Sunday, June 14, 2020

“What it Means to Work”

Genesis 1:26-27, 3:17-19

1. We were made to work

* Genesis 2:2 “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” (NIV)

“work” = “malca” = Labor that requires skill, used when pointing out work done by an artisan

* Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” (NIV)

2. Work that is impacted by the fall

* Genesis 3:17-18 (See above)

* Walt Disney

* The idol of work

* Boris Becker (star tennis player in the 1980’s)

* “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace (American author)

* 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)

3. Work is to express God’s glory

* 1 Corinthians 7:17 “Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.” (NIV)

* Michelangelo’s artwork on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

* The Sagrada Familia

* Matthew 25: The parable of the talents

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. What does it mean to express God’s glory through work?

2. Link your work with that of putting one’s hand to materials provided by God and making it into something.

MCC20200614.mp3

Sunday, June 7, 2020

“The God Who Restores”

Psalm 126

1. The God who rules over history

* 931BC The country was divided after King Solomon died

721BC The northern kingdom Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire

586BC The southern kingdom was taken into Babylonian captivity

604BC Jeremiah prophesized the destruction and recovery of the southern kingdom

516BC The temple in Jerusalem was reconstructed

539BC The Babylonian Empire was destroyed by the Persian Empire

740-700BC Isaiah’s period of activity (Assyrian Empire era)

Isaiah prophesized the destruction of the Babylonia Empire

(By Persian King Kurus on October 5, 539BC)

Isaiah 44-45 (Reference)

2. The God who brings about spiritual recovery

* Psalm 126:4 “Negev” = Desert area that spans over southern Israel

* Psalm 126:5 “sow seeds” = God’s Word*

* 458BC Ezra returns to Jerusalem

* The experience of a pastor in San Diego, California, USA

Mike MacIntosh (Horizon Christian Fellowship)

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. What can you learn from the history of Israel’s recovery?

2. Please share an experience in which God’s Word brought about recovery in your life.

MCC20200607.mp3

Sunday, May 31, 2020

“A Life That Cannot Be Shaken”

Psalm 125

1. The calamity of those who don’t trust in the Lord

*logo.pdf Psalm 125:1 “trust in the LORD” = “Bataha” in Hebrew = Believe and leave everything up to the Lord

* Israel’s history:

627BC Jeremiah was called to be a prophet

621BC Religious reform by King Josiah in the Kingdom of Judah

605BC Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem

598BC King Jehoiakim was killed

586BC Babylonian captivity and the fall of Jerusalem

* Jeremiah’s prophesy

Jeremiah 33:6 “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” (NIV)

70AD Destruction of Jerusalem by Rome

* Jesus Christ’s warning (refer to Luke 19:41-44)

May 14, 1948 Country of Israel reestablished

2. The blessedness of those who trust in the Lord

* 2 Corinthians 5:14 “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” (NIV) “compels” = “surrounded by”

* The miracle of Joelma

　

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. In what kind of situations does your heart faulter?

2. What can you do to have a “heart that doesn’t faulter?”

MCC20200531.mp3

Sunday, May 24, 2020

“God is On Our Side”

Psalm 124

1. God who created Heaven and earth

* Ecclesiastes 12:1 “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them’?” (NIV)

* Epigenetics: DNA arrangement doesn’t change at all in organisms, but rather only the form/shape that the eye sees changes

* The experience of Dr. Gene Robinson an entomologist (studier of insects)

Italian honeybees vs. African honeybees

* Dr. Steve Cole (UCLA Professor)

2. God who blesses the people of Israel

* Psalm 124:7 “escaped” = prophetic perfect tense

Expresses something that hasn’t occurred yet, but will certainly take place

* The story of Tadeusz, a Polish man who helped Jews escape from the Krakow Jewish ghetto

3. God who is on our side

* Romans 8:31-39

* Dr. Cha Inhong, a violist (Wright State University, Ohio, USA)

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. Is the “Creator God” on your side? Why can you say so?

2. Why does God bless the people of Israel?

MCC20200524.mp3

Sunday, May 17, 2020

“Have Mercy on Us God”

Psalm 123

1. God

* Psalm 123:2 “God” in Hebrew is “Elohim” = “There is no greater god”

“Lord” in Hebrew is “Yahweh” = One who is always present, one who is not dependent

on anything else, one who will never go away

2. Sin

* Romans 8:33-34 “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (NIV)

3. Salvation

* Psalm 123:3 “mercy” in Hebrew is “Heset” = “To go into someone else’s heart, to think from their standpoint, to feel things from their standpoint, and to have empathy”

* Hiroki Kashiragi “The Life View on Despair Master Kafka” “Despair Reading”

* Parkrose Highschool incident in Portland, Oregon USA on May 17, 2019

Devotion topics:

1. Think about how great our God is that we trust in.

2. Think about the “mercy” that Jesus Christ has shown you in your life.

MCC20200517.mp3

Sunday, May 10, 2020

“The Motherly Affection of Father God”

Isaiah 49:13-20

* Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

“Humans are something that is broken, so they must be handled carefully.”

* Isaiah 49:15 “baby at her breast” = “child of womb”

* The earth that was created by Creator God is like the existence of an incubator in outer space

(oxygen, atmospheric pressure, Van Allen radiation belt, ozone layer

* “The human principle of outer space”: “It only seems plausible that outer space has been adjusted to allow humans to live. Outer space has a will, and is working so that it is easy for humans to live. Therefore, if humans are not thankful to outer space, then outer space will surely be sad.”

1. The truth of God’s Word

2. The truth of God’s love

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. What does Heavenly Father God have in mind when He looks at us humans?

2. Why can you confirm that?

MCC20200510.mp3

Sunday, May 3, 2020

“In the Darkness”

Genesis 28:10-16

1. Face God in loneliness

* Words written on a wall in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (NIV)

2. The grace of God being with you

* The dream Jacob saw

One ladder was set in place from Heaven facing earth, and angels were going up and down it.

* Genesis 28:16 “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” (NIV)

* The electronic distribution of “Daily Manna”

* The testimony of Tomijiro Kobayashi, founder of the Lion Corporation

* Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (NIV)

* Genesis 28:16 “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (NIV)

3. Light shines in the darkness

* Edward (Eddie) O’Hare, the lawyer of Al Capone

* 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)

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. What type of situation was it when your faith grew?

2. Has God ever spoken to you through His Word?

MCC20200503.mp3

Sunday, April 26, 2020

“Do Not Let Your Hearts be Troubled”

John 14:1-6

1. Cause for your heart to be troubled: No.1 “Sin”

* Ignaz Semmelweis (1818 – 1865) A Hungarian Doctor

“The Father of Handwashing” “The Savior of the Mothers”

2. Cause for your heart to be troubled: No. 2 “Death”

* John 14:2 “My Father’s house” = Heaven

* John 14:3 “I go… I will come back…” = Second coming in the air and the rapture

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. How did Jesus Christ resolve our problems of “sin” and “death”?

MCC English20200426.mp3

Sunday, April 19, 2020

“Earthquakes, Famines, Plagues, and Thereafter ”

Romans 8:18-25

1. Three methods to end COVID-19

(1) The majority of the people around the world get infected and have immunity

(2) A vaccine is developed

(3) Special medicine is developed

2. Plagues that changed human history

* Aztec Empire (1428 – 1521)

* Inka Empire (1200 – 1533)

* Official recognition of Christianity in the Roman Empire (313) Constantine

* State religion of Christianity in the Roman Empire (392) Theodosius

3. The occurrence of many natural disasters

* Mass generation of locusts

* Abnormal weather

* Multiple occurrences of earthquakes

* Luke 21:10-11 “Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.” (NIV)

4. The way to the recovery of nature

* Romans 8:18-25 (See above)

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. What kinds of things does Jesus Christ say will occur as “prior signs” to the end of the world?

2. What kind of mindset should Christians living in an era of earthquakes, famines, and plagues have?

MCC English20200419.mp3

Sunday, April 12, 2020

“Be Prepared to Meet God”

Romans 8:34

1. Jesus, who died

* “Death” = “Sanatos” in Greek = to separate

* The faith of Osamu Dazai (real name = Shuji Tsuhima)

2. Jesus, who came back to life

* Luke 9:22 “And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’” (NIV)

* Matthew 27:62-63 “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’” (NIV)

* John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (NIV)

3. Jesus, who intercedes

* Toshitaka Hidaka, an ethnologist (person who studies animal behavior)

* Amos 4:12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.” (NIV)

Thoughts to share at Mini Church:

1. What meaning do you think there is in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross?

2. What do you think about Jesus Christ’s resurrection?

3. What does the Bible teach that Jesus Christ is doing now?

MCC English 20200412.mp3