2006.08.27 Charlotte South Korean Prebysterian Church
Bible Verses: 1 Samuel 14:6-7, Jonah 1:1-3
Title: Adventurer .vs. Fugitive
Have you seen the movies on the adventure of Indiana Johns, acted by Harrison Ford? I have seen all three movies, Raiders of the lost ark, The temple of doom and The last crusade. They are full of fun and adventures. Our hero, Indiana Johns, is a very brave and determined person. He has lots of energy and experience to overcome all difficulties occurred in the process of accomplishing his mission. We, however, must not forget he has faced many risks, sometimes requiring almost his only life. Adventure is always accompanied by risk.
Mankind have been known to have lots of curiosity compared to other animals. Some anthropologists said curiosity is one of the most important merits for human to be a leader among all creatures. People dislike to be still for a long time without doing anything. If he/she is asked to spend his time with doing nothing, he/she likes it for a period of time but he finally becomes to feel boring and wants to do "something". He wants to read books, to listen to music, to play computer game, to play outside, etc. People have generally two different characters. He likes to take a risk for an adventure. In contrast, he likes to stay at comfortable place without taking a risk. He has both characters of an adventurer and a fugitive.
Let's come back to the Bible verses which we read this morning. 1 Samuel 14:6-7;
Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few." "Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said. "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."
Let me explain these verses in a more detail. Jonathan is a son of Saul, the first king of Israel. Saul and the Israelites were fighting against the Philistines, the enemy of Israel for a long time. Two nations were under war at that moment. Jonathan and his armor-bearer were going to attack the Philistine outpost on a cliff. Their attempt was very risky, but it was much important for winning of the war. Jonathan took an adventure with risking his and his follower's life. What's the result of their attempt? The Bible tells us "Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre....So the Lord rescued Israel that day."
There are many other heroes like Jonathan in the Bible. Moses, Joshua, David, apostle Paul and other apostles. All of them took an adventurous life relying on God's goodness and greatness. They were not afraid of losing their lives to do God's purpose and mission for themselves. They are persons with true faith. They are genuine believers. I hope all of you find God's will for your life and have a big dream to take a risk for expansion of God's kingdom.
Let's come back to another Bible verses.
Jonah 1:1-3
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:
"Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD .
Jonah is a prophet. The Lord asks Jonah "Go to the great city of
Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." God wants to deliver some chosen people in the great city of Nineveh out of their wickedness and sin. The people living in the Nineveh are not the Israelites. They had been enemies of the Israelites for a long time. Jonah wanted to run away from the Lord because he dislike to save some residents living at Nineveh even though it is God's plan. Sometimes we, believers, are apt to become fugitives because of many reasons. We may be afraid of taking a risk or have different minds against God's holy will. We may not want to make hurts of others' feeling although God asks us to do so. What's the result of Jonah's disobeidance to God's will? Did he succeed in running away from the Lord? No.........! Instead, he faced more and bigger troubles and spent three days and nights inside a great fish. From the inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord and repented his disobeidance. God saved a hundred and twenty thousand people living in Nineveh from their wickedness using Jonah's preaching.
Everybody, carefully listen to me! If you find God's way or calling in your life, please obey them even though you have different minds or feel fear and discouragement. If you run away from God, you will at last meet big troubles. What's God's way or calling for my life? You will find it someday if you continue to read the Bible and pray to the Lord.
Most of you know what IQ(Intelligence Quotient) is. Some of you know about EQ(Emotion Quotient). It measures people's attitudes toward relationship with others. The higher EQ, the better relationship with others. Is there anyone who knows about the AQ? AQ is abbreviation of Adversity Quotient. It was developed by Dr. Paul Stoltz, an American scholar, in 1997. He categorized people having some obstacles into three types such as 'quitter', 'camper' and 'climber'. Quitter is a person who run away from the obstacles like Jonah in the Bible. Camper is a person who ignores the obstacles and do not actively try to overcome them, not running away from them. Climber is a person who try positively to fight against the difficulties and finally overcome them. Do you know who will be the winner in the life among these three types? Climber is! The higher AQ is more important to the higher IQ or EQ, Dr. Stoltz said. I wish all of you have the higher AQ and become a true believer who pleases the Lord like Jonathan and his army-bearer.
Let's pray together!
Thank you Lord for giving us today's Bible verses. We want to have a big dream to please you, Lord. We want to be an adventurer to make our dream come true. Please give us strength and bravery to do it. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Be a Water Walker!
2006.07.30 Charlotte South Korean Prebysterian Church
Bible Verses: Matthews 14:25-32
Title: Be a Water Walker!(Youth Group Sunday School Sermon)
I think none of you have walked on water without any help. Is that true? Certainly! There are only two people in the Bible who had walked on water. Do you know who they are? They are Jesus and Peter, a disciple.
There were some people in the Bible who crossed the Red Sea or the Jordan River on foot. However, they could walk across the Sea and the River because God divided them and stopped flowing temporarily. It is only Peter who had walked on water except Jesus, Son of God.
Let's take a more detailed look at this incident. Peter and his friends rode on a little boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. According to the Bible, Jesus didn't go with them at that moment. Peter and some others in the boat had been familiar with fishing on the Sea of Galilee so that they didn't ride on the boat without the Lord.
However, they faced a huge storm in which the boat was almost capsized by the waves. They were very upset and worried about the situation. Then one of the disciples noticed a shadow moving toward them on the water. When they see it, they thought it was a ghost so they were terrified and cried out in fear. We know it was not a ghost but Jesus, our Savior. Jesus spoke to them and said "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."
There were twelve disciples sitting in the boat on that night. But one of them, Peter, asked Jesus to command him to come to Jesus on the water. Peter had a very strong faith on Jesus even to get out of the boat and walk on the stormy water.
Hey, Guys! Do you have the courage to get out of the boat and walk on stormy water when you meet Jesus on Sea, like Peter? Or Do you want to stay in the boat safely without risking your life for going to Jesus? I want all of you to take a risk to walk on water to come to Jesus, our Savior.
Do you know why? There are two reasons!
First, there is no guarantee that life in the boat is going to be any safer. Larry Laudan, a philosopher of science, said "everything is risky." You can stay home in bed-but that may make you one of the half-million Americans who require emergency room treatment each year for injuries sustained while falling out of bed. "Wow!" Do not be afraid of taking a risk! The greatest hitters of the baseball game in the world fail two times out of three. There is danger in getting out of the boat. But there is danger in staying in it as well.
Second, failure gives people an opportunity to grow and to find Jesus's help. As a result of seeing the wind and giving in to fear, Peter began to sink into the water. It war very scarry thing, wasn't it? However, you know the rest of the story. Who was over there, in the stormy water? Jesus was there. He has the power to control all creation including you and me, even the Sea and the storm. Peter knew that when he sank, Jesus would be wholly adequate to save him.
When I was young and learned how to ride on a bicycle, my brother stood behind the bicycle holding its end. I was confident that I couldn't fall down on the ground because I trusted on my brother. Some of you might have heard of Edison's story about inventing a light bulb. He failed 5,000 times but never gave up trying one more time. He finally succeeded in inventing it. Somebody asked him, "How did it feel to fail 5,000 times?" "I never failed 5,000 times in my life," Edison replied. "I just discovered 5,000 ways how not to light a bulb."
Here are some instructions from this story of the Bible.
1) If you want to be used greatly by God, you have to get out of your boat someday in your life. You will meet a situation in which you have to take a choice whether you follow Jesus or not. In that situation, remember Peter's story and get out of your boat to come to Jesus.
2) When you get out of your boat, do not take your eyes off Jesus, our Savior. Do not be afraid of winds and waves because Jesus walks with you.
3) If you worry about your failure or fear and sink into the water, cry out to the Lord, "Jesus, my Lord! Help me!" Then, Jesus will immediately come to you and save you.
4) Unless he comes to you shortly, wait him to come to you and endure as long as you can. Even thought you failed completely, you will find new strength inside you if you still hope for Jesus, our Lord.
Let's pray together!Dear Lord; Thank you for this beautiful Sunday and these good friends in the church. We want to live a life to glorify You and to please you. We ask you to give us the courage to take a risk for coming close to You and to save us from all danger and fear. We always thank You for everything. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Bible Verses: Matthews 14:25-32
Title: Be a Water Walker!(Youth Group Sunday School Sermon)
I think none of you have walked on water without any help. Is that true? Certainly! There are only two people in the Bible who had walked on water. Do you know who they are? They are Jesus and Peter, a disciple.
There were some people in the Bible who crossed the Red Sea or the Jordan River on foot. However, they could walk across the Sea and the River because God divided them and stopped flowing temporarily. It is only Peter who had walked on water except Jesus, Son of God.
Let's take a more detailed look at this incident. Peter and his friends rode on a little boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. According to the Bible, Jesus didn't go with them at that moment. Peter and some others in the boat had been familiar with fishing on the Sea of Galilee so that they didn't ride on the boat without the Lord.
However, they faced a huge storm in which the boat was almost capsized by the waves. They were very upset and worried about the situation. Then one of the disciples noticed a shadow moving toward them on the water. When they see it, they thought it was a ghost so they were terrified and cried out in fear. We know it was not a ghost but Jesus, our Savior. Jesus spoke to them and said "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."
There were twelve disciples sitting in the boat on that night. But one of them, Peter, asked Jesus to command him to come to Jesus on the water. Peter had a very strong faith on Jesus even to get out of the boat and walk on the stormy water.
Hey, Guys! Do you have the courage to get out of the boat and walk on stormy water when you meet Jesus on Sea, like Peter? Or Do you want to stay in the boat safely without risking your life for going to Jesus? I want all of you to take a risk to walk on water to come to Jesus, our Savior.
Do you know why? There are two reasons!
First, there is no guarantee that life in the boat is going to be any safer. Larry Laudan, a philosopher of science, said "everything is risky." You can stay home in bed-but that may make you one of the half-million Americans who require emergency room treatment each year for injuries sustained while falling out of bed. "Wow!" Do not be afraid of taking a risk! The greatest hitters of the baseball game in the world fail two times out of three. There is danger in getting out of the boat. But there is danger in staying in it as well.
Second, failure gives people an opportunity to grow and to find Jesus's help. As a result of seeing the wind and giving in to fear, Peter began to sink into the water. It war very scarry thing, wasn't it? However, you know the rest of the story. Who was over there, in the stormy water? Jesus was there. He has the power to control all creation including you and me, even the Sea and the storm. Peter knew that when he sank, Jesus would be wholly adequate to save him.
When I was young and learned how to ride on a bicycle, my brother stood behind the bicycle holding its end. I was confident that I couldn't fall down on the ground because I trusted on my brother. Some of you might have heard of Edison's story about inventing a light bulb. He failed 5,000 times but never gave up trying one more time. He finally succeeded in inventing it. Somebody asked him, "How did it feel to fail 5,000 times?" "I never failed 5,000 times in my life," Edison replied. "I just discovered 5,000 ways how not to light a bulb."
Here are some instructions from this story of the Bible.
1) If you want to be used greatly by God, you have to get out of your boat someday in your life. You will meet a situation in which you have to take a choice whether you follow Jesus or not. In that situation, remember Peter's story and get out of your boat to come to Jesus.
2) When you get out of your boat, do not take your eyes off Jesus, our Savior. Do not be afraid of winds and waves because Jesus walks with you.
3) If you worry about your failure or fear and sink into the water, cry out to the Lord, "Jesus, my Lord! Help me!" Then, Jesus will immediately come to you and save you.
4) Unless he comes to you shortly, wait him to come to you and endure as long as you can. Even thought you failed completely, you will find new strength inside you if you still hope for Jesus, our Lord.
Let's pray together!Dear Lord; Thank you for this beautiful Sunday and these good friends in the church. We want to live a life to glorify You and to please you. We ask you to give us the courage to take a risk for coming close to You and to save us from all danger and fear. We always thank You for everything. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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