News > North America

I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

Robert Fishman

John 4:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Los Angeles UBF held a Spring Bible Conference in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains from March 30 to April 1, 2018. The tile of the conference was Jesus Is The Way from Jn 4:6, “”Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” Ninety-nine people attended. Through this conference we prayed to invite newcomers to a life following Jesus through repentance and faith in the cross and resurrection of Christ. Before the conference some of these newcomers, from Long Beach City College, worked to prepare a drama based on the resurrection from Luke 20-1-29.

The conference began of Friday evening with a Message from Shepherd Juan Perez. The Message was titled “Repent, For The Kingdom of Heaven Has Come Near” from Mt 4:12-22. In his message, Shepherd Juan pointed out that repentance involves a practical commitment to follow Jesus and to begin a life as His disciple. This was Shepherd Juan’s first experience to serve a conference message, but he was able to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit, and the message was very powerful. After the message we listened to life testimonies by Joan Oh and Ye-Rin Cho, both second generation missionaries. Through their testimonies, we were able to see the influence of their parents, as well as their own transition to a life of independent faith.

On Saturday morning attendants met for group bible studies on John 4:1-14, followed by an afternoon message on the same passage. This was our main message, delivered by Shepherd William Larsen and titled “I Am The Way”. In his message we learned that the direction of our life is going to the Father—to the place Jesus has prepared for us, and that Jesus is the way through the lifestyle he demonstrated. We should not take root in this world, but do the work Jesus has been doing. After the message, we had testimony writing and sharing in groups. Before dinner, all members split into four groups to prepare short skits on what we had learned so far. Afterwards, we had free time and sports activities; including basketball, soccer, hiking, and zip lining.

After dinner, we listened to a message from Shepherd Greg Cocco titled “It Is Finished” from John 19:17-42. Through the message we leaned how Jesus completed God’s work on the cross and paid in full from all of our past, present and future sins. Many were blessed through Shepherd Greg’s testimony of how the Lord helped him to overcome all passed regrets through Jesus’ words from the cross, “It is finished.” Pastor John was so moved by the message that couldn’t say anything more during the closing announcement. After the message our four groups took turns presenting our skits. Each skit was rated and the performance by our second-generation members won the competition.

On Sunday, attendants listened to the resurrection message from John 20:1-29. The title of the message was “I Am Ascending To My Father And Your Father” and delivered by Missionary Juan Seo. Through his message we learned that the resurrection empowers God people to do the work of God through the gift of the Holy Spirit. After the message, we opened up the podium for all members to share personal reflections on what they learned. Both newcomers and senior shepherds and missionaries shared. Through the conference we were restored and refreshed in our fellowship with one another in Christ. We were also blessed to see newcomers Matthew, Jonathan, Joshua, Jamille, and Chelsea receive God’s words and make their own decisions to follow Jesus Christ. We praise the Lord for the new work God is doing in LA UBF. One word: Jesus is the way.  

Robert Fishman on behalf of John Kwon