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What does it mean to “act like a Christian?”
My wife and I the other day were looking around some interesting ‘youtube’ documentaries, and we came across one that was titled “The Holiest Places on Earth.” It peaked my interest and we watched about an hour of it. Top on the list of holiest places was a monastery on an island in Greece. It was built centuries ago; was constructed multi-stories high on a crazy rock (to this day engineers are amazed how they did it a few hundred…
Desperation
Have you ever wondered where some of our everyday things have come from? The problem with urban living is that we have become really disconnected with how our food is made and produced. Luckily, I grew up in farm country. This led to lots of “peeks behind the curtain”. It led to a lot of “what the heck”?! For example, who decided that a burnt tree pod made amazing bean juice (aka coffee). Who looked at an oyster (raw no…
Purposeful Suffering
Paul the Apostle is arguably one of the most influential people for the Christian faith (obviously after Christ!) He had a momentous conversion. He was planting numerous churches. He gave bold witness to individuals, communities, and governments! In short, he was a powerful instrument in the hands of God. But where did this power come from? Do you remember what God said to Ananias regarding Paul’s faith and ministry? “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry…
“The Love of God Reaches to the lowest Hell”
This coming Sunday I will bring to us a very famous passage of Scripture that are part of the “Christology Hymns” of the New Testament; that is. “Christology Hymns” of the New Testament describe theologically who Jesus really is and what He has done. Last week we studied Colossians 1:15-23. I am asking you to read ahead before Sunday and meditate carefully on this week’s passage, Philippians 2:6-11. For a larger context, once you read this part, read the whole…
Prayers Work!
Have you ever heard someone say to you, “Prayers work”? I cannot know for sure, but if I am right, I think this is what they meant. They had something heavy on their hearts, or something nice they really wanted, and they prayed to God and asked him for his help. After they prayed, God removed the heaviness on their hearts, or gave them that something nice they really wanted, and they wish to say the reason why that happened…
Jesus, the Visible – Cosmic Christ
Have you ever given much thought to how the ancient societies seemed to have so many gods? If you are a student in any way, even just a casual student of ancient times you will know of some of the names in the past of ‘gods’ that societies had. Just for fun, let me remind you of some: This coming Sunday I am beginning to lay out the first of four in what is often referred to as “Christology hymns”…
Good and Evil – God and Satan
Pastor Kim made a comment to me that has stuck with me, and frankly it has seriously shaken me. He told me that the biggest adjustment in moving back to the States, was leaving a country where everyone was at least coming to the table with an agreement that there is a God (even if we don’t believe in the same God). But here in the US, that foundational truth is not a given. Think about that for a second.…
Hell is Under Fire
“Hell is unfair!” “There is no way a loving God can morally send a person to Hell for eternity.” “If the God of the Bible allows Hell, I would rather be away from him forever.” The outrage against Hell is real. The truth of Hell is one of the most challenging topics in Christianity. It is one of the most common obstacles for the skeptic. But not only for the skeptic, for the sincere Christian, too. Even if a Christian…
Is Religious a Bad Word?
As many of you know already, I grew up as a little boy in Japan. What you might not know is that while I was living there, my parents didn’t put me in a traditional Japanese school. Instead, they put me in an international, and also Catholic, school. Even though the school was founded by Canadian Catholic brothers, the school welcomed students from all faith backgrounds. While I was there, in addition to the usual English, Math, Science, History, French…
The Kingdom of Heaven
Last week we heard about Heaven being that future world of love where God is. This week we will be learning about the present kingdom of heaven here and now. So, we might say that last week, we focused on heaven as the place where God dwells. This week, we will focus on heaven as the space that God fills. In our understanding of “kingdom” in human terms, we tend to see it as a physical empire, a government, or…
Heaven
I am eagerly longing to gather with you all again to worship our loving God. I have heard it said that “heaven is where God is.” But God is everywhere, isn’t he? God is omnipresent. He is then “present” in your home, the workplace, the mountains where you hike, the grocery store, the highways where you drive, your schools, sports teams, and sleepovers… But to say God is everywhere, it doesn’t mean he is present in the same way everywhere.…
Grain of Wheat Must Fall
If you recall the story, one day a group of people came to Jesus’ disciples, Andrew and Philip, and asked to see Jesus. The people had just witnessed the raising of Lazarus, and it could be that they had wanted to see more. Or it could be they had wanted to hear more. I personally think they wanted to see the person who performed this miracle do something, anything, because they had just seen an incredible miracle. Jesus gave a…
I can be Redeemed!
If you have heard me preach and ‘tell stories’ (which I commonly do) you have learned some things about me. And one of those things is My wife and I enjoy on a day off or relaxing afternoon stopping at a garage sale. The one remarkable thing about garage sales is that of course you find lots and lots of American junk we are famous for that in our culture of collecting far more than we would ever need. But,…
Jesus: The Consolation of Israel?
At a youth Christmas party that we were at the other day I played a bit of a game with the teens… ‘name all the characters that you remember in the Christmas story. I wonder if you could do that? Then… not only name them, but tell where they are found in the Scripture, and what their significance is. This might be a good Christmas party game for you as well. Let me get you started: But did you on…
What Can a Genealogy Teach Us!?
Often in my time in Turkey I was asked a single set of questions by many Turks (mostly taxi drivers). “Where are you from?” To which I would answer, “I am Korean. My father and mother emigrated from Korean to the States in the 80s.” Without fail, the next question was. “North or South?” Some would also then ask, “Do you know Kim Jong Un?” On my best days, I engaged with humor. When cultural stressors were higher, I used…
Lessons on Friendship from an Unexpected Place
I don’t know about you, but for me the book of Job has always been an incredibly hard book in the Bible to get through. I often find myself speed reading through it, only glazing over the salient points just so I can finish it as quickly as possible and move on to something less uncomfortable. But lately I have begun to view that book very differently. There are several incredibly important lessons in the book of Job, beyond the…
The Essence of Joy
We are moving into the third week of Advent this Sunday. The theme is on joy. What is joy? Joy is a deep and very good emotion. So, we read in many places in the Bible: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found a covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Mt. 13:44) “And you will have joy and gladness, and…
My Cancer and My Faith
The last couple of years have been the hardest of my life. Night sweats, cognitive fog, muscle atrophy, pain, exhaustion, and sleeplessness stretch endlessly, leaving me drained and painfully aware of how fragile my body has become. These symptoms are the result of the medications I have been taking and continue to take, a reminder that my strength is slipping away. You see, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017. Immediately, I began to understand in a new way…
The Nature of Sin
Hello beloved LifeWay family, Happy Advent to you all! Why is the sermon theme this Advent season on Sin and the Fall? What a damper on a joyous and happy season…Why not just happy carols, frosted cookies, and joyful choruses? Christ has come! But is life really like that? I was told once by a friend overseas that when Western missionaries leave the homes of indigenous peoples/groups/tribes, these once smiling people return to their lament and sadness. The Western presence…
Ancient of Days
Many Christians listen to Christian radio stations while they work, do some light house work, or drive. Some listen to Christian music exclusively. Do you enjoy Christian music? I cannot say I do. Occasionally, my wife would hear a Christian song that she said was out of this world, and ask me to listen to it, and she would be right, the song was amazing. But usually, I don’t listen much to Christian music (some of you are questioning right…
Can there be any Hope?
When the time change happens in November and the daylight grows shorter in our northern hemisphere, it is extremely noticeable. It actually might drive me crazy if it were not for the Christmas season. But the long days of darkness become joyful for me when the Christmas lights go up. I’m kind of a sucker for Christmas lights — not quite as bad as Clark Griswald (of the Christmas Vacation movie) but I do love them. The gorgeous lights of…
How to prepare yourself for Thanksgiving Worship this Sunday!
This coming Sunday, November 23, at 10am, the LifeWay Church family will be coming together for a worship time totally dedicated to “Giving Thanks!” We did this last year and it was so meaningful. This simple article is to strongly encourage you to get ready so that YOU and I — all of us can truly participate in the most meaningful of ways. Here is what to expect at the worship service: Your assignment is to identify one or more…
Lessons From a garden
I love to garden. I am still not especially proficient at it, and every season is a new trial and error. But there is something incredibly grounding and humbling about taking a small insignificant seed, giving it an environment to grow and a bit of attention and watching it transform into something that in turn produces something of value itself. I have also found that the more time that I spend in my garden, the more that I grow in…
Angels Ascending and Descending (Part II)
Read Part I When people think of angels, they sometimes think of them as baby angels, not adult angels. They fly around on their wings (not the people, but angels), play the harp and shoot arrows. They had just taken a bath, and they smell good. But that is not the picture of angels in the Bible. Angels are simply God’s helpers, and they do various types of work to, well, help God. But perhaps, angels are best understood to…
God is Joy!
What is the happiest place that you can think of? If you had a choice, what would be your happy place? I love to play a group game with people (many of you have been part of this in the past). I give people four different locations of places they could go to for their “happy place!” (1) A mountain chalet in the Austrian Alps; (2) A white sandy beach in the Virgin Islands surrounded by blue water and palm…