26th June 2022 (Pentecost 3) Sermon Title: Committed Followers of Christ   (Luke 9:51–62)                                                                                    By Heeyoung Lim 22nd of June was Uniting Church’s 45th Anniversary. We celebrate the Union of three different denominations in Australia. Thankfully, we are still working very hard to live out the spirit of the union and reconciliation in the love of Christ and the light of God’s words.  Before sharing today’s text, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the Lord’s Great Commission through the Gospel of Matthew 28 in relation to the United Church’s anniversary. Jesus’ final words on earth testify the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and serve a central purpose and mission to all believers of “making disciples”. The Gospel of Matthew serves to equip us for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  Jesus calls us to make disciples as the body of Christ, unites us in common purpose Jesus has given us, and lets us abide in love and confidence. We are all different but come together as one as Jesus’ disciples. Furthermore, this gives us confidence as the Lord promised to be with us until the end.  There are three participles that are subordinate to the central command to make disciples. Each of these are going, baptising, and teaching. Due to a limited amount of time, I will only share “going” today.   “Going” is one of the three means by which to fulfill the central command to make disciples. It is not just traveling across geographical borders, but it means crossing boundaries, and going beyond one’s comfort zone to make the gospel accessible to the lost. Going should be a part of our daily lives. Going also implies our support of people who are literally going to other cultures. We are members of team “Uniting” and parts of Lord’s team who “go” in fulfillment of the Great Commission. May our faith journey and our “goings” be accomplished with warm blessings and prayers of our congregation members.  All the authority of Jesus goes with us and empowers us, wherever we go, baptise, and teach, as we fulfill our mandate to make disciples. The risen Christ is always with us. May we walk and join with him in fulfilling the Great Commission through making disciples of Jesus. In the process of becoming one and uniting in Christ, may we not forget to make disciples as a common goal, not to be complacent in our comfort zones, and fulfill Christ’s Great Commission together in the love of God. Jesus’ disciples were to make more disciples through all the nations. It is significant that Matthew ended his Gospel with one more reference to the Gentile mission, challenging the Jewish Christians to lose their prejudices and unify the church. This invites us to break down any artificial boundaries erected by our culture and differences. As Jesus’ disciples, we do not just love God, we praise God, we worship God, and we thank God. We also follow and imitate Jesus in faith and life by walking in love.   Regarding our Uniting Church and Leighmoor Uniting Church, the best moment is yet to come, and we are on the way. The journey sometimes can be rough, but we can move forward gradually, learning to love as Jesus loves, growing towards the fullness of Christ. May we think daily of Jesus’ resurrection and what it means to us and obey Jesus’ command to make disciples of all communities and nations by going, baptising, and teaching. I pray that we can rely on Jesus’ promised presence and power as we make disciples together. In Luke 9, Jesus met racial prejudice and rejection when He and the disciples were on the journey to Jerusalem passing Samaria. Samaritans refused hospitality to anyone who was headed for Jerusalem.  Just as people of Nazareth expressed prejudice against the hometown person when Jesus opened his ministry, so the Samaritans expressed opposition as Jesus closed his public ministry and turned to Jerusalem. There are times when we experience rejection or opposition in our devotion and service, but may we walk together on the path that the Lord will lead us no matter what happens. Prejudice and revenge grabbed the disciples, and they wanted to show how much power Jesus has or they have. The disciples had not yet learned how to concentrate on the mission of preaching the kingdom and healing the sick. They had not learned to depend on God to empower their mission. They had not learned to love all people as Jesus did. So, Jesus rebuked the judgmental disciples. Jesus had told the disciples before they went on mission that some villages would reject them. He told them to kick the dust off their feet and go on. Jesus has shown His openness to all people who would commit themselves to his work, now turned to Jerusalem to complete his work through the predicted betrayal, death, and resurrection. Luke notes that his ultimate destiny is to be taken to heaven, but Christ’s Road to heaven led through Golgotha, Calvary, and the open tomb.  What do we really mean when we say we will follow you wherever you go? Are people following to see miracles, be where the action is, and gain God’s blessings? Or are we following because we are devoted to the mission and ready to take up the cross? In verse 58, Jesus knew the cost. He did not have a resting place as secure as the fox’s den or the bird’s nest. He owned nothing and had no assurance of a place to sleep. Jesus addresses the cost of picking up the mantle of discipleship in his name. The theme of passing on and picking up the prophetic work for God’s justice in the world is

19th June 2022 (Pentecost 2) Sermon Title: The Path to Recovery   (1 Kings 19:1-15 & Luke 8:33–39)                                                                                    By Heeyoung Lim In 1 Kings 19:1-15, the prophet Elijah conflicts with the prophets of the rain god, Baal. A drought holds Israel, but the fake god, Baal is not able to bring rain. Elijah and Baal’s prophets hold a public test of strength. Elijah shows God’s power over creation, calling down fire on the sacrificial altar and then killing the prophets of Baal.  Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. The fact that Ahab’s report was not about what God had done but about the deeds of Elijah. He had been impressed by God’s presence, but he had not been changed. Ahab the king was no closer to the Lord than before. He remained blind to spiritual reality. Elijah’s victory on Mount Carmel was one of the glorious moments in Israel’s history. The Lord had revealed Himself in a dramatic way, in fire and in rain, and the people had responded in a massive confession, returning to their faith and covenant loyalty to God. However, king Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, hold Elijah responsible, and Jezebel threatens to kill him.  Elijah tries to escape as far away as he can from Jezebel’s anger. In despair, he questions God’s call. Victory in one battle does not mean that the war is over. Even the strongest people can be driven by fear rather than being sustained by faith. There are challenges in being faithful and answering God’s call. In despair, Elijah prays to God that he may die. When Elijah sat down in an isolated spot and exhausted in despair, he expressed his brokenness to God and wanted to resign from life itself and ministry. He was in despair at his failure even after a huge victory, and his perspective was distorted. However, God did not rebuke His despairing servant but allowed him to sleep and provided refreshment. The Lord was reminding Elijah of his past faithfulness and his mighty power through the special treatment and foods and then permitted further sleep and another provision of food. God’s angel feeds Elijah twice, encouraging him to sleep and eat to be strengthened for the journey. He travels 40 days and nights to Horeb (Sinai), the mountain where God gave Israel the law and the covenant.  The Lord was giving him time to himself before a significant encounter at Sinai. Elijah returns to the place where Moses encountered God, and God is with Elijah on the journey.  God asks Elijah, “What are you doing here?” Elijah pours out his frustrations. “I’ve tried my best. I am the only one of your prophets left. Now they want to kill me.” In Elijah’s “deep down” frustrated moment, God is present and hears him. As Elijah watches from the cave, there is great rock-splitting wind, an earthquake, and fire. But God is not in any of these. After these dramatic signs there came a gentle whisper. God’s power is shown in “a sound of sheer silence” which is translated in some Bibles as “a still, small voice.” Elijah covers his face at this holy experience. It showed that he knew God was in this voice. God asks the question again, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” “Go,” God says, “Return.” God tells Elijah to take up the work again. He had not moved forward in his emotions or his understanding. He seemed to be stuck in his gloom. But this time the Lord sent him back into the fight against Baal. The Lord cared for him, giving sleeping, refreshments, and strength, but sent him back into the battle instead of coddling Elijah’s fear or discouragement. Sometimes the only way to overcome our discouragement is to get back into the work to which the Lord has called us. God nourishes and sustains Elijah and speaks to him in the depths of his solitude, in the sound of silence. God cares for us and supports us even in the lowest points of our lives. May we remind ourselves that God is often much more patient with us than we are with ourselves. When Elijah was in despair, God strengthened Elijah for the work God called him to do. God is present in our times of despair. God calls and sustains us in our ministry. We need to find opportunities to listen to God in the silence. There are times when life overwhelms us, and we despair. What questions come to us in such deep-down moments? God nourishes and sustains us when we allow quiet moments in God’s presence to heal and restore us. God sends us back to continue our discipleship in our daily lives. In God’s love, we find truth, promise, and hope.  Mount Carmel may be a place of retreat, but the path to recovery always takes us back into the mission and ministry God has given us. Our greatest need is a new understanding of God’s purpose. The road to recovery is the way of obedience. When times of discouragement and burnout overwhelm us, the path to recovery involves a new and deeper understanding of God’s purpose. May we renew our sense of God’s person and purpose and engage again in ministry. God was not always present in the powerful and the dramatic. He did not always work through the sensational or the overpowering. This was not to minimize his presence on Mount Carmel, but it was not God’s only way of working. There was much more to God than wind and fire. Even Elijah needed to realize God’s unlimited ways. Sometimes people want to meet God who works through a visible and noisy miracle when they are weak, but God meets us even in silence, gives

12th June 2022 (Trinity Sunday) Sermon Title: Peace and Joy (Romans 5:1–5 & John 16:12–15)                                                                                   By Heeyoung Lim Today is Trinity Sunday. There is one God in whom there are three “persons” who share one “substance” and God has a name that denotes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, we cannot perfectly explain and analyse the doctrine of Trinity. When Christians pray and confess, typically they address the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. When they proclaim the gospel in Christ, they do so in the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is our Creator; God has made such an amazing world and cares about it. We are called to care for it, too. May we celebrate the joy of God’s creation. However, we know that some have experienced floods, fires, other climate disasters, or wars while some have faced abuse, conflict, and damage.  Life comes to its fullness when we celebrate creation and cry out for justice for those who are unable to enjoy the fullness of life because of oppression by others. Care must be given to those who are suffering from it so that we do not ignore the difficulties or the feeling of abandonment by God that may have come with them. As God always cares for us and hears us, may we hear each other’s voice and care for each other. In John 16, the Spirit is described as an existence that will care for and guide the entire community after Jesus departs, offering what these disciples need in a moment of anxiety. We can be so caught up in our doing each day that we fail to celebrate simply being. We sometimes overlook the amazing world God has created for us. May we all pause to simply let ourselves be and appreciate what God has given us in our world. On this Trinity Sunday, may we celebrate God’s presence with us and the peace and joy that brings. Today’s text mostly concerns the activity of the Spirit in advancing the teaching ministry of Jesus, specifically in facilitating within the Christian community. In John’s Gospel, that revelation brought by Jesus is given less to individuals and more to the community of Jesus’ disciples. In verses 12–15, it is within the community that the Spirit works. The promise of the text is not that the Spirit will enhance an individual’s mystical relationship with Jesus. Of course, individuals are also led by the Holy Spirit, but the focus of today’s text is more about communities. The beneficiary of the Spirit’s activity is the community, which will be led “into all the truth” (v. 13). In John’s Gospel, “truth” is a reference to Jesus, who is “the truth” (14:6). So, the “truth” into which the community is to be guided has to do with Jesus himself, providing both greater clarity about all that he has said and deeper conviction regarding who he is. Jesus’ promise is not that the community will have advanced knowledge of future events, but that it will be able to grasp the meaning of Jesus’ revelation and remain faithful, no matter what the circumstances. Also writing of God’s amazing love and care, Paul states in Romans 5:1–5 that God’s presence with us since the beginning of time is active in creation through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. He assures the Christians in Rome that God is with us whatever we face, whatever we endure, and whatever we survive. How can people have peace with God? What does it mean to be considered righteous in God’s sight?  In Romans 5, Paul explains the benefits and the basis of finding peace with God. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1). The righteous man has peace with God but affliction in the world, because he lives in the Spirit. Closeness to God, hope in the future, knowing the love of God, being saved from the wrath of God and more are benefits of finding peace with God. Peace with God is what the gospel produces in the life of the person who receives the gospel message. It is the greatest need of humans, for if any person has peace with God, all other needs will be met. Jesus tells the disciples in John 16:12–15 that he has much more to tell them and that the Spirit of Truth will lead them and guide them in truth. God does not abandon us. As in John 16:14-15, when truth is communicated and believed, it brings glory to God. The Holy Spirit will glorify the Son of God by telling Christians about God’s truth. God’s truth will be continually fulfilled when people in our day read the Scriptures and know more about Jesus and live by the gospel because the Holy Spirit reveals and explains it. In verse 16, the Lord emphasized the purpose of truth by reminding the disciples one more time that he was leaving. The Holy Spirit comes to us, carries out the ministry to the world through us, and enables us to communicate with God and teaches us to understand what Jesus speaks. The Bible calls us to cast ourselves upon God’s grace and to place our faith in Jesus. Spiritual failure will turn to success in Jesus, and our faith will be fruitful when Jesus returns. Meanwhile, we can delight that the Holy Spirit works wonders in our hearts. God’s truth comes to us through creation, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to handle the Word of truth carefully. May we grasp and receive truth, joy, faith, and peace in the Holy Spirit when Jesus speaks, or the Scriptures tell us.

5th June 2022 (Pentecost) Sermon Title: The Holy Spirit Comes (Acts 2: 1- 8 & John 14: 8 – 17)                                                                                   By Heeyoung Lim Acts 2 narrates the Christian community’s birth in sending the Holy Spirit, while John promises the Spirit’s ongoing dwelling. Especially, there are Jesus’ farewell words, care, and promise in John 14.  The theme of “believing is seeing” appears here again. Jesus emphasises on both words and work in verse 10. The disciples had been fascinated by his work, but they had not listened carefully enough to his words. The Lord said to his disciples, at least believe in the evidence of the miracles themselves. Thomas’s doubt and Philip’s confusion are also shown in today’s Christians. Now Christians hold the entire Bible and enjoy the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit, but sometimes struggle with some theological issues such as oneness of the Father and Son even though Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” In verse 12, what Jesus meant by telling his disciples that they would do greater things than he had done? Jesus’ power and ministry are not limited, but his earthly ministry was limited in time and space. He served the Father for about three years and never was outside the boundaries of Palestine. The disciples, on the other hand, carried out ministry that was greater in terms of geography and numbers of people, and the group of disciples are still extended. Jesus wants us to continue His ministry here through the Holy Spirit who was sent by Jesus. How do we gain confidence that we are born again by the regenerating power of God’s Holy Spirit? The disciples were told that the Holy Spirit lives with you and will be in you. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was in them and in every other believer. God empowers His children and church for ministry through the coming of the Holy Spirit.  What did Jesus mean by the promise at the end of verse 18: “I will come to you.” This can be referred to the resurrection or the second coming. But in the context of these verses, it means the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus lives in us through the person and power of the Holy Spirit. This indwelling will be endless, and the new Counsellor will be with you until the very end. No orphans or abandoned people in the family of God. The Holy Spirit will be a constant presence of Jesus with all believers. Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit is a gift of promise not only to the disciples in the past, but also to us today. May we trust the Holy Spirit to be our counsellor and teacher.  Luke from Acts records the togetherness the early Christians enjoyed. We found them all together, and they heard a sound like the blowing of a violent wind. The sound was not a wind but like a wind. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire. The fire which symbolises the presence of God started as one and then separated and came upon them.  Some commentators interpret the single and multiple fires as the unity and diversity in the body of Christ. A third experience on the Day of Pentecost was the use of different languages. Most evangelical scholars believe the tongues of Pentecost were genuine languages, not the tongues of sounds Paul dealt with at Corinth (1 Cor. 14:1-12). There is a mention that people of different languages understood the message of the Christians in their own language. In Genesis 11, the Babel tower story links to the eventual confusion of language and scattering of people caused by human pride. In Acts 2, however, language is no longer confusing but understood. People gather rather than scatter by an act of God. This is a miracle that happened through the working of the Holy Spirit. In Pentecost, it means that communication was made between people of different languages due to the work of the Holy Spirit. When people filled with the Holy Spirit proclaimed the gospel, a supernatural ministry took place. When the hearers responded, a miracle of understanding followed. The Holy Spirit comes and works when Christians led by the Holy Spirit serve the Lord and others. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians can proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, and people will believe and become a part of his body, the church.  Instead of a group of Christians praying quietly in an upper room, they had over three thousand people all over the city praising, praying, and witnessing for Jesus. The early church was a veritable model of what congregations can be in our day and what it means to be the church. When God makes a promise, he keeps it, and we had better pay attention to how it applies to us. Both historical facts and Bible prophecy affirm that Jesus is God’s Messiah. The gospel calls for faith, and every believer has the Holy Spirit within them. True churches are genuine at worshipping God, and pay careful attention to teaching, fellowship, prayer, and witness.  Every believer has the Holy Spirit within them. The controlling power of God’s Holy Spirit is available to all believers. May we trust God’s Spirit whenever we serve the Lord and others. I hope that we can all participate in the ministry Jesus wants with other believers as a true church. What we must do as disciples who believe in Jesus is to follow the model of Jesus. Our ministry for Christ begins with faith, follows through by imitating the perfect model. I believe that the Holy Spirit comes and leads us to follow Him in all circumstances. The lead of the Holy

29th May 2022 (Seventh Sunday of Easter) Sermon Title: Unity and Harmony in the Church (Acts 16:16–34 & John 17:20–26)                                                                                   By Heeyoung Lim How and why the shocking tragedy of mass shooting has happened in a primary school in Texas? It’s only 10 days since another mass shooting in New York. Abuses of human worth still occur, and horrible tragedies still arise when unscheduled. There are mistreatment, wars, and unexpected shootings where to be peaceful in the world, many people go through difficult seasons, and struggle to live together. Bound by these difficulties and pain, people ask, “How can these chains be broken?” Challenging situations occur at any time and for any person. There are layers of authorities and powers in the story of Acts 16. There is a powerful spirit that possesses the girl, who is also controlled by those who own and profit from her. A slave girl and people interrupt Paul’s ministry until he finally heals her. After the healing, she is no longer marketable for her owners. The girl’s masters became angered at this loss of income, and the crowd joined the complaints of local merchants against Paul and Silas.  With no opportunity to defend themselves, Paul and Silas were beaten with a wooden rod and thrown into the prison with their feet placed in chains. There are civil authorities who mistreat Paul and Silas, and the jailer who imprisons them. New Testament Christians were accustomed to being imprisoned on false charges. However, above all, there is the power of God’s Spirit.  In today’s text, a slave girl is in chains with the name of spirit, mammon, and power from others, but she is healed by Paul in the name of Jesus. Paul and Silas are in chains, but they act in freedom; they sing and pray even in a prison. This is the message of salvation by grace through faith. The story testifies to the importance of prayer and praise. The prayer and song serve as their response to imprisonment. Their actions support one another and give witness to those who listen. When an earthquake opens the doors and breaks their chains, Paul and Silas save the jailer from taking his life. Whatever the jailer intended, Paul and Silas directed his focus immediately to Jesus and proclaimed the gospel. Proclamation of the Word held priority over their physical condition and comfort to Paul and Silas. In verse 33, the jailer tends Paul’s and Silas’ wounds, and Paul and Silas baptize the jailer and his household. This is a reciprocal ministry in a new community. The jailer and his family were reconciled to God, then to their former enemies who are two most unusual prisoners. May we be ready to proclaim the gospel to anyone, anytime, anywhere. I also hope that we can make and nurture more beautiful communities of faith through mutual service and ministry. Sometimes, just when things seem to be going great, the bottom drops out, but may we trust God and sing and pray in the most difficult moments of our life. I also hope that our faith communities can pray and serve harder in Christ for the saints who have suffered. Many people in the world will have experienced feelings of being trapped in a situation or relationship such as job loss, health challenges, abuse. What testimony can we bring of the Holy Spirit’s action and the power of Risen Christ in freeing us or our community from captivity or bondage? How can we encourage and support one another amid the challenges of life we face today? What rituals and practices will we cultivate that will or can support people in difficult circumstances? We can pray for a violent world. God’s people can sing in their struggles when they know He leads and blesses each step of their lives no matter how difficult and dark some days may be. The founder of one of missionary institutions, A. B. Simpson said, “The joy of the Lord is the strength of His people, The sunshine that banishes sadness and gloom, The fountain that bursts in the desert of sorrow, And sheds o’er the wilderness gladness and bloom. The joy of the Lord is our strength for life’s burdens. It gives to each duty a heavenly zest…” If we lose strength in doing God’s work, it is probably because we are living a life that has nothing to do with the joy of the Lord. If our passion for serving has cooled, it must be because we have forgotten that the joy of the Lord is our strength. The Lord is our strength, and the joy of the Lord is our joy. In John 17:20–26, Jesus’ prayer for the community and all people defines new freedom-life in relationship with God. The heart of this final part of Jesus’ prayer focuses on unity, and it is the ultimate demonstration of God’s work through His people. We are aware that body unity is patterned after divine unity. The absolute oneness of the Father and the Son will now be spiritually transferred to believers for unity and harmony in the church and community. Obviously, being one is not easy. However, if we fail to achieve unity in church and faith communities, it means that we are turning away from Jesus’ prayer for all believers and God’s will for us. Jesus invites us to understand unity between the Son and the Father and lead us to walk into the unity and harmony in the church and wider communities. In Acts, Paul proclaimed the gospel and looked after a slave girl who annoyed his ministry and baptised jailer and his family. When Jailer asked them about the salvation, they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be