Sunday Worship Service March 8, 2026

 Prelude 

Call to Worship 1 Kings 8:28 Hymn 

JBC # 61 Morning has broken like the first morning 

The Lord’s Prayer Hymn 

JBC #515 When peace, like a river, attendeth my way 

Offering 

Scripture Acts 12:1~19 

Prayer 

Sermon “Prayer for Peter” 

Prayer 

Hymn JBC# 86 O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder 

 Doxology JBC # 673 

Benediction 　

Those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord (Christians) and the churches where Christians gather were facing persecution from the very beginning. 　Today's Bible passage describes the persecution faced by the disciples around the time when, approximately 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ was crucified, died, rose again, appeared to His disciples, and they received the Holy Spirit, becoming a community of believers and forming the church. At the beginning of today's passage, it is written that it was King Herod who extended his hand to persecute the church. Several people named Herod appear in the Bible. First, there is Herod the Great, who ruled Judea when Jesus was born as a human being. In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, it is written that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod. come from the east to Jerusalem asked King Herod, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2) When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as the Scriptures say. Thinking his position as king was threatened, Herod ordered the killing of all the boys in Bethlehem and its surrounding area who were two years old and under. The King Herod mentioned in today's passage is the grandson of King Herod, who was king of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. Here, does the Bible intend to convey that all the rulers of Herod's dynasty were cruel? That is not the case. The Bible depicts the reality that the evil inherent in our human nature is passed down across generations. In today's passage, Herod began persecuting the church, (those who believed in Christ). Why did Herod persecute the church of those who believed in Christ? Couldn’t Herod tolerate what these Christians believed, so in today's passage, he had James killed with the sword and even tried to arrest Peter as well? Looking at today's passage, the reason Herod persecuted the church is clearly stated. It was “because doing so pleased the Jews.” 　Herod persecuted the church because it pleased the Jews to persecute the Christians. Not because Herod could not tolerate what Christians put their belief and ideal in. Herod persecuted the church in order to boost his approval ratings and popularity among the Jews, that is, because he needed their support to maintain his reign as king. 　　I believe that we humans often act based on whether others will be pleased or whether we will be valued by them, rather than on whether something is right or whether we truly desire it. We inevitably become preoccupied with whether our actions and work will be evaluated by others, and whether that will increase the support and regard we receive. As I reflect on my duties as a pastor, I am reminded that the pastor's calling is to faithfully convey God's word to you all. However, there are times when I find myself preoccupied with how to speak in a way that will earn me praise, rather than remaining faithful to God's word. Even pastors sometimes find themselves speaking more out of concern for others' opinions and their own reputation than out of devotion and being faithful to God. Throughout the Bible, there are numerous passages commanding prophets to speak not words designed to please people, but to speak what God truly commands them to say. 　In the Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament, God spoke to one of the prophets named Ezekiel, saying: God intended to send the prophet Ezekiel to Israel and said to him: Ezekiel 2:7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. Church ministers are entrusted with the duty of conveying the true love of God in order to share God's love. And at times, the preacher receives from God words that are harsh but necessary for the church and Christians to hear at that moment. At such times, hearing God's words, even when they are harsh and speaking out them is never easy. Therefore, I earnestly hope that all members of our church will continue to pray for the preachers who will deliver the Word of God in our church. That prayer is for preachers and pastors: “Please speak not the pleasant words I wish to hear, nor the words the church desires to hear, but the words God truly commands you to speak.” If your prayers reach God, He will surely grant the preacher the strength to speak fitting words, and the pastor to preach effectively. And as believers, shall we not strive to live in a way that pleases the Lord God? Rather than spending our entire lives preoccupied solely with others' opinions and attention, let us earnestly ask whether God finds joy in this, and live as He has shown us. God is the One who shows us what is best. Therefore, we can believe that the way of life God has shown us—the way that pleases God—is the best way of life for myself and also the for those around us. In today's passage, it is written that when Peter was arrested and put in prison, fervent prayers were offered for him in the church. It was a critical situation for them. Peter was the foremost leader of their church. Their leader had been captured by the authorities. They must have been overcome with considerable fear and tension. However, such crises led them to pray earnestly and fervently. It could be said that critical situations give rise to prayer. We want to avoid difficulties and troubles as much as possible. But I wonder if we truly would pray earnestly and fervently to God if we had no experience of suffering, hardship, worry, or pain. 　In times of difficulty, it becomes an opportunity for us to unite through prayer. It becomes an opportunity for us to offer fervent prayers together, and also an opportunity for us to gain greater trust in God, knowing that He will surely hear those prayers. In times of difficulty, let us join together in prayer. God may not guide the outcome according to our prayers or wishes. However, God always hears our earnest prayers, and the very experience of praying with such sincerity and fervor strengthens our faith. 　While entrusting to God how He will answer our prayers and what the outcome will be, let us, even in the midst of difficulties, bring before Him the things we desire and humbly ask through prayer. In today's passage, Peter was arrested and imprisoned, his hands bound with chains. However, an angel appeared and rescued him. An angel of the Lord appeared beside Peter, and light shone in the cell (verse 7). The angel poked Peter in the side to wake him. While Peter was being rescued by the angel in this way, he did not understand what was happening for some time. The angel said to him, “Get up quickly,” “Tie your belt, put on your sandals,” and “Put on your cloak and follow me.” Without fully comprehending what was happening, Peter obeyed the voice. Peter was led by the angel through the prison gate and out into the street. As they walked along, the angel left him. Then Peter realized that the Lord had sent an angel to rescue him. 　 　Looking back on our journey of faith so far, aren’t there a time when we may realize that even though we didn't understand it at the time, God was always protecting and guiding us. 　Even when we wonder, “What will happen next?” or “Is it already hopeless? Is there no hope?” looking back now, God sustained us in countless ways. It may be the words of the Bible, or kind words and help from others, or friends and family who are there for you. Even when we feel there is no hope left, that it is hopeless, God's helping hand remains steadfastly with us. God will continue to help us. Trusting in God's helping hand, let us walk in faith, joining our prayers especially in times of difficulty. Finally, today we conclude our sermon by focusing on one believer whose name is recorded in today's Scripture passage. She is a servant girl named Rhoda. The term “servant girl” in the original Greek of the New Testament literally means “little girl servant”. Peter came to the house where fervent prayers were being offered for him (the house of Mary, the mother of John called Mark) and knocked at the door. When the servant girl Rhoda went out to answer the door, she recognized Peter's voice. Overjoyed, she didn't even open the door but ran back to the others and told them, “Peter is here!” Rhoda immediately believed that Peter had returned and that everyone's prayers had been answered, and she told everyone about it. However, the first reaction of the others who heard Rhoda’s words was, “You are out of your mind” (verse 15). They had been praying fervently for Peter's release. Yet it was hard for them to believe that their prayers had been answered so quickly, that Peter had returned from the heavily guarded prison. But among them, a servant girl, Rhoda, heard Peter's voice without doubt, rejoiced that he had returned, and shared the joyful news with the others. 　Those who had fervently prayed for Peter's release yet found it hard to believe he had actually been freed and returned home, this reveals the weakness of our human nature: that even while trusting in God, we harbor doubts somewhere deep inside. How distrustful we are, it makes us wonder why we cannot fully trust God. Amidst all this, Rhoda's example of praying fervently, trusting in God, and then immediately accepting and believing the outcome, stands as a model of faith for us. No, rather than an example, we wish to have such pure faith and trust in God ourselves. Let us also seek such faith, praying earnestly and trusting God purely. God will surely grant what we seek with all our hearts and in earnest. Let us pray without doubting or hesitating for what we desire. And let us accept the answered prayers and the results that are given. As God is the One who always hears our prayers.

Sunday Worship Service March 1, 2026

Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 37:4
Hymn JBC # 278 There’s within my heart a melody
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC #515 When peace, like a river, attendeth my way
The Prayer Time
Offering
Scripture Acts 11:19~30
Prayer
Sermon “As Each One was able”
Prayer
Hymn JBC# 656 Give of your best to the Master
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction


At the beginning of today's passage, it says, "the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed”
This refers to the incident described in Acts 7, in which Stephen, a believer and evangelist of Christ, was killed (martyred) for blasphemy.
Stephen had not blasphemed. He was killed because of the wickedness of the Jewish authorities of his time.
The authorities could not recognize the true God revealed through Jesus Christ, and so they killed Stephen, who preached about Jesus Christ as Lord.

Stephen is said to be the first Christian martyr.
　The martyrdom of Stephen sparked a great persecution of believers in Christ, as was written at the beginning of Chapter 8. Today's passage continues from there.
The martyrdom of Stephen was a very tragic and sad event, and as a result many Christians were no longer able to remain in the capital, Jerusalem, and were scattered abroad.
However, on the other hand, this (the scattering of believers in Christ to various places due to persecution) also became an opportunity for the gospel of Jesus Christ to spread throughout Israel, and eventually beyond Israel, to the world.
Today's passage tells us that those who were scattered abroad (believers in Christ) initially spoke the Word only to the Jews there.

In previous weeks we have already read about the conversion of the Gentile Cornelius and his family and friends, which took place through Peter's encounter with the Gentile Cornelius.
However, today's passage tells us that the work of spreading the gospel to Gentiles (foreigners) other than the Jews was carried out by many believers other than Peter, who was the leader of the church, and other than Paul, who would later become a key figure in evangelism to the Gentiles.
Verse 20 for today's passage says, "Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus."
"Those among them who came from Cyprus and Cyrene" refer to Jews who were born and raised abroad, outside of Israel.
As depicted in the Old Testament, due to the rule of Israel by the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, many Jews were scattered to far-flung foreign lands and lived there.

Today's passage says that Jews with such a background (and who had come to believe in Christ) began to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to Greek-speaking people (that is, Gentiles, foreigners, who are not Jews).
Because they, foreign born Jews, came from overseas, far from Israel, their views of and ways of interacting with Gentiles (foreigners) were likely different from those of Israel-born Jews (who believed that they should not associate with Gentiles).
Since they were originally raised in a foreign culture, they likely had more open-minded feelings and ideas.
And in today's context, they (the overseas Jews) are portrayed as the people who took the important first step in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
A desire arose among them to speak the word of God to the Gentiles as well.

This was natural, given the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ: the Word of God and the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ cannot be contained within one person or one nation.
Faith in Christ brings people overflowing joy, which naturally spreads and spreads far and wide.
The gospel of Christ is the word of life that gives life to all people.
Just as the gospel of Christ was spread throughout the world by Jews from overseas outside of Israel, we hope to be used as instruments in the work of spreading the gospel of Christ.
What's even more important here is what verse 21 says.

21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

It is written that through their preaching, many people turned to the Lord (began to believe in God).
And this is not because they (the evangelists) were excellent or wonderful believers or because they preached zealously.
Of course, they were enthusiastic and eager to tell people about Jesus. I believe their enthusiasm moved people.
However, the Bible tells us that many people were raised up there who believed in God and turned to the Lord, because the Lord helped those people (the Lord's helping hand was with them), and many people were raised up who believed and turned to the Lord God.
　In our lives of faith, in our missionary work, and in the many other things we do in life, I think we are prone to be caught up in visible results.
Even in church activities, we plan evangelistic meetings and other events outside of Sunday services in the hope of attracting more people to church, and try to invite them, but the reality is that the number of people coming to church and those who believe in Jesus does not increase as much as we would like.

However, since the main actor in spreading the gospel is God, Jesus, we can have hope that God is surely working with us, and that people who will believe in His Word will continue to be raised up in ways and at times that we do not understand.
Let us not be discouraged by quick and visible results, but first let us rejoice in the gospel of Jesus Christ and live the gospel ourselves.
And let us continue to worship at church, share the Word, and thus serve in the work of spreading the gospel.
　In today's passage, news spread to the capital, Jerusalem, that Gentiles had also believed in the gospel in the church in the city of Antioch.
So the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch, where he rejoiced to see that God's grace was being extended to the Gentiles as well.
Even Barnabas could see that the believers in the church of Antioch were rejoicing in God. When God's grace is received and shared with joy, the joy of the people is surely visible.

Barnabas then urged the believers in Antioch, to whom God's grace had been given, to "remain true to the Lord with all their hearts."
It is very important that Barnabas encouraged them in this way.
When Barnabas saw the believers in Antioch, he confirmed that God's grace had indeed been given to them.
However, it is not that once you believe in God in this way and receive His grace, everything will be smooth sailing.
No matter how filled we are with God's grace, no matter how much we decide to believe in God, various temptations or trials will inevitably come our way that will shake our faith and try to separate us from God's grace.
Therefore, Barnabas taught and encouraged the believers of the church in Antioch, saying, "Stay in the faith," and "The life of faith will not always go smoothly. Hardships will come, but stay in the faith."

We still need that encouragement today. When we gather at church and share our faith life together, we can encourage each other and join forces and pray for each other so that we can continue to remain in the faith.
Each of us is weak, and if we are alone, we will lose our faith.
But even when we are weak and tired, if we have a family of faith, friends, and church members who can support and encourage each other, we can help each other. We can pray for each other.
Let us take to heart Barnabas' words of encouragement to the church in Antioch, "Remain true to the Lord with all your hearts” as words directed to us as well.

　Beginning in verse 27 of today's passage, it is written that the prophecy of a great famine was made by a man named Agabus through the "Spirit."
In fact, at that time, the believers of the church in Jerusalem were greatly affected by the famine and seemed to suffer greatly.
　So the believers in Antioch decided that it was their duty to help the believers of the Jerusalem church. They must have made this decision after praying and discussing it together.
They decided to help their brothers in Judea (the members of the Jerusalem church) “as each one was able” (verse 29).
At that moment, they made a very ordinary, yet warm and loving decision to "help according to what each of us can do."
Earlier, I said that each of us has weak faith and that we may lose our faith alone.
But even in times like these, we can support each other by doing what we can, each according to the strengths and gifts we have been given.
Each of us has been given unique gifts that are best used when offered to others and to God.
Faith among those who believe in the same God and belong to the same community leads us to share each other's burdens and pain.

We can also confide our burdens and pain to our family of faith and ask them to pray for us. At that time, the practice of our faith is the very simple act of "reaching out to help (each one another) according to our ability."
In a sense, this is of course simple, but it is not always easy to do. How can we put into practice the idea of ​​supporting each other according to our respective strengths?
It is through the words of the Bible and through prayer, through the Word and prayer, and with the Word and prayer at our center, that we continue to remain in the family of faith (the church).
By continually receiving and sharing God's Word together and continuing to pray for one another, we can put into practice what God is urging us to do.
Our faith, our growth, and our work of evangelization will always move forward in this way, even if at times it may seem like we are retreating or declining.
However, the hand of God in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and God's help are with us. With God's help and strength, let us also take each step forward of faith.

　

【ANNOUNCEMENT】

Next Sunday (Jan.29), we will welcome Hiroki Yasuda as our guest messenger. Invite your friends/co-workers and please join us this Sunday!

Christams Events 2016

Children's Christmas
December 24, 2016 1PM-3PM

Candle Service
December 24, 2016 7:30PM-8:30PM

Christmas Worship Service
December 25, 2016 11AM-12PM

Christmas Launch
December 25, 2016 12PM-2PM

Christmas Partty for Children

Christmas Party for Children

On December 24, 2016 1PM-3PM

At Beppu International Baptist Church

Snow!

Today, January 24, Sunday School has been canceled due to snow. We will worship from 11am today!

Christmas 2014 @ Beppu International Baptist Church