❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) Who was Jesus? John 1:1-18 Mari Ikeda Starting from today, I’d like to start reading the Gospel according to John, because I feel it’s about time to go back to the actual words of Jesus after we have read Romans for nearly 2 years and kept hearing from Paul. Also because I have read other Gospels in the past, but not John, I picked John. If you have read the Gospel of John, you may well know that it is quite different from the other three Gospels and that it has many passages that sound very philosophical and difficult to understand. However,…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) ז (Zayin)　Your promise preserves my life Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law　7/22 Psalm 119:49-56 Andy Nagahara The seventh in the series of Psalm 119, called Hymn to the Law, is the seventh paragraph in the entire series. It is verses 49 through 56, where the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Zayin, is placed at the beginning of each line. The name of the letter is the same as the Hebrew word for weapon (זין　zayin). 1. My comfort in my suffering (49, 50, 52) 49 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. 50 My comfort in my…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) Church: A Community of Mutual Support that Transcends Sex, Status, and Ethnicity Romans 16 (Last Sermon in the Series on Paul’s Letter to the Romans) Mari Ikeda Finally, this is my last sermon in the series on Romans. We’ll read its last chapter, chapter 16, but I want to skip a part of it as it’s quite long. It’s long because so many people’s names are listed up, 24 in total. As I have said before, as Paul had never been to Rome, most people in the churches in Rome did not know Paul personally. Perhaps Paul listed up the names of…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) ו (Waw)  “I trust in your word” Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law　6/22 Psalm 119:41-48 Andy Nagahara The sixth in the series of Psalm 119, called Hymn to the Law, is the sixth paragraph in the entire series. It is verses 41 through 4８, where the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Waw, is placed at the beginning of each line. Although there are different theories, this character is supposed to derive from the “וו” (hook) in its form. This paragraph consists of two parts: the first half is the psalmist’s requests to God, and the second half is the…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) More Difficult and More Important Than Going to the Ends of the Earth Romans 15:22-23 (Reference: Acts 20:22-23, 21:13, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 2 Corinthians 8-9) Mari Ikeda Today I’d like to read through the whole passage for today first, which is Romans 15:22-33. I’ll divide it into three parts according to subject and read them Japanese and English alternately.  22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, 24 I…