RCCM of Japan

By Pastor Shoichi Ino When preaching, a pastor shoulders the great responsibility of conveying God’s word, entrusted to him by God. He reflects deeply on the words of Scripture and makes it easy for the congregation to understand. I’d like to share something I read in The Supremacy of God in Preaching, a book by John Piper, about 5 steps the writer tries to keep in mind when preaching: APTAT. Piper asks for the help of the Holy Spirit by offering an “APTAT” prayer. A – ADMIT: I recognize that without you, Lord, I am nothing. P – PRAY: So, Father, I seek your help. Please grant me the insight,

From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a missionary at IBF. Intro Today we will read 1 Kings chapter 13, to continue our series on 1 Kings. Chapter 13 contains a rather strange story and a warning. Before reading, let us pray. [Read 1 Kings 13] A strange story Welcome to the strange world of Old Testament stories. You probably have several questions buzzing in your mind. The writer doesn’t give many answers; he simply records the events that happened. But a few things are clear. First, the story begins and ends with King Jeroboam. Second, the writer often repeats this phrase: “the word of the

This post introduces Christianity in Malaysia. The writer is a member of International Bible Fellowship (IBF) church. My husband and I come from Malaysia, but we have also lived in Japan and the U.S. In terms of race and religion, Japan’s population is quite homogeneous. Like the U.S., Malaysia is diverse, but in my country the lines of race and religion are even more distinct. Multi-cultural, multi-religious country In Malaysia, race and religion are sensitive topics, to the extent that we were discouraged from discussing them as speech topics in school. Though Malaysians live in relative harmony, there is an undercurrent of tension regarding race and religion. The two are

From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a missionary at IBF. Intro Have you ever heard of fake noodles? According to a video I watched, some people in an Asian country found a way to make imitation beef noodles, including fake meat. By adding water and sauce to a powdery substance, the result looks and tastes like real meat. People sell this fake food because the ingredients are cheaper and they can make more money. A lab test showed that eating this fake food can cause cancer and other problems. The scary thing is that customers don’t realize it’s fake! I was reminded of this video

In 2018, let us continue to be servants of Christ in our churches, homes, and the places we are sent to. During the first worship service of January, I spoke on the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). God our Father desires that we repent and return to Him even if we lose our way. May we have the heart of the Father and share the good news with many. Happy New Year, Pastor Ino. Last year’s Candlelight Service in Dec 2017: Bells performance during the Candlelight Service:

From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a missionary at IBF. Intro Last time, we read a sad story about how the wise king Solomon turned away from God in his old age. As a result, God declared that Solomon’s kingdom would be split. Today, as we read 1 Kings chapter 12, we see the kingdom of Israel beginning to split. Two messages from today’s story: First, despite human foolishness, God is in control. Second, despite human foolishness, God is gracious. Let us pray. [Read 1 Kings 12:1-24] There are two important characters here: Rehoboam and Jeroboam. It’s easy to confuse them because their names sound the same. To recap: Rehoboam

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