What We’re Waiting For

What We’re Waiting For
by Pastor Dan Palomino

Hope and Peace go hand in hand. That’s what Advent is all about. And oh, how we need both as we wait on the Lord! Two other elements that fit right in here are Faith and Love. Jesus came into this world to bring us hope and peace, and that we might know his love through faith in him.

Luke announces the peace that Jesus brings by quoting the messenger, the angel of the Lord: “‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’…And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:11-14)

But how can we have hope when things don’t go the way we had thought they would? How can we have hope when we are disappointed in God, when we feel like he has let us down, or when things happen in life that we don’t understand?

Jesus himself answers these questions by telling us that our ultimate hope does not come in this lifetime but in what is to come. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 14:33)

He came that we might have peace. How can we have peace in the midst of the tribulation? The same way Jesus could sleep soundly in the back of the boat while the storm raged on. Because Jesus is still with us, God is with us. That’s what we read in scripture and sing about, especially at Christmastime. Maybe that’s a problem. We tend to reflect upon the name, Emmanuel (which is a promise that means “God is with us”), mainly at this time of year. Yes, the promise is there that God is with us in the Christ child, but we have to remember that God is always with us. That’s why Jesus gave us his Holy Spirit. “Very God of very God” dwells within every person who puts their trust in him.

That’s how we can face tribulation, that’s how we can endure the storm. This is how we can have hope when we’re faced with illness, joblessness, injustice, oppression, broken relationships, hatred, loss, or even death. Peace gives us hope. Hope enables us to be at peace. God is ALWAYS with us and not just when he was here physically roaming the earth as a carpenter’s son. The very name given to him was a sign to us that God IS (not was) with us!

Jesus tells his disciples (and us), “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27) He tells us this right after he promises the Holy Spirit to each and every believer.

This is how we know that he loves us and how we can know his love for us. “For God so loved the world” —that is, God loved the world in such a way— “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” For Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it. (John 3:16-17)

We can experience the “Peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) in the midst of life’s difficulties because of the hope we have in what is to come, eternal life, when we will no longer have to face any kind of tribulation. Faith and hope go hand in hand, as well. (See Hebrews 11:1.)

The peace that Jesus promised us so long ago is not a peace that is to come, it is for now, in the midst of the tribulation that he told us we will face in this world, in this life. But there will come a time when we will no longer need faith and hope because we will be right there with the LORD, face to face, gazing upon him in all his fullness. For now, though, we need faith, hope and peace because we can only see God as in a dimly lit mirror. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

For now, we have faith, hope (peace) and love because of the birth of Jesus into the human family and the work he accomplished on the cross for which he was born. That waiting is over. The waiting we endure now is for his return. The greatest of these three (faith, hope and love) is love. Why?

Because love lasts forever, it goes on into eternity. (1 Corinthians 13:8) In the eternal realm, we will no longer need faith and hope (or peace) because our faith and hope will have come to fruition. We will revel in the glory of the perfect and everlasting love of God!

It’s worth the wait.

1-19-20

Family Sunday Potluck: January 26
Our first Family Sunday Potluck of the year will be on Sunday, January 26th, immediately after the service. Please visit the Info Table to sign up to bring a dish.

Winter Life Groups: January – March
Do you want to join a weekly Life Group? Please visit the Info Table for more information.

Faith and Finances Class: January 26 – April
Learn how God wants to restore health to your money and relationships through Faith and Finances, an eleven-week course that will be held on Sundays afternoons at the Family Center, beginning January 26th. The class costs $20/person. Please register by Sunday, January 19th by contacting Dave or Shari.

Meet the Pastor: February 2
If you are new to FOL and want to learn more about our church, please join us in the cafeteria after the service on February 2nd for a reception with Pastor John.

M3ND Abuse & Bullying Recognition Training: February 27
FOL and Stephens Middle School are hosting an abuse & bullying recognition/response training from The M3ND Project on the evening of Thursday, February 27th from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Parents and any interested adults are invited to this event. The training will define and teach ways to identify the hidden manipulative behaviors that are found in all abuse cases. Participants will also obtain tools for responding in a way that promotes healing for victims and accountability for abusers. Register online using this link: http://bit.ly/2tKEmIs or visit the Info Table for a printed registration.

Remarks on Martin Luther King Jr.

Remarks on Martin Luther King Jr.
by Daniel Castillo
January 19, 2020

I’m a recent graduate and alumnus of Fuller Theological Seminary. It was there that I got to learn intimately about King’s work. I read over a dozen books, including books that he wrote, a lot of the sermons, and a lot of the letters he wrote. I listened to hours of interviews. I would say I’m not an expert, but I know a little bit about him.

What I’ve learned through my studies was drastically different than what I learned growing up. As a child, I was taught that King was polite. He was civil. He was diplomatic. He was well-mannered; he was well-groomed. And I’m not saying that those things aren’t true, because they are. But what I didn’t know about him—what they didn’t share—was that he was largely disliked. In fact, the same year that he was killed, there was a poll taken and he had a disapproval rating of 75%.

Think about that. How can this be? It’s really difficult to fathom how someone like him will be disliked when you hear the “I Have a Dream” speech. But the thing is, if that’s the only thing you’re exposed to, then you’re missing out on King’s much larger legacy.

The “I Have a Dream speech” was a pivotal moment in history. But if you heard other speeches, like “The Other America,” or “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” “A Knock at Midnight,” you will realize that your perception of him has been greatly shaped to fit a certain sensibility. A number of times, he would say, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” For those who were familiar with that phrase knew that you express that when you are profoundly angry at what’s going on with the world. If Pastor Alex Gee were here, he would say that King was “justifiably angry” with what was going on around the world. If you read those speeches now you would think that they were written yesterday because the same material conditions that he was speaking out against exist today.

He wasn’t liked because he made people feel uncomfortable with their status and with their own faith. He challenged people to put their lives on the line, even if that meant your own. King called out America’s appetite for violence and war. He once said, “We live in a society where we have guided missiles and misguided men.” He was angry at the rates of homelessness. Last year, one thousand people died sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles. One thousand people died! He would have been angry last week, watching the black mothers who were arrested in Oakland for trying to give shelter to their children in a vacant home. Where 75% of the homeless population in Oakland are black people, and they comprise a 25% of the city’s population. I want to think about that. And here’s the kicker: there are double the amount of vacant homes than there are homeless people, so there’s more housing to go around. He was angry at the inequities in education, housing, and employment. Statistically black women are the most educated group in the U.S. They constitute over 71% of all master’s degrees awarded each year, but they are the lowest paid and lowest hired for most professions.

King spoke out against political corruption and police brutality. Last week, there were dozens of police officers who are fired from LAPD for falsifying documents, and inputting innocent people’s names into gang databases. These people are black and brown people. And not only that, the auditors found that 42 of those names belonged to infants. Forty-two infants are in the gang database! Think about that.

King called out the privileges and the handouts that white Americans have systematically received for centuries by the government agencies. Before he died, he was actually promoting a wealth redistribution plan that would guarantee a basic income package for impacted communities especially low-income communities of color. King was especially critical and angry at the complacency of Christians and churches for doing nothing, and waiting and being silent in the midst of oppression. He said, “the church has left many men and women disappointed at midnight.” There are men who stand at the pulpit every Sunday and never speak out against racial injustices. They are the arch supporters of the status quo.”

What I’ve learned from King is that these conditions are morally unacceptable. And it is our duty as Christians to respond, to be justifiably angry, to protest, to march, to hold people accountable, to break and eradicate unjust laws, to love, to commit to put your life on the line to hold true to Jesus words in Matthew 25: 35 -40. “When I when I was hungry, you gave me food. I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was homeless, you invited me in. When I was naked, you gave me clothes. When I was sick, you took care of me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me. Truly I tell you, whatever you do to the least of these you do for me.” King’s legacy is far more than a celebration once a year. It’s an invitation, a reminder, to live a life of moral conviction.

I will conclude with the words of King, “Let us rededicate our lives to the long and bitter but beautiful struggle to bring in the new world. Let us speed up the day when ‘justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.’ It is necessary for us to take a stand that is neither safe nor popular, but we must do it because it is right.”

This is the Dr. King that I celebrate. And as you celebrate tomorrow, I hope seriously consider this invitation to put your feet behind your prayers, “to be sick and tired of being sick and tired,” to be righteously angry. To no longer allow the crippling material conditions that marginalized communities of color, to proclaim the good news that we are children of the Most High, and we have the resolve and the authority to cast down the evils and bring forth the righteousness of the Lord. It is then that we will access the glory of the Lord. Amen.

References

“A Religion of Doing” Sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/religion-doing-sermon-dexter-avenue-baptist-church

The Task of Christian Leadership Training for Education in the Local Community

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/task-christian-leadership-training-education-local-community

Three Evils of Society
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/martin-luther-king-hungry-club-forum/552533/

Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/beyond-vietnam

Letter from Birmingham Jail

https://swap.stanford.edu/20141218230016/http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/kingweb/popular_requests/frequentdocs/birmingham.pdf

But If Not – Sermon

After struggles comes success!! – Epic Martin Luther King Jr speech – But if Not (Full sermon)

I Have a Dream

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/i-have-dream-address-delivered-march-washington-jobs-and-freedom

Rev. Alex Gee – Justified anger: Rev. Alex Gee says Madison is failing its African-American community

https://madison.com/ct/news/local/city-life/justified-anger-rev-alex-gee-says-madison-is-failing-its/article_14f6126c-fc1c-55aa-a6a3-6c3d00a4424c.html

A Knock at Midnight – Sermon

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/knock-midnight

Martin Luther King Makes the Case for Reparations

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/martin-luther-king-makes-the-case-for-reparations/372696/

MLK Talks ‘New Phase’ Of Civil Rights Struggle, 11 Months Before His Assassination

Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?

https://www.uni-five.com/upload/doc/82818file.pdf

The Other America

https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.friendscentral.org/dist/3/28/files/2009/01/theotheramerica2-13-1968.pdf

The World House

https://www.luthersem.edu/admissions/Beloved_Community_world_house.pdf

Black Women Now the Most Educated Group in U.S.

https://www.theroot.com/black-women-now-the-most-educated-group-in-us-1790855540

LAPD Falsifying Documents

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-14/lapd-scandal-lapd-gangs

Moms 4 Housing Evicted and Arrested From Oakland House

Homeless mothers with Oakland’s ‘Moms 4 Housing’ have been forcibly
evicted from a vacant home they were occupying

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/15/us/moms-4-housing-homeless-evicted-oakland-trnd/index.html

Martin Luther King – Sick and Tired

1-12-20

Winter Life Groups: January – March
Life Groups start this week. Please visit the Info Table for more information or to sign up for a Life Group.

Prayer Workshop: January 18
The Prayer Team invites everyone to start the year hearing from Jesus. Come and practice hearing from the Holy Spirit on Saturday, January 18th from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at the Family Center.

Winter Members Meeting: January 19
FOL members, join us for our annual winter meeting before the service at 9:00 am on Sunday, January 19th in the cafeteria.

Faith and Finances Class: January 26 – April
Learn how God wants to restore health to your money and relationships through Faith and Finances, an eleven-week course that will be held on Sundays afternoons at the Family Center, beginning January 26th. The class costs $20/person. Please register by Sunday, January 19th by contacting Dave or Shari.

M3ND Abuse & Bullying Recognition Training: February 27
FOL and Stephens Middle School are hosting an abuse & bullying recognition/response training from The M3ND Project on the evening of Thursday, February 27th from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Parents and any interested adults are invited to this event. The training will define and teach ways to identify the hidden manipulative behaviors that are found in all abuse cases. Participants will also obtain tools for responding in a way that promotes healing for victims and accountability for abusers. Register online using this link: http://bit.ly/2tKEmIs or visit the Info Table for a printed registration.

Youth Weekly Events
High school youth meet on Wednesday evenings. Middle school youth meet on Friday evenings.

1-5-20

Winter Life Groups: January – March
Life Groups will reconvene next week, January 14. Please visit the Info Table for more information or to sign up for a Life Group.

Faith and Finances Class: January 26 – April
Are you tired of stressing about money? Learn how God wants to restore
health to your money and relationships through Faith and Finances, an eleven-week course that will be help on Sunday afternoons at the Family Center. Contact David Uyematsu for more information.

The Well Day of Sabbath: February 29
 Save the date: The Well will host a day of Sabbath on Saturday, February 29th in Long Beach. More details to follow. Contact Sylvia Palomino with any questions.

Youth Weekly Events
The middle and high school youth groups are on break and will reconvene in two weeks.

12-15-19

Christmas Cookie Bar: Today

Please join us for a Christmas cookie bar in the cafeteria after today’s service! 

5000 Pies Christmas Cookies & Pies: December

5000 Pies is taking Christmas pie orders until Friday, December 20th. Pick up will be Tuesday, December 24th from 1pm – 5pm.

Looking for gifts for coworkers, friends, or teachers? Look no further than 5000 Pies’ assorted Christmas cookie boxes and bags.

Order forms for pies and cookies will be at the Info Table after service.

M3ND Abuse & Bullying Training: February 27

FOL is partnering with Stephens Middle School to host an abuse & bullying training from The M3ND Project on the evening of Wednesday, February 27th, 2020 (exact time TBA). This training includes teaching, video learning and interactive breakout sessions to provide deeper knowledge of the various forms of abuse, including bullying, that first responders (e.g., faith-based leaders, therapists, school personnel) are likely to encounter. Parents and any interested adults are invited to this event. The training primarily focuses on defining and learning to identify covert emotional abuse, the hidden manipulative behaviors that are the common thread found in all abuse cases. Participants will also obtain tools for responding in a way that promotes healing for victims and accountability for abusers. 

Youth Announcements

The middle and high school youth groups are on break for Christmas and will reconvene in January.