SOLFUL: Garnet District

By Kimi Iwai

Being a part of SOLFUL this past summer was a great experience. For six weeks, I spent my Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00A.M.-12:00P.M. working with the "Community Action Committee" of the Garnet District. We had approximately forty children from Kindergarten to sixth grade signed up. From the very beginning the children were so sweet and inviting to all the volunteers. I remember one day three kids came up to me and offered me half of their sandwich during snack time. That was just the start of how they expressed their love to us.

By the second week the children had come up with their own game. One kid would yell out the name of a volunteer and they would all come running towards that volunteer like a herd of zebras and knock him or her down. This turned out to be a ritual every Wednesday that none of us could escape, but we all enjoyed.

God opened my eyes and showed me a key aspect of life through these children. They taught me the value of time. For example, these kids didn't care what activities we had prepared for them, all they wanted and seemed to enjoy was 'time'. Time for someone to listen to their thoughts and ideas and time to just "hang-out" with us. In the end, I felt that the children had blessed my life more than I had blessed theirs.

Sermon Rewind: Dynamic Faith (Cindy Park)

Cindy Park kicked off the new series, based on Richard Sterns' book, The Hole in Our Gospel, entitled "(w)hole" with a sermon about dynamic faith. Sometimes we proclaim our faith, but do nothing to back up our empty claims. This is not true faith - it is dead faith. True dynamic faith is demonstrated by action. Transformation through action leads to obedience. We simply need to take a small step to make a big dynamic impact. The “hole in our gospel” is doing only what is convenient for us. Don’t let your life be just about empty words.

Listen to this sermon and others online!
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives/

Laundry Love in the OC Register!

Pics and article at http://www.ocregister.com/news/laundry-267659-people-lee.html.

SOLFUL: Building Relationships

By Raphael Chan

The SOLFUL teen program was an awesome gateway to continue to build on the relationships we had with the youth and adults that attend Lifeline Church. We had all participated in various exciting activities from soccer, flag football, art/graffiti class, movie night, and also even a resume building class at the end. I was able to be a part of a community that drew in kids from the local neighborhood, who soon later accepted Jesus Christ. By the end of the SOLFUL program, there were new teens beginning to attend Lifeline.

Growing up in the neighborhood can be very difficult for the life as a child and teen with many negative temptations such as drugs, alcohol, and gangs literally right next door. To have SOLFUL program as an outreach event for a possibility for one or a few kids to turn and keep away from such temptations is definitely worth the all the effort and time involved. As much fun as the events were during this time, there was also tragedy that shocked the community, a death of a loved one. I experienced and observed how everyone comforted, consoled, supported each other, and through this process it brought the Lifeline members closer together as a community.

On a personal note, I was able to work alongside with Pastor Joe and walk with him during this time in the summer and slowly I was able to enter into a spiritual mentor relationship with him. I asked various questions from things about God, life, friends, jobs, conflict, feelings and emotions. He gave great insights, testimony, and through that, I was able to hear more about his journey of different trials and tribulations he had endured. It was much like the TV show Home Improvement, how Tim Taylor who does many things wrong and often talks to Mr. Wilson, who then offers insights to help clarify or encourage Tim (although Pastor Joe does not hide his face behind a fence and nor do I verbally grunt that much). Now that the program is over, I hope to continue to work on building the relationship and ultimately building my relationship with Jesus and God the Father.

Sermon Rewind: Soul Talk (Vaughn Thompson)

Vaughn Thompson continued Soul Talk with his perspective of Genesis 22, where Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham willingly answered God's call, though like any father on earth, worried for Isaac. Yet by faith and obedience, Abraham and Isaac followed God. It's a picture of how we are to take up our cross and follow Christ.

God wants us to be open to a new place, to a new sacrifice and to His Word. Abraham and Isaac journeyed for three days to Mount Moriah. Both continually sought after His will, even as Abraham was about to slay Isaac. Seeing Abraham’s obedience, God intervened and directed him to sacrifice a ram instead. Abraham could have slain Isaac's life for good had he not seek God’s counsel continually.

Will you be open to His voice, His heart, and to a new sacrifice for Him?

Listen to this sermon and others online!
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives/

"You're not helping" defined...

by Chris Cheung

As a fundamentalist Christian who loves science, I watch with awe and fascination as new scientific discoveries mesh with our understanding of the universe as GOD created and sustains it. I truly believe that science and GOD do not fight and those cases where there is apparent controversy are places where the patient, insightful observer will eventually see science correct itself.

At the same time, I understand how many who do not believe in any god, much less our GOD, see the church as backwards, ignorant, and closeminded when confronted with reasonable questions and doubts. Since my college days, I have tried to be a rational, well-grounded Christ-follower willing to have a non-judgemental conversation with scientific atheists. And then I find sites like this: http://www.galileowaswrong.com/. And I sigh.

Sermon Rewind: Dependency & Risk (Tommy Nixon)

Tommy Nixon shared on dependency and risk, drawing from his own life this past year and the parables in Luke 18. Dependency on Christ must involve risk, and the reward is nothing more, nor less, than a relationship with Him. Tommy summed up his point with the phrase, "Following Christ is the art of putting yourself in a place where you will be dependent on GOD." It is a place of great risk. However, the risks we take must be GODly risks, which are characterized by the following four criteria. Godly risks must:

1. be GOD-centered
2. have eternal value
3. change your life
4. be undertaken in the contexts of a deep relationship with Christ and a community of Christ-followers

Listen to this sermon and others online!
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives/

Sermon Rewind: Soul Talk (Darryl Brumfield)

Pastor Darryl Brumfield continued Soul Talk with the musings of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. Solomon questioned the meaning of life – is it just a cycle of seasons, a short existence doomed to return to dust after meaningless toils? The answer is “No,” for God has placed eternity in our souls. From our point of view, nothing may make sense. But from God’s immutable and eternal perspective, He is creating a beautiful story for all time. Understanding His perspective can help us weather our time on earth. Remember that God has a reason for everything and is preparing us for His plan – even in the painful moments of our lives. Do not forget to enjoy life and live out loud – God delights in our joy! Finally, don’t worry about things on Earth. God will settle all accounts in the end. How can understanding God’s sovereignty help you today?

Listen to this sermon and others online!
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives/

SOLFUL at Maple

By Valerie Cuevas

The SOLFUL Maple Elementary Program had anywhere from 12 to 25 kids showing up to paint, play, and even learn. At first the outcome was very uncertain. “What if nobody shows up?” and “What if too many kids show up?” were the extremes that we as coordinators and volunteers faced.

The unknown is a hard thing to plan for but from what I saw from all the volunteers, it was nothing to be afraid of. The enthusiasm and love that each volunteer displayed made the program a success. Everybody was willing to adjust as needed and in the end became a very effective group. Making piñatas, having a group session with a professional Disney artist, and eating a whole lot of hot dogs, were only a few of the many experiences that the kids are able to take with them throughout their lives. These experiences along with the love of the volunteers was the foundation for the enthusiasm that kids had for the program and the enthusiasm that the kids brought to our lives—well, that and Jesus working. We were used to help the kids and the kids were used to help us.

In the beginning, it seemed like one of the primary mindsets was to help a bunch of kids do something over the summer, to be “good Christians”, and to lend a helping hand to those in need. I believe that although that may have been what was used to get people to volunteer, it was really the way that God was able to fulfill His intention to bring about change in us “good Christians”. Granted we are called to help those in need, we hardly ever stop to think that those in need are really us. Yes, we did our job that was described on paper, but the real thing was Jesus. To be able to help kids see and feel something different than what they feel on a regular basis, allowed our eyes to see the impact that we really do have in life. What made it beautiful was to see the peace and safety that they had not entirely because of us, but more because of the Light that was shining through us. Seeing that allowed me to understand the need to cling to Jesus is even greater than I thought.

To truly be an effective “Christian” is to understand that without Him you are just another person trying to do good. The impact that we have on people’s lives is only as great as the impact He has on ours. The more that we seek Him and depend on Him, the more we can be used to glorify His name. I am very proud and humbled to say that through our program we have three young kids that have given their lives to Jesus and are still coming. The program was a success.

Oasis Lifegroup ROCKS!!! ~

OASIS LIFEGROUP ROCKS!!!  2009-2010 video of the year....we all had such a blast!  I look forward to many more memories with my Oasis family! ~SJ Thio