Crossroads Campus Ministry – Los Angeles

SPEAKER Pastor Tim Yu (Living Hope Community Church)
The Good Shepherd Luke 15:1-7

When we refer to Jesus as our shepherd, we usually feel safe, warm, and protected, but this is not the picture Jesus Christ was trying to paint.

We need Jesus as our shepherd because we as sheep are ridiculously dumb and stupid.
- Sheep got lost very easily and are helpless without a flock
- When encountering a lost sheep, they will not follow you, and you will need to carry it on your back

We are sheep are in need of being rescued, Luke 15:5-6- We need to have someone save us from ourselves.
- We are in need of a Savior because we are utterly sinful, and in need of saving.

When Christ shares this parable, he is addressing the Pharisees and teachers of the law about his ministry to the social outcasts of society- Luke 15:1-2, Christ was responding to people, to a situation.
- If Christ was truly God, should not he have spent his time with the Pharisees, the chosen people or race?
- Luke 15:2, To invite someone to eat with you was an invitation to become part of their community, and to be considered an equal. The Pharisees were shocked that Jesus would make himself an equal in comparison to the “sinners.”
- Jesus openly ate with the prostitutes, defying social structures and spent time with those that were considered unclean. His time spent with the unclean needed cleaning rituals to be rejoined into the normal society.
- Jesus used this parable to share a radical way of thinking to the teachers of the law.

This parable, along with the parable of the lost coin and prodigal son are all about the JOY we find in Christ.- In this parable, we get a glimpse of heaven, through the rejoicing of the angels of the repentance of one sinner.
- People rejoice when sinners are saved by grace!
- What brings you joy? If what brings you joy is not Christ, that joy automatically separates you from those that do not have the same joy. For example, if you find joy in your relationship with your significant other, you exclude those that do not have a relationship like that.
- HOWEVER, if Christ is your JOY, you cannot feel better than another because you are lucky to be saved like everyone else.

Christ spent time with the “sinners” and the lost because they are the ones in need of a Savior.
- We are called to love our neighbors, but do we know our collegian neighbors?
- Are you a bible belting sales Christian? Do others see you as a Christian with an agenda? Do we talk to others for them, or do we talk to them for us?
- If we present the Gospel when we feel like it, what passion is that? What kind of mentality is that?
- What good is a light when we congregate among other lights? “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” – 1 Peter 2:12

We have segregated ourselves further and further from those that Christ has called us to minister to.- Start cutting back on things that you may not need, and gauge the world in a Christ-centered perspective.
- Be in the world, but not of it.
- Do people know who has saved you? Do they know what drives you? Are we taking the knowledge we have and sharing it responsibly?

Jesus was both a shepherd and a sheep. He not only saved us, but he lived among us.
- Christ created the community that’s only requirement is for us to recognize that we are merely humble sheep.
- The climax of this parable is not the saving, but the rejoicing in Luke 15:7 that took place after the saving.
- Understand that we were once lost, and know that we are found, we should continue to share God’s love, mercy and gift of eternal salvation with those who do not know him, that we might rejoice along with those in the heavens.

SPEAKER Pastor Dan Matsuoka (The Vine)
Gospel Night John 3:16-17

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is both intellectually credible and existentially satisfying”
- Tim Keller

Intellectually Credible
- Huston Smith: Who and What are Buddha and Jesus?
– Buddha: Didn’t want to be believed in; wanted his teachings to spread
– Jesus: Taught people to believe in him

John 14:6
“Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Mark 10:45
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”
1 Corinthians 15:6
“After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.”

- This here is proof that Jesus was in fact resurrected: the fact that there are eye witnesses to see Him return.
- What we have to realize is that we cannot debate someone into becoming a Christian

Existentially Satisfying
- There’s something in Christianity for all of us
- Christianity is the only religion where salvation is free!
- There are no qualifications necessary to becoming a Christian

SPEAKER Pastor Sam Shin (Bethel Presbyterian Church)
An Invitation… John 4-8

- People are very different from God – you can do 100 great things for someone, and yet they will focus all their attention on that one bad thing you did against them. With God, you could do an infinite amount of bad things, yet one good thing is enough to create celebration with God and his angels in heaven!
- With that in mind, there will be three stories of Jesus that will be discussed today.

John 4: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
- Unlike what it says in the bible, Jesus did not have to pass through Samaria, because Jews were not supposed to speak and talk with Gentiles, especially those in Samaria.
- However, Jesus had an appointment with someone there.
- A lot of women went to the well to get water, but many of them excluded this one Samaritan woman who was believed to be an adulterer.
- Unlike those women, Jesus talked with the woman who went to the well alone, and she realized that he was the Messiah.
- The woman then shared the gospel to everyone she knew, even those that excluded her.
- There is something about Jesus that includes everyone into his relationship.

John 5: Jesus and the Invalid
- The pool at Bestheda was considered to provide healing to the first invalids who went into the pool whenever it was stirred by angels.
- An invalid who waited by the pool for over 38 years had an encounter with Jesus, who asked him “Do you want to get well?”
- The man declared that he had nobody to help him get into the pool, and Jesus poured his grace and love upon the man by healing him up.
- May nobody accuse you for not helping those that need help. Many Christians have been accused of being hostile because instead of caring, hugging and loving, we are going around picketing Christian beliefs that do not pertain largely with our salvation.

John 8: Jesus and the Adulterous Woman
- While Jesus was teaching people who were captivated by his every word, the teachers of the law and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to his attention.
- They wanted to stone her for her actions, however Jesus said “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw the stone at her.”
- The only man that could have thrown the stone was Jesus, and he did not throw it, but instead let her go.
- What would we do if we encountered a similar situation? What do we do with those that are homosexual?
- Jesus would tell them that he loves them, but that he hopes they will sin no more. Jesus teaches us to genuinely love others.

Invitation to be like Christ.
1) Invitation to teach others as Christ treats us.
2) Invitation to forgive as Christ forgives us.
3) Invitation to love ans christ loves us.

I hope everyone had a great spring break! Pictures and sermon notes from retreat will be put up, so keep checking in for those! There are a few announcements that need to be made for the next couple weeks:

1. Gospel Night: We are having a night for Christians to specifically bring out their non-Christians friends in order to expose them to the Good News about Jesus and the Gospel. We will have Gospel Night on Week 3, April 16 with CCM Advisor Daniel Matsuoka speaking for us. Please invite and pray for your friends in order that they may come on Thursday with open ears and hearts. If you would like to help plan for gospel night, please talk with Bekah (contact information is on the contact webpage).

2. Cafe Night: On Saturday, April 18, 2009, we will once again, we are having a great night of celebration for the work that God wants to do around the world through many of our CCM members. Come for a night of amazing showcases of talent, great food and incredible worship with God. If you would like to go, sign up with a second year on Thursday nights, or e-mail Jerry Chang at jerrers.chang@gmail.com If you would like to perform, e-mail Jerry Chang as well.

3. We are going to have many more amazing activities throughout this year. Please keep an eye out for opportunities to serve and enjoy the fellowship of your fellow brothers and sisters in CCM!

Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2