Hymn: He's Got the Whole World Bible Passage: Isaiah 40:12-17 12-17 Who has scooped up the ocean in his two hands, or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger, Who has put all the earth's dirt in one of his baskets, weighed each mountain and hill? Who could ever have told God what to do or taught him his business? What expert would he have gone to for advice, what school would he attend to learn justice? What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows, showed him how things work? Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket, a mere smudge on a window. Watch him sweep up the islands like so much dust off the floor! There aren't enough trees in Lebanon nor enough animals in those vast forests to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship. All the nations add up to simply nothing before him— less than nothing is more like it. A minus. (The Message Version) 12 神様以外にだれが、手で海を支え、巻き尺で天の大きさを測ったでしょう。 神様以外にだれが、地球の重さと、山や丘の重さを知っているでしょう。13 だれが神の御霊の助言者となり、神様を教え、相談役になったでしょう。14 神様は人間の助言を必要としたでしょうか。 何が正しく、何が最善であるかを知るために、だれかの指示を仰いだでしょうか。15 そんなことは絶対にありません。 人間はだれも、神様と比べたら無に等しく、バケツの中の一滴の水、はかり皿の上のちりにすぎないからです。 神様は島々を、少しも重さのないもののように、いとも軽々と持ち上げます。16 レバノンの森林の木をぜんぶ集めても、神様にふさわしいいけにえを焼くたきぎにも足りません。 そこの獣を一匹残らず集めても、いけにえとするには、とうてい数が足りません。17 すべての国々は、神様の目から見れば無に等しいのです。(リビングバイブル) Introduction - It's good to see you all here today at Hokusei English Chapel. I hope you've been surviving well here at the end of this semester. I know you must be very busy, so let's spend this time together today relaxing and enjoying God's Word. I've been thinking about my topic today for a long time. How big is my God? What does God control? And the answers for these questions are in the song we just sang. Let's use the words of this song and God's Word to understand God better! 1. The Whole World He's got the whole world in His hands. ~ Not only the whole world, but the whole universe is in the palm of His hand! Our Bible passage today, Isaiah 40:12-17, tells us this. God plays with the oceans like we play with water in a bath tub. God can measure the whole sky between His fingers! He can put all the dirt of this Earth in a basket like a child playing in a sandbox! How much power is that? At the end of the Bible part it says, "All the nations add up to simply nothing before him— less than nothing is more like it. A minus." Even if every army of every nation got together against God, they would be like a bunch of ants crawling about! We are less than nothing compared to this great big God! That's kind of scary, don't you think? But let's not stop there. 2. The Tiny Little Baby He's got the tiny little baby in His hands. ~ In my second point, I'd like to share another Bible passage with you, Matthew 10: 29-31. 29 "Aren't two sparrows sold for only a penny? But not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 He even counts every hair on your head! 31 So don't be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows." (NIRV) Even though He holds the whole universe in His hands, still God knows all the tiny things of this world! Scientists tell us that there are 7 new babies born every second in our world. And God knows each one personally! We are worth so much to God! There are over 35 different species of sparrows (スズメ) in our world. There are so many that we humans cannot count them all! There are billions and billions of them! Though we humans don't know how many, God does! And He sees whenever just one of them falls to the ground! On the average, scientists say there are over one hundred thousand strands of hair on a young adult's head. Blondes average about 140,000 strands, brunettes average 108,000 and redheads average 90,000. And this Bible passage tells us that God knows how many hairs you have on your head! I worry about that every time I take a shower and see how many hairs are in the drain - #271, #1,599, #76,434...! 3. You and Me! He's got you and me in His hands. ~ In my third and last point, let me share one more Bible part, Ephesians 1:4. It reads, "God chose us to belong to Christ before the world was created. He chose us to be holy and without blame in his eyes. He loved us." (NIRV) Before God ever began to create this universe, He knew us. He knew every human of every generation, of every time period. He knew when we would be born and He knows the very moment we will pass away! He knew us completely and decided that we should belong to Christ! He knew just how sinful we were, but because He loved us so much, His Son, the Son of God, Jesus Christ left heaven to come and die for us! Conclusion - Now we know clearly what God's got - He's got... everything! So, where does that leave you and me? If you believe in the Son of God as your savior, then please have much assurance today. This great God is your friend. He knows you and loves you! And what about you my friends who don't know this awesome God yet? Are you still looking for your place in this world? Are you still looking for some meaning in your life? Then I encourage you to come and trust God with all your heart! He created this universe. He created you. And He knows every little thing about you. Come and find happiness and joy in "His Hands" today! Closing Prayer - Dear Lord, thank you ever so much for this chapel time together today. I'm so glad that you have everything under control in all this big universe. I'm also so thankful that you created us and that you love us with an everlasting love. Please Lord, walk with us throughout the rest of this day and help us to feel true security in Your Hands. And I pray all these things now, in Jesus' precious name, Amen. * * * * *
May the Lord who gives peace give you peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with all of you. (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
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Yesterday was a truly "red letter" day because the Lord answered two of my prayers! First, my wife has been studying hard to pass a test in an Excel computer class that she's been attending. She's been staying up late in the evenings to cram for this test. And each evening as I was going to bed I would pray for her, "God, as you did for Solomon, give my lovely wife a double portion of wisdom for the exam." Yesterday she had a chance to take a sample test to see if she might be ready for the real thing coming up in a couple of weeks. Upon picking her up after work, she announced in the car that fairly effortlessly she had passed the sample test! We rejoiced right there and then for God's gracious answer to prayer! Then second, yesterday was my long-awaited 1st day-off at the beginning of my summer vacation. I had ensconced myself on the sofa and was enjoying reading some sweet Bible tidbits from my FB News Feed. The chat window popped up with a message from a Sapporo friend I have known for many years. (^v^) As we began to chat, he shared that he wasn't doing well at all and referred me to his newest blog page that he had just written. I was amazed to read that his mental condition had lingered badly like this for months! I immediately felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to share with him a scripture passage about Jesus healing the possessed man (Mark 5). I then wrote out a heartfelt prayer for his healing and popped it back to him in the chat box. Little by little, as we chatted over the next several hours, God laid His healing hand on my friend and completely removed his depression! This morning he exclaimed to me in a message that he had slept better last night than he had in months! God had removed his depression! Last night and again this morning, he and I both thanked God again and again for His marvelous healing power! I continue to pray for both my wife and my friend that the Lord Jesus would make Himself so real to them in the days ahead! I know my God has all power and He will lead these two special people to believe in Jesus with all of their hearts! He loves them more than I ever could! "Dear Lord, bless these two dear ones with salvation that can only comes through you! In Jesus name I pray, Amen! m(__)m Jesus Can and Does Do Miracles! I know ~ I Have Seen Them!
I woke up this morning, had my devotional time and then started going through my Facebook Feed to catch up on what happened overnight. I was tickled pink to see a post that one of my former Hokusei students had put up! Last night she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior! Needless to say, I'm totally stoked! Lord bless her so much and make her into a truly beautiful Christian woman! (^v^) Man, what a great day this starting out to be! Hymn: His Name Is Wonderful Bible Passage: Matthew 11:28-30
The Japanese Living Bible Version 28 重いくびきを負って働かされ、疲れはてている人 たちよ。 さあ、わたしのところに来なさい。 あなたがたを休ませてあげましょう。 2 9 わたしはやさしく、謙そんな者ですから、それこそ負いやすいわたしのくびきを、わた しといっしょに負って、わたしの教えを受けなさい。 そうすれば、あなたがたのたましいは安らかになります。 30 わたしが与えるのは、軽い荷物だけだからです。」 Introduction - Everyone, welcome to a new school year here at Hokusei University. For those of you that don't know me, my name's Don Frank. I'm a part-time teacher at the junior college division and teach English Bible and Oral English. I started teaching here some 20 years ago with a bit of a break back in the late 1990s. Now I'm back and enjoying every minute that I spend here on this delightful campus! Like many of you, I too am a student - a student in the University of Life. God has been teaching me a very special lesson lately that I'd like to pass on to you today. Yes, even we teachers can still learn many new things long after we graduate from school! Many years ago, I found out about a student ministry group called the Navigators. They had a very simple but wonderful impact on my life. They used a very modern version of the Bible called The Message. It was translated by a very talented man named Eugene Peterson. He thought that when we read the Bible that we should be able to understand it instantly. So, he wrote it in very modern, slang and idiomatic English. I immediately fell in love with it. It spoke directly to my heart! Over the years, I got busy in my life and forgot about that version. Then just about a month ago, someone posted a Bible passage on my Facebook page. That passage and that version are the ones I just read to you a few minutes ago. It was The Message version of the Bible. And it was a Bible part I had memorized long ago from the King James Version. It was Matthew 11:28-30. But as I read it on Facebook, God began to teach me again this lesson that I thought I had already learned. God used modern words to do this! 1. "Take" a Real Rest - Verse 28 reads, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest." My goodness, how sweet this is! I can definitely say "YES" to all these questions! How about you? Is your soul tired today? Is religion not satisfying you anymore. Then get away with Jesus and He'll recharge your spiritual batteries for you. Get back to just quietly reading His Word as often as you can. As you do that everyday, He'll give you a real rest, deep down in your heart! 2. "Watch" How I Do It - Then He goes on to say in verse 29, "Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you." Then as your life is recovering and your batteries are charging up, He takes us by the hand and we begin to walk back out into life again. But this time, Jesus is leading the way. He is the master (名人 [めいじん]) and we are the apprentices (見習い [みならい]). It's best for us to stand back and watch how the Master works. He'll teach us that His grace is like a river. It can flow very smoothly all the way through life! 3. "Learn" to Live Freely and Lightly - And my last point today is in verse 30, "Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." He tells us that this type of lifestyle should be our usual experience everyday. As we spend more and more time with Him, we'll feel the stresses and problems of life float off of our shoulders. Not only will we feel His loving hand in ours as He walks with us, but we'll also sense His powerful arms lovingly lifting and carrying every worry, every care and every burden for us, His friends! Conclusion - What a wonderful invitation we see in today's Bible passage! And where does this invitation come from. Well, Jim, I'm going to borrow a Bible verse that you shared just recently. The verse comes from John 15:9 - and I'll read this one too from The Message version of the Bible. "I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love." Absolutely wonderful! Jesus says that as we keep company with Him that we can make ourselves at home in His love! Wow! We can just relax into His arms of love, be ourselves and trust Him for everything in our lives! Anyway, this is the lesson that Christ is teaching me these days. I'm happy I could share that with you during this time. Who knows, maybe God will begin helping you to study this lesson as well. He calls us to escape the pressures of this world. He'll refresh us. He'll teach us. He'll work in us and through us. And then He will give us a freedom and lightness of spirit that we've never known before! Closing Prayer - Loving Lord, thanks so much for this time we could spend together here at Hokusei today. I pray for all my teacher friends that they would feel your grace and strength as they go about teaching all their classes today. I also pray for all the students. Lord Jesus, speak to each of them and help them as they study and learn under all their teachers. Dear God, help us everyday to know how much you love us - and how much you want to keep company with us too. I pray all these things in Jesus' precious name, Amen. ☼ ☺ ☼ ☺ ☼ ☺ ☼ ☺ ☼ ☺ ☼
Thanks so much for coming to English Chapel today. God bless you and be with you! GodVine Dot Com just posted this one on Facebook and I was totally impressed with it's simplicity. It's as if He spoke it directly to my heart tonight as I was getting ready for bed. (-_-)zzz
I decided to look for some soothing music on YouTube this afternoon and came across an audio track from a Christian radio program that really brought back some memories for me. The program was called NightSounds and though the host, Bill Pearce has gone on to be with the Lord, the program's Web site is still going strong! :-) I found one broadcast that I'm listening to right now and it has really settled my soul down. If you'd like, go to their page by clicking on the picture above. Then on the right side bar, you can find a list of recent broadcasts. I hope you find one as inspirational as I have. ;-) God bless you all today.
A bunch of us have decided that, even though it's between school years, we want to get together and enjoy each others company. Jim, Andy, Yanbin and I had a great time eating, laughing and talking together over some of that delicious Hokusei cafeteria food! We're all Christians and all attend English Chapel during the school year. I think we all miss our usual Friday get togethers and need the fellowship! What a joy it is to spend a bit of time with you guys ~ thanks!
"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) Why did I create this page? Maybe I could call this my Reflecting Pool - a place to share my messages and also my thoughts on English Chapel time at Hokusei University. For me, Fridays at Hokusei are very special. I'm a wedding minister here in Sapporo and don't have a chance to attend church on Sundays. Every weekend I'm in my own pulpit, helping others "tie the knot." So, for ME to have a chance to worship - in English - is so nice! This is my time to be refreshed and stretch my spiritual legs, so to speak. I can't wait for the new school year to start and for English Chapel to begin again! (^o~)
I just began this page this morning. I'll be transferring all my past messages over soon. Please check back from time to time if you can. You're always welcome!
13 Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said: 14 “Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.” 15 After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay. 17 When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. 18 Everyone listened and was surprised. 19 But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant. 20 As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said. Title: "A Night to Remember" Introduction - Looking at the calendar, I see that this is the last day for a couple of things. It's the last English chapel before Christmas and the last English chapel time of this year of 2011! Can you believe this year is almost finished already? I can still remember the first classes of this semester so clearly! Well, Christmas is just around the corner and I'm sure you're all thinking about Christmas trees and presents from Santa... ha, ha! Or should I say "Ho, Ho, Ho!" I hope you've all been good boys and girls. If you have, then you'll hear the click, click, click of reindeer hooves on your roof on Christmas eve! But Christmas is more than just Santa, reindeer, Christmas trees and cakes. It's about the most important holiday in the Christian calendar, the birth of Jesus Christ. The birth of the Son of God is the greatest gift we could ever receive. And what can we give Him on His birthday? Let's see the examples of 3 sets of people who met the baby Jesus. 1. The Shepherds - Luke 2:8 ~ The first set of people we see are in our Bible passage that we just read, the shepherds. They were outdoor men, basically poor men who slept every evening beside their sheep. Then suddenly that evening, they woke up to find an angel standing there looking at them! He told them that the birth of the Savior of the world had just happened in the nearby, small town of Bethlehem. That Silent Night sky was then filled with SO MANY angels, singing the praises of God! The shepherds went right away and found the baby Jesus and his parents just as the angel had said. What present did they bring to offer to Him? They had brought their praise! This was all that they had for they were poor men. But they gave these praises from their hearts! And the Bible tells us that they went back to their sheep telling everyone about this amazing experience!
11 When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. They had brought presents for a king! These were wise, rich men in their own far away countries. They believed that God had sent a star to show them where a new king was born. They gave of their riches to the baby, King Jesus!
26 and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord. 27 When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple... the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. 28 Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God, 29 “Lord, I am your servant, and now I can die in peace, because you have kept your promise to me... 32 Your mighty power is a light for all nations, and it will bring honor to your people Israel.”... 36 The prophet Anna was also there in the temple... 37 ... Night and day she served God in the temple by praying and often going without eating. 38 At that time Anna came in and praised God. She spoke about the child Jesus to everyone who hoped for Jerusalem to be set free. This story happened about 1 week after Christmas. Simeon and Anna were faithful followers of God. They had been waiting and waiting for God to send a savior to Israel. Now they both offered the baby Jesus their gifts. They had brought the gift of a promise! The promise was that the baby Jesus would become the light of the world! He would become our Savior, our Lord and our King! Conclusion - Ah, Christmas is maybe my most favorite time of the year. People are happier and more peaceful than any other time of the year. We have all been taught that Santa or St. Nicholas will bring us presents. In fact, those presents come from the people who love us! And God too loves us. He gave us the greatest present of all, His dear son, Jesus Christ. In return, the shepherds gave Him their praises, the wise men gave of their riches to the newborn king and Simeon and Anna gave us all a wonderful promise for the future! This Christmas, what present will you give to Jesus on His birthday? May God bless you richly this Christmas as you place a present under the Christmas tree for the babe of Bethlehem, the Son of God. Closing Prayer - Dear Lord, we thank you so very much for this beautiful Christmas season, for all the sparkling decorations, for all the joyous music and for the gifts of love from so many of our friends and families. Thank you too dear God for sending your son Jesus to be born and live in our world. We hope and pray everyday that His promise will come true. Jesus, please be the bright light in our troubled world. Please become that beautiful light in each of our lives. Please help us to give our hearts to you, especially this Christmas. In your sweet and special name I pray, Amen. ✬ ❅ ✬ ❅ ✬ ❅ ✬ ❅ ✬ ❅ ✬ ❅ ✬
Thank you for coming to English Chapel today. May God give you a truly Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ✫ ❆ ✫ ❆ ✫ ❆ ✫ ❆ ✫ ❆ ✫ ❆ ✫ Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 2:9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” Title: "I Had No Idea!" Introduction - It's a real joy to be back with you here in English Chapel at Hokusei University. I hope your second semester has started well already. I had a really nice summertime break, but to be honest with you, I'm glad to be back. I missed you guys a lot! I consider you to be kind of like my family! So, I'm really happy to see you and be with you today. I'm basing my message today, as I often have here at Hokusei chapel time, on music. The song I chose for today is one of my absolute favorite hymns. God and the hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, tell us that we can have assurance in God. Even though we don't know what's coming in the future, we can still feel confident that God's got some great plans for us!
Day by day, I read God's Word, the Bible, and I see majestic scenes there as well. The Lord shares with us how much He loves us and how He wants to guide us everyday. There are so many stories of faith, stories of miracles, and stories of victory by the marvelous power of God! And yet both our Bible passage and our hymn today tell us that this is just the beginning!
God's Kingdom will be sparkling and shining brighter than the sun we see in the sky each day! We will meet loving friends and family that we haven't seen for such a long time. We will live without any sin, pain, tears, temptations, hate or any of the other bad things we experience here in this world. It will be total joy and satisfaction, singing with our hearts full of praise to God - forever!
God has prepared all the beauty, all the joy, and the peace and happiness of heaven for anyone who loves God! If you trust and love God with all your heart, then heaven is just waiting for you to arrive! God wants to give us a "Blessed Assurance" today that He has nothing but the best planned for you and me! And the second thing that I'm sure of is that we have no idea what is really waiting for us. That's what our Bible passage today shares with us. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." Our eyes see such wonderful beauty everyday, but not like what's coming! Our ears have heard songs that give us goose bumps, but that's nothing compared to the music of heaven itself! Our poor human minds are so small and limited. We cannot imagine, we have no earthly idea what God's Presence or the Kingdom of Heaven or even Eternity itself will be like! Wow, God has some truly amazing surprises waiting for those who love Him! Conclusion - I know it's tough to imagine all the things that God wants to do for us. Maybe my simple words today have given you a bit of an idea. Maybe like me, you're anxious to know more and more about this loving Lord who has promised so much to us. I feel like a kid in a candy store sometimes when I read and learn about this marvelous future He has already prepared! My hope is that this glimpse of Eternity that I've given you today will motivate you to know God better. Please join me and let's discover everyday this God who loves us so much and has built the Kingdom of Heaven just for you and me - the ones who love Him! Closing Prayer Dear Father, thank you ever so much for being with us here in chapel today. I pray that you would wrap your loving arms around us as we continue on to our classes and other activities. Help us to look with grateful eyes at all the beauty that is around us. Help us to see your deep love for us in the cross of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to love you more and wait expectantly to see and experience the beauty of eternity that you made for us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺
Thanks so much for coming to English Chapel today. God bless you with love, joy and a beautiful image in your heart throughout this day. ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ |
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
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