Author: Japanese Congregational Church

Mark 12:28-34

²⁸One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; ³³and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

After the cleansing of the temple and the fig tree incident, the religious leaders ask Jesus under what authority He is doing what He is doing. In response Jesus tells a parable about a man planting a vineyard.

Some Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus by asking about paying taxes but were unsuccessful.

Sadducees emphasized the Torah and they did not accept any teaching that is not contained within the Torah. They did not believe in the resurrection, since they did not find any reference to it within the Torah.

Some Sadducees try to trip up Jesus, but Jesus turns it around to teach the Sadducees that resurrection is taught within the first five books of the Old Testament.

Jesus’ teaching about the great command is recorded in Matthew, Luke and Mark. In Matthew and Luke, the question is asked to test Jesus, but in Mark this does not seem to be the case. Mark states that one of the scribes who has been listening to the exchanges between Jesus and others thought Jesus answered well and is moved to ask Jesus the question.

Mark is the only one who records that Jesus starts off by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4 – ⁴Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. Scholars think that in Mark’s time, there were Jews who thought that the Christians were preaching polytheism – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. It was important to stress that Jesus stated that there is only one God.

It is also interesting to note that to Deuteronomy 6:5 – ⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might – Jesus inserts, “with all your mind”. This would imply that it is important for us to worship and love God intellectually, along with our emotions, our spirit, and with our body – That is, by our actions.

In recent times, many point out from this passage that there are three objects of love – God, our neighbors, and ourselves. Psychologists would say that we must learn to love ourselves before we can love others. I have also encountered Christians who interpret this to mean we should prioritize our needs and wants and use that as an excuse to get out of serving the church or others, or worshipping God.

This is probably not Jesus’ teaching nor how He acted. Most of us know how to put ourselves first, and that self-love gets more in the way of loving God and others than aids us to be more loving. There is no direct command in the Bible to “love yourself”, or “love yourself first so you can learn how to love others”.

This is in line with Jesus’ teachings in the latter part of this chapter – He denounces the greed and the self-love of the scribes, while commending the poor widow who donated all the coins that she possessed.

How should we love God with all our heart, with all our soul, all our mind and all our strength?

It implies that we love God with our whole self. We ought to love Him from our heart for what He has done for us. He loved us enough to send His Son to earth and onto the cross so that Christ would take the punishment for our sins.

Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. This should stir up our spirit to love God from our soul.

Instead of just warm feelings, we should acknowledge God and His omnipotence and omniscience with our minds. Intellectually, we ought to acknowledge the lordship of Christ.

And if we acknowledge the lordship of Christ, then it should move us into action, to use our body and strength in the Lord’s service.

Later in this chapter, Jesus teaches us how the poor widow gave all she had to God. She is an example of someone who loved God with her heart, soul, mind and strength.

As to how to love others, Jesus has left us many teachings on this topic.

In Luke 10, Jesus gave us the parable of the good Samaritan on how to be a good neighbor – Risking life, time and money on a stranger in need.

In Matthew 5, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

In John 13, Jesus washes the dirty feet of His disciples to leave us an example of how to love and serve one another. Our love for each other is supposed to be so apparent that the world would know that we are Jesus’ disciples.

In John 15, Jesus said, ¹²“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.   ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Jesus was not just a great teacher; He practiced what He preached. Soon after telling us that the greatest act of love is to lay down one’s life for one’s friends, Jesus went to the cross for us.

Jesus taught love and His life was love. How can we not love Him in return and dedicate our lives to Him?

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship of October 11, 2026.)

Matthew 9:35-38

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Today’s passage is short and concise. I wish to focus on one theme in each verse as follows:

v. 35:  The content of our ministry                     

v. 36:  The motivation for our ministry

v. 37:  The present reality

v. 38:  Our “main” task?

Verse 35  The Content of Our Ministry             

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

Without taking a lot of time,  I just want to affirm that here Jesus clearly cares about peoples’ spiritual as well as physical needs. He preaches the good news of the kingdom through words. And he heals the sicknesses of people through miraculous power.  His love for them included both a caring for their souls as well as for their bodies.

Verse 36   The Motivation for our Ministry        

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus looks at the crowds and a great love for them overwhelms him. He feels sorry for them. He sees their tiredness and lostness.

Why do we do ministry and evangelism? Why do we work so hard at preaching this gospel and serving others?  I know that we can all give the proper answer:  in order that others may hear about Jesus and be saved; that they too may become worshippers of the true God.

Yet, I have sometimes had cause to ask myself why?  What are my true motives?

We are human and so our motives will always be mixed. I often felt that my motives as a missionary were mixed. Did I really LOVE people….or was I working hard in order to be able to send a good report to our supporters and supporting churches back home? Was I truly acting from love…orwas I wanting to be seen as a good pastor or productive missionary? As a church, are we excited to reach out because of love…or is our real motive for evangelism  the need to grow our membership so that we will be able to support our budget? None of these are bad things in themselves,  but may fall short of our truly needed motivation for preaching the gospel.

It must be our great LOVE for the people around us. COMPASSION!   Of course, we cannot produce or cook up this love on our own. It must be poured into us by the Holy Spirit. As we love God, and love neighbor, we begin to be transformed by God’s love in such a way that we, too, can begin to more powerfully reflect that love to those around us.

The crowds in Jesus day were not all tired and lost physically. Jesus saw through them to their spiritual state and saw how exhausted, tired and lost they were. Do we see our neighbors in the same way?

Jesus felt a great LOVE for the people. He did not try to start a church, a school, an institution, a denomination. His love for people drove him to teach and heal.

Verse 37: The Present Reality    

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”

This was the situation in Jesus day. Do you feel it also applies to us here in Seattle today?  Do you feel that the harvest is great?  I think all of us have felt the lack of laborers in our own church situation.

Are Jesus’ words about a great harvest accurate? I believe they are. We must be careful to understand what Jesus is saying. He did not count church members and say “the harvest is great”. He did not see the size of the church and say “the harvest is great”, he did not count the number of churches and say “the harvest is great”.  He saw the people tired, exhausted, spiritually hungry, lost like sheep wandering around without a shepherd.  If this is the “sign” of a great harvest, then we surely have one here too, at least…a potential harvest!

Verse 38:  Our Greatest Task           

38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We close with the final need and that is the need of more laborers, as well as the need to pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He may send us more laborers.

There is a Pastor Fukuda in Japan who uses this “prayer” as a greeting when he speaks with his colleagues. Often he’ll begin his phone conversation with another pastor with “Hi, have you prayed Matt. 9:38 / Luke 10:2 today? Please remember to pray those verses with me today.”

The Greek word for “ask” in verse 38 is the same word used of the widow in the story of the unjust judge. Pleading, earnestly  begging, unrelentingly asking…  Have we prayed in this way for laborers? 

Is it possible that sometimes God sends laborers but we do not notice or we reject them? Is it possible that we think all of the training for the laborers must be completed before they actually work in the field? Do all pastors need to be seminary trained? It’s a valid question. Is it possible that we are all meant to be laborers?

My parents both grew up in rural Minnesota. During harvest season in the Fall, all children were on “vacation” from school because they were all needed in the fields. All hands were necessary. Age was not an excuse. School was not an excuse! At harvest ALL had to be there. Little children were taught. Old people helped in whatever way they could. It was understood that the work simply couldn’t be completed in time if everyone wasn’t involved.

This is similar to rice-planting when I was growing up in Japan. The planting of rice seedlings into a muddy, flooded, prepared paddy or field is called “ta-u-e” or literally, “the planting of the field.” All family members are needed. 3-4 year olds may be too young to be of much help, but they are not too young to learn. Old people are not as strong. But they are still needed for encouragement in their own way. Everyone is necessary. All must step into the “tanbo” or rice paddy and plant the seedlings. Do we think of our ministry in this way too?

Of course the final point here is that there IS a Lord of the Harvest. It is not our field nor is it our harvest. The Lord of the Harvest will send laborers and will cause the work to be done. We don’t have to produce the harvest. Praise God! We do have to stay “out of the way” at times. We can’t produce a harvest but at times we can be a hindrance to the harvest if we have not correctly heard the Harvest Lord’s voice.

So relax. Take a deep breath. The Lord of the harvest will call you to just that right task, and give you all of the resources you’ll need to accomplish it. After all, it is God’s work and God’s harvest…and he promises to work with us! When we’re tired and exhausted, it’s often because we’re trying to do the work on our own. Jesus himself said “If you’re tired and feel burdened, come to me. Get into the yoke with me. That way, we can pull and work together. You’ll find that working with me is a light burden and a whole lot easier!”

(the above is a summary of the message shared during our worship on October 4, 2026.)

Mark 11:12-14

¹²On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus is welcomed by the crowd into Jerusalem. He goes to the temple, looks around and leaves for Bethany.

The next day, he sees a fig tree and although it is not the season for figs, Jesus decides to curse it for not having any fruit and later they find that it has withered.

What is this all about? On the surface, it seems like an illogical demand on Jesus’ part, since it is not fig season, nor did He command it to bear fruit.

 It is noteworthy that Mark is the only gospel writer who sandwiches the cleansing of the temple with the story of the fig tree. After saying to the fig tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”, Jesus cleanses the Temple driving out those who were selling and those who were buying. Next morning, as they passed by the fig tree, it had withered away.

It is interesting that Luke reports only that Jesus drove out the sellers. He does not mention the buyers. So, it is natural to interpret this as somehow those who were selling were taking advantage of the pilgrims by charging more than what is fair and making it a money-making venture. This tends to be the version we remember.

But if we read what Mark reports, Jesus drives out both those who are selling and those who are buying. Jesus is not angered by the method of the transaction, but the place of the transaction. Jesus believes that there should be no business conducted in the temple.

Both the temple and the fig tree represent Israel. On the surface, they seem to be healthy, but they are not producing the type of fruit that the Lord is seeking.

The Jewish religious leaders are opposing God’s plans. Even though they say that they eagerly wait for the Messiah to come, when the Messiah is standing in front of them, instead of welcoming and worship Him, they reject and want to kill Him.

The disciples are surprised to see the fig tree withered, just by Jesus cursing it with His words. This shows that they still do not quite understand the power that Jesus possesses. His power surpasses human power.

On the surface, vv. 22-24 seem to imply that if you totally believe that what you are praying will come true, it will. From experience, we know this is not to be true most of the time. The Seahawks are playing the Commanders right now, and I’m sure there are sincere Christians on both sides. What happens if one prays for a Seahawks’ victory and another prays for a Commanders’ victory, and both do not doubt what happens?

We must accept that Jesus is using hyperbole here. The basic assumption we must make when we pray is to believe that God hears our prayers and that He has the power to grant them. If you do not believe that God has the power to grant prayers, then there is no reason to pray to Him.

Believe that what we are praying for has been directed by the Holy Spirit and that God indeed will hear our prayers and have the power to grant them. As Jesus taught in other places, we should be praying to God the Father in Jesus’ name, directed by the Holy Spirit. Whether God answers in the exact way we desire is up to God. We cannot order Him around. Often, God uses prayer to realign our will to His, by saying “no”.

Verse 25 also teaches that whenever we pray, we must forgive those who we have something against. It is easy to ignore this part of the instructions, since there are those we have a hard time forgiving. Occasionally, out of nowhere, we are reminded of some injustice that was done to us. We may give lip-service that we have forgiven them when we really have not.

What can we take away from this passage? It is not that God is forced to answer our prayers if we do not doubt. Instead, we must believe that God hears our prayers and is able to answer them. But before we ask, we must first forgive others.

Does the Lord seem unreasonable in what He is directing us to do? Then we need to change our mindset from, “That cannot be done” to “If the Lord is calling us to do this, then we believe that He has the power to accomplish it through us.”

Recall the incident where Jesus comes walking on water in a storm. When Peter sees this, he believes that Jesus has tremendous power – enough power to have Peter also walk on water. Jesus invites Peter to walk out to Him and Peter starts to walk out on the stormy water. But once out there, he gets scared by the enormity of him walking on the stormy sea, which should be impossible. So, Peter starts to doubt and starts to sink, and Jesus has to help him get inside the boat. What we plant in faith, do not dig up in unbelief.

There are many around us who have not been saved. Let us continue our prayer ministry, forgiving others, believing that God does listen to us and has the power to answer our prayers. Let us hang onto our faith in God.

(The above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on September 27, 2026.)

Matthew 18:21-35

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. `Be patient with me,’ he begged, `and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.  He grabbed him and began to choke him. `Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, `Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. `You wicked servant,’ he said, `I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The title of our message for today is “Forgiveness.” And I should say from the outset that the topic of forgiveness is too difficult, too profound, and too important in our lives to be covered with a short sermon. But our parable for today should at least give us a first step toward thinking about forgiveness.

In this story that Jesus told we have the following:

• A king who wishes to settle his accounts
• A servant who is called before the king with a huge debt that he cannot repay.
• When the servant begs for patience and mercy, the king has pity on him and grants it, forgiving his entire debt.
• This servant then goes out and finds a fellow servant who owes him a relatively small sum of money.
• He demands payment, but when the servant begs for patience and mercy, he refuses and has him thrown into prison.
• Word of this gets back to the king, who calls the first servant in again.
• The king is angry saying “I forgave your huge debt….shouldn’t you have shown mercy and forgiven your fellow servant who asked for it?” …in the end, this servant is thrown into prison.
• Jesus ends the story with a warning to his listeners that God would treat them in the same way if they didn’t truly forgive others.

While this parable has had many different interpretations throughout history….I think that it is safe to conclude the following:

• The king represents God, our heavenly Father
• That in the story “debts” can be seen as sin or sins
• The first servant is unexpectedly, and mercifully, granted complete forgiveness for his huge debt, just as we have all been graciously and mercifully forgiven our debt of sin by God.
• However, rather than mirroring the king’s mercy, this servant then goes out and demands payment from a fellow servant for a small debt.
• Thus, the parable pictures the magnanimous grace of God in forgiving our great debt of sin, and the need for those of us who have experienced this forgiveness to mirror that mercy and forgiveness in our own relationships and lives. Failure to do so will not only bring consequences, but will prove that we have not really experienced that forgiveness for ourselves.

Put simply, we must forgive others…just as we have been forgiven.

We are reminded of Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”　

So I don’t think it would be a misrepresentation of this parable for me to preach to you this morning: “Let’s all go out this week and be better at forgiving each other.” There’s nothing wrong with saying that….or becoming more forgiving. But it’s not the message I want to leave you with today.

And that’s because forgiveness can be hard. And forgiveness can be complicated. And we often misunderstand what it even means to forgive someone.

• Forgiveness is NOT denial – pretending that an offense did not really happen, or that it didn’t really cause damage or brokenness, or that we just need to let “bygones be bygones”  In that sense, forgiveness is just the starting line to a much longer process.
• Forgiveness is NOT the same as healing…or reconciliation. Healing can take years! And reconciliation with an offender can often be impossible.
• Each of us can think of times that we were hurt by others, or imagine the many situations we read about or see on the news: violence, murder, rape, sexual abuse…war – and so forth. Are the victims of these crimes really expected to forgive their offenders? When we think of the 78 years that Israel has fought with its neighbors in the Middle East, do we honestly think that Palestinians and Jews will wish….or even be able to consider forgiveness as a solution? Will the Hatfields and McCoys really want to end their feud….and consider sitting down together for a reconciliation?!
• How do we balance the difficulty and the seeming impossibility of forgiveness with the very real demand that is made in this parable? And what about the Lord’s prayer. “Forgive us our debts…..as we have forgiven our debtors.” This is serious stuff!

So now, let me get to the message that I would like to leave you with. And this will NOT solve all of our questions or issues:

In my study for today I came across several statements that make sense to me. Here’s one:

“Forgiveness is not primarily God’s expectation of us, but rather, first of all, it is God’s gift to us.” 

In other words, maybe the parable is not primarily saying “You need to learn how to forgive like the king forgave”….. but instead, “You must first truly experience God’s forgiveness before you will be able to live in that posture…..and to mirror that mercy and forgiveness to others.” Here is another similar phrase:

“Forgiveness is not effectively received unless it is shown, for God’s forgiveness transforms.”

The ability to forgive is not something we cook up and create for ourselves….but is the natural result of truly experiencing forgiveness ourselves. When we have experienced it deeply, we will begin to mirror it. And a final phrase:

“Forgiveness not shown….is forgiveness not known.”

So in this parable, rather than immediately try to identify with the king’s unlimited grace and forgiveness, hoping that we can learn to mirror that…..perhaps we should simply try to identify with that first servant. His problem was NOT that he went out and demanded payment from another servant. He probably had the legal “right” to do that. His sin was that he had been so profoundly and mercifully forgiven….his life was suddenly and dramatically changed…and yet he hadn’t noticed. And because of that, it had not transformed him or changed him in the least.

So this week, before we attempt to improve our “forgiveness game”, why not take time to truly contemplate, to bask in, to pray for insight into the unlimited love, mercy, and forgiveness that has been given to us by our heavenly Father? Could we start there?

Then, with God’s grace, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, we may, little by little, be transformed into people who can imagine forgiveness and even mirror it.

(the above is a summary of the message shared during worship on Setember 13, 2026.)

Mark 10:17-31

¹⁷As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²²When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

²³Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”²⁴And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

²⁸Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”²⁹Jesus said,“Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news,³⁰who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

After Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus being transfigured into His glorious state, they all come down from the mountain. Jesus heals a boy who was possessed by an evil spirit and then foretells again about His coming death and resurrection.

The disciples do not understand what Jesus is telling them, and instead, they argue about who is the greatest of the group. Jesus tells them that if they want to be great, they must become a servant to others.

 They then go back to Judea where some Pharisees come to test Jesus by asking whether it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus tells them that the law of Moses does allow divorces, but that the intent of God was for a man and wife to stay together.

Jesus then tells the disciples to stop preventing the children to come to Him, and that people need to receive the kingdom of God as a child if they are to enter it. From what follows, it becomes clear that Mark’s message is that one can only enter the kingdom if they are willing to let go of worldly things. We will see that for children who do not have many worldly things, entering the kingdom is less burdensome than for ones who have many worldly things.

In this morning’s passage, a rich man comes to Jesus and asks how he can inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him that he should follow the commandments. The man is confident that he has been following the commandments. Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing – Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and follow Him.

The man could not do this and went away sad.

This was also shocking to the others who heard this, since most people believed that wealth was a gift from God and that it was an indication that God was rewarding a wealthy person because he or she was good.

How do we interpret this passage and apply it to our lives? Historically, there have been three major ways to interpret this.

In the earliest days of the church, the literal interpretation was probably prevalent. Christians believed that Jesus would return soon to close out this age. In Acts 4:32-37, we see that the believers gave up private ownership of their possessions and considered them as being held in common by the church. This literally fulfilled what Jesus had told them – “There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields.”

Then as time passed and it was apparent that it might be a while before the Lord returns, the church started to interpret this still literally but applying not to the entire Christian community, but to a small minority within that community.

Today, especially within the Protestant churches, we tend to apply it to all disciples but no longer take it literally. Jesus’ command to sell all applied to that particular man, because love and dependence on wealth was what was getting in the way to becoming a disciple. For all disciples, however, its spiritual meaning is that we must root out of our lives whatever may hinder our following Jesus and doing what He commands of us.

Even though Jesus may not be commanding each of us to sell all that we have and give the money to the poor, there might come a time that we are asked to give up things that are precious to us, whether as individuals or as a church. If that time comes, trust in the Lord’s provisions and promises and boldly step out in faith and follow Him. Do not go away sad like the rich man

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on September 6, 2026.)

John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

In our text for today, we see an interesting pattern of how faith in Jesus is shared and transferred from one person to the next. It always happens person-to-person.

In the verses preceding our text, we read about Andrew, who after spending time with Jesus, believes him to be a prophet – the Messiah. He immediately goes to his brother Peter and says “We have found the Messiah.” Andrew then brings Peter to Jesus, and Peter becomes one of Jesus’ followers.

In today’s text, Philip, when called by Jesus, follows him. He then goes to his friend Nathanael and says, “We have found the one that Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” When Nathanael expresses doubt – “Can any good thing come from Nazareth?”, Philip responds with an invitation, “Come and see for yourself.”

This, in fact, is the most powerful manner in which the Christian faith has been passed down for 2,000 years. Person-to-person. One person says to their friend, “I have met Jesus, and this is what he has done for me. I would love to introduce him to you.” Sometimes, like Nathanael, our friends express doubt. When that happens, we say, “Just come…and see for yourself.”

Many examples abound in the New Testament:

• An Ethiopian returning to his home country from Jerusalem is puzzled by a scripture passage in Isaiah. Philip explains to him the meaning of the passage and introduces him to Jesus. He believes and is baptized. (Acts 8)
• Peter, when led by the Holy Spirit, visits the Roman centurion Cornelius and tells him about Jesus. Cornelius and all his family believe and are baptized. (Acts 10)
• If you are a believer today, it is because someone took the time to tell you about Jesus, to introduce Jesus to you. Of course, we may learn about Jesus from books, through the Bible, through music and movies. Yet, invariably, it always involves an invitation…a person-to-person connection somewhere along the way.

Nathanael’s example in today’s text:

• Nathanael moves from doubt and unbelief…to a life of faith and following Jesus.
• What causes this change?  Meeting Jesus! – and realizing that Jesus already knew him!
• How does it happen?  Philip invites him. “Come and see!”

Our task as followers of Jesus is not:

• To persuade or convince people to become Christian
• To “prove” the truth of Christianity

As a missionary in Japan, I was blessed with many Japanese friends, both in and outside the church. Often conversations with those who were not Christians would turn to religion. Sometimes a comparison between religions, sometimes questions about Christian theology. And I enjoyed these conversations and discussions. But sometimes I felt as though I needed to explain….or prove….the Christian faith to my friends. That if they didn’t believe in Jesus….that somehow I was a poor missionary.

But the truth is that while those conversations can be great and helpful, scripture does not command us to prove, explain, or convince others of the truth of Christ. That is the work of God…the Holy Spirit.

Our task is:

• To invite our friends to “Come and see!”
• To tell of all that Jesus has done for us.  (“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard…” I John 1:3)

Our true joy in being followers of Jesus….is in the relationship we are offered with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is near….in all of our trials and joys.

It’s also our joy to invite others to meet Jesus. Not out of a sense of guilt, or heavy responsibility (!) but simply telling others of all that God has done for us.

This week I pray that each of us will have natural opportunities to do this.  Amen.

(the above is a summary of the message shared during worship on August 30, 2026.)

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 8:34-9:13

³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” ^9:1 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

^9:2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. ¹¹Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹²He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? ¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.”

After the feeding of the four thousand and the healing of a blind man at Bethsaida, Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. But when Jesus tells them about his upcoming rejection, suffering and death, Peter rebukes Jesus. Jesus then tells them what it means to be His follower.

Key concepts that Jesus teaches include:

• Deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him
• Those who want to save their life will lose it, those who lose their life for His sake will save it
• Those who are ashamed of Him in this life, Jesus will be ashamed of them in the afterlife

These may seem a little drastic in our times, but if we recall that Mark’s audience was in the midst of persecution and was in danger of being arrested, tortured and killed just because they are Christians, then it makes sense. Mark is trying to encourage the believers to be true to Jesus no matter what, since being faithful or not has eternal consequences.

Then Jesus says a strange thing at the end – “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

Kingdom of God coming with power implies the Parousia, or the second coming of Christ – When Jesus comes as judge and king, to establish His kingdom forever. Obviously, this has not happened yet, and equally obviously, no one who was around when Jesus said this is still alive. Was Jesus wrong? Probably not. So, what does this mean?

A partial answer comes in the very next section, commonly known as the transfiguration.

Six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a high mountain. There, Jesus is transfigured – His clothes became dazzling white. This reminds us of Moses when he comes down from Mt. Sinai, when his face shines. So, the three of them were able to see and experience Jesus in His full glory. Not only that, but they were also able to see Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus, as well as hearing God’s words telling them that Jesus is His Son and that they should listen to Him.

This tells us that Peter, James and John were able to see the beginning of the coming of the Kingdom of God with power. Still, the Kingdom coming in full power is yet to come.

Since the beginning of the Christian church, we have been looking forward with expectation for the second coming of Christ. As we get older, we start to resign ourselves to the fact that it is not going to happen in our lifetime.

But just because the Parousia will come after our earthly lives are done, it does not mean that we will not witness the Kingdom of God coming with power. It does not mean that those people who were listening to Jesus’ words never witnessed the kingdom of God coming with power.

The demands of being a follower, according to Jesus, are not easy ones. One must deny oneself, take up one’s cross and follow Him. This cannot be done without the full power of God. And some of those who were standing there with Jesus — Peter, James and John among them – Did deny themselves, picked up their cross and followed Jesus into eternity. So did some of the members of Mark’s church. They were able to hang onto their faith, even though they were arrested, tortured and put to death. They lost their earthly lives for the sake of the gospel, but their eternal lives were saved. They could only do this with the full power of the Kingdom coming to work within them.

As individuals and as a church, we can also be witnesses to the kingdom of God coming with power when we deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow Him.

We may not die gloriously as a martyr of faith, but we can do our best to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who are perishing. It might cost us money or time or relationships or reputations but putting others above ourselves is how we are to love others, which also means loving our Lord and His teachings and commands.

To those who need Christ, we can be the preview of the Kingdom coming in power.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on August 23, 2026.)

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.)