Pre-Marital Class – Soo Kwan Lee

Many singles in our church are at an age appropriate for marriage. Because I know that for many of them, their long term prayer request is to meet their life partner, I am elated whenever I hear that a couple has gotten engaged. However, I cannot help but feel nervous at the same time. I always wonder how well they know each other, if they are prepared both emotionally and financially, etc. I think my concerns stem from the current divorce rate being over 40%. It's easy to think you want to marry someone based on initial impressions. If the other person is a believer, it ...

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Over the hEdge

Have you seen the movie, “Over the Hedge”? In it, we get an interesting look at humanity from the perspective of a small family of animals that has recently lost its natural habitat to a new subdivision. The animals, who lived on the little they could find, were amazed at not only how much food humans ate, but also how much food was wasted. Indeed, we eat way, way, way too much – and still, we find ways of wasting tons of food. You see, most of us don’t even know when we’re full – we simply eat until the food in front of us is gone. This is why Chinese ...

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A Banner To Hold And Wave – Soo Kwan Lee

This past week from Monday through Thursday I attended the 24th House Church Conference for Pastors at a church in New Jersey. The House Church Conference is a forum for pastors who have previously attended our House Church Seminars and are currently leading or preparing to start house churches to gather and encourage one another, present case studies, and learn about our Life Series Bible studies. This was the first time I attended. I clearly saw the passion in each participant and felt that the house church is becoming an inevitable force for the future. For me, the ...

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Happy Birthday, Pastor Chai! – Soo Kwan Lee

I casually flip over a calendar, and it says October 15. Today is Pastor Chai's birthday! Pastor Chai has always been out of office on the week of his birthday and this year is no exception - I'm sure he does this on purpose. So I will not be able to wish him a happy birthday and present him with a little cake. I believe that he is trying to be considerate of the congregation, not wanting to impose on them in any way. Having personally observed him, I feel that Pastor Chai lives a life that places the needs of the church as the highest priority, above his personal ...

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Pull My Finger

Gina and I had a good, hearty laugh the other night. While I was brushing my teeth, I remembered that I had to get something from the laundry room so I went over there, where Gina was pulling clothes out of the dryer. Because I had my toothbrush in my mouth, I couldn’t say anything so I simply pointed to what I needed. When Gina saw me pointing, she instinctively pulled my finger, which caught me off guard. You see, I wanted her to simply hand me the mop but she thought I wanted her to pull my finger. You have to understand that whenever I made this gesture before, ...

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The Gospel has the Power to Naturally Flourish – Soo Kwan Lee

One of the wonders of the Gospel lies in its power to naturally flourish. We often hear that the Gospel is richly sowed in areas where no Christians live. Last summer, I visited Kazakhstan, and my experience with ethnic Dungans was no different. In a Muslim village, a boy began to have doubts about Islamic doctrine. When he questioned the village elders about it, they were not able to give him clear answers. One day, the boy somehow came across a leaflet about Christianity, and the boy again questioned the village elders, this time about Jesus, but the elders ignored him. ...

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Keep A Clear Conscience – Soo Kwan Lee

One of most prevalent conditions of worldly culture today is the fact that people will easily trade their good conscience for a small, short-term gain. Because it's so common, Christians seem to do the same thing without discretion. One example is copying CDs. CDs can be copied more quickly and easily than tapes. So people frequently burn CDs. But as you know, this is against the law, and can inflict a great loss to others. To produce a worship CD, many people are involved; they practice long hours, buy recording time at a studio, and invest a significant amount of time ...

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