Jubilee is Moving! 3/24 is our Last Sunday at Woodbury

Hello! Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine is moving! Tomorrow, March 24, will be our LAST Sunday worship at Woodbury Elementary School.  We will be hosting a missions fundraising lunch so please join us tomorrow!

Where are we moving to?

It is at 311 W. Yale Loop, where we will meet for Good Friday service.  It also happens to be the place where Communion Presbyterian Church used to meet.
When will this take place?  We have been approved for Easter Sunday, March 31stSo, this Sunday will be our LAST week at Woodbury Elementary School.  See you there!

Cambodia Mission Update from Pastor Daniel Kim

Missions in Cambodia

October 4 – 20, 2012

 Pastor Daniel Kim

Unknown but Well known. I am not an Obama or a Romney; I am not a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffett. I am a teaching missionary; I am unknown, having very little. Yet, I am well known to my Lord, and truly rich in him. I have passed my 70^th birthday, but I am not retired. I am still spry by the grace of God. I know I am doing the most glorious task; teaching and preaching about the King of kings, the Creator of all, the great sovereign God.

Cambodia is a poor country. Living conditions are below average. People are exposed to hot weather and biting insects. As an old man I go there twice a year, and find a joy in working for the Lord. I am so thankful to God, because he is wondrously merciful and faithful to me.

Honoring God. It happened my second week after I arrived in Cambodia: the former king Sihanouk passed away, and the government declared a national week of mourning, ordering all schools in Cambodia to be closed for a week. Westminster Theological College & Seminary (WTCS) was no exception. What should the school do? Complying with the order meant that the school should discontinue my teaching, cancel Young’s class, and send us back home. It was a big test for WTCS since it could jeopardize the school.

Praise the Lord for the wisdom and courage He provided. WTCS declared to students, “Our school will close officially for a week; you are free to leave campus, but for those who choose to stay, we will offer classes unofficially.”  What happened? Amazingly, nobody chose to leave. All students made up their minds to honor God rather than men!

What I Taught. I taught two subjects for two weeks: “The History of the Early Church” and “World History and Geography” as WTCS requested. The students were well disciplined to be punctual, attentive, courteous, and respectful.

I taught how God worked to keep his church  growing since its beginning, how he used various people, events, incidents, and movements for his Kingdom. I also taught that God is in charge not only of church history, but of world history and geography. Nothing is outside of his care and his rule. Daily weather conditions, regional climates, change of seasons, natural disasters, bumper crops, international politics, trades, world civilizations, cultures, ethnic diversities, and even the life and death of each individual—all are under God’s close watch and his absolute rule. All are within his eternal plan, and used for his glorious purposes.

When I taught all this, the students began to see everything from a fresh perspective—from the standpoint of God. Their eyes opened, and they learned to think differently in Christ.

 What Young Taught. My wife Young joined me at WTCS a week later and taught “Educational Ministry: Its Principles and Application” for a week. Her lectures, which focused on Christian education at church as part of its ministry, covered the goal of Christian education, its biblical foundation, teachers’ role, standards for good curriculum, and teaching strategies. The objective was to enlighten future pastors and church leaders to see the importance of Christian education and equip them to implement it knowledgeably and skillfully. The students (especially those ministering at village churches) expressed that the class helped them in practical ways and gave them a new perspective on Christian education.

Unexpected Ministry. On Sundays, most students leave campus and head for local churches for their weekend ministries. The rest stay at school and hold Sunday worship services, which has come to include school neighbors and others. The congregation has grown steadily and beyond anyone’s expectation, filling the worship room; it is now called Westminster Presbyterian Church. Praise the Lord for this one month-old church full of young people who want to know Jesus! Rev. Yuhan, the Academic Dean of WTCS, is now even busier evangelizing those new-comers, preaching the gospel and teaching basic Christian doctrines every week. Keep them all in your prayers.

Thank you all for your faithful supporting of our missions by finances and prayers. God bless you and your ministry.

Pastor Daniel Kim is a missionary to Cambodia. Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine supports him on his missions trips.  

Contact:

New Life World Vision

c/o  Daniel Kim

2219-B Via Mariposa E.

Laguna Woods, CA 92637                         

(949) 616-2147 (Daniel) / 633-2898 (Young)

Friday Night Bible Studies--Galatians

Every Friday night, Jubilee members gather together for an hour-long study of the Bible with Pastor James.  Our current series is going through the book of Galatians.  Tonight's study covered Galatians 5:1-15 and we discussed "Gospel Freedom".

Here's the summary taken directly from Pastor James' handout:

In 5:1, Paul re-introduces the idea of Christian freedom that he mentioned in Galatians 2:4. The concept of Christian "freedom" is easy to misunderstand. Paul says we are free from the "supervision" of the law (3:25) and we are no longer "under" the law (5:18). But does that mean we are free to disobey or disregard it? And if not, of what does this freedom consist? Paul answers this indirectly in 5:2-6, and directly in 5:13-15.

Please join us next Friday at 7:15pm to discuss "Gospel Character" from Galatians 5:16-25!


Friday Night Bible Study
Jubilee Presbyterian Church
jubileepci.org

Daylight Savings Reminder for Sunday!

Don't forget to turn your clocks forward 1 hour this Sunday! Worship starts promptly at 11am.

Jubilee Can Bake: Sweet Memories From Our Cookie Exchange

This past December, we had our annual cookie exchange. Sophia graciously organized the details, including the pretty looking name tags.  We had a decent turnout, but would like to encourage more members to participate next year!

 The winners of the cookie exchange were:

1. Best Overall Cookie--Sophia

2. Best Tasting Cookie-- Pastor James

3. Best Looking Cookie--Elaine

Here are the up close and personal photos of the delicious cookies. Warning: drools are inevitable :)

Annual Cookie Exchange

Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine

jubileepci.org

Welcoming Our New Elder: Elder Gaile Graham

We warmly welcomed Elder Gaile Graham last year! We held an official ceremony where we prayed together and took an oath as a congregation to be shepherded by Elder Graham.  We are thankful to be blessed by such a diligent and faithful servant.  Please keep Elder Graham in your prayers as he leads our church!

Here are photos from the event:

Elder Ceremony for Elder Gaile Graham

Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine

jubileepci.org

Spotlight on the High School Boys

We recently interviewed our two high school boys in an effort to get to know them better.  Here are their interviews.  Every month, we will be interviewing a different member of the congregation to get to know them better. Thank you in advance for participating!

Andrew T.

1. What grade are you in?

 I am in 9th grade.

2. What's your favorite book in the Bible?

Probably Genesis.

3. How would you describe yourself? (introverted, extroverted, into sports, passionate about volunteering, etc, please elaborate)

 Introvert, weird I guess... Lazy-ish

4. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years (give me specifics please: location, majoring in what, aspiring to be something, what your passions are, etc)?

I see myself at a uc school, swimming, majoring in I don't know what but either med. or engineering?...

5. What do you like about Jubilee?

I like pretty much everything.

Matthew K.

1. What grade are you in?

I am in 9th Grade 

2. What's your favorite book in the Bible?

My favorite book of the Bible would have to be Proverbs

3. How would you describe yourself? (introverted, extroverted, into sports, passionate about volunteering, etc, please elaborate)

I would describe myself as an extrovert and a slightly lazy person 

4. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years (give me specifics please: location, majoring in what, aspiring to be something, what your passions are, etc)?

In five years i see myself in college majoring in medicine or computer programming

5. What do you like about Jubilee?

What I like about Jubilee is the homey sort of friendly feel of it like the people who are all very nice and welcoming

Spotlight Interviews

Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine

jubileepci.org

Miss Liz & the Little Ladies Have an Outing

A few months ago, Miss Liz took the lovely little ladies from her class out to Panera for a holiday outing.  All of the girls enjoyed bagels and hot chocolate!  We thank Miss Liz for patiently and diligently serving our children's education ministries.

Here they are excited and feasting with Miss Liz:

Children's Ministry
Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine
jubileepci.org

Jubilee Musicians Reunited Again

Over the holidays, we were blessed with college musicians, Wesley (cello) and Mason (violin), joining us for worship.  They have graciously devoted many of their past Sundays to our Jubilee music team and we have been blessed by their serving hearts.  The Jubilee music group played a medley of Christmas tunes for us to praise the Lord with.  Many thanks to Melissa Kim, our house viola player, who has also driven precious miles from San Diego every weekend to bless us with her talented strings.  We hope the Lord keeps our college musicians healthy, happy, and bright while they are studying away at school.

Here we are in our first picture together (ever):

Jubilee Musicians
Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine
jubileepci.org

Young Adult Gift Exchange

In December, our budding young adult group met for lunch after church at Pho Tasia and exchanged gifts.  How blessed we are to have this enthusiastic bunch.  Our veteran and much loved musicians, Wesley and Mason Yu were able to join in on the festivities.  We missed those who couldn't it make it that day. Young adults, please be sure to join us next time, we would love to see everyone there!

Here are the photos from the event:

Young Adult Group

Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine

jubileepci.org

Women's Group Meeting

In January, the women of Jubilee got together to share in food and fellowship.  We have been reading Tim Keller's book, The Meaning of Marriage, and it has been a blessing for all of us.  We meet on a monthly basis for a meal and to go over a chapter of the book. Please join us for our next meeting!

Here are photos from our get-together:

Women's Group

Jubilee Presbyterian Church of Irvine

jubileepci.org

Jubilee 2013: Ten Years and Counting!

  Who knows what your life might be like in ten years?  Few of us ever even attempt to look to that distant point on the horizon.  Today is busy enough as it is.  Besides, so much could happen in that amount of time.  So many variables come into play.   Not to mention the fact that we make our plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.  That’s why I’m so amazed at God’s goodness as I reflect on the ten years of the ministry of Jubilee Presbyterian Church in the city of Irvine.  He has led us through many events, and brought us to so many milestones that it seems impossible how far we have come.
        The photos of our first worship service in my cleared out living room, with my family seated on our worn blue couch and Brian Rhee and Arthur Lee seated behind them is proof of the foolishness of the gospel.  Who could believe that such a beginning would result in our growing church family today with over 60 men, women and children standing side by side for Jesus?  Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27 come to my mind, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”.  We have moved 5 times, ordained and installed deacons and elders, presided over funerals, married couples, baptized many children, sponsored missionaries, and even saw a 77 year old gentleman proclaim faith in Jesus Christ!  We have come a long way in ten years.
        Much has changed since those humble days, but much remains the same as well.  Our worship is still centered on the preaching of the gospel, in the form of a dialogue with God.  We continue to sing the hymns from the Trinity Hymnal with the biblical depth and richness of its lyrics, while sprinkling in a few good praise songs along the way.  And, our children still learn the Westminster Shorter Catechism and are still included in all aspects of our church activities.  In my experience it seems that there is a certain strength and peace that comes over the church when there is continuity and steadiness in the ministry.  Trends and new programs come and go (and we may use some of them if biblical) but the main point is caring for God’s people so that they grow in faith, isn’t it?  That will always be our goal at Jubilee Pres.
        What, then, is ahead of us?  We have to see where the Lord leads us in 2013, but I hope that we grow in accepting our calling as a church to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  We are called to “Go” and spread the gospel everywhere, starting from Irvine, California.  And, we are called to “make disciples” of those who are baptized in the name of the Triune God.  My prayer is that Jubilee will do these two things well, so that at the twentieth anniversary, we can look back and once again be amazed at how far our Lord has brought us.

--Pastor James K. Kim
jubileepci.org

A Place for Transition

        There are times in life when things that we don’t want to happen, happen.  This may be one of those times.  By God’s will, a beloved mission work in Irvine closed last year, and soon a beloved pastor will make the trek with his family across the country to minister to another congregation.  Our hearts are a little heavy and we must acknowledge the accompanying feelings.  We will all miss Communion Presbyterian Church, pastor Moorlach and his family.
        Our heavenly Father’s providences are a mystery to us, but we trust Him.  We know that He is wise, and good.  It is because our Lord is wise and good, He provides help and refuge in these times.  I pray that Jubilee Presbyterian Church can be a help and refuge to all our brothers and sisters from Communion Pres.  We want to once again extend a warm welcome to you as you find your way to another fellowship of believers.  If you find that this is where you’d like to serve, we would be honored to have you.  If you find that another congregation would be a better fit for you, then we praise God that He has led you to the right place.  In any case, we desire only to serve you and help you in Christ.



--Pastor James K. Kim
jubileepci.org