Flight Report: 2.26.2012
Adios, Amigos! Hola, Mexico!
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You can still register for the March 24-27 trip. Spaces are available but limited. Register here: (Update: registration date moved to March 4) Amor: March24-27
Chinatownland
In conjunction with FCBC's 60th anniversary theme, "Shine On", especially in our Jerusalem (Acts 1:8), FCBC is hosting a Chinatown "urban plunge". Participants will catch a glimpse of what it is to be in the shoes of residents and workers. There will also be opportunities to partner with organizations and FCBC ministries that presently serve the community.
- Dates: Friday, March 30 at 10:00 a.m. to Sunday, April 1, at 5:00 p.m.
- Cost (updated 2/18): $25 for collegians and $40 for non-collegians to cover lodging but NOT FOOD costs
- Meetings (updated 2/18): Sunday, 3/11 and 3/25, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at a neighboring restaurant
For more information, please contact Robert Ngai at (626)230-3796 or Robertngai1985@gmail.com. Please provide your contact information so we can provide you further updates.
Register as a participant here: Chinatownland
Baptism is February 26, Sunday. Collegians getting baptized and joining the church in membership are Carolina Chau, Andrea Eng and Esther Yue. Help mark the occasion and celebrate this public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ. [Worship Center, 4:00pm]
Passage: A Study through Romans.
Bring an actual Bible (not an electronic one) and a notebook and pen to record your learning and thoughts as you study the Epistle of Romans.
Week 1 (Romans 1:1-7).
Paul makes this assertion of believers in Rome, "...among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints..." The exact translation of saints is "holy ones." And what's specific about "saints" is that it is in the present tense (and not future tense). How is that significant? When we enter into this relationship with Jesus Christ, we ARE holy ones or saints. You may think this odd or impossible but the truth of the matter is that it is not you that makes the difference, it's Jesus Christ that has made you holy. "I am a saint."
We should see ourselves very differently, and more importantly, live in a different manner. Our "holy one" status implies the elevated standard of living for which we should strive. We can be encouraged that we have this title despite our sinful past, whether that is before Christ or today as a work in progress. We should be reminded that this title is imparted to us solely on the work of Jesus Christ and through nothing else.
Week 2 (Romans 1:8-17).
You have to be amazed at God's job on Paul. Once a persecutor of Christians, now radically wanting to speak of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even the coldest heart has been won over by the power of God for salvation. As you read Romans 1:13-17, you can hear his heart for the Roman Christians (v13), and moreover, his heart for all who do not know Christ (v14). This Gospel is for everyone, from the intellectually heightened Greek, for the savage barbarian, and for everyone in-between.
Paul himself is a testament to this "power of God for salvation." It was strictly God through Jesus Christ who gave him his salvation. It was only God who radically changed his life, and it is God who delivered Paul into a restored relationship with himself. (Paul is making many implications here against the social and cultural norms: true salvation comes from only one god—God, and not from any of the cultural polytheistic gods; salvation does not come from works or animal/monetary sacrifices; there is no shame in proclaiming this minority belief in a non-believing world.) This power of salvation is available for you and others.
Paul, like Abraham and all the patriarchs, received the "righteousness of God" through faith. By belief and conviction in the facts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, one receives life in God, and one lives day to day in the reality of the Gospel.
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