❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) What to ask God to protect our heart (Psalm 141) Andy Nagahara We have been reading the Psalms together for several years, and we have now come to the last ten. Today’s text is 141. I have previously mentioned that the verses of the Psalms were basically sung as worship, and it is clear from their structure that this psalm is also typical of that. The basic attitude of worshippers is established in the first two verses and in the concluding verses 8-10, where they call out to God. And between them are placed the two main wishes that make this psalm unique. So, as…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Is Disability God’s Will? Series “Theology of Interdependence and Disability,” Part 1 (John9:1-5) Mari Ikeda      Last Christmas, I read Isaiah 11 to think about what peace means. At that time, I thought that true peace is not only that the strong do not exploit the weak, but also that the weak can remain weak and ask for help without fear, and that it is the natural responsibility of the strong to meet the needs of the weak. In this sense, the weak are the leaders in creating true peace.      This is very well expressed in the words of Kazuo Itoga, the…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) I know (Psalm 140) Andy Nagahara We are nearing the end of our Psalm series that we have been reading for several years. Today’s text is 140th. In Psalm 139 I talked about what we are “known” by God, but today I will talk about what the psalmist knows and what we know. It has been a while since we last saw a psalm using the word “Selah” but “Selah” which appears in 40 of the 150 psalms, indicates a musical break. It reminds us that the psalms are traditionally sung as worship songs. In particular, the first half of the song is easy to…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Jesus Kept Speaking To His Enemies (John 8:21-29) Mari Ikeda Today we continue in the Gospel of John, and today we will read 8:21-29. What we see throughout this passage is that, as the title suggests, Jesus continued to speak to His enemies who were tormenting Him. Jesus did not give up on the Jewish leaders who were trying to kill Him, and He wanted to save them as much as possible. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. So today’s story could be interpreted as teaching us that we must follow Jesus’ example and continue to communicate with those who torment us. But I…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Being known by God (Psalm 139) Andy Nagahara Today’s psalm is Psalm 139. Let’s read it in four parts. 1. We who do not want to be known (0-10) 0 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.5 You hem me in–behind and before; you have laid your hand upon…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Where Do We Come From and Where Are We Going? (John 8:12-20) Mari Ikeda Today we continue with the Gospel of John, and today we will read 8:12-20. We will read the whole passage in three parts. Let’s start with reading the first 12-14 verses. A. Jesus is our guiding light. 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Give thanks unto the Lord! (Psalm 138) Andy Nagahara Today’s text, Psalm 138, is a song that focuses on giving thanks to God and praising Him. Over the past few weeks, we have thought about the problems in our society and how those who believe in God should live in that society. Today’s text teaches us the source of the strength to live in a way that pleases God in this difficult society. Let’s read it in three parts. 1. Worship to Strengthen the Soul (1-3) 0 Of David.1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) Sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land (Psalm 137) Andy Nagahara The background to today’s text, Psalm 137, is an unforgettable event for the Israelites which is the “Babylonian Captivity” (2 Kings 25:2-21). This incident occurred when the people of Jerusalem, the central city of the southern Kingdom of Judah, was occupied by the powerful Neo-Babylonian nation at the time, and were forcibly relocated and were unable to return to their homeland for over half a century. (At that time, Israel was divided into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel, and the northern kingdom of Israel…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) The Male-Dominated Bible and the Universality of Jesus’ Love (John 7:53-8:11) Mari Ikeda (NOTE: It is said that this passage was not originally in the Gospel of John, but was added later. The reason is that it is detached from its context and the characteristics of the text are different from those of the Gospel of John. That is the reason why this passage is in brackets in your Bibles as well. But even with that background, this passage was inserted here early on as part of John’s Gospel as an important episode that teaches us in a nutshell what Jesus’ forgiveness of sins means.…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) God’s love endures forever (Psalm 136) Andy Nagahara Today’s text, Psalm 136, is thought to retain well the form of a hymn sung in temple services, in which the worship leader sings the first half of the verse and the congregation follows with, “God’s love endures forever.” Even today, there are Christian churches that sing hymns of this type during worship services. Today’s keyword is “compassion” in Japanese and “love” in English. The original Hebrew word is “hesed.” If you would like to know more, you can read it on Wikipedia in both Japanese and English. Because this word has a broad meaning, different modern…