beacon Sunday Service September 24th 2023

From First Corinthians one two and the response from Psalm one forty-seven. And so let me read it for us. To the church of God, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And together praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God for a song of praise is fitting. Amen. It's such a beautiful gift that God has given us the gift of music to be able to worship him, to lift him up, and to sing these songs of praise to him. May we do so today, just being led by the Holy Spirit, and tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word, just to rest upon his promise, just to know the saith the Lord, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I've proved him or so, and Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust him more.

Sing together, oh how sweet, and oh how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust his cleansing blood, just in simple faith to plunge me.

How I proved him or Jesus Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust him more. Yes, tis sweet, and yes, tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease, just from Jesus simply taking life and rest and joy and peace.

How I trust him, how I proved him more and so Jesus Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust him more.

And I know that thou art with me will be with me to thee. And Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I proved him more and Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I prove him more and so Jesus Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace, to trust him more. Amen. What a great truth that we can trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we continue our time of worship. Uh this next song is a new one for us. Um, but really uh it's to proclaim that our identity is in Christ and not in ourself.

And so as we sing this out, may we be reminded of that truth that Christ is our identity, he is the one that we place our hope, trust, and faith in the one who made the heavens, made my heart and soul before I drew a breath, I was loved and known, I am his creation, the Maker's master peace, and all that he designs will be done. My body is a temple of the living God, all worship in this house that his blood has brought as I bear his image.

Oh may I not profane the holiness I hold in this earthly frame. I belong, I belong to the Lord, oh I am not my own, I belong to the Lord, I am not my own, I believe him for this I know, I belong to the Lord, I am not my own, and if he has redeemed me, I am not my own, the measure of my worth is his love, amen.

And he declares my saint, so I will know myself by the name. I belong to clear that I belong to the Lord, oh I am not vile, I belong to the Lord, I am not mine, I belong him for this I know I belong to the Lord, I am not my own.

I am not my own, and now my heart is free. Oh Maker, come and make what you will love me. There is nothing broken that you cannot repair. So Lord, I leave my life in your loving care.

Oh, I am not my own, I belong to the Lord, I am not my own, I will honor him for this I know I belong to the Lord, I am not my I will honor, I will honor him for this I know I belong to the Lord, I am not Amen. We belong to the Lord, what a great truth. And now let us proclaim together this catechism. This morning we'll confess our faith using the New City Catechism. In these questions and answers, and there's two of them today. We'll confess the law's requirements and purposes.

And here's the first question. What does the law of God require? And together, personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves. What God forbids should never be done, and what God commands should always be done. Here's the second question. Since no one can keep the law, what is its purpose? And together that we may know the holy nature and will of God and the sinful nature and disobedience of our hearts, and thus our need of a savior.

Amen. And that is what God calls us to do to live a life worthy of him. And Christ is the one who enables us to do so of God.

And none to you.

Shall knock. And the door shall be open. Unto you.

Seek first the kingdom of God. And his right. And all these things shall be added unto you.

Good morning, church. Today we have an opportunity, it's time to corporately confess our sins together. We acknowledge to the Lord that we that it's hard every day, that problems still occur even as salvation is a process in our lives, as sanctification occurs.

Go through our confession of sin, and then after we'll have a personal time of confession. So together, our King of Heaven, we praise and extol and honor you, for all your works are right, and all your ways are just.

Amen. Please be seated. Let's now take a personal time of confession to our Lord.

He offers great grace to all who come to him in humility and repentance. Today's prayer request Um is just a reflection of as a reminder that we are a community and one of our members is is struggling. So with our brother Albert's permission, um I wanted to lift up a prayer for the Chang's family for the Chang family. Um as you know, it's been a prayer answered that Albert got to be accepted into the police academy, and he completed his training and graduated, and now he's working as a full-time police officer. But that transition has been pretty difficult for him. It's been taxing on his mental, emotional, spiritual psyche, and and everything that has happened. Um I don't think he foresaw that it would be this difficult.

And so he's going through it. He's going through a lot. And it's it's hard on Kathy as well with their two kids at home. And so I wanted us to pray for their family. Specifically, that we pray that Albert himself will persevere through the season of trial. That his calling to be a police officer will strengthen each day that goes by.

And lastly, let's pray for Kathy as she is working part time still and and in care, watching both uh kids, Theo and Lois, and that their family together would grow through this season. Um and at the end, uh great God's grace would pour upon their family, that we as a community would do what we can to lift them up and show them that we love them. Uh so let's pray for the Changs.

Father, we lift up the Chang family to you. Our brother Albert has been going through a really tough season of transition the moment he became a police officer. And we know that his confidence is lacking and that his resolve, Lord, is almost nowhere to be seen. But Lord, we pray, Father, for conviction within his life, that this calling and direction that you have given him to change career paths to pursue being an LAPD officer was was no fluke. It was no coincidence, Lord. This was something that you have called him to do. I pray, Father, for his everyday uh work situation, that each day that goes by, he'll gain more confidence, that he would have more assurance that this was the right career path and choice.

I pray that you watch over Kathy at home, that even as she is working, that they would find some uh comfort in knowing that they have a community around them in our family at the beacon to support them and to care for them, and even within their family themselves, that they have uh child care and support to watch over Theo and Lois. We pray that you will watch over them this week and lift them up, Lord, um, and and just pour your your spirit of grace and and mercy and love over them. We thank you in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Uh, I'm gonna dismiss our children uh for Sunday school. Uh teacher Tiffany is already in the classroom, so if you could all go back and follow teacher Abraham out. And while the children are being dismissed, um I'm gonna go over some announcements.

So uh as far as we know, there's no more parades or um street blockages happening anytime soon. But what happened last Sunday was just an unforeseen circumstance. But we do know that Cicla Via was rescheduled um to October 15th, and I don't think the routes would affect any of us here, but just in case, please go on the website, look it up, and just see if it's gonna affect your route uh to church on Sunday.

Such a blessing that they have offered the resources to us in the form of speaking pastors, but also in offering us an invitation to go to their conferences and things that they're hosting at their church. They're hosting a kids' mini conference uh November 11th. Uh that's a Saturday at 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Uh there's more information on their actual website, but I believe that Tiffany wants to go, and I'll probably be going with her and the kids. So if you're interested in going, if you would like to be a part of this uh conference or learn more about it, uh let us know or just look on the website. Uh we are still looking for children's ministry volunteers. If you have not gone through the uh or completed the process, um, please let me know.

I think most of you have, and so we are good to go with that. Uh, but if you haven't signed up to serve or to help out with the chosen ministry, please do so. Uh let either uh Stephen or Teff know. Lastly, our offering options are Zell, Vemo, Cash and Check. Um please give us the Lord has blessed you. If you're a guest or visitor, please don't feel obligated to gift um to us today. Uh with that, I'm gonna introduce our guest speaker from Lighthouse Community Church. Uh our brother Seichi Kamimuro grew up in South Bay, which is uh in Gardena specifically. He went to UCLA, he taught English in Japan for tears, and then he went to master seminary and graduated in 2021. Uh he met his aunt Ruth Ann at Lighthouse, got married in October of 2020, and now they have a five-month year old, so they're going through it.

In God's grace, he came to know the Lord at a young age through believing parents and his old church. He serves mainly in the Lighthouse College ministry as well as their counseling ministry. The big thing in their life that he and his family are looking forward to is that they are raising support for long-term missions in Japan. And the target departure date is the end of August 2024. Uh, with the long-term goal of church planting in Japan. So let's give our brother Seiji a round of applause. Oh, I see. Okay, thank you.

Uh today's message, it comes from Psalm 119, 97 to 104. So if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn there. Psalm 119. Verses 97 to 104. And if you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word. Verse 97. Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste. Sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through your precepts, I get understanding.

Therefore, I hate every false way. This is the word of the Lord.

It's uh true joy for me to be here today with you, Beacon LA. Uh, I love uh the small church atmosphere and even uh being able to uh know more personally about how one family in the church is doing and take time to pray. Um I think that's so encouraging to my heart and a blessing uh in a in a small church like this. Um it is an honor uh for me, and I know that you've had several from our church staff who have come and given the word to you. Um I know Pastor Kim in his heart, even as he's ministered to you guys, and also asking us on staff if we can come and serve in this way. And we we have prayed for you in our staff meeting, and uh I will pray for you guys as you look for a pastor. My wife, unfortunately, uh could not be here this morning, as was said.

Uh, we have a five-month-old, and it's actually been kind of crazy uh at home. Uh he's waking up through the night and teething, and so, but she does uh send you her greetings and wishes to be here. I want to start by uh sharing a little bit more about my wife. Uh she's actually from Alabama. Uh she's white. Uh she came to LA in 2015. Uh she loves to bake, uh, especially pies. Um, and um, as she's gotten to know members from our church, uh, which is predominantly Asian American, uh she's noticed that uh when you have something tasty, a dessert, um, a compliment is when someone says, Oh, yeah, that was good. Not too sweet. You know, not too sweet. So she's learned that, you know, it's different from the South, where in a grocery store you have a whole section of sweet tea.

And if you're making sweet tea at home, you even use a ladle to measure out the sugar. Uh, and so it's uh it's a different place, different culture. As we think about our passage this morning, and how the psalmist calls the word of God sweeter than honey. Um, we know that what he's getting at is how good, how pleasurable, how satisfying, how rewarding, how life-giving the word of God is to our souls. And I would like our psalm or the portion of this psalm to search us today. Does this describe our attitude toward God's word right now? And this is asking us right now, not before, um, maybe in our conversion or earlier in our college days, or even a year ago, or even in the future, sometime later when I'll have more time, right now in the present, is the attitude and posture of our heart, how I love your word.

Uh, when I received an email from Phil with details on um the service today, and I was encouraged to see the order of worship and to participate in it. Uh, after I would read uh this morning's passage, I would say, This is the word of the Lord. Uh, and then you would respond, thanks be to God. And every church's liturgy is different. And I see in this practice a high regard for the word of God. And so, my goal is that for all of us in our corporate worship, as you gather with other believers in our church family during the week, one-on-ones, or a small group, or in your own families for family worship, and in private when you're alone. My goal is do we know more and more? Do we want to know more and more?

This delight that we can find in God's word. So uh let me pray for us for the Lord's blessing on his word. Father, God, this is I believe true of our hearts here. God, that we do in the in our heart of hearts love you and what you have spoken and what you have given us in your word. And God, yet uh many times, heavenly Father, and most often uh not intentionally, but because of the worries of the world, because of the cares of the world. Lord, our minds are forgetful to hold on steadfastly, to call to mind, to put before our eyes the word of God, which leads us to you. So I pray that you would search us, examine us, and make us more and more hungry, devoted to you through your word. We ask this in your son's name.

Amen. So as we read this stanza, uh, it is immediately clear. This psalmist, whoever he is, he loves God's word. And in fact, when we take a step back to read the whole psalm, that is the one clear, dominant note that runs throughout the entirety of the psalm. And you might be most likely familiar with this psalm as a whole. It is the longest psalm in scripture, Psalm 119, and we're only looking at one stanza, eight verses. You might know that this whole psalm is an acrostic, meaning that each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used sequentially. All 22 letters in each stanza, in each verse of that stanza uses that Hebrew alphabet, begins with that Hebrew alphabet. And it does this for all 22 stanzas.

In almost every verse of this psalm, there is a reference to scripture, such as law, statutes, testimonies, precepts, commandments. And so in this Psalm's composition, it is beautifully creatively and carefully crafted. And in its content, you find words, not that are not words that are fake or you're just trying to fit this poem or poetic structure, but it is sincere, it is truthful, it is earnest, describing the highs and lows of life. And in composition and content, it rings clear. The psalmist loves his word. It is sweeter than honey. Now, how is this so? And why does he love God's word so much? And we find in our stanza that he loves God's word for its wisdom. For its wisdom. Note the theme of wisdom that runs throughout this stanza.

Verse 98, your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, verse 99. I have more understanding than all my teachers. Verse 100, I understand more than the aged. Verse 102, for you have taught me. Taught wisdom and understanding instruction. Verse 104, through your precepts, I get understanding. So here we answer the question: what is so good about scripture that I should love it? Well, it is this wisdom that comes to us through his word. This is the main idea of this message that will structure the rest of our sermon. The main idea is we delight in the written word for its wisdom that changes us by bringing us to the living word. I'll repeat that again.

And we'll work through each part of this main idea throughout the sermon. So first, we delight in the written word for its wisdom. We'll have to talk about wisdom. What is it? I remember a definition given when I was a college student from a preacher, a pastor. He called wisdom skillful living. And I would add to that, it is skillful living, just to make it clear, in the presence of God, before God.

Wisdom isn't just how can I live this life the best way possible? Wisdom should not end with me, that I am living a wiser life, period. Wisdom is great because it makes much of God, because it points to his greatness, his trustworthiness in what he says, his delightfulness if we follow is this wisdom given according to the psalmist? Verse 97, he says, It is my meditation all the day. Verse 98, he says, For it is ever with me. Verse 99, your testimonies are my meditation. This wisdom is given through meditating on God's word. It doesn't come from rushing through the days reading in our quiet time, just so that we can feel good about having it done. It doesn't come from having a good time with the Lord in His word and in prayer, but yet not thinking at all about God the rest of the day or his word the rest of the day.

It comes as we meditate on his word, whether we're commuting to work or driving to run an errand, or whether we're standing in line at the grocery store when we have a free moment in our home. And I know that we could feel the impulse of those lulls in our day and our time to fill it always with maybe our phones and to scroll through our social media feed, news, videos. But can we use those opportunities to meditate on him, his word? Something you heard from a message on Sunday, something you read from a Christian book, something you talked with about a friend. Now, why would we want to live this kind of way? Why would I love God's law, God's word so much that I would meditate on it day and night?

What is so good about it? And I don't know, beacon LA and how you are and how you're doing, but maybe a thought is, you know, I understand if pastors and church leaders and maybe more spiritual lay people desire wisdom, desire understanding. But why should I, why should I want the wisdom of God's word? Well, we find part of that answer in this stanza. You can note the language of comparison that this psalmist gives. Verse 98, he says, Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies. Verse 99, I have more understanding than all my teachers. Verse 100, I understand more than the aged. And I think for us, maybe when we read it at face value, this sounds presumptuous to our ears. You know, I understand, I get being wiser than my enemies, but more understanding than all my teachers.

That sounds a little arrogant. More understanding than the aged, those who are older than me with a lot more life experience. But we have to remember that what's being contrasted here by the psalmist is the wisdom of God's law or his word versus the wisdom of the world. And this is true back then as it is now, where we live in a culture where many gifted, accomplished, intelligent, respectable neighbors, coworkers, professors, deny the notion of absolute truth, believe that gender is fluid, believe that we share the same ancestry with apes. But when we understand and believe God's word about truth, about sexuality, about creation, scripture says, not to make us arrogant, but that we are given more understanding than the world does.

At our church at Lighthouse, Pastor Kim and others frequently say that the gospel of Christ, that Christ is not just right, but better.

Because if we don't believe this, that God's wisdom is not just right, but better. If we don't believe that, it will not lead to delighting in his word.

Proverbs 14, 12, there is a way which seems right to a few things, but one, how relentlessly the world is proclaiming its message, and two, how vulnerable we are to temptation to listen to those voices. Now we know that the wisp the the world is is not neutral. It is anti-God, opposed to Him. And we cannot assume that we can go through our day, that we can coast through life thinking that we are immune to the influences and the barrage of voices and ideas around us. And the message of the world is relentless, speaking through our phones around us. We're surrounded by the evangelists of the world, people proclaiming their beliefs, their values, what they believe is right, what they believe is good, what they believe will make us happy.

Now there is no end to what people will tell us to believe in, trust in, hope in, and to love.

We, as the people of God, we are vulnerable. We have moments of weakness. One proud moment of success can lead quickly to our downfall. Or a series of discouraging things, one after another can really get us down, and a profound loss in our lives, whether it is a job, good health, or a loved one, can really shake us up. And the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, he is seeking to devour our faith, to instill doubt in the truthfulness of God's word, to instill doubt that he is good, good for you, good to you, to instill doubt in God's deep and abiding love for you. And so the wisdom of the world in our weakness becomes more appealing to us, that it is better to forget God. It is better to seize control of our lives.

It is better to think and act independently, to pursue what we want for ourselves, what we believe is good and right, what we believe will make us happy to the neglect of him. And that is the destructive wisdom of the world. And this is why we want the wisdom of his word, because it protects us from evil. It gives us true delight. We find that when we seek him in his word in earnest, then we find it to be more precious, more life-giving, more true than the wisdom of the world. And so perhaps we can say with the psalmist here, yes, I do love God's word. But when the word really does search us in our week to week, our day to day, when we let the word of God examine our hearts, when is it that we find it hard to let the word of God speak to us?

Perhaps when it is when we're emotionally flustered, when we're we're a mess, whether we clam up or blow up, something happens and we just we're unsettled. Maybe it's when a conflict happens in the home, and patience with a child, or after a discouraging disagreement with your spouse. Is it is that when it's hard to let the word of God speak to you? Or maybe you're upset by something done by a coworker or a boss or a coach or a relative or someone even at church. Is that when it's hard to let the word of God speak to you? Or maybe it's the time of day, maybe in the waking hours, your morning habits, your morning routines, maybe more of what's being consumed is the messages that come when we look at our phones, the emails, texts, social media, the news, they become more dominant than opening the blinds, so to speak, figuratively, letting the light of God's reality through his word shape our minds and hearts.

Or maybe the time of day, it's in the evening after work, or for fathers, mothers after the kids are put to sleep, that we are tempted to hold on tightly to it as me time. Is that when it's hard to let the word of God speak to us? Or maybe it's a particular area of your life. Maybe it is the stewardship of our resources of money and wealth. Maybe in our giving or in our expenses, what we find ourselves spending money on, it is hard to let the word of God speak into that. Or maybe when stewarding our relationships, there is a need for discipleship for someone younger in the faith, or maybe there's a need for forgiveness in an estranged relationship. Maybe there is a need for more depth and vulnerability for accountability.

Is it hard in those relationships to let the word of God speak? And so to be clear, uh I am not just, I'm not talking about doing a quiet time every day when I say, do we have the word of God in our lives? I'm talking about whatever form the intake of Scripture takes in your life. Reading the word directly, or through a conversation with a friend, or recalling to mind what you have already stored in your heart, or in a small group discussion going through a book together, whatever form it takes, however it looks, how are we letting the reality of God through his word shape our hearts and our minds? Now, how has the psalmist here come to this point where he loves God's word? Well, we see that it's through the word that God changed him and changes us at the level of the heart, at the level of our beliefs and our desires, so that it flows out into the way he lives his life and the way we live our lives.

So, second main uh idea here, we delight in the written word for its wisdom that changes us, that changes us, that transforms us. Now, we've already noted that we saw in the stanza the the language of love and delight. These are sincere words of affection. Verse 97, oh how I love your law. 103, how sweet are your words to my taste. Verse 104, I hate every false way. The language of both love and hatred, even. And God's word by the Spirit changes us at the level of the heart so that we love the things of God and we hate everything opposed to him. Produces both godly delight and godly displeasure. Now I know that as you think of different people in this church, or even in the in the course of your your life, thinking of believers who have made an impact on you.

It's easy to think of those that you were admire, that truly been transformed by the gospel. And I think of those in our church at Lighthouse, and just the other day, um, I know of a family who is going through a tough time financially, particularly the husband, the father, a rough time with his business, and yet he knows uh the stress that we're going through with it with a baby, and uh he's taken the time out to provide a meal for us. Um generous uh in his giving, generous uh in his in how he loves us. Now, what about for you? How has God so graciously changed you through his word? Maybe, for example, when companies are laying off its employees, we would have been drowning in anxiety, taken over by the fear of uncertainty.

But now, even though the future is still unknown, uncertain, you have this abiding hope. Not that you won't lose your job, but even if you do, you trust God cares for his own. How has God changed you? Perhaps maybe you never would have spoken a word about God or the church or about Christ to your friends, to your co-workers, controlled by fear. But now, even though that fear is still there, there is a greater fear of God that pushes out that fear of man, a greater concern for the spiritual welfare and the eternal destiny of your friend, co-worker. There is more boldness, more earnestness for the life of that person. How has God changed you? And yet at the same time, as we pray together a corporate prayer of confession, we know that while acknowledging the great changes God has wrought in us, there's still more work to be done.

We still struggle. We still struggle when we get into a conflict with a spouse or a friend when our thoughts are not heard. We still struggle to respond with bitterness or coldness. We still struggle with discontent in our singleness. We still struggle, perhaps with a job that does not satisfy. We still struggle with the lack of community, of friends who really know us in our hearts. We still struggle to be patient with our kids when they don't listen, quick to anger. We still struggle with those that we know who have walked away from following Christ and how to love them. And we still struggle with the busyness of our lives, overwhelmed with the pressures of life, not knowing what to do. And there is no true peace in the midst of great fear.

There is no real joy in the midst of great sorrow, no strong hope in the midst of great loss, apart from staying close to Christ. And true and lasting transformation only happens as we behold again and again the glory of God in the face of Christ deeply, personally, true transformation of the heart happens only when we are with the living word. And ultimately, this is where God's word takes us. This is how God's word changes us at the level of our heart. It is when we encounter God Himself through His Word. And so the wisdom of God's word, it does not end with itself, with knowledge or understanding. It always must end with Christ. He is the goal. And so our third idea, we delight in the written word, for its wisdom that changes us by bringing us to the living word, bringing us to a more personal knowledge with Christ, of Christ.

Now, something worth noting is that for this psalmist, um, scripture is not merely a text that is impersonal to him. Now you see how deeply personal to him the word of God is because of what's behind the written word, which is God Himself. And so look at how he describes scripture in each of these verses, verse 97, your law, your commandment, your testimonies, your precepts, your word, your rules, your words, your precepts. And to him, this is not merely a Christian book detached from the giver. Consider specifically verse 102. He says, I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. You have taught me.

But here, that pronoun is included, it's still used. Why is that? That's why some people, some translations add, yourself, to bring out that emphasis, you yourself have taught me. The psalmist knows that behind God's law is God himself. And why is this important? Because in our sinfulness, it's far too easy to even make the Bible about us, to approach the word of God in a me centered way, to make the Bible about how knowledgeable we are or how righteous we are. And this is the problem of the Pharisees, right? And this is why Jesus says in John 5, speaking to the Jews, speaking to the Pharisees, the lawyers, the scribes, those who, quote, love God's law. Jesus says, You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Now we know the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day, they were diligent in their study of God's law, memorizing it, reciting it. But what motivated that was that they could, they thought they could have eternal life based on the law. They felt secure based on their knowledge of the law, their own righteousness that they thought that they were actually keeping the law. But the very scriptures, they so diligently studied were meant to expose their unrighteousness and point them to Jesus. Just as we've read in the catechism this morning, the purpose of the law, it was supposed to expose our inability to keep the law and point us to the Messiah who is alone our true righteousness. That in Jesus, that in coming to him we would have life.

And so this is where God's word has to take you and I, the scriptures bear witness about Christ. He is the one who is sweeter than honey. He is the one who is better than the wisdom of the world.

He's the one who walks with us, who never abandons us, who knows our weaknesses and sympathizes with us, who says to our hearts, take heart, take heart. I have overcome the world. Don't despair, don't despair over your sin. Don't despair over your trials. I gave up my life to save you and to keep you to the end. I bore God's wrath in your place to redeem you, to restore you to a relationship with the living God. This is what Christ, this is what God does when we go to Him through His Word. Now, uh imagine with me a hard circumstance in your life, whatever you are going through. Maybe there is a difficult person in your life right now, a difficult person to love, a bitterness toward someone in your life, perhaps who wronged you greatly, perhaps people in your in your family who do not know the Lord.

Perhaps it is raising young kids. Perhaps it's facing health issues or financial issues or stress at work or even the loss of a loved one. Consider with me.

It is easy to think that we must do it in our own strength. And when there is that temptation to unbelief and to pursue your own demands and assert your own will, what if instead, by the grace of God, through the church, through his word, we saw Christ again. We remembered his suffering. We remembered that suffering was not the end for him, but there was glory. We remembered his words of promise to us, that he is with us, that his promises are for us. What if we remembered that he has brought us to the family of God? That there is a future inheritance that cannot be taken from us. What if we remembered and sat in and taken in the love of Christ for us until we gained hope, perspective, courage, a will to trust and obey.

Beacon LA, let us go on, knowing more and more of the delight of his word, of his promises, to be again freshly amazed by grace, to have our heart warmed by the abiding and undeserving love of God, to be full of hope as we can contemplate eternity, to find our will strengthen to press on in trial, to be encouraged. We're not alone, but we are in the company of precious brothers and sisters, and at all times, most by Christ Himself. I'm sure that for you as a church speaking LA, you are here purposefully and intentionally, not just gathering right here, but what I mean is in the heart of LA, meeting and gathering here. And personally, um, I mean, I heard earlier that it started uh because of it was with the Korean side of the church first.

Um I know that it is also because of the darkness that you see right here in the heart of LA in K Town, and you seek to bring the light of Christ and the hope of Christ to people here, to the community here. And my wife and I, we desire to do the same in Japan. And the reality is that for us, considering Japan in a place like Japan, you can grow up your whole life not personally knowing a Christian, not having heard the hope of the gospel ever, not having tasted the words of life like we have, not having the promises of God, not having been shown the love of a community, the church, the life-transforming power of the gospel. Instead, our whole life has been spent feeding on the fleeting, deceitful pleasures of this world, only having heard the empty promises of the wisdom of this world.

That is why for us we desire to go. And I trust that that is why you are meeting here every week, to remind ourselves and then to offer what we have been given. And so I pray for your church family, that your delight in scripture would be steady and strong, so that whether here in the heart of LA or Japan or anywhere else in the world, that through you and I, the world might see that Christ is worthy, that he is not just right, but better. Let me pray. Father, uh, this is the cry of our hearts, that your love is better than life. God, and may every single one of us be at a place where we say that, not perfectly, but in the messiness of our lives, and in while acknowledging there is still indwelling sin that we fight against, we can still say, God, your love is better than life.

Help us to know more of that love as we go on the rest of this day and the rest of this week through your word. It is in his name, in your son's name we pray. Amen. What a good word that we heard. It's amazing how God is not some distant, far away being, but he's personal to us. Um that same psalm for you yourself have taught me what a great truth that we can go forth this week. And as we sing this next song, speak the Lord. We usually sing it before we hear a sermon, but I think it's very appropriate that we sing it now. Um as we go forth in our walks this week, uh, meditating on the word, whether it's reading reading the Bible or having those those spiritual conversations, uh, maybe we just ask the Lord that he would speak to us through his word.

So, in that manner, maybe we just sing the song of responses of response as a prayer. So let's all rise and single speaker of the Lord.

Do we see the food of your hold take your truth? Let it see us. Shape and passion us in your life that the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts and our deed of faith. Oh Lord and fulfill us all your purposes all your glory.

Teach us full of beings only referendum. Let's see.

Help us grasp the mind of your lands for us, yes, Lord.

And my grace will stand on my faith will walk as you walk with speaking. Oh Lord, so your church is built and the earth is filled with your glow. Today is comedian Sunday. Um, as we prepare to take the sacrament, uh I wanted to remind you that this is only for those who believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, that only he defeated sin on the cross and conquered death and His resurrection. If these truths are not a reality in your life, please refrain from taking communion today. If you are not sure and would like to confirm the foundation of your faith, please refrain from taking communion today and meet with one of your leaders here.

We'd happy happily talk over it with you after service today. So with that, please take some time and personal prayer and preparation and come up when you are ready. Our brother Stephen will hand out the sacrament to you.