Barbecue First!

THIS Sabbath's sermon is entitled "Barbecue First." Summer is here! Perfect time for some camping and barbecue. So what does it have to do with church?

In Acts 2:42-47, Paul gave us a picture of an authentic community:

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 So how do we get to experience such community? You guessed it right! You gotta BARBECUE FIRST! Relationships just don't happen. We need to spend time to get to know people. An authentic church knows the needs of its members and meets them. KNOWING comes first. We need to get to know one another. We need to build a loving and trusting relationship for God said that the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another.

Life in Japan is fast-paced and everyone is busy--all the more reason for us to slow down and re-think our priorities. At the end of the day, God will hold us accountable with what we have done with the relationships He's given us. He will not count our possessions, or check to see what we have achieved in this life.

Our REAL Groups exists so we can fellowship, open up and get to know one another more. Let's be praying for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and for God to give us the grace to respond. The Christian life is not to be lived alone. We all need one another. Let's take time to get to know our brothers and sisters! 

This summer, lets enjoy some downtime and maybe have a barbecue party!

The Rough Mountains

There are no smooth mountains. If our mountains were smooth, they would be difficult to climb. So, when God gives us mountains to climb, He leaves them rough. The bumps and rocks along the way—the obstacles and hurdles in our path—are actually stepping stones in our mountain climb. Thank God for your rough mountains—your trials and afflictions, your temptations and setbacks, your disappointments and sorrows. Without these jagged sides of life, there'll be no maturity and growth, nor mountaintop experiences. Faith climbs rough mountains. Therefore, welcome your struggles and challenges. By faith, Caleb said: “Give me the mountain” (Joshua 14:12). May we dare to say: “Give me my ROUGH mountain.”—

Credit: Samuel Koranteng-Pipim (http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a263b56490405bb83081ea113&id=9b91377be5) 

Revelations and Celebrations

LAST Sabbath Bro. Freddy Ah-wan gave us a sermon on Revelations. He reminded us the importance of studying and understanding prophecy and last-day events.

We are happy to welcome Pastor Ryu and his family to our church. His two kids, Ena and Emyon got baptised. Yay!!!

We are also still collecting donations for Sis. Rosa's church building fund. Her home church in Bolivia needs our help. Please feel free to contact her.

The Sabbath ended with a fun visit to Mizuho Home Care Center where we sang songs to the elderly patients and met their staff, nurses and caregivers.

Indeed, the earth is filled with His glory!

Nagoya Exchange Program

A couple of Sabbaths ago, 10 International Worship Group members traveled to Nagoya to fellowship and lead the AY Program.

Here's the video of the mime skit entitled "The Body of Christ" and a fun movie of the Sabbath we spent in Nagoya with our brothers and sisters there.

Feeling or Thinking?

It’s easier to feel than to think. And many who think they’re thinking are either parroting the thoughts of others or merely re-arranging their prejudices. Thinking is hard as it forces us to analyze facts before we finalize acts. Also, conclusions based on thinking are not always pleasant. But we must think! Whenever we abdicate our ability to think, or replace it with some superficial, emotional experience, we are in danger of being deceived, deluded, or unwittingly inflicting harm on others. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Let’s learn to think! Which is why Jesus repeatedly asked, “What do you think?” (cf. Matthew 18:12; 21:28; 22:17.)-- Samuel Koranteng-Pipim. 
http://eaglesonline.org/weekly-nuggets/nuggets-archives/

Determined Love

“You can ignore Him days without number. You can reject Him. You can deny that He exists. You can mock and ridicule and curse Him. You can claim His name but play the Devil’s game. You can be ashamed of Him. You can hate Him bitterly. You can run away from Him. You can pledge your allegiance to His greatest enemy. You can squander on your own gratification all His gifts to you. You can defy Him. You can portray Him to others as severe and ruthless and uncaring. You can shut Him totally out of your life. You can blame Him for all the evil in your world.... But one thing you can never do. You can never make Him stop loving you. Never” (Ken McFarland). 
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you (Isaiah 49:15). You can’t stop God from loving you!—Samuel Koranteng-Pipim. 

http://eaglesonline.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a263b56490405bb83081ea113&id=b46c32b9d3&e=4246cc632c

Prayer Meeting

AFTER another wonderful potluck and noontime fellowship, we held our monthly prayer meeting on the first floor. 

Join us in praying for our outreach programs at Mizuho this month and at Nagashima in June!

Send us a message for testimonies, praises and prayer requests.

"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." - Hebrews 10:25