The Sunday Gathering @ FCBC

Victor Low takes the podium again to wrap up Father's Day. He says every family has a script that's unspeakable. Victor says we all have skeletons in our life. But people don't talk about it. Once Victor and Melanie learned they could not have children, they decided to adopt a couple of their own children. He tells us their daughter Tessi followed her path and stayed on track. Their younger son Terry struggled along the way. Although bright and musically talented, Terry found his life troubling.  When Victor and Melanie told them they were adopted, Tessi remained positive about the news when she later found her parents. She felt so much gratitude for Melanie, Victor and Terry after her serach.  Terry also searched for his parents and hoped he would find joy if he found them. Unfortunately when he located his birth mother, she chose not to continue their relationship since she began a new family. Terry and Tessi were close and he relied on her. But she ev...

We welcome Rodney Tom, our first member from the 10am service to lead The Sunday Gathering!  If you don't already know Rodney, he is the son of Elaine and Walter Tom, who work tirelessly every Sunday with Joe Chan @ Joe's Cafe! On Father's Day, Rodney wanted to honor our Holy Father. He tells us about his journey with cancer and how God stayed beside him during challenging times. He suggests we read Isaiah 40  in it's entirety. This verse helped him get through the past 6 months while dealing with his illness: "Why do you complain, jacob? Why do you say, Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?" Do you now know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall...

Victor's father came to America in 1905. He worked for 15 years in America and went back to China and brought his wife over when he was 31 and his wife was 18 at the time. He was able to return to San Francisco while Victor's mom lived on Angel Island for 10 days before moving here. Victor is the only boy of 8 children and he didn't really know his father very well. He was very busy working different jobs and fortunately, Victor spent much of his time growing up at the Chinatown YMCA. Years later, Victor and his sisters honored him by installing a plaque with his name and their mother's name on a wall on Angel Island. Victor spoke about his appreciation for the life his father gave to him here in San Francisco and remembers the sacrifices made knowing his Dad worked very hard to provide for his 8 children and hoped the family would have a better life here. Everyone broke into groups and was given an opportunity to share thoughts about their father. He ask...

George spends some time sharing his thoughts about Bible interpretation and his views on why some scripture may not be used to justify a point.  He catches up from last week and discusses Leviticus 18:22 / Romans and feels this may not be scripture that can be used against homosexuality. Pastor Ong announced he would continue with Romans during his sermon for the day. The audio version of  Pastor's sermon's  is available on the FCBC website: http://www.fcbc-sf.org/sermons/pdf/list.pdf http://www.fcbc-sf.org/sermons/audio/Sermon_060318.mp3 Pastor Ong says, continue to listen to each other, even if we believe we are right. When we are convinced that we are morally right often we are less likely to listen to opposing opinions. 1. Abortion:       Pro Choice: Women have the right to to control their own body.     Pro Live: The fetus's status as a human being means it has the right to live.          Problem:...