Hard Conversations

I have been visiting Remnant Church (AMI) in Manhattan (New York) since 2011 quite regularly. Except for a few occasions, I have always taken a bus to get there and then walk to the church upon arriving. This time was no different. Although I talked about the uniqueness of this church before (three services in three languages, every Sunday), this time I captured that in video. The vlog includes live footages and interviews that denote this Remnant uniqueness as well as brief excerpts from four messages I shared on March 18 and 19. Enjoy.

I have been annually visiting Journey Church of Atlanta since 2011 and have preached and taught there multiple times. In fact, I have many good and lasting memories with several people associated with this church—both past and present. Of course, being a church of young people, there is always an influx of people coming in and out; nevertheless, there are still a handful people in JCA whom I have known for a long time. Maybe that’s why I was yearning to come this time more so than in any of my previous visits. This vlog contains the live footages of Sunday service, interviews with Pastor Dandy and Jennifer his wife, respectively, and a segment from my Friday night presentation. Enjoy

476? AD 476 to be exact! Okay, why is that date so important? Whatever happened that year to the once mighty Western Roman Empire WILL happen to the American Empire. It's not a matter of if but when. And I am making the case that this may happen to America a lot sooner than later. I believe that Saint Augustine would agree with me on this one.

Pastor Mark is a colleague (AMI) and a good friend. He recently resigned as the Lead Pastor of Radiance Christian Church in San Francisco, a church the Lord allowed him to plant in 2011. The decision to leave was due in part to his health issues. This is a tribute video I prepared in response to the request made by the Radiance leadership. Thank you.

This is the prayer and benediction by Pastor Eddie Kim of Canvas Church in Philadelphia at the end of yesterday's worship service. This morning he left for Korea to receive treatment for his advanced cancer. May the Lord keep and guard Eddie during this difficult journey that just began.

There is something just as bad as racism, if not worse, and has been around a lot longer than racism. How old, then, is racism? What is it that is as bad as racism if not worse?

Do you have dogs? My family has had several dogs over the years, and we have enjoyed them immensely. Today, I am going to talk about two of those dogs because their paths crossed in such a manner that one led to life and the other, in all likelihood, to death. After sharing about important aspects of their lives, I am going to extract one very important spiritual principle from it and then apply it to the believers. Now, before you scoff at the idea of learning anything spiritual from animals, be reminded that God’s word tells us to learn hard work from ants (Prov. 6:6-8), imitate innocence and shrewdness, respectively, from doves and serpents, respectively (Matt. 10:16). Happy New Year 2023!

Should we cancel the Christmas service this Sunday since many people won’t be coming? You know, traveling and, maybe, too much partying the night before. A pastor in Boston did just that (not meeting this Sunday) and then wrote an article, which appears in the Gospel Coalition website, that defends his decision. This videoblog is my response to this pastor’s rationale which he believes is firmly rooted in Scripture. I think not.  

If we are honest, and unless we read the Bible without ever mulling over implications of what we read, we must admit that there are accounts in Scripture that should really disturb us. One such story is God commanding Abraham to slaughter his son Isaac as a burnt offering to Him. That’s a problem! We can either gloss over it as if God didn’t really mean it or deal with it head-on, both biblically and philosophically. Recently, upon hearing a message given my pastor son Joshua, who just completed his PhD in philosophy, on this matter, my eyes lit up and my ears perked up. I think he offers a cogent and valid way to deal with this matter of God sanctioning atrocity, whether real or only in appearance. Listen to it and find out for yourself what I mean.

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving Day? Around this time of the year, the nine Israelis, who failed to thank Jesus for healing them of leprosy, get a lot of flak while the lone Samaritan, who did thank the Lord, gets a ton of praise. Do you really think that the nine didn’t have a thankful thought? Sure, they did, but it wasn’t enough to motivate them to return to Jesus to do what the Samaritan did: “He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.” Why? What’s the difference between them? How would you have responded if you were one of them? This videoblog shows that unless we “move” to where Jesus stays, a place called, “outside the camp,” we will do exactly what the nine did.