St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Scripture Passage Philippians 4:4-8 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer. Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon E-book The post Turning Anxiety Into Prayer appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Luke 1: 26-38 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer. Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon E-book The post When Life’s Mystery Hits Us appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Worship Video Sermon Audio Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Kindle The Spirit appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage 2 Peter 3:8-15a Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post While We Wait appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Isaiah 64:1-9 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Break Open appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 25: 31-46 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer. Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Now, How Do We Live? appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 25: 14-30 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer! Sermon e-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Faithful appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 25: 1-13 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer Sermon e-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Prepared appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Psalm 107: 1-9, 33-37 Worship Video Sermon Audio Be FilledRev. Simon Parkshare Social: jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $('#facebook-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { facebook: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, disableCount: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('facebook'); } }); $('#googleplus-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { googlePlus: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('googlePlus'); } }); $('#linkedin-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { linkedin: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('linkedin'); } }); $('#twitter-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { twitter: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('twitter'); } }); }); Link: Embed: https://timothypc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BeFilled.mp3 Download Audio Subscribe Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book!

Scripture Passage Psalm 1 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Happy appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 33:12-23 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post You Shall See My Back appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Deuteronomy 8:7-18 Worship Video Kids Church Thanksgiving Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Looking Back, Looking Ahead appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Philippians 3:4b-14 Worship Video Choir Anthem Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Pressing Toward the Future appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 17:1-7 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Absolute Trust appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 20:1-16 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Indebted Heart appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 18:21-35 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Merciful As I Am appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 3:1-15 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Pandemic Reflection: Taebin Kim Click to read Taebin Kim’s reflection on this Summer Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! The post Hinneni appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 1:8-2:10 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Special Presentation: Vision United Summer Camp Sermon E-book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! The post God Works Through Cracks appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Genesis 45:1-15 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! The post God Behind Our Stories appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 14:22-33 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! Graduation Videos This week, we celebrated the graduation of the students moving from Kids’ Church into Hi-C and from Hi-C into College. We also celebrated the graduation of students at St. Andrews Humber Heights. The Hi-C graduates created a video of their reflections on how they feel moving on into their next stage in life and what the St. Tim’s community has meant to them. Several other students in Hi-C put together a farewell video for the graduates. 2020 Hi-C Graduate Reflections 2020 Hi-C Graduation Tribute The post The Hand That Saves appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Genesis 32:22-31 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Finding Our Blessing appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 13:44-46 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read this Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Finding Hidden Treasure appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Last Friday was the third session of the Becoming Together: Toward the Beloved Community study led by Rev. Simon Park. This week, we read and reflected on Galatians 3:1-5:1. In this passage, we saw how normativities in our lives affect what we view as desirable. For the Galatians, the issue was this: they had found freedom from the norms of Roman normativity, and all the negative connotations and mental and spiritual enslavement that entailed. Now, however, they had reverted to a new enslavement, this time under Jewish norms. Like the Galatians, we are enslaved to norms. Our norms have been shaped by white normativity overtime, and have led to an unconscious bias against what is black. Through this study, we learned that Christ is the new normativity that decentralizes everything else. We are all equal in God's eyes. Your worth is affirmed in the love of God shown through Christ. We reflected on how having Christ in our lives can change the way we think and discussed how we can stand with Black people who are suffering with Christ at the centre of our thoughts and hearts. In discussion groups, our ESM congregation members shared their experiences, insights, and newfound understanding of their own views on anti-black racism, privilege and the normativities we live with. Many shared their own experiences of coming to Canada as an immigrant and discussed the privileges they didn’t realize they had due to the fact that Korean immigrants followed the norms already present in Canadian culture. We found that it was hard to articulate the normativity we live with, which lead to questions like “Are we just victims to this normativity or can we break out of it?’ and ‘What is centred in our lives? What should be de-centred?”. As these normativities have shaped the way our society functions as a whole, there are many layers of issues at both micro and macro levels. While minorities find themselves stuck in these cyclical lifestyles where there seems to be no chance at change, how can we empower the underprivileged and break through? How can we change our different upbringings and situations for the better, so that we can all share equal privileges, education and experiences? We must work together as a community to bring to light the needs and struggles that black people face daily, and work with them to find ways to change. We thank you all for participating in a very fruitful session and hope that you can make it to the last one on Friday, July 31st! Let us continue to reflect together. Session 3 E-book The post Session 3: Becoming Together as a Beloved Community appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 13:24-30 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Sunday’s Congregational Prayer! The post Let Them Be appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

This past Friday marked the second of four sessions in our Becoming Together: Toward the Beloved Community study led by Rev. Simon Park. As part of our mission to seek truth through the gift of Scripture, we reflected on the important issue of racism in our society and our role as a church and community in the fight against anti-black racism. Last week we learned about the history of the Galatians, the concept of model minorities, and the white normativity that we see in today’s society. Many of our ESM congregation members shared their stories and honest reflections on issues relating to racism, freedom and identity. This week we covered Galatians 1 and 2, exploring the source of the gospel as Paul understood it. As we began to delve into the message and thoughts of St. Paul, we learned about how this revelation of the Gospel changed Paul's entire belief system, helping him find a new calling in life. We continued to look at the real-life implications of Paul's understanding of the gospel and how he built communities based on new norms. We began to understand that the essence of a new community is based on the norm of a life where all receive God's grace without regard to their worth. From the insights of these chapters, we were able to relate to our current real-world context. In particular, we reflected on the residential patterns of Toronto, and realized how we've structured ourselves as a society. Toronto is much more segregated and racialized than we thought, even though we hold this reputation of being one of the most diverse cities in the world. What do these facts tell us about the norms we follow and the choices we make? Whom have we deemed worthy to be with? Is this due to the subconscious choices we make as citizens? Or is this a systemic issue that stems from the top and those in power? Questions like this provoked discussion and deep reflection on our actions as a faith community. As we were able to listen in to the discussion groups and hear the thoughts of our congregation members, many insights and new perspectives were introduced to us. Topics such as cumulative advantage, white privilege and ignorance branched many discussions on our history and our role as a faith community. Some members realized that normality and what seems right can be subjective; things that may be wrong can seem normal to us if we are used to it. Others discussed ignorance and how we are hesitant to help those who are different from us. Overall, it was truly a beautiful sight to see many of the members of our community, from all different types of backgrounds and experiences, come together and honestly discuss such prominent issues in our current context. We encourage you to continue to participate in these active discussions and Bible studies as we explore our role as a church and faith community. See you next Friday! Session 2 E-book The post Session 2: Becoming Together as a Beloved Community appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Reading Romans 8:1-11 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! The post A Spiritual Person appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Week's Congregational Prayer! The post Welcoming Heart appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Romans 6:20-23; 1 John 4:7-12 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! The post Love Heals Hatred appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Jeremiah 20:7-13 Worship Video Father’s Day Video from Kids Church Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Dreams of the Father appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Romans 5:1-8 Worship Video Sermon Audio Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Hope Makes Everything Beautiful appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Psalm 8 Worship Video Worship Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Sermon Text The Psalm that we read today is a beautiful Psalm. This Psalm is about this beautiful world that we live in. This Psalm reminds me of the hymn we heard today (How Great Thou Art), O Lord My God, when I’m in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made. Also this song reminds me of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World: I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and you and I think to myself what a wonderful world . This psalm says when I look at your heavens the work of your fingers. The moon and the stars that you have established (Psalm 8:3). The Beautiful World God Created In the world God created, there are so many beautiful things: the mountains, rivers, deep forests, trees, the sun and the moon, and the beautiful stars in the sky. There are so many things that are so beautiful. Above all God made human beings the most beautiful. This is what the psalm said, 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). We are just a little lower than God. The Psalm says that we are just a little lower than God. How honoured and how beautifully we must have been made! Genesis says that we were created in God’s beautiful image. Today's psalm tells us that we human beings are crowned with glory and honour. Another psalm praises God like this I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made wonderful are your works that i know very well my frame was not hidden from you when i was being made in secret intricately woven in the depths of the earth (Psalm 139). The Beautiful You God Created Sometimes, my friends, we feel like we are nobody. We feel like we are nothing. But not to God. To God we are a masterpiece that God has put all his effort into to create. The writer of today’s psalm knew of the care that God has put into creating us. What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them. (Psalm 8:4) We treat ourselves like we are nobody but God treats us as the most precious thing in the world. Would God throw away something that he created with such care God? Would He just use us and throw us away? No! I don’t think so. God will preserve us and God will keep us when life is over on this earth. God will bring us back to his embrace. That’s what God will do. God will not just throw away that which he made so beautifully. God made us with such care and he told us to use the same care to care for the world that He created. This is what the psalm says, You have even then dominion over the works of your hands you have put all things under their feet (Psalm 8:6). God gave us the commission to take care of the beautiful world that he created. That is our responsibility. Destroying the beautiful world that God created is going against God’s will. That is a serious sin. God Put On Our Crowns Above all, God told us to keep in mind the dignity of human beings. We have to keep each other's dignity. God has crowned us with glory and honour. We are precious and beautiful because God crowned us with glory and honour. Not because we are better than other people. No one can take away the crown that God has crowned us with. No matter how small a person may be. No matter how insignificant and powerless a person may be. No matter how weak and vulnerable we may be. On the head of that person, there is a crown of glory and honour that God has put on. We cannot take that down and trample it. That is going against God's will. We have to keep the dignity of a human being. Jesus told us to love your neighbor. That means to keep the dignity of your neighbor. We should not ignore and insult another human being. No matter how angry we may be, we simply cannot humiliate another person. Whenever a person's dignity is trampled down, we should fight to restore it because that is something that must be kept intact. Jesus fought for the dignity of human beings. The poor, the sick, prostitutes, sinners, and tax collectors they were ostracized, rejected and alienated but Jesus fought for their dignity, sacrificing his own life. Keep Each Other's Dignity We are so saddened by the story of a precious and beautiful life that was trampled to death in Minnesota. We are saddened because the dignity of a person was trampled. That's why so many people came out on the street in almost every city and every state not only in the US but the whole world. Their voices were loud and clear. Human dignity must be honoured. Racism is a sin that destroys the dignity of a person. George Floyd was literally trampled to death. Al Sharpton shouted, Take your knee off of our neck. Whenever I think about how he died, it brings tears to my eyes. How can a person die like that? His last words

https://timothypc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/May31SundayWorshipsermonaudio.mp3 Scripture Passage 1 Corinthians 12 : 3b-13 Sermon Text Human beings have an innate desire for unity. We become inspired when we see examples of sacrifice, of tireless service, and people coming together. When the pandemic first began, the motto was we're all in it together. The spirit of togetherness was so high. We were willing to endure discomfort, inconvenience and even hardship for the greater good. But as time goes on, the forces of division creep back. At this moment, I see forces of division running stronger than the forces of unity. People are tired of staying inside, so they flock together with friends. Others trying to adhere to guidelines see that and get upset, quickly pointing fingers and caricaturizing the people. That's what happened last weekend when people flocked to Trinity Bellwoods Park. South of the border, cities are on fire. Pent up anger is spilling out into violence. Those in power focus on that violence and look for people to blame instead of looking at the roots of that anger. My needs become more important than yours. It's you vs me. They vs us. When this force is given breath, it can overpower and take over the force that seeks unity. St. Paul was well aware of this dynamic. He used language of his own time and context to express it, but he captures this dynamic well: For I delight in the law of God in my innermost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (Romans 7:22-23) Which of our members are winning the war right now? We have people trying to maintain unity, but we have other leaders – powerful leaders – exploiting the chaos and fanning the flames of this division to maintain their grip on power. St. Paul said this: Each builder must choose with care how to build on [the foundation]… Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw – the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. (1 Corinthians 3:10, 12-13) These times feel like the Day that St. Paul was referring to. The kinds of lives we've built is becoming clear. The kind of world we've built is coming clear. COVID-19 is the fire that has tested and revealed the work we have done in our society. When over 80% of the deaths have taken place in long-term care homes, then we know we've done a poor job taking care of our vulnerable elderly. When deaths in the US are disproportionately borne by black and Latino people, then you know how the country has treated its racial minorities. When in Canada we don't even know exactly who's been suffering the most because we lack the data, then we know that Canada prefers to be blind instead of exposing cracks in its myth as a nice and generous country. What kind of world have we built? What kind of world are we building right now? Each of our work will be revealed with fire and disclose what we've built. Have we been too passive and blind bystanders to what goes on around us? To the suffering of the most vulnerable in our midst? The proclamation of our Christian faith is that we are people of the Spirit. Our church mission statement includes a point that we are a spiritual community. But what does this mean? St. Paul said this: Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed upon us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:12) Those who live in the Spirit – those who are spiritual – receive and understand the gifts bestowed upon us by God. Today's passage reveals the purpose of these gifts: To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7) There are varieties of gifts, varieties of service, all according to the unique people we are, but that same Spirit activates these gifts in us for the common good – the well-being of others. In other words, our lives, when activated by the Spirit, are meant to bless and serve others, to make the lives of those around us richer, better, more complete. Has the Spirit activated your life and gifts to be such a blessing? We need to seriously ask ourselves this question today. For what purpose is my life serving? Our gifts are given for the common good. But what is the common good? Who decides what the common good is? Is it merely to take care of my family and those close to me? The people of my inner circle? I believe the answer lies in the words of St. Paul: On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior members, that

Scripture Passage Ephesians 1:15-23 Sermon Text Uncontrollable Thoughts Our thinking is very important, it shapes us and molds us. We are what we think, when our thinking is distorted, then we develop a distorted lifestyle. It affects our life in a significant way, if your thinking is dark, you become dark. If you constantly think about things to worry about, you can become paranoid. But the problem is that our thinking is not something that we can control. Our thinking seems to have a mind of its own. It attacks us out of nowhere, one moment you are fine, the next you are in deep fear. Our thinking is separate from our will, desire and wants, it is beyond our power and control. Then are we just victims of these random thoughts? Do we let these negative thoughts dictate us, take us where we don't want to go? Many people do that. Their lives become paralyzed by these negative thoughts. They try their best to have positive thoughts but somehow they are unable to. They live with anger, fear, disappointment, cynicism, and lack of confidence. They constantly feed themselves with these negative thoughts. They constantly feel like they are not good enough, worrying about what’s going to happen to them, the world, the future. They want to get rid of that thinking but somehow they are unable to do that. These days, I am really thankful that I know God. If I didn't know God, my life would have been so sad and dark. This pandemic is not good but on the contrary, there is a silver lining to this pandemic. I heard that our environment got much better, there is less pollution. Our rivers and oceans got much cleaner. There are not many cars on the street and no air travel helped reduce the greenhouse gases. For me, this pandemic helps me get closer to God. I get to have more quality time with God. I get to know God more intimately. The more I think about God, the clearer my thinking becomes. It is like breathing the fresh air. Thinking about God changes the pattern of our thinking, it creates a new path for our thinking to flow. This new path leads us to good thinking and hopeful thinking. It takes us to the brighter side of our life. When we spend more time with God, amazing things happen. So I realized we are not just victims of random thoughts. We can do something about it. Our thinking has to be trained. We cannot just let our wild thinking dictate us. Training of our thinking is more difficult than the physical training. But that is more important than the physical training. Of course, physical training helps us with good thinking too but the spiritual training has a much more powerful benefit. So, we need to spiritually train our thinking. Guard Your Heart And Your Thoughts That's why St. Paul said this, 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) When we think about God, we can think of these things. When we fill our heart with God, God gives us peace that is beyond our intellectual understanding and that peace will guard our thinking. We need that, we need something that guards our thinking. And that is the peace of God. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) That is the same as saying guarding your hearts and your thinking in Christ Jesus. That is what the Korean version of the Bible says. . It says guard your heart and your thinking. As we spend more time with God and get to know God more deeply, God's peace will guard our hearts and our thinking in Christ Jesus. That is very important, we cannot just let our thinking go everywhere, and we cannot let our thinking take us over. God's peace will guard our thinking. Let God's peace not let our thinking do whatever it wishes. Let God's peace channel our thinking into a good place. A few days ago, I sent you an inner voice. And I said, Let us set our minds on things that are above. If we set our minds on things that are on earth, we cannot overcome death. What we see on earth is death. When we set our minds on death, we will be destroyed. Let us set our minds on Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead. When we focus on him, life that is hidden in God will be revealed to us. Our thinking is amazing. It can blind your eyes but also it can brighten your eyes. It can paralyze us but it can also liberate us. St. Paul said in today's Scripture. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. (Ephesians

Scripture Passage John 14:15-21 Sermon Text Importance of Connection These days I realize how important it is to meet people physically. I appreciate the actual social connection, not a virtual connection, more than ever. Today we had a glitching problem with Zoom. In the news, we hear that everyone’s having problems with Zoom. Yet, in this situation, we worship God. I can see you all on the screen, yet I miss meeting you all physically. For ESM, in terms of activities, we haven't changed much. We do all the Bible studies and worship services through Zoom, but it is not the same. Our conversation becomes choppy, and it is hard to get deeper in our reflection. It is all right to communicate information virtually but it is hard to be connected spiritually and enter into deeper understanding. I have realized that we human beings survive and thrive in relationship. To us, relationships are so important. No one is an island. Living in Relationship with One Another When God created the world, he repeated this phrase, It is good. Every time he created, he said, “It is good.” But once, he said, It is not good. It is not good for the man to be alone. That’s the first time he said, “it is not good,” and then he created Eve. Creating Eve does not mean that he created another human being. It means that by creating Eve, God created the relationship that wasn't there when Adam was alone. So, God created the relationship – God wants us to live in relationship. But unfortunately and sadly, when we look around, I see a lot of broken relationships. Rather than peace and harmony, we see a lot of division and hatred. And because of these broken relationships, people get hurt. They go through so many problems, and we see many tears. Sometimes we feel that there is really nobody that we can be connected with in a real sense. Sometimes people feel that, “nobody wants me, nobody seeks after me, nobody is glad to see me, I’m almost invisible.” We feel deep loneliness. We come to a sense that we are really alone in this huge, gigantic universe. We are alone. Our Aloneness Especially when we experience life's problems and suffering, this loneliness gets intensified. We can see that very well on the cross. On the cross, Jesus said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus didn't really mean that God abandoned him. Jesus expressed his ultimate aloneness. So when you go through something, you experience deep loneliness or aloneness. When we read Job, we don't see only his problems, but we can clearly see his loneliness that was caused by his problems. His children all died; his wife cursed and abandoned him. And his friends who came supposedly to help him threw him into deeper darkness. He was all alone. He didn’t even feel the presence of God. This is what he confessed, If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. Not only was he abandoned by his family, his people, and his friends, but he also felt the total absence of God. He felt that the whole world turned its back against him. Jesus' disciples must have felt the same when Jesus was crucified on the cross, when Jesus left them. They solely depended on Jesus, they followed Jesus and they were able to endure all kinds of suffering because Jesus was with them. But the problems got deeper, and their master was persecuted and ultimately, he was crucified and they were left all alone. They felt that the whole world was against them. Knowing what would happen, Jesus gave them this teaching in today's passage while he was with them. “My friends, my disciples, I will never leave you like an orphan. Even though I am not with you physically, I will ask God to give you the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.” He said he would give the peace that the world cannot give, the world cannot know. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not fear,” he said. While he was with them, he said all these things knowing of this deep loneliness, aloneness and fear. The Spirit Brings Us Peace We are alone but we are not alone. The Spirit is with us. How do we know that the Spirit is with us? We cannot know it by feeling it. We cannot know by physically seeing it. We can know it because the Spirit gives us peace. By having that peace, we know that the Spirit is with us. When we believe that the Holy Spirit is with us, we experience this peace. Worries and fear will disappear, and God’s peace will come to us and give us confidence. When we are alone, we have to be careful not to fall into darkness. We have to be careful not to let fear take hold of our life. We have to be careful not to let anxiety paralyze us. Have Faith in the Spirit What we need, my friends, is faith – faith that the Spirit is with us. When we believe that the Spirit is with us, we can deal with our aloneness. We will have peace and the peace will give us the confidence. We can defeat our anxiety, fear, and worries that come to us

Scripture Passage 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Sermon Text Selflessness and Resilience When I think of mother's love, two words come to mind. They are selfless and resilient. For me, these two words capture the essence of today's passage, and what mother's love is. First, it is selfless in a sense that a mother's love is totally (and entirely) for their child – it's a one-way kind of love. They don't ask anything of us; they simply love us. We're the most precious thing in their eyes. It's not the kind of love that's negotiable or calculating. It doesn't depend on what we can do for them. But it is all about us; and as St. Paul said, “it doesn't insist on its own way.” They will do anything for us because we are theirs. There is a KSM YP group that meets on Wednesday evenings. All of the different groups in the church have been going through the Gospel of Mark. One week, our conversation digressed at one point. We started talking about relationships between parents and children, which really had nothing to do with the passage. Things like misunderstandings and generational gaps, they all came up. But at the end, Rev. Chung said something that stuck with me. He said this in Korean, and I tried my best to translate it, but he said something like, There is no parent in the world who can be selfish when it comes to their child. ( .) It sort of stayed with me, because it reminded me of my own parents, especially my mother. Over the years, we've had our many fights and disagreements at times, but at the end of the day, she always let me go my own way and supported me even when I was wrong. But, I often mistook her patience and kindness for weakness. Looking back, I recognized a certain strength hidden in her selflessness towards me. And that strength, I believe, is resilience. In their selfless love, this resilience is revealed to us. Not in the sense of a willpower per say, but the kind of strength that's constant and steadfast. No matter what happens, it never fades. It enables them to embrace and persevere through anything. We read this at the end of today's passage, “It [Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” No matter what, our parents, they're always bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring all things for us. Prayer of our Hearts I see this especially in times of prayer. They say that prayer reveals a person's heart. Whenever we have our prayer gatherings, sometimes we have parents, our mothers, who ask to pray for their children. In their asking, their heart and love for their children come to the fore. Even after all the disappointments and frustrations, they still wait, believe, and hope for the best. And if there is anyone that never stops praying for us, it's our parents. A Reflection of God’s Love The more I reflect on all this, the more I realize how extraordinary mother's love is. I mean we all said it today, it's a special kind of love. It's the kind of that can't be fully understood, but is deeply felt when we receive it. It changes us. It reflects what God's love is like. In the same way, we may never fully comprehend the depths of God's heart for us. But when we experience God's love, we feel it to the core – we feel its tenderness and strength. And through our parents, God's love that always hopes and perseveres for our good is made concrete. Perhaps that's why St. Paul said love is the greatest of all, because it never ends. It endures and stands the test of time. And that is the fullness of God's love for us – love that bears anything and everything for us. Nothing can separate us from it, and God has blessed us with that gift of love in our relationships. Through out relationships we have been shaped by that gift. By God's love which comes alive in our relationships, we're able to persevere through any and all circumstances that we face. Not by our own will, but with God's help. This Mother’s Day As Simon mentioned earlier today, in our service, this Mother's Day is a unique and peculiar one. It's unfolded in a way that none of us expected. I remember we used to prepare carnations for our mothers prior to the service; and pin them on them. But now we're on Zoom, celebrating the day together from a distance. While some of us have the privilege of being with our parents and families, there are those of us who can't be with our own parents today. Some of our parents are in long-term care facilities or at home, alone and on their own. Simple things like hugging our parents have been made impossible with the social distancing. I saw that in BC, the government recommended that people refrain from hugging their parents on Mother's Day if they don't live together in the same place. So, as much as we feel joy and gratitude on a special day like today, we can't help but also feel somewhat anxious and sad. But even in this difficult time, we can celebrate our mothers and their love for us, and persevere by the strength which God gives us. So, let us comfort and stre

Scripture Passage Psalm 23 Sermon Text As life is getting more difficult, more thankful we should be, because gratitude is the best weapon to fight against anxiety. Last week, we reflected that when life is difficult, consider, stop, and think. Yes, it is important to stop and think when life is difficult. But I want you to do one more thing. When life is difficult, that is, be thankful. When life is difficult, be thankful. It sounds funny, but trust me, it will do a lot of good to you. Practice your gratitude. When life is difficult, naturally and automatically, our heart looks for reasons to complain. We stand in front of two roads. One leads to complaint, and the other leads to gratitude. The road that leads to complaint will take us to a darker place, a place where death is. But the road that leads to gratitude will take us to a brighter place where there is life. Instead of taking the road to complaints, we should take the road to gratitude. You know, when everything goes well, people are thankful, but when things don't go well, they complain. I want you to reverse this. When everything goes well, be joyful, and when things don't go so well, be thankful. I think that is the secret of a happy life. Making Thankfulness a Habit Find a notebook. Well, these days you can't buy it, but when you look around you'll be able to find used notebooks, or notebooks that you bought but never used. Find it, and start writing a gratitude journal. Make a habit of doing that in this difficult time. You can do that as soon as you wake up, or just before you go to bed. If you do that in the morning, as soon as you wake up, you start the day with gratitude. When you do that before you go to bed, you go to sleep with gratitude. If you want to do both, you can write it twice a day; once in the morning, and another time in the evening. Don't write it generally. Be specific, about things, about people, about your experiences. Don't repeat the same thing everyday. Be creative. Try to find something new every day to be thankful for. It may get harder as the days go on, but if you keep doing that, you will find new things to be thankful for. Instead of making a list, I want you to write sentences. Why, and what you're thankful for. As you do this exercise every day, you will realize that, slowly, you are becoming free from worries and anxieties. God is Our Shepherd Today's psalm is a jewel of all the Psalms. It is the most beloved psalm. Read it twice a day until this self-isolation is finished. It can be therapeutic. Once in the morning, and once in the evening. You will become much brighter. David didn't write this psalm when his life was going very well. He wrote this when his life was difficult. His enemies were around him, trying to destroy him. He was going through the darkest valley. His soul was filled with despair and fear, and he was very tired. In the midst of all this, he wrote this beautiful psalm. The whole psalm was summarized in the first verse. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1) The rest of his psalm was an elaboration of this. Because the Lord was his shepherd, he did not need anything else. That was enough. St. Paul made a similar confession. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13) That is the reason for us to be thankful. God is our shepherd. And God is with us, and he provides what we need. Overcoming Our Anxieties with Gratitude We are all very tired. Parents with little children have to struggle with their children all day, and they still have to work from home. That is not easy. As Stephanie mentioned and shared beautifully, the single people are all by themselves, without any family members, that's not easy either. There are also people who are financially difficult. They worry about their financial future. The longer this pandemic goes, the more anxious people become. Mentally and spiritually, we are very tired. What we need is rest, peace. David confessed. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters. (Psalm 23:2) God will restore our souls. When we are thankful, God will work within us. God will give us the power to overcome our anxiety. The more you think about negative things, the more anxious you become. But, when you are thankful, when you want to be thankful, you automatically look for things that are good, things that are positive. That is important, that is why being thankful is important. Having Hope for Eternal Life The shadow of death hovers over us every day. I mean, we hear, every day, how many deaths we have in our city, in our province, in our country, and in the whole world. We never heard how many deaths we hav

Features: “Your Love oh Lord” by Third Day Readings from and reflections on 1 Corinthians 13 “Goodness of God” by Bethel May these songs and meditations be a blessing to you and help you carry on. We are gifted by the grace of God’s love. May it be your strength and hope! The post Love appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage John 20:19-29 Sermon Text Behind Closed Doors It’s been 5 weeks since we’ve been behind shut doors of our own places. 5 weeks of me being here in an empty sanctuary, and today, being all along and seeing you all on screen, it’s a very weird feeling. The sanctuary is empty, but I know you’re all there because I can see your faces. I know you’ve all been dealing with the situation in your own ways. For the young couples or single people, you’ve been enjoying time alone. I know it’s challenging at times. For the younger kids, I know it’s been a hard time trying to juggle your school work and what not. For our Hi-C and college students, I know there are times when you are bored, when your schedule’s been thrown off routine. Some of you guys have become nocturnal creatures; awake at night, asleep during the day. And some of us, with elderly parents, have been dealing with separation from loved ones and worries about them. All in all, as human beings, we’re resilient. We’ve accepted the situation and we’re all dealing with it in our own way behind closed doors. The disciples of today were also behind shut doors. They were in fear. They were in shock. They were in grief. Because they had dropped everything to follow Jesus. For three years, they spent every day, every waking moment, together with him. They ate together, they walked together, talked together, and they witnessed many wonderful things. They had intimate fellowship together. But now, that leader of theirs, whom they followed, was gone. The powers that had killed Jesus were now looking for his followers to get rid of this new movement. Fear, shock, grief, loss, and cloudiness. They had not processed things yet. They were lost. We are Lost When I think about us, underneath our day-to-day coping with this situation, we too feel lost in many ways. There is still a sense of lament, mourning and grief at the loss of life as we knew it. The immediate and acute shock of it all may have worn off now, but I still sense worry, concern and uncertainty. There is a restlessness at the current status quo. We’re wondering: How long will this last? When will things get back to normal? What will that normal even look like? We don't know what to expect going forward. The disciples were lost, scared and disoriented. In this state of being, behind locked doors, Jesus came and stood among them. When they saw Jesus, they rejoiced. In their presence, Jesus gave them a new calling – to carry on the work that he had begun. He empowered them with his Holy Spirit. When the disciples were most lost – when all they saw was darkness and gloom – Jesus' presence brought about a new reality. Now this new reality was not an easy thing to believe or accept. When things are dark for us, we don't easily believe that things will just be alright. We see that Thomas, who was not there when Jesus appeared the first time, did not accept what the others told him. And I don't think that Thomas was a skeptic and doubtful guy, he was a serious man. Earlier on, when Jesus and the disciples were about to head down toward Judea, he was the one who foresaw what might happen. He said: Let us also go, that we may die with him. He saw the seriousness of the situation. What he was being asked to believe now, by the other disciples, was just incomprehensible. Jesus had been crucified and was dead. So, he asked for proof. But I don't think it was proof that Thomas was really seeking. He was really seeking Jesus' presence, that’s what he was grieving. And when Jesus did appear to Thomas, he did not need proof that it was Jesus. Jesus' presence was enough. Thomas was the first to see Jesus for who he really was when he declared: My Lord and My God! Jesus' presence was the peace and the new reality. Carrying our Cross My friends, when we are lost, the last thing you need is help or advice. When we are scared, empty words like everything is going to be alright by themselves don’t help. When we are lost, there is only one thing that can really help: the comforting presence of someone who cares. The understanding presence of someone who cares brings us peace. A warm presence that empowers us to believe that, “Maybe I can get through this.” My friends, God comes to us when we are most lost. God comes to us when we are most lost. This is the center of our belief as Christians. That is the meaning of the cross. The cross is the place where we are most alone. The cross the place where we are most lost. As Christians, we believe that to live the most authentic life, we must carry our own cross. A life without the cross is a life of just ignoring the pain, anxiety and lostness that lie underneath our everyday life. My friends, it is at the cross that Jesus is present with us. Jesus' dying on the cross is the ultimate expression of God's presence and solidarity with us in all of our pain, in our lostness. It was only through the cross that Jesus was raised up to new life. And, it is only through our cro

“It is well with my soul.” As the pandemic goes on, we can find our strength flagging and our faith waning. Times of difficulty have been times when faith is not only tested but formed. Faith is a gift from God that can sustain us and carry us through. This episode features a recording from a choir group that is physically distanced from one another. They recorded their voices on their cell phones and put them together to declare that “it is well with my soul.” Be inspired by these soaring voices! It also features Scripture readings and meditations on faith. May you blessed by the music, readings and meditations! Lyrics: It Is Well With My Soul When peace like a river, attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know It is well, it is well, with my soul! It is well, (it is well), With my soul, (with my soul) It is well, it is well, with my soul! Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul. It is well, (it is well), With my soul, (with my soul) It is well, it is well, with my soul! And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul! It is well, (it is well), With my soul, (with my soul) It is well, it is well, with my soul! The post Faith appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage : John 20:11-18 Sermon Text Mary came to the tomb after Jesus died. Mary truly loved Jesus. You know, the deeper you love a person, the greater loss you feel. She was in deep sorrow. You know, in deep sorrow, you cannot see things around you. She saw the angels, but she did not really recognize them. She saw Jesus, but Jesus was only a stranger to her. We become blind when we are in deep sorrow. Our tears blind our eyes, and we cannot see anything. We see a lot of tears these days. Their loved ones are sick, and yet, they cannot even be with them. Some of them die alone without the presence of their family. There are a lot of tears in this world. People are dealing with their pain in their own ways. Some of them suffer quietly. There is so much pain in this world. Jesus Wiping Away Our Sadness God sees our tears, and he comes to us. And that's what Jesus did, Jesus saw Mary's tears, and he came to her. Jesus said to Mary, Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking? It wasn't a criticism about her crying. Jesus knew, very well, why she was crying. Jesus simply wanted to be with her, and help her. For whom are you looking? A very profound question, actually. For whom are you looking, Mary? As a matter of fact, Mary was looking for the dead body of Jesus, the corpse. She was crying because the dead body of Jesus was gone. Now Jesus wiped the sadness that blinded her, and opened her eyes and let her see, not the dead body, but the risen body of Jesus. She was looking for the dead body, but now she sees the risen body of Jesus. That's why she called him, Rabboni! which she used to call him during Jesus' life time. Then she went to see the disciples and cried out, I have seen the Lord! God Shedding Our Tears I want Jesus to wipe all our tears. I want Jesus to wipe your tears that blinded you, and let you see the risen Christ. When you are hurting inside, on the outside, you shed tears. Tears are not a bad thing. It's just our hurt and pain flowing out of us. God sees that pain. God sees that tear. And God sheds that tear too. God sheds our tears. That pain of God is the pain we go through. It is our pain. When we go through our pain, it hurts God. That pain of God is God's compassion and mercy. The cross is Jesus' pain of embracing our pain. That is what the cross is. When you embrace others' pain, that is what it means to carry your own cross. That's when healing comes. Embracing Other’s Pain through Love My friends, often and too often, one's pain hurts others rather than healing them, because they are just carrying the raw pain, the raw hurt within them. Unresolved pain, they carry within. They don't even know that they are hurting inside. When you carry your unresolved pain within you, that hurts others. Only when our wound is healed by Jesus, and when our tears are wiped away by Jesus, then we can have the power to embrace others' pain. Love is not just a good feeling. Love is embracing others' pain. It is the power to embrace others' pain. This love brings about the power of resurrection. Pain causes pain. Death causes death. But when there is love, our pain causes our compassion, and our death causes life. That's why Jesus' cross brought about the resurrection. Crying Out to God for Healing You don't need to hide your hurt. Don't hide your hurt. When it remains in you, no matter how much you pretend that you don't have it, it's still there. It still hurts you. And the worst thing is: it hurts others. We need to come humbly before God, and simply cry out, God will heal us. God will wipe away our tears. That is when we can accept each other with compassion. Then this will bring new life. What we need right now is healing, and the hope of resurrection. Let us turn our eyes to Jesus. You will see the risen Christ. We will be able to stand up again, and go out to embrace others' pain. That is the power of the resurrection, and that is the message of Easter. Happy Easter! The post Tears of Mary appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.