Starting next year, spouses of shepherds and deputy shepherds will be required to complete the required Life series. Currently, deputy shepherds are required to complete 2 courses and shepherds 5 courses, but there are no requirements for their spouses. Now both the husband and wife must complete the required courses before deputy shepherds are appointed and shepherds are ordained. The number of people who receive Jesus as their Lord and are baptized at our church each year is stagnant or slightly decreasing. However, the number of people on my list for whom I pray to ...

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Christians can and should live abundant lives. If they don't, it might be because they haven't set the right priorities in life. Jesus said, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) However, even people with the right priorities can struggle financially. If you are one of these people, you may lack practical knowledge in dealing with financial matters. To help our church members learn to manage their household finances, we will offer another "Life" series, called "The Abundant Life". This course ...

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I haven't sent Christmas cards in many years. Before I decided to do this, every year I felt pressure as the holidays approached but ended up not sending any cards because it was too late. I feel liberated now from the pressure of sending Christmas cards in time. Since I don't send Christmas cards, I don't expect to receive any. But some people still send them to me. Sometimes I wonder why. Some cards I receive are preprinted and only include a signature. Sometimes even the signatures are copied. There's no sense of personal touch. It's hard to appreciate cards like ...

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Today our church members will take a vote of confidence on me. The purpose of this is not to measure the popularity of the senior pastor but to find God's will for the church's future. Members will mark one of the following choices: "I believe that it is God's will for Pastor Chai to continue to serve at Seoul Baptist Church" or "I believe that it is God's will for Pastor Chai to leave Seoul Baptist Church." A vote of confidence is taken for the senior pastor every seven years to reduce the chances of a church split. When conflicts arise between pastors and lay leaders, ...

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When I was hospitalized after my recent surgery, I found that I got irritated for no good reason. I was easily upset. I got angry when my requests were denied, even though there were legitimate reasons for it. I was annoyed when people brought me things similar to but not exactly what I had asked for. Now I understand why I felt that way. When you're sick and bedridden, your choices are drastically reduced. The things you can do, the places you can go, the foods you can eat - they're all limited. You can't even move without someone's help. Because your choices are ...

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I've always felt that I'm young in spirit. But I must be young in body as well; I recently came down with appendicitis, a condition that generally strikes younger people. I started to develop symptoms on Thursday, a day after fasting. That afternoon, my stomach felt full even though I had not eaten much that day. Thinking I had been careless in post-fasting measures, I skipped dinner and went to bed. At around midnight, my stomach began to hurt. My wife gave me pain relievers but they didn't help. She also massaged my abdomen but instead of relieving the pain, it made it ...

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