Sunday Corporate Worship Service in Response to COVID-19
Gradually reopening the church building
It has been six weeks already since we have resorted to YouTube livestream for our Sunday worship service. This has been a new experience for all of us especially for me who is not technologically inclined at all. However, we have managed to worship God virtually together as one body of Christ.
At first, it was awkward for me to be in the sanctuary with a small group of Magnification Team members praising God and preaching to them. I felt like I was in a recording studio. But as weeks went on, all of us who came out to church to provide worship service for New Life ...
My Sabbatical Plan
In about a month from now, I will
be taking my first sabbatical ever. Since I have never done this before, I
don’t know what to expect or what will come out of it. But because it is in our
pastoral staff policy and the Holy Spirit seems to be leading me to this, I am
obeying His guidance.
At first, I thought about
completely staying away and resting from church ministry. So, I planned not to
come to church for any reason even when I am in town. Instead, I thought about
attending different churches to experience different styles of worship and
learn from them. After ...
Ruth and Boaz
Dear Parents,
Only
two books in the Old Testament bear the name of a woman: Ruth and Esther.
Ruth’s story occurs at the time when judges ruled over Israel. God’s people
were characterized by rebellion and immorality. At a time when the Israelites
desperately needed a king to lead them back to God, Ruth’s story of
faithfulness points us to Jesus Christ, a coming Redeemer who will make all
wrong things right again.
Ruth
was the daughter-in-law of Naomi, a woman from Bethlehem who settled in Moab
with her husband and two sons to escape a famine. Naomi’s husband ...
Samson
Dear Parents,
Samson
was the last of the major judges of Israel. He was born to parents who
dedicated him to the Lord as a Nazirite after the Angel of the Lord announced
that Samson would be born to save the Israelites from the power of the
Philistines. Samson grew up, and God blessed him with great strength. But when
Samson requested to marry a Philistine woman, his parents were confused. Samson
was supposed to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. Why would he want
to marry one of them? But God had a plan in all of this. (See Judg. 14:4.)
As
Samson prepared ...
Gideon
Dear Parents,
Last
week, your kids learned about Deborah and Barak. This week, Judges 6 starts out
in a familiar way: “The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
The period of Judges was not a good time for the Israelites. Their cycle of
sin, bondage, deliverance, and peace clearly showed the law alone could not
save them from sin.
The
Israelites were oppressed by the Midianites, and they cried out to God for
help. God chose a man to save them, and his name was Gideon. Gideon was an
unlikely leader, and he knew this. Gideon said, “Please, ...
Deborah and Barak
Dear Parents,
This week, kids learn that the time of the judges
continued after the death of Ehud. The Israelites fell into a continuous cycle
of sin, bondage, deliverance, and peace. Every judge was imperfect, yet God
worked through the judges. At the time when the Israelites were oppressed by
the king of Canaan, Deborah was the judge of Israel. Deborah sent for Barak and
encouraged him to take up an army and fight the army of Canaan and its leader,
Sisera.
Deborah reminded Barak that God would hand
Sisera and his troops over to him. (Judg. 4:6-7) Barak agreed to ...