Recent Sermons
Easter Sunday Message: “Outside the Empty Tomb”
[Text] John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
*** *** *** ***
This report in the fourth Gospel, in the form of John’s narrative, has served as a powerful factor in the history of faith. But as this Gospel itself makes clear, we must go beyond the mere fact. The text tells us that the vacated tomb is no doubt a powerful symbol of the Resurrection.
The tomb is empty and the stone is rolled back. As Peter and the other disciples came into the tomb, they also found the tomb seemingly damaged. But we need to note that it was in the dark that something has happened. In the dark, we tend to lose sight. We tend to lose serenity, and our faith may stand on a little shaky ground.
It is a puzzling, even a frightening report, and it could have a rational explanation. They come to their conclusion immediately: someone has stolen the body of Jesus. And then, they simply went back home.
Like Mary Magdalene and those disciples, sometimes we jump to conclusions too fast. Maybe it goes without full knowledge or without having all the facts. And, we reach unwarranted conclusions. This can be “jumping conclusion bias” – also called jumping to conclusions (JTC). It often results in fear, doubt, or even disconnection of relationship. Suppose that you were scheduled to meet with a friend of yours for dinner on the weekend. Now you got an email from the friend. Just by reading the subject line “Dinner” from the email, you assume it would be about canceling the dinner you were planning. You might be aggravated and a little bit hurt. However, after you open the email, you realize that your friend simply wanted to confirm. What if you shut the email in disgust and not show up at the appointed time?
Outside the tomb, Mary is confused and sorrowful. The heavenly messengers speak to her, and then Jesus himself appears to her. It is this that leads to her confession, “I have seen the Lord,” and makes her a witness. She eventually got the reality. She got out of her spiritual darkness in the dark of a day.
John is clear about his reason for giving us this story, as he tells us why he has written this Gospel. This story was written, so that people may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that all the readers may live in his name. Mary meets the Risen Christ for herself, and it is that finally makes all the difference.
What John’s Gospel emphasizes is that the stone is rolled back and we are free. Sin cannot conquer God’s Son. Death cannot hold the Lord’s Christ. The empty tomb and the removed big stone tell us of the victory of God’s love. It tells us of our freedom from sin. It tells us of our freedom from fear.
During this Coronavirus crisis, many people are in stay-at-home mode. We’ve never had this kind of routine in our recent human history. In a sense, this is one of the greatest opportunities that enables us to think about many things in life. So, let’s think about some serious things: God-and-human, life-and-death, and fear-and-death. In the Book of Job in the Old Testament, Job is afflicted with all kinds of horrible adversity, losing his family and properties. And he is suffering with disease. He even wishes that his birth had been shrouded in darkness. He longs to have never been born, feeling that his life only intensifies his misery. He grows sarcastic, impatient, and afraid. God eventually intervenes, commanding Job to be brave, and explains various detailed features of his creation. With the sense of God’s presence, Job eventually recognizes God’s infinite power. And he accepts the limit of his human understanding. God then restores Job’s life remarkably. The conclusion of the story is that Job didn’t give up hope and faith in God. He became inspiration to everyone enduring suffering of their own. Fear cannot be an overwhelming factor in our faith. We believers are not in control of fear. When we accept the limit of our human understanding, then God gives us assurance as much as Job had.
In John’s account, Mary Magdalene has lost the one who is her best friend that is Jesus, and was inside a dark hole herself with a boulder blocking out the air and light. Then the heavenly messengers spoke to her, and Jesus himself came to her in the midst of her confusion, speaking her name. Jesus spoke to Mary Magdalene. In that moment, all was changed.
Initially, she had mistaken Jesus for the gardener, just as she assumed that the empty tomb meant the grave having been robbed. It is when Jesus called her name that Mary recognized him as her teacher and Christ. And even in this moment, Jesus made it clear to Mary that the appropriate response was not to cling to the earthly Jesus but to “go and bear witness to the one who is ascending to the Father”. And she rushed back to the town. Based on her experience, Mary’s witness was crystal clear: “I have seen the Lord.”
A German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg said of the resurrection in a magazine interview. “The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.” The encounter with the resurrected Jesus Christ changed Mary Magdalene as a daring fearless woman. She became a diligent seeker of Christ. Jesus told her, “Go to my brothers and tell them” (John 20:17). And, she obeyed. Being the first messenger of the Resurrection, she became a bold and vibrant woman to carry the Good News to Apostles. By this, Thomas Aquinas calls Mary Magdalene as an “Apostle to the Apostles”.
When Mary Magdalene informed the Good News to those who were living with fear and fear of death, the message was “Jesus is Alive”. She became a woman of hope and life changer. Jesus stands at your doorstep and knocks to enter into your house, enter into your hearts and enter into your petty world (Revelation 3:20). If you believe that the resurrection happened, you must change your life because the implications of not changing are unthinkable. Believing the Resurrection means daring change in life that has been in darkness.
Nowadays, so many things in life are up in the air or on hold or have been canceled because of COVID-19. It’s like a tomb in the dark. We don’t know where its end is. We may not find Jesus there. We may feel we lost Jesus for good. We may even mistake the truth for something delusive. We need some hope. We need the kind of hope that comes from God through Risen Christ Jesus. Bible helps us to gain hope through many verses during this fear and dreadful situation.
God is at work for us. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). God will protect you. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). “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). So, you don’t have to fear, “for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 40:10). Jesus encourages us by saying, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes” (Luke 12:22-26). Just think first of his kingdom and his righteousness. Jesus even assures us, saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms” for you (John 14:1-2).
Many of us may feel this situation of COVID-19 as a dark tomb. However, there is a tremendous amount of hope out there; Jesus is near us, and is ready to speak to us. When you feel empty in your heart, meaningless in your life, or fearful of anything, just look upon Jesus who has risen and is with you, standing smiling at you in peace.
Outside the empty tomb – It is where Mary’s crying changed to bliss of meeting Jesus. It is where the Risen Christ comes to meet us and speaks our names, so that we know the truth of the Resurrection and tell our own stories of the stone rolled away and the empty tomb. Yes, the resurrection of Jesus is our great hope. Christ is risen! Alleluia!
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you, now and always. Amen.
* * * * *
(Prayer)
Almighty God, for our redemption you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death. Make us die every day to sin so that we may live with him forever in the joy of his resurrection. We celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s Resurrection. Grant that we may be raised from the death of sin, from fear of disease, by your life-giving Spirit. As Mary Magdalene got confidence before you, we pray we keep hope in you, rather than losing our heart. Like Mary, we want to confidently say “I have seen the Lord” and “I have gotten hope in Jesus”. In this time of COVID-19, we think of people surrounding us. Have mercy on those in fear or illness or financial difficulty or job loss. Strengthen them and empower them with your Spirit. Lord, be with all of us in this time of uncertainty. You are the stronghold, shelter of our lives, and source of healing and peace. We praise your name. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
———————————–
Palm Sunday Message: “Palm Sunday in the Middle of Pandemic”
[Text] Matthew 21:6-11
21:6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;
21:7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.
21:8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
21:9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
21:10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?”
21:11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
* * * * *
Today is Palm Sunday as well as Passion Sunday. Palm symbolizes Jesus’ triumph and victory. Passion here means the suffering and death of Jesus (Here it doesn’t mean strong desire for someone or something). It is the day that the church celebrates the final 7 days of Jesus’ earthly ministry before his Crucifixion.
Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a colt and also a donkey. Then people called out, “Hosanna!”, which means “Save us now!” They were hailing Christ as King.
The day when Jesus entered Jerusalem was a day of great hope for people who had lived in hopelessness. People were suffering from loneliness, disease, and most of all, suffering from separation from God which was a serious sin. This year, Palm Sunday gives us a significant lesson to us, as we are getting through the Coronavirus crisis.
In 2003, we’ve experienced the SARS outbreak. Now we are in 2020, and our world is facing something that has never been known to human beings. Many people have been spun into a paranoia about Coronavirus or COVID-19 by media. Some of that fear is justified, and some of it creates anxiety that hurts more than it helps. Currently, the virus is quickly changing the landscape of our world. I want to think together with you about how we, as Christians, are called to respond in times like this.
Many churches around the world are temporarily closed, with other public services and businesses limited by governments’ measures and by social distancing rules. We don’t know the final outcome of this crisis. We haven’t seen the end of it yet. And even though many people who got infected by this virus are recovered, there is still mounting fear, not just from the virus itself but from all aftermath happening around it. It’s changing people’s lives. It’s affecting every aspect of our society – education, church, business, economy, health… Some people say that it’s time to reset the world. No matter what this time is called, it’s time of uncertainty. And, it’s time for us to intentionally get peace. It’s time to find peace from God. Then, what should we do?
First of all, fear not. The Lord said in the Book of Isaiah, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 40:10). In Matthew ch. 6, our Lord Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). As we consider how to do life in the midst of mass confusion and widespread fear, it may be difficult to put these words into action in our lives. How do we “not worry about tomorrow” while we hear and watch the news about increase of the patients everyday?
Remember. Viral fear may be worse than the virus itself. I’m a cancer survivor. At the time of the diagnosis over a decade ago, I was very vulnerable to all the information about the cancer. I was extremely fearful of death. But I was able to overcome it, by laying all down before God, and entrusting everything of me to God’s hands. Obviously, faith helped me. It was not fear but faith that worked. This faith is in the core of the Resurrection of Christ. This faith takes away all of that kind of fear. I don’t fear death. God is going to take care of you and me while we’re on this earth. And, when it’s my time to go, is my time to go. Fear will always knock at your door, but just don’t invite it in to stay. Fear, many times, makes illness much worse.
Philippians ch. 4 reminds us with this. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Then it continues that the peace of God transcends all understanding and will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Notice that this passage was from “The Letter to the Philippians”. It was written by Apostle Paul while he was in prison. Paul was able to manage his anxiety and fear, not with pessimism but with thanksgiving, even during his own imprisonment for his mission.
In this season of the virus, we may all recognize how terrifying life would be, particularly when we are challenged by all kinds of media that tend to spread another type of virus. That virus is fear of darkness. How much are you overwhelmed by false media?
In the crisis, we need to remember that God is at work. Even though we don’t know at the time what’s happening in every situation, we know that God is much bigger than the Coronavirus. God is in control for our salvation. Everything is for the glory of God’s great name, and God’s glory is eventually for the love for us, for God’s children.
It’s time for us to think about God, and connect to God. We can spiritually connect with God by prayer, by reading the Words of God, and by meditating the truth of God. Our physical distancing does not mean the spiritual distancing between God and us. God is in all places. God is sovereignly in control of whole universe. God is our ever-present help in time of need. God listens to us and encourages us in all circumstances. God is with us.
This is the time when we need love; we need to love our neighbors in compassion. There may be many isolated people in your neighborhood. You can take advantage of this time to show compassion and love. Don’t miss this opportunity. You can build each other up. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). This is one of our greatest opportunities to give our love to those forgotten. While social distancing is encouraged in every corner of society, we can get closer to each other somehow, whether it’s through technology or whatever else. The virus will never conquer our love for God, and love for one another.
We’re to be cared for, as members of God’s eternal family. We’re not a part of the darkness. We’re a part of the kingdom of God. We’re part of the family of God. In this difficult time, I’m praying for the grieved families and individuals who lost their loved one. I’m praying for those undergoing treatment. If anyone in your family has been inflicted with the virus or broken-hearted, I pray God to comfort you and your family. I also pray for those whose jobs or hours have been cut due to economic decline. I pray for parents struggling to work and care for their children. May God strengthen those who are suffering physically and emotionally.
I’d like to encourage you to thank those first-responders, health-care workers and those who are fighting Coronavirus. Their continuous efforts and hard work have to be noticed and applauded. Let’s express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to those directly battling Coronavirus on the front line, while we are maintaining physical distancing.
For us, it’s time to think of how vulnerable and how volatile we are. It’s the opportunity to demonstrate love, peace, faith, by overcoming anxiety and fear. With all our hearts, let’s trust that God is in control, and that what God does is right and good. Let’s keep resilience in us as believers.
On a day before Crucifixion, Jesus came into Jerusalem to suffer, so that the world could reconcile human to God. He was supposed to be hung on the Cross soon; it was to be sorrow, but Jesus took up his sorrow willingly, so that the world could have unconditional grace, peace, and joy of salvation.
Like the days when Jesus entered Jerusalem, many people in Coronavirus crisis today feel anxiety and hopelessness. But we hear from today’s text that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, a large crowd spread branches from the trees and spread them on the road. See what were being spread there! It was palm branches. It was an expression of hope. People were welcoming the Lord, praising the Lord, and shouting “Hosanna!” There was no anxiety or fear or hopelessness there. This is why we followers of Jesus are not anxious. It’s because we find our hope in the Lord.
On this Palm Sunday, we are called to think about human suffering and Jesus’ victory. We are called to closer to God in response to God’s unconditional grace and his gift of Son, Jesus. May we find a shelter of peace in the Lord in this season! In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
* * * * *
(Prayer)
Gracious God, as we are getting through the Coronavirus pandemic, we now think of many things in our lives. We thank you for the first-responders and health-care workers. We thank you for those who are serving all in need in this challenging time. Lord, we admit that you are in control in everything. Come to us, in the midst of the global spread of the virus, that we may experience your healing love.
We remember those isolated and those vulnerable in our community. We pray that with the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus showed, the fearful are encouraged, the sick are recovered well. Heal us from our fear and anxiety. Heal us from our pride and arrogance.
We pray that we, as the church, would look for ways to reach out to families in our community to provide for them and show them the love of Christ. We pray that we all would be reminded of our hope in Christ. We pray that we all would be reminded of the truth that the Savior died and rose for us and has already overcome the world. We pray that people here would be unified as one church, encouraging one another. As we celebrate Palm Sunday, we rejoice the name of Jesus and are glad in him.
We thank and praise that your love endures forever! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
———————————————————————
“Let Your Conscience Be Your Mirror”
[Text] Amos 8:4-7 (NIV)
Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”— skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The LORD has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done.”
—————————————————————-
“The Image of You”
[Text] Exodus 32:7-8 (NIV)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’
———————————————————————
Gatherings & Outreach at KPC Weyburn
-
Sunday Morning Worship: Every Sunday at 10:30 am
-
Sunday School: Every Sunday at 10:30 am
-
Bible Talk (Weekly Bible Study): Every Wednesday at 7:00 pm/ Every Thursday at 1:00 pm
-
PALM Praise Nights (Schedule announced on church Facebook)
-
Youth Rising Up (Youth Group gathering): Every other Tuesday at 6:30 pm
-
Happy Hour: Every 1st Sunday at 5:00 pm during winter months from November to March (See Facebook for detail)
-
Confirmation class: January till March
-
Vacation Bible School: Based on seasonal schedule
-
Canada Youth gatherings: Based on denominational schedule
-
Music Concerts: Based on seasonal schedule
-
Other Seasonal Activities: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, Craft Sale, Easter Feast, Indoor sports, Kids Club, etc
