❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) A Promise to Live Loving God and Loving Others (Your Church Covenant) Mari Yoshino 1. Love and serve God a. Trust and obey God above all else (Mark 12:29-31, 8:34-37) 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31) These two commandments spoken by Jesus encompass all three commitments of…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Heroes and villains (Proverbs 10) Andy Nagahara The Proverbs series has been on hold for a while, but starting today we will begin a new part both in content and format. The section we will be looking at today, from chapter 10 to chapter 22, is the second part of the book of Proverbs, entitled “The Proverbs of Solomon.” It contains 375 proverbs, each verse counted as a proverb. Although there are some unusual parts in the structure, most of the book presents two opposing ideas and encourages us to live a good life.However, what we should understand is not so simple, and there is…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Remain in Jesus (John15:1-17) Mari Yoshino The new year has begun. How are you feeling? For the first worship service of the year, I always choose a Bible passage I want to keep in mind throughout the year. This time, I felt a passage continuing from the Gospel of John was fitting. It’s a well-known passage from Jesus’ words: “I am the vine; you are the branches.” In the Old Testament, the vine represents the people of Israel and is often spoken of in a lamenting context, signifying that despite being planted and nurtured by God, it failed to bear fruit. Jesus, of course, knew…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) The Birth of Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1-14) Andy Nagahara All the Advent candles have been lit, and today marks the last Sunday of Advent. Like many churches, we have always held a Christmas service on the Sunday just before Christmas Day. Last week we learned that before His birth it was prophesied that He would be named Jesus, which means “Lord is salvation,” and that He would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” And from that, we learned that the salvation we need is to walk through life with Jesus. Today, let’s start by looking at the beginning of the Gospel…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Immanuel, God With Us (Matthew 1:18-25) Mari Yoshino One word we often hear during this Christmas season is “Immanuel.” It is a Hebrew word meaning “God is with us.” How have we experienced this truth throughout this past year, and even at this very moment? “God is with us” means that God knows us completely, will not leave our suffering unattended, and will always lead us to what is good. Therefore, if we can believe in “Immanuel,” we should be able to regain hope even in the midst of any suffering. Yet we are not that strong. Even so, Jesus proved that “Immanuel” is a…