Chinese Choir
Chinese Sermon
English Sermon
Monday, May 30, 2016
Sunday, May 29, 2016
English Ministry News and Notes 2016-5-29
*Supporting Peace with Justice Sunday Today enables our church to speak up for justice issues and empower communities to advocate based on United Methodist Social Principles. It enables The UMC to have a voice in advocating for peace and justice through a broad spectrum of global programs. The special offering benefits peace with justice ministries in the annual conference and through the General Board of Church and Society. Thanks for your generosity!
*Special Charge Conference Today, 12: 30 p.m. - We will gather in the Annex for the world's fastest Charge Conference!
*Pitch In - An all church work day will be held on Saturday, June 11th between 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Everyone elbow grease is necessary. Please see Steve for more info.
*Celebrating Family Day - Please reserve Sunday, June 19th, to celebrate endings and beginnings with our Homework Club community. We will hold parallel worship at 9:30 a.m. followed by preparation for this outreach ministry. Sign up today to pitch in!
*Do you love worship? Enjoy being creative? Aeri will be hosting a summer "worship planning institute" to equip folks to plan meaningful, relevant, inspiring worship. Please connect with Aeri or Pastor Emily to learn more.
Calling and Working for Justice, Righteousness, and Peace
Today we begin a 10 week, 2 part worship series that helps us to engage with the Hebrew (Old) Testament prophets: Elijah, Amos, and Hosea, and invites us to reflect on our call to work for justice, righteousness, and peace in the world. It seems most appropriate that we begin this series on Peace with Justice Sunday!
Here is a briefer than brief introduction to prophets:
Called by God and filled with God's Spirit, a prophet spoke God's word to people who had in one way or another distanced themselves from God. In one sense, a prophet is a preacher. But in marketplace terms, a prophet is often a whistle-blower, particularly when an entire tribe or nation has turned away from God.
The prophets peopled the pages of Israel's history. Moses was God's prophet used to rescue the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, then to lead them to the land God had promised them. Again and again, these people turned away from God; Moses was God's mouthpiece to bring them back into a just relationship with God. In the Old Testament history books (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah), prophets like Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Huldah and others came forward to speak God's word to a backslidden people.
Israel's religious worship was organized around the labor of priests, first in the tabernacle, later in the temple. The day-to-day job description of priests lay in slaughtering, butchering and roasting the sacrificial animals brought by worshipers. But a priest's tasks went beyond the heavy physical work of dealing with thousands of animal sacrifices. A priest was also responsible to be a spiritual and moral guide to the people. While the priest was often seen primarily as the mediator between the people and God in the temple sacrifices, his larger duty was to teach God's law to the people.
In Israel's history, however, the priests themselves often became corrupt and turned away from God, leading the people in the worship of idols. Prophets arose when the priests failed to teach God's law to the people. In a sense, God called and spoke through prophets as whistle-blowers when the whole enterprise was on the brink of self-destruction.
One of the stunning tragedies of the people of God was their persistence in pursuing the worship of the many gods of their pagan neighbors. The common practices of this idolatrous worship included offering their children in the fires of Moloch and ritual prostitution with every imaginable lewd practice "on every high hill and under every green tree" (2 Chronicles 28:4). But an even greater evil in forsaking Yahweh came in forsaking God's structure for living in community as a distinct and holy people of God. Concern for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land was replaced by oppression. Business practices overturned God's standard so that extortion, taking bribes, and dishonest gain became commonplace. Leaders used power to destroy lives, and religious leaders despised God's holy things. Far from enriching the nation, these ungodly practices led to the downfall of the nation. The prophets were often the last voices in the land, calling people back to God and to a just and healthy community.
In most cases, the prophets were bi-vocational. God tapped them for special duty while in the midst of other professions. Some prophets (e.g., Jeremiah, Ezekiel) were priests with the duties described above. Others were shepherds, including Moses and Amos. Deborah was a judge adjudicating issues for the Israelites. Huldah was probably a teacher in the university sector of Jerusalem. The task of "prophet" overlaid their other jobs.
English Ministry News and Notes 2016-5-29
- Supporting Peace with Justice Sunday Today enables our church to speak up for justice issues and empower communities to advocate based on United Methodist Social Principles. It enables The UMC to have a voice in advocating for peace and justice through a broad spectrum of global programs. The special offering benefits peace with justice ministries in the annual conference and through the General Board of Church and Society. Thanks for your generosity!
- Special Charge Conference Today, 12: 30 p.m. - We will gather in the Annex for the world's fastest Charge Conference!
- Pitch In - An all church work day will be held on Saturday, June 11th between 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Everyone elbow grease is necessary. Please see Steve for more info.
- Celebrating Family Day - Please reserve Sunday, June 19th, to celebrate endings and beginnings with our Homework Club community. We will hold parallel worship at 9:30 a.m. followed by preparation for this outreach ministry. Sign up today to pitch in!
- Do you love worship? Enjoy being creative? Aeri will be hosting a summer "worship planning institute" to equip folks to plan meaningful, relevant, inspiring worship. Please connect with Aeri or Pastor Emily to learn more.
Calling and Working for Justice, Righteousness, and Peace
Today we begin a 10 week, 2 part worship series that helps
us to engage with the Hebrew (Old) Testament prophets: Elijah, Amos, and Hosea,
and invites us to reflect on our call to work for justice, righteousness, and
peace in the world. It seems most appropriate that we begin this series on
Peace with Justice Sunday!
Here is a briefer than brief introduction to prophets:
Called by God and filled with God's Spirit, a prophet spoke God's word to people who had in one way or another distanced themselves from God. In one sense, a prophet is a preacher. But in marketplace terms, a prophet is often a whistle-blower, particularly when an entire tribe or nation has turned away from God.
The prophets peopled the pages of Israel's history. Moses was God's prophet used to rescue the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, then to lead them to the land God had promised them. Again and again, these people turned away from God; Moses was God's mouthpiece to bring them back into a just relationship with God. In the Old Testament history books (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah), prophets like Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Huldah and others came forward to speak God's word to a backslidden people.
Israel's religious worship was organized around the labor of priests, first in the tabernacle, later in the temple. The day-to-day job description of priests lay in slaughtering, butchering and roasting the sacrificial animals brought by worshipers. But a priest's tasks went beyond the heavy physical work of dealing with thousands of animal sacrifices. A priest was also responsible to be a spiritual and moral guide to the people. While the priest was often seen primarily as the mediator between the people and God in the temple sacrifices, his larger duty was to teach God's law to the people.
In Israel's history, however, the priests themselves often became corrupt and turned away from God, leading the people in the worship of idols. Prophets arose when the priests failed to teach God's law to the people. In a sense, God called and spoke through prophets as whistle-blowers when the whole enterprise was on the brink of self-destruction.
One of the stunning tragedies of the people of God was their persistence in pursuing the worship of the many gods of their pagan neighbors. The common practices of this idolatrous worship included offering their children in the fires of Moloch and ritual prostitution with every imaginable lewd practice "on every high hill and under every green tree" (2 Chronicles 28:4). But an even greater evil in forsaking Yahweh came in forsaking God's structure for living in community as a distinct and holy people of God. Concern for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land was replaced by oppression. Business practices overturned God's standard so that extortion, taking bribes, and dishonest gain became commonplace. Leaders used power to destroy lives, and religious leaders despised God's holy things. Far from enriching the nation, these ungodly practices led to the downfall of the nation. The prophets were often the last voices in the land, calling people back to God and to a just and healthy community.
In most cases, the prophets were bi-vocational. God tapped them for special duty while in the midst of other professions. Some prophets (e.g., Jeremiah, Ezekiel) were priests with the duties described above. Others were shepherds, including Moses and Amos. Deborah was a judge adjudicating issues for the Israelites. Huldah was probably a teacher in the university sector of Jerusalem. The task of "prophet" overlaid their other jobs.
Here is a briefer than brief introduction to prophets:
Called by God and filled with God's Spirit, a prophet spoke God's word to people who had in one way or another distanced themselves from God. In one sense, a prophet is a preacher. But in marketplace terms, a prophet is often a whistle-blower, particularly when an entire tribe or nation has turned away from God.
The prophets peopled the pages of Israel's history. Moses was God's prophet used to rescue the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, then to lead them to the land God had promised them. Again and again, these people turned away from God; Moses was God's mouthpiece to bring them back into a just relationship with God. In the Old Testament history books (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah), prophets like Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Huldah and others came forward to speak God's word to a backslidden people.
Israel's religious worship was organized around the labor of priests, first in the tabernacle, later in the temple. The day-to-day job description of priests lay in slaughtering, butchering and roasting the sacrificial animals brought by worshipers. But a priest's tasks went beyond the heavy physical work of dealing with thousands of animal sacrifices. A priest was also responsible to be a spiritual and moral guide to the people. While the priest was often seen primarily as the mediator between the people and God in the temple sacrifices, his larger duty was to teach God's law to the people.
In Israel's history, however, the priests themselves often became corrupt and turned away from God, leading the people in the worship of idols. Prophets arose when the priests failed to teach God's law to the people. In a sense, God called and spoke through prophets as whistle-blowers when the whole enterprise was on the brink of self-destruction.
One of the stunning tragedies of the people of God was their persistence in pursuing the worship of the many gods of their pagan neighbors. The common practices of this idolatrous worship included offering their children in the fires of Moloch and ritual prostitution with every imaginable lewd practice "on every high hill and under every green tree" (2 Chronicles 28:4). But an even greater evil in forsaking Yahweh came in forsaking God's structure for living in community as a distinct and holy people of God. Concern for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land was replaced by oppression. Business practices overturned God's standard so that extortion, taking bribes, and dishonest gain became commonplace. Leaders used power to destroy lives, and religious leaders despised God's holy things. Far from enriching the nation, these ungodly practices led to the downfall of the nation. The prophets were often the last voices in the land, calling people back to God and to a just and healthy community.
In most cases, the prophets were bi-vocational. God tapped them for special duty while in the midst of other professions. Some prophets (e.g., Jeremiah, Ezekiel) were priests with the duties described above. Others were shepherds, including Moses and Amos. Deborah was a judge adjudicating issues for the Israelites. Huldah was probably a teacher in the university sector of Jerusalem. The task of "prophet" overlaid their other jobs.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
English Ministry News and Notes 2016-5-22
- We welcome the Yu-Martzen Family today - Chin Cheak, George, and Walter! Rev's Chin Cheak and George conclude their 15 years as missionaries in Singapore and return to serve the Cal-Pac Annual Conference this July. Today is graduation day for Rev. George and he will officially become Rev. Dr. George! We celebrate this with him and his family. We give thanks for the word that Rev's Chin Cheak and George bring to CCUMC today!
- What's Happening in Nepal? You are warmly invited to stay for refreshments followed by mission sharing by UMC missionary Katherine Parker at 1:00 p.m. Katherine has served in Nepal since 2013 and before that in Cambodia for 9 years. Come, learn and be inspired!
- Peace with Justice Special Offering Sunday - We join with our UMC family in lifting up peace with justice nationally and internationally on May 29th with our special gifts.
- Special Charge Conference called for May 29th - Our ministry leadership is called to attend a special charge conference to be held at 12:30 in the Annex next Sunday to approve the newest compensation packages of Pastors Emily and Meina.
- Mark Your Calendars - Family Day Outreach Sunday, June 19th: We will celebrate Family Day with our Homework Club families - both old and new. Worship will be held at 9:30 a.m. followed by preparation for welcoming our neighbors! Sign up sheets will be available next Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)