On June 30, it will be Special Worship Services for Seminary School. The first and second worship services will be held respectively. Lu San from Myanmar, a seminary student at Seinan Gakuin University will give the sermons.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Daimyo Cross Garden
Pastor Yoshida, and a representative, Brother Sumida participated in the inauguration ceremony at Fukuoka International Church on June 23, 2013.
After the ceremony, they visited Daimyo Cross Gurden, a new church in Tenjin area of Fukuoka.
https://www.facebook.com/daimyocrossgarden
After the ceremony, they visited Daimyo Cross Gurden, a new church in Tenjin area of Fukuoka.
https://www.facebook.com/daimyocrossgarden
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Welcome Home
June 16, 2013 Sermon Summary
Luke 15:11-32
The prodigal son goes to a “distant land” (15:13). This “distance” is not just referring to physical distance but the “distance” of relationship. He had cut off his relationship with his father. ◆There was someone who said, “To cut off a relationship is to kill that person within you.” I see. People who have denied God’s existence are like the prodigal son. ◆However, humans become truly humans in God’s presence. As it says “God made man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), humans cannot cut themselves off from God.◆In verse 17 it is written, “He came to his senses.” To “come to one’s senses” is to return to your true self. And our true self is when you is when you turn to face God the Father. This is repentance. ◆The reason Jesus came is to lead us humans back to God the Father. He is the way back.◆The reason we can return to God our Father and be held as “His child” is because of the sacrifice of Jesus’ life. The reason why we are greatly touched when we read this parable is because the one speaking is none other than Jesus himself.◆The gospel of the Bible is, “Everyone, welcome home in Jesus’ name!” Through Jesus, we can enter the kingdom. Through Jesus, we can become God’s children. That is the true blessing for us and allows us to be truly human.
Luke 15:11-32
The prodigal son goes to a “distant land” (15:13). This “distance” is not just referring to physical distance but the “distance” of relationship. He had cut off his relationship with his father. ◆There was someone who said, “To cut off a relationship is to kill that person within you.” I see. People who have denied God’s existence are like the prodigal son. ◆However, humans become truly humans in God’s presence. As it says “God made man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), humans cannot cut themselves off from God.◆In verse 17 it is written, “He came to his senses.” To “come to one’s senses” is to return to your true self. And our true self is when you is when you turn to face God the Father. This is repentance. ◆The reason Jesus came is to lead us humans back to God the Father. He is the way back.◆The reason we can return to God our Father and be held as “His child” is because of the sacrifice of Jesus’ life. The reason why we are greatly touched when we read this parable is because the one speaking is none other than Jesus himself.◆The gospel of the Bible is, “Everyone, welcome home in Jesus’ name!” Through Jesus, we can enter the kingdom. Through Jesus, we can become God’s children. That is the true blessing for us and allows us to be truly human.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
As the Children of God
June 6, 2013 Sermon Summary
Mathew 5:9
Now, I want to focus on the
verse “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”◆When we confess and believe that Jesus Christ is the
Redeemer of our sins, we become children of God. Do you remember?That’s why we
have to be peacemakers because we are the children of God. Today, I believe
that we have special mission here at Beppu International Baptist Church.◆Currently, there are conflicts and terrors occurring
everywhere all around the world. There are many people who suffer from poverty.I
think it can be the first step to make peace, if, with merciful and meek hearts
we can build relationships together with people from other countries.Breaking
the walls, building bridges and peacemaking are indeed the things that the
world is looking for today. Here, we are like this, having a wonderful
relationship with each other. We have been given an environment where we can
send many people all over the world to spread the gospel from this church. ◆In The Tower of Babel, God judged humans’ pride and
haughtiness therefore God scattered people to different countries by confusing
their language. However, with gospel as the common “language”, God is using us
to make and realize peace. Are you following this calling, everyone? （Deacon Tetsuaki
Endo）
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Live Richly Toward God
June 2, 2013 Sermon Summary
Like 12:13-21
The event in these verses took place when Jesus was teaching the crowd like usual. Among the crowd, there was a man who was troubled over family inheritance so he asked Jesus to solve the problem for him.◆A quarrel similar to that appears in every generation. Sometimes, a quarrel can even lead to murders. I think possessions and wealth are such scary things because they can distort humans’ hearts. ◆Of course, I’m not saying that wealth and possessions are “evil” things. What’s important is how we utilize them. We must not sell our souls to wealth and possessions; we must not be controlled by them.◆That is a sound argument. Everyone here probably agrees to it, too. Still, wealth and possessions have the power of an evil desire, “greed”, which can suddenly enter our hearts and control us against our logic, without us even realizing it.◆This is not a problem of one man who is worried over family inheritance. This is a trap into which all humans can fall easily; this is our weakness. ◆“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”.――The point that Jesus focuses on in this parable is “death”. The problem does not lie in wealth. It is in “death” which inevitably comes to visit everyone, regardless of their wealth.◆When death comes, there are meaningless things that we must let go of. Or, to put it differently, there are things that cannot separate us from death even if we cling onto them.◆This parable is not meant to say that “No matter how hard you work to amass your fortune, you’re only human and you’re destined to die”. This parable is an invitation, asking us “How should you live so that you are rich in the presence of God?”
Like 12:13-21
The event in these verses took place when Jesus was teaching the crowd like usual. Among the crowd, there was a man who was troubled over family inheritance so he asked Jesus to solve the problem for him.◆A quarrel similar to that appears in every generation. Sometimes, a quarrel can even lead to murders. I think possessions and wealth are such scary things because they can distort humans’ hearts. ◆Of course, I’m not saying that wealth and possessions are “evil” things. What’s important is how we utilize them. We must not sell our souls to wealth and possessions; we must not be controlled by them.◆That is a sound argument. Everyone here probably agrees to it, too. Still, wealth and possessions have the power of an evil desire, “greed”, which can suddenly enter our hearts and control us against our logic, without us even realizing it.◆This is not a problem of one man who is worried over family inheritance. This is a trap into which all humans can fall easily; this is our weakness. ◆“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”.――The point that Jesus focuses on in this parable is “death”. The problem does not lie in wealth. It is in “death” which inevitably comes to visit everyone, regardless of their wealth.◆When death comes, there are meaningless things that we must let go of. Or, to put it differently, there are things that cannot separate us from death even if we cling onto them.◆This parable is not meant to say that “No matter how hard you work to amass your fortune, you’re only human and you’re destined to die”. This parable is an invitation, asking us “How should you live so that you are rich in the presence of God?”
Sunday, June 2, 2013
The Lost Sheep That Was Found
May 26, 2013 Sermon Summary
Luke 15:1-7
We had the Lord’s Supper today. When we had the Lord Supper, I believe no one thought,” Oh my, how come that person is also with us? I don’t like it. I wonder why the pastor treats that person in the same way he treats us.” However, in this scene, these exactly criticizing, complaining words came out. ◆Having meal together is the basic thing when we live with other people. Having meal together means that we accept each other as friends. In other words, Lord Jesus became friends with the tax collectors and the sinners. ◆However there were people who saw this and could not tolerate that. They absolutely couldn’t tolerate that Jesus became friends with the sinners. It’s because they had pride in their own righteousness and they thought “we are different from those people.” Jesus told this parable to destroy their arrogance. ◆Perhaps, when Jesus told this parable, the tax collectors and sinners, who became the reason of the criticism, were with him. For them, this parable was nothing more than a great joy (gospel/good news). For them, these words are words that they had never heard before, words that are full of love and mercy. ◆In this way, parables can be judgment or salvation depending on the standpoint of the listener. Now, when we listen to this parable, in which position do we stand? Is it the law teachers’ or the sinners’? ◆Let each and every one of us confirm our position and standpoint. If we can look at ourselves and everyone else around us as “the lost sheep that was found”, I believe that the Kingdom of God will come on earth.
Luke 15:1-7
We had the Lord’s Supper today. When we had the Lord Supper, I believe no one thought,” Oh my, how come that person is also with us? I don’t like it. I wonder why the pastor treats that person in the same way he treats us.” However, in this scene, these exactly criticizing, complaining words came out. ◆Having meal together is the basic thing when we live with other people. Having meal together means that we accept each other as friends. In other words, Lord Jesus became friends with the tax collectors and the sinners. ◆However there were people who saw this and could not tolerate that. They absolutely couldn’t tolerate that Jesus became friends with the sinners. It’s because they had pride in their own righteousness and they thought “we are different from those people.” Jesus told this parable to destroy their arrogance. ◆Perhaps, when Jesus told this parable, the tax collectors and sinners, who became the reason of the criticism, were with him. For them, this parable was nothing more than a great joy (gospel/good news). For them, these words are words that they had never heard before, words that are full of love and mercy. ◆In this way, parables can be judgment or salvation depending on the standpoint of the listener. Now, when we listen to this parable, in which position do we stand? Is it the law teachers’ or the sinners’? ◆Let each and every one of us confirm our position and standpoint. If we can look at ourselves and everyone else around us as “the lost sheep that was found”, I believe that the Kingdom of God will come on earth.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Make Disciples of Jesus in All Nations
May 19, 2013 Sermon Summary
Matthew 28:18-20 Acts 2:1-11
he Holy Spirit rested “on each one of them” like “tongues of fire”. It’s very important to note that it says “on each one of them”.None of them was merely an onlooker. Since then, all of them became world missionaries. That’s the event of the Pentecost.◆I want to call your attention to the verse that says it “filled the whole house” (2:2). In the Bible, sometimes the word “house” (oikos) points to the “world” (kosmos).That the wind noise of the Holy Spirit “filled the whole house” (oikos) means that the entire world will be filled with the proclamation of the Word through the Holy Spirit, pointing to the joy of the Good News spreading to the whole world.◆Fortunately, in our church we have people from different parts of the world. And from this church, many people go out to every part of the world. What a promising potential to spread the Good News!◆To achieve this, we have to undergo a discipleship training. We have to learn earnestly about the Gospel, we have to prepare our testimonies, we have to acquire learn how to share the Word effectively to other people. ◆My prayer is that everyone in this church becomes a disciple of the Lord Jesus to proclaim the Good News.◆My prayer is that pastors, preachers and missionaries may rise from this church. That there may be among you people who carry on the work of evangelism in Japan. And not only in Japan, but in the whole world.
Matthew 28:18-20 Acts 2:1-11
he Holy Spirit rested “on each one of them” like “tongues of fire”. It’s very important to note that it says “on each one of them”.None of them was merely an onlooker. Since then, all of them became world missionaries. That’s the event of the Pentecost.◆I want to call your attention to the verse that says it “filled the whole house” (2:2). In the Bible, sometimes the word “house” (oikos) points to the “world” (kosmos).That the wind noise of the Holy Spirit “filled the whole house” (oikos) means that the entire world will be filled with the proclamation of the Word through the Holy Spirit, pointing to the joy of the Good News spreading to the whole world.◆Fortunately, in our church we have people from different parts of the world. And from this church, many people go out to every part of the world. What a promising potential to spread the Good News!◆To achieve this, we have to undergo a discipleship training. We have to learn earnestly about the Gospel, we have to prepare our testimonies, we have to acquire learn how to share the Word effectively to other people. ◆My prayer is that everyone in this church becomes a disciple of the Lord Jesus to proclaim the Good News.◆My prayer is that pastors, preachers and missionaries may rise from this church. That there may be among you people who carry on the work of evangelism in Japan. And not only in Japan, but in the whole world.
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