WINTER 2009 Week SIX (February 12, 2009)

SPEAKER Hyung Lee (CCM-LA Advisor)
The Ultimate Potluck Ephesians 5:25

- Each one of you have been hand-picked to be here at this ministry and to serve in your own unique way.
- We live in a society where everything is non-committed with everyone swapping things and choosing one over another. However, we need to learn to commit to not something in particular, but to each other and to God.
- What is the ultimate commitment and teamwork? Ephesians 5:25, Paul writes a letter to the Ephesians that described the commitment between wives and husbands, children/parents, and slaves/masters. In v. 25, he describes how the couple should love one another like Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
- We should not only have an attitude of commitment out of our love for one another and for Christ, but we should also learn to use our skills to have amazing teamwork.
- Lets have the ultimate potluck so we can be able to experience amazing diversity, yet unity within the body.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; recognize that you are all individual parts that are very important and instrumental to the body of Christ as a whole.
- Try to think beyond what our natural instincts tell us to do. Stop looking out for number one all the time, and consider loving others through your actions.
- Use all the individual gifts that you have to strengthen and build up the body.

 

FRESH FUN 2009: because you are only a freshman once…

Hi everyone! Here are a few pictures from our Fresh Fun night! It was an amazing progressive night for the Freshmen who had dinner with the second years, dessert with the third years and games/praise with the fourth years! I hope you all had a great time that night! God Bless!

Various CCM freshmen and their friends!

CCM freshmen and second years!

Freshmen guys!

Freshmen girls!

Tantalizing melon dessert!

Freshie girls and Christine Kim

Treats and snacks with the junior class.

Evan looks a bit like some german leader.

CCM FTW (for the win!)

CCM signs and logos!

Closing cermonies

Conclusions to an amazing night.

 

Winter 2009: Tri-campus (February 11, 2009)

SPEAKER Ben Shin (Open Door)
“Pointing Collegians to the Cross” Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

- College is a time where you are in a crossroads, deciding whether to follow Christ or not, deciding what to do with your life.

- CCM stands for Crossroads Campus Ministry and it is an acronym that have great meaning.

1. Christ-centeredness – the Gospel points people to die themselves and live in Christ. For example, the Jews and Gentiles are the most unlikely pairing of people, but the Gospel bring those who are unlikely to be together, to be unified through Christ. In Ephesians 4:4-6, there are 7 parts of a oneness creed that are linked together by the trinity of the Godhad.
2. Relationally based – the Gospel needs to be lived out through all kinds of people. This ministry does what it can to build deep relationships based upon Christ.
3. Outreach oriented – We should not be a spiritual fortress, instead we should be a spiritual hospital. Change how you live in order that you can bring the Gospel to those that do not know God through your words and also through the way you live. 1 Corinthians 2:2, Ephesians 3:6-8
4. Scripturally sound – Matthew 28:18-20, We need to live out what God has called us to do by being willing to share the Gospel.
5. Spirit-filled – We have two power sources: Word of God and the Spirit of God. The Word of God provides us with the power to know more about God, while the Spirit of God allows us to have the power to share God with others.
6. Relevant to Society – We need to learn to be relevant to society while preserving the distinct message of our Christ Jesus. For example, playing IM basketball, studying for classes and doing everything we do diligently and done as an example of Christian living.
7. Opportunity to serve – The ministry has allowed God’s children to serve in unique ways that take advantage of the skills and talents that they have. We all have opportunities as university students to serve at Christian fellowships and our churches.
8. Accessible to all – This ministry was changed from KACF to CCM in order that we could have a multicultural focus. We want to live bibically correct such that in Rev. 5:9 where we learn that the choir sang to praise God came from every nation, every language (multicultural).
9. Discipleship driven – The strength of CCM is through the small groups in this ministry.
10. Student run ministry – This ministry is also run solely through the student leaders.

Final challenge: Understand that the college you go to is your mission field. This spring, leave a legacy by impressing upon people that CCM is an organism alive for Christ that points collegians to the cross.

 

Winter 2009: Week FIVE (February 05, 2009)

SPEAKER Steve Chai (New Hope)
Joy of the Gospel 1 Peter 1-9
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Aliens to the World (v.1)
“To God’s elect, strangers in the world…”
- We are living in a world that is not our own
- This is not our home, so don’t get comfortable!
- We are designed for perfection; that is why we yearn for and love greatness
- That is why people are constantly not satisfied in this world; there is always something better
- Getting credentials to be a doctor will not make you happy because you are alien

We Are Chosen (v.3)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
- We cannot understand why God chose to love us, even in 1,000 years
- God gave up His glory to be our friend; likened to a king taking off his crown to be with beggars… and we will never understand why
- We will never be good enough for His love, and yet the truth remains: He CHOSE us

Our Living Hope Never Fades (v.3-4)
“…and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you…”
- Fact: We will die.
- And without Jesus, there is no hope in our current life
- Fact: There is a hell.
- And Jesus is the only way to avoid it

Our Life is Sweet (v.6)
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials”
- The Christian conception: We are going to heaven!
- Jesus came to die to give us sweet life, NOW!
- We can greatly rejoice because the trails we have daily are just for a little while…

The Gospel message is not a list of things we have to do. It is not a trite book we read to pass time or learn about history. It is more rich than we can ever imagine. It is a means of joy we can experience everyday if we just open our eyes to the Truth.

 

SPECIAL ANNOUCEMENTS and NEWS

Congratulations to you all! You are all now about half-way done with the year! We have a couple announcements for you guys about the coming week!

1. CCM SWEATERS: We continue to have a few people who have yet to buy and pick up their wonderful CCM sweaters! If you have not done so, please pay $32 to Peter Hwang as soon as possible. If you still would like one, please ask Peter Hwang to see if there are still some available. = )

2. FRESH FUN 2009: We had our first annual Fresh Fun progressive night, and will be having a few pictures posted up from the event! BE ON THE LOOK OUT! Thanks to all you freshmen and upperclassmen who came out. Much Love from CCM.

3. TRI-CAMPUS: We are going to have tri-campus meeting with CCM Irvine and San Diego at Irvine this coming Wednesday night, February 11 at 7:00 pm. Our beloved CCM founder Pastor Ben Shin will be speaking for us. If you would like to come join fellow CCM brothers and sisters in worship, please e-mail one of the CORE members (their contact information is on the Contact Info page).

4. Poetry Auction: Our quarterly fundraiser for missions is our annual poetry auction! Either individuals or groups create services in a form of a poem and people at CCM would vote to bid on those services coming Week 8 for fellowship! For example:

“Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
You look hungry,
So I will cook for you!”

If you and your small group would like to do a service, please e-mail Caroline Youn at cyoun21@yahoo.com with the (a)poem, (b)service, (c)starting bid and (d)how many people the service is for.
If you and your small group or friends would like to buy a service, make sure to come on CCM Thursday Week 8 to buy some services! All the proceeds go towards missions so come with your wallets and checkbooks!

Have a great weekend and study hard for your midterms and write your papers well! May God continue to love you and keep you always! Best of Luck this WEEK!

 

Winter 2009: Week FOUR (January 29, 2009)

SPEAKER John Shin (Good Stewards Church)
The College Complex (The College, Complex) 2 Cor. 11:2-4

Life seems to be getting busier and busier, but we are trying so hard to make everything more simple day by day.
- we try to simplify our life with things such as iPhones, universal remote controls because our lives are so complex.
- Lets talk about the simple things about life.

Instead of understanding the things we need in order to improve our walk with Christ, lets understand the things we need to have taken away from our lives.
- In Apostle Paul’s letter in 2 Corinthians, he heard that the church has not changed much after his first letter. He heard that the church brought in False teachers and he is now defending himself to his own church.
- Paul’s reveals his love and concern for his church when he warns them about things that complicate their faith such as false teachers, false doctrines and even a false Jesus.

There are a few things you can do to make your relationship simple with Christ, and get back to your pure and sincere devotion to Christ.
1. Not going astray from Christ
- do not forget His commands, and do not create new distractions
- God has a divine jealousy for you. He doesn’t want you to love anyone else.
- Our job now is to sanctify and live faithfully until we compete our marriage with God, similar to the Jewish cultural marriage tradition where a husband and wife get married but cannot have physical union until one year later.
- We need to think about being pure for God by not going astray. We have so many distractions in college. Our minds are corrupted by our pride and our inability to prioritize things correctly.
- 11:3, Paul talks about his fear for his church because they do not know what is true or false anymore.
- Do we have that same emotion and feeling when it comes to our friends? Do we get tugged at the heart when our friends go astray?
- Where is the accountability in our life these days? We live in an age where Satan will do his best to present truth as error and offer error as truth!
2. We need to build a high strong wall of defense.
- Be alert, and be on the offensive.
- 11:4 shows a three fold pattern on how a breach occurs in our defense. (a) A different Jesus is preached that we believe in; (b) A different Spirit is given and we receive; (c) A different Gospel is preached and we believe.
- We have settled for compromise for ourselves and for each other because we let things sink into our minds.
- You are not stronger than the world, God is stronger than the world!
- Even the strongest and most wise man in the world Solomon feel away from God by having hundreds of wives which all corrupted him.
- Many times we do what makes each of us feel good. What is that thing that you cannot set yourself from? Sin?

Application
1. Take action to simplify your life, and take steps to be devoted to God: it’s time to make some hard and tough decisions in your life. Instead of ignoring the issues in your life, do your best to strip away the complexities of your life, having accountability with others and stop being the silent brother or sister. You must give up things that are distracting you from God.

2. Stay Gospel centered: 2 Cor. 11:4 says that when it comes to a Gospel that has been compromised, we “put up with it easily enough.” Remember the Gospel because the minute you step away from God, you have replaced the Gospel. Christ must reign in your life because this life is not our own, but God’s.

 

Winter 2009: Week THREE (January 22, 2009)

SPEAKER Darin Stone (Harbor Presbyterian Church)
Walking in the Spirit Ephesians 5:1-21

FACT: You imitate the closest object of your heart.
QUESTION: Who do you imitate?

1. The Struggle with sex and sexuality
- it is something that is talked about so much in the world, but silenced and tabooed in the church community
- Paul talks about sex being guarded and protected as a treasure, because that is ultimately where our heart lies and has priority towards. (Matthew 6:21)
- Sex was something beautiful created by God for us to know Him more fully, that we may understand his sexual language about marriage, love and passion.
- When we misuse our sexuality, we not only create a barrier between us and God, we also fall far from him into adultery, prostitution, homosexuality.
- We start thinking about self-gratification, lust, and how things that we do can benefit us personally.
- This struggle is one of spiritual growth and maturity.

2. Paul’s answer: “Be imitators of God.”
- we imitate those that things that are close to our heart. Whatever drives is is what we want to imitate and seek after.
- if God is the desire of your heart, then all the spheres of your life can be used to serve him abundantly and without hesitation. (Luke 7:36-50)

3 Ways to imitate God
A) By living wisely (Eph. 5:15-16): Live with carefulness because evil is so subtle like a cloud patch in a highway. We are so easily distracted from God by very trivial things, and we need to be mindful of how our time is used. “You gotta check yourself before you wreck yourself” – Ice Cube
B) By living in community (Eph. 5:19): Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation. Christ has not only saved each of us individually, but He saved us into his body and church. We need that safety and community that Christ’s body can provide.
C) By being filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph.5:18-20): Let the Holy Spirit fill you so that you are under the influence of Christ. Someone gets drunk to feel better because they feel that their lives are out of control, but they become wreckless and careless in their thoughts and actions. They become slaves to their self.

- Let the Holy Spirit weave into your life to produce the fruit of the Spirit
- Colossians 3: Let the word of Christ dwell in our hearts and mind, shown through our lives.
- Have a life of thanksfulness – Understand that God has already given us most of our needs and more. Stop grumbling and complaining like those liberated from Egypt when they were not satisfied with the luxuries of life.
- We all have a Lord that has come to us in love and mercy to redeem our souls. Lets learn to become mutually harmonious with one another, become very much integrated in each other’s lives

- Christian life is one that strives to live obediently but the Gospel is about God pursuing us despite our disobedience or works or lifestyle.
- Understand that our faith in Christ is what saves us. Let Christ be shown beautiful in all aspects of your life.

 

Winter 2009: Week TWO (January 15, 2009)

SPEAKER David ZagRodny (Campus Crusade for Christ)
Heart for your Professors Selected Text

- How do you view your professors?
- How does God view your professors? It is very easy for us to compartmentalize our lives into our school life, Christian life, social life, and the such.
- Learn to bring your faith into every aspect of your life by not just driving to do missions overseas or in Mexico, but incorporating your faith into your daily routine of things. 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16
- On the contrary of what many people believe, Christianity is reasonably based on facts. Isaiah 1:18

- How does God view people? He used Paul as an example to show us that we can share our faith in Christ with all people from slaves to kings and with everyone in between. 1 Corinthians 9:24
- It is easy for many of us to ministry to the poor and people of equal level or status, but what would it be like to share up? What would it be like to share with kings and leaders?

We need to start changing out attitudes about sharing with those above us in many different ways.
1- Prayer: pray for your professors and friends by name. Pray for blesses and pray that people’s lives would experience struggles and frustrations that reveal their own shortcomings and God’s perfect love and power. 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Romans 10:1
2- Gentleness and Respect: these two words are not words non-Christians often use to describe Christians. 1 Peter 3:15
3- Finding common ground: Apostle Paul walked around and observed everything he saw in Athens and decided to not quote the Old Testament while preaching to the Athenians. Instead, he built bridges with those people through other means such as quoting Greek philosophers like Epimenides and Cleanthes. Acts 17
4- Ask Questions like Jesus and Paul: Jesus tended to answer questions with another question and then his answer. Matthew 22:20, Luke 10:26, Luke 18:19. Paul also had discussions and discourses Act 19-24.
5- Listen intently: He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame. – Proverbs 18:13, James 1:19
6- Taking our Role Seriously: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men.” – Col. 3:23, 1 Peter 2:12
7- Faith: Without faith it is impossible to please God. – Hebrews 11:6, Colossians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 4:7

Learn to not only loves your friends and family, but also those you do not interact with often such as your professors. Understand that our own willpower and strength is not enough to do anything close to what God is capable of doing. Have faith that God can use you, even a jar of clay to store away his treasure and share that light with those around it.

 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS

Welcome back to CCM and UCLA Week 1!

We have ordered the CCM Sweaters and are expecting them to come in approximately two weeks! If you signed up to buy one, please pay attention to the following:
- The free gift that comes with the sweater will come on a first pay, first receive basis. Please give all payments to Peter Hwang.
- Each sweater costs $32 and please make checks payable to Peter Hwang.

We are having our first ever Fresh Fun Night on Week 4, January 28 starting at 6:00 pm.
- This will be a really great time for the freshmen class to meet and fellowship with all the different classes at CCM. There will be dinner, dessert, games, activities and much more! If you are interested, please sign up for Fresh Fun this coming Thursday night, Week 2, January 15 or e-mail Peter Hwang (his information is in the contacts on the website).

Lastly and most importantly: We are now having Morning Wednesday prayer at 8:00 AM at Treetop near Panda Express.
- For those of you who would love to pray and understand the power in prayer, please feel free to join us Wednesday mornings to pray for each other, for CCM, and for anything and everything you COULD imagine!

 

Winter 2009: Week ONE (January 8, 2009)

SPEAKER Harold Kim (Cerritos Presbyterian Church)
Ephesians 2:19-22

- What is the most powerful institution? Church, Jesus said the gates of Hades will never overcome the church. However, how many of you believe that the church is more powerful then schools, businesses like UCLA, Microsoft?
- The Power of God is great in two ways: (1) A vertical relationship with God, which for many is a Christian reality, (2) Relationship with God’s People.
- In the first few chapters of Ephesians, Paul emphasizes the point that “Power of God, therefore church”
- However, many of us have found no power in the church because of our experiences in our previous churches, and because of our misconceptions about the church.

- Three Misconceptions about the Church:
(1) Church is Therapy: Some of the least demanding churches are in the greatest demand because they are like a show that entertains and makes oneself feel good about oneself. God’s comfort will never come to you unless you repent and change.
(2) Church is a Club: Social organizations that are volunteered based do not define who you are, the people in the group define what the organization is. However, the CHURCH defines who you are. Jesus, God himself defines the church. When we decide what defines the church, we have misshapen the body of Christ.
(3) Church is a Place: The power of God is not a place. “Religion is a temple after God has left it” (Bono, U2). Power of God is in your heart, but it resides also in a biblical church.

- Where is the power of God? Citizens of God, family of Christ, and the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. V. 19-20 show the progression of closeness between each of us and God, as well as between each other. We go from being people of a common citizenship to being building blocks, those that are literally stuck upon each other with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of the entire foundation of the Church. We see the progression of God from that of a King to a Father to a Spirit that moves through you.
- Is being so close too close for comfort? Jesus prays that all of us may be one, as Jesus is with the Father and vice versa (John 17:20-26)
- Understand that as you move closer and closer to one another in Christ, God moves closer and closer to you.
- Can you be someone who loves God without going to church? Can you love someone and not love the ones that they love, the ones that shaped them into the person you love?

- Do you have a community to love and strengthen you as a lover of God and his people? Try living out the Biblical church as the Bible advises through a few of these ways.
(1) Have relationships with people where you can honestly confess sins to and pray with for healing. (Get involved in small groups or LTG groups) James 5:16
(2) Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
(3) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21
(4) Hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast (Jesus). Hebrews 3:6
(5) Correct one another. Hebrews 12:5-11.

Know that Christ Jesus is the chief cornerstone.
- He is absolutely foundational to your salvation in heaven.
- He put to death your hostilities with one another v. 16
- The only hope for true community is to cherish Christ because everything stands and falls with Christ Jesus.