Author: Japanese Congregational Church

Mark the date for this year’s annual Japanese Women’s Christian Luncheon! A wonderful opportunity for fellowship, outreach, and networking. Invite your “not-yet-believing” friends to a great program and a delicious lunch. This is a wonderful way to introduce them to Jesus. The guest speaker will be Mari Fukusaku, mother of 4, grandmother of 2, and serving as the Associate Pastor at the Vancouver Japanese Gospel Church.

September 25, 2026 (Friday)

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Westminster Chapel / 13646 NE 24th St. Bellevue, WA 98005

(Ticket Sales close on September 18th)

Mark 8:22-26

²²They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” ²⁴And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

In the beginning of the chapter, Jesus miraculously feeds another large crowd – This time four thousand people.

Then the Pharisees come and argue with Jesus, asking for a sign from heaven.

Then Jesus warned the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. Jesus was talking about the Pharisees seeing and experiencing great powers of God that Jesus was performing, and yet not being able to believe that Jesus was sent by God. But the disciples misunderstand and think that Jesus was complaining about the fact that they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus reminds them about the two great feeding miracles that the disciples witnessed. He seemed to be a bit frustrated by the fact that although they had witnessed five thousand men (and their families) being fed with just five loaves of bread and two fish, when Jesus tells them that they were going to feed the four thousand people, the disciples thought this was not possible.

Then Jesus cures a blind man at Bethsaida.

After this, Mark writes about Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah. But soon after, when Jesus tells them that He will be rejected by the religious leaders, suffer and be killed, and be resurrected three days later, Peter rebukes Him.

At first glance, the healing of the blind man seemed to have failed, since after Jesus laid hands him, the man was no longer blind, but could not see clearly. He could tell that there were people, but they looked like walking trees. So, Jesus lays His hands on the man’s eyes the second time, and now the man could see clearly.

The fact that Jesus had to lay hands on the man twice seemed to have bothered the other gospel writers, since they do not include this narrative at all. So, what was the reason that Mark included this narrative and placed it here – What can we glean from this?

Physically, most of us are in the stage of life where we feel good when upon finding out our age, a person is surprised because he or she thought we were much younger. But for our spiritual maturity, it would not be a positive thing if someone who observes us is surprised that we are not more Christ-like than we are, considering how long we have been Christians.

Physically, as time passes, we cannot help but keep growing older. However, spiritually, we do not automatically mature with the passage of time. Not only that, it is also possible to regress in our spiritual maturity.

In Galatians 5, Paul states that the flesh-filled life is the opposite of the Spirit-filled life. Among the works of the flesh, he lists strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions and envy. By contrast, he lists the fruit of the Spirit – Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I have been a Christian for over fifty years now. Am I more loving, more joyful, etc.? I think I am, but fifty years’ worth more loving, more joyful? Do I still have things like jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions? Might be a little less, but not fifty years’ worth less.

In regard to our knowledge about our faith, Hebrews 5:12 keeps me grounded – “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food;”

There are things I can teach from memory – Basic guitar playing and basic photography. As far as Biblical knowledge, I often need to consult reference materials to dig below the surface.

For Spiritual maturity and Biblical knowledge, we all could be doing better. For Mark’s audience, it was a much more difficult time. When being a Christian could lead to arrest, torture and death, there were many more opportunities to distrust what they were taught and to give up their faith.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

When Peter rebuked Jesus, what Jesus was telling them seemed like foolishness. Peter believed and declared that Jesus was the Messiah. Since Peter believed that the Messiah would establish His kingdom forever, it made to sense to him that Jesus would die. Coming back to life three days after being killed also made no sense, since Peter knew that once someone dies, he is dead – he does not come back to life.

Fast-forward to the second chapter of Acts, where on Pentecost, Peter stands before a crowd and preaches that Jesus, who was crucified and was resurrected on the third day, is the Messiah, and through Him, their sins can be forgiven.

Just like the blind man, when Peter encountered Jesus, he was no longer blind to God’s truth. The way he saw his life changed dramatically. However, like the blind man, Peter’s sight was not perfectly clear yet. Clear site did not come to Peter until after Jesus’ death and resurrection and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

For us too, the healing of our spiritual blindness can come in stages. When Jesus touches us, we see the world in a whole new way. But we may not see clearly what our roles are, and this is revealed to us in stages.

Same with our spiritual growth. It takes time and different faith experiences.

If we know that we are still lacking in the fruits of the Spirit, we should pray that we would be more open to the Spirit’s guidance and less to our own desires. But also know that the Lord will continue to work with us and will continue to cause us to grow spiritually, if we do not fight Him.

The blind man knew well of his blindness, wanted sight, and was given it in stages. Peter thought he saw things clearly, but he did not until much later. Both of these men should give us the hope that we too can continue to grow more like Christ.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on August 9, 2026.)

Psalm 146

1 Praise the LORD. [1] Praise the LORD, O my soul. 2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them– the LORD, who remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.

As we watch the news and read our newspapers, we are reminded of the various issues that our society and world face. Some are large, like the wars that rage in many parts of our world. Some are smaller in scale, like our Seattle Police Department and various changes that are happening there recently. And of course, many, many more.

As citizens, we hold opinions, and we wonder how we should relate to these problems. We listen to the voices of various leaders. Some we agree with, some we don’t. But in all of this, we seek for leaders who can inspire us, provide direction, maybe even lead us out of some of these problems. Even when we become a bit jaded, or cynical, we still recognize the value of good leadership in government.

In the Bible we also see Israel seeking and praying for good leaders to help them out of troubling times. In the book of Psalms, particularly, we see many instances where “good and just leaders” are prayed for. Of course, this was before democracy as we know it, so the prayers in Psalms were usually for a “good, wise, and just king” to lead them.  Many of these are referred to as the “royal psalms”.  (Psalm 2, 18, 20, 21, 72, 144, are some examples) In Psalm 72 we have this example of the king (King Solomon) being described in the following way:

May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice. (Psalm 72: 2)

For the king delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy, 
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life. (Psalm 72:12–14a)

At the end of Psalms, we have another group of poems that have often been called the “Hallelujah Psalms”. These refer to Psalm 146-150, the last 5 psalms in the book. They get their name from the fact that every one of these psalms begins and ends with the phrase  “Hallelujah” in Hebrew, or “Praise the Lord.”

However, in the final “Hallelujah Psalms”, Ps. 146-150, the emphasis changes from an earthly king, to God himself, who saves and lifts up the oppressed. All of the things that a good earthly king was supposed to be involved in, are now things that God Himself does for his people. In our text for today, those acts of God are listed in verses 7-9:

• God executes justice for the oppressed. 
• God gives food to the hungry.
• God sets the prisoners free.
• God opens the eyes of the blind.
• God lifts up those who are bowed down.
• God loves the righteous.
• God watches over the aliens
• God upholds the orphans and the widows.
• But God brings the way of the wicked to ruin. 
  

The justice that used to be the King’s responsibilities (in the earlier royal psalms) now becomes solely the work of God Himself. And not only that, but in today’s text we have the unusual warning in verse 3 –  “don’t put your trust in princes” …. Or, to put it another way, “don’t pin your hopes on human leaders – they are unable to save, and unable to provide salvation and real help for you. Only God can do that.”

If only God can really help us, should we then avoid any participation in politics and government? If only God can really save us, should we quit voting and other political involvement completely? No, that can’t be right!  So how can we find a proper balance between “trusting only God, not human leaders”…..and “being involved in society and government?” How do we do that?

I believe that Psalm 146 gives us some clear hints as to how that might be possible. If we sing and pray this Psalm over and over again, what effect would it have on us?

1. Of course, we would constantly be reminded, by verse 3-4, that we are NOT to place our hope in humans or human institutions. Though they may do much good at times, our hope is not in them. Any allegiance to partisanship, political party, or even dynamic leaders will need to take a back seat to our total trust in God.
2. As we sing, pray, and meditate on this psalm, we become very aware of the people for whom God is constantly working  – those who are suffering: those who are oppressed, poor, hungry, immigrants and aliens, orphans and widows, those who are marginalized. In the same way that our prayer for a specific situation often leads us to be involved in the solution of that situation, our praise and worship of a God who is constantly helping those who suffer…..leads us to also get involved with those who are suffering and have needs. We find in singing our praise of a loving and just God….that our own hearts become more and more involved in that work of love and justice.

We can find a balance: a “NO” to totally trusting human leaders and institutions… but, nevertheless, a “YES” to action on behalf of our neighbor and community.

God, you execute justice for the oppressed. God, you give food to the hungry. God, you set the prisoners free. God, you open the eyes of the blind. God, you lift up those who are bowed down. God, you love the righteous. God, you watch over the aliens. God, you uphold the orphans and the widows.　If You are doing all of this God, then I want to be part of it too! Show me how.

This is another way of balancing “Love God, Love Neighbor”

• We love God by trusting Him only.
• We love neighbor, by caring for our neighbor, community, nation, and world.  We act on their behalf – it may be through organized political groups, or it may be more individual – but we are moved to love our neighbor as ourself.

So, what’s the biggest take-away of Psalm 146?

When we praise and worship God, we are most changed. As we praise, God is shaping us. As we worship, God is shaping our actions, even our politics.

• We recognize the folly of depending on humans and political parties
• But… as we praise God and sing his praise, we recognize His work that is listed in verses 7-9. We sense that as God’s people, we are also to be involved in God’s salvation and work with the poor, oppressed, blind, imprisoned, immigrants and aliens, widows and orphans, etc.

Let us praise and worship the Lord! Hallelujah!

(the above is a summary of the message shared during worship on August 2, 2026.)

Here is a report from Anna in Japan about her Spring and Summer ministry. Check it out!

News from Anna!

Mark 7:14-23

¹⁴Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” ¹⁷When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, ¹⁹since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. ²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²²adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

After feeding the five thousand, Jesus walks on water and quiets the storm, further showing His followers that He has the power of God. They land in Gennesaret and the people bring their sick to Jesus and Jesus heals them.

Then some Pharisees and some scribes from Jerusalem object to the fact that some of Jesus’ disciples were not following the hand-washing rituals before eating. They ask Jesus why His disciples do not live according to the tradition of the elders.

Jesus responds by telling the people from Jerusalem that they are prioritizing the traditions over the intent of God’s commands. The example Jesus sites is that of Corban – Where people go against God’s command to take care of aging parents by declaring that the money that would have otherwise gone to the parents is instead being offered to God.

 As far as the hand-washing ritual, Jesus declares that people are not defiled by not following that tradition. In fact, nothing that goes into a person can defile them. Instead, what defiles a person are the things that come out of a person. He lists these things in verses 21-22.

After this, Jesus goes to Tyre where He has an encounter with a Syrophoenician woman. She has a daughter that has an unclean spirit and wants Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter. When Jesus tells her that His first priority is the children of Israel, the woman stresses that even dogs get to eat the crumbs that the children drop. Impressed by the woman’s faith and persistence, Jesus heals the daughter.

This narrative, combined with Mark’s comment in verse 19 that Jesus declared all foods clean, certainly seems to point to a time when the Gentiles will hear and accept the gospel.

Returning to the topic of traditions verses intent of the Lord’s commands, the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem were practicing formalism to the point where they were losing sight of the intent of God’s commands.

Today, churches are not too focused on religious rituals, but each church does have its own traditions, which were established over the years. It might be over things like how often to have communion; timing and method of baptism; infant baptism versus infant dedication; whether to hold Christmas Eve service; whether to have Christmas morning service; how to celebrate Palm Sunday; whether to have children in the worship service; whether to have, and how often to have – after service meals; requirements for membership (or to have memberships at all); what style of songs to sing and how many; whether or not to recite the Lord’s prayer, or Apostles’ Creed, etc. during services and how often.

There is nothing wrong with tradition, if we remember why we stick to them. When traditions become more important than the intent of why we have them, then we act like those men who came from Jerusalem. We end up majoring on the minor and minoring on the major.

It is easy to believe that there are things all around us that can defile us. There are things that entice us that we know would not be pleasing to God. Each of us has weaknesses of some kind and temptation is all around us.

But there is truth in what Jesus says about what truly defiles us. What defiles us does not come from outside of us. What defiles us comes from the human heart – Evil intentions.

So, what to do about all the temptations around us and on the internet? Paraphrasing Martin Luther, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair”. In other words, we cannot stop temptations from being all around us, but we ought not dwell on them nor act on them.

This is easier said than done, especially if we like some of the sins. We need to confess them as sins and ask for help from the Holy Spirit. We are to be under the influence of the Spirit, rather than under the influence of our sinful nature. It is difficult or impossible to resist our nature, but we are to be new creatures who are equipped to serve the Lord. The Holy Spirit is able to help us and will, as long as we are willing to follow His leading.

As for our traditions, let us enjoy them, but not lose sight of their original intent. When we get overly concerned about maintaining traditions, without honoring the content and purpose of those traditions, we are no different than the religious teachers from Jerusalem who questioned Jesus.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on July 26, 2026.)

Ezekiel 3:1-3

1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Jeremiah 15:16

16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.

Revelation 10:9a

9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. 

Scripture is filled with references to food, banquets, and meals that were shared. Jesus himself spends much of his time in ministry eating with others and enjoying conversation around shared meals. In today’s texts we have the unusual metaphor of “scripture AS food” – an image of “ingesting God’s Word” as one would physically partake of food.

Eat this book…

This strange and surprising command appears several times in Scripture: “Eat this book.” When the prophet Ezekiel was called by God, the Lord gave him a scroll and said: “Son of man, eat what you find here; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” Ezekiel opened his mouth, and God gave him the scroll to eat. Then he said: “So I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.”

God’s Word is not merely something to read or study. It is not simply information for our minds. God’s Word is something we are invited to receive deeply—to take it into our lives, allowing it to become part of who we are.

The prophet Jeremiah expressed the same truth: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.”
Jeremiah did not simply say, “I read your words,” or, “I have considered your words…” He said, “I ate them.” God’s Word became nourishment for his soul.

Many years later, the apostle John received a similar command from an angel in his vision: “Take it and eat it.”
Again, the message is clear: God’s Word must move from the outside to the inside. It must become part of us.

Jesus understood that human beings need more than physical food. When Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus answered: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

Jesus was not saying that physical bread is unnecessary. He fed the hungry and cared for people’s physical needs. But He reminded us that we have a deeper hunger—a hunger in our souls. That is why Jesus declared: “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” (John 6:35)

Jesus does not merely give us bread. Jesus Himself is our bread. He is the nourishment our souls need. Think about a meal prepared before us. We can admire it. We can study the recipe. We can talk about how wonderful it looks. But unless we eat it, it cannot give us strength. The same is true of God’s Word. We can own many Bibles. We can listen to sermons. We can study Scripture. But God’s Word changes us when we receive it deeply and allow it to enter our lives.

Today, may we hear God’s invitation to “eat” more fully of His word. There are MANY ways that we can be nourished through the Book, through the Word of God:

Hearing, studying, meditating, singing, and memorizing….could all be ways that we are “nourished” by God’s word.

Today we sang God’s word when we sang the words of  Matthew 4: “Man does not live by bread alone….but by every word that proceeds from God’s mouth.” We read God’s word as we looked at these three passages together. We studied and meditated on these same words. And we considered the fact that Christ Himself…told us “I Am the Bread of Life.” So we’re reminded that along with the book, the physical Bible, the visual Word of God, we also have a relationship with the Logos, the WORD – which was from the beginning.

“Take and eat.”

Receive His Word. Receive His promise. Receive Christ, the Bread of Life.

(the above is a summary of the message shared during our worship on July 12, 2026.)

Mark 6:30-44

³⁰The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³²And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. ³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. ³⁵When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; ³⁶send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” ³⁷But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²And all ate and were filled; ⁴³and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

Jesus goes back home and even though He impressed people with His wise teachings in the synagogue he is rejected because they knew that He was just a son of a carpenter.

Jesus then sends the Twelve on a mission and they do great work, casting out demons and healing the sick.

Meanwhile, John the Baptist is beheaded.

We now come to this morning’s passage. The Twelve return from the successful mission trip and Jesus wants to give them rest. There are so many people coming and going that the Twelve do not have time to eat. So, Jesus gets everyone on a boat and goes to a deserted place so that they could have some peace and rest. But the people follow them and soon there is a great crowd around them.

Although they are there to rest, Jesus begins to teach them many things. It gets late and the disciples suggest to Jesus that He should send the crowd away so that they could find food to eat. Five thousand men would mean that the crowd could be twenty thousand or more and yet, Jesus tells His disciples that they should give them something to eat. The disciples know that this is impossible and tell Jesus.

Jesus tells the disciples to see how much food they can find. They come back with five loaves and two fish. Jesus has them sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties, blesses the food and has His disciples pass it out. Everyone eats until they are full, and they collect twelve baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish.

What can we take away from this?

First, we see that Jesus prioritized God’s work over planned rest. He took his disciples to a deserted place so that they could have some rest and quiet. When the crowd showed up, instead of sending them away or telling them that they are unavailable, they minister to those who need to hear Jesus’ words.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says these words – ²⁸“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.   ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.Jesus is saying that if you are tired and burdened from doing Kingdom work, He will lighten it for you. Unlike how many people like to interpret this passage, He is not saying that if we are tired, we can stop doing Kingdom work. Instead, we are invited to take His yoke. A yoke is a tool to get work done, not a tool for resting. We see Jesus living this principle out in feeding the five thousand.

Second, we see how the Kingdom work is accomplished in this world. Jesus does not directly feed the crowd. He provides the power and the miracle, but the ones who pass out the food are the disciples. Likewise, the Lord will provide His love and power for us, so that we can carry out His work.

Third, we see that God’s powers are immense and go far beyond what we can imagine or hope for. There is no earthly way to feed such a crowd with five loaves and two fish, and yet, it was accomplished and with some leftovers.

But this does not imply that God will always provide much more than needed so that we can enjoy the leftovers. Twelve baskets full of leftovers seem like a large amount of food, and it would be for two people or for this congregation. However, when we realize that there might have been twenty thousand people, twelve baskets full would not be very much. More often, God provides exactly what is needed.

So, from this passage, we can be reminded that God’s power and love are immense, and that we have been saved so that we can do the Kingdom work – To witness to the world that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the World and that through Him, we can have eternal life. We are also reminded that there are many people around us that need salvation and that it can be tiring ministering to them, but we need to prioritize their needs over our own needs. The Lord will provide the rest we need, if we do His bidding.

The Lord fed a huge crowd with five loaves and two fish, with some tired disciples doing the work. He can certainly use us to spread His salvation to the unsaved.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on July 5, 2026.)

Mark 5:1-20

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. ²And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. ³He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; ⁴for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. ⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; ⁷and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” ⁸For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; ¹²and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” ¹³So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. ¹⁷Then they began to beg Jesus^£ to leave their neighborhood. ¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” ²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Jesus and His disciples cross the sea to the other side of Galilee – Verse 20 identifies the city as Decapolis, a gentile city.

This healing narrative is a little different than the others in that no one, including the demon-possessed, asks for this man to be healed. He is obviously not right in his mind and is demonstrating super-human strength.

When the man sees Jesus from a distance, he recognizes Jesus as the Son of God and comes running to Him and bows down. He seems to know that Jesus has the power over them and requests for Jesus not to torment him.

Jesus asks for the demon’s name, and the demon tells Him that he is many — A legion (four to six thousand). He asks Jesus for two things – To not send them out of the country, and instead, send them into the herd of swine. Jesus obliges, and the herd runs into the sea and drowns.

 The towns’ people heard about it and came to see what had happened. They saw the formerly demon-possessed man sitting quietly, fully clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid. They also were troubled by the economic cost of the pigs drowning and beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.

The formerly demon-possessed man begs to accompany Jesus, but Jesus refuses and tells him to go home and tell the people what the Lord did for him. The man obeys and begins to proclaim what Jesus had done for him in Decapolis, and everyone is amazed.

There are several things that we can glean from this passage.

When the man was possessed, he could not stand to be with Jesus. After he was healed, he wanted to spend his life with Jesus. After the herd of pigs ran into the sea and drowned, the towns’ people came to Jesus, but they wanted Him to go away. We must acknowledge that when we encounter people who will not come to church or refuse to hear the gospel, the enemy might be at work. There may be a spiritual element, and we should pray accordingly. Before we share the gospel, it may be a good idea to pray that if the enemy is at work to interfere with the gospel that their power would be bound in Jesus’ name.

It must have been encouraging to Mark’s audience that Jesus had the power to overcome the enemy. They were living in a time when they could be executed for their faith. They probably knew believers who had been tortured and killed for their faith. They probably sensed that the enemy was at work.

In today’s world, it seems that the enemy is at work. This passage is a good reminder to us and an encouragement that God’s power is far greater than Satan’s and for us not to lose hope or confidence in God.

We saw earlier when Jesus called the apostles, they were to leave everything and follow Him. When this man was healed of his demon-possession, he wanted to leave everything and follow Jesus. Instead, Jesus told him to go home and tell everyone how much the Lord had done for him. And the man did. It is significant that this is the first gentile mission that is recorded in Mark. This man was most likely a gentile, and the people he would be proclaiming about Jesus would also be gentiles.

We all know people who are not believers, and sometimes we just are at a loss as to how to witness to them about Jesus. What Jesus told the man is a good one – To tell everyone how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy He has shown you.

Sometimes what is needed is a logical explanation about mankind’s sins, how we cannot help ourselves, and that the only thing we can do for God to count us as righteous is the accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

 At other times, what people need to hear are all the wonderful things that God has done for us.

Each one of us has a different calling from God. Not everyone is called to be a pastor or preacher. But everyone is to be a witness for Jesus to those who are near to us as well as those who are far from us.

In some way, we need to let the world know how much the Lord has done for us and what mercy He has shown us. We need to tell them.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on June 28, 2026.)

Mark 4:10-13

¹⁰And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, ¹²so that “they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.” ¹³And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Jesus teaches using the parable of the sower. His followers were not quite understanding the meaning of the parable, so Jesus explains it to them. Then He follows this up by telling them about a lamp under a bushel basket, the parable of the growing seed, and the parable of the mustard seed.

In this morning’s passage, Jesus gives His explanation of why He is teaching using parables.

On the surface, one could interpret Jesus as saying that the secret of the kingdom of God is purposely kept away from unbelievers so that they are blocked from being forgiven and saved. We know this is not the case, since if it were so, none of us would have been able to become a believer.

Let us look at what Jesus teaches in this chapter.

The parable of the sower is a famous one. It describes how the word of God is spoken to all sorts of people. The result is that some reject it, some receive it initially… but do not stick with it, and some receive it and become fruitful Christians.

The message is to sow the seeds, regardless of the condition of the ground and do not be surprised that some will reject the gospel. When we sow, we should not concern ourselves with the end results. When we are commanded to sow, we sow – And leave the outcome to God.

Verses 21-22 – ²¹He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? ²²For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.” 

This tells us that just as a lamp is meant to provide light and not kept hidden, Jesus’ teachings are also meant to be understood, even though in the beginning it might sound like nonsense.

Verses 23-25 – “²³Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” ²⁴And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. ²⁵For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

This tells us that we need to pay attention to Jesus’ words and we will gain more knowledge each time we hear it. But if one stops listening to His words, then we go back to not understanding.

Jesus then tells the parable of the growing seed. Just like when we plant seeds, we don’t know which one will eventually produce something good. We also do not know exactly why or how they grow. Likewise, we cannot know exactly how the gospel will grow or not grow for each person to whom we witness.

Jesus finishes up this series of teachings with the parable of the mustard seed. The message here is that from insignificant beginnings, there can come oversized results for the kingdom of God.

So, what is the secret of the kingdom of God that Jesus has given to believers, including us?

The secret becomes obvious to believers but is puzzling to non-believers. Paul writes at the start of his first letter to the Corinthians – “¹⁸For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. . . ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,   ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,   ²⁴but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

For us who believe, the cross of Christ is the power of God that saves us. But for those who do not believe it sounds like nonsense. Jews were looking for a Messiah that would establish His eternal kingdom, so a Messiah who dies is a stumbling block. For the non-Jews, the idea that someone could come back from the dead, as well as the idea that our sins could be cleansed by someone dying for us seems like foolishness.

Even though the gospel of Jesus Christ is hard to understand for non-believers, it is God’s desire to shine the light on them and not keep them in the darkness. Our job as believers, is to continue to preach and witness for salvation through Jesus. We are not to worry about the outcome, knowing that the darkness may not be lifted immediately, or at all.

We also are not to take credit for people coming to Christ, since that is the power of God that saves. We are the sower but only God can save. And when we are feeling insignificant or wonder if our efforts are too small, remember that even a small mustard seed can grow to house the nests of birds.

Jesus makes it clear that we have been entrusted with the secret of the kingdom of God. We are not to keep it a secret. We are not to keep the light of Christ underneath a bushel basket.

We were all in darkness at one point. There was a time that when people told us about Jesus, we thought it was all nonsense. But people who have been given the secret of the kingdom of God kept sharing with us, even though we rejected it many times. Somewhere down the line, the seed took hold and sprouted.

It is our turn to be a fruitful Christian and start sharing the secret by sowing the seed – Whether we think the soil is good or bad, whether we think the time is inconvenient, sow the seed. That is our mission and our work in appreciation for the salvation that has been given to us.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on June 14, 2026.)

Ecclesiastes 3:11

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Our text today is both short….and well-loved. The author, and “teacher” is Solomon, the third king of Israel. As you know, he was known for his wisdom, which he had received from God because he asked for it.  He is also the writer of Proverbs, the book that directly precedes this one.

In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon reflects on the futility of all human endeavor. The writing seems very negative and dour. No matter how hard we try, the finish is always the same…we die. The righteous often are put down, the unrighteous often seemingly get by with sin.

Wealth…… the more you have the more you want. No satisfaction.

Power….. it seems to corrupt.

Wisdom…. the more you get, the more miserable (sorrowful) you seem to get.

Fun….. temporary, but not satisfactory

The writer concludes that all is vanity, meaningless, useless.

However, his conclusion is drawn on the assumption that we are talking about “under the sun”, what we can see and experience by our own senses, i.e., life without God. When we include God in the equation, the writer seems to draw different conclusions.  And today we want to look at a beautiful verse in chapter 3. Verse 11.

1. God has made everything beautiful in its time.

Will all things become beautiful in God’s time? If we wait?

• We can think of an easy example from nature: we plant a seed in the ground, the sun shines, the rain provides water; we wait – and yes, in time a beautiful flower appears and grows!
• Or, we might consider a more difficult situation. A loved one of ours is diagnosed with cancer…and dies. Will this situation become beautiful in time? Is that what we should expect? Well, not exactly. Here we recognize that while the sickness itself, or the result of that sickness (the death of our loved one) may never be beautiful, yet – we may through that tragedy experience a growth in our faith, or endurance, or dependence on God – and all of these results would be beautiful!
• Or what about a more extreme example – our present world – filled with war and hate, murder, and greed. Do these become beautiful? No, of course not! But again, God works in his time and way…to bring beauty into our lives, even through these sinful and wicked ways of humanity. War and hate will never be beautiful. But they will NEVER be the final word. They cannot stop God’s saving grace, working in our lives. 

This is really a statement of faith isn’t it? Whatever God does, or whatever God allows in our life will turn out to be beautiful and to our benefit. This means that trials as well as joys, sickness as well as health, poverty as well as wealth、wars as well as peace…all of these can be used by God to bless us and direct us. 

It reminds us of Paul’s words in Romans 8:28:

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

2. He has placed eternity in our hearts.

This is where we are different from other creatures. A dog can lie before the fire, warm and content. We humans would soon become restless. We are always seeking for the meaning of life. Is there more than this??  God has allowed us to imagine a life beyond death. In fact, God has made us to long for…and envision such a life. We will never truly rest and be satisfied until we rest in God, find our identity in Him.

In John 11 Jesus says these words:

25 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Do we believe this? We are promised eternal life!

Let us invest our time and efforts in that which remains for all eternity. What would that look like for you this week?

3. We cannot understand the greatness of all God is doing.

And Solomon concludes with this: There is always a mystery about God. We accept His will by faith. No matter how much we try to define God, or put him in a box, there is an unknowable portion. How could it be otherwise? We in our finite and limited minds will never fully comprehend all the beauty and greatness of God.

So let us claim the truths of this beautiful passage!

All things are beautiful in God’s time.

We all have eternity in our hearts. Strengthen those things that remain!

We cannot understand perfectly or confine God. His plans are bigger than us!

(the above is a summary of the message shared during our worship on June 7, 2026.)