Hymn: He Hideth My Soul 1st Bible Passage: Exodus 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. (NIV) 出エジプト記33:22 わたしの栄光がいま通り過ぎる。あなたを岩の裂け目に入れ、わたしが通り過ぎるまで、手であなたをおおう。(JLB) Introduction - It's so nice to be back here at Hokusei after our summer vacation. And welcome to our 1st English chapel of the new term. My name's Don Frank. I'm the English Bible teacher and one of the Oral English teachers here at the junior college. I'd like to share with you today about the topic, "the Hand of God." You know, this is a pretty popular topic in the Bible! The Bible writers talked about God's Hand more than 100 times! And even the lady who wrote our hymn today, Francis Crosby, talked about God's hand too! Let's take a look at a couple of ideas from today's hymn. 1. He's Our Loving Protector - The words of the 1st verse go like this, "A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, a wonderful Savior to me; he hides my soul in the cleft of the rock, where rivers of pleasure I see." These words come from the story in our 1st Bible passage. This story is about Moses, the great leader of the Jewish people, from the Old Testament. One day, Moses was having a conversation with God. Moses asked God a very nice favor. He said, "God, I want to see you!" And God answered, "I am much too bright for you to look at. If you look at Me, you will burn up!" But God really wanted to give Moses that favor. So, he picked Moses up and put him in a cleft or an opening in a big rock. Then he covered Moses with His hand. Then He passed by Moses and Moses could see God's back! I think we can learn several lessons from this story. First, God loves to have conversations with us. These conversations are called prayer. He is so very happy when we talk to him everyday. Second, God loves us very much. God loved Moses and wanted to spend time with him. He wants to do the same for us! And third, God wants so very much to protect us. He lovingly protected Moses. If we trust God with all of our hearts, He will cover us with His big, strong hands and protect us too! In our song today, Fanny also wrote that in God's hands are "rivers of pleasure." Not only does God protect us, but he also gives us pleasures like rivers! Think about that for a minute. God wants to give us so many pleasures that they are flowing just like a river! That's a lot of joy and happiness! I live right beside the Makomanai River and I watch it everyday. The water never stops. It's always moving. It's always fresh and new. God's pleasures are like that too. They never stop! Every morning when you wake up, His joys and blessings are new and refreshing! 2nd Bible Passage: John 10:27-30 27 "My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never die. No one can steal them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than anyone. No one can steal them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one." (NIRV) ヨハネによる福音書10:27−30 27 わたしの羊はわたしの声を聞き分けます。わたしは彼らを知っているし、彼らもわたしにはついて来ます。28 わたしは彼らに永遠のいのちを与えるのです。だから、絶対に滅びたりはしません。だれも、わたしの手から彼らを奪い取ることはできません。29 父がわたしに下さった群れなのですから。父はだれよりも力があります。わたしの羊をさらうことなんか、だれにもできません。30わたしと父とは一つです。」(JLB) 2. He's Our Loving Guide - Fanny Crosby also wrote in the chorus of our hymn, "He hides my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand." And our 2nd Bible passage, John 10, talks about this very clearly. This Bible part is from the New Testament and Jesus is talking to his believers. He is like our Shepherd and we are like his sheep. We listen to his voice and he knows us! He loves us so much that if we believe in him, he will give us eternal life! He is our Good Shepherd and he wants to lovingly guide us every day. Do we believe that he died on the cross to pay for our sins? Then we should listen to his voice and follow him carefully. We can trust him everyday, follow him with joy and then He will give us life that never ends! The Bible part also says that He will hold us in His hand and that no one can come and steal us away. Jesus even said that Our Heavenly Father holds us in His hand too. And He is so great and powerful that no one at all can steal us from the Father's hand! Conclusion - What an amazing song it is that we sang today. And what amazing promises we read from the Bible too! As this new semester begins, do you feel that you need someone to guard you? Do you feel you need a guide as you're going through all of your classes? Will you give your life to Jesus? Will you trust Him to be your protector and guide? If you will, then He has promised to protect you and guide you every moment of your life - both here on earth and in heaven too! Closing Prayer - Loving Heavenly Father, I want to thank you so very much for this English chapel time today. Thank you for all who came here to join us. God help us to remember all these beautiful words You've taught us today. You love us. You protect us. You guide us. You promise us eternal life. Thank you for being with each of us all through this day. I pray all these things now in Jesus' precious name. Amen. May the Lord bless you and take good care of you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you His peace.
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About This PageThis is my personal space to share my messages and thoughts about Hokusei English Chapel and the things that God brings in to my life. Archives
October 2015
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