Author: RCCM

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

From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a new missionary at IBF. Last month, I talked about how King Solomon built the first temple for God. Today’s sermon continues reflecting on the temple, but this time, the topic is about achievement and dependence. Let’s ask if our achievements bring glory to God or only to ourselves. Let’s also reflect on whether we remember God in our daily life and depend on Him. Our main text today is 1 Kings 7. This chapter is full of details about the buildings Solomon constructed, including the temple. But I will only read a few verses, and you can read

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Recently, I was present at yet another funeral and then another: for the 93-year-old father of a church member and for a 94-year-old church pastor who was highly respected. Both persons had experienced over 90 years of life and had contributed much to society. I attended the pastor’s funeral only as one of the mourners. There, I learned a great deal about his outlook on life that was founded on Scripture and how he had served the church so admirably, and I heard the testimonies of people he had shepherded. As for the other funeral service, the father of my church member had not come to faith. So I prepared

From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a new missionary at IBF. Today we continue the story of King Solomon in the book of 1 Kings. Today’s theme is “seeking wisdom.” We will read about Solomon’s prayer for wisdom in 1 Kings chapter 3. Let’s see what we can learn from his prayer. [Read 1 Kings 3:1-15] On your own time, you can read the rest of chapter 3, which shows how Solomon used his God-given wisdom. Chapter 4 goes on to describe how Solomon’s wisdom became so famous that people from different nations came to learn from him. Today, I want to pose some questions

In January 2017, church members and relatives of the departed attended back-to-back services. One was a Christian funeral, and the other a Buddhist funeral. At the Christian service, stories of personal faith were shared along with photographs of the departed and her relatives, as well as expressions of love towards her family members. On the other hand, at the Buddhist funeral, no message about the Resurrection was shared; however, it was a family-centred event that overflowed with love and gratitude towards the departed. Regardless of religious beliefs, we were each reminded of the importance of living a life full of love. “As in life, so in death.” These are the

An IBF member was suddenly called home to heaven on January 14th after a heart attack. Since her family desired a Christian funeral, on the day I paid a visit to comfort them, we made arrangements for a funeral to be held at a nearby assembly hall. We also drew up a program which consisted of Scripture passages and hymns that the deceased loved. I asked various IBF members what passages and hymns they thought fitting to include. In addition, it was also important that I prepared well to speak from Romans 10:9-10. The passage, I hoped, would guide the faith of those who attended the funeral. My hope is