The Purpose of the Christian Life.

　The theme of today’s message is “The Purpose of the Christian Life.” 　Actually, I turned 43 years old this year. Some may say that I am still young, but I myself feel that I am already 43 years old and get old. Mentally, I don’t feel that I have aged much, but I realize that my physical body is deteriorating. According to the Japanese government’s report, the average life of Japanese people in 2020 is 81.64 years for men and 87.74 years for women, these numbers are the highest ever. Based on these figures, I have completed half of my life. When I think about this, I often wonder what

Jesus’s Power and Priority (Mark 1:29-2:17)

↓Audio link to the sermon:(1st worship recording) (If you can’t listen on your iPhone, please update your iOS) In preparing for today’s sermon, I came across the stories of two rabbis—that is, two Jewish religious teachers: Rabbi Honi and Rabbi Hanina Ben Dosa. Rabbi Honi lived a hundred years before Jesus and was famous for praying for rain. The one time his prayer was not immediately answered, it’s said that he drew a circle on the ground and told God he would not leave the circle until it rained. Then it rained right after. As for Rabbi Hanina, who lived a few decades after Jesus’ death, he was known for

“Let the one who boasts boast about this” (Jeremiah 9:24)

　↓Audio link to the sermon:(1st worship recording) (If you can’t listen on your iPhone, please update your iOS) “But let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me” (Jeremiah 9:24) This is my sixth message on the book of Jeremiah. In my previous sermon, the theme was from Jeremiah 7:4, “Do not trust in deceptive words”. Those deceptive words, said by false prophets, was that Israel will surely be safe from foreign invaders, just because they have the Lord’s temple. This is similar to Japanese beliefs about supernatural blessing or protection. For the Christian, we have to know what we believe and consciously