There is time for everything

A lot of things had happened in our lives lately. We are reminded by the word of God through the preacher in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 that

there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance….

Needless to say, we are assured that God’s comfort and presence are always there whatever the circumstances are. We are thankful to the Lord knowing that you have been praying in our behalf and ready to extend support and encouragement. Because of God’s timely provisions, Narlin is back after spending two weeks in the Philippines after joining her family in mourning their mother’s death.

Once again, we are sharing to you the events that happened recently and the prayer accompanying them.

Kids’ Thai ID

After almost three years of praying and waiting, the children have eventually got their Thai ID. Although it is not the REAL ID yet, we are rejoicing that they have acquire the first level in acquiring Thai citizenship. The ID will be upgraded by the Thai government depending on their performance in the school and what they will accomplish after their studies. We are here to help them to get there.

However, only six of the nine children recommended by the school get their ID. The three younger children will have to wait for a month or so. Continue to pray for Tina, Ayung and Mike. Kristi and Pia have to wait for the school recommendation.

Our Father’s House Ministry

When the Korean missionary brought a property for Grace Home Kindergarten Center (renamed Our Father’s House) three years ago, a Korean couple also took over the ministry. Because of this we have to step back from our work there and just serve as adviser to Aye Phet (the person we have trained to run the day care center). She has resigned recently, thus the Korean couple and Angela requested us to help them train the new staff. It seems are back to the ministry we started.

In relation to this, we are now having a regular worship service at Our Father’s House building  every Sunday afternoon. Joey is helping in preaching and the kids help with special song number. We are praying that more people will come and a new church will be born.

Prayer Concerns

The Lord has been faithful in empowering us and providing for our needs. It is because of your faithful prayers in our behalf. Here are our recent prayer requests.

• Prayer of thanksgiving for Sam Rong’s healing. He has his last check-up and tests last month. His doctor declared him completely healed.
• Prayer of thanksgiving for Reuven’s adjustment to the school. Please continue to pray for him. Our hearts break every time we see him struggles with his social life.
• Pray for the three younger children’s Thai ID. Nobody understand why their IDs did not come the same time as the others but we trust God that everything will be for good.
• Include Nuch’s ID with your prayer. She has encountered technical problems in acquisition of her Thai ID. Her grandmother already have it while she has not. Apparently, the village leader messed with the process to get some money. But the officers at the district office said they will try to sort it out.
• Pray for Jared’s needs for his studies in the Philippines. The first tri-semester will soon be over and he will be needing money for his tuition for the next tri-semester. We are totally dependent to God for this need. We do not have mission agency that look after our natural children’s education.
• Pray for Nuch’s and Jillian’s education. Please pray not only about their financial needs but also the method of study appropriate to their situation. We are considering weekend schooling for Nuch and online (open university) for Jillian.
• Pray for Narlin’s teaching ministry. English camp was postponed because of her mother’s death but it will be resumed on 31st of August. Pray for strength and wisdom.
• Pray for our church ministry. Our involvement in teaching and discipleship at Pantamit church and at Our Father’s House Children Center.

 

Technorati Tags: Family,News,Prayer Update

Missing Nanay Linda: Thanks for comforting words and prayers

I have been meaning to post other things more regularly besides our monthly update. But my brain has quit working for some time. Sitting down here in front of the monitor with my hands on the keyboard trying to hit some keys to form words that would express ideas on my head.  Sad to say, most of the times I feel my head is empty.

Perhaps one of the reasons is we have been in the field for six years. We really did not have a real long break just like other missionaries do. We are envious with those who go could go every now and then for an extended period and spend time with their family, friends and churches. We do not have that luxury, well at least, at the moment. Perhaps another reason is our own children are going to college. Jared is already in the Philippines and Jillian will follow suit.  The stage of empty nest? Is that what they called it? They say it causes separation and mid-life anxieties.

Loneliness, yes, being away for from home for a long time makes one lonely. When friends, relatives and family started dying one after the other caused us unexplainable sadness. My mother in-law, Nanay Linda, had died almost a week ago. When she was alive, she expressed her desires to spend time with us especially with her grandchildren. So last Christmas, even though our budget was tight, we found way for her to come and spend Christmas with us including her adopted grand kids. The kids fondly called her Lola (equivalent of grandma in Filipino) and they were happy just to be around her. Talking and laughing most all the times. The children sometimes were naughty but overall I think they made her happy. She cooked food and baked bread and cookies. She made beautiful dresses for the girls and pajamas for all of us.

We brought her to places in Northern Thailand that she wanted to see and we had a blast doing road trips and spending a night or two in cheap hotels. Although she got tired easily and experiencing pain on her feet at that time, we knew she was very happy that she was spending that what were her last precious moments with us. There were times when she would tell us jokingly (but perhaps she was serious) that because she had seen us, she was ready to die.

But we never thought that she would leave us so soon. When she died, the world had to stop for a while for a while. Narlin abruptly cancelled all her plans including the English camp that the school and her were planning for quite some time and went home to mourn her mother’s death. For us who could not go, mourning is expressed in other ways. However, the Lord promised to turn our mourning into joy.  We rejoice in knowing that Nanay Linda is happy because she finally meets her creator and rejoicing that she sees Jesus face to face. As the Lord say in Jeremiah 31:13, “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”

Narlin will be back on August 1. Apparently, all the flights of Cebu Pacific in between the dates are fully booked. Please continue to pray for provisions and safe travel. In behalf of Narlin and her family, we want to thank those who convey their of condolences and sympathies. Those words of comfort and encouragement meant a lot to us. Thanks for those who understood that Narlin would never make it home without financial help. Your gift whatever the amount is always a huge help for us. Thank you and may God bless you more.

Hebrews 12:1“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: death,family,mourning,donation

Time of Refreshing

We had seen the end of summer and it is now wet season here in Thailand. However, the rain though is not falling as much as the usual Mae Sai rainy season. This makes the humidity so high that it makes us all feel heavy and tired than we really are.

This morning, we rejoiced when we woke up with a refreshing cool heavy rain but the it has stopped as soon as it has begun and the sun was out hot again. Whatever the season is, we continue to give praises and thanks to the Lord. The rain is a symbol of God's blessing.

Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone. (Joel 10:1)

We share to you once again the blessings we received from the Lord recently.

Visit from an Old Friend

An old friend from our first short term missions trip in 2004, Kuya Fil came to visit us. He came with his son David and co-worker, Arlene. They came to Thailand representing Every Nation Church to provide member care for their missionaries who are working in Thailand. They intentionally included us in their itinerary and ministered to us by giving us a "debriefing"  They also treated to a good lunch at MK Restaurant which admittedly we had never been able to do all of our six years of stay here in Mae Sai.  They also came to bring a violin donated to the children by Kuya Fil's daughter, Mai Mai. The visit was truly a huge encouragement for us.

Big Time Treat by DOI

The children had experienced one of the happiest days of their young lives, so far. Displaced Orphans International (DOI) a non-profit Foundation from the US treated us to a weekend full of fun and joy with a 19-people team. We were checked-in to a beautiful place called Horizon Village & Resort in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai. It was one of the most beautiful places we have ever been.

We have come to know DOI by God's own divine appointment. Sometime last year, a friend sent us an email telling us that his old friend's son and his wife were in Mae Sai and asked if we could see them. We met Jon and Joyce and we had a wonderful time of fellowship together sharing each other stories.

Incidentally Joyce is member of the board of  DOI They had a medical-dental mission to Tachilek, Myanmar last January. They thought that it would be a good idea to have the children checked-up for medical and dental. In their visit, we also meet Greg and Lynette, the founder of the DOI.

We praise the Lord for this opportunity to meet people who have the same burdened as we are for orphaned and abandoned children.

Teaching Ministry

Teaching English is has always been "in demand" here in Thailand. But it seems the need for the Thais to learn English has escalated because of the coming ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The schools are now hiring more English teachers.

Narlin has been requested to teach English in Pantamit and Namchan. We are also busy preparing materials for English camp in Wat Poweehan school. God has given us Gilmhe as our partner in this ministry. She is an English teacher in BanTham High School from Baguio City, Philippines. She is also helping us looking after the kids on weekends.

We are praying for a ministry to help English teachers who will come and work here in Mae Sai. We hope we can help them in visa processing and in finding ways to minister to the Thai through English language learning center.

Prayer Concerns

Our security God's laborers in His harvest field is the in the knowledge that He is always with us and your constant prayer for us. Here are our prayer requests.

• Pray for our visa extension. We have not received any call from the Foundation yet about the schedule of our visit to the immigration office for the stamp [one-year visa extension]. Our visa will expire on the 20th of July.
• Pray for more opportunities to share God's love, mentor and disciple our friends and acquaintances.
• Pray for Jillian and Nuch as they are getting ready to go to college next year. Pray for guidance and provisions.
• Continue to pray for Jared and Reuven's studies. We are touched by people who expressed support, encouragement and give advice for Reuven's difficulty in adjusting to school. Your concern is sincerely appreciated.
• Pray for all the kids and their needs. We are certain as of the moment that two girls will not stay with us for long (they might go home to Myanmar one summer and might not come back). But the rest of them will be staying with us until they finished school. Your prayer and support is all we have to sustain their daily needs and education.
• The kids might get their ID today. Thank you for your prayers.

Thank you for every prayer uttered in our behalf. Thank you for the riches shared through us for His Kingdom. May his name be glorified in our lives forevermore.

Technorati Tags: prayer,update,Displaced Orphans,getaway weekend

The Spirit of Hope

Eschatology is one of the most dominant themes of Moltmann’s theology. For him, eschatology is the key that unlocks all the truths of the Christian faith. He laments the fact that the theme is relegated to the appendix of major theological works instead of being the medium of all theological thinking.[1] Its scope is not only about the end of times but the anticipation God’s impending recreation of all things. With this line of thinking, he brings eschatology back to the very heart of Christian theology. It should not remain as merely one of the doctrines but it should be included in all of Christian proclamation, intrinsic to every Christian existence and of the whole church.[2]

Eschatology is all about Christian hope. Hence, Moltmann in effect put the theme of hope at the heart of Christianity. He defines hope as action, transforming the present, forward looking and forward moving. Christian faith is based on the hope of the resurrection of Christ. This section examines ideas about the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of hope.

First, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of hope hence he is the one who sustains faith. According to Moltmann, faith is foundation of hope but hope nourishes faith. “In the Christian life faith has the priority but hope the primacy. Without faith’s knowledge of Christ, hope become a utopia and remains hanging in the air. But without hope, faith falls into pieces, becomes a a fainthearted and ultimately a dead faith.”[3] Moltmann shows the relationship between faith and hope through the following examples: (1) Faith believes in the promises of God but hope anticipates the fulfillment of God’s promises. (2) Faith believes God to be true; hope awaits the manifestation of this truth. (3) Faith believes that believers have eternal life; hope expects the revelation of eternal life. In other words, one could not exist without the other.

Second, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of hope because he is the source of life and consequently he is passionate about it. This statement is understood more clearly in the context of the resurrection hope. For Moltmann, the resurrection of the crucified Christ from the dead is God’s declaration for his passion for life and protest against deliberate actions that cause suffering and unjust physical death. He perceives faith as participation in love by getting out of this apathetic existence of misery and fighting against death and people who work for death. Hope then is anticipation of faith’s victory against death and against powers that bring death.

The resurrection faith can be proven by participation to this “rebellion” against death not by historical evidence or through the knowledge of life in the next world. This participation in the resurrection faith is possible only through the movement of the Spirit who descends all flesh and gives it life. This movement of the Spirit is the divine “liberation movement” for it is the process whereby the world is recreated. For Moltmann, Christ’s resurrection is the beginning of God’s revolt against death and it continuously happening in the Spirit of hope. It will end only when “every rule and authority is at last abolished.” The Holy Spirit as the Spirit of hope then finds expression in men and women who are protesting against death and those who are slaves of death. It is the Spirit who makes believers to live in the super abundance of God’s future and gives joy for the coming victory of life.[4]

Summing up, Moltmann strongly argues of the connection of faith and hope. Without faith there is no hope and vice-versa. However, Moltmann perceives that it is through Christian hope that the Holy Spirit assumes his activities in the life of the believers. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of hope because he sustains faith. Moreover, he is the Spirit of hope because he empowers Christian to fight against death and makes them live a joyful victorious life.

---

[1] Jurgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope: On the Ground and the Implications of a Christian Theology, trans., James W. Leitch (New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1967).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Jurgen Moltmann, The Power of the Powerless, The Power of the Powerless (New York, NEw York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1983).

 

Technorati Tags: Jurgen Moltmann,Holy Spirit,Hope,Resurrection,Christ

Moltmann’s Worldwide Influence

Jurgen Moltmann is considered to be the most influential theologian of his generation worldwide. This is evident through his many books which are translated in more than twenty languages and through his untiring visit and lectures in many parts of the world throughout his life.[1] His influence is more apparent in the Third-world that its theologians recognized him as the most valuable conversation partner amongst western theologians. His deep awareness of the theological issues that emanate from the oppressions in Asia and Latin America motivates him to address the relevant issues in the development of this theological program.[2]

Moltmann has direct experiences of the suffering that many Christians are going through in countries like Korea, Kenya, Ghana, Philippines and Latin Americas.[3] A Protestant theologian writing from a German perspective, his works nevertheless have become increasingly more open to other traditions and movements that include Roman Catholic theology, Orthodox theology, feminist theology, Emergent movements and the liberation theologies of the Third World among others. Undeniably, his theological passion is producing diverse and extensive works that its relevance echoes in all parts of the world.[4]

[1] Bauckham, "The Modern Theologians," 209.

[2] Farenholz argues that the best way to read Moltmann’s biography is to see it as a long life process of ecumenical discoveries. See Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz, http://www.thefreelibrary.com:Jurgen+Moltmann,+A+Broad+Place.+An+Autobiography-a0189832911 (accessed November 8, 2010 2010).

[3] Bauckham, "The Modern Theologians," 81.

[4] Muller-Fahrenholz, The Kingdom and the Power, 12.

Technorati Tags: Jurgen Moltmann,Hope,Theology,Third Word,liberation theology

Jürgen Moltmann, ‘the most influential Christian theologian’

This article is from the University of Cambridge Research News page. Professor Richard Bauckham wrote this article as part of the announcement that Professor Moltmann will give a lecture at the Emmanuel College. The photo came from the same website. 

Jürgen Moltmann has been of his generation the most influential Christian theologian worldwide, both through his many books (translated into twenty languages) and through his tireless visiting and lecturing in many parts of the world throughout his career.
Since his first major work, Theology of Hope (1964), which was ground breaking in its time and was instantly recognized as such, his work has continued to be profoundly original and constantly creative, while also continually resourced from the theological tradition. Some key themes, such as eschatological hope, give a characteristic shape to his whole theological development, but his work has also continually moved on, and at every stage he has not only rethought major Christian doctrines, but also related them to one after another key issue that has arisen in the contemporary world (e.g. the Holocaust, advances in medical science, feminism, ecological issues, inter-faith dialogue).
Often his originality emerges from this bringing together of the theological tradition and the issues, demands and insights of the contemporary world. Some of the most creative features of his earlier work – such as his emphasis on hope, his claim that God’s love entails God’s suffering, his understanding of the triune God as fully interpersonal – have been so influential that they have become common, even taken-for-granted features of much subsequent theological thinking.
His work has been important not only for fellow theologians and theological students, but also for very many church leaders, clergy and interested lay people worldwide. This is not only because his work relates the central theological themes of Christian faith to the contemporary world and its concerns, but also because, alongside his major works, he has written many shorter and more accessible books that communicate his best thinking without technicalities and in a readable style.
Often in these shorter works for a wider readership he expands on the practical implications – spiritual and socio-political – of his ideas more than he does in the major works themselves. He has also progressively expanded his dialogue with Christians outside his own tradition: his trinitarian explorations brought him alongside Orthodox theologians, his strong affirmation of the Spirit in all life and experience brought him into dialogue with Pentecostals. He is a Reformed theologian who has become a genuinely ecumenical one.
The widespread recognition of the importance of his work can be seen in the fact that more than 150 doctoral theses have been written on him!

Technorati Tags: Jurgen Moltmann,theology,theologian,hope,God

A Broad Place: Moltmann’s Biographical Sketch[1]

Moltmann is considered to be the most important German-speaking Protestant theologian since the Second World War. The importance of his works is quite evident as he engages with the most controversial theological issues of the second half of the twentieth century as well as he interacts with the great theologians of the first half of the same century.[2] This section looks at Moltmann’s early life, his life during and after the war, his pastoral experience and his influence to theology all over the world.

Moltmann’s Early Theology

Jurgen Moltmann was born in Hamburg, Germany on April 8, 1926. He was raised in intellectual secular family that had no place for the Bible and the church. He grew up under the influences of German poetry and philosophy of Lessing, Goethe, and Nietzsche. Einstein and Heisenberg were his heroes and he thought he would become a mathematician and physicist.[3] It was not meant to be because he became one of the world’s greatest Christian theologians. This section will discuss the events that lead to the development of his early theology.
There are several events that lead to the beginning of Moltmann’s theology. First are the circumstances in his life during the Second World War. He was part of the Royal Air Force that defended against the Allies bombing of Hamburg’s center. Many of his friends were brutally killed during the attack while he on the other hand to his own bewilderment escaped unscathed. Witnessing his friends mangled to death while his life was spared evoked a few essential questions: “Where is God; “why am I not dead too;” and “what gives life meaning?” These questions signal the beginning of his theology.[4]
Second is Moltmann’s discovery of hope in the midst of prevailing hopelessness he shared among his countrymen during the war. He felt shame for the atrocities that their country committed at their expense. Those who survived the war certainly escaped death but their lives were stripped of purpose and meaning. This hopelessness overcame them like a disease that he realized that it was the actual caused of many deaths among the wounded rather than the physical injury or illness. Moltmann discovers hope from the Bible. He learned about the suffering of Jesus and believed that Jesus was with them as they suffer as prisoners of war. This hope was enriched by the unconditional love and forgiveness he received from Christians (supposedly are the enemies) who ministered to them in the prison camp. These acts of kindness gave him new life perspectives and the courage to live again. No wonder that hope and theodicy were of subjects of special interests for Moltmann in his early theological works.[5]
Third is his experience as a prisoner of war (POW). It was in the POW camp that his fascination with theology began. With the help of YMCA, books were purchased and famous theologians like Andres Nygren, Vincer’t Hoof, and John R. Mott visited and taught at the camp. The prison camp became his first seminary. His theology grew deeper not only because of what he had learned from the teachers and from reading the books but also because of the virtues demonstrated by the Christians. He received love and forgiveness and this experience gives him liberation from existential meaninglessness. It was from this moment that he experienced true freedom and uttered these words; “I was able to breathe again, felt like a human being once more.”[6] This explained why liberation is significant in Moltmann’s theology.
Moltmann’s association in the collective suffering, guilt of the German nation during the war, his discovery of the true meaning of hope and his experience of existential freedom set him on the road in his commitment to political theology.

Theological Development after the War

After the war, Moltmann’s theology radically developed. This section will discuss the events that serve as major contributors to the development of his theology as it is now perceived and analyzed.
The first event is his entering the University of Gottingen to pursue his newfound passion for theological studies. There, he learned from famous theologians like Hans-Joachin Iwand, Ernst Wolf and Otto Weber. It was through these theologians that Moltmann came to be recognized as Barth’s disciple. The great theologian profoundly influenced the young Moltmann. Moreover, during that time, Barth’s greatness was so remarkably pervasive that Moltmann thought that development of theology beyond Barth was impossible. Nevertheless, Moltmann’s theology had astonishingly evolved independently of Barth.[7]
The second event is his marriage to Elizabeth Wendell, a fellow doctoral student under Weber, had greatly affected his theological thoughts. For his wife Elizabeth, the decision to marry him meant sacrificing her own calling because the church regulation during that period forbid married woman to become minister and ordination to pastorate was unacceptable. She was relegated to the role of a housewife taking care of the children and cleaning the house. This relegation imposed by the church upon women impelled her to become a feminist theologian. Consequently, Moltmann himself became one of prominent theological voices in support of feminist theology.[8]
Finally, his early experience as a pastor of a small community church in Bremen is also essential to the development of his theology. He originally accepted the pastoral position of a city church in Berlin-Brandenburg. The government, however, refused him an entry to the city suspecting he was a spy because of his involvement in the war. He ended up ministering to a village church in Bremen. These circumstances provided him the opportunity to know the theology of the ordinary people in their struggles, bereavement, and anxieties. It was through his pastoral ministry that he “experienced theology as shared theology of believers and doubters, of the oppressed and consoled.”[9] His involvement with the life of his parishioners persuaded him to do theology for the benefit not only of the scholars but also of the church.[10]
Moltmann’s experience during the war, his theological studies after it, and his experiences as pastor of a small church are compelling reasons to believe that his theology is relevant to the subject of this research.

---

[1] A Broad Place is the title of Moltmann's autobiography published in English in 2008. The researcher has already written this brief biographical sketch when the book was published. Moltmann has been using the term to describe that the Spirit is the broad place in which human beings have their experiences. See Jurgen Moltmann, A Broad Place: An Autobiography, trans., Margaret Kohl (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2008). See Moltmann, The Spirit of Life, 174.
[2] Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz, The Kingdom and the Power: The Theology of Jurgen Moltmann, trans., John Bowden (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2001), 12.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Jurgen Moltmann, The Source of Life: The Holy Spirit and the Theology of Life, trans., Margaret Kohl (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 1997), 17.
[5] Ibid., 4.
[6] Ibid., 9.
[7] Bauckham, "The Modern Theologians," 209.
[8] Jurgen Moltmann, Experiences in Theology: Ways and Forms of Christian Theology trans., Margaret Kohl (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2000), 4-5.
[9] Bauckham, "The Modern Theologians," 209.
[10] Moltmann, Experiences in Theology, 4-5.

Technorati Tags: Jurgen Moltmann,Theology,Feminist theology,church,Biible

The Christian Walk

Text: 1 John 1:5-10

Based on research studies, walking on a regular basis has the following health benefits:

• Helps keep your bones, muscles, and joints healthy
• Reduces anxiety and depression, boosting your mood
• Helps you handle stress
• Helps you feel more energetic
• Helps you sleep better
• Improves your self-esteem
• Gives you an opportunity to socialize actively with friends and family.

Walking makes us healthy.  How many of us do walk? If you do, how far can we walk? One, two or one hundred kilometers? There was a time when people wanted to go to a place they walk. But today, people become so dependent upon their car or motorcycle.  Nobody wants to walk anymore.

Walking is a part of our life. No wonder that the Bible likens the Christian life to walking. There are three important principles in this text that tell us about the walk of the Christian life.

I. Christian should walk in the light (vv. 5-7).

We have to understand that when John this letter, people believed that darkness is evil. People had real fear of darkness. When darkness comes they think that something bad will happen to them. The believe that the darkness harm them.

Today, we may not understand how afraid they were because we have electric lights. During that time, when night came men just stayed in their homes, they do not move, they just slept or watched in fear of the dark.

John tells us that God is more than just light. In God, there is no darkness or evil in Him at all. He says that “you claim to be sons of God, Light has enlightened you, do your actions show this?

In the Philippines, there was a time when there was  energy shortage and there were long black outs every day. When it was dark in the cities  many bad people committed many crimes. The government has to find ways to keep the street lights on to reduce the crime rate.

This is the challenge for us as Christians, we need to ask ourselves the same question that John asked to these early Christians. If we claim to be Christian and have fellowship with God who is light, how can we still live in darkness. Why we are still do bad things that destroy our testimony and makes our church looks bad to the unbelievers. Some of the things we do, some words that we say and some of our attitudes show darkness than light.

II.  Christian should walk in fellowship with one another (v. 7).

John was writing to a gathering of Christians. He use the word “we” to show that he is included in their fellowship. All Christians should have fellowship with one another. If you say you are a Christian and do not want to be in the church to have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, then you are missing one of the most important part of the Christian life.

One day I was driving, I was following a truck that has sticker saying “You’ll never walk alone.” I just learned that this is the song of the Liverpool Football Club. But this is true also with the Christian life. We never walk alone. God is walking with us and we are walking with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As Christians, we should not even think that we can live apart from one another. When we do not fellowship with other Christians, our church suffers.

III. Christian should walk in forgiveness(vv. 8-10).

John tells those early Christians that God is a forgiving God. In order to be forgiven by God, the Christian must confess his sins. Before he can confess them, he must first admit them. To refuse to admit them makes God a liar.

It is surprising how many people today do not feel the need of confessing sin. Also, many do not believe they commit sin. Not to admit our sins, is to call God a liar. The hardest words to say are the words “I’m sorry.”

If we confess our sin we will be forgiven, if not then we will not. If we sin against a brother and a sister we have to do the same.  God has forgiven us and we should forgive one another.

Conclusion

In closing I want to read the poem of St. Theresa to inspire us to walk as a Christian.

Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which he looks
compassion on this world
Yours are the feet with which
He walks to do good
Yours are the hands with which
He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands
Yours are the feet
Yours are the eyes
You are His body

Technorati Tags: Sermon,Walking,Church,Christian life,Bible