8 March 2015 - ENCS

Scott Douma from EN Japan gave the sermon today

He spoke on hope, which everyone wants every day

He said buying lottery tickets is not the way to go

For as Christians, we have real hope, that we know

Interestingly hope and rope share the same Hebrew root word

For rope can connect us to whatever we want, we then heard

Connecting with God links His promise to our reality

Per Hebrews six nineteen, like an anchor hope will be

An anchor is large and brings stability in every storm

Having hope in God means stability will be our norm

God is with us and He cannot lie, Pastor did go on to say

He keeps His promises, not always in the expected way

Our hope in finances and relationships will eventually disappear

We should put our hope in Jesus, for He will always be near

 

If we are not connected, per Hebrews two verse one

We end up drifting, which is more dangerous than fun

To God and His promises, we need to connect every day

Life is not meant to be drifted, at least in a spiritual way

For ups and downs and movement, a ship's anchor does allow

Similarly Romans eight verse thirty nine is still quite valid now

Whether hoped-for miracles happen or not, God is always there

Despite the reality of a world of broken people everywhere

Without such hope, our rope would soon get very frayed

Jesus' purpose was to connect us to God, so He prayed

He became that rope to God when He died on the cross

And since God now lives in us, His death was not a loss

 

Pastor referred to Jeremiah chapter twenty nine verse eleven

"Plans to prosper...and not harm" come from God in heaven

What is oft forgot is that these words came during dark days

Israel was in decline and exile as a result of its errant ways

But we have "hope and a future" because of God's great nature

He is with us and cannot lie, so of His promises we can be sure

Per Ephesians one eighteen, we should enlighten the eyes of our heart

Getting rid of our blinders of hopelessness is the perfect way to start

2 March 2015 - Stardom vs. servanthood

Calvin Hong spoke on a topic near and dear to my heart

How to excel like a star and yet always servitude impart

We are told to try to excel in all that we do all the time

And succeeding with passion is of course not a crime

But we must guard against having an air of superiority

And from self-centered ulterior motives we must flee

Calvin said that one way to do this is to start out small

Because as things grow, pride can cause us to fall

Calvin said to remember that all gifts come from God above

If He takes them away, God we should still worship and love

Because of this, we should not let talents get above character

For character remains whereas talent may over time blur

Servanthood is not about ourselves but empowering others

So they can do a better job even if it is not our natural druthers

 

From Jeremiah seventeen verse nine Calvin did then quote

"The heart is deceitful above all things" the prophet wrote

Second Corinthians ten seventeen should not be ignored

This passage warns us not to boast, except about the Lord

"Humility is not thinking less about yourself", CS Lewis said

"But thinking of yourself less" and affirming others instead

For no matter who others praise, God sees our good deed

His affirmation provides all the security we will ever need

But if we say that we are not good enough in any given space

We are doubting God's ability and effectively slapping his face

For God has given each of us a set of gifts and talents unique

We should be good stewards of them throughout each week

 

In summary, Calvin shared Jesus' words from Mark ten forty five

Jesus Himself came to serve, not to be served, when He was alive

And He gave His life as a ransom for many, despite being divine

Surely His heart of servitude is something to which we can align

1 March 2015 - ENCS

The "Family" series was extended a week by Rachel Ong

Talking on "Singles Rock" in a voice that was quite strong

This demographic group is often overlooked, she did say

But its mission is to honor God at the workplace each day

Rachel based her sermon on Colossians one verse ten

We are to "bear fruit in every good work", Paul said again

She pointed out that God only ever authored one book

So it is to that book, the Bible, that we should always look

From reading the Bible daily, sin will keep us from doing

But keeping us from sin we get from daily Bible viewing

And for us to be fruitful in every good work, Rachel stated

Jesus Christ needs to be present in our lives unabated

 

Steve Murrell said that to 'honor' is to know one's place

For commandments one and five, this is indeed the case

In order to honor parents, with them we should spend time

For singles, this is easier to do when all are in their prime

Rachel added that since honor stems from one's heart

Worshiping and praising God is how we fulfill that part

 

For most singles, it can be said that work is a calling

Which cannot be found with your best effort installing

There is no such thing as secular work, Rachel said

As secular means 'without God', something we dread

And since we have God by our side, as well as His grace

We are effectively full time ministers in the marketplace

It is interesting that God introduced labor before worship

When we are working, God's pleasure should us grip

As we were created in His image, we should try to be great

Whether married or single, our effort should be first rate

 

It is important that we find time daily to be with God alone

Since we need Him constantly, this we should not postpone

In doing so, He will equip us for our workplace ministry

More than our church, the inside of our office we do see

We must make the most of each and every opportunity

Our actions there speak louder than words or a plea

God entrusts us with opportunities if we walk in excellence

With greater purity, even greater influence He will dispense

 

Whatever season we are in, we should exercise contentment

Timothy said contentment brings God to life in the present

We should not walk in the counsel of the wicked, per Psalm one

We will prosper if meditating on the Lord is what we have done

So in closing tonight, Rachel reiterated her primary exhortation

We should honor God and study His word through life's duration

22 February 2015 - ENCS

Concluding the series, Nate Curtis spoke on "Spiritual Family"

To describe family, some pictures and diagrams we did see

About our family, four concentric bubbles reflect our perception

The inner one is of course ourselves, there is never an exception

To the immediate family our understanding then does grow

Then local and global spiritual families we come to know

 

Family is very important to God, as Nate did very adroitly distill

In Matthew twelve, Jesus' family includes all who do God's will

Per First Corinthians twelve, the church is one body, many parts

From those two concepts, knowledge of a spiritual family starts
A family, natural or spiritual, provides an identity and destiny

Remember that within any family, differences there will be

But since Jesus is coming back not for a harem, but for His bride

That means that the church must work together and not divide

For those who believe in Jesus, this includes all, not just some

Whether Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or Coptic they are from

 

Spiritual families are important as they form building blocks that are key

The kingdom of God, our identity, as well as a stable and safe society

Spiritual families multiply, teach, train, exercise knowledge, and love

This is in keeping with biblical teaching which comes from God above

First Corinthians twelve also states that if one part suffers, all parts do

Likewise if one part is honored, every other part rejoices with it too

About the Coptic Christian martyrs, a powerful poem Nate did then read

They were praying and singing hymns to God right until ISIS' ugly deed

The twenty one refused to deny Christ even when facing certain death

They remained true to God and the Christian faith until their last breath

 

Nate proceeded to tell us how we should fit into the family

Dive in and do good in whatever role we have is the key

God's blueprint for the family can only in Genesis be found

The linkages between God, us, and others are quite sound

Per Hebrews ten we should meet and encourage each other

In that way, toward love and good deeds we spur our brother

Romans twelve talks about being devoted in brotherly love

With passion, joy, and patience serving our Lord God above

 

In conclusion Nate said we should join in, jump in, and stay in

God's family is open, always waiting for another next of kin

We should strive to make a difference in whatever way

Thus in God's presence and family we will always stay

15 February 2015 - ENCS

On Relationships did Pastor Josh the "Family" series continue

About three primary boy girl relationships he did first us imbue

Between friendship and engagement, there is a Biblical gap

But that doesn't mean God won't provide us with a road map

By letting convictions drive the entire relationship

And of course Acts fifteen provides a strong tip

Josh said to beware of legalism which causes rebellion

We should instead let relationships drive communication

From engagement to marriage the same holds true

Sexual immorality is something we should not do

For if God provides a principal, we should pay attention

But Jesus can make us whole if we fail at sin prevention

 

Josh then shared how to build relationships of health

Community and friends are worth more than wealth

The first step is to have a foundation built on trust

Hard to build but easy to break, Josh discussed

For a deep relationship, the trust must also be deep

Your own trustworthiness is something you can keep

Per James five verse twelve, let your yes be yes

Then about your words nobody will need to guess

Per Ephesians four, we are to speak the truth in love

Building others up so we can all work for God above

 

The second point from Josh is that love is the real substance

Feelings come and go, but love motivates, even in advance

The best description of love in the Bible is easily seen

In First Corinthians thirteen verses one to fourteen

For love must be shared with thoughts, words, and actions

And love can thus overcome all challenges and distractions

 

The third point is the communication is how love grows

A lack of communication is when death's face shows

Josh said it is critical to keep communication lines open

And to respond to God rather than to any hostile men

From James chapter one verses nineteen and twenty

Comes a reminder that should be repeated a-plenty

Be quick to listen, slow to anger and slow to speak

Is consistent with our two ears, one mouth physique

 

The fourth point is that forgiveness is akin to a reboot

It allows a relationship to restart after any dispute

To Hebrews twelve verse fourteen, Josh did then refer

Strive to live in peace with all and all bitterness deter

Per Matthew chapter six verse fourteen, Jesus did state

If we forgive others, God will forgive us without debate

But if we do not forgive others for their sins of any kind

Then for our many sins, God will be similarly inclined

Although with our eternal life this may not be messing

In some areas of our life, it will block God's blessing

 

The final point is perhaps the most important one

Without God, none of the others can really be done

For He alone knows when we need some fixing

And then into our heart, His grace will be mixing

From Acts chapter one, Pastor Josh did then read

For us to do His work, the Holy Spirit we do need

John three verse sixteen notes God's amazing love

He sent His only Son to save us from heaven above

Both Psalm nineteen and John ten verse four

Talk about shepherds lead rather than implore

And finally, from Colossians chapter one

God's redemptive work in us is never done

8 February 2015 - ENCS

The family series was continued by Pastor Josh and his wife

Nani and Josh spoke on "Parenthood", rather central to life

 

Nani said moving from single to married to parent, issues grow

But God uses these to make us better, she has come to know

As God's children, into the world we should want to bring others

An open heart for God's plan should have all fathers and mothers

But remember that from parents' action children take their cue

And that children tend to build upon what their parents do

 

Josh read from Deuteronomy chapter six, verses one to three

God teaches parents, who teach future generations, we did see

By sharing with children, parents can impart knowledge and lore

Our Lord God can build on this by imparting knowledge even more

Josh opined that fathering is increasingly in today's world a lost art

With healthy marriages and parenting, many issues would not start

The next six verses of Deuteronomy six then came into sight

We should love our God with all of our heart, soul, and might

In that vein, with diligence parents should their children teach

And if they love God so much, into all areas of life He will reach

As parents change and consistently show that love is key

Then their children will notice and begin to act accordingly

 

Josh then talked about discipline, using a couple of equations

For some discipline and rules are necessary on most occasions

Rules without a relationship lead to rebellion, Josh did say

Which then leads to extreme behavior on too many a day

And yet a relationship without rules leads to recklessness

If parents do not provide guidance, children end up a mess

But the same approach does not work with Christians young

We need to encourage them without rules or a sharp tongue

Josh referred to Hebrews chapter twelve from verse five

The Lord's discipline actually helps us in the end to thrive

He only disciplines those whom He accepts as a son

Per Proverbs three this discipline we should not shun

We should respect disciplining fathers, Hebrews continues

Ditto for God, whose discipline into our hearts does infuse

The third equation Josh shared -  with a bit of zing

Was that relationship plus rules equals understanding

Children will ask for advice if relationships are in place

Josh then said that for discipleship, this is also the case

 

But even the best parenting can lead to bad results

Per Luke fifteen, the prodigal son who said insults

But just as lost sheep need a shepherd to find them

Strong foundations help the prodigal, not condemn

His father felt compassion when the son did return

For the foundations had helped the son to discern

5 February 2015 - Psalm 37: 1-9

At times, from day to day I just seem to lurch
Except on Sunday, when I get to go to church
I wake up to the sound of my phone's alarm
And thank God that I have come to no harm
But then I often ask, "what day and what time?"
For my cobwebbed brain is far from its prime
Then after I ascertain the right time and day
I arise from bed and go forth on my way
I feed myself a devotional and a cup of joe
Then I am ready to get on with the show
Laughter and a couple of short naps do help
Otherwise the tired body really starts to yelp
Although this is not what I would like to admit
It is tougher to address the issue of the spirit
But this is when the Word of God I must rely
For His loving wisdom is never in short supply
 
Today I was drawn to Psalm thirty seven
David said "Trust in the Lord" in heaven
"Do not fret because of evil men", per verse one
"Or be envious of those" who wrong have done
"Dwell in the land and...delight yourself in the Lord"
"He will give you the desires of your heart" as a reward
David said to "be still before the Lord"
"Wait patiently for him" and his Word
"Do not fret when men succeed in their ways"
Using "wicked schemes" all of their days
"Refrain from anger and turn from wrath"
"Do not fret"; it only leads to an evil path
"For evil men will be cut off"
At this we should not scoff
"But those who hope" in our God
"Will inherit the land" with His nod

So I will be still and wait patiently but not fret
And with evil men I will try not to get upset
Instead I will focus on giving thanks to Him above
For He is the source of eternal and unfailing love