Chesterbrook Taiwanese Presbyterian Church

This is bit dated, but I just wanted to pass along this video via Voice of America featuring Steve Park of Little Lights and his work in inner city D.C. Steve obviously needs no introduction, but it’s neat to see the way God is using Little Lights to affect change in the city. This year also happens to be Little Lights’ 15 year anniversary. They will be celebrating on Friday, October 22nd in Arlington Grab some friends and support the ministry!

Michael Oh from Urbana 09 on Vimeo.

We have the great privilege of hosting Michael Oh for the weekend of September 25-26. Join us on Saturday evening at 7:30 pm for worship, a message by Michael Oh, followed by a light reception. On Sunday morning, Michael will be the preacher for the English Service which starts at 11:30 am. There will be special offering for his mission work in both services.

Dr. Michael Oh is president and founder of Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya, Japan and father of four daughters Hannah, Mikaela, Eowyn, and Elliot and one son Michael Jr. Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Michael attended the University of Pennsylvania as an undergraduate where he also received his Master’s degree in Education and his PhD in Leadership and Cultural Anthropology on a Kellogg scholarship. Michael received his seminary training at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he earned a Master of Divinity degree.

In 1998-99 Michael and his wife Pearl served as short-term missionaries with Mission to the World during which time they planted Chita Zion Presbyterian Church. After that term Michael completed a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies on a Regional Studies scholarship at Harvard University with a concentration in Japanese anthropology and sociology. Michael and his family moved back to Japan in January of 2004 before founding Christ Bible Seminary in April 2005.

Christ Bible Seminary is the fastest growing seminary in Japan making an impact among young Christians seeking a renewed vision for the next generation of Christianity in Japan. The ministry of Christ Bible Seminary also includes a sizable new church plant, All Nations Fellowship, lay training, and a contemporary worship event for young people called Heart and Soul which is the largest regular meeting of young Christians in Nagoya. Michael is a PCA Teaching Elder in the Philadelphia Presbytery and the youngest member of the executive leadership of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.

Here’s my attempt to explain the gospel using John 3:16. Any suggestions or tweaks that would make this better?

For God so loved the world…

By nature, God is the giver of life and everything good. God created and designed the world to operate perfectly with Him at the center. God created us to know him and for us to enjoy the world he made. This is what our world was supposed to look like.

But our experience tells us that the world isn’t the way it is supposed to be. Just watch the news for a day and you’ll get depressed.  Watch Jersey Shore and you’ll get even more depressed. But you don’t need to watch TV to know that our world is messed up. For many of you, this isn’t conceptual, but something that is real and hits close to home. Not only is the world around us messed up. But our inner world is also messed up as well. Inasmuch as we want to contain that mess so that no one can see, it doesn’t take much for the mess the spill out. My friend calls us overstuffed Twinkies. All it takes is a little pressure for the cream to ooze out into the open.

At the root of it all, our mess is a result of rejecting and rebelling against God’s intentions. God’s intention is for us to live under his good rule and care, but we would rather rule our own lives and care for only ourselves. Consequently, everything and everyone (including God) revolves around us, rather than God. The world is jacked because it’s full of people who think they know what they are doing.

But the amazing thing is that God doesn’t just love the world when it’s going well, but even when it’s jacked. God doesn’t just love the world in a sentimental kind of way, but it lead to a specific action.

He gave his one and only Son…

God didn’t just love from a distance, but he wrote himself into the story by entering our mess that we created. God sent Jesus to fix the mess we created that we couldn’t fix on our own. But how does he do this? The Bible says that when Jesus came, he came to show us what the kingdom of God is like and who the real King is. In other words, Jesus gives us glimpses of what the world would look like if He were in charge. Jesus showed the world that his reign would be one of love and justice, a world that we all want and long for.

But if God’s kingdom requires justice, what is to become of all of us who have rejected and rebelled against the King? The cost for our rebellion is death, both spiritual and physical. We can’t demand justice for the world and not apply it to ourselves. A renewed world starts with a renewed person.

God shows his love and justice through the cross where Jesus dies the death we deserved to die. Along with absorbing the cost of our disobedience, our mess can be forgiven, and the estranged relationship between you and God has been renewed and restored. It’s the cross that gives us hope for our complete restoration. This is what Jesus came to do for you. But there’s something you have to do in light of this.

… that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God has taken the initiative to love you and to remove any obstacles that get in the way. God has opened the door for this to happen. You can to continue to reject God and continue to attempt to live life without God. Or you can stop rejecting God and accept Jesus as your Savior and King. Whoever you are, no matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, the invitation is open for you to believe in Jesus and trust in what He did for you. The amazing promise is that those who do believe in Jesus will not perish, but have life eternal.

This is not an easy decision, but it is a critical decision. What will it be?