And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
 
There are two things in 2 Corinthians 3:18 I want to focus on. I want to encourage you with these two points today and then lead us to pray accordingly.
First, this verse encourages us to look to Jesus. The more we look to Jesus, the more we will look like Jesus. So, let me say that again. The more we look to Jesus, the more we will look like Jesus. That’s the picture here in 2 Corinthians 3:18. God, by His Spirit, has opened our eyes to see the glory of Jesus, the beauty, the wonder, the love, the truth, the majesty of Jesus.
We have unveiled faces. We could talk much about this as our eyes are opened to behold the glory of the Lord. And as we behold Him, we are being transformed into His image. So, the more we behold Jesus, the more we become like Jesus. The key to looking more like Jesus is looking to Jesus, fixing our eyes on Him. And the Bible talks about this in so many different ways. In many ways, the Bible's purpose is to show us Jesus. This is Jesus telling those men on the Emmaus road, “All the Scriptures point to Me.”
We are being transformed. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, it leads to the second thing: we are being transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another.
What a phrase, “transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory.” In other words, from one degree of glory to another. Let this phrase captivate our hearts today and every day, that you and I might become more like Jesus today than we looked like Jesus yesterday and more like Jesus tomorrow than we look like Jesus today. And in the process, we find ourselves being transformed by God through His Spirit, from one degree of glory to another, until one day, in the words of 1 John 3, we shall see Him and become, as Romans 8:30 tells us, that we will be fully transformed into glory, glorified with Jesus, fully conformed into His image.
 
May this be a prayer for our lives today. We want to become more like Jesus. Jesus is our hope; He is our joy; He is our life. He is our Savior. He is our King. He is our Lord. We want to become more and more like Him. We want to think like Jesus. We want to desire what He desires. We want to speak in ways that reflect His Word. We want to love what He loves. We want to serve as He serves.
 
Let us ask God to help us by His Spirit today to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in a Hebrews 12:2 kind of way and, in the process, become more like Jesus. May God continue to make us more like Jesus today. As His disciples, we don’t want to settle for anything less than becoming more like Jesus today.  We know that is God’s purpose for us. God is working all things together in our lives (Romans 8:28) for this purpose: to be conformed into the image of Jesus. I can’t wait for the day when that transformation will be complete, and we will be glorified, resurrected bodies with Jesus. Oh, may that day come quickly. “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” May that be our daily prayer as we live every day as a step toward that goal.
 
Prayer
God, make us more like Jesus at the end of today than we looked like Jesus at the beginning of today.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present[b] help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.                                                    Psalm 46:1-3
 
In January 1994, I was startled awake early in the morning. When I woke, the loft bed where I was sleeping was literally shaking. Groggy, I tried to figure out where I was and what was happening. I jumped down from the bed, landing on my chair, my legs going through the armrest. As the chair tipped, I almost broke my leg.   Standing with the chair around my right leg, I realized that there had been an earthquake. My heart was racing.
I have lived in California for decades and have experienced my fair share of earthquakes. No matter how many times I have felt the ground move, nothing can quite prepare you for it. Tornadoes are bad, but at least we have warnings. At least we have sirens that tell us to race for cover in our basements and grab our battery-powered radios.
Sometimes the changes in our worlds feel like a tornado, big or scary, but not without warning.  Other times, the changes in our worlds are more like an earthquake. They happen suddenly and unexpectedly. The ground shifts beneath us, leaving us standing there, heart pounding, wondering what in the world just happened.
If life feels like you have been in earthquakes, you are not alone. Wars, crime, violence, storms, floods, wildfires, and natural disasters dominate the news we see around us. Add pressure from everyday life: work, school, family, and friends. The unexpected announcement of Pastor Len's resignation certainly feels like an earthquake.
Psalm 46 is a Psalm for us today. While we can never fully prepare for an earthquake, it helps us to know that earthquakes are indeed coming. The ground will shift beneath us. We will have days where it feels like everything has changed.
But it also helps us know that God is a very present help in trouble. An ever-present help. God is helpful in that in the Lord we find both refuge from the quaking earth and strength to face whatever changes are taking place. And knowing this, we have the invitation not to fear.
In the same way that I rushed to the rest of my family in the middle of the earthquake, God rushes to us when the earth moves in our world. So today, remember this: when you feel your heart racing, when you feel disoriented by all the change in our world, in your life and work, God is near. He is not only able, He is also eager to help you in the midst of it all. God is with you.
 
Reflection
Where have you felt the ground shift beneath you lately? 
Were you able to feel God’s presence?
 
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for being an ever-present help in times of trouble. We pray that we can trust You even when changes are so intense that it feels like the ground is shaking beneath our feet.
Amen.

Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way He asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”          Mark 8:27-28
 
Jesus is a great question-asker. He asks about 309 questions throughout the Gospels, while being asked 183 questions in return. The most frustrating thing is he only directly answers about three. Instead, He loves answering questions with another question. Often, I have found that the answers are found in the questions themselves.
The first half of the Gospel of Mark hints at Jesus’ identity and the authority He possesses.  By the time He asks His disciples this inquisitive question, “Who do people say that I am?” we have seen a wide range of people’s experiences with Jesus. And something begins turning at this point in the Gospel.
Who does Herod say that He is?
He believes that Jesus is John the Baptist reincarnated. An ironic thing to see this cruel ruler who beheaded John the Baptist, claim that he believes…wait, in a resurrection?
Who do the demons say that he is?
In the previous chapters, when demons were near Jesus, they would fall down before Him and confess His identity, “You are the Son of God!” Even the demons believe in His identity.
Who does a bleeding woman say that He is?
She would say that a man who praised her faith told her that her faith has made her well of her affliction. Not the doctors that treated her. Not the religious rulers that banished her from temple worship due to her uncleanliness. The One whose robe she touched with faith enough to stop the bleed.
Who does the wind say that He is?
The wind and waves are battering a boat, and scared disciples wake up Jesus. To their surprise, He commands the wind and the waves to cease and be still. Even the wind is a witness of His authority.
Creation and created non-human beings declare the identity and point to the person of Jesus, directly or accidentally. I love the wide range of the human and non-human experience. I appreciate that the journey to discover Jesus is filled with belief, unbelief, and partial belief. The road is cluttered with misunderstanding and doubts. Quiet questions and uncertainty abound.
The art of asking questions of Jesus and conversing with the questions He asks of us might be our most ordinary and holy practice on the road to resurrection.
 
Reflection
In this season of your life, who do you say Jesus is?

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
​
One of the greatest struggles many Christians face is quietly believing that our worth is measured by what we accomplish.  We often define ourselves by our jobs, our ministry roles, our accomplishments, our productivity, or even by how much others appreciate us.  When we succeed, we feel valuable.  When we fail, we wonder if we still matter.
But the gospel tells us a very different story.

The Apostle Paul reminds us:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8–10)

Notice the order.  Before God speaks about what we do, He tells us who we are. We are saved by grace, not by performance.  We are God's workmanship, not self-made people trying to earn His approval.  We are created in Christ Jesus, adopted into His family and deeply loved by our Heavenly Father.  Only then does Paul say we are created for good works.  In other words, our service flows from our identity; our identity is never earned by our service.

This truth is especially important in a church family.  Some faithfully serve every week.  Others may be in a season of illness, grief, unemployment, aging, or simply waiting on God.  It is easy to think that because we are doing less, we somehow mean less.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Your value has never been determined by how much you accomplish.  Your value has already been settled by the One who created you, redeemed you, and calls you His beloved child.

When Jesus was baptized, before He preached a sermon, performed a miracle, or called a disciple, the Father declared, "You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11).  His identity came before His ministry.
The same gospel principle is true for us.  Because we belong to Christ, we are accepted, loved, forgiven, and treasured.  We do not serve in order to become valuable; we serve because we already are valuable in Him.

As we continue growing together as a church family, may we encourage one another not merely for what we accomplish but for who we are in Christ.  Let us serve joyfully—not to earn God's love, but because we have already received it abundantly through Jesus Christ.
If you are weary, remember who you are.
If you feel unnoticed, remember whose you are.
If you wonder whether your life matters, remember that you are God's workmanship, created intentionally and lovingly for His glory.
May our identity in Christ give us freedom from striving, confidence in His love, and joyful hearts that delight in serving Him together.

May the Lord strengthen you and remind you daily that your greatest treasure is not found in what you do, but in who you are in Jesus Christ.

Jesus in me loves you and so do I, 
Pastor Edward Song

Dear Church Family and Friends,
Grace and peace to you in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!!
As we celebrate our 38th Church Anniversary, our hearts overflow with gratitude and praise to God. For almost four decades, God has been faithful. He has guided our steps, provided for our needs, and used this body of believers to share His great love in our community and beyond. It is amazing to think about, but it was 38 years ago that a small group of people gathered together with the dream of planting a church to impact their community.
I am sure they did not know what would take place, but I am sure they had dreams and hopes for this church plant. We may never fully know the labor and struggles it took to get this fledgling work off the ground, but do know this: it DID indeed get off the ground and today continues to have an impact on our community and beyond.
This year, I invite you to reflect on our history through the powerful lens of our annual theme: Prayer. In our history, every milestone reached, every life transformed, and every obstacle overcome has been birthed in prayer. When we look back at our legacy and look forward to our future, we see how prayer connects perfectly to the words of Hebrews 12:1-2:
 
“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
As we remember our past, we honor our founders and faithful members, the cloud of witnesses, who paved our way. They did not just build walls; they built a house of prayer. Their faithful labor, sacrificial giving, and tears built the very foundation we stand on and enjoy today. Every year of our 38-year history stands as a tangible monument to God's faithfulness in answering the cries of His people.
 
It is now our turn, sisters and brothers. Even as we give thanks for our past, we must continue to run the race marked out for us. We must let go of fear, doubt, and anything else, so that we may run unencumbered to accomplish the work of God. Through prayer, we confess, surrender, and lay down the weights and sins that slow us down spiritually. We cannot run this race with human strength. Consistent prayer is the daily fuel that grants us the endurance to keep moving forward.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus by maintaining an unceasing conversation with Him. He not only listens, but He also answers our prayers. In fact, He is the answer: The Author and Finisher of our faith.
Our 38th Anniversary is not just a look to our past; it is also the starting line for the future. There is more work to do and more lives to reach with the Gospel. As we step into our 39th year, let us commit to being a people of deeper prayer, trusting Him to direct our path and move mightily in our community. Let us run this next leg of the race together with joy, patience, and unwavering trust in our Lord.  
 
Thank you for your love, service, generosity, and dedication to our church family. Happy 38th Anniversary, FECC!
 
For His glory and His service,
David Tsai