Sunday Service
- Adult 1st Service: 9AM
- Adult 2nd Service: 11AM
- Youth Service: 10:45AM
Christians Must Be Honest
The most insulting phrase to Americans is "You are a liar!" Accusing someone of this could lead to a fight.
The reason why Americans are sensitive to being called liars may come from the Christian culture they are surrounded by. Christ called himself the truth: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)." He called Satan the father of lies": "He [the devil] is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44)." Avoiding lies and telling the truth is important in Christian culture.
Asians in general are not particularly shy ...
The Third Generation Of House Churches
The last 3 weeks of travel in the US and Korea have encouraged me greatly, giving me confidence that the house church movement will stick. To be honest, I had been discouraged because so many pastors had experienced misunderstandings and criticism as they attempted to convert their churches to house churches. Some left their churches as a result. Some even lost their health due to too much stress.
Some pastors tried to minimize conflict by implementing modified house churches with the result that they were not house "churches" any more, but small groups. Such things ...
We Don’t Have to Change Our Sunday Worship Time!
In the last "From the Pastor's Desk" I had shared with you that we are changing our Sunday worship time to 3:30PM beginning May 15. It was because the KSC (Korean Speaking Congregation) would need the gym for two or three Sundays while they are going through their worship center remodeling project. Moreover, they were planning to break the ground behind the trailer house to begin their youth center building project. This was going to take away about 80 parking spaces on the gravel parking lot which would cause not a small parking problem for the entire church.
As I ...
You Must Learn To Speak English Well
If you plan to live in this country permanently, you must learn to speak English well. A study showed that people who speak fluent English earn an average of 30% more than those who don't. When you have a firm command of English, your chances of finding a good job improve dramatically. The likelihood of a promotion at work also improves greatly. If you are looking for business opportunities, the choices available to you increase.
My English is not perfect, but I have made constant efforts to improve it and am able to preach in comprehensible English. When I was in ...
One For Every Ten
House churches are being established all over the North America. Although there are house churches in large cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, none of them are exemplary ones I can wholeheartedly recommend. House Church Ministries, the organization formed to help traditional churches convert to house churches, has decided to select a church in each large city and be more aggressive in helping them become model churches. Surprisingly, at the last conference at Jacksonville, good candidates were found for each city. I think it was God's providence, not ...
Sunday Worship at 3:30PM
Beginning Sunday, May 15 New Life will need to have Sunday worship at 3:30PM at least for a month if not for five months. As you have noticed, there is a lot of construction going on in our church these days. Our Korean Speaking Congregation (KSC) is remodeling their worship center and fellowship hall to accommodate their growing needs. In about a month, they will need to tear down the walls of their worship center and put a new wall around it to expand their space. This process will take about two or three weeks during which they will need a place to worship. Their ...
I Am Not Tone Deaf
Some of our newer church members have joked about my singing. After his baptism, one member gave his testimony and said, "Before I started coming to this church, I had heard some of Pastor Chai's sermon tapes. I thought his sermons were pretty good. But his singing voice was terrible." On another occasion, a new female member said, "I like Pastor Chai because he is tone deaf, just like me."
I admit that my voice quality isn't great. The church sound technicians have mentioned that my voice is... "unique", so it is hard to adjust the sound system to get good quality ...