Shepherd's Corner (August 13, 2025)

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12, ESV)

Each year, our church goes on a family retreat. If you arrive at 6 PM on Friday and leave at 1 PM on Sunday, you are at the retreat center for about 40 hours. Considering 4 hours for the round trip, it's approximately a 48-hour commitment. By the way, a year is about 8,766 hours (The retreat equals about 0.5% of the year).

It's an interesting exercise to think of the retreat this way, and I would never evaluate a retreat this way. A retreat is a blessed time. Period. I wouldn't know how to measure the blessings we receive. But, let's ask a question:

What if your 0.5% can impact the 99.05% of your life, in ways that you had never imagined possible? How would your life be different if you were able to focus on the Creator for one weekend?

I hope and pray that you will receive the blessings next year. Please, save the date! I am pretty sure that it's August 14-16, 2026.

Congratulations to the recipients of the annual recognitions at Riverside. Many years ago, we wanted to recognize, encourage, and foster lay servant leadership. So, we started to recognize people with Sunflower, Barnabas, and Shadow Box awards. I understand that at one point, we added the GEM(Going the Extra Mile) award. I am glad for the tradition.

This year's recipients are Amos Kim (Sunflower), Tatiana Tisellano (Barnabas), Troy Yu (Shadow Box), and Sophia Park (GEM). Congratulations to the recipients. No, our recognition did not take away any rewards in heaven. This is merely one way for the covenant community to affirm that you've made Christ your reward.

Of course, there were others who were equally deserving of the recognition. Some were already in servant-leadership, some were recognized in the past three years, and some others were saved for next year.

We walked a little slower, talked a little longer, shared a little more, and prayed a little harder. I hope we can share how blessed the weekend was with videos, photos, and shared stories. However, above all, I hope we can share the blessings through the changed lives. Weekends like this are a small taste of eternity, reminding us that life is short, but what we do for Christ lasts forever. As missionary C.T. Studd (1860–1931)—who served in China, India, and Africa—once said, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” I concur.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (Psalm 84:10, NIV)

In His Grace Alone,

Pastor Brian Lee

Saturday NIght Camp Fire