❖ Video ❖ Audio Blessed Are Those Who Seek Justice Psalm 112 Andy Nagahara Today’s text, Psalm 112 is the same as the previous one, with each line arranged in the order of the Hebrew alphabet.Following the 111, which sings in praise of God’s justice and closes with the importance of fearing the Lord, the 112, which begins with the fear of the Lord and sings of the blessings of those who do God’s justice, is a continuation of the same theme, but it is sung with a focus on human beings who follow God rather than God himself and is considered to be by the same psalmist.　First, let’s read…

❖ Video ❖ Audio The Faith That God Left for Us Romans 11:1-12 Mari Ikeda      Starting today, we are going to read Romans 11 in three parts. The book of Romans, up to this chapter 11, is a theological explanation, and from chapter 12, it starts to give practical advice to the believers. So, this chapter 11 is the conclusion of the theological explanation. (In other words, the hard part is just around the corner.) Let’s read it through. First, from verse 1 to the first sentence of verse 2. A. Even among those who reject God 1. Paul himself as proof (1-2a) 1 I ask then: Did…

❖ Video ❖ Audio Where There is No Justice, There is No Love Psalm 111 Andy Nagahara The psalms we will be reading this time and the next have the unique feature that in the original text, the first letters of the words at the beginning of each line are arranged in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew language. So, there are 22 lines in this psalm, except for the first line, “Praise the Lord!”. Although its format is not reflected in English or Japanese, there are important details that can help us understand God’s thoughts toward us. A. The justice that God…

❖ Video ❖ Audio The Responsibility to Believe, Rejoice, and Never Give Up Romans 10:14-21, Acts 2:43-47 Mari Ikeda      Today we are going to read the second half of Romans 10. The last part of our previous reading said that anyone who believes in the Lord will be saved, and this left us with the question, “then, will those who do not believe in the Lord perish?” The answer to this question is “No.” There is no teaching in the Bible that says you will go to hell if you do not have faith while you are alive. Nevertheless, the question of what differentiates those who have faith…

❖ Video ❖ Audio God? Lord? My Lord? Psalm 110 Andy Nagahara 0 Of David. A psalm.1 The LORD(Yahweh) says to my Lord(New king): “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”2 The LORD(Yahweh) will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies.3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.4 The LORD(Yahweh) has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”5 The Lord(Yahweh) is at your…

❖ Video ❖ Audio The God Who Reaches His Hand Toward Us as We Reach Our Hands Toward Heaven Romans 9:30-10:13 Mari Ikeda A. The mistake of reaching out to heaven (9:30-10:4) 30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:“See, I lay in Zion a stone that…

❖ Video ❖ Audio Why Does the Bible Include Curses? Psalm 109 Andy Nagahara There are parts of the Bible that baffle me as to why it says so many terrible things. Today’s verse is no different. The title is “A Psalm of David. The title is “A Song of Praise,” but the content is clearly “A Psalm of David. A Curse”. In Romans 12:14, Paul says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them,” but who is right, Paul or the Psalmist? In a word, the Bible is God’s word, but we have to read it differently in the Old and New Testaments. This is because…

❖ Video ❖ Audio The Joy of Living Taught by Jesus and the Author of Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes, Matthew 16:25-26, others Mari Ikeda Today, instead of our usual series on the book of Romans, we’re going to read Ecclesiastes from the Old Testament and the words of Jesus from the New Testament. I wanted to read Ecclesiastes because I came across a book last year that taught a new interpretation of the book that was so good that I wanted to share it with you. The title of the book is ” Let’s read Ecclesiastes – a book that calls us to ‘live’” by Satoshi Otomo, and published by UCCJ (The…

❖ Video ❖ Audio Becoming a Church That Pleases God 1Peter 2:3-5, 1Samuel15:22, Proverbs 21:3, Hebrew 12:28 Andy Nagahara 1. What pleases God? But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.  2.  What is a church? now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– you…

❖ Video ❖ Audio What it Means to Love One Another Luke 10:25-37 Mari Ikeda A. Our love is limited 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to…