Shoeboxes

Once again, we at IBF church decided to collaborate with Samaritan’s Purse. Samaritan’s Purse is a relief organization that takes its name from Jesus’s Parable of the Samaritan. The parable tells of a man from Samaria who helps a wounded traveler who was robbed. The Samaritan pays for the man’s lodging and dresses his wounds, then tells the innkeeper, “Look after him. And when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” (Luke 10:35) In the past, a young man who works for Samaritan’s Purse — the son of our former missionary Henry Lake — brought volunteers from America to aid in relief work after

Advent

Merry Christmas! In December, Christmas is celebrated across the world in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s birth. From December 3, the period of Advent begins. At our church (IBF), we prepare 5 candles. In the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, we light one new candle per week in anticipation of December 25. On the big day, we light the fifth candle as well. At IBF, we light the first candle to symbolize and commemorate the light of the world who was born, Jesus Christ. The second candle, lit on the second week, commemorates the humility of Christ. He set aside his high and divine position as God and was born

1 Kings 10 sermon, “Solomon and His Wealth”

From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a new missionary at IBF. Intro Today, we will read 1 Kings chapter 10. It is the last happy chapter in Solomon’s story before his decline as king of Israel. I would like to reflect on 3 topics from this chapter: (1) the source of wealth; (2) attitudes towards money; and finally, (3) what we can learn from the Queen of Sheba. [Read 1 Kings 10] Israel was doing very well economically. The details in this chapter are meant to impress the reader. 10 times, the word “gold” is mentioned. Imagine you’re a tourist visiting Solomon’s palace. Everything is

1 Kings 8, Part 2: “The Contrasting Qualities of God”

Last month, we looked at the contrasting qualities of God in 1 Kings chapter 8. We saw how God is mysterious and yet clear. He is the King of the world and yet loyal to his people. He is much greater than anything and yet wants to have a relationship with us. Chapter 8 was quite long, so we didn’t finish it. Today we will finish it by looking at a few more contrasting qualities of God. The first contrast is judgment and mercy, and I would like to focus on that. The second contrast is the big picture and the little details. So let’s read chapter 8, starting from

Team Evangelism

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. – Acts 13:2-3 From 22 March to 31 March 2017, we went on a field trip to visit a church in Detroit, Michigan, with support from the Japan Covenant Churches Evangelism Committee. It has been 7 years since Pastor Shunichi Miyamoto and his wife Masako began reaching out to Japanese people living in Detroit. They had a hard time initially and felt ill-prepared for the