Lifelight Church

I like to do more yoga for my health. But I don't really know how to do yoga and classes are expensive; not to mention the difficulty of fitting them into my busy schedule. I could imagine myself just rolling out the mat, and practicing yoga in my living room at my own very convenient time, only if I knew how to. Well, I could just go for a lap-swim every other day instead. I know how to swim and I have in the past done it as my primary exercise. I could finally get that six-pack ab I always talked about! But I'd still have to fit the lap-swim hours into my busy schedule. Sigh.. only if I could have my own swimming pool in my backyard. Then I'd really get in shape. We can talk and do the exercises of Christian formation & practice all we want. But at the end of the day, we actually have to put into the practice of doing it. When I say practice, I mean the practice that doctors refer their work - they don't actually keep on practicing medicine on us, it's what they do. How can we then start practicing the resurrection - as a way of life?

Have you heard anyone say "I'm not religious. But I'm spiritual." From Shaolin monks to Nacho Libre, monks for most people today are cool. Their subversive way of life is intriguing, desirable and respected. Christianity actually has a long tradition of monks. At our very beginning, we lived a subversive way of life that to people of the first few centuries, was intriguing, desirable and respected. In 1935, Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenged the Church that "...the restoration of the church will surely come only from a new type of monasticism." The question then is; how can we monk the church? Well, it starts from learning from those who went before us. In part 3 of Life With Us, we'll examine some of the most precious Christian traditions: Celtic, Benedictine, Ignatian, Franciscan and of course, Wesleyan - the deep well of tradition from which we can draw.

Do you remember learning to speak? You probably don't. I wondered how a child learns to speak and, as I raise one, I got to see how. But speaking isn't just the ability to speak. It's an ability to speak with someone. And speaking with someone is entirely a relational activity. What then of praying? Praying isn't just saying stuff. It is entirely a relational activity - an activity with resurrected Jesus. As a child learns to talk, so do we in prayer. And prayer is the primary form of Christian formation and practice. Part 2 of Life With God is learning the different stages of prayer. Intrigued?

Spiritual formation has been the biblical exercise and discipline through the Old Testament and the New Testament times. It has been at the heart of those who sought God and followed Jesus. And even Jesus lived HIs life rigorously practicing the presence of God. Yet it seems that the contemporary Christian communities have done away with these activities that invite us into deeper and more authentic life with God. We have stopped embracing the Immanuel principle. This Sunday, we begin, or rather continue, our study of living out the resurrection as Eugene Peterson calls it. Wouldn't you like to learn to live this life with God so that we can be progressively transformed in heart and mind like Christ? Join us this Sunday for the part 1 of Life With God series.

I don't like buffet. Not a fan of it. I don't like when someone asks "do you wanna try mine?" and pushes his/her dish to my side of the table. I especially don't like it when someone asks "can I try yours?" and stick out the fork that is other than one in my own hand. I like to eat at my own table, staying put, and have a single plate of food to work on. Am I weird? Maybe. But I'm not the only one. As a matter of fact, my preference of food consumption is very biblical. Paul tells to Corinthians to "stick to one table of food. Don't eat from this table and that table." Only thing here is that he refers one table "the table of the Lord" and the other "the table of demons." It makes me wonder if I stick to my aforementioned preference in my spiritual consumption. How about you? Come and reflect together on 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1.

In my younger days, I didn't bother reading a rental agreement, a manual of a devise, or an instruction for an activity. It just seemed boring and too safe. I may not be the only one to have thought that way. Some of you, reading this, still insist on not reading the manual or an instruction. A friend of mine, being in-between jobs, decided to go to a law school. For fun. He had one reason: to be able to do whatever he wants. Knowledge, in this case, of laws, would give him freedom to know how far he can push the system and manipulate for his cause. Christians in Corinth thought the same - that they had enough knowledge about God to do whatever they want (in 1 Corinthians 8, that would be eating whatever they want). What do you think Paul would have to say about that?

Life is full of issues. I learned that early on like everyone. Life just don't work out as you plan, hope and try. Things get complicated, huddles are presented and the worst of all, your personal limitation is realized. So, this picture below speaks volumn I think. Well, you add to life faith, rules and what not, and it gets even more complex. Paul deals with some of these complexities Corinthians have brought to him (mostly on marriage) in 1 Corinthians 7. What's his advise?

How important is sex to you? I'm guessing that depends on how old you are, where you are in life, whether you're married, or not. Our society certainly takes sex importantly, judging by the amount of debate, promotions and consumption of sex. Yet it's barely in regard to reproduction (that's important believe it to not. You wouldn't be reading this otherwise.), or marriage. I bet reproduction and marriage didn't even cross your mind as you read "sex." Be honest. This Sunday, we will talk about sex. Let me first declare that sex is a great thing. It's a good stuff - one of best gifts from God to us. That is why it's also the most harmful when abused. Paul tells it in 1 Corinthians 6:9-20.

I heard that a kid whose dog ate his homework told the teacher and she never believed him. Kids in preschool don't get "the look" when they ask to be excused from the class because they have to go to the bathroom. Not the same when they get to 1st grade. My all time favorite excuse is the "I have to return the video tape" from American Psycho (Don't watch it) which unfortunately is no longer useful. If you think of excuses people make, there is a common motif that runs - separating oneself from the problem or mistakes. Excuses we make up are not always ridiculous and obvious. Some are clever, logical and often sincere in the person's mind. Paul deals with excuses the Corinthians are giving over a guy who's sleeping with his step-mother (1 Cor 4:17-6:8). They're good excuses. Really. 'Cause we still use them all the time.

"Monkey see, monkey do." Have you try this at the zoo? I don't know what might take to get a monkey at zoo to demonstrate this but it's not too hard to do on humans, especially kids. And I don't mean just little kids, teenage kids and even grown ups. As the saying goes, "there's nothing new under the sun," we are all copycats of the old. At the conclusion of his first section of the letter to Corinthians, Paul simply tells them, "copy me, do as I do." Is Paul so arrogant? Can the Corinthians' problem be resolved simply by imitating Paul? Come and see how all the talk about the Cross ends at... wait for it, the Cross.