❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Lights and Shadows of the Story of Healing for the Deaf Series “Theology of Interdependence and Disability,” Part 5 (Mark 7:31-37) Mari Ikeda      This July, we began a series of readings from Kathy Black’s book to reconsider the Bible from the perspective of people with disabilities, and today is the fifth in the series. Today we will look at Mark 7:31-37. This is the only passage in the Bible that records an episode in which Jesus heals a deaf man, unrelated to the casting out of demons. Because it is the only passage in the Bible, this passage has been important for deaf…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Let us praise the name of the LORD (Psalm 148) Andy Nagahara Today’s psalm is the 148th. The word that appears most frequently in today’s verse is “Praise.” This psalm sings, “Praise the Lord” or “Praise the name of the Lord,” and actually I covered the difference between these phrases in my talk about Psalm 124 about a year ago, so if you’re interested, please read it again. Jesus Is The Name Of The Lord (Psalm 124)https://yourchurch.jp/wpe/2023/10/08/e231008 This morning I would like to consider why we should praise the Lord. First, let’s read up to verse  1. Let us give thanks for creation and praise…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Let us have sincerity from the heart rather than piety in appearance (John 10:22-39) Mari Ikeda     Today we continue in the Gospel of John, reading 10:22-39. This passage records a dispute between Jesus and the Jews. It is an exchange that has been repeated in the past, but I believe that this passage calls us once again to be sincere with God. What God wants from us is not for us to be respectable believers in the eyes of others. Rather, what God asks of us is that we face our own weaknesses and come before God as we are, even if we…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) How pleasant and fitting to praise him! (Psalm 147) Andy Nagahara Today’s psalm is the 147th. This poem, like many of our modern worship songs, has a sequential structure that is repeated several times. In modern terms, it is a song with one to three verses. Now it is impossible to recreate what the melody was like, and we can only imagine what the sound of the harp was like at the time, but I would like to read it while keeping in mind that it is a song that was sung in worship services.Before reading the text, let’s check the structure of the song.…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Struggle Against Discrimination and Despair Series “Theology of Interdependence and Disability,” Part 4 (Mark 10:46-52) Mari Ikeda      This is the fourth in the series of readings from Kathy Black’s book today. The theme of this series is “Disability and Theology of Interdependence,” in which we consider the importance of living in dependence on one another for both people with and without disabilities. Today we will read the story of the blind man Bartimaeus in the Gospel of Mark chapter 10.      This story has much to teach us, and today I would like to consider it from two different angles in the…