Sunday Worship Service June 22, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship  Deuteronomy 14:2
Hymn JBC# 327  Lead on, O King eternal
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 262 Holy Spirit, breathe on me
Offering
Scripture 1 Peter 2:9～12
Sermon “Chosen according to God's purpose”

Prayer
Hymn JBC # 618 Love divine, all loves excelling
Doxology JBC # 679 Living for Jesus
Closing Prayer
Postlude
Welcome & Announcements

*message texts not uploaded today due to a lay sermon.

Sunday Worship Service June 25, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Proverb 22:9
Hymn JBC# 120 Praise to the Lord Almighty
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 262 Holy Spirit, breathe on me
Offering
Scripture Acts 2:43～47
Sermon “Life of the Believers”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 19 Love divine, all loves excelling
Doxology JBC # 679
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome & Announcements


The Bible passage given to us today begins with the words “Everyone was filled with awe (*”fear” in other translations) at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ”
It says that many wonders and signs were performed by the apostles of Christ, and everyone was filled with “fear” at the sight.
　Jesus Christ rose from the grave (from the dead) and revealed himself to his disciples.
Jesus Christ, who was completely sinless, bore the sins of humanity and was crucified (killed).
　Through Christ's death, we are forgiven of our sins and were able to receive true life (eternal life) and were able to live.
　Having received eternal life, we can say that those who believe in Christ no longer need to fear death. What a blessing!
On Sunday, the day of the Lord's resurrection, Christians still gather for worship, remembering the Lord's resurrection and receiving from the resurrected Lord the power to live and the grace of eternal life.
Once again, Jesus died on the cross and was buried in the tomb.

However, Jesus did not remain dead, as the Bible (Psalms) says, “He was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.”
That Christ would never remain dead was foretold through the words of Old Testament prophecy.
After appearing to his disciples for about 40 days after his resurrection and encouraging them, Jesus ascended again to heaven.
Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus promised His disciples, "The Holy Spirit will fall on you. When the Holy Spirit falls on you, you will receive power.” (Acts 1:8)
And as promised, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, and they began to speak of the great works of God in various foreign languages, and they began to do many other wondrous works, too. (We celebrated the events of Pentecost last week)
Seeing what had happened, today’s passage says, “Everyone was filled with awe”, or in other translations of the Bible, “fear came upon all.” What kind of fear was this?
“Fear” is one of the most important elements of the Christian faith. Once again we need to know the fear of the Lord God.

Through Jesus, we are made known to God our Heavenly Father. Through Jesus, we know the infinite love of God and are greatly comforted.
For Jesus, the Son of God, has delivered us from sin in exchange for His own life.
That love of Jesus is truly unlimited, and we humans can never fully know the magnitude of that love.
When we are touched by such deep love and the essence of God, we become deeply grateful for the blessings we receive, but at the same time we also come to feel fear.
One of the indicators of whether or not a Christian believes in and lives according to the true God of the Bible is whether or not he or she has this "fear of the Lord God.”
I dare say that God is "terrifying One”. By terrifying, I mean that God completely transcends us in everything, including our thoughts and ideas.
We can never know everything about God, much less the things we stand above Him and dictate to Him.
However, isn’t it the case without our noticing well that we are demanding various things to God as if doing so are our legitimate rights.

God is the One to be feared. The fear is to "honor God and recognize His greatness and immeasurability.”
In Old Testament times, Moses was the man chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, where they had lived in slavery for about 400 years.
When the Lord God first appeared to Moses, the Lord spoke to him, “Moses, Moses” (Exodus Chapter 3).
Then God spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Then “Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God,” the passage (Exodus 3:6) says.
Hearing God's voice, being made known to God, inherently causes so much fear in us.
　We know that "God is love”. However, we want once again to remind ourselves of the fear toward God, that God is the one whom we should fear.

　We should be afraid when we remember the immeasurable power of the One who created everything in the world, heaven and earth, ordained all the laws of nature, and made all of us alive.
　We should be afraid that we will never be able to stand before Him.
　When we lose our fear of the Lord, we become arrogant, we think we know everything, and we become self-centered in many things.
　To fear the Lord is also to know (or admit) that we know nothing. The Apostle Paul said the following.
He says, “Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.”

(1 Corinthians 8:2).
Knowing that we know nothing forces us to be humble. And we become willing to be constantly taught, both by God and by others.

So we always need to listen to one another and teach one another. For one person's understanding and faith are limited. For we are the ones who "do not yet know what we need to know.
When Christians in faith honor one another, listen to one another, teach one another, and fellowship with one another, the love of God is at the center of such fellowship.
Paradoxically, having fear of God leads to knowing God's love and love for others as well.
Let us always humble ourselves before God, acknowledge His immense power, and know that we rightly fear Him. Let us also receive with gratitude the love of God that is made known to us at the same time.
　In today's passage, we read that the apostles (disciples of Christ) “were all one, having all things in common, selling their possessions and belongings, and sharing them with one another according to their own needs.”

　This was the early Christian community filled with the love of Christ. How was it possible to have everything in common?
　That is why they believed that "all things are given to us by God.” When we are proud of our own strength, we think that what we have earned with our own abilities is our own.
But if we believe that “we are created by God and made alive by God’s mercy,” we are given the faith that "everything is a God-given gift.”
　When we receive the faith that “everything is a gift from God,” we are freed from attachment to our possessions, our talents, or ourselves.
　The Bible tells us that when we live by the faith that “everything is a gift from God,” then we can share what we need with one another.

　And in today's passage, when it says that “the apostles all shared in one another's needs,” it means that they knew who needed what from one another.
　There was a kindness among them that showed consideration for each other, and a relationship of trust was also built between them that allowed those in need to ask for help.
We hope to build a community where we can share with each other and where those who are in need can call out for help, based on the love we receive from Jesus.
Let’s read verses 46~47
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

They were "enjoying the favor of all the people.” Why was this?
The reason was that the apostles (disciples and believers) had gathered together in faith, and they were "praising God.”
　When Christ's followers gather by faith, there God is praised (glorified and worshipped). And such an appearance has won the favor of many people.
　Here is what is important, or we can say even only one thing that is important in evangelizing Christ.
　It means that when believers praise God genuinely and sincerely, such an appearance captures the hearts of those who do not know God, too.
　To praise God is also to seek His glory, to attribute glory to Him.

The theme of our church this year is “All for the Glory of the Lord God”. This theme condenses the mission and purpose of the Christian faith.
We do not seek the glory of ourselves or of our church, but only the glory of the Lord God of Jesus Christ.
Let us ask that only the God of Christ be praised. Let us desire it with all our hearts.
　It is the supreme joy and blessedness for the believer that God is praised and all glory is attributed to Him, and God's praise is the most powerful way in which His gospel is preached.
　And at the end of today's passage, we read, “The Lord added to them daily those who were being saved, and made them one.”
When believers in Christ gather together under the Lord's grace and love, united in the thought that all is given to us by God, when we share and help one another, and when we praise the Lord, He will add daily those who will be saved.
　There are many around us who must be saved by the grace of Christ and should be fellow members of the community of faith.
Remembering that there are many such people, let us once again have a “fear” of the great God, but let us also be kept alive in His love and mercy.
　When we love, share, and help one another by faith, God is praised and glory is returned to Him. And one by one, people who come to believe in the Lord will surely be arised.
　Encouraged by such a picture (vision) of gospel evangelism as conveyed in the Acts of the Apostles, we, too, hope to live a life of faith daily living and sharing the gospel.

Sunday (Pentecost) Worship Service June 8, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Job 33:4
Hymn JBC # 650 Serve the Lord with gladness
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC #262 Holy Spirit, breathe on me
Offering
Special Hymn 1
God’s Wonderful Works in the multiple languages
Special Hymn 2
Scripture Acts 2:32～42
Prayer
Sermon “Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 278 There’s within my heart a melody
Doxology JBC # 679
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome & Announcements

Today we offer the worship service of Pentecost.
Let us listen together to God's message from the Bible about Pentecost, in which the Lord's Holy Spirit was poured out on Christ's disciples.
Today's Bible passage is from the New Testament in the book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 32-42.
Peter, the first disciple of Jesus Christ, is speaking to the people who have gathered.
Peter told them that Jesus Christ is the One sent from God and that He has risen from the dead.
Here are Peter's words in the first verse of today's passage:

　God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
When Peter encountered the risen Jesus Christ, he could not help but share the resurrected Christ with others. And it was the Holy Spirit who prompted him to do so.
Peter himself says that he was poured out with the Holy Spirit. These are the words of today's verse 33.

33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

　Peter is telling about who the Jesus Christ is, and about His death and resurrection, because he has received the promised Holy Spirit.
　And the work of the invisible Holy Spirit was also evident in Peter's figure that passionately talk about Jesus Christ and God.
I sometimes wonder if Jesus showed up and prove Himself that he was resurrected, more people would believe in Jesus.
I am sure there would still be doubters, but I think that evangelism would go much faster if Jesus himself revealed himself to us and spoke his words directly than if we, as people, evangelize.
However, the Bible says that there is sure hope in that faith because it is invisible to our eyes, and that such faith is eternal.

Let me quote 2 biblical passages below:

Romans 8:24～25
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

2 Corinthians 4:18
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

　We live in an invisible but sure hope, an invisible but eternal hope (rather because we cannot see).
We still cannot see Jesus with our eyes or meet Him in person. We know who Jesus is through the Bible.
And we can also know Christ through the example of others who have believed in Him and have been changed in the way they live, and who are actually living out their faith through the way they live.
In this way, Christ is communicated through the life of each believer and also through the work of the church. And it is the Holy Spirit who makes this possible.
Therefore, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we hope to continue to testify that Christ has indeed risen and that we have received hope through the resurrected Christ and are kept alive.

Let us read verse 36 of today’s passage.
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

“Jesus, whom you crucified," is a fierce expression. But we must listen to these words as they are directed to us too today.
Jesus went to the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore, it was each one of us who crucified Jesus, and it was “this myself” who crucified Him.
Our church carries the cross on its roof. The cross is a method of capital (death) punishment. The wood of the cross is an instrument of capital punishment.
We have on our roof (the most prominent place) what is an instrument of death penalty. We do this so that we will always remember the fact that we have crucified Christ, the One who is God.
And we will always remember that on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ died for us and gave us new life.

In today's passage, there was the following response from those who had heard such a story of Peter.
　“Brothers, what shall we do?” (v.37)

When people are informed about the true God and what Jesus Christ has done for them, they will think “Now I must not go on like this”
Therefore, they asked Peter “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter answered (verses 38-39)
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (v.38~39)
“Be baptized in the name of Christ for the forgiveness of sins" means that only in the name of Christ can we be saved and have our sins forgiven.”

And baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, then, not only represents the forgiveness of sins, but also leads to the reception of the Holy Spirit as a gift.
It is also very important to note that the Holy Spirit as a gift is given "to your children and to all who are far away, for all whom God calls.”
Here we are taught that the Christian must continue to speak of the presence of the Risen Lord in every situation.
This is because if the Christian does not speak (testify) about the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, others will not hear about Him.
Unless we give a living testimony of our faith as our own experience of faith, others will not know that Christ is still working and sustaining our lives.
And also because we do not know whom the Lord God is calling to Himself (who would become believers).
Therefore, it is important that we continue to witness and testify of the Lord Jesus Christ through every opportunity we are given.

In today's passage, it says that those who accepted Peter's words were baptized, and about 3,000 people joined them that day.
Three thousand is an impressive number. We would think that such a miracle can’t be today.
But we can have faith in the hope that if the Word of God is spoken with truth, such a great event is not impossible, even today.

Let me read the last verse, v.42, of today's passage.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Here is what the Christian Church continues to value today. Apostles’ teaching means teaching the Word of Jesus Christ, the teaching of God as conveyed in the Bible.
　Teaching does not mean that someone teaches someone else one-way, but that we teach and learn from each other. We are to teach one another and encourage one another in the faith. That is the Body of Christ.
　It is where Jesus Christ, as communicated in the Bible, is communicated vividly. I believe that in such a church where the living Christ is preached and shared, people will surely gather.
In Christ's church, there is mutual fellowship. There is a fellowship of life in which we support one another.
As for mutual fellowship in the church, I realize the importance of this from my own experience as a pastor.
The pastor is the spiritual leader, but he is also the only believer before God.
It is essential for the pastor to be nurtured in spiritual fellowship with the church members in order to continue his ministry of speaking the Word.
Therefore, I am truly thankful that you all have chosen me as your pastor, and that you continue to nurture me in spiritual fellowship with me as a fellow believer (brother).
As a pastor, I too am taught many things by you.
I can also look back on my life of faith before I became a pastor and I can say with certainty that my faith would never have grown if I had not been connected to the church.
Let us cherish the fellowship of each other and the church, which is so important.

The “breaking of bread” refers directly to the Lord's Supper.
Although we cannot see Jesus Christ now, we remember that He offered His body for us through the Lord's Supper.
And by actually partaking of the bread and wine that symbolize the body of Christ, we experience that our lives are still sustained by Christ, and we continue to witness to that faith through the visible ritual.
And the last thing we are told is to pray.
The church is a place where two or three people can pray in the name of Christ, believing together in earnest that their prayers will be heard if they pray together with their hearts.
Prayer is one of the precious gifts given to the Church, and I believe it is safe to say that nothing can deprive us of this gift of prayer.
We want to be a church that can pray with joy, expectation, and strength, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Today we offer a worship service that remembers and celebrates the event of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit first fell on Christ's disciples.
Let us join in prayer, with open hearts and minds, and also listening to each other's hearts and voices, that the Holy Spirit will work freely (like the wind) among us, even now.
When we ask and pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us and to our Church in abundance. Let us believe in the Lord's promise and continue to live in faith of hope.

Sunday Worship Service June 1, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 16:2
Hymn JBC # 105 There is sunshine in my soul today
The Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 262 Holy Spirit, breathe on me
Offering
Scripture Acts 2:22～31
Prayer
Sermon “Making Known the Paths of Life”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 86 O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Doxology JBC # 679
Benediction
Postlude


Today's Bible passage is from the middle section of Acts 2. The beginning of chapter 2 depicts the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples as they gathered together on Pentecost, the Jewish feast of thanksgiving for the harvest.
For the service next week (June 8), we will celebrate the event of the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, descended upon Christ's disciples.
The event of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, is also the event from which the Christian Church is said to have been born.
　The disciples, upon receiving the Holy Spirit, began to speak about the great works of God in the languages of the various nations at that time.
The Christian church today is also commissioned by God to speak and tell of the great works of God to the society we find ourselves in and to the reset of the world.

The day of Pentecost marked the beginning of the Church's work of speaking and telling of God's great works and of God's love and grace.
Today's passage is a continuation of Peter's sermon, which he delivered to the many people gathered at Pentecost.
Let us start with verse 22 of today's passage.
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.

　The first thing Peter says here is that "Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God.”
　The fact that “the man accredited by God,” the One equal to God, was a Nazarene was difficult to accept for the Jews listening to Peter.
Nazareth is a small village in the region known as Galilee in the north of Israel. This was where Jesus grew up.
　According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was born in a Jewish town called Bethlehem.
　When King Herod, the king of the Jews, heard the news (from the scholars (magi) from the east) that a new king had been born to replace him, he tried to find the child.
However, when he was unable to find the child, King Herod had all the boys in the area of Bethlehem under the age of two brutally killed.
　To escape Herod's slaughter, Jesus' father Joseph took his wife Mary and baby Jesus and fled to Egypt.
　After Herod's death, Joseph and his family returned to Israel, but the Bible says that they came to live not in Bethlehem, but in Nazareth in Galilee. (Matthew 2).
Nazareth was a small village in Galilee, despised by the rest of the region. This can be seen, for example, from the following passages in the Gospel of John.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 43, Philip (he became one of the twelve disciples later) meets Jesus.
Philip believes that Jesus is the Son of God and follows Him. He also tells his companion, Nathanael, about Jesus.

But then Nathanael said to Philip, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? (no way)” (John 1:46)
At the time Jesus lived, the village of Nazareth was looked down upon and despised by people from other places, even in Galilee.
　But Jesus, the Son of God, grew up in Nazareth by God's design and came to be called "Jesus the Nazarene.”
　　Nazareth, which to the human eye was thought to be a place where nothing good could come out of it, became a very special place where the Son of God was chosen by God to grow up as a man.
　We may have the same feelings of contempt and discrimination that the Jewish people of that time had toward Nazareth toward something (or someone) today. That is a part of the sin of man.
However, let us remember that what is despised by others is considered precious in God's eyes and is used in a special way, so let us recognize and repent of the sin of discrimination and prejudice in our hearts.

Peter tells there that Jesus of Nazareth did the works of God but was killed on the cross for the sins of men.
Peter goes so far as to say, “you…put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” (v. 23), stating that Jesus was crucified for the sins of all men, including Peter himself.
　Peter then says that Jesus, who was crucified and killed, was released from the agony of death and resurrected. Peter strongly stated the resurrection of Christ.
Why was Peter so convinced of this at that time?
First of all, Peter himself had met the resurrected Jesus. He was also convinced by the words of the Bible at that time.
Peter quotes a psalm of David from the Old Testament book of Psalms and continues.
Let me read you verse 25 of today's passage. This is a quote from Psalm 16.

25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

This “the Lord” is the Lord God. And this “Lord” is Jesus Christ, Peter affirms. Namely, Jesus is the Lord and God.
　”I saw the Lord always before me." – with this words of psalm by David, Peter would have recalled the days when Jesus was with him.
　I imagine that Peter was remembering that if Jesus had been only a man, he would never have had that sense of security and peace.
　There was a time when the disciples boarded a boat with Jesus and rowed out into the lake, and there was a violent storm that nearly sank the boat.
The disciples were afraid, but when Jesus rebuked the wind and the lake, the storm stopped. Peter may have remembered how Jesus calmed the storm too.
　If the Lord is with us, we will never be shaken.
　For no storm, no matter how fierce, has the power to bring us to our knees before the power of the Word of the Lord Jesus.
　No matter how difficult or unpredictable a situation may be, let us first give the situation to the Lord God, Jesus, and let Him sustain us.
The Lord will sustain us ~ Let us trust in this promise from the Bible.

Let's read verses 27~28.

27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

　I believe that Peter himself was experiencing spiritually coming to life as he spoke these words.
　We can say that Peter was once spiritually dead. When Jesus was alive, Peter had great hope in Him, but when Jesus was finally arrested, he abandoned Him and fled.
　He completely stumbled once in faith and died spiritually. But by meeting the resurrected Jesus and being encouraged by His words, Peter rose again and experienced spiritual resurrection of himself.
　And it was revealed to Peter that Jesus is the “path of life,” the way to eternal life with God through which all people pass, just as the psalmist had said.
　The path to true life was also shown to us by Jesus. Jesus himself is the way.
　Nothing can deprive us of the joy of being with God and His grace as long as we walk the path of life that is Jesus Christ.
If we stay in the presence of God, if we persist on the path of life that is Christ, we will always be filled with joy.

　Let us walk together in faith on the path of life in Jesus Christ revealed to us through His Word.
　Let’s read verses 30-31 and the passage quoted from Psalm 16:10.
　30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

　This was promised through the words of the Psalms of David. The One who would be born as one of David's descendants would be born as the true King.
　And although man, in his sin, would kill Christ on the cross, Christ would not remain in the realm of death.
　The person who was spoken of in David's words was Jesus of Nazareth, as Peter was convinced of that and he clearly stated so.
This person Jesus, being God Himself, lived as a human, suffered a painful death for the sins of humanity, and was resurrected.
Jesus did not remain dead, but was resurrected, just as it was prophesied by the Bible that he would not remain dead.

Here, let us return to verse 22 from today's passage.
It says that God performed various miracles, wonders, and signs through Jesus, proving that Jesus was indeed sent from God.
　　Let us also open our hearts and keep our eyes on the many miracles, works, and signs that the resurrected Jesus is doing today.
Isn’t it a great miracle (God's grace) that having the same faith, we are called together by Christ and can worship together in this way.
Let us recognize the work of the great God through our hearts, and be enlivened by the power of Christ the Lord.
No matter how difficult our circumstances may be, no matter how hopeless our lives may seem, the Lord Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead, as he will never be left dead, will always sustain us.
The Lord is always with us. Therefore, we do not need to be afraid or upset. Let us live each day of this new week, relying on and clinging to the Lord.

Sunday Worship Service May 25, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Isaiah 60:20
Hymn JBC # 16 To God be the glory
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Supper
Hymn JBC #320 Shine and Live
Confession of Faith
Offering
Scripture Acts 2:14~21
Prayer
Sermon “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 260 Set my soul afire, Lord
Doxology JBC # 676
Benediction
Postlude


The Bible passage shared in our worship service last week was from Acts 2:1-13, which precedes today's passage.
When the apostles (disciples of Jesus Christ) were gathered together, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of violent wind and tongues of fire, and the Holy Spirit descended on each of the disciples.
Since that day was the day of Pentecost (the Jewish harvest festival), the event is called the Pentecostal event.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and they began to speak in many languages ​​about the great works of God.
The fact that they spoke of God's great works in different languages ​​was an indication that God's word and God's great works must reach every country and region of the world.
The work of telling the world about God's great deeds is still ongoing today, and it is the Christian church that has been entrusted with this task.

The church is a place where believers gather to experience God's wonderful work, His Word, and where we are healed, comforted, and strengthened by God's Word.
The church is a place where we have our sins revealed through Jesus Christ then repent (turn to God), and rejoice in the knowledge that we have been forgiven by Christ, and share that joy together.
The church has also been entrusted with the task of spreading the message of Jesus Christ's forgiveness and grace, not just to ourselves, but to the communities to which each church is sent.
An important part of the church's work in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ is the preaching of God’s Word (sermon at worship services).
The work of preaching (the message) during worship services is usually entrusted to the pastor of the church, by church members.
However, even if it is the pastor who actually delivers the message (although there are times when a believer other than the pastor is entrusted with the task of delivering the message), the message delivered in a public gathering such as a worship service never comes from just personal message of the person who delivers it.

　This is well shown at the beginning of today's Bible passage.
In today's passage, Peter (one of Jesus Christ's first disciples) is speaking to the people.
It could be said that this was the first sermon (message) in the Christian church.
God the Father sent the promised Holy Spirit to the disciples, and Peter stood up.
It was not that Peter was chosen because he was outstanding among the disciples or because he had a particularly strong faith.
Although he was Christ's first disciple, he had the shameful experience of betraying the Lord and running away (everyone knew about it).
Even so, Peter was chosen by the Lord, forgiven, and set to speak God's word.

Let's look at the first verse of today's passage, verse 14.
　14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:

　Peter stood up with the eleven (the other apostles) and began to speak. Although it was Peter who actually spoke, he was not alone.
He stood up as a representative of the twelve apostles (including Peter) who were there and began to speak.
Peter first received the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ, and then, with the prayers and support of his fellow apostles who were with him, he was able to stand up and speak the word of God.
This made me realize once again that the message of a church pastor is actually the same thing. Well, it may be the pastor alone who actually speaks.
However, the message of a church pastor is spoken through the prayers and support of each and every church member, and it’s a message that God entrusted to the church. Therefore, the worship message is created together by each and every one of us (you) who are connected to the church.
So, especially church members and Christians, I hope that you will not only think of yourself as someone who listens to the message, but also always pray for the sermon and the preacher.
I would like you to share the feeling that, "I am praying with the preacher, preparing, and speaking together with him."

In verse 15 Paul said this:
　15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!

There was a reason why Peter said this. In the previous passage, when the disciples received the Holy Spirit and began to speak in many different languages, some people mocked them, saying:

　“They have had too much wine.” (v.13)

There were people at that time who thought, “They seem to be speaking in many different languages, but in reality, they are just drunk and uttering nonsense.”
Peter spoke to those who said this. He did not fight against them with anger, but spoke calmly (with love) based on God's Word.
I think that speaking calmly and with love based on God's Word is very important for us today.

Here is what Peter said:
It was still 9 o'clock in the morning, so it was not a time when so many people would normally drink alcohol together.
9 o'clock in the morning was the first of three daily Jewish prayer times (morning, noon, and evening).

Peter calmly explained, "If you look closely at us, you will see that we are not drunk at the first morning prayer time."
Peter then quoted the passages in the Bible (Old Testament) that described the events of the day, and explained the events based on God's Word.
The words from verses 17 to 21 were from Joel 3:1-5 in the Old Testament.
It said, "God will pour out his Spirit on all people."
It said that the Spirit of God will be poured out on all people, and that sons and daughters (both men and women) will prophesy (speak the word of God), and young people and old people will have visions and dreams (visions).

All people who have received the Spirit of God will begin to speak the word of God in their own language.
In the church, the preacher (pastor) speaks the message on behalf of the church during worship. However, we can see from today's passage that God also speaks through all people whose hearts are touched by the Spirit.
Therefore, it is very important that we listen to each other's voices in the church and always try to understand each other's hearts.
Because each of you has the potential to speak God's word as a prophet of the Lord.
Especially in our Baptist church, we value listening to each other's voices and accepting each other's thoughts and opinions.
Through process like this, with prayers and discussion with each other, we are to seek God's will.

We have been gathered in the same church so that we can be united with each other as God's family. As prophets of the Lord's word, let us respect each other and listen to each other's voices.
Today's verses 19-20 say that there will be “blood and fire and billows of smoke" and that " the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. "
It is prophesied that difficult and painful times will come. There will be painful and sad realities, wars and hardships in this world, even for the church and the believers who believe in God.
There are difficulties and sufferings in every era and in the lives of every person. However, amidst these difficulties, we are given unchanging hope.
I will read the words of the last verse of today's passage, verse 21, which is also the title of today's message.

21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Calling on the name of the Lord" means believing in the Lord God Jesus Christ, being kept alive by God's grace through Jesus Christ, always praying to the Lord and relying on Him.
In our eyes, many things may seem wrong and are heading in the wrong direction.
The world is filled with tragic and sad events; there is that reality. However, the plan of salvation of the Lord God who created this world was revealed through Jesus Christ.
"All who believe in Christ and call on the name of the Lord Christ and trust in the Lord will be saved, and there is salvation and hope even in the midst of suffering" - this is the promise of the Bible.

We, the Christian church, will always continue to speak the words of hope promised in the Bible amid the difficult reality of this world.
With strength from God, let us continue to carry out this work with God who is with us.
And let each of us who are part of the church revere the name of the same Jesus Christ, believe in his name, and call on the name of Christ together.

Sunday Worship Service May 18, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Isaiah 32:15
Hymn JBC # 3 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 320 Shine and Live
Offering
Appeal and testimony
Scripture Acts 2:1~13
Prayer
Sermon “In their own language”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 272 Breathe on me, Breath of God
Doxology JBC # 676
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome & Announcements

Today’s Bible passage starts with the phrase “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”
“Pentecost” means “the 50th day” in Greek, and this festival was so named because it was held 7 weeks, that is, 50 days, after the festival of the Passover.
In the Old Testament, this was referred to as the “Festival of Weeks”, as is mentioned in the following passage.

In Chapter 16 verses 9-10 of Deuteronomy, it says:
9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you.
　
The Passover is a time of thanksgiving and remembrance for when the Israelites were delivered by the grace of God from their 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
The Passover is still an extremely important festival in Judaism to this day.
God gave the Israelites the command to observe the Festival of Weeks including giving thanks for the harvest given by God, in the seventh week after the Passover.
In the passage we just read from Deuteronomy, it says “giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you.”
The Israelites were commanded to give freewill offerings in gratitude to God for delivering them from slavery, or captivity, in Egypt, and for providing them with the food they needed to survive ever since then.

　In today’s Christian church, we do not celebrate the Jewish festival of the Passover or the Festival of Weeks.
However, it is just as important for us as Christians today to give our freewill offerings to God in gratitude for saving us from our sins and for always providing us our daily needs.
Chapter 16 of Deuteronomy continues on to talk more about the Festival of Weeks. Deuteronomy Chapter 16 verses 11~12 says this:

11 And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.

God said to the Israelites “rejoice and celebrate God’s salvation and blessings with everyone who is with you.”
And God also commanded the Israelites to never forget that they themselves had been slaves in Egypt, and that God had delivered them from this slavery.

Offering gratitude to God, never forgetting that he has saved us, and sharing God’s blessings with many people, these teachings are just as important for us as Christians today.
Christians were forgiven and saved by the grace of God from the state of hostages of sins in the past.
And so, let us give thanks for God’s blessings, give our offering willingly from our heart, tell many people of His blessings and share His blessings with others, and hold these things close to our hearts.
　Today’s passage follows on from the previous passage where the resurrected Jesus’ ascended to Heaven and Mathias was appointed as a new apostle, being chosen to take Judas’ place as one of the 12 Apostles.
On the day of Pentecost, they were all together in one place (verse 1). I imagine they were all gathered together in prayer and would have been offering their gratitude as well.
Then it says that all of a sudden, they heard a violent wind from heaven, reverberating through the house they were in, and tongues of fire appeared, separated, and came to rest on each of them (verses 2~3).

This is the event known as “Pentecost”, the descent of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost will be actually remembered and celebrated according to Church calendar this year on June 8th worship service.
The violent wind and flames like tongues were signs that God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit, descended on the Apostles at that time.
Jesus had commanded them to “wait for His father’s spirit, the Holy Spirit, that was promised,” and just as He had promised to the apostles, the Holy Spirit finally descended on the Disciples.
And, the part where it says that the Holy Spirit came to rest on each of them, on those who believed in God, is important.
The Holy Spirit is not given only to certain special believers. The Holy Spirit is given equally to all those who believe in God.
The act itself of being able to believe in God, to be able to believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord God, this is made possible by the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 3, it is written that “no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit is given equally to believers, but the gifts that the Holy Spirit brings to each person are different. We are each given different, unique gifts.
In the same chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, it says “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them” (verse 4), and that “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (verse 7).
God gives each of us different gifts through the Holy Spirit. This is so that we each offer these gifts to one another, bring our thoughts together as one, for the good of all.
In other words, this is so that in offering our gifts to each other, we are always giving glory back to God.
Our church’s theme for this year is “All for the glory of the Lord God”.

Shall we not recognize each other’s gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, bring ourselves together in hearts and minds, and work together for the glory of God?
In today’s passage, the flames stopped on each person who was there, and they all began talking in the languages of different countries.
In verse 5, it says that “there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven”.
These Jews were the descendants of the Jewish people who, in the times of the Old Testament, had been forced to leave their homeland and migrate to various distant countries when Israel and Judea were conquered by foreign powers.

　They were those who had returned to Israel, the land of their ancestors.
Verse 6 shows the shock they felt at hearing the apostles of Jerusalem speak in the tongues of the lands they had been born in.

In their surprise, they said:
“Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? (verses 7~8)
Galilee was a rural area in Israel, and the people from there were considered to be uneducated.
Since Peter and the other apostles were mostly born in Galilee, those foreign born Jews couldn’t believe that they (those Galileans) were speaking in foreign languages they had no way of knowing.
However, this in itself was the work of the Holy Spirit. God wanted “word of God’s kingdom to be spread beyond Israel throughout the world, to every corner of the earth”, and at that time He gave to the apostles who had received the Holy Spirit the ability to speak in foreign languages.
　But the more important thing that happened at that time, more so than the Galileans speaking in foreign languages, was what they were actually saying.
According to verse 11 of today’s scripture, the Apostles who had then received the Holy Spirit were talking in various languages about “the wonders of God”.
The hearts of those who heard this were most struck by the fact that the Apostles were declaring the wonders of God in each of their languages.
Whenever I read today’s passage, I always identify this with our church, Beppu International Baptist Church.
Why is this so? Because in our church there are people from so many countries and regions, gathering and worshipping together.
Each person has their own native language. Differences in language can make it difficult to communicate.

However, beyond our differences in language and culture, the wonders of God, Jesus Christ, always bring us all together as one.
Why do we meet at church? Is it because there are many people in church and it’s fun to meet together, or because the praise hymns is great? There may be some people who think this way.
These are all good things. However, in the end, the reason that we gather in church is to worship God, and that we want to hear about the “wonders of God” and the words of the Bible.
As the pastor here, I have taken on the role of spiritual leader of the church and as the chief administrator of the church as an organization.
In this role, I think about how everyone who comes to this church might receive strength and hope, and hope they can enjoy and smile at church as much as possible.
　And to be honest, I also want the church to run smoothly as an organization.

　However, what today’s passage shows me is that continuing to declare the word of God that is written in the Bible and the wonders of God, this the most important work for a pastor.
I am convinced that continuing to faithfully speak God’s words as written in the Bible and to tell of the wonders of God, guided by the Holy Spirit, is what most empowers us as people and also gives hope and joy to others.
The Bible includes accounts of phenomena which seem to be inconsistent with our modern everyday senses. The Holy Spirit is surely one of these things.
When we first hear these kinds of accounts, I think many of us must be bewildered and think things like “I don’t believe it” or “what is going on here.”
But, even so, God’s words and each and every word written in the Bible tell us of God’s truth and His love.
Let us open our hearts, invite the God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit, to live within us, acknowledging the wonders of God and becoming people who believe in God.
The Holy Spirit that brings us to faith in God even now is bringing us together, and it is the Holy Spirit that is the source of power that builds this church.

If we were to try to rely on our own strength to build this church, the church would quickly come to a standstill.
If we were to try to live in our own strength, our lives would also undoubtedly become stuck.
However, if we rely on the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God, and entrust ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, each and every one of us, as well as our church, will always be supported and able to walk and live day by day, step by step, under the protection of the Holy Spirit.

So, let us ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit together. Let us receive God’s protection and power, and continue walking this path of living with the Holy Spirit together.

May 11, 2025 Sunday Worship Service

Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 143:10
Hymn JBC # 120 This is my Father’s world
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 320 Shine and Live
Offering
Scripture Acts 1:12~26
Prayer
Sermon “The selection of Matthias”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 255 Face to face with Christ, my Saviour
Doxology JBC # 676
Benediction
Postlude

Today’s Scripture passage is the latter half of [the book of Acts] chapter 1. It is the scene where the disciples (Jesus Christ’s direct disciples) encountered the resurrected Jesus, and after that Jesus was ascended to heaven before their eyes.
Jesus said [Wait till the Holy Spirit comes upon you and receive power. Do not depart from Jerusalem, stay there.] (v.4, v. 8)
In today’s passage, after Jesus was ascended to heaven, the disciples returned to Jerusalem, and is written [they went upstairs to the room where they were staying]

Whose house were they staying at? The accurate matter on whose house it was, is not written in the Bible.
To my idea, we can consider that that house was probably where the room was when the disciples had their last meal with Jesus.
I have mentioned last time that the book of Acts has a position like a sequel of the gospel of Luke.
Luke, the author writes in the gospel of Luke how the place was prepared where Jesus and the disciples had their last meal.

In the gospel of Luke chap. 22: v.7～v.13, is written as follows. Let me summarize the passage below.
The day of the Passover which was a significant holiday to the Jews had come near. The Passover was a day to celebrate the fact that the Israelites who in the past were under slavery were liberated from Egypt.
God sent a total of ten calamities (misfortunes, sufferings) to Egypt because of the king of Egypt, Pharaoh’s stubborn attitude of not allowing the Israelites to depart from Egypt.
The last calamity was one where all of Egypt’s human as well as cattle’s firstborn were struck (life was taken away) by God.

However, only the house of Israel was passed by (passed over) by that calamity.
The way for that calamity to pass over was made known to the Israelites beforehand through Moses.
They were commanded to prepare a sacrificial lamb and apply its blood to each house’s lintel (the horizontal support of the door) and doorposts. (Exodus chap. 12)
The calamity that the firstborn will be struck passed over from the house of Israel where the house gate was applied with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, and their children were protected.
Jesus had the last meal with His disciples on the day of the Passover to commemorate that event. That matter also demonstrated “Jesus Himself to become the sacrificial Lamb to compensate for the sins of all people”.

In the scene of Luke chap.22, on the last Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus told His disciples Peter and John [“Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”]
As they asked [Where do you want us to prepare for it?], Jesus said as this.
“As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house,
‘The Teacher asks: ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

It is written in the gospel of Luke that, as the two (Peter and John) went to give it a try, it just happened as Jesus said.
I believe that the “upper room” of today’s passage is also the same as that place. Which means that a place to pray and to worship was provided for the disciples and other believers by someone.
It was not written in the Bible who that person even was, however, being driven forward by the utterance “For the Lord’s service”, someone has offered his own house.
And it was a blessing from God that has moved the heart of that person who offered that house.
Likewise, I would like us to be truly thankful once again that we are provided with our church, a place of prayer where we can gather as this.
To have a church, a place to gather, is never an ordinary matter.

Being provided with this church in this place was a spiritual gift through support and prayers of countless people in the past.
And let us never forget the feelings of the people of neighboring areas who accept us, for the fact that it is allowed to stand as a church in this place even now.
Let us never think that “we stand as a church in this place, merely due to our own strength and faith”, but let us rejoice and be sincerely thankful that a church that is a place of prayer is provided as God’s grace, acknowledged and supported by many people.

It is written in verse 15 of today’s passage as follows.
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)
Peter who was one of the apostles stood up and began to speak before about 120 people who gathered there.
It was the beginning of Peter to be in a leadership position among the flock of believers henceforth.
As one of Jesus’s direct disciples, Peter experienced great setback and sorrow before then.

When Jesus was arrested, he denied Him three times, saying [I don’t know him].
In today’s passage, such a Peter stood up at the center of the disciples.
Normally, he would have been embarrassed (since he denied knowing Jesus in public), and he couldn’t have stand up in the middle of the crowd.

However, such a Peter could stand up.
It was not because of his own strength, but there was someone praying for him.

That person was none other than Jesus. In the passage of Luke 22 :31～, is written when Jesus said beforehand that “Peter says three times, I don’t know Him”.
Peter, at that time, bravely said to the extent [Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death].
At that time, Jesus also told Peter as follows.
“Simon, Simon (*Peter’s original name), Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Peter was full of confidence; however, Jesus knew that he will certainly have setback.
And Jesus promised that no matter how he would setback, Jesus Himself would pray for him that his faith will not fail.
Since Jesus prayed as such, Peter could stand up once again and could speak words that would strengthen other people.
Even us, there are times when we probably seem to lose our faith or experience our self-confidence like being shattered.
However, it is such an experience of setback that it is very important to our faith.
It is such a time when we come to realize that “faith is not something that I myself can keep holding it by my own strength and feelings”.
We can have faith because the Lord God gives it to us.
And granting that we get setback or even stumble, we won’t lose our faith for there is Jesus who [prays for us that our faith will not fail].
And when we can stand once again, we can comfort and strengthen other believers and other people.
In today’s passage, Peter who stood up began to speak about Judas who was one of them. There were 12 disciples (apostles) including Judas that were primarily chosen by Jesus.
However, Judas sold Jesus to the Jewish authorities, hence, he ended up creating the direct trigger of Jesus being arrested and crucified.

Peter speaks in today’s passage about what Judas, who was formerly one of them, has done and the fact that he lost his life in a terribly tragic manner.
I believe that it was an extremely difficult situation even for Peter to talk about it. On how to interpret Judas’s betrayal and death is constantly a significant issue to the Christians.
In Peter’s statement of today’s passage, he states that “Judas’s betrayal and his death was prophesied in the Book of Psalms of the Old Testament”.
We human beings cannot ultimately judge Judas’s act. It’s because the only one who can do true judgement is not man but God alone.
Peter probably couldn’t fully understand about Judas’s betrayal and tragic death.

And yet, he encouraged the rest of the disciples and spoke of words for them to move forward.
We can learn through the words of Peter, that the apostles back then were given the feeling to “overcome the betrayal and death of Judas their companion, move forward to the next step, advance from there and live”.
Peter called out “Judas is not here with us now. However, the important work to be witnesses to the Lord’s resurrection is given to us.
　So, we must choose one to replace Judas”.

Peter said, “we must choose one in place of Judas to become witness to the Lord’s resurrection and continue the work to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.”
They proposed two men named Joseph and Matthias, and they prayed. They prayed to God saying, “show which of these two You have chosen”.
Regarding the two, Joseph and Matthias, it seems that the disciples chose those two themselves by prayer and discussion.
Ultimately, however, they have fully entrusted to God’s will by “casting their lots” concerning whom is to be chosen between the two.
We, at the present day, don’t select by casting lots when choosing the church’s representatives or deacons.
However, by continuous prayer and discussion, after choosing what they think is best, I think the way of “casting lots” was used in today’s passage as an expression of faith “it’s only the Lord God who knows the real answer”.
And it was Matthias that was chosen.

In this way, the Lord provides and adds companions of faith even to us now, partners to carry with us the work of Gospel evangelism when needed.
And even if we get disappointed, have difficulties or depressed, we can stand up once again.
It’s because the Lord Jesus is praying for us and he will make us stand once again.
And whatever weakness or ill-will we humans bear, the work to proclaim the Gospel of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ will not be hindered completely.
The resurrected Lord Jesus Christ lives even after death, always keeps us alive and makes us move onward.
As people that are made to live each day by the resurrected Lord, made to stand by Him even though amidst difficulties, let us walk as people that proclaim to the world the joy of having faith in the Lord.

Sunday Worship Service May 4, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 118:25
Hymn JBC # 80 Father, we love You
The Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 320 Shine and Live
Offering
Scripture Acts 1:6~11
Prayer
Sermon “You will be my witnesses”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 2 Come, Thou almighty King
Doxology JBC # 676
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome & Announcements

We are hearing God’s message from the New Testament book of Acts. Today's passage is from Acts 1:6-11.
It is where the apostles (disciples of Jesus Christ) are talking with the resurrected Jesus.
Just before today's passage, Jesus told his apostles not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father has promised: the Holy Spirit (verse 4).
When believers receive the Holy Spirit, they are empowered, shown the path they should follow, and given the desire and courage to begin walking that path.
However, at that time, the apostles seemed to be more preoccupied with their own thoughts and desires, rather than pondering Jesus’ words, “wait for what the Father has promised” (the command to “wait”).
This is evident from the question the apostles asked Jesus at the beginning of today's passage.

They asked Jesus:
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

　 The apostles were excited to see the resurrected Jesus and must have had great hope that now was the time for their country, Israel, to regain its past prosperity and strength!
When they asked, “Is now the time?” I think it is fair to say that rather than a genuine question, they expressed their strong desire that “Now is the time for you to rebuild Israel!”
When we pray to God, we may also be strongly expressing (wishing) to God what we desire and what we hope God will do.
We are allowed to pray like this, but if our desire for what we want is too strong, if our prayer is just a list of our hopes, it can become a “mere request” to God, rather than a prayer to God.
And it is possible that when those requests are not met, we are not satisfied and complain to God.
We have many hopes and desires. We usually think that if our hopes are fulfilled, we will be happy, and if our hopes are not fulfilled, we will be unhappy.

However, Christians can find happiness in the fulfillment of God's will and God's plan.
At the beginning of the Lord's Prayer we pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
We pray for many things, but Jesus taught us to first pray, “Thy kingdom (God’s kingdom) come. God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
For it is not our will, but God's will that is best and that will always come to pass in the end.
　In the Old Testament book of Proverbs 19:21, it says the following:
　 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
It is the Lord God's plan and His will that leads us to true happiness. Therefore, let us first desire to know God's will and hope and pray for the realization of God's plan.

And let us hope to live and be used to realize God's plan.
Jesus answered the apostles' question as follows. Let me read from verse 7.
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

　 We live in God's appointed time. Every decisive time is set by God.
　We tend to be impatient and ask, “God, when will it be? Is it now?” But decisive events will occur at the time that God has determined.
Therefore, Jesus’ teaching to “wait for the promise of the Father” is also very important for us.
When we must wait in faith, we want to be clothed with patience so that we are able to wait, so that we can wait for God's timing.

Jesus then goes on to say (verse 8):

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

It is said that when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, they received power. So, what does the power that comes from the Holy Spirit enable the apostles to do?
Jesus said that after the Holy Spirit came upon them and gave them power, they would be His witnesses, not only in Jerusalem, but also in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
When we hear the phrase “the power of the Holy Spirit,” some might imagine some kind of remarkable, superhuman power being given to people.
However, in today's passage, the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus speaks of is that the apostles will be witnesses of Jesus Christ.
　The power of the Holy Spirit enables people to convey the message that “Jesus Christ is Lord and God, and it is Him that we should follow and live for.”
And when believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit, they are able to spread God's message “not only in Jerusalem, but also in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The apostles first asked Jesus, “Are you going to restore the nation of Israel to us now?” Their first desire was for their own benefit. Me, (my country) first.
However, those who have been empowered by the Holy Spirit will be witnesses for the Lord, not only to themselves, but also throughout the country, in Samaria, and to all nations, to the ends of the earth.
In particular, we should know that Samaritans and Jews were at odds with each other at the time.
When Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire, many Gentiles began to move to the region of Samaria, which was the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and they began to intermarry with the Jewish people.
The Jewish people, who valued Jewish purity, began to despise the mixed-race Samaritans.

However, when Christ's disciples receive the power of the Holy Spirit, they are then motivated by the power of love that transcends such ethnic animosity.
　Jesus said that the apostles, empowered by the Holy Spirit, would preach Christ to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
The power of the Holy Spirit is the power that binds us together. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to overcome our differences, our barriers, and even our opposition to one another.
May we too receive the power of the Holy Spirit, open our hearts to others, and become witnesses of Christ to others.

The Holy Spirit also empowers us to turn our thoughts and desires from those that are inward-looking to those that focus on others, to others outside of ourselves, to the wider world.
Let us not only focus our thoughts on ourselves, our companions, and our own churches, but also on the communities around the church, society, and the world, and hope and pray for the gospel of Christ to spread.
When Jesus finished speaking, He was lifted up to heaven before the apostles' eyes. Then it says that Jesus was covered by a cloud and was hid from their sight (verse 9).
The apostles were looking up to heaven where Jesus had ascended, when two men dressed in white (probably angels of God) said to them the following. Let me read you verse 11.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
What were the apostles thinking as they watched the resurrected Jesus ascend into heaven?
Perhaps they were hoping that Jesus, who had been resurrected from the dead, would remain with them and this time fight alongside them to restore the nation of Israel.

However, contrary to their expectations, Jesus ascended into heaven, saying, “Wait for the promise from the Father. You will receive the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving behind these words (this promise): “When the apostles receive the power of the Holy Spirit, they will become witnesses to spread the gospel of Christ beyond their own races and nations, to every nation and region, and to the ends of the earth.”
And the promise that “Jesus will come again in the same way that He ascended into heaven” was given to the apostles at that time. This promise is also given to us today.
Christians can live in the promise of hope that Jesus will come again. Although we do not know when that will be, as it is God who will decide it with His own authority.

However, in this earthly world where the Lord Jesus will come again, we are given hope through faith and live each day keeping our feet on the ground (live in a sensible and realistic way).
The resurrected Jesus Christ taught His apostles to live in God's appointed time, waiting for God's timing.
He encouraged them to be witnesses and evangelists for Christ by receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. An encouragement that is still given to us today.

The Lord Jesus Christ will come again. Christians can live in the hope that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again.
And the fact that we are alive each day is evidence that the Lord God has a great plan for us. He will surely use each and every one of us in a great way for the fulfillment of that plan.
　As long as we live, we can have hope in Christ. Let us live each day as witnesses of Christ, testifying to and spreading the news of that hope to the world.

Sunday Worship Service April 27, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 37:7a
Hymn JBC # 27 Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Supper
Hymn JBC # 230 On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
Offering
Scripture Acts 1:1～5
Prayer
Sermon “Wait for the Father’s Promise”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 81 God, our Father, we adore Thee!
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome & Announcements

From today, we are going to start a sermon series on “the Acts of the Apostles” in the New Testament together (for special worship services and such, other passages may be used).
The New Testament begins with the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The gospels record the acts what Jesus did in his human life time and teachings of Jesus Christ.
The gospels also tell of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Last week we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus as our Easter worship service.
Our Lord Jesus Christ resurrected. Nothing in the world, no evil nor power of darkness could completely defeat Jesus.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, did not remain dead. Jesus resurrected and showed us God’s limitless power and hope.
From there, the Lord’s resurrection became the impetus for the gospel message of Jesus Christ to spread throughout the world.

　‘The book of Acts’ records the actions of Jesus’ apostles after Jesus was no longer with them on Earth. It tells of how the gospel was spread by them after the Lord’s resurrection.
The apostles boldly proclaimed the gospel message that “Jesus Christ is God” to the people around them. Even as they were being persecuted, they continued to proclaim the gospel of Christ.
Let us listen to God’s powerful message as recorded (by the apostles) in Acts.

The author of Acts is said to be Luke, the same as the gospel of Luke. The first verse says, “In my former book, Theophilus...” That “former book” is the gospel of Luke.
Therefore, Acts is the sequel to the gospel of Luke.
Acts begins by addressing Theophilus. The Luke 1:3 also addresses “most excellent Theophilus.”
We do not know exactly who Theophilus was. One idea is that he may have been a Roman high official. It is also possible that he may have come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Given that Luke addresses Theophilus as “most excellent,” it appears that Luke and Acts were both personally written to the high official.
However, the contents of its messages far exceeded that of a personal letter. It is fair to say that they are a grand story of faith and record of evangelism of the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His apostles.

Theophilus’ name means “whom God loves” or “a friend of God.” I believe this has great significance.
By being addressed to Theophilus, Luke and Acts (and actually the entirety of the Bible), are addressed to all of those who are loved by God and are friends of God.
Those whom God loves, as well as friends of God are all people who love God and believe in Him.
Through Luke, an author of one of the gospels, as well as through the hands of many other authors, God Himself left His message of love to those whom He loves and His friends in the form of the Bible.
We should be filled with joy and thankfulness when we think about just how much love and affection God poured into the words of the Bible (through human authors).
Let us listen to God’s message through the Bible, and give thanks that we are able to read His word.

In verse 3 of today’s passage it is written as follows:

3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
This verse gives a summary of what the resurrected Jesus did, as well as the role that we, the Christian church, have been entrusted with.
That role is a mission to tell people that the Lord lives, and to tell them of the kingdom of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again showed his disciples many evidences that “He was alive.”
“The Lord lives”. He did not remain dead. This has not changed even now. Our Lord God is the living God.

Because He lives, the Lord is with us, and we are also given life.
During our lives we will face various challenges and difficulties. However, we are never alone.
Our Lord will bear our sadness, difficulties and challenges together, just as He did on the cross as well as on the road to the cross.
Therefore, we know that the Lord is with us, and believe that He lives, we are given the power to live even in the midst of difficulties.
When we say that Jesus is with us, specifically we have His Word with us, and that Word encourages us.
Jesus resurrected and appeared to his disciples for 40 days, showing that He lives and continually telling them about the kingdom of God.
Just as before Jesus was crucified and died, He continued telling them about the kingdom of God.
Jesus surely told His disciples things that were important multiple times. In a time when things could not be easily written down on paper, the disciples surely listened desperately to the things that Jesus had to say.
This passion for repeatedly speaking and continually listening to the Lord’s words is something that we may be lacking in now.

This may be because we now have bibles to read all the time, and we can easily listen to sermons via the internet any time we wish.

However, because times are like this now, I believe we need to hold onto the sense of tension that leads us to passionately and desperately listen to “God’s word being spoken to us now.”
Let us hold that sense of tension and joy as we listen to the message God gives us in the entirety of his Word in the Bible.
When we eat food for our bodies, it is important to eat nutritionally balanced food. In the same way, let us partake of the Word in a balanced manner.
If you only eat the food you like, only eat sweet foods, only eat salty foods, or have some other unbalanced diet, it will harm your health.
Similarly, if we only listen to the parts we want to hear, the parts that are easy for us to understand, or the parts that we can soon agree with when we partake of the words of the Bible, our spiritual nutrition will become unbalanced.
Let us partake of the entirety of the Bible, including the parts that may seem difficult or strict to us, and even the parts we may have difficulty accepting, as God’s Word.

Let us also not just read the word in selfish ways, but treasure when we share God’s word together as the church when we pray, read, and listen together.

In verses 4-5 of today’s passage, Jesus says the following:

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The disciples were standing at a time when they were about to do important work of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
There Jesus tells his disciples to “not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift [His] Father promised.”

The “gift [His] Father promised” is the Holy Spirit of God.
In Luke 24:49, the resurrected Jesus says the following to His disciples:

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
When the disciples saw their resurrected Lord, they were given strength, and they may have thought to go out and evangelize using their own strength with passion.
However, Jesus told them to wait for the gift His father promised. Their work of preaching the gospel could not be done without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus may be telling us that the work of spreading the gospel is something that cannot be done by human ability and experience, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
John here is referring to John the Baptist, the man who baptized Jesus. John used water to baptize people.
However, through baptism, the one who works to give the believer faith truly is the Holy Spirit whom God sent.
Neither those who baptize others, the baptismal water, nor the baptismal ceremony itself hold any divine power.
The one who truly works through baptism is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who allows people to confess that Jesus is Lord, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives power to the preaching of the gospel.

In every aspect of our faith, the now invisible Christ guides us through the Holy Spirit.
In important aspects of our life in faith, let us continually pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and recommit ourselves to obeying the Holy Spirit.
　Let us trust in the Spirit of God and let us also join in prayer that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, may abundantly do His work in our church.
If God tells us to wait, let us wait. If God tells us to go, then let us go. Let us pray that we can have such obedient faith in which we listen and obey God,

Sunday Worship Service (Easter) April 20, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm Psalm 18:6 (NIV)
Hymn JBC# 232
　Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 230 (hymn of the month)
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
Offering
Special Hymn
Scripture Mark 16:1～38
Prayer
Sermon “The Fear of the Women”
Hymn JBC # 241
　　　 The day of resurrection!
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome and Announcements


Today is the Easter Worship Service.
At Easter, we remember that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the resurrection of Christ, and we commemorate and celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
Today’s Bible passage for the Easter worship is from the New Testament, ‘the Gospel according to Mark”, chapter 16, verses 1 to 8—the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Let us listen together to the Word of God concerning the resurrection of Christ.
That day was after the Sabbath had ended. The Sabbath was Saturday.

The Sabbath was established by God's command to the Israelites: “You shall work for six days, and on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), you shall rest from all your work. The seventh day is to be kept holy.”
　　At the end of that Sabbath, today's passage describes that three women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb where Jesus was buried.
　These women have been waiting for the Sabbath to end for a long time. Why? They were going to anoint the body of Jesus (put oil on him), who was dead and buried in the tomb.
　They sincerely wanted to clean Jesus' body by anointing it with oil (it is like perfume oil, very expensive perfume).
at day was early in the morning on the day after Saturday, the Sabbath, i.e. it was early Sunday morning.
Jesus died on the cross on Friday, so that day in today's passage was already the third day since Jesus died and was buried.
　Why would these women want to go anoint Jesus' body with oil on the third day of his death?

This is because when Jesus died on Friday, the Sabbath was approaching and Jesus' body was buried very quickly, making it impossible to give him a proper and careful burial.
On the Sabbath, no work of any kind was allowed, not even the burial of a dead body.
　Therefore, when the Sabbath was over and the women in today's passage were allowed to work, they immediately went to the tomb where Jesus was buried.

They wanted to wipe Jesus' body with expensive oil, something they could not do two days earlier.
There, it took great courage for the women to go and anoint the body of Jesus.
Jesus was executed on the cross as one who had blasphemed by calling himself God and as one who had rebelled against the authority of the Roman Empire by calling himself king.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus Christ was caught, all of his disciples (males) abandoned Him and ran away. They were afraid and ran away.
Peter, who was Jesus’ first disciple, denied Him clearly and firmly—even three times—when someone said, “You were with that man (Jesus), weren’t you?” He replied, “I do not know such a man.”
　Even after Jesus was buried, Peter and the other disciples were afraid and kept to themselves in house.
As written in John 20:19 : “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews...”

But while the male disciples were in such a state of fear, the women in today's passage went to Jesus' tomb.
　The male disciples, those who had served most closely with Jesus, had all fled.
However, it is very significant that women, who were considered inferior to men and even discriminated against in the Jewish society of the time, took such a courageous step, rushing to Jesus' tomb.
　It means that women, who were considered lowly in human society, were valued by the Lord God and chosen to be the first to hear the news of the Lord's resurrection.
　The Lord God takes notice of those who are made weak and small, and it is precisely such people that God makes great use of.
However, the women who wished to lovingly anoint the Lord’s body with perfume and give Him a proper burial had one big problem.
　It was a large, heavy stone was blocking the entrance to the tomb.

At that time, Jewish tombs were generally shaped like caves hollowed out of rock. The entrance to the tomb was then blocked with a heavy stone once the body was placed.
On the way to the tomb, the three women, including Mary, were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?”
They could never move the heavy stone on their own. And they didn’t even know, “Who will help us?”

But when they lifted their eyes, they saw that the stone had already been rolled to the side. (Verse 4)
The first thing today’s passage tells us is this: the event of Jesus’ resurrection first declares to us that “nothing is impossible with God."
　There is nothing that God cannot do. It means that when we are motivated by faith and take a step forward, there is nothing that can hinder us.
　I am sure that there are some people among us now who are holding anxious feeling due to various situations and concerns.
Are there any among you who carry anxieties like the saying, “Who will roll away that heavy stone?”
Are there some who feel worried, anxious, and helpless, thinking, “I can’t do it on my own anymore. Who will help me?”

To those of us carrying such anxieties, the Bible tells us: “Do not worry.”
Nothing is impossible for the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing is impossible for God the Heavenly Father who resurrected Christ.
The event of the Easter tells us again and again that we are all right because we have the power of Christ, who overcame even death. Let us believe in that powerful news.
　When the women entered the tomb, they found a young man sitting there, dressed in a white robe. The young man is believed to have been an angel, a messenger of God.

The young man said like this. Let me read you verses 6 to 7.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

The Lord Jesus Christ has risen.
The Lord rose from the dead, overturning the common belief that “the dead remain in the tomb,” and even overturning the expectations of the women who had come thinking, “Let us anoint the one who has died.”
All the male disciples who had been Jesus' direct disciples had abandoned him and fled.
The courage of the women who went to Jesus' tomb amidst the fear that they might be caught if it became known that they were related to Jesus, such courage was remarkable.
Yet these women were still acting within the bounds of human common sense. To them, Jesus was already dead.
So, the women wished to give Jesus a final burial.

I believe they were prepared to make the decision: “Let us accept that Jesus is gone, and from now on, we will live on without Him.”
But Jesus was resurrected. Jesus did not remain in the grave. His resurrection is a divinely ordained (God decided) event and the greatest event of hope we can have.
　Jesus died on the cross for the sins of men and for our sins. Since Jesus died for us, it is also each of us today who put Him to death.
　It is a very tough and painful thing to accept, but very important for the Christian faith.
　Later, Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit after Jesus' death and after His resurrection and ascension, told the people the following

God delivered this Jesus to you according to His predestined plan, knowing it beforehand, but you, with the help of those who did not know the law, crucified Him and killed Him.
But God delivered this Jesus from the agony of death and resurrected him. For it was impossible for Jesus to remain in the grip of death.
(Acts 2:23-24)

　The forces of evil wanted to keep Jesus Christ dead. And our human’s feeling of resignation, or our common sense, will try to keep Him dead.
　Our common sense may first respond, “How can a dead person come back to life?” or “Where is the hope in such an insane story?
Even without such a negative thought, people may wish “Jesus certainly did many wonderful works while he was alive, but he died. So, we should accept the fact that Christ died and live the rest of our lives on our own,”.
But God's plan was not so. Jesus rose from the dead and went ahead of his disciples to Galilee, where he would await them.
The Lord has risen. He still goes before us, and He still walks and lives with us.
Therefore, let us not leave Jesus just like an ordinary human being, already dead, but let us follow Christ, believing in that truth that the Bible tells us that Jesus was resurrected and that the Lord is risen.

Just as the Lord said to the women, “Now go,” so now we, too, are being sent to the path He says, “Go,” by encountering the resurrected Lord, Let us go to that path.
　But when we look at today's last verse, verse 8, the women have left the tomb and fled.
What these women witnessed was so shocking, far beyond anything they had ever experienced before, that they were filled with great fear.
　It is written that these women were too frightened to say anything to anyone.
　I believe, however, that these women eventually overcame their fears through the power of the love of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and they told the disciples and others about His resurrection.
　And I believe that their fear was later transformed into great joy and hope for faith.
　When we encounter the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, we are urged to begin a new way of life, a new path, different from the one we had before.

The road ahead is not clear nor can we look it through, and at first we may feel uneasy. We may still anxious about many things like “what will happen now? Who will help us?
　But we don't have to worry. Because the Lord has risen. Nothing in this world can keep us completely frustrated, anxious, and in despair.
For the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and the resurrected Christ is with us today. And Christ is going ahead of us.
　Let us walk the path which the resurrected Lord goes, the path of faith, along with the resurrected Lord.

Sunday Worship Service April 13, 2025 (Passion Week)

Prelude
Call to Worship Isaiah 53:3
Hymn JBC # 232 On the cross of Calvary
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 230 On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
Offering
Scripture Mark 15:16～32
Prayer
Sermon “Saviour who is insulted”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 327 Lead on, O King eternal
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
Welcome & Announcement

　In Christianity, we believe that God, who created heaven and earth and all things in the world, became a man, that is, God the Father came into the world as the Son, Jesus Christ.
　We commemorate and celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ was born as a human at Christmas. In the tradition of the Protestant Church, we commemorate Christmas every year on December 25.
　The birth of Jesus Christ was the coming of great hope that people had been waiting for.
In order to thank and rejoice that the One who is the true hope and true light from God has been born into the world, the church places great importance on Christmas.
　And the Christian church has also kept Easter, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his death, as a very important anniversary.

　This week (April 13-19) is called “Passion Week,” or “Holy Week”. Passion Week is the one week before Easter Sunday.
　Unlike Christmas, the date of Easter changes each year. The date of Easter Sunday is determined by the relationship between the vernal (spring) equinox and the date of the full moon that follows. This year, Easter is Sunday, April 20.
　The resurrection of Christ (that is, his rising from the dead) may sound in terms of the common sense like an incredible, even absurd, event to many people.
　But because of Christ's resurrection from the dead, the gospel of Jesus Christ was believed by people as news of great hope and joy, and that news was shared throughout the world.
　The Lord Jesus Christ has risen. So, how did Jesus Christ die before His resurrection?
　As you probably know, Jesus died by crucifixion, which was the most cruel method of execution in the Roman Empire at that time, about 2,000 years ago
　It usually should be assumed that Jesus was guilty of a serious crime that deserved that sentence.

So, what kind of crime did Jesus commit that led to his crucifixion?
　To get to the point, Jesus did not commit any sin that would warrant crucifixion.
　The Bible tells us that the very person in authority who ultimately sentenced Jesus to be crucified clearly stated, “I find no sin in this man [Jesus].”
　Today's scripture is from Mark 15. In Mark 15:14, Pilate, the then governor of the Jews, asks the Jews who demanded that He (Jesus) be crucified, “What evil has [He] done?”
　It was the Jewish leaders of the time (the chief priests, the scribes, and the members of the Jewish council) who strongly demanded that Jesus be crucified and killed.
　They accused Jesus of “blaspheming God,” and in fact, they were jealous that “many people believed in Jesus and followed him,” so they insisted that “this Man [Jesus] be killed.”
　We can imagine from the biblical account that a large crowd of others too gradually joined the Jewish leaders in calling to kill and crucify this Man (Jesus).

　As I mentioned earlier, Pilate, the governor, said to the people who were calling for the crucifixion,
　“What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty.”　(Luke 23:22)
　Pilate himself could not find any crime in the man named Jesus.
　Pilate, however, finally gives his approval for Jesus' crucifixion. Pilate finally gave in to the voices (demands) of the multitude.
Pilate sentenced to death a man whom he himself believed to be innocent.
Pilate thought, “This man has done nothing wrong,” and he said so in his own words too. What made Pilate say that?
We all have a conscience. We also have a reason to try to judge things correctly. We are equipped with a heart that seeks justice.

All of these things are given to us by God. The mind hoping that things should be right, the mind that hates evil and seeks to oppose evil (conscience), were given to us by God.
And that God-given conscience led Pilate to correctly judge, “This Man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong.”
However, even if our conscience tells us that “this Man has done nothing wrong,” whether or not we can actually act in accordance with that conscience, the voice of God, is a different matter.
This is because there are forces and temptations of evil that try to pull us away from our God-given conscience. Our human weakness is also there.

A man of faith named Paul said in the Bible

Romans 7:15
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

The verse 17 says as follows.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

What is right and how we should act is informed to us by our God-given conscience and by God's loving heart.
However, we have a conflict because of the sinful nature that lives within us, which prevents us from obeying it.
Pilate put an innocent man to death, preferring to obey the voice of the people and thereby safeguard his position as governor, rather than obey the voice of God, his conscience.
We must face up to the fact that we ourselves have that weakness and sin that Pilate's actions demonstrate, and the sin and evil nature of man that Paul moaned about in his letter to the Romans.
We cannot eliminate nor deal with that sin by ourselves. This sin must be forgiven by someone other than us, someone truly powerful and totally sinless.
To forgive us of such sins, the Bible tells us, Jesus Christ went to the cross and laid down His life on the cross.

　Today's passage, beginning in verse 16, describes how the soldiers drew Jesus inside the governor's palace, where the entire troop was called together.
　What was the reason for so many soldiers to gather there? They wanted to have fun together, making fun of and insulting Jesus.
　It is written that they dressed Jesus in purple. The purple clothes were a symbol of the authority as king. And instead of a gold crown, they insulted Jesus by putting a crown of thorns on him.
They dressed him in purple, but instead of gold crown, they put a crown of thorns on Him, saying and mocking, “He is a fake king!”
They saluted Jesus, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They beat him on the head with reed sticks, spat on him, and even kneeled down to worship him.
The soldiers who insulted Jesus show us the evil nature and emotions of us human beings who “seek to confirm our superiority over others by insulting and attacking those who are in a weaker position than we are.”

　The One who is truly God has suffered so thoroughly the insults and mockery of people. It means that God took our evil nature, our sin, in His shole person. Till the end.
And in today's passage, we read that two rebels (robbers) were also crucified with Jesus.
It says in the Old Testament in Isaiah 53:12, “He was counted as one of the sinners.” Jesus' crucifixion along with other criminals was the very fulfillment of that biblical prophecy and the will of God.
　Even after His being put to the cross, people continued to curse Him. Let me read verses 31~32 of today's passage.

31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

　The words “This man saved others, but he cannot save himself.” were thrown at Jesus.
Jesus could have saved Himself if He wanted to. He could have easily come down from the cross if God had so willed.
　However, it was necessary for our salvation that Jesus continued to hang on the cross with a figure of “saved others but can not save himself” without saying a word.
　In order to save us, Jesus remained to the end in the midst of all the insults from people.
　Here is the person who did not seek to save Himself but to save us, who gave up everything for us, who endured everything, who loved us to the end, and who sought to save us.

“Come down from the cross now. Then we may believe when we see it.” - Despite hearing such voices from people, the Lord Jesus Christ still offered His life on the cross for the salvation of sinners.
　In that figure, there was no image of the Savior that the Jewish people of that time had been waiting for and expecting for so long. He was not the hero who would overthrow the empire that ruled their country with strong military force.
　There was no figure of a strong man who came down from the cross and struck down the soldiers. There was only the figure of a man who continued to suffer on the cross without saying a word.

　We have to see ourselves in “the people who crucified the Savior and continued to insult Him.”
We are led to repentance with the thought, “It was I, we, who crucified Jesus.”
We are also taught that people created by God should not act in such a way.
We should not have put the Saviour Christ to the cross nor insulted Him. Still now should not we.
　In this week of Passion Week, let us continue to reflect on that event of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ultimate insults He suffered there from the people.
　Through the Lord Jesus Christ, who endured everything and laid down His life on the cross, we have been forgiven of sins that we could not handle on our own.
　Let us walk through the days of this week, keeping in mind the last week of suffering that the Lord Jesus Christ went through for the forgiveness of our sins and the attainment of our salvation.