❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) The Two Epilogues of the Christmas Story Matthew 2:16-18, Luke 2:25-38 Mari Ikeda It’s Christmas Day today, but according to the Church Calendar the official Christmas service was last week, and so it’s the end-of-year service today. So I decided to pick up the passages from the Bible which can be read as the epilogues of the Christmas story today. There are two different ones, each of which has a content completely opposite to the other. One is a tragedy, while the other seems to be a happy ending. By comparing these two stories, I realized they teach us how we should walk…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) No Vacancy! Luke 2:1-21 Message for Christmas 2022 Andy Nagahara Now it is the last week of Advent. Since Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, some churches will hold their Christmas service on that day, but many churches have their Christmas service on this last Sunday of Advent. So let us, too, reflect on the events of Christmas today as we read the Gospel of Luke chapter 2. At first, let’s read verses 1-7. A. The miserable birthday (1-7) 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) God’s Weakness That Surpasses Any Force or Power Luke 2:1-7 Message for the third Sunday of Advent Mari Ikeda It’s the third Sunday of Advent today.To start my message today, I’d like you to have an image in your mind. I have used this image in a different context before. It’s domino toppling, especially not a linear sequence, but a planar one. The trick is to stand dominoes to be toppled automatically one after another by toppling only the first domino. It feels nice to make all the dominoes fall just by flipping and toppling the first one by our finger. It…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) The Light Shines On You  John 1:6-9, Matthew 2:1-3 5:14-16, Isaiah 60:1-3 Message for the second Sunday of advent Andy Nagahara Christmas is the time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. And the four weeks before Christmas are called Advent. We light two of the four candles that are placed in the chapel only at this time of year, for today is the second Sunday of Advent. As you can see, we were also able to decorate for Advent and Christmas last Sunday after the service. Decorations for the season have been common for quite some time, even in non-Christian households,…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) What Lies Beyond “It Wasn’t Supposed to be Like This”  Luke 1:5-25 Mari Ikeda In the church calendar, the four weeks of Advent has started from today. Today I’d like to pick up the story of Zachariah and Elizabeth in Luke’s Gospel 1:5-25.Have you ever felt about your life, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this?” Perhaps for some of you it is exactly how you feel now, while there should be people who have gone through such feeling in the past. It might be a loss of health, a loss of someone important, or a loss of dream. In anyone’s life,…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) י (Yodh) The History of The Kingdom of God Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law　10/22 Psalm 119:73-80 Andy Nagahara The tenth in the series of Psalm 119, called Hymn to the Law, is the tenth paragraph in the entire series. It is verses 73 through 80, where the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Yodh, is placed at the beginning of each line.　This character is thought to derive from a hieroglyphic script that depicted a hand (Hebrew: יד yad). As we read today’s section two verses at a time, we can see the history of God’s relationship with us, who…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” John 1:24-34 Mari Ikeda Today, we’re going to read John 1:24-34. It’s about John the Baptist’s testimony. I’d like to divide it into three parts and read accordingly. Firstly, let’s read v.24-28. 1. We cannot save ourselves (24-28) 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) ט (Teth) You are good, and what you do is good Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law　9/22 Psalm 119:65-72 Andy Nagahara The ninth in the series of Psalm 119, called Hymn to the Law, is the ninth paragraph in the entire series. It is verses 65 through 72, where the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Teth, is placed at the beginning of each line. The origin of this script is not well known, but some scholars assume that it derives from a script depicting a spindle (a tool used for spinning yarn).Now let’s read on as usual. 1. The…

❖ Video (Whole Worship Service) ❖ Audio (Message) We are the Voice Calling in the Wilderness John 1:6-8, 19-23 Mari Ikeda Last time we heard in the very first part of John’s Gospel that God is the Word, and Jesus is the word of God. Today I’d like to say that we are the “voice.” Let’s start from the passage we skipped last time, 1:6-8. A. Who was John? (6-8) 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only…

❖ Video ❖ Audio (Message) ח (Heth) The earth is filled with the LORD’s love Series: Finding the Gospel in Psalm 119ーA Hymn to the Law　8/22 Psalm 119:57-64 Andy Nagahara The eighth in the series of Psalm 119, called Hymn to the Law, is the eighth paragraph in the entire series. It is verses 57 through 64, where the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Heth, is placed at the beginning of each line.What is unique about today’s part is that the psalmist spends less time praying and desiring and more time confirming his own past steps and making resolutions.Now let’s read on as usual. 1. The privilege that we…