St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

The post Matthew Part 2 (Jesus in the Gospels) appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Genesis 12:1-4 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Immigrant Life Life is a combination of settlement and journey. We cannot always live out of a suitcase. We need to be settled. That's why immigrant life is difficult. You are uprooted all of a sudden and have to survive in a totally strange land. Too much change all at once. Too many unknown variables. Abraham was also an immigrant. He immigrated twice. His original home town was Ur. He went to Haran. And from there, he immigrated again. He left the place where he was well settled. It wasn't just his decision. He felt that it was God's calling. He was called to take the journey. So you can see his life was a mix of settlement and journey. That is what life is. A good harmony of settlement and journey. The question is when to take a journey and when to settle. How do you know that? The settlement gives us a sense of rootedness. It gives us a feeling of being grounded and we feel stable. You are quite comfortable when you are settled. For example, when your relationship is settled, you feel quite satisfied and content. When your job is settled, you feel secure. When you are settled with yourself, you feel confident and comfortable with yourself. That's a good feeling. I like that. But our reality does not let you stay there too long. Changes happen in your circumstances and also in yourself. Things are not the same anymore. Instead of feeling settled, you feel like you are stuck. Your life is going nowhere. You want to move but you can't. You should. You have to. But you can't. Feeling Stuck Feeling stuck and being settled are quite different. Feeling stuck is like a car stuck in a ditch and you cannot get out. You don't want to be there but you cannot get out. You are stuck in a rut. Why do you feel stuck? Because you don't find meaning in what you do. You have outgrown your current situation. Your current situation is so far from your values and from what you really desire. You don't get excited about your life anymore. It doesn't give you positive energy. It is not that there is any problem. You just don't feel like you are doing anything valuable, meaningful, and important. You are completely out of sync with what you want in life. This is when you need to take a journey. You cannot just sit there and do nothing about it. But the problem is – Recognizing that you are stuck, sometimes you make drastic changes just to feel free. Out of fear and out of desperation, you just make changes. Just making changes is not necessarily taking a journey. You need to think about who you really are at the core. If you don't know who you are and what you want and yet make all these changes, what good is that? In the end, you will be stuck more deeply. Take That Journey Taking a journey is not just about making changes such as quitting your job, leaving your relationships, or moving to another place. Taking a journey is taking a journey of really getting to know yourself, your values, your desires, and your life goals. It is finding out who you are at the core, what you want in your life, and what you like to do. It is more of an inner journey rather than an outer journey. God wants you to take that journey. Because God wants you to live a blessed life. God does not want you to live a life being stuck in a rut. There was a professor. He was a lecturer at Harvard but he couldn't get a full professorship there. So he went to a small college in a small town. When he marked students' papers, he always gave two sets of mark. One – their real mark. The other – the mark they would have got if they were in Harvard. He was stuck back in Harvard. He will not be happy with his life. If you are stuck, you cannot live a blessed life. This is what God said to Abraham. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:2) God wanted to make of Abraham a great life. God wants to make of you a great life. God wants you to be a blessing. Don't be stuck where you are. Whether you like it or not, change always happens. You will always outgrow your situations. Your needs, your wants, and your hopes all evolve. If you don't deal with these changes, you will be stuck. You will be unhappy, unproductive, and uncreative. Blaming your situations or other people, do not help. It just makes you feel worse. That is not a blessed life. Trust that you can make your life happy again. Trust that God can help you. You can live your life again with new enthusiasm, new excitement, new hope, and new energy. A little change in your attitude can bring about a huge difference. Once you are unstuck, you can fully drive your car with full speed. It doesn't matter how old you are. It is never too late to start over in life. For goodness' sake, Abraham was 75 years old. Until 75, I don't know what he did. The Scripture doesn't say it. The Scripture is not interested in how he lived those 75 years. Probably, he didn't

Scripture Passage Matthew 4:1-11 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Temptation We are in the middle of Lent. Lent is a period of 40 days, commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert before his ministry. Even though we may reflect on Jesus' suffering, it doesn't have to be always dark and gloomy. In Eastern Orthodox, it is known as the season of Bright Sadness. Bright Sadness. I like that. It is sad but it is not hopeless sadness. At the end of DARKNESS, there is a light waiting for us. At the end of TEMPTATION, there is a victory. At the end of DEATH, there is resurrection. Life is not always good but life is not always bad either. Life is not always bright. There are times when life can be gloomy. But there are times when things are good too. The secret is how we deal with each situation with graciousness, graciousness to yourself and to others. There are valleys and hills in life. Count Basie, American Jazz pianist said. Learn to deal with the valleys and the hills will take care of themselves. So you have to deal with your time of temptation well and that will help you find happiness in life. Even Jesus was tempted. He was tired, hungry, and weak after 40 days of fasting. Satan knows when we are vulnerable. That is when Satan attacks us. That's why he came to Jesus when he was at his weakest. Temptation was a reality even for Jesus. Jesus had to overcome the hard time. Jesus did not have an easy life. He had to overcome life's challenges. So, when you go through your own trials, don't get discouraged. Jesus had the same trials as you do. Living a good life doesn't mean to have a problem free life. Temptations are always around us. They always find our most vulnerable time and attack us. Three Faces I am gonna talk about three faces of temptation today. These three things affect our lives deeply. You see these three in the story of Jesus' temptation. These three things are: Worry, Doubt, and Greed. Temptation has these three faces. Nobody is immune from these temptations. They take away joy from us. They cause problems in our lives and can even ruin us. Worry First Worry. We worry about many things. Worrying has become our habit or lifestyle. It almost became a part of our lives. We worry about our health. We worry about our future. We worry about our children. We worry about problems. We worry about everything. Worries are endless. More than anything else, we worry about our SURVIVAL. When Jesus was very hungry and vulnerable after 40 days' fasting. He was not just hungry. 40 days' fasting? His survival was at risk. Satan knows when to attack. Satan told him to change stone into bread. In other words, stop your fasting and eat. You need to survive to do God's work, don't you? A very tempting suggestion. Satan was tempting Jesus to worry about his survival. Jesus said, One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4) What Jesus is saying is: Satan, don't worry about my survival. God will take care of my needs. That is the best way to defeat our worries. Have a confidence that God will take care of your basic needs. There is nothing for you to worry about. This is what Jesus said. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25-26) And Jesus told us to do this. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33) That was exactly what Jesus did in the wilderness. Many times, our worries are not real. Researchers at Penn State University had an experiment on worry. The participants were asked to write whenever the worries came up to them. They studied this for 30 days. The result? A whopping 91 percent of worries were false alarms. And of the remaining 9 percent of worries that did come true, the outcome was better than expected. Worrying is a habit. A very bad habit. We develop this habit and it will make us live constantly with fear all the time. Worrying doesn't do any good. It only makes you feel fearful. It makes you shrink. It makes you feel small. And it makes you feel gloomy. Since it is a habit, you can deal with it with a new habit. Whenever you worry, leave those worries in God's hands. Make them as your prayer topics. As God takes care of birds in the air, God will take care of you. Focus on God, not on your worries. Learn to focus on God. Hear God's word who tells you not to worry about your survival. We do not live by bread alone. We need God's word. Doubt The second temptation is DOUBT. Doubt is another huge problem for many people. We doubt about God. We doubt about ourselves. Doubt makes us become cynical. Doubting is like closing

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Scripture Passage Matthew 17:1-13 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Six Days later Matthew began with Six days later What happened six days before? This was what Jesus said six days before. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (Matthew 16:21) Jesus told the disciples what would happen to him. Then, six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain to pray. There they experienced this wonderful divine manifestation. Theophany: Experience of God's manifestation. Jesus completely changed. Out of this world kind of experience they had. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah, two great prophets appeared. Silence When these amazing things happen, the usual response will be to be quiet. Silence that comes from being deeply immersed in the moment. That's what people do. SILENCE That was what happened when I went to Algonquin a long time ago. I think I told you before. We had a night hike. And it was a pitch dark. We went through the deep woods. Then we came to a point. All of a sudden, there was an opening and we saw so many stars. They were so close to us. I felt like I could touch them. The dark sky was filled with stars. We were all so amazed and nobody talked. Nobody dared to speak. For a quite while, everybody was silent and just savoured the awesome experience. There were more than 30 people. But not Peter. Even in that moment, he had to speak. He broke the silence and said. This is great. Lord, if you want, I will build three tents here for you, for Moses, and for Elijah. Even God could not be patient with him anymore. He cut Peter off. Matthew recorded it very nicely. WHILE he was STILL speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them (Matthew 17:5) Then God spoke. This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him! (Matthew 17:5) My Son and I am well pleased with him – very important recognition: Two things to remember. Then everybody was silent. Even Peter was silent this time. Luke recorded it in this way. When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. (Luke 9:36) It was a phenomenal experience. They would have never forgotten this experience. It would have been always so vivid to them. This experience was always present, now experience for them. It was not something that happened in the past. I asked this question. Who was this experience for? Why did God change Jesus like this and let the disciples experience this wonderful experience? I realized that it was both for Jesus and the disciples. They all needed that. What was waiting for Jesus and for the disciples was a very gloomy reality. The suffering they would face soon would be very difficult. This experience they had was God's message that he cares. God is with you. It was to assure them that they were not alone in that suffering. YES, SUFFERING HAS TO BE EXPERIENCED IN THE CONTEXT OF GRACE. Even Jesus needed that glorious moment. Suffering is that hard. It is hard for anybody. Whether you are a saint or a sinner, it is hard. Whether you are the Son of God, or an ordinary human being like you and me, suffering is hard. Suffering With Grace That's why we are collecting donations for Turkey and Syria. How difficult it must be for them. Can you imagine? 40,000 people died from this tragedy. How many tears, heartaches, and sad stories will be there? They lost everything. We feel for them. We want to be with them in their sorrow. That's why we do donations. PCC already sent blankets and very basic things they would need. Suffering was hard even for Jesus. So in Gethsemane, he had the temptation to run away from it. Knowing how hard it would be, God showed them this wonderful experience. God manifested himself to them in a powerful way. God showed his glory. I think it is very important to remember that suffering has to be experienced in the context of grace. When you experience suffering without grace, you become damaged. You become hardened. You become too cynical and critical. So when I see people who overcome their own tragedies and come out even stronger, I admire them. Without faith, they would not have been able to get up again. Suffering is the inevitable part of human experience. We all suffer. Suffering of illness, suffering of loss, suffering of broken relationships, suffering of guilt, suffering of worries about our future, suffering of injustice, suffering of poverty, suffering of rejection, suffering of loneliness, and suffering of fear of death and so on. Endless suffering we experience in our lives. Simple Recognition What we need is to have glorious moments. Otherwise these sufferings will swallow us up. And we will be ruined. You all need glorious moments. To live meaningfully, you need thes

In this session, we reflected on the second half of Mark. This is where the question: “Who is this person?” gets answered. The post Mark Part 2 (Jesus in the Gospels) appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 5:21-26 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script More than Cordial You shall not murder is the basic minimum level for us to live with one another. Yes, I should feel safe and assured that just because you and I have a beef, you're not going to take my life! We need basic limits on our behaviour to live peaceably with one another. We need minimum standards and expectations. But that alone does not make life good. We need more than just cordial and civil relations with one another. That is what Jesus is saying in today's passage. In the 1930's, a group of scholars at Harvard began a study on human happiness. They selected two groups: one, a group of students from Harvard from varying backgrounds; and two, a group of teenagers from a poor area in Boston. They kept track of them, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They were from all walks of life, and have had such varied experiences. But after 84 years, they've boiled down all of their findings to one conclusion about what constitutes a happy life, and that is: good relationships. They say that if there's one choice you can make, one thing to really invest yourself in, that is in cultivating good, rich, meaningful relationships. I agree with that finding. It is something we absolutely need. When we celebrate life at a wedding or a funeral, what is most central is the relationships we have. But it is the most difficult thing to achieve. We can become very good at our jobs. We can become very skilled at tasks and hobbies. But when it comes to our relationships with others, it is so difficult. What we need most in life is most difficult to achieve. Anger Everywhere Jesus went, he saw relationships that were damaged. He saw the hurt that arose from broken relations in families and among neighbours. Jesus abided by the law, but he saw that the law by itself does not bind people closely together. The law simply prevents us from harming one another. He saw that what separates people is not disobedience to the law, but what lies in the heart. But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment. (Matthew 5:22) It is the emotion in the heart that is the seed of division. Anger is a natural emotion. We get angry when we get hurt. When we experience injustice. When we feel scared and vulnerable. But if that anger controls us, it affects our relationships. Anger that remains in the heart does not just remain there. It grows and morphs into negative thoughts. These thoughts spill out and affect those around you. The anger and hostility in your heart creates a hostile environment for those around you. To use young people's language: the vibe that flows out isn't good. What takes place in the heart affects the whole environment around you. This is what Jesus said: It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. (Mark 7:20-23) Anger darkens our hearts. The darkness of our hearts diminishes warmth, closeness and connection. We may not always be bursting out in anger. It may be quietly festering in our hearts like a fungus. Fungus does not need light, it survives and continues to grow in the dark. Anger can lurk quietly in the shadows of our heart. But whether it is loud on the surface or quiet underneath, it affects who we are. It affects our relationships with those around us. Our hearts are very sensitive and fragile. Our hearts should have warning labels: Fragile, handle with care! In our life in this world, we get hurt, we get offended. These things leave their marks on our hearts. They remain with us and are not easily healed. From our damaged hearts, we have damaged relationships. Reconciled Our relationships with one another were so important to Jesus. So important, that he even said to delay worshipping God in order to be reconciled. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24) It's not that worshiping God wasn't important. That was the most important thing to Jesus. But he said this to illustrate the urgency and importance of restoring our relationships with one another. He knew that as long as we have anger and animus in our hearts, our worship can never be pure. Instead of God, our emotions are at the centre. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:25) People go to court be

This is the first study in an 8-week series on “Jesus in the Gospels”. In this first session, we reflected on the first half of Mark. The key question that emerges from the first half of Mark is: “who is Jesus?” There is nothing like the in-person experience of being there, but we hope this recording will bless you still! The post Mark Part 1 (Jesus in the Gospels) appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 5:13-20 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Slat of the Earth Jesus said, you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world. That is a wonderful statement about us. He didn't say this lightly. This tells us exactly who we are. He didn't say try to be the salt of the earth or be the light of the world. He said you ARE already the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Since you are the salt and be the light, live like the salt and live like the light. Don't be something else. Don't lose that saltiness and don't live in your darkness. Salt and Light were the two most precious things during Jesus' time. During Roman period, the salt was so precious that they called it, white gold. Since it was so precious, and people knew that, sometimes soldiers in Roman Army were paid with salt instead of money. It was called Salarium. Sal is the Latin word for the salt. From that word, the word salary came out. Jesus used the most precious things around him to tell us that we are that. You are not just ordinary things. You are the most precious things without which the world cannot survive. You are indispensable. You are not just a screw in a big machine which is always replaceable. You are more than that. You Are Precious When Jesus came to this world, he felt bad because he saw that they lived their lives, not knowing how precious they were. They lived their lives as though they were nobody. Nobody told them that they were precious. Nobody treated them as though they were precious people. They abused each other, cut down each other, and treated each other with no respect. Jesus wanted to restore their honour. Jesus wanted to let them know how precious and valuable they were. My friends, you are the salt and the light. Don't forget that. You are precious enough for Jesus to die for you. Do you think Jesus would die for something worthless? Have respect for yourself. You don't need to do great things. You are already great. The ultimate life goal is to find that you are precious. To others, you may be only one lost soul. To them, you may be not 99, the majority that are important. But to God, you are the most precious thing and he goes out and searches all over the place to find you. Once he finds you, he comes home with joy and throws a party for the whole village. You are that precious. Realization Everywhere in the Bible, you see this message and yet it is so hard for us to believe how precious we are. You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you. That's why I am willing to trade others, to give up whole nations, to save your life. (Isaiah 43:4) All the good things come from this understanding, the understanding that you are very important. When you realize that you are precious to God, that's when change begins. Your life changes. That's how David changed. It is not that he decided to live a good life. He realized how much God thought of him. Who am I that God thought of me this much. That changed him. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! (Psalm 139:17-18) He understood how deeply God thought about him. This was a shocking realization for him. Hear what he said in his poem. What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour. (Psalm 8:4, 5) St. Paul – the same thing happened. He realized how much he was meant to God and this realization changed him. He said, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38, 39) This realization was what changed him. Life becomes precious when we realize how precious we are. No one can take that away from us. The Precious Self We can take the path of true righteousness when we understand how important we are in God's eyes. This kind of righteousness doesn't make you conceited. It doesn't make you arrogant. You don't need to use your pride to maintain your importance. It makes you rather humble. Knowing that you are very important to God humbles you. You don't need to follow moral standards others set up to feel important. You are not trying to live up to people's expectations to be appreciated. You don't need to prove to yourself how good you are. That kind of righteousness was the righteousness the Pharisees pursued. That was what the scribes pursued. They might have looked good in the eyes of others. But the true righteousness is not achieved in that way. It's not about following the moral standards. It is about being faithful to yourself who is so precious. You are not just following what is good in the eyes of other people.

Scripture Passage 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Real Wisdom The real wisdom doesn't come to your brain. The real wisdom comes to your soul. The real wisdom is not knowing what to do. The real wisdom is knowing who you are. The biggest problem we have is not that we don't have enough knowledge. We have so much knowledge. Especially with the development of the internet, so much knowledge is available and accessible to us instantly. Since we talked about searching God through a google search last week, I google searched God. It was endless. The first question was Who created God? I guess that's what people are interested in knowing the most. Interesting. Anyways, we have so much knowledge but they are all information, data, and factual knowledge. It doesn't give us wisdom. Because wisdom is more than having factual knowledge. Information, data, and factual knowledge are what people seek after, ultimately for their own benefits. To control and conquer. To have upper hands. Wisdom is not that kind of knowledge. We have so much knowledge and yet we have become more blinded. We have so much knowledge and yet it doesn't help us to become a better person. We are more confused about ourselves. We think we see it but we don't see it. We think we know what can save us but we don't know it. We think we understand what makes us happy but we don't really understand it. The Real Strength This is what Jesus said after healing a blind man. The Pharisees did not want to accept the fact that Jesus really healed this man because he did it on Sabbath. Their logic was how a person who broke the sacred law of Sabbath can do the healing. Because Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. So they even brought the parents of the blind man and they do all kinds of things to negate that Jesus really healed this man. The story ended with these words. Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, Surely we are not blind, are we?' Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, We see , your sin remains. (John 9:40-41) The Pharisees, the rulers, the educated people thought that they knew about themselves very clearly. They were very sure of that. But Jesus pointed out that they were blind. Because they thought they knew, they became blind – that's what Jesus meant. True wisdom does not tell you that you are wise. True wisdom tells you that you are not wise. Since truly wise people see much bigger things in life, they see their own foolishness. So there is always a room for them to grow. They always live with the possibility to change. They have no fear to recognize their own weaknesses, their foolishness, and their failures. They live with this confidence that they can cope with their own inadequacy. The real strength does not manifest itself through a raw power. The real strength often manifests itself through gentleness and even weakness. True Wisdom Truly wise people always know that there are wiser people. Truly powerful people know that there are more powerful people. They know their limits. They don't need to brag about their wisdom and their power. This is what St. Paul is saying today. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25) God's foolishness reached its peak at the cross. The cross symbolized weakness, defeat, and total failure. At the cross, death prevailed. At the cross, evil power prevailed. At the cross, injustice prevailed. And yet, Jesus took the cross. Jesus took the way of the weakness. Jesus took the way of foolishness. The most powerful person laid down its power. Why? The wisest person took the foolish way. Why? Because he knew how God worked. He knew God's wisdom and God's strength. What Jesus did – St. Paul discovered. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) Jesus and St. Paul were the ones who had true wisdom and true power. Their wisdom was the wisdom that opened the eyes of others. Their power was the power that empowered others. Their wisdom and power are the wisdom and the power that bring salvation to all of us. They didn't use the wisdom and the power for their own glory. They didn't use them for their own benefits. They used them for uplifting others and saving them from their darkness. Why a righteous person died as a sinner? Why a powerful person died as the most vulnerable person? Why a wise person died without defending himself with reasons? BECAUSE HE CARED. The Caring Heart That was the most foolish way to live your life and end your life. Jesus chose the most foolish way because he cared and that was what God wanted. Ultimately through resurrection, God showed that Jesus was righteous. God s

Scripture Passage Matthew 4:12-22 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Calling Last week, we reflected that passionate life comes from having a sense of calling in life. When you realize that you are connected to something bigger than your life, you find new passion for life. When your life is deeply connected with the higher purpose, then your life becomes meaningful and you can find passion in life. How can you find this sense of calling? That is a very difficult question. It is not something that you can arbitrarily choose. Just to make your life meaningful and purposeful. But let's think about calling. You don't call yourself, do you? So, calling comes from outside of you. It is not something you decide. That's why we call it calling. That's what Jesus said. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. (John 15:16) Life is more than your decisions. We can see that in today's passage. The disciples didn't make a decision or choice as they liked. Jesus called them and they simply responded. They didn't initiate it. They didn't ponder upon Jesus' calling and made a decision. They responded immediately. They simply knew that it was the right thing to do. Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:20) Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. (Matthew 4:22) Into the Unknown In that sense, the gospel song, I have decided to follow Jesus is not exactly right. I am not saying that it is not a good song. I know its sentiment very well. The song tried to express my desire to respond to the calling. But strictly speaking, it is not I who have decided to follow Jesus. I just responded to the calling. I am not saying that careful examination is not important. I am not saying that impulsive and emotional response is a better option. We should always think about the cost of discipleship. But following Jesus is more than calculated decisions. We don't know everything about what is involved in following Jesus. The disciples didn't know either. They threw themselves into the unknown. That is what we experience when we approach God. You don't make a decision about God after searching everything about God in a google search. That's not how you come to God. When you approach God, God takes the initiative and calls you. Sometime that feels like being thrown into the unknown. God told Abraham to go to a place unknown to Abraham. He told him to leave his hometown but he didn't even tell him where to go. He didn't tell him why he had to leave his home either. He just told him to leave. So Abraham and his family left and they thought the place they were supposed to go was Haran. But it wasn't Haran. So they had to leave again until they came to the promised land. He didn't know anything when he left Ur, his hometown but as he looked back, he realized how blessed he was. How God has guided him and provided everything he needed. Actually more than what he needed. Abraham's life is a good example of a life of calling. The disciples didn't know what they were getting into. They simply threw themselves into the unknown without knowing what was waiting for them. But as a matter of fact, that is what we do every day, don't we? We don't know what is waiting for us tomorrow. We are facing the unknown every day. I like the old gospel song, I don't know about tomorrow. I don't know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day. I don't borrow from its sunshine, For its skies may turn to gray. I don't worry o'er the future, For I know what Jesus said, And today I'll walk beside Him, For He knows what is ahead. Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand; But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand. That was what the disciples felt at that moment. They didn't know what held tomorrow. But they knew who held tomorrow. They knew that they were in good hands. That was why they could follow Jesus immediately. Running They didn't always do well in following Jesus. At the end, they all deserted Jesus. One denied him. The other betrayed him. And all others ran away from him. Running away is a part of our spiritual journey too. As disciples ran away from Jesus, sometimes we also run away from Jesus. There are times when we face so many troubles in life and we don't feel any sense of help from God. We run away. There are times when we feel like doing everything as we want. We run away. There are time when we don't feel like doing what God is asking us to do. We run away. That was what Jonah did in the Bible. And yet, Jonah came back to God and finished the mission. The disciples came back and carried on what Jesus started. That is what calling is. Our calling will be fulfilled not by our strength but by the strength of the calling. You are called and that calling will carry you even when you are not able to carry your life on your own. There is a good force

Scripture Passage Isaiah 49:1-7 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Calling It is wonderful to live with passion. It is also important to live with passion. Life and passion go together. Being alive means being passionate. It is sad to see people merely exist but not being alive. It is sad to see so many people live without passion. They may coast along without serious problems but they lack passion in life. Passion is a strong desire to live. Passionate living is living with clear knowledge of why you live. A mediocre lifestyle will not satisfy those who live with passion. What gives us passion for life then? What gives you a strong desire and what gives you clear reason to live? Calling. A sense of calling. It is not just your desire that makes you passionate. You somehow discover that you are chosen. Chosen to do something or to be somebody. That is the sense of calling. Seeing your life as calling gives you passion. This sense of calling will not come automatically. It is something that you discover. It is discovering that you are connected. Connected with something or somebody greater than you. You feel that you are not on your own in this gigantic universe. You discover that your life is not just a series of random events. YOUR LIFE IS CONNECTED WITH A PURPOSE. It is not necessarily about what you do in life. It is about you, the person. You are not necessarily called to do anything. You are called to be somebody. Of course, often who you are is connected with what you do. What I am saying is, you don't have to change your career to do something or something like that. Your whole existence is connected with the calling. You are not alone. You are connected with God and the purpose God has for you. That purpose guides you and leads you in a certain direction. That is calling. And when that calling is clear, passion comes alive. Connected That was what Isaiah said about this servant's life. The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me. (Isaiah 49:1) Of course, he didn't know whether God called him or not before he was born. How could he know when he was not even born. He was saying that he discovered the deep connection between his life and God's calling. He realized that even before he was born, he was chosen. Almost predestined. That is our understanding of predestination. Predestination does not mean that your life is already decided but your life is deeply connected with God's calling. Jeremiah said the same thing about his life. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5) He discovered that his life was deeply connected with God's calling. This connectedness gives us passion. Passion is more than doing what you want. Passion is more than living as you like it. You live your life as you are almost destined to live. Burden Of course, it is not always easy to accept that my life is called by God. We rather want to live as we like it. We don't like to feel burdened. We don't like to feel pressured. We are not the only ones who feel that way. Even the servant in today's passage says that. The great prophet Jeremiah said that. Even the greatest prophet Moses said that. The servant said this. I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity (Isaiah 49:4) Jeremiah said this. Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy. (Jeremiah 49:6) Moses kept saying to God. Send somebody else. I can't do it. I don't know how to speak. They are too strong for me to handle. I am too old. What you are asking me is too much for me to take. Yes, accepting the calling is hard. To see our life in connection with God's calling is hard. We just want to limit our life to what we want to do. Anything beyond that is a burden. We have decided to make our life to be that way. We already put a boundary around us. No wonder it is hard to live with passion. You can live a passionate life when you realize that your life, and what you do is connected with a higher purpose, and deeper meaning. Spirituality You cannot live a passionate life no matter how great your hobby is, how luxurious your life is, how glorious your job is. You can live a passionate life when you realize that your life is deeply connected with a deeper purpose. That is how we human beings are created. That's why we can be spiritual. We cannot be satisfied just because we are well fed and well protected. We are created to be too spiritual to be satisfied with that kind of things. We pursue what is noble. We pursue what is worthwhile. We pursue what is meaningful. Usually, what is noble, what is worthwhile, and what is meaningful is to do with serving others. In other words, our calling has very much to do with serving others. That was what today's passage says about this servant. I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. (Isaiah

Scripture Passage Isaiah 42:1-9 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Big Storms Last week, Rev. Kim introduced the image of storms. Over the last few years, we experienced many storms. We are slowly emerging from them, and we see many ruins. 2023 is the year to start rebuilding from the ruins. There were big storms that we all faced. We faced circumstances we had never experienced before. Some of you also endured difficult individual storms. Death of loved ones. Failing health. Strained relationships. Some of these storms made life very challenging and difficult. Some of them made us feel very weak and vulnerable. When just one storm hits us, we can endure it and wait it out. But when many storms come one after the other, it can take a toll on us. When we get battered by continuous storms, we lose heart. We lose vitality. We lose vigour. Instead of being positive, we can become more gloomy. Isaiah’s Storm When a very big storm totally destroys everything, where do we find the will to carry on? How do we find the desire and courage to pick up and rebuild? This was the issue that Isaiah faced. After Babylon came in and destroyed Israel, they lost everything. They lost their homes. They lost their land. They lost the institutions that gave them a sense of order and meaning. They were taken by force to a strange and foreign land. They were crushed. They were lost. They felt forgotten and abandoned by God. Many people lost heart and just wanted to survive without thinking. They didn't know what to rebuild, or how to go about rebuilding. Somehow, in this bleak setting, Isaiah heard God's voice. He heard words of soothing and comfort: Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2) He heard assurance that they were not forgotten by God: But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off . (Isaiah 41:8-9) He heard words of affirmation that God still loved them: But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1) He heard assurance that they would not be left alone: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2) Isaiah's heart was revived by God's words of comfort and reassurance. In Israel's darkest hour, his hope was rekindled. That's why he was a prophet. He was able to offer words of comfort and hope to a crushed people. Mispat With this new hope, he saw a vision. God would send someone. A servant, chosen by God, given power with his spirit. That servant was given a mission: He will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1) The original Hebrew word for justice is mispat. Mispat is not a mere legal remedy. It is not about merely making wrongs right. It is making all things right. More than a definition, the word evokes more of an image. An image of restoring God's order of compassionate well-being. Bringing about God's true way and intended order. Of healing. Wholeness. Mispat. This was the servant's mission. It was not just a nice idea. It was a promise that God made. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice (mispat) on the earth. (Isaiah 42:4) God's servant will not be stopped. He will be faithfully persistent. But God's mispat will not be achieved by force. It will not be coerced. It is not violent. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. (Isaiah 42:3) Sometimes when we are desperate, it doesn't matter who we hurt in order to get what we need. Sometimes, when we are so hurt, we don't notice the hurt we inflict on others. Sometimes the desire to undo wrongs and injustice leads us to commit the same wrongs on others who are even weaker than us. Our desiring often tramples over those who are weakest and most vulnerable. But this Servant will cause no further harm to those who are hurting. Instead, he will bring God's mispat and peace to all. The vision of the Servant gave hope to Isaiah and his people. It gave them hope in a new kind of world, where even weak and defeated people like them could live and flourish. It gave them a vision of the kind of world they could rebuild from their ruins. This vision revived their hearts. Many years later, a small group of Jews came to identify their leader with this servant – that leader was Jesus Christ. They were heavily influenced by Isaiah's words and imagery, and they interpreted the life of Jesus t

Scripture Passage Colossians 2:2-3 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Aftermath Happy New Year! It is wonderful to have the first day of the new year, worshipping God. What better way is there than starting the first day, praising God and thanking God? God has been good to us in 2022. We thank God for that. We have come here with a thankful heart. As God has been good to us in 2022, he will also be good to us in 2023. For those who love God, all things work out for good. As I look back last few years, I realize that we went through a lot. I feel like a big storm passed by. There were times when I felt very unsure about the future, not only the future of our world, but also the future of the church in general. 1.1 million Americans lost their lives because of Covid. Closing down the church? I could never imagine that and I have never experienced that. But we were very close to that. Do you remember? There was a time when only five people were allowed in the sanctuary. We were lucky to have something called zoom. But after a while, I felt that zoom service would not really give us the worship experience. I was concerned. I cannot say it is over but now the storm is slowly passing by. But I see its aftermath. It left us in ruins. It caused a lot of damages. Not just to our physical body but to our mind and our spirit. People are deeply affected. I see a lot of strange behaviours. For example, there have been many incidents at the subway. A woman was deliberately targeted and set on fire. An 85 year old woman was punched in the face and knocked out. A woman was pushed into the coming train. People who were waiting for the bus at the platform, were stabbed and one person died. We have never seen this. Our relationships also have changed. It is not the same anymore. Many relationships have fallen apart. It damaged the sense of community. 2023 is the year we have to repair the ruins that the storm has brought. We need to repair our mind. We need to repair our body. We need to repair our relationships. We need to repair our community. We need to repair our faith. The First Button To repair anything, we need to go back to the basic. Going back to the very basic is the wisest thing to do. When your life becomes complicated, difficult to handle, when things don't work out as well as you wish, when everything you do turns out to be not so good, go back to the basic. Start from the basic. There is a Korean saying. Button up the first button in a right place. Go back to the first button. Go back to the basic. When the basic is set right, everything else will find its place. Our basic is Christ. Our basic is our relationship with Christ. We have to ask ourselves. What is my relationship with Christ like? Where is God in my life? How well do you know Christ? How important is Christ in your life? Who is Christ to you? To St. Paul, Christ was everything. He said to live is Christ. For to me, living is Christ, (Philippians 1:21) To him, the most important thing is to know Christ and to have Christ. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, (Philippians 3:7-9) Because of Christ, everything changed for him. His thinking changed. His perspectives changed. His relationship with God changed. His whole life changed. In Christ, he found the treasures of life. Wasn't that what Jesus said about the kingdom of God? The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44) He found the treasure hidden in Christ. He found the kingdom of God. That was what he said in today's Scripture. in whom (Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3) He believed that in Christ, true wisdom of life is hidden. I believe that too. The deeper we know Christ, the more profound wisdom will be revealed to us. The deeper joy we will be able to experience. God’s Mystery This year's theme is Knowing Christ. It is going back to the basic. We are going to reflect on Christ. As we go through this journey, Christ will reveal the treasures of wisdom hidden in him. That wisdom is what we need to live a good life. 2023 will be an exciting year. You will discover God's mystery as we reflect on Christ together. St. Paul said Christ was God's mystery. so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself. (Colossians 2:2) Yes, Christ is God's mystery. In Christ, the secret of life is hidden. In Christ, the secret of happiness is hidden. In Christ, the secret of God is hidden. Danish philosopher and theologian, Soren Kierkegaard said, Life is not a problem to be solv

Scripture Passage Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:8-14 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script A Special Christmas It is wonderful to celebrate Christmas together. It is special to have Christmas on Sunday. Every 7 years or so, Christmas falls on Sunday. Christmas is a special day for many people. Christmas brightens up December. It brings joy to all of us. May God's peace and joy fill you all. Your presence here brightens up this Christmas. Christmas is not a celebration of the few privileged. Christmas is a celebration of everybody regardless of who you are. Jesus Christ was born for all of us, especially for those who cannot help themselves. The First to Hear God revealed the message of Christmas to the shepherds. When we think about shepherds, we have this romantic image. But in reality, the shepherds were not necessarily romantic people who lived a romantic life. They lived a nomadic life, but not necessarily a romantic life. They were not considered as highly respected people in Jesus' time. They often attacked the lonely travelers. Many of them were robbers. They were disqualified from being legal witnesses. But they were the first ones who heard the message of Christmas. The message of Christmas was this: I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10, 11) God used those who are disqualified from being legal witnesses to be the witnesses of the birth of Jesus Christ. It was totally unexpected. The shepherds did not expect any of this. They thought it would be another boring night. But all of a sudden, the dark field was brightened up by the light of the glory of God. They heard the beautiful praise. Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours! (Luke 2:14) The glory filled the field. The glory filled the heart of those shepherds. They experienced the glory of God. Their life was not the same any more. People who experience the glory of God – Their life changes forever. The shepherds didn't do anything. It was all God's doing. His Power in Our Lives Last week, we reflected on Joseph and we realized that our best is not God's best. Life is not all about what we do. Life is very much about what God does. We see that very clearly in today's passage. Shepherds were just there, doing what they had been doing all their lives. Nothing special they did on that day. And God brought glory to them. It was God who brought glory to them. That was how God brought his glory to the world. Our life has to be filled with God's glory. What is God's glory? God's glory is GOD'S POWER MANIFESTING ITSELF IN OUR LIVES. So, God's glory brings us victory. That's what God's glory is. This power becomes light and the light brings victory over darkness. This power becomes justice and God's justice brings victory over injustice. This power becomes joy and the joy brings victory over sadness. The light will shine on you and defeat the darkness. Isaiah saw that. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2) John saw that in Jesus. In him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of all people. (John 1:4) Be Filled with God’s Glory On this Christmas Day, the glory of God may fill all of you and your family. The power of God may manifest itself to you and to your family. May the light of God chase away all darkness, all sadness, and all conflicts. May God's peace and joy fill all your homes. That's what Christmas is. I said this year, Christmas falls on Sunday. Usually, on Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now today, we celebrate both the birth and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus' birth brought glory to us and this power of God's glory defeated the power of death. God's glory will never depart you. God's glory will always go along with you. With God's glory, everything will be all right. There is nothing for you to worry about. God's glory will raise you from the death. Now God's glory wraps you around and you are surrounded by God's glory. John saw Christmas in this way. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory (John 1:14) Life is full of glory. That's why life is full of surprises. Be witnesses to God's glory as shepherds were witnesses. They were the ones who told Mary and Joseph about what they saw. Mary kept that in her heart. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) Without God's glory, life is too harsh, too dark, too bland, and too sad. Now with God's glory, our life is filled with joy, peace, hope, and love. Jesus made that possible. May the Christmas glory bless all of you. Glory, glory, Hallelujah! Glory, glory, Hallelujah! Glory, glory, Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. Merry Christmas! The post Christmas Glory appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 1:18-25 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Comfort An English Actress Imelda Staunton said, You can only do your best. That's all you can do. And if it isn't good enough, it isn't good enough. It sounds comforting. It sounds like a wise advice. What else can you do? You can do your best and just have to live with what is not good enough. But it is hard to accept that. Today is the World Cup final. All the teams did their best. But when their best was not enough, they felt so sad and disappointed. Many of them cried like children. When our best is not good enough, it is hard to swallow. But sometimes I wonder, Did I really do my best? Doing our best is a very subjective statement. Often, it is a convenient way of explaining away of not going further when we could. It is a comfortable excuse to close the door for new possibilities. It is rational justification for accepting the status quo and doing nothing about it. I hope that we don't use doing our best as a coverup for our laziness and our fear. Doing His Best Today, we see a very good man. His name was Joseph. We have different gospels telling different stories of Jesus' birth. Luke was very much focused on Mary and what she went through. We see her dilemma, her struggle, and her experience. Matthew sheds light on Joseph and what he went through. He had a woman whom he was engaged to. I am sure he was excited to have a new life with her. He was looking forward to marrying her. But one day, he found out that she was pregnant. He knew that it wasn't his baby because they didn't have that kind of relationship yet. He didn't sleep with her yet. His heart was crushed. He was disappointed and probably very angry. He felt betrayed. He could have exposed her to public shame. That could create a very bad situation for Mary. Not only would she receive public shame, she could have been stoned to death. But Joseph was a good man. He didn't want to harm Mary in any way. He swallowed his disappointment and anger. His best was to dismiss her quietly. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. (Matthew 1:19) That was doing his best, he thought. BUT HIS BEST WAS NOT GOD'S BEST. To show that his best was not God's best, God sent an angel to him. This was what the angel told him in his dream. Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.(Matthew 1:20, 21) What was happening was nobody's mistake. It wasn't Mary's fault either. It was all in God's plan. All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet. (Matthew 1:22) We have been reflecting on Isaiah's dream. It was another one of Isaiah's dreams. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) That was what Matthew quoted in today's passage with the explanation of Immanuel. Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, God is with us.' (Matthew 1:23) Surprisingly, Joseph accepted that his best was not enough. But not only that. He accepted that his best was not God's best. This was Joseph's faith. When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. (Matthew 1:24, 25) Joseph did not use doing his best as an excuse to take an easy way out. Joseph accepted what God wanted to do. Joseph accepted God's deeper plan for him and for his child and for the world. That was his faith. Wait for God That is what is beautiful about life. Our best is not everything. Our best is not the end. When our best is over, then God's best takes over. We should leave a room for God's best. Don't close the door at your best. Be ready to accept what God will do when you can't do anything about it. Life is not all about what we do. Our life is very much about what God does. That's why in an impossible situations, we still hope. That's why in our suffering, we still rejoice. Doing your best is important. Yes, once you do your best and your best is not enough, you have to accept the result. Don't blame yourself. Don't live with guilt. But don't close the door. That is when you wait for God's direction. Don't give up. Wait for God. God will show you the way. Bigger Things Reading and understanding God's way is more important than doing your best. Thing is: If you do your best, God will show you his way. If you don't do your best, God waits until you do your best. But if you do your best, then God will show you God's best. God will show you wonderful things in your life. You will see that life is full of miracles. Joseph experienced the miracle of having a baby

Scripture Passage James 5:7-10 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Moving Forward No matter how good life is at the moment, it is never complete. As long as we live, there is still more to live for. As long as I have breath, my work is not yet done. This is how St. Paul lived. He did not remain comfortable or complacent in the present. He continually strained toward what lay ahead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-13) The expectation of what lay ahead fueled St. Paul. The expectation of something better, something more complete than the present. If we don't have expectations, something we're striving for, we're not really living. We just exist mindlessly day after day. Life has to move forward. If we stay still, we're dead. Even though we are wired to want more or expect more, we experience many disappointments. I am never the person I want to be. I keep making mistakes. No matter what I do, things are never quite right. No matter how hard I try, things just don't change. After a while, we are tempted to give up and lower our expectations. I see so many people living with lowered expectations. They just accept whatever life gives them. Losing Expectations This is the issue that James is addressing in today's passage. When his community first met Christ, they received the good news with joy. The good news for them was that Christ would come again. Christ coming again meant that God would come and make all things right. No one knew exactly what this would look like. But somehow, God would come and restore the world as it should be. There would be no more suffering. No more injustice. No more hard struggle that others take advantage of. The idea of Christ coming again raised expectations that life would get better soon. It gave energy and strength to endure difficulties. But over the years, nothing really changed. Their lives remained just as difficult as when they first received Christ. They became disappointed and disillusioned. They began to lose their expectation that God would come and make things right. James is telling them to not lose heart. Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. (James 5:7, 8) Strengthen your hearts. Do not lose heart. Do not lose faith. Struggle The foundation of hope is faith. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is belief in the thing you hope for. Without faith, there is no hope. Without faith, hope is merely wishful thinking. For hope to have any power, you need to believe it will happen. In that sense, faith and hope are deeply connected. Hope is what you expect or desire. Faith is the belief that it can happen. We need dreams and hopes to fuel our lives. But we need faith to keep those hopes and dreams alive. No dreams, no life. No faith, no dreams. St. Paul lived his whole life believing that God would fulfill his promises. Toward the end of his life, this is what he said: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7) Keeping the faith was like a fight and arduous race. Faith is not faith because it's easy. Faith is faith because it's a struggle. Faith cannot exist without struggle. One can struggle without faith, but one cannot have faith without struggle. God promised Abraham that he would have a son, but for many years nothing happened. He struggled to keep believing in that promise. He wavered in his belief at times. It was tested many times before the promise finally came true. But by the end of his life, his faith was secure. We call him Father Abraham because he is the father of faith. Jesus said: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20) Faith has the power to move mountains. Faith keeps our hopes alive. Faith overcomes disappointment. Faith keeps on believing even when there is no reason to. Faith is the most precious and powerful gift because it keeps us going when nothing else does. We should ask for this faith more than anything else. We need belief that our hopes will come true. Our Eschatology The most basic, foundational Christian hope is that ultimately, God will make all things right. That is our eschatology – theology of end things and final destiny. If you truly believe this, then this hope gives you power for life. You don't need to worry – because God will make all things right. You don't need to fear – because God will make all things r

Scripture Passage Isaiah 11:1-10 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script A Beautiful Dream We reflected on the beautiful dream of Isaiah last week. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4) It is a beautiful dream. Prophets are prophets not because they have the ability to foresee what will happen in the future, not because they are able to speak a strong moral message, but because they are able to dream when nobody can dare to dream. They are able to see the vision nobody can imagine. They have prophetic dreams and prophetic visions. Today, we hear another beautiful dream of Isaiah. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. (Isaiah 11:6-8) Another beautiful dream and vision of living in peace and harmony. His world was filled with hostility, greed, and selfishness, and yet he was able to dream the world of peace and harmony. He also said that this dream would be fulfilled by this mysterious person. We don't know exactly whom he was referring to. A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse (father of David), and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-3) This person will bring the world of peace. How precious this message is. How relevant this message is for us after almost 3,000 years later. It is a dream of living together without hurting each other. We dream of a life where we can live together joyfully without hurting each other. The wolf will not hurt the lamb. The leopard will not hurt the kid. The lion will not hurt the calf. The bear will not hurt the cow. They will all get along together. They will enjoy each other. The child shall play over the hole of the snake and will not get hurt. They feel safe. I dream of this world. The Dividing Wall Living in peace and harmony is such a blessing. You don't see many people do that. It is rare to see people living like that. I see so much hurt, and so much pain. We hurt each other, not intentionally always. But through insensitivity, through indifference, through carelessness, we hurt each other. Instead of getting along with each other, I see dividedness. Parents and children are divided. Family is divided. Friends are divided. Nations are divided. I think the culprit is the HOSTILITY. There is hostility within us. When we have this hostility, peace is not possible. When we have the hostility, we will hurt each other. As a result, we become divided. Jesus came to put an end to this hostility. The hostility brought so much pain to this world. They destroy themselves and each other. Jesus came to break down the wall that divides us so that we can experience and enjoy the peace. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. (Ephesians 2:14) The dividing wall, St. Paul said, is the HOSTILITY. We put a wall against each other and against God. We don't trust each other. We are ready to pick a fight. We become enemies. Why? Why so angry? Why so much hatred? Why fight with each other? Jesus came to help us to be awake and to see what we are doing. St. Paul said, For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, (Romans 5:10) He died as a result of our hostility and animosity. But he was not just a victim of our hostility. As he died on the cross, our hostility also died with him. Jesus' death had the power to destroy our hostility. That is the power of love. Jesus embraced our hostility. Jesus suffered our hostility not as a powerless victim but as a loving friend. Love Overcomes John described his love in this way. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. (John 15:13) Jesus also said. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43, 44) For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (Matthew 5:46, 47) He redefined what love is. Love is not feeling good. Love melts down the hostility. The power of love is stronger than the power of hostility. Jimi Hendrix said a very interesting statement. When the p

Scripture Passage Isaiah 2:1-5 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Expressing Visions People always live with dreams and visions. No matter how difficult life may be, they always come up with dreams and visions. We are built that way. We are built to be dreamers. Without dreams and visions, we cannot survive. No Dream, No Life Look around us. People express their dreams and visions through their art, through their songs, and through their speeches. John Lennon sang he was a dreamer in his song, Imagine. You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one. The other day, I watched Michael Jackson's video, Heal the world. Heal the world Make it a better place For you and for me, and the entire human race Create a world with no fear Together we cry happy tears See the nations turn their swords into plowshares Michael Jackson quoted from the prophet Isaiah. They all dreamt about the world where there is no more fight, no more war, no more violence, and no more hatred. That was Isaiah's dream. He expressed his dream through his prophecy. He said, they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4) You will see the sculpture in front of the UN building in New York. (Russian Sculptor) It is ironic that it was a gift from the USSR in 1959. What Prophets Do Isaiah did not have this dream when his world was peaceful. His world was devastating. His people deserted God. Foreign invasion was imminent. He foresaw the terrible fate of his people. He saw the imminent threat of war. Many people would be killed. Indeed what he foresaw happened. There were invasions and people were killed, temple destroyed, and people were taken captivity. They witnessed the horrible reality of war. Isaiah saw all that. Isaiah also saw corruption in his people. Isaiah saw selfishness of people. They didn't honour God; they just lived as they wanted. God did not like how they lived. God did not want their offerings. God would not answer their prayers, Isaiah said. He talked about all this in the chapter 1 of his book. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. (Isaiah 1:3) What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.(Isaiah 1:11) When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen (Isaiah 1:15) He gave them a moral message. learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:17) He saw the devastation. He saw the destruction. He saw the corruption of his people. BUT MY FRIENDS, ISAIAH WAS A PROPHET NOT BECAUSE HE SAW THE MORAL CORRUPTION, OR FORESAW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEM, OR GAVE THEM A STRONG MORAL MESSAGE. Isaiah was a prophet because he was able to dream dreams for the new world even in that desperate situation. He had a vision of what God would do. That's what prophets do. They dream. We Must Dream He had this dream and vision so vividly, he said like this. The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:1) He didn't say I heard the word. He said I saw the word. His dreams and vision were so powerful that he used the visual language rather than the auditory language. Even though he saw the corruption and terrible sins of people, Isaiah had this dream. though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1:18) Even though he foresaw that the war was coming, he said this. they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4) It is important to live with dreams and visions. It is not just important. It is must. If we cannot dream dreams, we die. No dream, no life. There is a Mexican artist. His name is Pedro Reyes. He did two projects: the first one – Palas for Pistolas. (Shovels for Guns) He made a series of TV ads and radio announcements to exchange firearms for vouchers and electric appliances. He received 1527 guns and he melted and remoulded into 1,527 gardening tools. The second project was Disarm. He received 6,700 confiscated guns and turned into musical instruments. And these instruments were used in a performance in 2012 at the Mexico City. You may say it did not make a huge change, but through this, the artist expressed his dream. He didn't give up dreaming for the world where there is no gun violence. It had a symbolic message. Turning guns that bring death into gardening tools that bring life. Turning guns that bring death into songs that give people joy. A Gather

Scripture Passage Joel 2:23-32 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Joel’s Prophecy We read Joel's prophecy today. Probably you never heard of the name Joel. Joel was a prophet in Israel. He lived near Jerusalem. We don't know exactly when he lived. But scholars estimate that he lived around 400 BC. Then, you can say he lived around the time Plato lived. Plato was born 427 BC. At that time, Israel went through the agricultural disaster. Not only they didn't have much rain but they had locust problems. Locusts are grasshoppers. They can be quite harmful to agriculture. They ate up all the crops. People starved to death. They were devastated. Their environment was beyond their control. They could do nothing with their own power. They felt powerless and helpless. That's when God sent Joel. Joel – It is a good name. Joel – You have a good name. Joel = Jehovah is (my) God. When we go through devastation, when we feel helpless and hopeless, when we have no power left in us, when we see only darkness ahead of us, often God says, I am your God and you are my people. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Jeremiah 30:22) I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:7) Jehovah is my God St. Paul talked about the whole creation suffering and its existence becoming futile in chapter 8 of Romans. The whole creation was groaning with the desire to be free from the bondage to decay, he said. And St. Paul has reminded us that we are God's people. More specifically, we are God's children. it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:16) When you go through hardships, when you feel all alone, when you have no confidence left in you, when you feel like you are nobody, don't forget that you are God's child. God never forgets you. When Israel saw no hope for their future, God sent Joel to remind them that Jehovah was their God. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.(Joel 2:27) God reminded them that when they could not do anything, God could do something. O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. (Joel 2:23) You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (Joel 2:26) When you go through hard times, don't forget this name. Joel. Jehovah is my God. There is nothing for you to worry about. His Prophecy When Jesus left and his disciples were all alone. They faced uncertain future. They saw threats all around them. They didn't have any power in them to fight against the oppression and threats. They just prayed. 120 people gathered together and desperately prayed. They were in devastation. That was when God sent the Spirit and helped them remember the name Joel. The Spirit came down and filled the whole room. Tongues of fire came down from heaven. They started speaking in different languages. A fantastic phenomena. They all wondered what this was all about. Some people accused them of being drunk. But Peter saw something different. Peter remembered Joel. Jehovah is my God. Peter remembered Joe's prophecy. It was the Spirit who reminded him of this passage. In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:17-21) That was exactly what Joel prophesied. Not Moses, Not Elijah, Not Isaiah but Joel. God reminded Peter of the name, Joel, and his prophecy. Remember Joel That was exactly what the early Christians needed. When they were terrified with fear, when they felt totally powerless, God told them I am your God. There is nothing for you to worry about. I will send you the Spirit. And the Spirit will give you the power. And with the power you receive, you can take any challenges in your life. We all experienced something very strange. The first time in our history, we have locked down everything for so long. I have also become a victim of this virus. Mine wasn't a mild one. I suffered for many days. I lost smell. My life was interrupted. I had to cancel everything. Tuesday Bible study, Friday morning Bible study, Fri

Scripture Passage Luke 18:1-8 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script God Answers Jesus wants us to pray. Jesus want us to pray always. And Jesus wants us to pray and not to lose heart. That is what this parable is all about. These three things are pillars of prayer life. First, Jesus wants us to pray because God answers our prayer. Without this faith, our prayers become meaningless. Jesus himself believed that. He prayed whenever he had to make big decisions such as calling disciples and accepting his death in Gethsemane. If we have faith that God answers our prayers, then we can pray to God. Jonah prayed to God. Elijah prayed to God. Jeremiah prayed to God. Moses prayed to God. Job prayed to God. Paul prayed to God. They all prayed to God because they believed that God would answer their prayers. This is what Jesus said. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24) This is what Jeremiah said. Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3) Jesus had confidence in prayer. Jeremiah believed that there is mysterious power hidden in prayer. Prayer is something you have to experience. Without experiencing that your prayers are answered, you can never know what prayer does to your life. You can never learn to enjoy prayer. We cannot understand the reality of prayer with our brain. You have to experience it. You have to experience how God answers your prayer. Then you will see the power of prayer. That is the very first step of entering into the life of faith. God does not answer always in obvious ways. But as I look back, God answered my prayers and used my prayers to guide me and lead me. I used to write prayers. When I go back to my prayers, I can see how God has used my prayers to guide me. At that time, it didn't even look like answers. I didn't even know that my prayers were answered at that time. But gave me the best answer in his own way. That is the first pillar. Pray Always Second, Jesus tells us to pray always. That was what St. Paul said too. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) He told us to pray without ceasing. Praying always means to make it as your lifestyle. In that sense, prayer is not your random activities. Prayer is a lifestyle. It is not that there is a time when you pray. It is rather that there is not a time when you don't pray. Don't pray habitually but make prayer as a habit of your life. Live a prayerful life. Approach all your problems with a prayerful attitude. You do that not only because you believe that God answers your prayer but also because you believe that you do not have all the answers. Do you know how helpful it is to know that you don't have to have all the answers in life? It gives you tremendous peace and calmness. We have this obsession that we have to take care of every problem. That stresses us out. But when you truly believe that you don't have to have all the answers, it gives you peace and calmness. That is what prayer does. Instead of worrying about things that you cannot solve, you know how to leave your life in God's good hands. You take a prayerful attitude to everything that you encounter. Prayerful life is a life of peace and calm. Joy, prayer, and thanksgiving go together. When you live a prayerful life, your life will be filled with joy and thankfulness. What more do you ask for in life? Do Not Lose Heart Third, Jesus said to pray and do not lose heart. If you start living a prayerful life, you will experience many disappointments. People who don't live a prayerful life, don't know that. But when you pray, you get disappointed and disillusioned. You feel like giving up. You feel angry even with God. You feel that God is like the bad judge. You get disappointed because you don't see God's movement in your life. Because you don't see any change. This is what Gideon said. But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian. (Judges 6:13) He was disappointed because he didn't get answers from God. St. Paul also prayed three times that his thorn may be removed but God didn't give him what he wanted. We do not always get what we want. That's why we get disappointed and frustrated. We feel like giving up. All of us will have a moment of losing our heart. So, to live a prayerful life, we have to know how to deal with our own disappointment. We have to learn not to lose our heart. This is where faith comes in. It is not faith that God answers our prayer. It is not faith that we don't have to have all the answers. It is faith to totally surrender to God. Like the faith Jesus had in Gethsemane. This is

Scripture Passage Luke 17:11-19 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Thankful Heart Happy Thanksgiving! We have gathered together this morning with a thankful heart for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. We thank God for the family, friends, and the church. We thank God for providing what we need and more. We thank God for giving us peace and joy. We thank God for the wonderful life. There are so many things we are thankful for. The other day, I went to London for the induction of the Rev. Son. On the way to London, we saw leaves changing their colour. We thank God for the beautiful nature we enjoy. We should take care of our natural environment. More than anything else, we thank God FOR THE THANKFUL HEART we can have. The heart to be thankful – It is hard to have. Without a thankful heart, we cannot enjoy what we have. True joy comes not when you have the abundance but when you recognize your abundance. When you know how to appreciate the abundance you have, you will have the deep joy. True joy comes not when we are healthy but when we are able to appreciate the health we have. The True Blessing The true blessing is not the blessings themselves but when your eyes are open and recognize how blessed your life is. When you recognize that your life is a gift of God, that's when your blessings become true blessings. The power of salvation is released and can change you not when you have the salvation but when you deeply recognize the salvation you received. That is when your salvation is complete. If you take your salvation for granted, you won't experience the power of salvation. In that sense, thankfulness completes everything. Thankfulness completes our joy. Thankfulness completes the blessings. Thankfulness completes the salvation we have. Thankfulness completes our life. The Mercy of God Only one person knew this secret in the passage we read today. He was a Samaritan. He was treated as the lowest of the lowest. Not only was he a leper but he was also a Samaritan who was despised at that time. 10 lepers were all healed by the mercy of Jesus. They all asked for Jesus' mercy and they got it. Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! (Luke 17:13 They cried out for mercy and they got it! God's mercy has no discrimination. God grants his mercy to all those who ask for it. This is what Jesus said. for he (God) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45) 10 lepers, they all received the mercy of God. We don't know what kind of people they were. We don't know whether they were good or not. They all received the mercy from God regardless of who they were. But only one of them returned to Jesus to thank him. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. (Luke 17:15, 16) They were all healed but only one of them knew how to appreciate the healing he received. Not only was he blessed with healing but he was blessed to recognize that everything good comes from God. That gave him the everlasting joy and peace. He not only experienced the power of mercy at that moment but he experienced the goodness of God. That's why he praised God with a loud voice. He had more than healing. He experienced more than healing. He discovered God's mercy and the goodness of God. Now he could live his life with this thankfulness. He received the thankful heart. Now he knew that there would be God's mercy in all circumstances. That was greater than the healing he received. That's why Jesus said this to him. Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well. (Luke 17:19) That is a strange expression. He was already made well. But Jesus said his faith had made him well. So, he was not just talking about the healing from leprosy he received. He meant his faith had made his whole life well. His thankfulness completed his healing. His thankfulness completed his salvation. That's what thankfulness does. It completes everything. It completes joy. It completes blessings. It completes salvation. Faith This thankfulness comes from faith. Jesus said to him that HIS FAITH had made him well. Jesus saw his faith. Because of his faith, he returned to Jesus and thanked him. Because of his faith, he praised God. He had faith that everything good comes from God. Yes, everything good comes from God. I pray that you all live with this faith. Even when you are struggling with your darkness, I hope that you have this faith. This faith will bring you out of your darkness and lead you into the light. Even when you are sick, I hope that you have this faith. This faith will bring you out of your sickness and lead you into healing. When we have faith that everything good comes from God, then we can be thankful in all circumstances. That was what St. Paul taught us to do. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ

Scripture Passage Luke 17:5-10 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Nature of Discipleship Today's passage is a difficult one. Right away, we're not comfortable with the language of slaves and masters. Jesus' story about the slave seems harsh. What is Jesus saying? Is he saying that we should treat those who work for us harshly? Is he saying that everyone in inferior positions should just keep their heads down and do as they're told? We shouldn't generalize this to apply to every situation. It's not a license for bosses to abuse and exploit their employees. It doesn't mean you should just accept any treatment from your bosses or superiors. In today's story, Jesus is talking to his disciples. He is talking about the nature of discipleship. He is telling them what their attitude should be when they serve others. This is what he said: Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!' (Luke 17:9-10) He is telling his disciples that when you serve, don't think that you're something special. Don't expect gratitude or recognition. Just do what you need to do because that's what you should do. Serve simply for the sake of serving, because that is what you should do. We have done only what we ought to have done! This is how Jesus lived his life. It was how he saw himself, and it was what he did. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve… (Mark 10:45) Jesus did not serve others to make himself feel more special. He did not seek recognition or appreciation. He simply served. He lifted others up. His service was humble. He tried to teach his disciples to serve in the same way. Near the end of his life, this what he did and said: Jesus got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him… After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (John 13:3-5, 12-14) The disciples had so much to learn about humble service. They all wanted recognition. They wanted to feel special for serving others. They argued among themselves who was the greatest. They wanted to enjoy the status of being alongside Jesus. They asked Jesus if they could be at his right hand and left hand in glory. Serving Jesus was completely different. He didn't seek any benefit from others. He didn't weigh or calculate who was worth his time and who was not. He just did what he believed he ought to do. He simply served. When I look at his life, he lived the most beautiful kind of life. I think that a life serving others is the most beautiful way to live life. At some level, we all wish we could be that way too. If it was easy, I think we all would. The fact is, serving others is not easy. When we serve, people don't appreciate it. They don't respond to what we do. Many times, people just don't care. If anything, you end up getting criticism and complaints. So we start to ask, why am I doing this? Life is busy enough trying to stay afloat. There is very little time and energy left after taking care of my responsibilities. Why should I spend what little is left over to serve others when no one even appreciates it? The easy thing to do is to forget about serving and just live for myself. The world is full of ways to enjoy and live for yourself. The pleasures of life are endless. The whole economy caters to our pleasures. We can literally spend our whole lives pursuing pleasure. I mean, it's great to enjoy life's pleasures. God has given us wonderful ways to enjoy life. But we drown in a sea of pleasure and we can't get out. Sometimes, we serve out of duty and obligation. I think it's better to do this than do nothing at all. But there is a danger when you serve only out of duty and obligation. The danger is self-righteousness. When duty and obligation are the driving forces of your actions, self-righteousness is a great trap. It inflates your sense of worth. You begin to think you are special. Self-righteousness demands affirmation and gratitude from others. It demands praise and recognition. Serving should bridge relationships and restore the gap between people. That is what Jesus did. By serving others, Jesus restored their place in the community. Those who had been outcasted, he healed and brought back in. The Antidote to Self-Righteousness But when self-righteousness is at the root of your service, it does not bring together, it divides and separates. It separates you and creates distance from those you're serving. You elevate yourself by putting yourself above others. You elevate yourself by putting

Scripture Passage Luke 16:19-31 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Blessed Are The Poor Why did the rich man go to hell and the poor man go to heaven? Was it because he was rich that he went to hell? Do the rich go to hell and the poor go to heaven? I don't think it is right to come up with this conclusion. We cannot generalize the ultimate fate of the rich and the poor from this passage. But it is true that the Scripture speaks quite a lot in favour of the poor. Especially in Luke. From the beginning of his gospel, he started with that. Listen to Mary's song, Magnificat: He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:53) Then Jesus' inauguration speech: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. (Luke 4:18) Then Jesus: Sermon on the Plain It is Beatitude in Luke. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20) In Matthew's version, he said, Blessed are the poor in spirit but Luke simply said, Blessed are the poor. But he was harsh on the rich. Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. (Luke 18:25) Is it because Jesus did not like the rich? I don't think so. But definitely he did not favour the rich over the poor. Not like what we see so much in the world we live in. Temptations and Recognitions Jesus was harsh on the rich because it is hard to be both rich and spiritual. Jesus didn't want us to fall into temptation by wanting to be rich. Money can bring so many temptations. St. Paul had the same warning for us. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:9) When you are rich, you think you are self-sufficient. And this attitude of being self-sufficient doesn't go well with the spirituality. At the bottom of spirituality, there is a recognition that we are not self-sufficient. There is a recognition that I need others and I need God. There is a recognition that I am broken and vulnerable. There is a recognition that I don't know the way and show me the path I need to take. There is a recognition that I am scared and please help me. There is a recognition that I am in darkness and lead me to the light. All these recognitions are preconditions for cultivating spirituality. Without these recognitions, our spirituality becomes merely a religious decoration. You don't need to teach these things to the poor. They already have all of them. They live with those recognitions every day. But to the rich, these things do not come automatically. That need is not there. So it is hard to be spiritual. That does not mean that you cannot do it. But it is hard. If you are rich, why would you want these recognitions? You are very comfortable with your situations, yourself, and your ability. Unless you encounter some tragedies, you won't necessarily recognize these things about yourself. The Blind Man One of our ESM members sent an email to pastors and at the end, he said. The “Inner Voice” has been so helpful as I start each morning reading the email and a prayer. He is struggling with his issue right now. But generally if you are rich and if you are comfortable with your situations, it's hard to think about these things. God's word does not speak so personally and powerfully. You hear God's word with your brain, not with your heart, not with your gut. One of the worst things that our riches do to us: It makes us become blind. You become so focused on you, on your security, and your pleasure. You become self-absorbed that you become blind to everything else. You become blind to others around you. You become blind to those who are suffering. You become blind to who you really are and what you really need. You become so self-indulgent that you cannot see anything else. You live in the bubble of false security. There is a very good drama. If you have time, you should watch it. It is called – Hunting of Wild Boar. I won't spoil it. It is about how their lives are all tangled up because of money. They don't even know where it all started. Life becomes more and more tangled. When you look at today's story, the rich man was so self-indulgent that he couldn't see anything else but pleasing himself. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. (Luke 16:19) Right after this verse, Jesus said this. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. (Luke 16:20, 21) He feasted sumptuously every day but he didn't even see a poor man right at his gate. He wasn't even aware of his presence. That's what the riches may do to you. All you care about becomes how to please yourself. As though, that is the purpose of life. As though, it can gi

Scripture Passage Luke 16:1-13 Worship Video Due to technical difficulties, the Worship Video is unavailable for this sermon. Worship Audio Sermon Script One Clear Message It is a very difficult parable. We are not sure what the message is. We are not sure what message Jesus wanted to get across through this parable. There is no obvious connection between the parable and Jesus' concluding message at the end. Let us start with Jesus' message at the end. We hear two messages Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. (Luke 16:10) No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (Mammon). (Luke 16:13) But we are not sure how these two messages are related to the parable Jesus gave us. But there is one clear message. That is, Money and living a Christian life are directly connected. To live a good Christian life, we have to have a clear understanding about money. Enrich and Destroy Money is good but it is dangerous. Money can enrich our lives but at the same time, money can totally destroy our lives and others. God gave us money so that our life can be sustained. Not only to sustain our life but also to enrich our lives, God gave us money. God wants us to enjoy a good and abundant life. Money can do that for you. I said, GOD GAVE US MONEY. It is God who gave it to us to use it. So it is God's. That is what we believe about money. Like the manager in the parable, we are only a manager who manages God's money. The manager was given the authority to take care of the money. DURING THAT TIME, the economic system was different from now. There was no such thing as fee or payment. The owner set a certain amount to be collected and whatever the manager collected beyond what the owner wanted, it was his income. That was how tax collectors collected the tax. (Joseph Fitzmyer) So if the owner wants to get $50 from this olive oil, you sell it for whatever price. Let's say $55. Then you get $5. That's your income. It's like commission. The manager could enjoy a good and abundant life, by being honest and by being fair. But he was greedy. That greed brought him a disaster. He was about to lose everything he enjoyed. The master told hime that he would be fired. Money is good but it is dangerous, I said. Money can enrich our lives but at the same time, money can totally destroy our lives, I said. Greed When this GREED takes over, money is not any more good. Money will not enrich our lives, but it will destroy our lives. When God gave us money to bless our life, he put a warning label and that label is DO NOT BE GREEDY The Scripture clearly warns us, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:10) The love of money – that is greed. It is a root of all kinds of evil. It not only destroys your faith but it will also bring so much pain. Money cannot be mammon. The root word for mammon is money, wealth, profit but also it means to place trust in. The same root word for Amen – let it be so. Picture of Mammon Jesus said, No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:13 KJV) Don't put your trust in money. Put your trust in God. When you look at US currency, this is inscribed. IN GOD, WE TRUST It is like a warning label. We shouldn't put our trust in money, but in God. When we put our trust in money, our greed will take over. When greed takes over our life, money can do harm. There is nothing as powerful as money. That's why money is so attractive. That's why Jesus compared serving God with serving money. The True Value The manager in the parable was greedy. He abused master's money. He also ripped off people too. Instead of properly charging them, he overcharged them to increase his profit. So when his scam was found out, he started reducing the debt people owed to the master. The person who owed 100 jugs of olive oil owed 50 jugs of oil to the master but the manager charged 100 jugs. He collected 50 jugs, which was, 100% profit. But when he was about to be fired, he let go of his portion, not just some of it but his entire income, so that he could get a favour from people once he got fired. By the inevitable situation, he had to be honest and share with others. He was forced to share. He let go of his greed and shared. For his survival. That's why the master commended him for what he did. He learned to share. This is a very important lesson about money. When greed takes over, you want to take and take. When you have that kind of attitude about money, money will do a lot of harm. It will destroy who you are. It will make you a very unhappy person. You will lose

Scripture Passage Exodus 32:7-14 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Stiff-Necked In his conversation with Moses, God refers to the Israelites in a peculiar way. He calls them a STIFF-NECKED people. The Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. (Exodus 32:9) This term comes from an agricultural setting. It was used for animals that would IGNORE the farmer's tug at the reins to turn in a certain direction and instead go where it wanted to go. It refers to an attitude of our mind. If a person was described as being stiff-necked, it meant that they were STUBBORN and REBELLIOUS. In what way was the Israelites stiff-necked? From the context of the passage, it's not so apparent. All they did was to make the golden calf. They didn't make it for no reason. They were afraid. Moses went up to the mountain to speak to God, but showed no sign of coming back. They started to get worried. The longer he was away, they became more impatient. They wondered, Did Moses abandon us? Did God abandon us? Their frustration soon reached its peak. When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. (Exodus 32:1) The Israelites did what seemed best to them. We can only wait so long. They had no idea what else to do. So they made the golden calf. They needed some kind of assurance that they'd be okay. At least the calf was VISIBLE and TANGIBLE. The Wilderness It wasn't the making of the golden calf that made them stiff-necked in God's sight. The calf was no god'. It had no power to do anything. It was what they did with the calf that made them stubborn and rebellious in God's eyes. They WORSHIPED it. They used it as an ANTIDOTE for their fear. Fear of uncertainty; Fear of not knowing their next steps; Fear of survival. The calf gave them a false sense of control and security. It was their means of coping with the wilderness. They were no longer concerned with God or what he had to say to them. With the calf, they only listened to themselves. What grieved and angered God was their REFUSAL to LISTEN. Yes wilderness is a difficult place. We don't choose it willingly. We prefer to avoid it as much as we can. It is a place of CHANGE and TRANSITION where nothing seems certain. Everything is in flux. We are given no guarantee as to when we will come out of it. We are experiencing the wilderness now. September is usually a time of change and transition. Some of us are heading back to school. Some of us are in-between jobs. Some of us are transitioning into the next stage of our lives. This week alone, we witnessed two major events that were unexpected and unsettling for many: tragedy in Saskatchewan, and the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. We are also seeing how the state of economy will affect us financially in the near future. It is an anxious and challenging time to be in. We don't know exactly what to do or how we ought to be. Refusing to Listen When we experience uncertainty, we CLOSE UP. We become RIGID. We stick to what we know. We resort to what is easy, logical, and predictable. We become reactive and controlling. In other words, we REFUSE to LISTEN. We stop engaging with our lives. Sometimes, we aren't even aware of how stubborn we are. Refusing to listen is never the solution for our wilderness. That's what the Israelites learned. They thought they knew their way around. But their stubborn refusal to listen led them circling the desert for 40 YEARS. It was during those 40 years that they learned how to listen. How to DEPEND on God who knows their way. Listening has to be cultivated. It is a DISCIPLINE. To truly listen, is difficult. It requires us to slow down. It makes us set aside what we are doing. It forces us to PAY ATTENTION. In that sense, listening is SPIRITUAL. That's why it's hard for us to listen. It's too tiring to do it well. We find ourselves too BUSY and DIVIDED in our daily life. But as long as we have the desire within us, we can cultivate our listening. That's what the Hi-C students experienced at the retreat. They learned how to listen. On the first day, I took their phones away. Some were NOT happy about it. Their one and only safety net was taken from them. They had nothing to hide behind. They had no one but themselves and each other. They had no choice but to ENGAGE. They looked lost for the first day or two. But they soon started paying attention. They became more IN TUNE and CONNECTED with their surroundings, with each other, and with themselves. Even during worship, they looked more FOCUSED than before. In the span of 3 days alone, I noticed them change. They had more ENERGY. They became more ALIVE. By the last day, they didn't even ask for their phones. Even though they faced an uncertain future, especially coming out of the pandemic, they came bac

Scripture Passage Jeremiah 18:1-11 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Shaped and Molded Being shaped and molded – that's how we become who we are. We are constantly being molded and shaped. Many times, we don't even know how we have come where we are. It just happened. Or we just let it happen. We are not aware of how we have become the kind of person we are. Yes, we were born to be a certain kind of person. I have 5 grandchildren but they are all so different. They were all born differently. Genetically, we have been shaped in a certain way. A lot of our diseases are genetic. Our certain personalities were given at our birth. Look at Jacob in the Bible. He was born to be a fighter. Afterwards his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. (Genesis 25:26) He wanted to come out ahead of his brother. That character brought him a lot of troubles. His character led him to trick his brother to get the birthright. He even tricked his father to get the birthright and ultimately this led him to have to run away from his home. But what shaped us is not just a genetic coding. We are not genetically predetermined, I am saying. Someone said this and it makes sense Various options are pencilled in by our genes, and our life experiences determine which get inked. We have been shaped by the way we have responded to our situations too. You can see that in Jacob. He became the kind of person he was because of his circumstances. Nothing came easily for him. Nothing came on a silver platter. He had to fight to get it. Even his wife, he had to fight to get her. He had to fight to get the riches he deserved. This shaped Jacob to be the person he was. Fighter. Sometimes sly and cunning. But he knew how to fight to win. This applies to us too. You were born to be a kind of person you are. This is how I was born. Whether you like it or not, you can do nothing about it. You can blame your parents all you want, but there is nothing much you can do. Also, you cannot do anything about how you have been shaped. It's already your past. Your circumstances have shaped you to be a kind of person you are. You cannot do anything about the kind of person you have become. Change But the good news is that you can always change. That is the Christian message. We can always change. We can always get better. That's what I believe. That is what freedom is. Do you believe what St. Paul said? I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) If I apply this passage to what I am saying, it is like this. I can change through him who strengthens me. You can change. It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter how capable you are. It doesn't matter what your circumstances may be. You can always change. You can always be better. You can always be the person you want to be. If you don't like the person you have become, you can always change. That is a Christian attitude. Let us not be stuck in where we are. Let us not think that there is nothing much we can do. There is an old gospel song. Change my heart, O God, Make it ever true; Change my heart, O God, May I be like you. You are the Potter, I am the clay; Mold me and make me, This is what I pray. Free From the Burden Everything starts with the change of our heart. It is not our circumstances that have shaped us. It is how we have responded to our circumstances. How we respond has a lot to do with our heart. So, when our heart changes, our response to our circumstances will change too. God gave us freedom. Freedom is not to do whatever you want. Freedom is the power to change. Freedom is to overcome our helplessness. Freedom is to go beyond where we are. Yes, genetic force is strong. Yes, our environmental force is strong. But I believe that your freedom is stronger. I believe that your confidence is stronger. Jacob was born to be a fighter. His circumstances made him a fighter. At the end, he even fought God and tried to win. He wrestled with God. But this time, it was different. In the course of trying to fight God, he changed. Jacob became Israel. Israel means God prevails. We are not helpless with our situations. We are not helpless with what we are born with. We are free to overcome our situations and be the person we want to be. The power to do that. That is the freedom. God is the potter and we are the clay. God knows what we need. God knows what we desire. God knows the struggles we have. God works with us to mold us and shape us. If you keep going back to your helplessness and do nothing about it, then even God cannot do anything about you. Believing in your own power and believing in the power of God are very different. Your heart condition will be very different. Believing in your own power often leads you to devastation. But believing in the power of God leads you always to hope. Those two are very different. You will be molded very differently. If you trust in your own power, it gives you too much pressure. It gives yourse

Scripture Passage Luke 14:1-7-14 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script In or Out In or Out? This is very important to so many people. Nobody wants to be out. Everybody wants to be in. It is not a good feeling to be rejected. Everybody wants to be wanted and welcomed. Even among friends, we get hurt when we feel excluded. One of the greatest headaches in planning the wedding is to decide who to invite and not only that – where to seat them. I think It was the same 2,000 years ago. That's why Jesus used a parable of a wedding banquet. Not only people want to be in but they want to be at the highest place. Jesus said this, knowing what people wanted: do not sit down at the place of honour (Luke 14:8) People measure their worth by how well accepted they are. So people try so hard to be accepted. To feel important. To feel worthy. If that is the measure of your worth, Jesus did not do very well. He was rejected, hated, abandoned, and killed. But Jesus never measured his worth by how well he was accepted. He taught us to do the same. No Significance In today's Scripture passage, Jesus said. Do not invite those who are popular, who are well accepted, who are powerful and who are rich. Invite those who cannot invite you back. Invite those who are not usually invited. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. (Luke 14:13) Invite those who live their entire life, always rejected. That was what Jesus did. He was a friend of tax collectors, sinners, and the sick. He was a friend of those who were socially alienated. His disciples were mostly fishermen. Not important people. Not highly regarded people in their society. They didn't have any social status. Jesus was their friend. And Jesus did his ministry with those who were not that significant in their society. They were nothing in the eyes of powerful people. Jesus said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:31, 32) Jesus did not accept those who were already well accepted. But Jesus accepted those who were rejected. God accepts us not because we are great, not because we do so well. God accepts us even though we have nothing to show for. God accepts us even when we are nobody significant. Humility and Respect Last Thursday, I visited a person at St. Joseph Health Centre. His wife called me to say a prayer for her husband since he is in a critical condition. Probably my last prayer for him. When I visited him, he was barely conscious. He had his eyes closed but not much response. I called his name and there was no response. So I read Psalm 23 and told him that God accepts you not because you are good but because of his grace. Do you believe that? Do you accept God's grace? He was quiet and no response. And all of a sudden, he said, I believe. He passed away yesterday. The way God accepts people teaches us how we should live. Do you want to be around those who are popular, powerful, and well accepted? Or do you identify with those who are rejected and alienated? Do you want to take the spot light? Or do you want to give that spot light to others? Do you want people to listen to you? Or do you let others speak? When we have the attitude of being considerate of those who are rejected and alienated, we will be able to build this community. But when everyone wants to be at the centre of attention, the community will not be able to stand. Respect each other. Respect is a very important virtue of Christians. God respects us. We need to learn to respect others. Regardless of their social status, we need to learn to respect others. Don't judge them just because they are not like you. Don't judge them just because they don't share the same taste as you. Don't judge them just because they are different. Being different is not being deficient. Accept everyone with respect. Speak with respect. Treat others with respect. That's what humility is. Be humble. A Christian Virtue Jesus said, For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 14:11) Humble people cannot be rude. Humble people treat others with respect. Humble people do not judge others in the way they see the world. Humble people are willing to learn to see the world in the way others see the world. So they always grow. Their understanding becomes deeper and broader. Humble people are patient. Proud people always look down and so they cannot see what is above. Humble people always look up and so they can see what is above and go beyond themselves. The desire of humble people is not to prove themselves. The desire of humble people is to learn and grow. That's why humble people are always open. They are confident enough to be able to see their own weaknesses and are willing to grow. Humble people don't need a spot light. Humility is a Christian virtue. Let Us Be Humble When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is w

Scripture Passage Luke 13:10-17 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Bent Over Today we see a woman who was bent over. She was unable to stand up straight. She lived like this for 18 years. Not an easy life. Her life was crooked in a literal sense. She always had to see people sideways, from the corners of her eyes. She couldn't see people straight. Always a sideways glance. That was how she had to see the world. Not only was she bent over physically but her existence became shrunk. It was all shrivelled up. She came into the synagogue after Jesus started teaching. In other words, she was late coming for the worship. Maybe, she sneaked into the service after everyone was gone into the service, hoping that she wouldn't be noticed. She wanted to see this famous healer. Like the woman who touched Jesus' clothes in secret. She could never take for granted what most people took for granted. Even for worship, she could not come freely. Other people could come early and they even had their own seat but not this woman. She had to sneak in. This disease did terrible things to her. It took away confidence, a sense of worth, and a sense of dignity. Actually it was not the disease that did terrible things to her; it was people, it was her society who did terrible things to her. People forced her to live in shame and embarrassment. She might have had many other beautiful qualities as a person. But to people, she was only a bent over woman. Crooked woman! That became her identity. But not to Jesus. To Jesus, she was a precious child of God, a daughter of Abraham. That meant she was a child of God's promise. And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?'(Luke 13:16) How often do we see others in that way? We don't really see people's beautiful qualities. We tend to paint a person by what is obviously visible and obviously negative. Whether by a physical appearance, or by a certain character, or a trait. In that way, people can be very prejudiced and judgmental. Set Free We are conditioned to see people and see the world in that way. As she had to see the world sideways, people are conditioned to see the world in only one way they know. And they think that their way is the only way and the best way. And they judge others who don't see the world in their way. That was what the leader of the synagogue did. He wasn't happy that she was healed. When he saw that this woman who lived a hell like life for 18 years was healed, he wasn't happy. Simply because it happened on the Sabbath. Listen to what he said. There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day. (Luke 13:14) He learned to see the world only in one way. He learned to see life only in one way. He learned to see Sabbath only in one way. And he judged Jesus because Jesus didn't see the world in the way he saw it. That's why he was upset. He didn't even realize how crooked his view was. The purpose of Sabbath is to loose us from the bondage. Loosing us means to set us free from the hands that bind us That was what Jesus said to this woman. And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?'(Luke 13:16) God set apart one day as a special day after creating everything. He set that day apart so that he could sanctify the creation he just created. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2, 3) We all need healing. We all need to be sanctified. The Right Spirit You all deserve to live a good life not necessarily because you are good but because God wants you to live a good life. God did not let you come into this world to live a miserable life. God has blessed you and sanctified you so that you can live a good life. God gave us the Sabbath so that we can live a good life. That's why Jesus healed this woman on Sabbath. Jesus wanted her to live a good life. That's why he loosed her from her bondage on Sabbath. What's wrong with that? But the leader of the synagogue could not see that because his minds were set in one way and he could not see any other way. Only thing he could think about Sabbath was not to work. Not on healing. God wants to heal us. God wants to straighten our existence. This was my inner voice on August 18. It is God who gives you a right spirit. When God gives you the right spirit, your life can be straightened up. It is God who heals the crooked spirit that leads you to a crooked way. Ask God to give you the right spirit. Everything in your life will be straightened up. Jesus gave her the right spirit. Jesus healed her. Jesus straighten up her life. She had a crooked body but who was really crooked? The leader

Scripture Passage Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Through Faith Today's passage is a familiar passage to all of us. It is a passage on FAITH. Hebrews writer paints a grand, sweeping picture of our so-called ancestors' of faith. We come across familiar events and names, like the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. We hear about the great and wonderful things that were done because of faith. And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:32-34) These are triumphant and glorious moments. Achievements that are worth mentioning. Things we ourselves can't even dream of doing. Shutting the mouths of lions? As the Hebrews writer says, the list can go on and on. A ‘Perfect’ Faith We also hear about those who suffered greatly because of faith. Those who were persecuted, tortured, and even killed because of what they believed. Compared to the beautiful and glorious image that we just saw, Hebrews writer also gives us a dark, grim, and violent picture of what the ancestors experienced. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:37-39) When we see this, we can't help but admire the faith of those who came before us. They seem to have had what we'd call a perfect' faith. Great, strong, and unwavering faith. The kind of faith that we don't seem to see much today. We feel that way especially when we think about our parents' and grandparents' generations. The faith we have seem to pale in comparison to the faith that they had. I felt that when we made the documentary last year for our church's 25th anniversary. Our faith seems so small and insignificant next to theirs. We wonder if we could be the kind of witness that they were. We don't think we have that great and perfect faith. In that sense, we can feel both inspired and removed by a passage like this. What does this even mean for us (or me)? Cultivating Hope What we think of as perfect faith does not stand on its own. It does not come to us readymade. It is not only given to special people. That is what I realized. Faith never stands by itself, in isolation. Faith always exists in connection to something else. Behind what we see as perfect faith lies this something that we often do not notice. That is HOPE. Let's look at how the Hebrews writer describes faith. We know this verse very well. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Do you see the connection? Without hope, faith is nothing. Our faith remains lifeless and empty. Hope is what BREAKS OPEN the seed of faith. Hope of what has not yet been realized is what FUELS and SHAPES our faith. The problem is not that we don't have enough faith; It is that we don't have enough hope. When hope dies, faith withers as well. In that sense, life of faith is about CULTIVATING HOPE. Not losing hope, but becoming more and more hopeful. Genuine Hope Hope doesn't always carry a good connotation. Some of us think of hope as kind of being weak. Sort of vague and flimsy in character. We use this expression: HOPE FOR THE BEST Some of us think hope and wishful thinking are the same. We liken it to cheap optimism. We don't see much difference between the two. But I wonder if that really is hope. Does that kind of hope have any power? I don't think so. It doesn't give us any strength. It doesn't change us one bit. It only fosters an attitude of casual indifference. If it happens, it happens if it doesn't, oh well. Kind of apathy that masks our fear of experiencing more hurt and disappointment. Genuine hope is real and powerful. It has the power to heal and move us forward. It has the power to snap us out of our complacency. It moves us to ACTION. Hope is not a theory or an intellectual musing. It brings a radical change within ourselves and in how we live our lives. It makes it possible for us to believe what we thought to be impossible. Hope Against Hope This is the hope that carried our ancestors in their journey. They weren't any more brilliant and special than we are. They were imperfect and ordinary people, just like us. But they were HOPEFUL people. No matter what kind of difficulties or hardship they faced, they did NOT lose their hope. St. Paul said in Romans that Abraham HOPED AGAINST HOPE. In fact, the suffering they experienced made the power of hope even more visible. They lived with this hopeful attitude to the very end. Hope made their faith perfect. Because of their hope, we a

Scripture Passage Luke 12:35-40 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Providing Breakthrough I want to reflect on the word breakthrough It gives me the image of breaking through an obstacle. Overcoming strong resistance. Our stories from the Bible are stories of breakthroughs. They don't take place when life is good. They arise when people's backs are to the wall. When the Israelites fled from Egypt, the Pharaoh sent his chariots racing after them. The Israelites were cornered. The chariots were breathing down them on one side. On the other side was the Red Sea. Despair and panic set in. There was no way out. But God provided the breakthrough they needed. God parted the Red Sea and created an opening for escape. That is the theme of the Bible: God who provides the breakthrough and a way when there seems to be no other way. Jesus came to a people who were desperate for a breakthrough. They were suffering under horrible conditions. All the joy of living had been sapped out. In Jesus they saw the opening of a breakthrough for their lives. Alert and Waiting Today's passage is a message for those who are waiting for a breakthrough in their lives. We need breakthroughs in our lives. Our challenges are so persistent. They never stop. Sometimes we don't even know what our challenges are. But somehow, we feel stuck. Our energy and joy get sapped. One member I spoke to recently is suffering from a health condition. That person said to me: Reverend, I just want this to pass. How can I make this pass? I could hear the despair in their voice. I felt so helpless, because there was nothing I could do. When our challenges seem so great, we want to give up. When there seems to be no solution, we want to throw in the towel. We want to forget. We want to run away. Our temptation is to give up on seeking the breakthrough to our problems and challenges. Jesus said: Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit. (Luke 12:35) Be ready. Be alert. Just like the master that might come back at any moment, be ready for the breakthrough that can come at any moment. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes. (Luke 12:37) Being alert means not giving up. It means being in touch with your problems and not burying them away. It means struggling with them. Bringing our needs to God in prayer every day. Asking God for the strength to endure. If we had the power to solve all of our problems, then we wouldn't need any breakthroughs. We could just solve them logically. We need breakthroughs because our problems are greater than our own resources or power. The Secret Ingredient God promises to bring forth something new. That is God's promise to us. But we usually don't see this breakthrough when we want it. There is always a waiting period. The Israelites waited 40 years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. Abraham waited 25 years before getting a son. The exiles waited 75 years before they could return to Jerusalem. The life of faith is more about waiting than experiencing the actual breakthroughs. In fact, we spend more time waiting rather than experiencing the actual breakthrough. Waiting is not a passive thing. We don't just sit around doing nothing. To keep the house ready, the servants had to maintain it. They had to clean it daily. Have food at the ready each day. Keep it in good repair. Waiting is preparation for the breakthrough. We don't know when this breakthrough will come. But we prepare as if it can come at any moment. Jesus said this: You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Luke 12:40) The coming of the Son of Man was known to Jews as God breaking into history. The idea came about because life had gotten too hard. There was no way they could achieve a breakthrough on their own. God himself had to intervene. If we are not ready, we may miss the breakthrough that comes. The longer our problems remain with us, the easier it is to give up. We don't believe a breakthrough will come. We lose sight of the desired breakthrough. At the Pool of Bethsaida, Jesus came across a man who had been ill for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be made well? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me. (John 5:6-7) Jesus asked a simple question: do you want to be made well? He was not ready to answer that simple question. He did not know what he wanted anymore. Instead of saying yes , he went on to list all the reasons why he couldn't be made well. He had fallen asleep in his despair. He did not see the breakthrough at hand. Waiting for the breakthrough is the most important stage of faith. It is when faith becomes real. We say I will believe if I see it . Faith is not formed after the breakthrough. Faith is formed while waiting for the breakthrough. Waiting is th

Scripture Passage Luke 12:13-21 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Fool Jesus called the rich man a fool. Why was he foolish? He didn't call him a bad man or an evil man, but a foolish man. His land produced abundantly. He worked hard. He did not cheat anyone. He did not exploit others to do so. He was a person that many of us would respect. When the land produced more than his barns could store, he did what any prudent investor would do. He tore down the old barns and built up bigger ones. Then he wanted to relax and enjoy life. Didn't he deserve to enjoy the fruits of his labour? Some of you are nearing retirement, and you're making sure that there is indeed enough stored up to enjoy for many years to come. I don't think there's anything foolish in that. It is not the fact that he was rich, or the fact that he wanted to enjoy the wealth he had accumulated that made him foolish. Working hard, being successful, and wanting to enjoy the fruits of those labours is not foolish. Many of you have had to work very hard to support yourself and your families. It is not an easy thing to do. Jesus was pointing to something deeper. What made the rich man foolish was that he thought enjoying his accumulated wealth was the ultimate measure of life. That there was nothing more to life than that. Isn't that what many people believe about life? Make money. Relax, eat, drink and be merry. Yes, money enables us to do that. And it is an amazing thing to do this. Human beings need to relax. We need to enjoy food and drink with friends and family. That's what summer picnics, holiday gatherings and barbeques are all about. This is the kind of fellowship we missed so dearly when things were locked down during the peak of the pandemic, and those are times we hope to never go back to. The Great Folly The man was not foolish because he enjoyed the good life that money brought him. He was foolish because he believed that his money made other problems go away. Money certainly makes many things in life easier. It can solve many problems and make things go more smoothly. You'll be able to do more things for your body and health. You'll be able to have a better house. Better education. More access to things that will enhance your skills and abilities. If you have enough money, you should be very thankful and feel blessed. But money cannot solve all of life's problems. Money will improve your outer circumstances, but it cannot improve the matters of your soul – your inner being. That was the great folly of the rich man. This is what he says: Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. (Luke 12:19) He is telling his soul to relax because of the wealth he had stored up. What folly! The soul is the seat of the person. It is the innermost being of the person. He was foolish because he was equating his outer circumstances with his inner person. His wealth somehow made him an expert in the soul. That shows spiritual arrogance. We may say that money can't buy happiness. But our actions prove otherwise. We believe that if we have an abundance of money, then we shouldn't complain about anything else. That we should be thankful. That all should be well. It's as though having money should make our souls well. Money has replaced God as the healer of our souls. Money has replaced God as the destination the soul strives for. Sick Souls We sing the song: As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you. But in reality, this world has made our souls long after the things that money can buy. No wonder our souls are sick! Our souls have been going after the wrong thing. We've been feeding our souls the wrong medicine. The body needs the food that money can buy, but our souls need God and the spiritual things that flow from God. Money can make our lives much easier and more comfortable, but it can never give rest for our souls. So yes, it is good to enjoy our abundance, but let us never fool ourselves into thinking that it will give rest for our souls. St. Augustine wrote this: You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You. (St. Augustine) Only God can bring us rest for our souls. A famous hymn starts like this: When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well with my soul What prompted the writer to write these powerful words? This hymn was written by Horatio Spatford. He had been a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago. But tragedy and trauma hit his life. His four-year old son died. Then the great Chicago Fire of 1871 ruined him financially. Things only got worse with an economic downturn two years later. He sent the rest of his family ahead to England to be with family while he stayed behind to deal with his failing business matters. En route, the ship sunk, and all four of his daughters died, leaving only his wife as the remaining survivor of his family

Scripture Passage Luke 11:1-13 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Thirst We all know that prayer is important. Without prayer, our spiritual life will become dry. With prayer, we will be able to overcome our worries and anxieties. Through prayer, our faith will grow and we can live a more meaningful and confident life. Prayer is so important and so good. God gave us this precious gift to take care of us. Then what is prayer? Many people think of prayer merely as one of religious activities. To them, prayer is simply what they do. When we look at prayer simply as what we do, we won't be able to see the fruit of our prayers. Prayer is not just what we do or what we say. Just because you are not articulate, that doesn't mean that you don't know how to pray. Prayer is for everyone. Prayer is not limited to just few devout people. Anyone can pray. You can get so much help through your prayer. TO ME, PRAYER IS DESIRE. Prayer is my soul's desire. It is my desire to know God. It is my desire to live. As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. (Psalm 42:1, 2) This is what prayer is. Longing, Thirsting. The Psalmist knew very well what prayer was. The more desire you have for God, the stronger your prayer becomes. This desire should be pure and beautiful. You don't need to brag about yourself. You don't need to show off yourself. You don't need to display yourself. You just need to pour out what's in your heart in as the simplest way as possible. That's what prayer is. Outpouring Desire In that sense, the prayer of a tax collector was a better prayer than the prayer of a Pharisee. The Pharisee prayed like this. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income. (Luke 18:11, 12) But the tax collector prayed like this. But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (Luke 18:13) Who poured out his heart? It was the tax collector. In that sense, the prayer of the tax collector was a better prayer than the prayer of the Pharisee. It was much shorter and simpler. But he said what was in his heart. Jesus at the end said this. I tell you, this man (tax collector) went down to his home justified rather than the other (Luke 18:14) The disciples saw Jesus' prayer, and they saw something different from the ritualistic prayer that they were used to. They saw Jesus pouring out his heart to God. It was beautiful. So they wanted to learn how to pray. He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11:1) Outpouring of our desire before God – that is prayer. Our desire is invisible. But when it is expressed, it becomes prayer. Prayer is the visible form of the invisible desire. Desperation There is DESPERATENESS in prayer. Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, (Luke 11:5) He went to his friend at midnight – How desperate he must have been to go to his friends' house at midnight, knowing that it was an imposition on your friend. Jesus showed the desperateness of prayer through this story. Prayer is not just our desire; it is our desperate desire. We pray, because we are desperate. We are so desperate that we cannot give up. Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. (Luke 11:9) The actual meaning of the sentence is, Ask and keep on asking Search and keep on searching Knock and keep on knocking That is what desperate people do. They don't give up. They are persistent. Because they have no other option. Desperate Prayers Last Thursday, I went to Danielle's wedding rehearsal. Danielle's father asked me how my daughter was. He was a former member of TKPC where I used to work. He remembered the whole church praying for her. My daughter Grace was a miracle baby. The doctor said she had only 10% chance to live when she was born. I basically lived in a chapel at the Women's College hospital. My prayer at that time was pure desperateness. My desperate desire. I had no other option. That is what prayer is. You want to learn to pray? The first thing you need to learn is to cultivate this desperate desire. This desire is pure and beautiful. Our basic human desire is expressed. I want to be healed. I want this suffering to go away. I want my child to survive. I want to live. Last week, I got a phone call from a member who felt desperate about her daughter. I prayed for her and her daughter. And another person called. She desperately asked me to pray for her. I prayed for them. I pray that God may answer their desperate prayers. And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, let

Scripture Passage Galatians 6:7-9 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Life’s Simple Truth Life is about sowing and reaping. If you sow what is good, you will reap what is good. If you sow what is not so good, you will reap disaster. If you sow potato, you will reap potato. If you sow tomato, you will reap tomato. From pear tree, you cannot expect apples. That was what Jesus said. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. (Matthew 7:16-18) It is life's simple truth. That was what St. Paul said in today's passage. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:8) It's like you have the flesh and the Spirit within you. They are like fields. If you sow to the field of the flesh, you will reap corruption. But if you sow to the field of the Spirit, you will reap eternal life. He said, your own flesh. He did not mean your body or your bodily desire. Your own flesh means your sinful desires. That's how St. Paul uses the word, Flesh. If you follow your sinful desires, you will reap corruption. Don't follow hatred, anger, jealousy, greed, guilt, selfishness, and self-righteousness. You will become very unhappy. They will take away joy out of you. Sowing to the Spirit Sow to the Spirit. Cultivate your spiritual life. Sow what is good. Trust, Forgive, Humility, Love, Hope, and do what is good – these are all sowing to the Spirit. Your life will change. You will be filled with joy. Your life will be full of meaningfulness. Everything you do, you will find tremendous joy in it. Life becomes worth living. Be in touch with the Spirit. Understand how the Spirit guides you. When you are in tune with the Spirit, you will be able to see the guidance of the Spirit. Follow that. Don't expect the result when you don't put in any effort. Don't build your life on luck or fortune. Don't expect a healthy body when you don't eat good food, when you don't exercise, and when you abuse your body. In the same way, don't expect to be spiritual when you don't do anything to sow to the Spirit. So if you want to be spiritual, then do something about it. Don't deceive yourself, thinking that you can be spiritual, doing nothing. St. Paul said this. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. (Galatians 6:7) I want to reap the eternal life. I want to understand the eternal life. I want to feel the eternal life. I want to have the assurance of the eternal life. I don't want to know the eternal life as a vague theory or formula. If you believe in Jesus, you have the eternal life. That is true, but I don't want to know it as a formula. I want to taste it, feel it, and live it. Then I have to sow to the Spirit. Because St. Paul said so. If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life. Sow in Tears Sowing to the Spirit is a DISCIPLINE. Sowing to the Spirit can be a hard practice. But you will see the good result. As I said at the retreat, YoYoMa who is probably one of the greatest cellist now still practices scales every day. When I see elite athletes, I am inspired because they do things so smoothly and easily. But behind it, there was hard labour and many tears for their failures. You don't become elite athletes just like that. They all have routines. They control what they eat. They discipline themselves to have a good sleep. They know that they will reap what they sow. Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer has his daily routine. He wakes up at 4 in the morning and writes. He does that every day. He said. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it's a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind. Nothing comes easily. What you sow, you reap. Sow a good thought, you will reap a good act. Sow a good act, you will reap a good habit. Sow a good habit, you will reap a good character. Sow a good character, you will reap a good destiny. That was what one old English novelist Charles Reade said. Sow a good seed, you will reap a good fruit. This is what St. Paul said in his letter to Philippians. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8) Sowing can be painful. So when you sow, you sow in tears but there will be a time when you will reap with joy. God Will Bring Good Fruits Psalmist eloquently said this truth. May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves. (Psalm 126:5, 6) Lastly, you may sometimes wonder whether your good work will come to fruition

Scripture Passage Proverbs 8:22-31 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Wisdom in the Darkness In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1, 2) This is a familiar image we have about creation. Before God created the heavens and the earth, there was nothing but a formless void and darkness. Empty and dark: That was what was like before creation. But today's passage tells us something else. There was something else, something more than emptiness and darkness. There was wisdom. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. (Proverbs 8:23) This I' is the Wisdom. When you read the whole chapter, you will see that. There was wisdom right from the beginning before the creation of the world. Wisdom has been all along in this world. The world was created by this wisdom and therefore, the world is permeated with wisdom. So wisdom is all around you. Pursuing Wisdom You know what! Happiness is finding this wisdom that is in the world. Our journey is a journey to find this wisdom. Pursue this wisdom and find this wisdom. That will make you happy. We call human beings Homo sapiens in Latin. It means wise human. Yes, that's who we are. We are creatures that are imbued with wisdom. We are characterized by wisdom. We are creatures that are made to pursue this wisdom. We need to search for it to live a meaningful life. Proverbs said, seek it (wisdom) like silver, and search for it (wisdom) as for hidden treasures. Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:4, 5) When you pursue wisdom, it will ultimately take you to the knowledge of God. What You Need to Hear Life is complex. People are complex. To deal with complexity of life, we need wisdom. To understand the depth of life, we need wisdom. To have deeper joy of life, we need wisdom. To live a meaningful life, we need wisdom. When you have wisdom, not only it helps you but you can also help so many people with the wisdom you have. The community that is filled with wise people is the blessed community. One thing great about wisdom is – you cannot abuse it or misuse it or have it too much. Money – if you have too much, it can corrupt you. Intelligence – you can misuse it for bad things or you can use it to make fun of those who are less smart than you and take advantage of them. But wisdom – you can never abuse it or misuse it or have it too much. It is always good for you. So in that sense, wisdom is not just intelligence or knowledge. Just because you know the Bible a lot, it doesn't mean that you will become wise. There are thousands of good advices in the Bible but what is the advice you need to hear right now at this point of your life? Knowing that is the wisdom. We all know the famous Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. The wisdom is to know whether your situation is what you can change or what you cannot change. Without wisdom, a good advice cannot be a good advice. If you have wisdom, so many good teachings in the Bible will benefit you tremendously. Those words will become like treasures. But if you don't have wisdom, the Bible can be a dangerous book. You cannot just randomly choose a passage in the Bible and follow it. Long time ago, I heard this story. It's kind of a funny made-up story. It's funny but it gives us an important lesson. There was a person who was struggling to deal with his complex problems. He didn't know what to do with his life. So he wanted to get wisdom from the Bible. But he didn't know how to read the Bible or what to look for. So he just opened the Bible with closed eyes and whatever came to his eyes, he read it. It was this. Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he (Judas) went and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:5) No, this is not it. So, he tried again. And this he got this passage. Do quickly what you are going to do. (John 13:27) You cannot just choose advices randomly from the Bible. You have to know exactly what you NEED to hear, not what you WANT to hear. That's wisdom. Knowing the Difference The writer of Ecclesiastes said this, (There is) a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:6, 7) Knowing whether it is a time to seek or a time to lose, a time to keep or a time to throw away, a time to tear or a time to sew, a time to keep silence or a time to speak – that is the wisdom. It is really hard to know what time it is. We all know so many good advices but to know what is really needed is hard. So when it comes to wisdom, we have to be quite humble. Humility is to know that we are not that wise. Many wise p

Scripture Passage Romans 8:14-17 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script A Strong Anchor It is important to have an anchor in life. What is the anchor? The anchor is what holds us together no matter how strong the wind may be. A boat with a strong anchor will not be drifted away even though there is a strong wind. In the same way, when we have a strong anchor in life, we will not be drifted away when life's storms hit us. Last week, I received very difficult phone calls from all kinds of people. A person who just discovered she had cancer. A person whose marriage almost ended. A person who has a serious issue with her child. It all happened in one week. Life is not easy. Our circumstances are not always good and stable. I prayed for them. Do you know what I prayed for? Of course, I prayed for their problems to be resolved. But I also I prayed that they may have a strong anchor. I don't know how they are gonna handle all these problems they are facing right now. I felt for them. They need an anchor. What is the anchor in your life? What is one thing that holds your life together? For me, the anchor that holds my life together is the fact that I am a child of God. Whenever I face problems, I remind myself that I am a child of God. Yes, that is our anchor. You are a precious daughter of God. You are a precious son of God. Abba God will never give up his children like no parents will give up their child. That was what Isaiah saw. But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.' Can a woman forget her nursing-child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. (Isaiah 49:14, 15) God will never forget his precious child. That was what St. Paul realized in his life. When we cry, Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are CHILDREN OF GOD (Romans 8:15, 16) Abba is an Aramaic word and it means father. When you call father in a very intimate way, you use Abba. It's like daddy, , Papa. But it's more than that. Only three times, you see this expression in the New Testament. Here, and Galatians, and Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane in Mark. He said, Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.' (Mark 14:36) So it is an intimate way of calling a father but not a childish way of calling a father. Behind calling God as Abba, there is deep spirituality of total dependence. It is like a helpless child calling out her parents, totally depending on them. That was how Jesus used Abba. He had his own wishes but he left his life totally in God's hands. The Spirit Cries Out It is a desperate child calling out the father. St. Paul used this expression. When we CRY Abba Father.'(Romans 8:15) It's like crying out from suffering, crying out for God's helping hands. There is somebody TO WHOM we can cry out. You know what? When we cry out, the SPIRIT also CRIES OUT for us. You are not alone. The Spirit is with you. Recognizing that the Spirit is with you is the beginning of spiritual life. The Spirit cries out with you when you cry out. A little later in the same chapter, Paul talks about what the Spirit does more specifically within you He said this. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26, 27) The Spirit cries out when you cry out. When we feel helpless, the Spirit helps us. When we don't know how to pray, the Spirit prays for us. WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO PRAY - this does not mean that we don't know mechanically how to pray. It means we are so deeply saddened, so overwhelmed by our problems, so helpless that we don't even know how to pray. When we see no way out, when the darkness is too dark, and when we see no future, so we don't even know where to start, that is when we don't know how to pray. That is what St. Paul is talking about. Life With The Spirit When we have no strength left in us even to pray, the only thing that comes out of our mouth is sigh. Karl Marx was not very favourable with the religion. He said that religion is the opium of the people. But he also said right after that, religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature. Yes, he saw it right. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature. Sometimes what comes out of our mouth is not prayer but only sigh. You know what? The Spirit feels our sigh and the Spirit prays for us with sighs too deep for words. The Spirit feels as we feel because we are God's precious child. That's what the parents do. They feel the pain their children feel. The Spirit says, I hear you. I hear your sigh. That's what the Spirit does: the affirmation that we are the child of God. When the Spirit came down on Jesus, that was what the Spirit did. And just as h

Scripture Passage Acts 16:16-34 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Culture in Christianity When you go to Europe, you will see so many beautiful churches and cathedrals. Their culture has been totally rooted and entrenched in Christianity. So many famous artists produced their master pieces with Christian ideas. So many genius musicians composed beautiful music with Christian themes. So many brilliant writers wrote wonderful books about spiritual ideas Jesus taught. Christianity has influenced the whole Europe. Politics, culture, art, architecture, and lifestyle. Do you know where it all started? It was at Philippi. It all began from Philippi. We read the story today. This story was the beginning of European mission. Philippi was the first city in Europe to receive Jesus' teaching through Paul. The entrance gate for the Europe mission. It was Paul, Silas, Luke, and Timothy who started the mission to Europe. The very first European Christian was a woman and her name was Lydia. She was a business woman. Paul did not plan to go to Philippi originally. He had somewhere else in mind. But the Spirit prohibited him from going to a place he wanted to go. And instead, the Spirit sent him to Philippi. In fact, Paul was sick and he couldn't go where he wanted to go. He had to go to Troas because there were hospitals. And there he met Luke. He was a doctor and also he was the author of this book, Acts. From there, Luke joined Paul to go to Philippi. That's why Luke is using the word we . Because he was there too. We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. (Acts 16:11, 12) Luke stayed on in Philippi and Paul went to Thessalonica. Luke used they instead of we . After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. (Acts 17:1) Luke saw all this as the work of the Holy Spirit. That was how Luke saw his life. There may be visible reasons why we did this or did not do that in our lives. Why you chose to go to that school. Why you chose that job. You may have human reasons to do that. Obvious, Visible Reasons! But behind it all, there is the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul was sick and that's why he couldn't go where he wanted to go but instead, he went to Troas. But Luke saw it as the Spirit blocking him from going to where he wanted to go and sent him instead to Troas. That's why Paul went to Philippi and Luke joined him. I agree with the way Luke saw what was going on in his life. The Work of The Spirit Behind what we do, there is the Holy Spirit who is working. We don't understand everything but in retrospect, we will be able to see some of it, not all of it. St. Paul had the same attitude. St. Paul believed that the Holy Spirit was working behind what he was doing. That is the power. That gave Paul joy. Knowing that the Holy Spirit was working behind him gave him joy. He had this joy when he was at Philippi. Whenever he was thinking about people at Philippi, he was filled with this joy. Later when he wrote a letter, thinking about people at Philippi, this was what he said. I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:3-6) Paul never imagined what he was doing at Philippi would be the beginning of occupying the whole Europe. A small thing he started became so big. Paul didn't know that what he was doing was that important. But he had confidence that the one who began a good work among them would bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. That is the power of the work of the Spirit That was exactly what Jesus said. He said therefore, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.'(Luke 13:18-19) He believed that behind everything he did, there was God and he would make everything beautiful. This belief gave Paul joy. Singing in the Darkness Mission at Philippi wasn't easy in the beginning. The first thing that happened to Paul was injustice, flogging, and imprisonment. He experienced racism there. Anti-semitism. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews (Acts 16:20) He was arrested unjustly and flogged unlawfully. He was probably whipped 39 lashes. In other letters, Paul said he was whipped 5 times of 39 lashes. A typical whip had several strands of leather and at the end, there was either a bone or metal attatched. So you don't get just bruises but your skin becomes ripped apa

Scripture Passage John 5:1-9 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Beth-zatha Beth-zatha! Its meaning is house of mercy. But it wasn't really a merciful place. The pool had the reputation of healing people. That's why there were a lot of sick people. In these lay many invalids blind, lame, and paralysed. (John 5:3) Once in a while, an angel would come to the pool and stir up the water and if you went into the pool when the water was stirred up, you would be healed. But there was a condition. Only the first person who entered into the pool when the water was stirred up, would be healed. Imagine what would happen when the water was stirred up. Imagine how they lived their lives there. How they had treated each other every day. They could not be friends. They were competitors. It was not a merciful place. Only the best of the best could benefit the healing. Only one person who was the fastest could get the reward of healing. Is that mercy? Mercy – It is hard to understand the concept because we don't see it often around us. You deserve what you get – that is much more around us and more understandable. If you work hard, you will get a reward. If you are the best, you deserve the honour. If you are bad, you should get punished. We all live in Beth-zatha. To be healed, you have to be the best. To be happy, you have to be the best. To be loved, you have to be the best. The Best This creates tremendous pressure, stress, disappointment, anger, and hopelessness. We can see this hopelessness in the man who had been sick for 38 years. 38 years is a long time. It is how long Israelites wandered in the wilderness. And the length of time we had travelled from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of warriors had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn concerning them. (Deuteronomy 2:14) For 38 years, this man lived with the mentality of Beth-zatha. He continuously repeated to himself that he could never be the best. That meant he could never be healed. And he could never be happy. He was obsessed with being the best or the fastest. So, when Jesus asked this very simple question, he couldn't answer him. Jesus asked him, Do you want to be made well? It is a strange question to the man who had been sick for 38 years. Of course, he wanted to be made well. But this man could not even answer this simple question of Jesus. He couldn't say, Yes, I want to be made well. Instead he said, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me. (John 5:7) In his mind, he was thinking, What is the use of wanting to be made well? I cannot beat others. I can't be the best. I cannot go into the pool before other people. He didn't understand the concept of mercy. To him, being made well meant being the best. That's all. There was nothing else. And he could not be the best. Ask yourself. Do you have to be the best to be happy? Do you have to be the best to be healed? Mercy From God Sometimes, we think of our faith in that way too. We think faith is the condition for God's love. Didn't God love us even before we believed in him? Faith is not our condition for God's love but our response to God's UNCONDITIONAL love. Why does God love me when I haven't done anything that deserves that love? That is the beginning of having faith. That was what Paul discovered. Pure mercy of God. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6) But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Unless we understand God's mercy, we won't understand the joy of life. Joy of life does not come from being the best. THAT'S AN ILLUSION. Joy of life comes from experiencing this mercy. This mercy comes from God. When we live day by day, experiencing the mercies of people, and mercies of life, you become very happy. Our life is full of mercy. Salvation comes from experiencing the mercy of God and mercy of life. This is what Jesus said. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. (Luke 6:32-35) Then at the end, he said this. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36) He said that life is full of mercy. Good life is life of being merciful. Jesus wants us to live a merciful life. As you have received the mercy from God, be merciful to each other. Remember God’s Mercy This man who had been sick for 38 years experienced Jesus' mercy. He didn't

Scripture Passage Acts 11:1-18 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script What Peter Saw It is a very interesting story and a weird story. Many of you may not even understand what the issue is here. What's with these animals and eating them? Why was Peter so reluctant to eat them? There are a lot of questions to be answered. It is hard to make sense of this story unless you understand the culture of that time, 2000 years ago. But I won't go there. Peter was praying and he had this weird experience. I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. (Acts 11:5-6) I don't know exactly how Peter saw this. Was it a dream? Did he fall asleep while praying? Or did he have some kind of supernatural vision? We don't know. But that was what he saw. Not only he saw this wonderful vision but he also heard a voice and the voice said to Peter, Get up, Peter; kill and eat. (Acts 11:7) Peter protested, By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth. (Acts 11:8) Peter was very reluctant. Because all his life he believed that these foods were unclean and so he didn't eat them. But the voice told him to eat. This voice was supposed to be the voice of God. That was hard to take for Peter. The voice not only told Peter to eat it but it also said, What God has made clean, you must not call profane. (Acts 11:9) This happened three times. So it was quite clear to Peter. It wasn't what Peter misheard. It was a clear message. Peter’s Prayer One thing I learn about what prayer does from this story. Prayer does not affirm what you are thinking. Prayer changes what you are thinking. Many people use prayer to give themselves absolute affirmation for what they already want and what they already know. To them, prayer is affirmation of who they are, what they believe, and what they firmly hold unto. Through prayer, they don't change. They become more of their old self. But Peter's prayer was not like that. In prayer, Peter's old belief was challenged. What he believed about what was clean and what was not clean was challenged. His attitude, his perspective, and his belief were all changed because of his prayer. Because he met God who was greater than himself. That is what true prayer is like. If prayer is simply to affirm what you already know and what you already believe, then it can be dangerous. What was just your personal opinions before prayer becomes divinely ordained absolute truth after prayer. Your personal opinions become God's will through prayer. That's dangerous. Peter's prayer was very different from that kind of prayer. Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane was the same. What Jesus wanted was not affirmed. What he wanted was not granted. Jesus knew clearly the difference between his personal desire and God's desire for him. That's spiritual maturity. St. Paul's prayer was like that too. Once St. Paul prayed because he had thorn in his flesh. We don't know exactly what that thorn was. But it tormented him. It hindered not only his ministry but also his life. He prayed to God three times. Again three times. He prayed that God might remove these thorns. But God didn't. What he wanted, he didn't get through prayer. He knew clearly what he wanted and what God wanted. That is spiritual maturity. Affirmation and Spirituality God did not remove the thorns but instead, God gave him this great insight. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) I know we have this tremendous desire to be affirmed. That desire is our idol. We have to be right. We have to be correct. We have to be righteous. We have to be considered as good and perfect. People will do anything to prove this. Of course, people's context will be very different and so in a different context, people will use different ways to affirm that they are great. In the job, going up the ladder will affirm who you are. In a religious circle, being kind and being good will affirm who you are. In an academic field, being smart will affirm who you are. Being spiritual does not necessarily affirm who you are in that way. When you are spiritual, instead of being affirmed, often you will encounter your own prejudice and narrow mindedness. You encounter your own limitedness. You are exposed to your raw self when you are spiritual. God exposes you in this way not to let you down, not to criticize you and make you feel worthless. God does that to expand your life. To expand your vision. To let you see greater truth. God does that to make you grow. God does that because he has a vision bigger than you. In this sense, being spiritual is difficult. It makes you go where you never went before. It challenges you to change who you have been. It forces you to see who you really are but also chal

Scripture Passage Revelation 7:9-17 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script John’s Vision The passage we read is a beautiful vision of the future. Multitudes from all the nations worshiping God together. No more hunger or thirst. Every tear wiped away. What a vision! But this vision was far from the reality of the community that this letter was addressed to. John, the writer of Revelation, was writing to people going through great difficulties. They were under great pressure. They faced persecution because of their faith. They were weak and powerless politically, socially and economically. The world they lived in, the world as it was, was not a world that was favourable for them. In these undesirable circumstances, John had this vision of a very different future. It was so different from their present reality. It was a vision of faith. This is where I realized: faith is a vision for a different future. Faith is having a vision and belief that this future can come into being. The Hebrews writer said this: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Many people in John's communities were starting to give up on this dream. They were starting to lose faith. Life as it was seemed too entrenched, too powerful. They started to orient their lives toward life as it was, not on the future that God would bring. They began adjusting and adapting to life as it was, even if it wasn't really what they wanted. John shared his revelation so that they would continue on in faith. To not give up. To hold firm. Faith In a New Future On this Mother's Day, I think of many of our parents, the 1st generation of immigrants to Canada. After experiencing war and poverty, the future they wanted was different from the present they knew. Coming to Canada was an act of faith: faith in a new future. This faith gave them tremendous energy. Starting with nothing, they worked day and night to get established and settled in this new land. Their energy and desire for a different future left them very open to faith in God. They welcomed God to usher in this new future they desired. Their faith led them to sacrifice tremendously for the church. I mean, think about it: they're working at their store from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week. But still, they managed to go to church every Sunday. I look back now with amazement how I went to church pretty every Sunday without fail. Not only that, they gave so much and so generously. They were not rich or wealthy. But they gave so much (time, money, energy) to build the churches we enjoy today. As I think about them I realize this: when you have faith in a new future, it gives you great energy, and you make great sacrifices to bring that future about. They had faith, and from that faith came sacrifice. John saw a clear picture of this new future. At the end of Revelation, he describes what this looks like: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:1-2) He was imploring his communities to hold fast in faith for this future that God would bring. It was a cry for them to keep the faith. The Faith of The Next Generation A common question in our churches today is: where is the faith of the next generation? We see young people leave our churches and leave the faith. This has been the concern of many 1st generations. If you probe deeply enough, I think the question that comes is: why do I need faith? That is really the reason so many have left our churches and the faith. I mean, the 1st generation needed faith. They yearned for this new future, but knew that on their own they were weak and powerless. They had experienced their powerlessness as a nation in the face of the great global powers. They welcomed God's help. But times have changed, and we don't have the same yearnings that they had. Their wishes came true, and we live quite abundantly now. Here's the simple truth: if you are content with your present life, your present situation, and life as it is, then you don't need faith. If your goal is to simply adapt to life as it is, to plug into the world as it is, then you don't need faith. All you need is effort, smarts and good luck. The thing is, I think most people know that all is not right. Even in the midst of our abundance, we feel that things are not all right. We know the problems. We know that things need to change. I don't think people want to simply plug into the world as it is. The problem is, they don't have faith. They don't have faith in institutions and leaders. They don't have faith that anything will change. And also, in this complex and confusing world we live in, people don't have a clear picture of the future they desire. And so people fall into despair or resign themselves to the world as it is. I believe that each gener

Scripture Passage John 21:1-19 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Peter’s Pain Jesus asked Peter, Do you love me? Why did he ask this question? He could have said many other things but he asked only this one question three times. We automatically assume that he asked this question because Peter denied Jesus. Definitely, this must have been in Peter's mind. He connected Jesus' question with his denial. So when Jesus asked him the same question three times, Peter was hurt. He said to him the third time, Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, Do you love me?' (John 21:17) This question was a very difficult question to answer for Peter. A very uncomfortable question. He must have asked himself this question numerous times. Do I really love Jesus? If I do, how could I deny him, not just once but three times? What a coward that I am! Peter was going through a painful time. Deep sorrow and deep regret! When Jesus said, everyone will become a deserter, Peter said I will never. Even though all become deserters, I will not. (Mark 14:29) But Peter realized that these were just empty words that carried no weight. He realized he was too weak. He was filled with fear. That's why he deserted Jesus. So when Peter heard this question, Do you love me? , he automatically connected that with his denial. BUT JESUS WAS DIFFERENT. Peter might have thought of it that way but Jesus' thinking was different from Peter's. His mind was not on Peter's denial. Jesus didn't even mention about Peter's denial. Jesus was not concerned about what Peter did to him in the past but he cared about how Peter would take his future. Jesus' mind was not focused on Peter' past but on his future. Every time Jesus asked Peter, Do you love me? , at the end, what did Jesus say? “Feed my lamb , Tend my sheep , and Feed my sheep. Jesus was very focused not on what Peter did but on what Peter would do. Jesus came to Peter not only to forgive what he did but also to restore his calling and prepare him for the future. What Peter needed was not just to feel better. What Peter needed was not just comfort. What Peter needed was to pull himself out of a rut he was in. Peter was too sad to think about his future. He was too heart-broken to move on. He became stuck in his past. Look at what he did! He went fishing. When he first met Jesus and followed Jesus, he left the net and followed Jesus. But now, he picked up the net that he left and went back to fishing. This whole scene was like the first time, when they met Jesus the first time. They fished all night but they caught nothing. And Jesus told them to cast the net to the right side of the boat and they caught so many fish. Jesus knew that Peter was stuck in his past because of his guilt. Peter was disillusioned about himself. Jesus wanted to take Peter out of a snare of his past. Move Forward You know what happened in the past does not stay in the past. Just because time went by, what happened in the past does not pass by. It still affects us. Especially, our painful past does not just stay in the past. It pulls us back into the rut. It is like a black hole. It pulls us back into the dark hole. People who suffer from PTSD still live in the fear of their past. They can never let go of their past and move on. There are people who still live with guilt, anger, and disappointment because of what happened in the past. Their past holds them back. They can't go forward. We have to go forward. Not because we did everything well in the past. We have a lot of regrets. We have a lot of mistakes that we made. But we cannot get stuck in the rut. This is what St. Paul said Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14) St. Paul also committed terrible sins against Jesus. He persecuted those who followed Jesus. Jesus appeared to Saul and said, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' (Acts 9:4) He wanted to destroy Jesus' movement. He persecuted the church. But after meeting Christ, he realized how sinful he was. He regretted what he did. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 15:9) But he didn't get stuck in the past. Forgetting what lied behind, he pressed on. He moved on forward. That was what Jesus wanted Peter to do. Jesus wanted Peter to move on forward. The Future Many of us think that Jesus asked him the same question three times because Peter denied Jesus three times. Maybe. Definitely, Peter might have heard it that way. But I see another reason. Jesus had hard time to say what he had to say to Peter about his future. It's all about Peter's future, not his past. Jesus had to tell him how he would die. It was not easy for Jesus to tell him what the future held for him. So

Scripture Passage John 20:19-31 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Honesty Thomas said, Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe. (John 20:25) He was very specific. He knew exactly the condition for his belief. He demanded this condition to be met before he said he would believe. Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was resurrected. Unfortunately, Thomas wasn't there. The other disciples told him that they saw the Lord. But that wasn't enough for Thomas. He needed to see Jesus with his own eyes. He needed to feel him with his own hands. I can understand how he felt. He could not pretend that he believed when he did not have this conviction. He was honest. I think there is a lesson for us to learn. Honesty is the first step of faith. Honesty is where our spiritual journey begins. Fake Faith Faith is not something you can fake. Faith is not something you can pretend to have. What is the use of it even if you fake it? For whom? Fake faith will not give you peace and confidence. Counterfeit bills may have the same benefits and power as the real bills but not counterfeit faith. Last week, one of ESM members told me that what I said about hope rang true to him. Hope in a good situation is not really hope. And he asked me about hope without action. Is it real hope if it doesn't lead to action? I told him, if it is real hope, it would lead to action. Hope and action are not two separate things. They are connected. One and the same. Faith is the same thing. If it is a real faith, it will give you peace and confidence. Fake faith will not be able to give you that. Thomas could not fake it. He was honest. He showed us a good example of finding faith. Because of Thomas' honesty, he was able to meet Jesus again and see him. His honesty brought back the resurrected Jesus again. Just for Thomas, Jesus came again. Struggle We realize that Jesus will never leave us alone in our struggles. That's what I believe. God never leaves us alone in our struggles. That was what Jesus promised. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. (John 14:18) God wants you to honestly struggle with your questions and even doubts. He would not rebuke you for that. He would not leave you alone as you struggle with your doubts. He would be there and reveal himself to you. That was what Jesus did to Thomas. Jesus knew Thomas' struggle. He knew Thomas' doubt. He did not abandon him. He rather revealed himself to Thomas. When you honestly seek God, God will show himself to you. Yes, that's all you need. HONEST STRUGGLE AND HONEST DESIRE TO MEET GOD. When Thomas met Jesus, what did he do? Did he look for the mark of the nails in Jesus' hands? Did he put his finger in the mark of the nails? That was his condition for his belief, wasn't it? Unless that condition was met, he said he would not believe. But when he met Jesus, this condition was not necessary. Even when Jesus invited him to see the nail marks and touch them, he didn't do that. He simply said, My Lord and my God! That was the highest confession anyone could make about Jesus. Until then, nobody really called Jesus God. At most the Son of God. But Thomas looked at Jesus and said, My Lord and my God! (John 20:28) There was change in Thomas. He thought his faith was BASED ON WHAT HE COULD SEE AND WHAT HE COULD FEEL. He thought it was very much to do with how he perceived. He thought faith was to do with him, his conviction and his assurance. We are like him too. If we feel good about God, then we can say we believe. If we see some assuring signs, then we say we believe. How we feel and how we perceive are very important to us. It's all about me and how I feel about God. Absence When I was in university, I used to study at Robarts library. It is U of T library. 13th floor, Red section. That place was like my second home. When you get to the corner, it faces East and you can see the whole campus. That corner was my sanctuary. It was my sacred place. Jesus often went to the mountain to pray. That was my mountain. I often went there to pray. One day, I wanted to feel God more. So, I asked him. Lord, can you show me a sign? You are almighty. You can use the cloud. Maybe something similar like heart shape? Or do anything to assure me that you are there. God didn't give me any sign. Even if he gave me the sign, soon, I would have wondered whether it was just a coincidence. That is not how faith comes about. In Jesus' time, people were looking for signs too. So when they saw the miracles, they believed Jesus. But that kind of faith did not last too long. As soon as they saw Jesus' suffering, they all deserted him. So Jesus said, An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it ' (Matthew 16:4) When they saw the sign, they felt good and they felt that God was right there and so they believed. BUT WHEN THEY SAW NOTHING, THEY FELT EMPTY, DOUBTFUL AND FELT THE A

Scripture Passage Isaiah 65:17-25 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Importance of Easter HAPPY EASTER! May God fill you with hope on this Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is the most important day of the year for many Christians. It may not be the most fun day. It is not like Christmas. During Christmas, we see bright lights, sing carols, and exchange gifts. Easter is not like that but it is the most meaningful and important day. Easter is the season of welcoming new life. Long winter is now almost over and spring is on the way. Flowers are budding. New life is beginning. We are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not only the resurrection of Jesus Christ we celebrate, we also celebrate the resurrection of ourselves. This is what St. Paul said. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. (Romans 8:11) There is the Spirit within us. That is the same Spirit who raised Jesus. That Spirit will raise us too. So we celebrate our own resurrection too. Death will not be the end. Knowing that is wonderful. This gives us hope. We have hope for the new world and new life. This is what John saw in his vision. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.' (Revelation 21:1, 4) Today, Isaiah also shared with us what he saw. For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating; (Isaiah 65:17, 18) They both saw this wonderful vision, the vision of new world and new life. But they saw this wonderful vision, not necessarily because their life was easy and promising. They didn't write this in a beautiful luxurious South American resort where you can see mountain, forest, and the ocean. John wrote his vision in the midst of persecution. Their friends were killed because of their beliefs. There were a lot of temptations of losing their faith because of persecution and false teachings. Isaiah wrote this piece for the Israelites who came back from the Babylonian captivity. They came back home but the home wasn't really heaven. It was home that was ruined. The temple was destroyed. They lost their passion for God. Their reality was harsh. What they saw was not pretty. They were devastated. The Power of Faith and Hope People had a lot of questions about God. If God were real, why didn't God protect us from being captivated? If God really loved us, why did we go through this kind of hardship? What happened to God's promise? Is God real? It is in this context that both John and Isaiah wrote these beautiful words. In the gloomy reality, they saw the possibility of their future. Surrounded by negative things in life, they saw something positive, something hopeful, and something beautiful. That is wonderful. THAT IS THE POWER OF FAITH AND THE POWER OF HOPE. The power of faith and hope allows you to be able to see something beautiful no matter how difficult life may be. They didn't allow their circumstances to blind them, dictate them, and victimize them. Through the eyes of faith and hope, they saw light in the midst of darkness. They didn't define their reality only as being miserable and unbearable. I think that is the wisdom, the wisdom of life. The wisdom is to see both sides of our reality. Our reality is both good and bad. Our reality is both beautiful and can be ugly. Our reality is both bright and dark. The wisdom is to see beautiful things in life instead of seeing only ugly things. You can choose to see only dark side of life. A lot of people do that. It's your choice. But be prepared. If you choose to see only dark and negative things in life, you will get swept away by the darkness of life. They will damage your soul. You will become cynical and critical. Many people have this distorted understanding of life. What is good is not real. What is bad is real and what is good is just fantasy. Because we see so many bad things. Life Amidst Death Yes, our reality can be cruel and scary. We see that in what's happening in Ukraine. We see that very clearly during this global pandemic. We also see it right where we live. House price is going up so much that many people cannot even think of buying a house. The interest rate is going up. Reality can be cruel and scary. Just the other day, I was walking and I experienced gun shot right beside me. It wasn't a targeted shot. It wasn't gang related. This guy just shot a stranger, no motive. The person who was shot died. Then in 48 hours later, he shot another stranger. This guy shot two completely innocent men just going about their lives. It could be very much me. My heart was pounding and my ears wer

Scripture Passage Luke 23:44-49 Worship Video Worship Audio *English sermon begins at 14:10 Sermon Script The Lives We Live Everyone wants to live a good life. We want our lives to be peaceful and enjoyable. But the lives we want to live, and the reality we face, are often very different. There is the life that we want to control and the forces of life that control us. The more we live, the more we see that the life that controls us is often more powerful than the life we control. If the life that controls us brings good things, then we're thankful and have no complaints. But when the life that controls us brings uncertainty, grief, and sorrow, it makes living very difficult. Faith begins when we recognize that our ability to control life is much smaller than life's ability to control us. Faith accepts our need for a power greater than ours. But what kind of faith are we seeking? Are we seeking a God who makes my life better for me when I need it? Or are we seeking to know this God who works in my life? What Did They See? People in Jesus' time were looking for a Saviour. Their lives were so difficult. They were powerless. They had no political power; no economic power. They knew they needed a power greater than what they had. People were drawn to Jesus by his power. Crowds flocked to him to experience and witness healings. They saw him as someone who could make their lives better. Many people indeed were healed. But most of them went on their way after they got what they needed. Their focus was on their own lives. But some who met Jesus began to follow him. A number of women who were healed by Jesus began to follow him. They provided resources to feed, clothe and provide for the needs of Jesus and his disciples. They spent time with Jesus, listening to his teachings and interacting with him daily. They got to know him personally. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, people had expectations. They expected Jesus to change what they themselves couldn't change. They expected political, economic and social change that would make their lives better. They entered Jerusalem singing Hosanna! But the forces against change were powerful and motivated. These forces conspired to arrest and kill Jesus. They hung Jesus on the cross. To the people's surprise, Jesus did not put up a fight. He seemed weak compared to the great power of the leaders. Jesus did not or could not save himself. The crowds who had gathered went home, beating their breasts. When they looked at Jesus on the cross, they saw a weak and powerless Jesus. They saw someone who was defeated. In the cross, they saw their own powerlessness to do anything about the forces that controlled their lives. They turned away and went home, defeated and crushed. Jesus' acquaintances and the women who followed him remained. They stood at a distance and watched. What did they see? With their eyes, they must have seen the same things as the crowds. There must have been sadness and disappointment. There must have been doubt and fear. There must have been confusion and bewilderment. But alongside all of that, I wonder if there was also trust and faith? I wonder if they remembered Jesus' teachings that this is what he had to go through? We can't know for sure. What we know is that they stood and watched, facing the cross where Jesus hung. What was the difference between the crowds who went home and the women who stayed and watched? The crowds had heard of Jesus and maybe even saw Jesus, but they did not know Jesus. For them, Jesus was only useful if he could do something for them. Since he died a weak death, he was of no more use to them. So they turned away and went home. Those who stayed and watched knew Jesus. They had spent time with Jesus. They remembered his teachings. Their hearts were changed. They loved Jesus. The Cross in Faithful Eyes When difficulties strike, when our expectations get crushed, when the weight of life's forces overwhelm our sense of control, what do we do? Do we turn away defeated, beating our chests? Or do we stand, watch and wait in faith? Those who expect God to simply make their life better without any desire to know God will never have real faith. When difficulties strike, they will seek the most expedient way to deal with them. When God doesn't meet their expectations, they will turn away and seek other solutions. God will always be someone who has to prove himself. But for those who follow Jesus, when difficulties strike, we stand and wait. We can be filled with fear. We may be confused. We may be uncertain about what comes next. We may even have doubt. But followers of Jesus do not turn away. We stand and wait. We look our difficulties in the eye. We fix our eyes on the cross. The cross symbolized defeat and powerlessness. But for people of faith, underneath that defeat lies the mysterious power of God. A power that can only be seen with faith. That is why for us the cross is the power of God. The women stood and watched. They were the first to d

Scripture Passage Psalm 31:9-16 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Inside Some of our college students are graduating from McMaster University. When they were in first year, we started a Bible study together. We booked a room in the main library and met there each week. When they were in second year, they moved into a house together, and I would go there weekly and have Bible study with them. Then the pandemic hit, and two whole school years went by. I visited them a week ago to reflect on their journey through their undergraduate years. It was so nice to be together with them again. During these past four years, they've been through many things. Relationships, conflicts, ups and downs with school, and a pandemic for half of their undergraduate life. Many things happened on the outside, but the real change and growth happened inside of them. In fact, during the pandemic, nothing much really happened on the outside, but inside of them, they went through so much change and growth. What happened on the inside is not visible, but it is just as real, and perhaps more significant, than what happened on the outside. What happened on the inside defines who they are. We experience many things on the surface of our lives. That is real. But there is a lot that goes on inside of us too, and that is very real as well. The students at Mac were able to recollect what happened on the outside, but they had more difficulty articulating what happened to them on the inside. Even though what happens on the inside is just as real and perhaps more significant than what happens on the outside, it is more difficult to describe and articulate what happens on the inside, because we cannot really see it, and we don't really notice it. We go day to day in the world without really seeing or noticing what happens inside of us. There is a tight correlation between what happens on the outside and what goes on inside. What happens on the outside affects what happens on the inside. Who we are on the inside affects what we do on the outside, and how we approach what happens on the outside. The only thing is, we often don't see this correlation, because we don't really see what's going on inside. The inside is where the seat of our soul resides, where our spirit is. So what happens inside of us is spiritual. Spirituality relates to what happens inside of us. Our spirituality is affected by what happens outside, and it shapes what we do or how we approach what happens outside. Because we are unaware of what's going on inside, our spirituality is often quite limited. Mature spirituality is difficult, because we are not in tune with what's going on inside of us. There are many things that happen on the outside. Some things, we decide what happens. We decide what to eat, what to wear, where to go. But many things in life happen to us without us planning for it. We don't plan on getting into conflicts with those we live with or work with. We don't plan on bad or unexpected things happening to us. So much of life is beyond our control, and so many things happen to us. How We Respond There are many good things that happen to us. They bring us joy, happiness and contentment in life. But we also know that there are many things in life that leave their marks on us. Even long after those things have passed, their effects on us remain. When bad or unexpected things happen to us, inside of us we get hurt, wounded or fearful. Even after that thing has passed, the hurt, wounds and fear remain. At a given moment, nothing might be happening on the surface. Things may seem peaceful. But we can lack peace because the effects of bad things remain and continue to affect us. There are many words to describe the manifestation of what remains: anger, trauma, depression, fear, worries, numbness and many more. What remains from the bad things that happen to us is suffering. We often think of suffering as what is happening to us on the outside at that moment. The world was shocked and grieved at the way civilians were killed in Bucha, Ukraine, some with their hands bound. They suffered before they died. But suffering is also about what happens inside of us even after events have passed. The families of those killed will suffer from grief, anger and confusion for a long time to come. Suffering from past experiences remain inside that person. We are often unaware of the suffering that resides in us. Suffering is a fact of life. But how we respond to our suffering is the most important thing. One way or the other, our whole lives are a response to the suffering within us. Our fears, traumas and wounds can control us and dictate our thoughts and actions. Or the suffering inside of us can give us new purpose and perspective. Passion Sunday Today is Passion Sunday. Passion means suffering. On Passion Sunday, we remember the suffering of Jesus. We know that Jesus suffered physically when he was beaten and crucified. But his suffering was much deeper than that. His r

Scripture Passage John 12:1-8 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Good Shepherd Knowing others and understanding them is very difficult. Many times, we live our lives, not knowing how others feel. We say things without thinking what they may feel. We do things without understanding how they may affect them. We are so indifferent that we don't care at all about others. When the world becomes like that, there will be many people who feel very lonely and isolated. We will live in a fragmented and disjointed society. Feeling understood is a very important part of a good life. Our God whom Jesus introduced to us is very intimate God who knows us and understands us. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. (John 10:14,15) God knows about us even in such a detail like how many hairs we have on our head. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. (Luke 12:7) Intimate God wasn't Jesus' unique idea. Prophets also knew very intimate God. Jesus continued the prophetic tradition. God said to the prophet Jeremiah, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you (Jeremiah 1:5) God knows our wishes and dreams, our troubles, our sorrows, our disappointments, and our shortcomings. God knows what we are insecure about and what we fear. God knows how we feel. Jesus had this tremendous knowledge about people. He knew what they were thinking and what they were feeling. When Jesus met the Samaritan woman, he knew exactly what her problem was, what she was going through, and what she needed. What she needed was water and Jesus talked to her about the living water. Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. (John 4:13, 14) When he mentioned her secret of having had five husbands, she let her guard down and started talking with Jesus. What we read in today's story was not about how expensive the perfume was. It was not about her sacrifice. It was about how well Mary also knew about Jesus. She knew exactly what Jesus was going through. She knew exactly what Jesus needed. She had the powerful insight about Jesus and what was going on in his life. Let me tell you a little bit of background of this story. The passage begins with this. Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. (John 12:1) When you read chapter 11, you will see the story of Jesus raising the dead Lazarus. In today's passage, they all gathered together to celebrate the life of Lazarus who was raised from the dead. It was a big deal. It was not a funeral reception. It was a party for coming to life from the dead. Raising Lazarus created a great commotion. So many people heard about this news. So they came to see, not only Jesus but also Lazarus who came to life. When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. (John 12:9) So the mood was celebratory. No one was thinking about death. Everyone was thinking about life. No one was thinking about the consequence of raising Lazarus. To them, it was just a fantastic miracle. Raising the dead man? What can be more sensational than this? But not to Jesus. Jesus was thinking about the consequence of raising Lazarus. Jesus knew that raising Lazarus would create commotion and more people would follow Jesus. This would bring a greater threat to the religious leaders. Jesus’ Hour That was exactly what happened right after Jesus raised Lazarus. Many people came and were totally shocked pleasantly but the leaders weren't very happy. They didn't know what to do with Jesus. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.' (John 11:47, 48) So what did they decide? They decided to kill Jesus. Not only Jesus, but also Lazarus. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus(John 12:10, 11) This was the reason why Jesus could not simply enjoy the party. In John, you hear Jesus saying this many times. My hour has not yet come, my hour has not yet come When did Jesus say that his hour came? Right after raising Lazarus. Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:23-25) Raising Lazarus meant t

Scripture Passage Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Imago Dei We are created in God's image. Imago Dei. That is the image of God in Latin. God created us in the image of God. That's what we hear in the creation story. Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.' (Genesis 1:26) So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them. (Genesis 1:27) God did not just create us in his image, He gave us the ability to be able to understand God through that image. We cannot see God physically with our human eyes but we can understand God through his image he created in us. But the problem is – that image is distorted because of our sins. Not only that image is distorted, we human beings now try to create God in our own image. When Jesus came to the world, he saw this distorted image controlling people and blinding them. They said they knew God but they were far from understanding God. They were blinded. They could neither see God nor understand God. Welcoming the Sinners Jesus gave us today's story to tell us who our God is. He wanted to restore the true image of God. Today's story began with this. Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.'(Luke 15:1, 2) They were offended because Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. They were offended not for a cultural and moral reason but for a spiritual reason. They believed that God saw sinners as dirty and untouchable. So it was right for them to stay away from them too. We can see where this kind of attitude could come from. Listen to Psalm 1. The first chapter of Psalm is not only the introduction to Psalm but also to our life. Psalm 1:1 says, Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1) What this passage teaches us to stay away from sinful way of living. But they conveniently separated themselves from the sinners and discriminated against them, saying that they were dirty and untouchable. They would not either welcome them or eat with them. And when they saw Jesus welcoming the sinners and eating with them, they were upset. The Three Stories In this context, Jesus gave today's story. Today's story is the last one of three stories. All three stories were about those who were lost. The first one is about the lost sheep. Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? (Luke 15:4) The second one is about the lost coin. What woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (Luke 15:8) The last one is about the lost son. for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! (Luke 15:24) All three stories reflect God's attitude toward sinners. God saw sinners not as dirty and untouchable. God saw sinners as being lost. In today's story, the lost son wanted to eat with pigs. Pigs were considered as dirty animals. The elder son saw his brother as dirty and untouchable. But the father did not see his son as dirty and untouchable. To the father, he was his precious son. He was just lost. But he was always his son. There was never a moment when he was not his son. Redefining the Image He believed and hoped that someday he would come to his senses. That was exactly what the son did. But when he came to himself he said, How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! (Luke 15:17) He came to himself meant he came to his senses. That's how NIV version translated. When he came to his senses, (Luke 15:17) The father was waiting for the son to come to his senses. That waiting was painful and agonizing. That was the image of God Jesus tried to portray. God who suffers with us and because of us. When the son came back, while he was far away still, the father was able to recognize him. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20) How did he know that he was his son? He knew right away because he was hoping every day that his son would come to his senses and come home. He was waiting every day. That's why he knew. This image is very different from the image that people in Jesus' time had about the patriarchal father. Jesus was drawing a very different picture about God. Jesus used the image of a father but he changed what the real father looked like. Not patriarchal father. He redefined the image of the father. There is Rembrandt's famous oil painting, called, The Return of the Prodigal Son . The image of the father in that picture is not a powerful, wise, dignified, and authoritative father but a weak

Scripture Passage Isaiah 55:1-9 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Beauty is Hidden The attitude we have about our life is very important. Depending on what attitude we have, our life will turn out very differently. St. Paul said, We walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) That was his attitude towards his life. Walk by faith, not by sight? What does this mean? He saw that life is more than what he could see. He discovered that truth about life. Do you live only by what you can see? Or do you recognize that there is something about life that you don't see? What excites me about life is not what I see but what I don't see. We do not necessarily see everything. There are many more things that are hidden in what we do not see. I experience daily that life is bigger than what I can see, touch, and feel. If what I see is everything, it is depressing. What we see is fight, struggles, war, sickness, and death. With God, I can pursue what is much bigger than what I see. My friends, I believe that LIFE'S SECRET is hidden in what we cannot see. Wonderful TREASURES are hidden in what we cannot see. That was what St. Paul said. We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18) Whatever you can see with your eyes is temporary no matter how beautiful it is. What is eternal cannot be seen with your eyes. Bigger things are hidden in what we cannot see. Beautiful things are hidden in what we cannot see. DEATH is what you can see. But the RESURRECTION is what you cannot see. SUFFERING is what you can see. But the GLORY is what you cannot see. MONEY is what you can see. But HAPPINESS is what you cannot see. Your REALITY is what you can see. But God's PROMISE is what you cannot see. If you accept that beautiful things are hidden in what you cannot see, then you realize that you need FAITH. Faith is the only way to deal with what we cannot see. Comfort With What We Cannot See This is what the Hebrew writer said, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Just because you cannot see ANYTHING GOOD happen in your life, don't get discouraged. Don't give up. When we have faith, we can go beyond miseries, suffering, hardships, hopelessness, and even death that we see around us. Faith helps us to move on even when we cannot see good things happening around us. Even though we do not see the result, we can take a meaningful step with our faith. Martin Luther King Jr. said, Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase. That is so true. Faith is taking a meaningful step even though we do not see the whole picture. With God, we become comfortable with what we cannot see. Isaiah was speaking to people in exile. Babylon destroyed Israel and took them as captives. Life in Babylon at first was hard and difficult. They lost their temple, their home, and they were taken to a foreign land. It was like what is happening right now in Ukraine. More than 3 million refugees had to flee from their homeland. Israelites were taken as captives. They lost everything. We can see the sentiment of the Israelites in the captivity in Psalm 137. By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion!' How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4) But later, they got used to lifestyle in captivity. Life in Babylon became very comfortable. Even better than their life in Israel. They were more abundant, more food, more money, more sophisticated civilization. Culturally it was superior to their old lifestyle. But in the midst of it, they lost God in their consciousness. When you don't have God, do you know what happens? You depend on only what you can see. That's what happens when God disappears in your consciousness. Only through faith, you can go beyond what you can see. Their life was filled with a lot of things but somehow there was no satisfaction in them. They had bread and water but it was bread that could not fill them and water that could not quench them them. These things did not give them satisfaction. That's why Isaiah said this. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? (Isaiah 55:2) What he meant was, Why do you spend your money for the bread that does not fill you up, and your labour that does not satisfy you?” They had bread, they had money, and they worked hard but nothing really satisfied them. They were lost. But God did not leave them alone. God invited them to come back to him. God wanted to give them the living water. The Whole Picture There was a woman in Samaria. She failed marriage several times. She wasn't happy and she couldn't find satisfaction anywhere. She met J

Scripture Passage Philippians 3:17-4:1 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Leadership We know that leadership affects other people. A bad leader can cause a lot of harm and suffering. A good leader, however, can inspire people and rally people in unity and purpose. Because of this, we consider leadership to be very important. St. Paul brought people together in the communities he founded. He founded the community at Philippi. The Philippians held a very special place in Paul's heart. Together, they experienced the powerful presence of God. They worked and toiled together to build the community. They were his most loyal community. In some other communities, people turned away from him and started following other leaders. But not the Philippians: they were his ride or die people. When he was in trouble, they were the only ones to raise funds and send money to him. There was a deep bond of love for one another. But once St. Paul left them, they started to have issues. People started looking after their own interests instead of the interests of others. People started competing with one another. Conflict and division ensued. While Paul was there, they had experienced togetherness and looking after the interests of others. After he left, however, personal agendas and interests took over. What Paul was able to do for them, bringing unity and purpose, they were not able to do for themselves. This is common among groups after an inspiring leader leaves. By the force of their personality, conviction and charisma, a strong leader gets people to believe in a common purpose. They lay aside their own agendas and interests for that common purpose, and this creates strong bonds and feelings of togetherness. The leader is the glue that holds this group together. But once that leader leaves, the strength of their personality is gone. The sense of common purpose they instilled often subsides. Much of the unity is often the effect of a leader's abilities and not the maturity of the whole people. St. Paul says this to the Philippians: Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) Paul is telling them not to rely on him to keep the group together. Each of them need to work on becoming mature. They need to be able to hold themselves together without his personal presence. They need to live out what he taught them without him having to be there. The Nature of Immaturity The problem is not so much the lack of great inspiring leaders. The problem is the lack of maturity among ordinary people. It is nice to have great leaders who can bring people together. We celebrate such people and admire them. But often we place too much burden on them. Great leaders become a crutch for people. It becomes an excuse to not do our own work, and rely on the leaders to do the heavy lifting for us. It becomes an excuse to remain stuck in our immaturity. What is the nature of immaturity? It is self-centeredness. Self-centeredness makes us immature. The extreme form of self-centeredness is narcissism. We are living in a world filled with narcissism. Narcissism pervades this world. We have become so self-centered that we don't even know how self-centered we are. It's like the story of two fish: one fish was swimming along and crossed paths with another fish. That fish asked: how's the water today? and the other fish responded what water? Narcissism is so embedded in the air that we don't even realize that we're breathing it in. True maturity comes when we remove ourselves from the center. This is true spirituality and spiritual maturity. Paul says this to the Philippians: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. (Philippians 3:5-8) We see a downward movement of continual self-emptying. This passage captures the trajectory of Jesus' life. His life was a journey of emptying himself, all the way down to death on a cross. Jesus removed himself from the center, but what replaced it was not empty space. What filled his center was God's love and will. His bodily and material needs, his safety and security, his own dignity and sense of honour – did not take center stage. The will of God did. At the Garden of Gethsemane, his self wanted to preserve itself. He struggled mightily, asking God that the cup might be taken away from him. But his final words were: not my will, but yours. God's will was the center of his life. His whole life reflected this. Loving the unloveable. Healing the undesirable. Honouring the unhonourable. Respecting the unrespectable. He expanded the boundaries of who was eligible to experience

Scripture Passage Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Lent As of last Wednesday, Lent has begun. Lent is a period of 40 days before the Easter. Lent is a season of remembering Jesus' suffering and death and his love for us. It is time to prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is time to appreciate God's love for us. It is time to think about how to follow Jesus' footsteps. During Lent, let us think about the spiritual aspect of our lives. During Lent, people do many things that help them spiritually. Some people make new resolutions. Others set aside time for prayer. I think it is important to live our lives, feeling the season. Life has seasons. Season for working and season for resting. Season for celebrating and season for reflecting. Lent is a season for thinking about spiritual things. Today's passage is about giving, praying, and fasting. How appropriate! We can cultivate these three things during Lent. Three Spiritual Principles Giving, praying, and fasting – These were important spiritual disciplines for the Jewish people during Jesus' time. I think it is important for us too. So I would like to reflect with you about these three spiritual principles. Giving First, giving is an important part of our lives. Jewish people have taken this discipline seriously. Even now many Jewish people take the discipline of giving as a part of their lives and practice it. 60 percent of Jewish households earning less than US$50,000 a year donate. Regardless of their economic status, they take giving as an important life principle. God has commanded them to do so, they believe. It is embedded in their religion and in their culture. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.' (Deuteronomy 15:11) I think life of giving is a beautiful life. It is a sign of a blessed life. There are many people who practice philanthropy as a significant part of their life. We should incorporate giving as a part of our life. Giving does so much good for us. It teaches us to be generous and generosity is an admirable quality of a person. It is hard to cultivate this character and we can do it by practicing the lifestyle of giving. It is good not only to enjoy the abundant life we have but also to share it with others. When we practice giving, somehow we experience the abundance of life. When you give, you don't become less. You become more. It's like the widow who gave her last meal to Elijah. Her jar became never empty. It also keeps us from falling into the temptation of greed. It is a good way to protect ourselves from materialism. As the exercise does good to our body, the exercise of giving does good to our soul. I notice that people who are giving generously are generally happy. Prayer Secondly, prayer was also a very important discipline to Jewish people in Jesus' time. Typical Jews at that time prayed three times a day. Morning at sunrise. Afternoon at 3 pm. Evening prayer at nightfall. We can assume that Jesus also practiced this discipline. In addition to that, Jesus often went away alone into the mountain to pray. We need time to be alone. The busier we get, the more we need to have time to be alone. We need time to be connected with God. Otherwise, we can get easily drift into worldly things, away from God. We will get stressed out and lose joy of life. You don't get joy by buying things. Joy is a quality of experience you get when you are connected with God. It is not something you can buy; it is something you experience when you are connected with God. Prayer should be incorporated in our daily living. I send you the Inner Voice so that you can incorporate prayer into your daily life. Last Friday, one person told me that he would do fasting one meal a day during Lent and give that money to Ukraine after reading the Inner Voice about true fasting. Jewish people used the Shema & the Tephilla, meaning Prayer. In the morning, they used both. In the afternoon, they used Tephilla alone. Evening prayer was like morning prayer. It is important to have a system of prayer. You need to give break to your mind and your spirit. You need to be reconnected with God daily. You need time to meditate on yourself, your life, and the world you live in. You need to be mindful of what you are doing and how you are feeling. You have people you care to pray for . You have situations that require your prayer. That is what Christian life is all about. Especially, we have a lot to pray for this world these days. People are dying and fleeing from the war zone. Gas price already went up. Food price will go up soon. Especially those countries like Egypt and Turkey – they rely on Russia and Ukraine for 70% of their wheat supply. Many African countries are suffering. The world has already suffered from food shortage during Covid time. It is getting worse now. We need to pray for the world. Even t