Isaiah 55:1-9/ Psalm 63/ Luke 13:1-9
Come to Me, Come Back to Me
Breech of Relationships
Have you ever experienced a breech in any of your relationships and you suffered both physically and emotionally? My most significant experience of this happened when I was living in Kimberley. It was a difficult time, to say the least.
Genesis 15:1-6/ Psalm 27/ Luke 13:31-35
Lamenting Our Time
Jesus the Prophet
Jesus had a lot of monikers; God in human form, Son of God, Son of Man, Saviour, teacher, preacher, and prophet, to mention some of them. Today, we meet Jesus as a prophet.
James 2:1-10, 14-17/ Psalm 37/ Mark 7:24-37
Don’t We Deserve Justice?
Do the Right Thing Movie
In 1989, Spike Lee made the movie Do the Right Thing that proved him to be one of the greatest movie directors of our time. This movie explores the race relation in a New York City neighborhood in which the black members of the community end of rioting after being continually treated like less than human. The unbearable heat of the summer in the movie is a perfect metaphor for the rising tension between the ethnic groups in the neighborhood and the growing frustration of the black characters.
Get up, go ahead, do something, move…
Based on Luke 6:17-26
In the last week of November 2013, in the fall that I started working at Sicamous United Church, I had the great privilege of stepping off the bus at the old town-site of Capernaum in Israel and making my way down the rocky bank to the Sea of Galilee.
Jeremiah 1:4-10/ Psalm 71/ 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
“The Best Gift Ever”
Best Gifts
Have you ever said upon receiving a gift that this gift is the best gift ever? It was probably a gift that was selected with our deepest needs in mind. Perhaps it perfectly matches who we are or just what we have longed for or needed.
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10/ Psalm 19/ Luke 4:14-21
Revelation of God’s Word
Growing Up With Jesus
My father is a biblical scholar. Since he is a gospel scholar, I grew up listening to the stories of Jesus and even scholarly debates about him. That is why I grew up feeling as if Jesus were my best friend. I developed an intimate emotion toward Jesus and the gospel stories.
John 2:1-11/ 1 Corinthians 12:1-11/ Psalm 36:5-10
We Are Puzzle Pieces
Community of Diverse Gifts
My Korean group in the United Church of Canada called Korean Rainbow United (KRU) is a minority group even inside the Korean community. We are only 8 members plus one lady who has helped with YouTube video editing and another who only helps in the translation team of which I am the leader.
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22/ Isaiah 60:1-6/ Isaiah 43:1-7/ Ephesians 3:1-12
Epiphany of God, In Us and Through Us
Eureka
It is said that Archimedes uttered the word eureka when he hit upon a method of determining the purity of gold. Eureka is a Greek word that means “found.” It is also said that Isaac Newton had a eureka moment concerning gravity when an apple fell from a tree, although scientists doubt that this actually happened.
We also have these eureka moments in our lives, and often, and when we do, we claim that we had an epiphany. Both words, eureka and epiphany are about revealed knowledge, a sudden realization. That is why, in cartoons, you see a lightbulb when someone has an epiphany. Light reveals things to us.
Luke 1:39-55/ Micah 5:2-5a/ Hebrews 10:5-9
What Love Looks Like
The Red Cross Ad Campaign
Long time ago, when I was still living with my parents, The Red Cross in Korea did a big campaign for blood donation. Outside the Red Cross General Hospital, there was a big ad with the words, “Love is a verb.” As a language geek, I took notice of that grammatical term.
And now that I look back, having learned about marketing from Terry O’Reilly’s CBC podcast Under the Influence, that was a fantastic ad campaign; it was catchy and made you think. How good was that campaign? I still remember it and am talking about it right now after 30 years or so! That’s how good it was.
Luke 3:7-18/ Zephaniah / Philippians 4:4-7
Perpetual State of Joy
The Good Place
Have you ever done something wrong and been burdened with the guilt? And then later rectified it, willingly accepting the punitive consequences?
In an excellent TV show called The Good Place, the protagonist Eleanor has that experience. Eleanor was a selfish person who didn’t care about anyone while she was living. Then, she died and was sent to the Good Place by mistake.