↓Audio link to the sermon:(Sunday worship recording) (If you can’t listen on your iPhone, please update your iOS) In my previous message, which was about Micah 6:8, we focused on the theme of walking humbly before God. Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” The book that comes after Micah is the book of Nahum, and it is about God’s judgment on Assyria, a nation that had forgotten how to walk humbly before God. We see how God works mysteriously in these two
“Shame and honor, cost and reward” (Mark 10:28-45)
[An audio recording of this sermon will be uploaded here after the worship service.] In Japan, there is a saying, “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” This is similar to a Chinese saying, “A bird that pokes its head out gets shot.” When we act differently from how society expects, we may be criticized and shamed. Do you remember what the Japanese government did a few years ago to control the spread of Covid-19? One of the methods was the threat of shame. Travelers who entered or re-entered Japan were supposed to isolate themselves for awhile. If they were caught being outside unnecessarily, the government threatened to publicize
“Freedom in Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:19)
↓Audio link to the sermon:(Sunday worship recording) (If you can’t listen on your iPhone, please update your iOS) Today, I would like to talk about freedom in Christ. In order to understand freedom in Christ, we need to take a look at the concept of freedom. In particular, we have to deal with “freedom from what?” The most free being in this universe is Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God. He is God. Because Jesus is God, He freely thinks, freely speaks, and freely acts within the mysterious unity of the Trinity with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus truly knows freedom, joyfully enjoys it,
John 21:1-11
Sorry, this post is no translate, only available in Japanese. [John 21:1-11] 1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus
“What does the Lord require of you?” (Part3) Micah 6:8
↓Audio link to the sermon:(Sunday worship recording) (If you can’t listen on your iPhone, please update your iOS) This is my third message on the book of Micah. It is about the same key verse as before, Micah 6:8. But today I will focus on the part about walking humbly with God. Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Let’s briefly recall what we have learned so far. When we talk about acting justly, this is based on the righteousness of God’s laws.