This Changes Everything- Week Tree :)

happy friday everyone! alright so here is the long awaited recap/messge responses :) This past Sunday, October 23, we had the privlege of having Layne Wakuta speak about Jesus' authority! :D

Without further ado, here is a little summary of Layne's message :)

word of the week: AUTHORITY(exousia)-the freedom of choice..."the rightful, actual, and unimpeded power to act, or to possess, control, use or dispose of, something or somebody." (The New Bible Dictionary)

The Gospel of Mark=The Gospel of Action
-Mark 1:15,17
-There is very little detail, Mark gets straight to the point.
Jesus Christ=Man of Action,Man of Authority
-Mark 1:28-31
~Jesus shows His authority in 2 ways:
* Authority in His teaching
* Authority in His power over evil spirits

Authority in teaching:
-Mark 1:21-22~"...he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law."
*Matthew 28:18-"Jesus...said, 'All authority...has been given to me."
What happened to authoritative teaching?
-"400 years of silence" (Intertestamental Period):time between Malachi & the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ
-Influence of Hellenism throughout Israel, even the Jewish people
-Authoritative speaking of prophets was replaced by boring repitition of Jewish laws by the teachers of the Law (Pharisees and Scribes)
*Luke 4:14-22

Authority over evil spirits:
*Mark 1:23-28~"...A new teaching-and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him."
What is an evil spirit?
- an unclean spirit, or demon
*Does demon possession occur today?
-Yes, demon possession seems like when a demon(s) live in a person they take control over that person's mind & body (Charles Ryrie)
*How can someone become demon possessed?
-God blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see Christ (2 Corinth. 4:4)
Can a Christian become demon-possessed?
-NO...why?
*Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinth. 6:19-20)
*The Holy Spirit is stronger/greater than demonic spirits (1 John 4:4)

The Spiritual War:
*Ephesians 6:10-18
-The Armor of God: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with readiness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (the Word)
*The Protoevangelion-The First Gospel
-Genesis 3:15-"...he will crush you head..."
-1 John 3:8- "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."

We have authority and victory over Satan and his demons through Jesus Christ...JESUS FTW!!! :)

Some things to think about:
-Who/what has authority in your life? Is this authority good/bad?
-Does God's Word/Jesus' teachings have authority in your life?

God Bless <3

coming soon to epic blog...

due to craziness, blogger being crazy, and other miscellaneous stuffsss...message responses/re-cap from Sunday, October 21 and a re-cap of our special event on Sunday, October 16 will be posted at a later date...so so sorry to leave you all hanging!!!! i promise they will be coming soon!!!! until then, have a blessed week[end], and God bless <3

"The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, his treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6

"This Changes Everything"- Week Dos

Hello EPIC familyyyy!!!! <3 SO...this past Sunday, October 9, Brad spoke on Mark 1:16-20 which is where "Mark begins his portrait of Jesus' public ministry with the recruiting of Peter, Andrew, James, & John."

Here's a sorta brief re-cap :)

In Brad's words,"Jesus divinely & intentionally calls these 4 fishermen to follow Him & partner with Him in His Kingdom's causes to become Fishers of Men. This simple yet profound event becomes the model of the believer's obedient response to Discipleship as they abandon everything in order to follow Him. So what must be true of a person in order for them to respond to Jesus in such a radical way? And likewise, what must be true of us if we are to respond to Jesus' specific calling for our lives as college students?"

To answer these questions, a true follower must...
1.Trust in His provision

• They were Fishermen by trade; it was their source of income. According to v20, it was a successful family enterprise, & according to Luke 5, the 4 men were business partners. These men must have really trusted Jesus in order to drop EVERYTHING and follow Him.


• We too must trust that Jesus will provide for us when He calls us in a direction that may seem to contradict the outwardly logical, comfortable, & economical.

2.Be committed to His gospel

• There was no misunderstanding, Jesus' call was about ONE thing...dropping nets to save souls by the power of the gospel, & as believers, we often forget this crucial calling to spread the gospel. This calling can even become overshadowed by Christian events & activities!


• Though God may have a specific plan for our lives involving school, career, & ministry, it's never more important than the calling to spread the gospel withing those specific plans.

3.Submit to His sovereign empowering

• These men were fishermen...NOT scholars, yet Jesus specifically chose them for His Kingdom. The key to this calling is found in the phrase "I WILL MAKE YOU BECOME fishers of men." These men would turn the world upside down for the Lord because of one reason...they were powered by the Holy Spirit.


• We too need to humbly come as we are before the Lord & allow Him & His power to use us in mighty ways.

4. Love Him more than anythings & anyone

• It counts for nothing in eternity to follow Him out of religious zealousness, as Jesus states in Luke 14:26, following Jesus must come from a deep-seated cherishing of the person of Jesus Christ.


• Loving Jesus is the only way we can truly honor Him as we abandon everything to follow Him.

some questions to think about...

• What are some things that are keeping me/have kept me from dropping everything & truly following Jesus.


• What are some things that God has been calling me to do?

"My prayer for the students of EPIC is that they would be sensitive to God's specific calling for their lives and that they would whole-heartedly run after it with reckless abandon." ~Brad

God Bless, have a wonderful week & ...and check out the message responses :D ------>

"Mark" My Words this is the Best Series EVER!!!! - "This Changes Everything" WEEK 1

Chris' summary about the new series and overview of Sunday's (10/2/11) message.

Messege response from last week and its 2nd service style. lol 

Enjoy. :)

-Epic Blog Team

Epic Camping Trip

So, these pictures were from the Epic Camping trip a couple of weeks ago, and I know its a little bit late, actually really late, and I just remembered that Chris had asked me to post these a while back (Sorry everyone!). Anyway, these are just a few of the pictures I was able to take of the trip. Most of them are from the first and last day and for some reason I apparently decided not to take any of the second day. Although it was a little rainy we still had plenty of fun. If you went on the trip then you know what I'm talking about, so get more people to come. And if you didn't get to go you're definitely invited to come next year. Its a really awesome time that you can just spend to hang out (or do homework...) and relax by the beach, catch up with old friends, AND make new ones. Playing Mafia and football, eating amazing food, and I really do mean amazing(thanks Mr. Sata!), and just fellowship with each other, all of which the Lord made possible, always, always makes for a great trip. Anyway, here are a few of the pictures. Enjoy!

grace hayashi on the open mic

One of the difficulties in working with college-age students is trying to minister to the wide variety of people at different faith stages and geographical places who are somehow still connected to our community.  It's not always easy because we recognize that God is not calling all of you to be a part of our community here on a regular basis but we do want you to feel connected whenever you're around.  For this reason, I [chris] really appreciated the chance to catch up with Grace Hayashi during her spring break and hear about what's it's like for her to come back "home" [if that's what you want to call it].  I asked her to write down some of what we talked about and i think it's a refreshingly honest read that some of you students who are away can relate to, but, it's also an eye-opening read for the students who are local.

So without further ado, read on and see life through the eyes of Grace Hayashi [she's the one on the right].

Coming back home is getting progressively more and more weird. The more connected I feel at Westmont College, the less connected I feel to Torrance/Gardena.

God has been doing so much in my life at Westmont. I went from almost certainly a Chemistry major planning to go to medical school to a Religious Studies major with no plans at all. God has constantly been challenging me to set aside my pride and to rid myself of insecurities about how others will view me. Turning down UCLA for a private Christian school in Santa Barbara that few have heard of was just the start.

Better late than never!

Our 3rd annual EPIC camping trip is just around the corner [3/18-20] so we decided it's time to post some memories of our 1st and 2nd trips [compliments of Naomi Chen's YouTube channel and Facebook pics]!  Let's step into the DeLorean for a nice trip back in time... 

Here is a video of our first EPIC camping trip for your enjoyment -

And then some pics from our 2nd EPIC camping trip -

This year's trip promises to be more of the same.  It's just a time to get away for a weekend and unwind.  We'll sit around the campfire at night and just catch up with one another.  We'll play co-ed football at the beach, board games, and ninja during the day.  And all of this is topped off by some gourmet meals cooked by the master chef Dennis Sata.  $30 buys you a weekend of fun, food, and good company!  Space is limited so be sure to sign up ASAP!