Sunday, March 14, 2021

“Praise the LORD with All Your Strength”

Pastor Hiroyuki Anjiki

1. Where?

2. Why?

* The work of creation

* The work of salvation

* Romans 5:9 “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (NIV)

* Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (NIV)

* 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (NIV)

* Matthew 16:21 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (NIV)

3. How?

4. Who?

* Genesis 2:7 “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (NIV)

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Why do you praise God?

2. How should you praise God?

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Sunday, March 7, 2021

“What is the Church?”

Pastor Joey Anjiki

1. The gathering of God’s people

* “Church” in Greek is “Ecclesia” = Gathering of “people who were called”

* Acts 2:46 “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” (NIV)

* The two types of church gatherings:

(1) Public worship

Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.” (NIV)

(2) Fellowship in mini churches

2. The body of Christ

* 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (NIV)

* 1 Corinthians 12:22 “On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (NIV)

* Japanese castle stone walls

3. The family of God

* Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.” (NIV)

* John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (NIV)

* The testimony of 26-year-old Martha

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Confirm about the purpose of worship.

2. Have you ever had an experience in which you learned the love of Jesus Christ through the love of God’s family?

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Sunday, February 28, 2021

“Sing a New Song to the LORD”

Pastor Hiroyuki Anjiki

1. Songs of praise: Songs of redeemed people

* Job 38:4 & 7 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.. while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? (NIV)

* Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (NIV)

* Isaiah 14:11-15 “All your pomp has been brought down to the grave… morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly... I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.” (NIV)

* Ezekiel 28:12-19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.... Your settings and mountings were made of gold… Your heart became proud on account of your beauty... So I threw you to the earth.’” (NIV)

* 1 Chronicles 13:8 “David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.” (NIV)

* Psalm 40:3 “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” (NIV)

* 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV)

* Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (NIV)

2. Songs of praise: Songs that bring about victory

* June 11, 1988 Wembley Stadium, London (Concert for 70,000 people)

Jessye Norman sang “Amazing Grace”

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Where is the source of songs of praise?

2. Why is there music that defiles God?

3. What is a “new song?”

4. At what kind of times do songs of praise become a weapon of God?

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Sunday, February 21, 2021

“What Does it Mean to Tell About Jesus?”

Pastor Joey Anjiki

1. Why should we tell others about Jesus?

(a) People need to know

(b) Hope for after death

* Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)

(c) Blessings during life on earth

* Testimony of Justin Bieber, a Canadian artist

* John 4:14 “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (NIV)

2. How should we tell others about Jesus?

(a) Verbally

* Explain the Gospel

* 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (NIV)

* 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (NIV)

* John 12:46 “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” (NIV)

* Tell your testimony:

(1) How were you before you believed in Jesus?

(2) How did you come to know Jesus?

(3) How have you changed after believing in Jesus?

(b) Through our existence

* Matthew 5:13-14 “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world…” (NIV)

3. God uses small things

* Osaka Elevate Church

* The reason why Russia restarted

* 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (NIV)

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Reflect on the 3 points of the salvation of the cross and confirm your own testimony.

2. Who do you want to share the Gospel with?

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Sunday, February 14, 2021

“Let Everything Praise the LORD!”

Pastor Hiroyuki Anjiki

1. Invitation for the whole universe to praise (Psalm 148:1-6)

2. Invitation for everything on the earth to praise (Psalm 148:7-10)

* Job 12:7-9 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” (NIV)

3. Invitation for all humanity to praise (Psalm 148:11-14)

* Revelation 21:1-2 “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (NIV)

* Revelation 21:22-23 “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (NIV)

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Praising the creator Lord God is a privilege of all created things. As for us humans created as “the crown of creation,” is your praise sufficient for the creator Lord?

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Sunday, February 7, 2021

“What is God’s Guidance?”

Pastor Joey Anjiki

* Jeremiah 29:11 “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (NIV)

* Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (NIV)

1. Through the Bible’s commands

* Masaru Hayami, former Governor of the Bank of Japan

2. Strong prompting from the Holy Spirit

* Speaking to Abraham

* Guiding Mother Theresa

* Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (NIV)

3. Advice from Christians

* Proverbs 12:15 “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” (NIV)

* David and Nathan

4. Common sense

* “A Happy Marriage” by Dr. Harley Swiggum

* 5 conditions to seek in a marriage partner:

(1) Emotional maturity (2) Common values (3) Same faith (4) Similar interests (5) Rich sensitivity

5. Situational sign

* Marshmallow test conducted at Stanford University, USA in the late 1960’s

* Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (NIV)

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Review the 5 points that enable us to know God’s heart.

2. How has God provided you with guidance?

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Sunday, January 31, 2021

“God’s Word Runs Swiftly”

Pastor Hiroyuki Anjiki

1. The natural world and God’s Word

* Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (NIV)

* Genesis 1:3 “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (NIV)

2. Israel’s history and God’s Word

* Daisetsu Suzuki (Buddhist scholar)

* Genesis 15:13-14 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.’” (NIV)

* Jeremiah 25:11 “This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (NIV)

* Deuteronomy 28:63-64 “Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods - gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.” (NIV)

* Deuteronomy 30:3 “Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.” (NIV)

* Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (NIV)

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. How did the whole creation come to be?

2. What do you think is proof that the Lord God is the “ruler of human history”?

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Sunday, January 24, 2021

“What is Prayer?”

Pastor Joey Anjiki

1. What is prayer?

(1) Praying to our Heavenly Father.

- Psalm 8:3-4 “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (NIV)

- “Father” = “Abba” in Aramaic

(2) Praying in the name of His Son, Jesus.

- John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last - and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (NIV)

(3) Praying with the help of the Holy Spirit.

- Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (NIV)

2. Why pray?

(1) To deepen your relationship with God.

- To lay bare the inside of your heart before God

(2) To do the work of God.

- The relationship of prayer and works

- Levels of prayer

3. Answers to prayer

(1) Prayer is answered

- The prayer of former prostitute in Costa Rica

- An experiment of prayer on 393 heart attack patients conducted in a hospital in San Francisco

(2) Prayer is not answered

a) Poor content

b) To grow ourselves

3) You don’t know why

- Nigerian missionary’s cemetery

- Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be

done.” (NIV)

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Have you ever experienced answer to prayer? Please share.

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Sunday, January 17, 2021

“I Will Praise The LORD All My Life”

Psalm 146

1. God, creator of heaven and earth

* “Impossible by Chance: The Truth About The Theory of Evolution”

by Kazuko Ando (Doctor of Science)

* Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (NIV)

2. God, who opens spiritual eyes

* Psalm 146:8 “gives sight”

* Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (NIV)

* Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” (NIV)

* YouTube “Wireworm That Manipulates a Mantis”

3. God, who reigns over history

* UNNWO (United Nations New World Order)

Website: “Let’s Recover Our World”

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. There are many problems with the theory of evolution. Nevertheless, many people believe it. Why do you think so?

2. What do you think “opening of spiritual eyes” means?

3. What does the Bible prophesy about the end of the world?

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Sunday, January 10, 2021

“What is the Bible?”

2 Timothy 3:15-17

1. What kind of book is the Bible?

* (1) The most read book ever

(2) The most powerful book ever

2. A manual for life

* 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (NIV)

* The Bible’s commands:

(1) Are given to us not to bind us, but for our protection

(2) Give us true freedom and give us joy in our lives

3. A love letter from God

* John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (NIV)

* The faith of Osamu Dazai (1909 - 1948)

* What is experienced amidst contact with God’s Word daily:

(1) You will be transformed into the image of Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

(2) You will be given joy and peace even amidst crisis’ in life. (Psalm 23:5)

(3) You will be given guidance for life. (Psalm 32:8)

(4) You will be given recovery from physical health issues and illnesses. (Proverbs 4:20-22)

(5) You will be given wisdom to resolve problems. (James 1:5)

(6) You will be given the strength and motivation to live. (Isaiah 40:29-31)

4. A source for spiritual growth (Bible devotion time recommendation)

* 1 Timothy 4:7 “…train yourself to be godly.” (NIV)

* 8 steps for Bible devotion:

(1) Set a specific time.

(2) Read the Bible in a structured manner.

(3) Keep the basic background in mind.

(4) Get into the feelings of the characters as you read.

(5) Stop at passages that grip your heart.

(6) Make observations.

(7) Apply.

(8) Pray.

Thoughts to share at mini church:

1. Please strongly consider implementing Bible devotion time in your life.

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