Psalm 19:12-14 (NIV)

“Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

In this Psalm, David makes a distinction between “hidden faults” and “willful sins”. “Hidden faults” are sins that require forgiveness (Forgive my hidden faults) but they are “hidden” in the sense that they are hidden from the awareness of the person committing them. An example of a “hidden fault” would be making a promise to someone and then honestly forgetting to fulfill that promise. A sin was definitely committed by not fulfilling the promise but it was not done knowingly or on purpose. The NCV translation translates “hidden faults” as “secret sins”. But that’s a poor translation since most people think of secret sins as sins that are committed knowingly in secret. A secret sin is not hidden from the person’s awareness but rather it’s purposely hidden from the awareness of other people.

The other type of sin that David identifies is “willful sin”. Willful sin is an action, attitude, desire or thought that you are totally aware of and you know it is not pleasing to God but you choose to engage in it anyway. It is this type of sin that David is most wary of.

Why? It is because willful sin is an invitation to enslavement. David prays in verse 13, “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.” The ESV reads, “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.”

According to the Lord, willful sin is not simply a choice to disobey God but it’s a choice to make yourself a slave to some other god. Jesus says in John 8:34, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” And Romans 6:16 reads “you are slaves of the one whom you obey”. So, each time we willfully go against the Spirit’s conviction in our mind or heart, we put ourselves in deeper enslavement to sin (and the father of sin – Ephesians 2:1-3).

I don’t want to sound overly dramatic but we must be attentive and watchful over our ways. When we say things like, “I know God would want me to do this but…” or “I know this is wrong but…” or “I know thinking this way is wrong but…” What we are doing is giving into willful sin. What we are saying is, “I know what God wants of me but I am not going to do it.” When we do that, we willfully sin and give the sinful attitude, desire or way of thinking authority to rule over us, not only for that moment, but also for our future.

by Pastor Terry Gee

Talking about secular music at church brings up funny responses from people. Some people avoid it entirely, seeking to stay away from the messages the songs may contain. Others listen to it as part of their everyday lives and don’t think about it being suspect at all. Still others enjoy listening to it alone but turn it off when they are around other Christians, afraid of being thought poorly of by others.

Is there a right way to approaching secular music? Let me offer something for you to think about as you weigh this decision for yourself.

Usually we will approach the subject of music with questions like “What’s so bad about this sort of music?” “Is it really causing anything negative in me?” “There’s no profanity in this music, so how bad can it be for me?”

What if I told you that it was less about whether your music was producing anything bad within you and more about whether it was producing anything good within you? Rather than considering what bad things secular music does, consider what good it does for you instead.    

Does secular music set your mind on God? Does it help you combat dirty thoughts and feelings of anger and unforgiveness? Does the music you listen to help you memorize the Word of God and keep your mind on beautiful things all at once? Does it help your heart to sing praise to God at all times, no less on Sunday morning when we gather to worship? Does your music help you love God more?        

If your secular music helps you live for the very purpose for which you were made then by all means listen to it. But if it doesn’t, you may want to consider – am I using this gift of music to further the good of my soul? Or am I, in essence, squandering away a huge resource of grace given to me by God for my good and my holiness?      

Those are the questions I think we need to be asking when it comes to this issue. Whether you listen to secular music or not, God is holding out the gift of Christian music to you today, in ways more accessible than ever before - only you can decide whether or not you will take it.

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By Rickie Miyake

Back at 36th Street Elementary School, graduating from one grade to the next meant wondering who’d be our next teacher. Us new 3rd graders were happy to find out it would be Mrs. Wilson because we’d heard she was very nice.           

True to her reputation, Mrs. Wilson was indeed nice. We knew she cared by the way she interacted with us - patient, calm but resolute, always showing respect and concern while teaching us the requisite academics.           

She taught things other than academics, though. Often, after recess or lunch she’d sit down in front of the class to have a talk with us. Not a lecture or anything formal, just a casual talk about life. Such as knowing right from wrong and doing the former and not the latter; how we should expect to be treated by others the way we treated them; how good behavior and hard work would be rewarded.            

Mrs. Wilson spoke to us about morals. Never by talking down or belittling us, but as children that she really cared about. We knew she was our teacher, clearly the one in charge, but never did she hold it over our heads. My classmates and I all liked, admired and respected this exceptional lady.           

I don’t recall if she ever said she was a Christian but over the many years since then I’ve always assumed she was. In speech and action she embodied many of the qualities espoused by Jesus - like scenes in an old movie or television show when the recipient of a kindness or good deed tells the doer, “that’s mighty Christian of you.”           

Now I realize kindness and good deeds aren’t exclusive to Christians and also that Christians don’t always exhibit the same, but I’d say overall in this world the Christian reputation fosters an expectation for us to exemplify good moral character by being the people Jesus exhorted us to be.           

Mrs. Wilson’s example reminds me to examine myself and ask if people with whom I interact would assume I was a Christian based on my actions. I hate to admit that isn’t always the case, but thanks be to God that He gives the grace to forgive when we stumble, and to try again.           

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. - James 2:17

By Pastor Paul Moy

So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. 2 Samuel 9:11

This is one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament. In this story, David is an illustration of God the Father. Mephibosheth is a picture of you and me. He is someone living in shame and brokenness due to the fall of man. Mephibosheth was crippled as a child. He was 5 years old when his grandfather, Saul, and his father, Jonathan, were killed in a battle. When news of the battle reached the capital, the child’s nurse grabbed him and fled. In a rush, she fell and dropped him as she was running and as a result, he became lame. (2 Samuel 4:4) We are spiritually crippled because of the fall of mankind and due to sin and shame, we run away from God our king.

Maybe you too feel spiritually lame because you were “dropped” and you feel crippled. At times you ask yourself, Why me? Why did that happened to me?

King David went to search for Mephibosheth not to harm him but to bless him. David wanted to show mercy, grace and kindness to Mephibosheth because he was the son of his most faithful and dearest friend, Jonathan. David gives Mephibosheth all the property that once belonged to his grandfather, Saul, and invites him to eat with him at the king’s table for the rest of his life. What a blessing! Essentially, David adopts Mephibosheth as one of his sons.

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6

The one that is greater than David searches for us. Even though we are spiritually broken, God wants to show us kindness. He wants to adopt us as his children. He is a good, good Father!

Are some of you bummed today? Are you always looking inward where you are seeing your flaws, your faults and your shortcomings? I understand that many of us have been “dropped” and it may have affected our walk. But you must understand that you don’t have to remain in your spiritual handicapped condition day after day. Jesus was broken so that you might be healed. His blood was shed to wash away the sin and the memory of that which haunts you.

He wants to dine with you today. With all of your flaws, faults and shortcomings, He desires all that you see as lame, to be present so that He may cover you with His shed blood. He wants you to be a part of his family so you can dine with Him. He is calling you. Spend time with our Heavenly Father. Enjoy the fellowship with the King. Embrace it! Let Him feed and strengthen you!

MOPS has been a vibrant ministry to Mothers of Pre-Schoolers here at Evergreen SGV for the past 20 years.  Through weekly speakers, small group discussions, and creative activities, MOPS has been encouraging and developing mothers to embrace this nurturing role
according to the Biblical calling of motherhood.

This year marks a big transition in the ministry away from MOPS International to forge an independent in-house ministry to moms under the guidance and covering of Evergreen SGV. There are 3 main reasons for this de-affiliation from MOPS:

1.      We have already been operating as an independent, self-sustaining ministry for a while now, without utilizing much of the MOPS resources or materials.

2.      We would like to better steward our financial resources to directly benefit our community and achieve more of our ministry goals rather than pay charter fees.

3.      We would like to partner less with MOPS and more with our host church, Evergreen SGV, in sharing
resources and benefitting from the church’s leadership and accountability.

The ministry program, goals, and operations look largely unchanged.  But we are now known as “STEMS”, which stands for “Serving, Training, and Empowering Moms”. This new name reflects the plant motif of Evergreen and conveys our mission and our target demographic, as we seek to:

·         Serve and bless new moms in this unique season of life as well as encourage moms to also step up and serve others.

·         Train women to be godly, wise moms and wives according to God’s Word as well as provide opportunities for women to develop their leadership skills and giftings.

·         Empower moms by the power of the Holy Spirit to lean on Him for guidance, approval, strength, and rest.

Our logo features a beautiful flower standing tall, reminding us that our roles as mothers can often be seen as the “stems” or “backbones” of our households, providing nourishment and structure to our families. We are able to stand tall and strong, weathering any storm or trial, while being rooted and planted in the rich soil of God’s Word.

Our theme verse this year is Psalm 37:3-7a, which reminds us to Trust in the Lord, Take Delight in Him, Commit our ways to Him, and Rest in Him.

One new change to our program includes offering each caregiver who serves each week a small gift card as a token of our thanks and appreciation for the love and care they show our children. It is such a blessing for us moms to be able to have dedicated kid-free time to nurture our souls and our friendships every Friday morning.  We are currently looking for more caregivers, because a large crop of newborns is coming in the Spring. So we would love for you to join our ministry!  Please contact Helena Wong at li107@hotmail.com for more information.

STEMS Coordinators:

Christie Chong (xtchong@gmail.com), Allison Quock (awchu2@gmail.com), Crystal Seiler (Ctokushige@gmail.com)