Chinese Choir
Chinese Sermon
English Sermon
Monday, October 26, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
English Ministry News and Notes 2015-10-25
- YOUth Gather next Sunday, Nov. 1st.
- National Chinese Caucus (NCC) Convocation 2015 - We will be hosting the NCC Convocation from Friday, Nov 6th through Sunday, Nov. 8th. Brothers and sisters from around the country will be meeting here and celebrating the theme, "Workers of the Harvest." The special keynote speaker is Dr. Wendy J Deichmann, President of United Theological Seminary. You are invited to attend, participate, or help host. Support is particularly needed around meal times (set up, serving, clean up). If you would like to attend or pitch in, please connect with Pastor Emily or Pastor Meina asap. Thanks!
- Offer Your Voice! We will be forming a choir to share a communion hymn during NCC Convocation Sunday, Nov. 8th. We’d love to have you be a part of it. Practice will be held on Sunday, Nov. 1st at 12:30 and on Sunday, Nov. 8th at 9:30 a.m. Please connect with Aeri to join in.
- Prayer Invites: For each who are grappling with health and well-being related issues. For the possibility of peace with justice in Palestine/Israel. For our own cultivation of a grateful heart.
- Experience the joy of hospitality! It looks like the hospitality chart is empty from here till the end of the year. If you enjoy connecting with one another over something tasty, please sign up to host the hospitality time. You’ll be glad you did!
Gratitude Stories - Rev. Martin Thielen
The following gratitude stories might be helpful to you during this Season of Gratitude. They all fall under the theme of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Of course, this verse doesn’t mean that everything that happens to us is God’s will. It’s not God’s will that we lose our jobs, or get a diagnosis of cancer, or that our children make poor choices. What this verse does say is that it’s God’s will for us to thankful people in all circumstances, even in hard times—especially in hard times. Consider these three examples.
When Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely island, he drew two columns and listed the good and bad of his situation. He was cast away on a desolate island, but he was still alive. He was separated from humanity, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but was in a warm climate and didn’t need them. He had no means of defense, but saw no wild beasts that threatened him. He had no one to talk to, but the destroyed ship was near the shore and he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic needs. He concluded, therefore, that no condition in the world was so miserable that one could not find something to be grateful for.
When the late John Claypool lost his ten-year-old daughter to leukemia, gratitude was the only way he survived. He tells about that experience in his profound book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler. After his daughter’s death, John walked down three different paths. The first path was to say, “Well, it was just God’s will. I have to accept it.” But that was not helpful. He could not believe that God willed ten-year-old girls to die of leukemia. A second path was to try to find an intellectual answer as to why this happened. He tried to make sense of it. But that didn’t work either. His daughter’s death didn’t make any sense. Finally, John walked the path of gratitude. He realized that life is a gift. We are not entitled to it. That we have any life at all is pure gift and pure grace. Therefore, John chose to be thankful for the ten good years they had together rather than being consumed with resentment for the years he did not have with her. This path of gratitude wasn’t easy, but it was the only path which offered any help.
Many years ago, an elderly English pastor was famous for his pulpit prayers. He always found something to thank God for, even in bad times. One stormy Sunday morning, when everything was going extremely bad in the community and in the lives of many people in the congregation, himself included, he stepped to the pulpit to pray. A member of the congregation thought to himself, “The preacher will have nothing to thank God for on a wretched morning like this.” The pastor began his prayer, “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.”
When Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely island, he drew two columns and listed the good and bad of his situation. He was cast away on a desolate island, but he was still alive. He was separated from humanity, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but was in a warm climate and didn’t need them. He had no means of defense, but saw no wild beasts that threatened him. He had no one to talk to, but the destroyed ship was near the shore and he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic needs. He concluded, therefore, that no condition in the world was so miserable that one could not find something to be grateful for.
When the late John Claypool lost his ten-year-old daughter to leukemia, gratitude was the only way he survived. He tells about that experience in his profound book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler. After his daughter’s death, John walked down three different paths. The first path was to say, “Well, it was just God’s will. I have to accept it.” But that was not helpful. He could not believe that God willed ten-year-old girls to die of leukemia. A second path was to try to find an intellectual answer as to why this happened. He tried to make sense of it. But that didn’t work either. His daughter’s death didn’t make any sense. Finally, John walked the path of gratitude. He realized that life is a gift. We are not entitled to it. That we have any life at all is pure gift and pure grace. Therefore, John chose to be thankful for the ten good years they had together rather than being consumed with resentment for the years he did not have with her. This path of gratitude wasn’t easy, but it was the only path which offered any help.
Many years ago, an elderly English pastor was famous for his pulpit prayers. He always found something to thank God for, even in bad times. One stormy Sunday morning, when everything was going extremely bad in the community and in the lives of many people in the congregation, himself included, he stepped to the pulpit to pray. A member of the congregation thought to himself, “The preacher will have nothing to thank God for on a wretched morning like this.” The pastor began his prayer, “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.”
Monday, October 19, 2015
Sunday, October 18, 2015
English Ministry News and Notes 2015-10-18
- Great thanks to Pastor Moon for bringing the message today!
- Praise God for an inspiring, impactful evening at the 6th Annual Kumi Benefit Dinner. Particular thanks to the many hands and hearts that made the event possible. Let's continue to hold the ministry of KCVS, the students and staff, and the remainder of the year in prayer.
- National Chinese Caucus Convocation 2015 - We will be hosting the NCC Convocation from Friday, Nov 6th through Sunday, Nov. 8th. Brothers and sisters from around the country will be meeting here and celebrating the theme, "Workers of the Harvest." The special keynote speaker is Dr. Wendy J Deichmann, President of United Theological Seminary. You are invited to attend, participate, or help host. Support is particularly needed around meal times (set up, serving, clean up). If you would like to attend or pitch in, please connect with Pastor Emily or Pastor Meina asap. Thanks!
- Season of Gratitude - We will begin a 4 week season of gratitude on Oct. 25th. Get ready to give thanks!
- Prayer Invites: For Wendy Lee and her upcoming wedding, for Frances Fong recovering from hip replacement surgery, for all those traveling to China in the upcoming week.
- Experience the joy of hospitality! Sign up in the Social hall to bring refreshments to share after worship service! You’ll be glad you did!
NOT TO BE SERVED BUT TO SERVE (Mark 10: 35-45) By Andrew King
Is that you, Lord,
changing the diaper in the nursing home,
holding the spoon for the woman in her
wheelchair,
wiping down the toilet and the floor;
is that you
serving the dinner at the homeless shelter,
sorting the cans at the food bank,
mowing the aged neighbour’s lawn;
is that you, Lord,
bandaging the wounds of the bomb victim,
erecting the tent for the refugees,
handing out the water and the food;
is that you
driving the patient to the treatment center,
sitting through the night with the family,
making the call to the forgotten friend;
is that you, Lord,
lighting the candle in the darkness,
keeping vigil for compassion and justice,
loving in us and through us and with us
until the world that you love has been
changed?
Monday, October 12, 2015
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