hello hello EPIC familia!!!!
sorry it's been a while since we've had a message re-cap/message responses :( i hope this post finds you all well with the school year almost done and summer right around the corner!!! can't wait to see everyone's lovely faces return home and have us all re-united back home at GVBC :D

Here's a little something to munch on! :D

SELFISH vs. SERVANT (speaker: Chris)

Main passage: Mark 10:35-45

Our goal should not be to be the person everyone serves, but the person that serves everyone. In this passage, we are James and John. Too often do we have the mindset of how are MY actions going to benefit ME? What am I going to get out of this? How will I be blessed? How will I be glorified? We give to receive and serve to be blessed. Christ, the Son of Man, did not come to be served, but to serve. (verse 45) We need to follow Christ's example in doing nothing out of "seflish ambition or vain conceit" but rather putting others above ourselves, looking not to our own interests, but the interests of others. (Philippians 2:2-4) God has called us to serve others to glorify Him, to show others His love, to bless Him.

How would you gauge your selfishness in terms of family, friends, your church, at work, at school? What areas do you need to work on developing a servant's heart? Do you serve to be glorified, or glorify God through service? Here are some things to consider...
-Do you HUMBLY serve others with selfless motives? (Do you donate to be
recognized, do you help expecting a thank you, do you serve anticipating an
earthly reward?)
-Are you willing to do MENIAL tasks? (whether that be doing the dishes at
home without complaining or helping set up/break down at college group, are
you willing to be faithful in the small things that at times may go
unnoticed?)
-Is your life marked by giving or getting? (is it all about me me me, take
take take? or how can i help? how can i give? how can i benefit those around me? how can i glorify God?)
-Are you about achieving a status or making a difference? (is this life
about how high and mighty people think you to be or how you can better
someone else's life?)

Selfishness is not something that will go away overnight, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can turn our self-centered hearts to hearts of service and love bringing glory to the One who deserves it.

I pray you all have a blessed week whether you are taking finals, studying for finals, working, stressing, chilling, whatever you may be doing this week :) May you see God in the little things, remember Him in EVERYTHING, and find peace in knowing that YOU are HIS. Whether you want to take a vacation form life or life is rainbows and butterflies for you, I pray that you contine to seek Him and live this life for Him. <3

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humilty consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..." Philippians 2:2-5

Epic Camping Trip 2012

Epic Camping Trip 2012

Just a quick slideshow of the pictures from the camping trip. Enjoy!

To describe the trip, I would use the word peacefully amazing.  Although we all planned for rain, God shed His light (literally) on the camp site, for a cool 70 degrees during the day.

Deep one on ones, two worship sessions, a football game on the beach, a mile walk/run to the pier, boccie ball games, board games, cooking teams, and spending quality time with others were absolute highlights of the weekend.  Personally, I enjoy the fact how all of us members of EPIC come from different walks of life.  Who would have thought we could all work so well as a family? Well God did.

Seeing God's beauty through His creation of nature was mesmerizing.  His presence was all around.  God you are so wonderful.  Thank You for this community and the love You overflow among us.

1 John 4:7-8

message responsesss!!!! :)

hello hello everyone!!!! sorry there's been such a delay with these posts :( butttt hope you are all doing well!!! here are some message responses from Brad's message about trusting in God through all of our fears, doubts, and worries because He is such a strong and powerful God <3

God has been teaching me over the past few weeks, or rather encouraging me, to be very strong and courageous because i have a firm foundation to go out from and return to. Because the LORD has power and love beyond measure despite not being sure what to do i just need to trust.

This just reminds me of an important fact in my life that God has been showing me. Despite what I'm going through i need to trust Him and know that He is the loving God whom cares.

I am reminded today that God is completely worthy of all my worship. Especially worthy of my complete faith & trust. I can be worried about countless things, and afraid of everything, but I can give up all of these things & trust God with them because He is faithful.

Knowing who you believe in and understanding His magnanimous power is paramount in being a follower of Christ.

This message was a good reminder to not worry so much about my problems because I know God will provide for me if I focus on Him.

I thought it was very meaningful and it makes me want to try and have more faith in everything I do.

I want to become more loving.

I'm so happy when I'm weak, He shows me His love through His work. I'm encouraged to study about God after I heard the message today.

I think the message had pulled a great perspective for me. Also, the message was a great reminder that God gives me storms in life because He loves me enough, and He believes that I can handle it more than I believe I can. Ya boy-Lainel ;)

Hearing how you put all your faith in God keeping Him in control of your life was motivational for me to put more faith in Him in my life.

I have been ashamed to go to God because I have not been spending enough time with Him and doubting Him but after Brad's message I remembered that He is always with me and wants the best for me. And that honestly is enough.

I just want to know how awesome God is. So that I have to read the Bible more even when I'm tired.

I've been frustrated with God for not "calming the storm," especially because it seems like our financial/family situation has been going on for over a year now. But I am encouraged tonight to seek God to see why he might have brought this "storm" and to trust His character through it.

Tonight I was reminded that God is the same God He was when I first believed-same character, same promises...the only thing that has not been the same (especially during this break) is remembering that He is unchanging and how He has provided for me through all things.

I hope you all had a blessed winter break and I pray He has blessed you with a wonderful 2012!!! May you continue to seek Him with a whole heart and may you have an open heart to ALL the amazing things He has in store for you this year! Loves <3

EPIC Christmas Party + Personal Message from Chris Koga

Hello everyone! Here are some photos from our EPIC Christmas Party a couple of Saturdays ago, and below you'll find a personal message from Chris Koga, enjoy!
~Sheri

Kei with food from L&L's :P

Austin as "The Grinch"!

EPIC's awkward family photos

"Dad's in jail"

"bathroom mirror, myspace"

"Charlie's Angels? + family friend"

Worship Afterwards :D

photo credit: Kristy Lee

Hey students of EPIC! It was good to see those of you who could make it out to our Christmas party last Sunday! We had a great time with Austin in his green skin-tight body suit dressed as the Grinch and Traci being her usual crazy self! I appreciate them and all the stuff they planned for us! It was definitely a fun night with the free food, good conversation, and the action-packed gift exchange, but I’ll tell you that for me, my favorite part was our time of singing Christmas songs together. There was over 40 of us packed in a living room celebrating with wonder and awe and worship that Christ had come to us, and for us, and was now with us.

You know, in the midst of all of the parties and celebrations that I attend during this busy vacation time, I like to think about a guy named Simeon who doesn’t appear in any nativity scenes or in many Christmas cards, but he’s actually a significant player in the first Christmas pageant.

In Luke 2:25 it says, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him.”

Things weren’t going real well for the nation of Israel. They hadn’t heard from God for many years and were under Roman rule. They had lost their political independence and were living in fear of the capable, crafty, and cruel King Herod, and many were wondering if the Messiah would ever come.

But verse 26 shows us that Simeon had good reason for his hope and anticipation: “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

And so what happened was that the Holy Spirit prompted Simeon to go to the temple courts at just the right time on just the right day that Joseph and Mary were bringing their infant to the Temple. When Simeon looked at the baby Jesus, now about 6 weeks old, he knew that God’s promise had been kept. Here was Immanuel, “God With Us,” to make everything right, to provide comfort by His presence, and to eliminate rejection, fear, and loneliness and to meet our greatest need in the forgiveness of sin.

Verse 28 of Luke 2 says that Simeon reached down and took Jesus out of Mary’s arms and began to praise God. As he broke out into praise, he acknowledged that God had not only fulfilled the individual promise to him, but also the promises of the prophets to send the Anointed One to comfort both Jews and Gentiles.

The presence of God with us is our celebration during this season and our joy each day in giving us cause and reason to break out in praise that God has met our deepest need in the Lord Jesus. So if you feel lonely, empty, afraid, and maxed out. If you need some comfort, some consoling, or a fresh sense of God’s presence, you can find what you’re looking for in Jesus. Have a merry Christmas EPIC family and hope to see you all at our winter retreat!

~Chris

Brads Message Respone On The Parables, The Growing and The Mustard Seed

~Its really encouraging listening and learning from Gods word through Brads message. I feel energized and refreshed to serve Him with diligence in my service to Him. There are times when I get very burnt out in my service, but by Gods strength I will press on for the sake of His Kingdom
~Praise The Lord! I truly believe in Brads massage. Jesus is truly the light of the truth and we definitely need to reflect and communicate the worth of the Gospel to people. It is so true we dont have the power to change and only God has the power we need to be faithful from the smallest level and God will do all the rest. BE FAITHFUL to our Lord and he will do wonders! Praise the Lord! - Brian
~Today I learned that I need to become just about Gods message and His word. I learned that I need to throw out the seed that the Father has given me; despite how rocky the soil (person) may be. -B Marcus Henderson
Coming back I can not help but praise God for Faithful men who badly and shamelessly preach the truth to a dying world. Praise be to God who in His perfect timing brings about growth and life in the heart of the believers and the non-believers alike. For those of you who attend regularly and are blessed with Godly staff and leaders. You have no idea how good you have it....Remain Faithful:)
~Never give up on being faithful as I serve in the little things. As Brad said, from 1Corinthians 3 all we can do is water the seed (which is small seemingly______), but God is the one who ultimately grows that small seed into something bigger than we could ever imagine.
~I needed this message. Sometimes its so easy to just not take the chance and be faithful that God will reach those who seem like they don't want to heal it. Once the seed is planted, however, God can work beyond what we can see. I need to remember to share Gods light.
~I liked the Parables of the mustard seed. Thinking that something so small can turn into something so big. It also says in the bible that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed then you be saved- such a big blessing. I learned that to be a true follower and have faith in oneself it starts from within to have ambition to thrive. I liked the way King and Messiah relation was really meaningful.
~I do follow Christianity, I love and appreciate life and what God has planned for me. Today I appreciate the message because its a reminder that Gods kingdom regardless of anything is pressing forward. God really wants us to be a part of it too. A seed was planted in us, now its time to let the Holy Spirit to grow in us and spread Gods love.

Message Responses-Week Fourrrr :)

Hello hello everyone! here are some of your guys' message responses from Brad's message :)

The message tonight was exactly what i needed to hear. i've been stuggling with a situation with my parents. i have somewhat of a better understanding. thank you for clarifying a few questions although i have a lot more.

WOOOOOO! now that's what i needed! to see that my acts are in loving response to God's grace and His mercy and not pure programmed machination. YES JESUS!

this message really brought to light the wrong things i've been focusing on. i am obedient to Jesus not because i'm trying to earn something but i am obedient to Him out of love for Him-in response to what He's already done for me. He is truly worth loving and following as faithfully as i can. thank you Jesus!

i grew up as a Christian and i have always believed in the grace of God. But when reality sets in, its really hard to live as a Christian but that's why we strive to become perfect because we will never be perfect. i wan to enjoy my sundays by giving up the Internet.

the message really spoke to me because lately i'be always felt like i have failed God. because i was focusing so much on keeping the law, it made my love relationship with Him so much harder and i became so distant. i want to do His commands out of love and not pure obligation.

God has not called me to live a life based on rules that cause me to leave Him out of the picture. we are each called to live a life obedient to God not by following rules, but by following God's commandments out of our love for Him.

I feel that lately as i've been stuggling with certain sins and failing with certain responsibilities, there is a strong temptation to feel guilty (in that i need to earn more forgivness when in fact Jesus paid for ALL my sin.) before and after i became a believer. and i praise God for His grace so i can get up again and strive for holiness.

Hope you all have a blessed rest of the week <3

De-fencing the Law; Mark 2:13-28

Hey Epic fam! Here is Brad Toy's message recap for last week's message! It was a challenging lesson on what is God's law, how it was viewed in the past, and how it looks now with Jesus Christ at the center of it... anyways, check it out - I guarantee the lesson(s) will be of great significance, as we seek to live this life striving after and loving Jesus - enjoy, and be challenged!
-Sheri (member, the epic blog team)

As an avid sports fan, the thing that hooks me the most, is when a player comes along (in any sport) and changes the game as we know it. Usain Bolt awakened the olympic world to the fact that a gigantic 6'5" human could shatter the world record in the 100m sprint. Shaquille O'Neil forever changed the role of a dominant basketball center. Lance Armstrong dominated the cycling scene by winning an unprecedented 7 consecutive Tour de France victories. There is something about game-changing greatness that we as humans are just wired to be in awe of. And that's the way I feel as we move along through Jesus' earthly ministry as laid out in the Gospel of Mark.

This past Sunday, we continued in our study of the Gospel of Mark. And we spent the night unpacking Mark 2:18 - 3:6, where Jesus epitomizes our series title, "This Changes Everything". We already saw in Chapters 1 and 2, Jesus' breaking of the social and religious norm by healing the leper and by hanging out with Levi, the tax collector. And beginning in v18, Jesus deliberately and divinely goes right after the Pharisaic religious structure that so dominated the NT world at the time. But in order to fully understand the passage (and most of the Bible for that matter), we must get a good handle on the Law of God.

What is the Law of God?

The Law is the set of rules and regulations that were to govern the lives of God's chosen people (Israel). The Law is laid out in the first 5 books of the Old Testament. It can be summarized in the all too familiar 10 Commandments listed in Exodus 20. The 10 Commandments can be further summarized in Matthew 22:36-40 where Jesus explains to the expert in the Law that the 2 greatest commands are to "Love the Lord your God" and to "Love your neighbor".

What was the purpose of the Law?

There are many reasons why God gave His people the Law (ie. Separation from other nations, preservation, systematic orderly government, etc). But the ultimate over-arching purposes of the Law was to be a written reflection of the full character of God Himself. This was to be a standard of perfection to show man that they could not live up to it on their own. It was to act as a mirror in which man could see their true sinful state and that the need for a savior was absolutely necessary for salvation.

Fence/Hedge around the Law

Despite God's desire for the Law to show man their true fallen nature, the Pharisees instead treated the Law as a means of earning salvation by upholding it. And to make sure that they were keeping the Law, they also created hundreds of other supplemental laws ("a fence around the Law") that the Jews were required to keep. The more you restricted and deprived yourself, the "holier" you were.

Jesus the game-changer

In Mark 2:18 -3:6, we see 3 instances where Jesus purposefully attacks the heart of this Pharisaic religious system. Once He violates the religious rules on Fasting, and twice He violates the Sabbath laws. And in each of the three events, we see Jesus making two bold statements:

(1) On a surface-level, the religious rules of the Pharisees were contradictory, ridiculous and out-of-touch with reality (2:19, 2:25-26, and 3:4).

(2) On a deeper level, the religious rules of the Pharisees do not apply when Jesus was physically in their midst (2:20, 2:28 and 3:5).

And here is the key to our understanding of the Law of God: If the Law is the full expression of the character of God, and Jesus is the full manifestation of God in human flesh (John 1:14), then Jesus IS the human manifestation of the Law! As Matthew 5:17 says, He didn't come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it! He didn't come to do away with the Law, but to usher in a new way, and the only way in which sinful people can live up to it!

Meaning this...when you become a believer, and receive Jesus into your heart, your life becomes intertwined with the only One who has ever fulfilled the Law! Your life becomes indwelt by the Law incarnate! Then and only then can a sinful human live up to the Law. Salvation can only come through grace by faith in Jesus Christ who lives in you, and not by any human attempt to uphold a set of external religious laws and rules. Righteousness must come from the INSIDE-OUT...not OUTSIDE-IN!

What does this mean for the college students of EPIC?

As professing believers, we need to call into question our motives for the things we do as "Christians". Why do we go to church every Sunday? Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we sing songs and give offering? Why do we help others? And if our answer has anything to do with earning favor from God...then we are building religious fences just like Pharisees! We are putting new wine in old wineskins. We are putting a new patch on an old pair of ripped jeans (Mark 2:21-22).

Students, our answer for why we live out the Christian life with obedience needs to be because we love Jesus Christ more than anything in this world. And since He IS the LAW incarnate, obeying the Law should be the desire and longing of our hearts...naturally!

"This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome"

1 John 5:3