St Timothy Presbyterian Church

Resurrection is the creation of new heavens and a new earth. It is hope. Hope is not hope when things are good and positive. Hope is hope when there is no hope. May you live with true hope made possible by the resurrection of our Lord!

Reflections by Alan Liu, Grace B., John Chung, & Rev. In Kee Kim from St. Tim's recent mission trip to Cuba.

Scripture Passage Philippians 3:4b-14 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script What do people value the most? A recent Reuters poll says that American people value time the most. Then career , success , and money come in as close seconds. I think that is so true. What good is money when you have no time to spend it? What good is all the power and success when no time is left for you. It is like a parable of a rich fool that our Lord Jesus taught us. Then he told them a parable: The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? (Luke 12:16-21) He had a

Scripture Passage Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script This is a very famous story. I am sure most of you have heard about this story and are very familiar with it. This is one of the most famous parables Jesus left behind for us to remember. What we read today is the last one of three stories. All three stories have the same theme. The first one is about a shepherd searching for one lost sheep, leaving 99 in the wilderness. The second one is about a woman searching for one lost coin. And today's story is the last one about a father who lost a son. All three parables are about losing something and finding it back. But the third story has its unique message that is not in the first two. The shepherd and the woman were actively searching for their lost one. The shepherd went out and went through all the troubles to find the lost sheep. The woman lit a lamp and swept through the whole house to find the lost coin. But the father didn't do anything to find the lost son. He didn't go out

Scripture Passage 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Have you had a personal experience of meeting God? Meeting God is a wonderful experience. When you meet God, everything is good. You feel embraced by God's love. Your burdens are lifted. You feel that everything is going to be alright. Many of you have experienced this kind of wonderful encounter with God. This is what it was like when the Corinthians received the gospel. Meeting God instills a core belief: that everything will be alright. In God's hands, all will be good. In Christian faith, we call that hope. Everything might not be alright now, but they will be. Hope is at the core of Christian faith. Hope is what the resurrection is all about. No matter how bad things are now, in the end, God will be victorious. The writer of Revelation articulates a beautiful vision of this good ending: See, the home of God is among mortals.He will dwell with them;they will be his peoples,and God himself will be with them and be their God

Scripture Passage Psalm 27 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script We've been studying David at our Winter Fridays. The psalm we read today was written by him. Around 73 of the 150 psalms are attributed to David. That is almost half of the entire book. He was a talented poet. He had the sensitivity of an artist and the insight of a theologian. When I look at David's life, I see a common theme. It is that God was always with him. He lived his life with this understanding, in all circumstances. God was never separate from or outside the reality of his life. God was intimately involved in his life. We can see this at the beginning of today's psalm The LORD is my light and my salvation;whom shall I fear?The LORD is the stronghold of my life;of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1) Even in danger, David never lost his confidence. Knowing that God was with him gave him strength. It gave him the courage to face Goliath when no one else wanted to. It gave him the wisdom to spare Saul's life even when it was to hi

Scripture Passage Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script When I think about people today, there's a word that comes to my mind: overwhelmed. I sense that people are just overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the demands placed on them. Their time. Energy. Attention. It is true, our senses are overwhelmed, our brains are overwhelmed. We can't even sit still: our phones demand our attention. But I think there's a deeper force that leads people to feel overwhelmed. It's that the anchors people rely on are crumbling. In Canada, we're going through a huge change. For our entire lifetimes, the United States was our anchor. Our identity as Canadians was closely tied to the United States, whether we like it or not. We liked to say that we're not Americans, but even saying that reveals just how closely tied we were to them. They were our economic anchor. They were our security anchor. We could live safely, peacefully and prosperously because we had a strong, rich, friendly neighbour to the south. But al

Scripture Passage Luke 9:28-36 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Today's passage gives us a wonderful scene. A glorious scene! While Jesus was praying, his face changed. His clothes became dazzling. Two dead people appeared. They were not just dead people. They were like pillars of the Old Testament. Moses represented the Law. Elijah represented the Prophet. So the Law and the Prophet, the core tradition of the Old Testament. What a glorious scene! It's a miracle. It was out-of-this-world experience. I need that these days. The reality is so harsh that I need something out of this world. The world we live in is a very difficult world. Especially for those who are weak and powerless, this world becomes more and more difficult to survive. Yesterday was 3.1. It is a special day for Koreans. They protested against Japanese occupation. The powerless fought against the powerful. Many Christians participated in this movement. But now the powerless has no place to stand. Our reality is harsh; I need fantasy

Scripture Passage Luke 6:27-38 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Jesus is our Lord. But Jesus was also a flesh and blood human being. His ministry took place among flesh and blood human beings. Jesus' message to them was that the kingdom of God was at hand. Something new was being born. What was the main point about the kingdom of God? Put simply, it was this: you are not merely a victim of your circumstances, but you are empowered to live a better way. Today's passage is the first lesson Jesus gives to his listeners. Love your enemies. Why did he begin with this? He was addressing a critical issue for his audience. His listeners were not people living comfortably, there for a good and entertaining lecture. They were desperate, poor, struggling peasants and commoners in the countryside and small villages. Life had become very difficult for commoners in Galilee. They were forced into debt. They lost their land. They were left behind economically, politically, socially. When things get difficult, the

Scripture Passage 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script When does a person deteriorate? What I means is When does a person become weak, frail, dark, and negative? When does a person become overly critical, not happy, gloomy, and feel hopeless? I think that happens when your thinking is deteriorated. The other day, I was talking with a person who just retired. I asked, How is your retired life? He said, Good. I do a lot of things. When I do a lot of things, I don't think about death too much. That was interesting, I thought when I heard it. But I think he is right. There is wisdom in what he said. If you think about death all the time, definitely, you will soon become deteriorated. I visit many people at the hospital. I realized that after they were diagnosed, they became much more quickly deteriorated. It is all to do with your thinking. That was what happened at the church in Corinth. When they first heard the message from St. Paul, they were ecstatic. They received the mess

Scripture Passage Luke 5:1-11 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Life is about more than fish. Focus on God, not the fish. God will provide all that you need and unlock what you really want. Do you know what it is that you WANT? What if what you THINK you want is not REALLY what you want? We often confuse what we WANT with what we NEED. What we THINK we want is often really what we NEED. Because it's hard to get what we need, we think that's what we want. It's very hard to make money. Especially if you don't have much to begin with. Young people are having a hard time getting a job. It's getting harder and harder to keep a job. So yes, it takes a lot of work to get what we need. But when you get what you need, you're not satisfied. Getting what you NEED can never satisfy. Money, love, acceptance- these are things we need. Even pleasure and leisure – we need these things. Human beings are not animals meant to only work. But the things that we need cannot satisfy. We need something, so we get it, but t

Scripture Passage1 Corinthians 13:1-13Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon ScriptLove never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:8)This phrase catches my eyes.There is so much in this passage. I can talk about so many things about love.But this phrase stands out for me.Love Never Ends.Love is eternal. The eternal quality is intrinsic in Love.But that's not what we experience about love in this world.People fall in love and easily fall out of love. Today they go crazy about each other and tomorrow they go separate ways.We don't experience the eternal quality of love.That's what celebrities always experience. People are crazy about them and they say how much they love them. But once their popularity goes down, nobody really cares for them.Loving your neighbours is what we have learned from our Lord Jesus.We try to practice that and we also expect that from our neighbours. But all of a sudden, they tell us that we have to pay 25% tariff.We feel betrayed. Once we were neighbours and now we feel like we are strangers.That is th

Scripture Passage1 Corinthians 12:12-31aWorship Video Worship Audio Sermon ScriptWhen St. Paul met Christ, he became a new person.So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! (2 Corinthians 5:17)Yes, when we meet Christ, we become a new person.But St. Paul was not only talking about himself as a person. He was thinking beyond just himself.He was thinking about our existence as people.In Christ, our whole existence becomes new. How we live together is new.Today's passage that we read is a concrete metaphor for the new kind of community that is created in Christ.He describes it as a new humanity:For he (Christ) is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two (Ephesians 2:15-16)A new community, a new humanity – that is what we become in Christ.In this new community, everyone belongs.You ar

Scripture PassageIsaiah 62:1-5Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon ScriptGod never forsakes you. God never abandons you. God never deserts you.But, even though God never forsakes you, sometimes you feel forsaken, abandoned, and deserted.Even our Lord, Jesus, experienced the feeling of abandonment on the cross. He cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?St. Paul also experienced the feeling of abandonment.We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world right up to this moment. (1 Corinthians 4:13)That was what Israelites experienced when they lost their home. They experienced the abandonment when they were exiled.Korean people experienced this kind of abandonment when they lost their country. Many of your parents experienced that when they lived under Japanese occupation. They felt abandoned.When you lose everything, you feel forsaken.That was what Palestinians and also Israelites experienced last 15 months. They lost so much. They lost their loved ones.Finally there is a cease-fire a

Scripture Passage1 Peter 2:4-10Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon ScriptI hope that you are having a great start to 2025.Before we get too far into the new year, it's important to reflect on important things.What kind of person do you want to be in 2025?Let me share a great vision with you today: Be the rock that others stand on.Isn't that a great thing to aspire to? It's something we can all do.In 2025, we should strive to be a rock on which others stand.It brings such a nice image to me. Someone who is solid. Not easily shaken. Someone whom others can stand on.In Chevrolet truck commercials, they are built like a rock. The most dependable, longest lasting trucks on the road like a rock.We're not trucks, but we too should be dependable and lasting like a rock. Maybe good trucks, we can rely on.It's so hard to find people like that, isn't it? Whom can you really rely upon?But wouldn't it be so good to have people like a rock? People you can rely upon, depend on.I think the best kind of person we can be is to

Scripture Passage 1 Peter 2:4-10 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Happy New Year! May God's blessings be upon you and your family! God has been good in 2024. God will be also good in 2025. Let us trust God. Everything will work out for good. Even though there may be difficult times, God will give you the strength and the wisdom to deal with difficulties. Not only that, he will work out everything for good for you. This year's theme is Be the Rock. I would like to focus on two things. One: Being a Rock. Second: How to live as a Rock. In today's passage, Peter said this. like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5) He said, Let yourself be Being the Rock is about who you are, not about what you do. You are the Rock. Nothing can shake that away. That's who you are. God made you be the rock. Your understanding of who you are is the foundation on which you can build y

Scripture Passage Colossians 3:12-17 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Last week, we talked about humility. I said, humility is not just accepting your weaknesses and shortcomings. Humility is trusting in God's power and looking to God in all your circumstances, even in an impossible situation. That was what Mary did when she said, Let it be so. Humble people always look to God in all circumstances and leave their situations in God's hand. That's why they experience the peace of God. Every problem, every challenge, every difficulty – They all leave it in God's hands instead of worrying about it. And God grants peace to those who are humble. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7) Memory Card – today's passage too. Humble people are comfortable with themselves. Because they don

Scripture Passage Luke 1:46-55 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Merry Christmas! We are celebrating today as Christmas Sunday even though it is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Today, we are celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. His birth changed the way we think about our life. His birth gave us hope. His birth showed God's desire for this world. What was God's desire for the world? What did God want us to do? What message did he want to get across through the birth of Jesus? I think that message is this. Be humble! That is the Christmas message this year. God became a human being. That is the message of being humble. The king became a servant. How much more humble can you get? St. Paul clearly understood this when he said this. though he was in the form of God,did not regard equality with Godas something to be exploited,but emptied himself,taking the form of a slave,being born in human likeness.And being found in human form,he humbled himselfand became obedient to the point of death even d

Scripture Passage Luke 1:68-79 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script INTRODUCTION I enjoy buffets. There is a sequence, method. Purpose of first round: whet the appetite, get me going for the main courses and proteins. Luke is about Jesus – the main course. But Luke 1 is about things that take place before Jesus is born. The set-up to what God does through Jesus. Central character in chapter 1 is Zechariah. Today's passage – Benedictus. Last part of chapter 1. Chapter 1 begins with Zechariah and ends with him. Luke is communicating something important. Zechariah is a set-up story for the main course of Jesus. It's a substantial appetizer – so much good material. God has something amazing to say through story of Zechariah. MOVEMENT 1: ZECHARIAH'S ISSUE – BARRENNESS Luke's introduction of Zechariah and Elizabeth: In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabet

Scripture Passage John 18:33-37 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script I don't like the term, king or queen. The image of king or queen – it doesn't mean much to me. It rather gives me a negative image. Power, Privilege, Entitlement, Domination, and even Corruption. These are not the words I am not so attracted to. Especially when they use this term for Jesus whom I love, I feel uncomfortable. King is a political language. Isn't there a better word than king to describe Jesus? But when you read today's passage, Jesus clearly said he was the king. You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world (John 18:37) This statement is so strange. Because we all know that Jesus was never the king while he was on earth. He didn't become the king. He was simply a carpenter. And he became an itinerant preacher. Then he died as a criminal. Never the king. Why did he say that he was born to be a king. And for this he came into the world? That was exactly what they wanted Jesus to say. T