Sunday Worship Service March 2, 2025

Prelude
Call to Worship Isaiah 46:4 b
Hymn JBC # 493 God sent His Son
The Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 388 Lord, lay some soul upon my heart
Offering
Scripture 1 Timothy 1:12～17
Prayer
Sermon “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 255 Face to face with Christ, my Saviour
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude

　Our scripture today is from the New Testament’s ‘1st Timothy.’
The Letters to Timothy (I and II) are letters believed to be written by the evangelist Paul to his protégé (disciple) Timothy.
　Timothy was from a region called Galatia (located in present-day Turkey), and his mother was a Jew and his father was a Greek, according to the 16th chapter of ‘Acts.’
　In 1 Timothy 1:2, we read, “To Timothy my true son in the faith.” These words indicate that Paul had a special affection for Timothy, even though he was not related to him by blood.
　Even though they were not blood relatives, through the grace of Jesus Christ, Paul and Timothy were father and son (parent and child) through faith.
　In the church, we too are invited into a familial relationship through faith that transcends blood relationships.

　　By the grace of Christ, we have been invited into fellowship with the Church. Through Christ, we have been made children of God.
What a great joy it is to be made children of God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ, through His grace, invites us into His church. Therefore let us build strong relationships as a family of faith and accept each other as we are.
Verse12 from today's passage says the following.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.

Here we are told, first of all, that “one is strengthened by Jesus Christ.” Paul himself has felt and experienced Christ giving him strength throughout his life as a believer.
The strength that comes from Jesus Christ is not our own strength, but the power of Christ who lives in us. It is also the love of Christ.
　It is the reassurance that even though we are weak, we can be strong in any situation thanks to Christ who lives in us.
　In his letter to the Philippians, the same Paul writes the following. It is a bit long, but I will quote from Philippians 4:11-13.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
　Everything is possible for me, Paul says, through the One (Jesus Christ) who gives him strength at all times.
　This does not mean that we should put up with any unfavorable circumstances without complaints.
　If someone is being treated unfairly, discriminated against, enduring prejudice, etc., then of course that situation must be corrected.

　We, the church of Christ, must be close to, support, and pray for those who are being treated unfairly and are vulnerable.
　However, it can happen that people suffer in situations that are not anyone's fault and that we have no control over. For example, a person may suddenly become ill or suffer an unexpected accident.
　At such times, what should one rely on?
　The Bible tells us that God gives us strength to live. And when we don’t have strength to walk ourselves, Christ will carry us.

　In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 46, verses 3-4, it says
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

　This is the eternal promise given to us by God. This promise, “I (God) will carry you, bear you, and deliver you,” has been fulfilled through our Savior Jesus Christ.
　And Christ still bears us, carries us, and delivers us to this day.
There exists a God who walks together with us through every circumstance, and who carries us when we do not have strength to walk by ourselves, or when we fall.
Let us remember this and give thanks to God as we live our lives.
Let's go back to the first half of verse 12 again.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength,

Paul says that the “One who has strengthened me” is our Lord Jesus Christ.
This God who has strengthened him is not his God alone, but OUR Lord, the Lord of all humanity.
There is the idea that “faith is personal.” In a sense, that is true. God has a personal relationship with each of us.
However, faith in Jesus Christ cannot be confined to the individual believer. Jesus Christ is not only “my Lord” but also “OUR Lord.”
　We pray the Lord's Prayer together in worship. In the Lord's Prayer, we say, “Our Father who art in heaven.”
By praying and declaring “Our Father who art in heaven,” we declare that Jesus Christ is our Lord.
In other words, through the Lord's Prayer, we express our faith that Christ is the Lord and Savior of the world, even of those who are not believers.

By praying, "Our Father, who art in heaven," it is revealed to us that "my Father" is actually "our Father." This transforms us, enabling us to transcend our own needs and become able to pray for others.
We all share in the joy of believing and praying that “there is a Father for us, a Father for all” in the Church.
Let us be a church where everyone feels the joy of being a member of this community of faith (family) through praying together to “Our Father”.

Let’s look at verse 15. This verse is also the title of today’s message.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Here is a truth that we simply must accept. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
　Jesus himself said the following while He was alive on earth. Jesus ate with those who were called sinners.
　Some people asked Jesus, “Why do you eat with sinners?” Everyone, think about this for a moment. The people who asked Jesus this question do not actually consider themselves sinners.
Jesus answered them.
　 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

　Jesus Christ came into our world to invite and to save sinners. God Himself became man and came into our world for the salvation of sinners.
The Bible also tells us that “There is no one righteous, not even one;” (Romans 3:10)
　Some may hate it when the Bible condemns people for being sinners this, sinners that. But we are still forced to confront our sins when we are truly honest with ourselves.
　We live while weighed down by sins that we cannot get rid of by ourselves. But the Bible says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
　The Bible tells us emphatically that there is One who takes away sin and shows us the way to a life of joy.
　Salvation is found in Jesus Christ, and no one is excluded from His salvation. Whether or not we believe in this salvation and walk in it is up to us.
　The biblical news that there is forgiveness of sins despite us all being sinners is the most joyful news. That is our “good news”―the gospel.
　Another truth that we must accept besides that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” is that “there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.”

　In the book of ‘Acts’, chapter 4, verse 12, we read Peter, who was preaching about the resurrected Jesus, said these words when he was being interrogated by the assembly.
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
“Salvation is found in no one else.” Salvation cannot be obtained by anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ.
　Today's passage, and the Bible as a whole, asserts that this is true and deserves to be accepted as is.
　No Christian, and no real Christian church, can compromise on the point of salvation through Christ and that there is no salvation for man except through Him.
　If we compromise on this in any way, it renders meaningless the death of the One who laid down His life on the cross for us.
And by compromising, we also throw away the grace that was given to us through the cross.
　Nothing would grieve our Heavenly Father more than giving up the saving grace that Jesus Christ, His Son, gave us in exchange for His life.
　Let us firmly grasp the salvation and eternal grace given to us by Jesus, and walk together on the path of salvation, and continue telling the world about this salvation.
　Let us continue to stand on the Word of Jesus Christ, on the words of the Bible, on the Word of God, on its truth, and let us encourage one another with the Word and live out our faith.