St Timothy Presbyterian Church

The post Matthew Part 1 (Jesus in the Gospels) appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 17:1-13 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Six Days later Matthew began with Six days later What happened six days before? This was what Jesus said six days before. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (Matthew 16:21) Jesus told the disciples what would happen to him. Then, six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain to pray. There they experienced this wonderful divine manifestation. Theophany: Experience of God's manifestation. Jesus completely changed. Out of this world kind of experience they had. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became dazzling white. Moses and Elijah, two great prophets appeared. Silence When these amazing things happen, the usual response will be to be quiet. Silence that comes from being deeply immersed in the moment. That's what people do. SILE

In this session, we reflected on the second half of Mark. This is where the question: “Who is this person?” gets answered. The post Mark Part 2 (Jesus in the Gospels) appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 5:21-26 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script More than Cordial You shall not murder is the basic minimum level for us to live with one another. Yes, I should feel safe and assured that just because you and I have a beef, you're not going to take my life! We need basic limits on our behaviour to live peaceably with one another. We need minimum standards and expectations. But that alone does not make life good. We need more than just cordial and civil relations with one another. That is what Jesus is saying in today's passage. In the 1930's, a group of scholars at Harvard began a study on human happiness. They selected two groups: one, a group of students from Harvard from varying backgrounds; and two, a group of teenagers from a poor area in Boston. They kept track of them, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They were from all walks of life, and have had such varied experiences. But after 84 years, they've boiled down all of their findings to one conclusio

This is the first study in an 8-week series on “Jesus in the Gospels”. In this first session, we reflected on the first half of Mark. The key question that emerges from the first half of Mark is: “who is Jesus?” There is nothing like the in-person experience of being there, but we hope this recording will bless you still! The post Mark Part 1 (Jesus in the Gospels) appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 5:13-20 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Slat of the Earth Jesus said, you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world. That is a wonderful statement about us. He didn't say this lightly. This tells us exactly who we are. He didn't say try to be the salt of the earth or be the light of the world. He said you ARE already the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Since you are the salt and be the light, live like the salt and live like the light. Don't be something else. Don't lose that saltiness and don't live in your darkness. Salt and Light were the two most precious things during Jesus' time. During Roman period, the salt was so precious that they called it, white gold. Since it was so precious, and people knew that, sometimes soldiers in Roman Army were paid with salt instead of money. It was called Salarium. Sal is the Latin word for the salt. From that word, the word salary came out. Jesus used the most precious things around him to tell

Scripture Passage 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Real Wisdom The real wisdom doesn't come to your brain. The real wisdom comes to your soul. The real wisdom is not knowing what to do. The real wisdom is knowing who you are. The biggest problem we have is not that we don't have enough knowledge. We have so much knowledge. Especially with the development of the internet, so much knowledge is available and accessible to us instantly. Since we talked about searching God through a google search last week, I google searched God. It was endless. The first question was Who created God? I guess that's what people are interested in knowing the most. Interesting. Anyways, we have so much knowledge but they are all information, data, and factual knowledge. It doesn't give us wisdom. Because wisdom is more than having factual knowledge. Information, data, and factual knowledge are what people seek after, ultimately for their own benefits. To control and conquer. To have upper hands. Wi

Scripture Passage Matthew 4:12-22 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Calling Last week, we reflected that passionate life comes from having a sense of calling in life. When you realize that you are connected to something bigger than your life, you find new passion for life. When your life is deeply connected with the higher purpose, then your life becomes meaningful and you can find passion in life. How can you find this sense of calling? That is a very difficult question. It is not something that you can arbitrarily choose. Just to make your life meaningful and purposeful. But let's think about calling. You don't call yourself, do you? So, calling comes from outside of you. It is not something you decide. That's why we call it calling. That's what Jesus said. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. (John 15:16) Life is more than your decisions. We can see that in today's p

Scripture Passage Isaiah 49:1-7 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Calling It is wonderful to live with passion. It is also important to live with passion. Life and passion go together. Being alive means being passionate. It is sad to see people merely exist but not being alive. It is sad to see so many people live without passion. They may coast along without serious problems but they lack passion in life. Passion is a strong desire to live. Passionate living is living with clear knowledge of why you live. A mediocre lifestyle will not satisfy those who live with passion. What gives us passion for life then? What gives you a strong desire and what gives you clear reason to live? Calling. A sense of calling. It is not just your desire that makes you passionate. You somehow discover that you are chosen. Chosen to do something or to be somebody. That is the sense of calling. Seeing your life as calling gives you passion. This sense of calling will not come automatically. It is something that you discov

Scripture Passage Isaiah 42:1-9 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Big Storms Last week, Rev. Kim introduced the image of storms. Over the last few years, we experienced many storms.  We are slowly emerging from them, and we see many ruins. 2023 is the year to start rebuilding from the ruins. There were big storms that we all faced. We faced circumstances we had never experienced before. Some of you also endured difficult individual storms. Death of loved ones. Failing health. Strained relationships. Some of these storms made life very challenging and difficult. Some of them made us feel very weak and vulnerable. When just one storm hits us, we can endure it and wait it out. But when many storms come one after the other, it can take a toll on us. When we get battered by continuous storms, we lose heart. We lose vitality. We lose vigour. Instead of being positive, we can become more gloomy. Isaiah’s Storm When a very big storm totally destroys everything, where do we find the will to carry on? How do

Scripture Passage Colossians 2:2-3 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Aftermath Happy New Year! It is wonderful to have the first day of the new year, worshipping God. What better way is there than starting the first day, praising God and thanking God? God has been good to us in 2022. We thank God for that. We have come here with a thankful heart. As God has been good to us in 2022, he will also be good to us in 2023. For those who love God, all things work out for good. As I look back last few years, I realize that we went through a lot. I feel like a big storm passed by. There were times when I felt very unsure about the future, not only the future of our world, but also the future of the church in general. 1.1 million Americans lost their lives because of Covid. Closing down the church? I could never imagine that and I have never experienced that. But we were very close to that. Do you remember? There was a time when only five people were allowed in the sanctuary. We were lucky to have something c

Scripture Passage Matthew 1:18-25 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Comfort An English Actress Imelda Staunton said, You can only do your best. That's all you can do. And if it isn't good enough, it isn't good enough. It sounds comforting. It sounds like a wise advice. What else can you do? You can do your best and just have to live with what is not good enough. But it is hard to accept that. Today is the World Cup final. All the teams did their best. But when their best was not enough, they felt so sad and disappointed. Many of them cried like children. When our best is not good enough, it is hard to swallow. But sometimes I wonder, Did I really do my best? Doing our best is a very subjective statement. Often, it is a convenient way of explaining away of not going further when we could. It is a comfortable excuse to close the door for new possibilities. It is rational justification for accepting the status quo and doing nothing about it. I hope that we don't use doing our best as a coverup for

Scripture Passage Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:8-14 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script A Special Christmas It is wonderful to celebrate Christmas together. It is special to have Christmas on Sunday. Every 7 years or so, Christmas falls on Sunday. Christmas is a special day for many people. Christmas brightens up December. It brings joy to all of us. May God's peace and joy fill you all. Your presence here brightens up this Christmas. Christmas is not a celebration of the few privileged. Christmas is a celebration of everybody regardless of who you are. Jesus Christ was born for all of us, especially for those who cannot help themselves. The First to Hear God revealed the message of Christmas to the shepherds. When we think about shepherds, we have this romantic image. But in reality, the shepherds were not necessarily romantic people who lived a romantic life. They lived a nomadic life, but not necessarily a romantic life. They were not considered as highly respected people in Jesus' time. They often attacke

Scripture Passage James 5:7-10 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Moving Forward No matter how good life is at the moment, it is never complete. As long as we live, there is still more to live for. As long as I have breath, my work is not yet done. This is how St. Paul lived. He did not remain comfortable or complacent in the present. He continually strained toward what lay ahead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-13) The expectation of what lay ahead fueled St. Paul. The expectation of something better, something more complete than the present. If we don't have expectations, something we're striving for, we're not

Scripture Passage Isaiah 11:1-10 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script A Beautiful Dream We reflected on the beautiful dream of Isaiah last week. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4) It is a beautiful dream. Prophets are prophets not because they have the ability to foresee what will happen in the future, not because they are able to speak a strong moral message, but because they are able to dream when nobody can dare to dream. They are able to see the vision nobody can imagine. They have prophetic dreams and prophetic visions. Today, we hear another beautiful dream of Isaiah. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing ch

Scripture Passage Isaiah 2:1-5 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Expressing Visions People always live with dreams and visions. No matter how difficult life may be, they always come up with dreams and visions. We are built that way. We are built to be dreamers. Without dreams and visions, we cannot survive. No Dream, No Life Look around us. People express their dreams and visions through their art, through their songs, and through their speeches. John Lennon sang he was a dreamer in his song, Imagine. You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one. The other day, I watched Michael Jackson's video, Heal the world. Heal the world Make it a better place For you and for me, and the entire human race Create a world with no fear Together we cry happy tears See the nations turn their swords into plowshares Michael Jackson quoted from the prophet Isaiah. They all dreamt about the world where there is no more fight, no more war, no more viole

Scripture Passage Joel 2:23-32 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Joel’s Prophecy We read Joel's prophecy today. Probably you never heard of the name Joel. Joel was a prophet in Israel. He lived near Jerusalem. We don't know exactly when he lived. But scholars estimate that he lived around 400 BC. Then, you can say he lived around the time Plato lived. Plato was born 427 BC. At that time, Israel went through the agricultural disaster. Not only they didn't have much rain but they had locust problems. Locusts are grasshoppers. They can be quite harmful to agriculture. They ate up all the crops. People starved to death. They were devastated. Their environment was beyond their control. They could do nothing with their own power. They felt powerless and helpless. That's when God sent Joel. Joel – It is a good name. Joel – You have a good name. Joel = Jehovah is (my) God. When we go through devastation, when we feel helpless and hopeless, when we have no power left in us, when we see only darkness ahead of

Scripture Passage Luke 18:1-8 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script God Answers Jesus wants us to pray. Jesus want us to pray always. And Jesus wants us to pray and not to lose heart. That is what this parable is all about. These three things are pillars of prayer life. First, Jesus wants us to pray because God answers our prayer. Without this faith, our prayers become meaningless. Jesus himself believed that. He prayed whenever he had to make big decisions such as calling disciples and accepting his death in Gethsemane. If we have faith that God answers our prayers, then we can pray to God. Jonah prayed to God. Elijah prayed to God. Jeremiah prayed to God. Moses prayed to God. Job prayed to God. Paul prayed to God. They all prayed to God because they believed that God would answer their prayers. This is what Jesus said. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24) This is what Jeremiah said. Call to me and I will answer you, and

Scripture Passage Luke 17:11-19 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Thankful Heart Happy Thanksgiving! We have gathered together this morning with a thankful heart for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. We thank God for the family, friends, and the church. We thank God for providing what we need and more. We thank God for giving us peace and joy. We thank God for the wonderful life. There are so many things we are thankful for. The other day, I went to London for the induction of the Rev. Son. On the way to London, we saw leaves changing their colour. We thank God for the beautiful nature we enjoy. We should take care of our natural environment. More than anything else, we thank God FOR THE THANKFUL HEART we can have. The heart to be thankful – It is hard to have. Without a thankful heart, we cannot enjoy what we have. True joy comes not when you have the abundance but when you recognize your abundance. When you know how to appreciate the abundance you have, you will have the deep joy. Tr

Scripture Passage Luke 17:5-10 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Nature of Discipleship Today's passage is a difficult one. Right away, we're not comfortable with the language of slaves and masters. Jesus' story about the slave seems harsh. What is Jesus saying? Is he saying that we should treat those who work for us harshly? Is he saying that everyone in inferior positions should just keep their heads down and do as they're told? We shouldn't generalize this to apply to every situation. It's not a license for bosses to abuse and exploit their employees. It doesn't mean you should just accept any treatment from your bosses or superiors. In today's story, Jesus is talking to his disciples. He is talking about the nature of discipleship. He is telling them what their attitude should be when they serve others. This is what he said: Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, We are worthless slaves; we have done only wh