9th May 2021 Sixth Sunday of Easter Title: You Are My Friends (Scripture Readings: Acts 10:44-48; John 15:9-17) By Heeyoung Lim Happy Mother’s Day! May the Lord bless your home and the places of your work with His grace and blessing. I hope that today will be a day of blessing for all mothers, and God’s special grace and comfort will be with those who have parted with their mother on earth. We saw and heard the cries that Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter in the mid-2020 and witnessed hatred and violence against Asian in many nations and across the globe recently. Many people and protesters tried to call for equality, justice, and peace, but some of them had already died undeservedly, and many people around the world are still suffering from domestic violence and abuse. We cannot find love in all these pains, but today the Lord is telling us to love one another, follow my commands, and be my friends. In Acts 10, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word while Peter was still speaking. (Acts 10:44) It happened before Peter had a chance to baptize Cornelius and his family, before he heard their confession of faith. Acts 10:44-48 refers to the ‘gentile Pentecost’. This is the fourth pouring out of the Spirit in Acts, this time prior to water baptism and upon even to the gentile. Peter exemplifies the transformation under power of the Holy Spirit. God is the subject of salvation; Peter was an instrument, not the source of salvation. The salvation has been through the inbreaking of the Holy Spirit even to the Gentiles. The Gentile believers also belong to the household of God because God accepts them as they are. This accounts for the constant relational importance under the help of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who trusts in the name of Jesus for salvation receives the Holy Spirit and the privilege of baptism. Anyone who believes in Jesus needs to be welcomed to His body, the church, for God shows no boundaries and prejudices in the invitation of the gospel. (47) The gospel makes salvation in Jesus available to anyone who believes in Him. Have you ever imagined that the Holy Spirit may have a hard time getting through our stubborn desire to stay the way we are? I think that the Holy Spirit is sometimes trying to break through our unnecessary boundaries and prejudices that have become rock hard in our lives. We can continue to pass on the good tradition from one generation to another, but we also need to open to the Holy Spirit that brings new message in accordance with God’s will. The Holy Spirit broke the barriers between Jew and Gentile and propelled the witness of the resurrection beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem and Galilee. What seems clear is that Christians can rejoice and love in the Lord even in the difficulties of the world’s hatred and injustice. We live in the world full of boundaries, but Jesus’ invitation towards the salvation and the gospel is for everyone. Therefore, the boundaries of prejudice and exclusion need to be broken in the love of God. John 15:9-17 continues Jesus’ teaching on abiding in love and the command to love one another; it tells us to keep the connection between Jesus and us so the relationship will never be broken. The quality of relationships is related to the life, message, and commands of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we remain in Jesus, our lives will be filled with joy and a lasting friendship with the Lord. Love is an absolute command for believers and the chief fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-23). It is also the essential factor in our relationships. John 15 emphasises the great love six times in today’s text the disciples will be told to love one another. The Father loves first; then the Son shows that love by obeying God’s will; remaining in the Lord’s love also requires obedience and brings joy. God is pleased when we obey Christ’s commands and follow His examples. The Lord told the disciples he wanted them to experience the joy he had already found in obedience. He said to them, “I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am.” Jesus wants us to rejoice in the Lord. It is a blessing that Jesus calls his followers into joy. Christian life is characterized by ‘unexhausted passion for the Lord and unconditional love for others. Jesus’ command is to love each other as He has loved us. He taught us that the greatest way to show love for friends is to die for one’s friends. Jesus said that you are my friends if you do what I command. (12-14) Only Abraham had been called ‘God’s friend’ in the Old Testament; but now the scope widened, and the Lord invited His disciples in. We are Jesus’ friends if we obey Him. But we sometimes forget the fact that friendship is connected to obedience to Jesus’ command to love. A genuine love for one another is one of ways to show love for God; it can be a way to become Jesus’ friend. The disciples were Jesus’ servants, but Jesus taught them the way to become His friends. We need to remember Romans 5:8: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God finds and loves us first. Loving each other is central to bearing fruit of life and will be a significant defence against the evil world. Jesus wants us to love others faithfully and fervently. In Matthew 7, Jesus said that “every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit, by their fruit you will recognize them” Christians can glorify God by producing fruits as a spiritual character and a lifestyle as long as they remain in the vine our Lord Jesus. God wants us to enjoy being loved

2nd May 2021 Fifth Sunday of Easter Title: The Vine and the Branches (Scripture Readings: Acts 8:26-40; John 15:1-8) By Heeyoung Lim Philip was sent by an angel from Samaria to the desert, and he was empowered by the Holy Spirit. The lay disciple Philip went wherever God sent. (Acts 8:26) Philip was in God’s plan and ministering through the Holy Spirit. (27) When Philip was doing his missionary work among the Samaritans, he received a divine invitation to broaden the boundaries of the Christian message from the familiar surroundings. (40) The mission field has been extended to the desert for everyone’s salvation. God led him to meet an Ethiopian eunuch, treasurer to the queen. The man was on his way home from temple worship, and he was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” (29) Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. The man invited Philip to come up and sit with him; he asked the questions that lead to an introduction of the Saviour. (34) The Ethiopian man was baptised and continued his journey home, “rejoicing.” The joyful return is introduced throughout Luke’s gospel many times. Philip listened to God’s voice through the angel of the Lord, ran to the chariot by the Holy Spirit, and explained the meaning of the Scripture with joy. Leading other people to Christ requires that we be ready, unafraid, able to use God’s Word, and filled with the Holy Spirit. (39) Philip may have felt mixed emotions of the loneliness in the desert and the regret of leaving Samaria where he put his efforts; he would have hoped that this stranger could really understand the Messiah written by the prophet. We know that the Holy Spirit takes place when a willing Christian spread the gospel to a prepared listener. (30) There was a willing servant, living Scripture, and the empowering Spirit in the desert. (39) What a combination. So many Christians own Bibles, but they usually struggle to use them effectively in family worship, personal spiritual growth, and spreading gospel. I hope many more people can come to Christ through our prayers and efforts. Philip is called to share the good news revealed in Jesus without any prejudice. (40) God does amazing things through lay people just like Philip. Luke emphasises that the good news about Jesus is for everyone through the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. I hope we can also be ready to go any place for God at any time just like Philip. There would be lots of unknown deserts and possible chariots in our lives. We do not know when and how God will send us for others in a cooperation of servant, Scripture, and the Holy Spirit, but I believe we need to be ready to catch our chariot whenever and wherever it comes along. Sometimes we need to go to others who still do not know Jesus instead of holding back. To do this, believers need to be ready to spread and explain the gospel after knowing the Bible well. I believe our ability to use the knowledge of the Bible needs to be grow in faith. All service for the Lord must be empowered by His Spirit and seeking Christ in our lives as often as possible. In John 15, Jesus said that I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener: God cuts off every branch of mine that does not bear fruit. He says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but only if it remains in the vine.” (4) I am the vine; you are the branches. Without me, you cannot do anything. (5) In today’s text, we listened to one of the “I Am” statements of Jesus. We have to go beyond the actual words and discover the meaning because Jesus sometimes spoke in allegories and images. We are grafted to Jesus and so can receive our strength from Him as His followers. If we break away from Him, and fail to live his ways, we will be like unproductive branches and die and bear no fruit. Branches that remain in the vine, and submit to the pruner’s knife when necessary, live and bear fruit. How do we remain in Him? We must have faith in our community that believes in Him and celebrates Him as its Lord. We can bear good quality fruit by God’s pruning knife. Though it hurts, we need to be in front of God’s pruning knife. However, within the faith community, we must abandon our own pruning knife because we are not qualified as a gardener. We all belong to Jesus; we are all in God’s beautiful garden as His branches. We cannot go it alone; we need to remain in Jesus and our lovely faith community by worship, prayer, and fellowship. It can be the ways to remain in Jesus. Verse 7 says, “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want, and it will happen for you. My father is glorified in this: that you bear plenty of fruit, and so become my disciples.” What a blessing. There are extraordinary promises about prayer and bearing fruit; our personal relationship with the Lord by prayer and our divinely appointed mission by bearing fruit will be our true blessings in our faith communities. Remaining in the Lord is not a temporary work, it is related to long-term health and productivity. It has nothing to do with our age, gender, and situations. We are members of God’s true people and Jesus’ disciples if we are belong to Him and remain in Him. The vine and the branches are about who Jesus and His people really are, and what is going to happen to them.

25th April 2021 Fourth Sunday of Easter Title: Good Shepherd and the Sheep (Scripture Readings: Psalm 23; John 10:11-18) By Heeyoung Lim Today we recognise the 106th Anniversary of ANZAC Day, when we honour a generation of young men from Australia and New Zealand and elsewhere who gave their lives so we can live in the freedom and peace. We need to remember the troops and veterans and their self-sacrifices. As we know ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. ANZAC day is the day that we remember their loss and sacrifice of the young people who protect other people’s freedom. In this time of peace, we will remember them and pray for them and their families. My previous church, the Korean Church of Melbourne invited Australian veterans who fought for South Korea in the Korean War about 71 years ago and their families to express our gratitude and love once a year. Five years after the end of the Second World War, more than 17,000 Australians with the UN forces served during the three-year Korean War, of which 346 were killed there. They lost their lives for others in a foreign country. We worshipped with them together, shared special meals, gave thank you cards and gifts. Especially all children prepared the thank you cards, sang a song in front of them on the day, gave warm hugs and gifts, and expressed sincere thanks to them every year. We taught children about the history and the meaning of their sacrifices. Sadly, the number of veterans is decreased because time passes by. But we deeply appreciate their sacrifices and commitments which are unforgettable. On the other hand, South Korean government sent face masks and COVID-19 supplies to overseas Korean War veterans in 22 countries. They showed gratitude to every single Korean War veteran who is alive by sending COVID-19 protection items and the delivered boxes contained a message that South Korea has never forgotten them. There are lots of appreciation stories. For instance, a professional Korean photographer visited and photographed worldwide of 1400 of Korean War veterans in 14 countries including Australia. The veterans receive their portraits for free from a thankful young man from the country they fought for. The young photographer was using his own expense for that, he was not looking to be compensated. However, he said that there have always been so many supporters. He believed that photos can be an important tool that can document and convey today for tomorrow. Whenever he was asked about payment from the veterans, he answered that we have a lot of debt, this is just paying it back. He said that he learned the value of freedom, freedom is not free. It has a price, and the price was the life of those veterans. They tried to make nations peaceful and served for liberty and security through their sacrifices. The photographer wants to continue this so that the next generation can also remember and appreciate the valuable sacrifices. We are at peace wherever we stan with God, but the peace maintained and kept by someone else’s sacrifices and commitments. Our salvation has a price too; the price is Jesus’ life-giving love and sacrifice. Jesus told us that he is the good shepherd. The definition of a shepherd’s task is to feed the sheep adequately, care when they sick, keep them gathered, and put their well-being before his own. Such model shepherding might require the laying down of one’s life, it also needs recognition and trust between sheep and shepherd. Through the Psalm 23 we found and felt God’s presence that enables us to overcome the fear that rises in us when being confronted by death. We know the fact that the Lord is our good shepherd even when walking through the valley of death In John 10, we hear that “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus expressed himself as good shepherd. This verse shows us how the good shepherd who is not working for his own profit differs from that false shepherd who runs away from dangerous situations for himself. (10, 14) In contrast to those who steal and abuse the sheep, Jesus is a caring shepherd who takes care of the sheep even to the “laying down his life”. The good shepherd who sacrifices his life for the sheep also relates to them in trust and intimacy; good shepherd dies for the sheep when predators appear. The good shepherd knows his sheep in the same way the Father knows the Son; the sheep know the shepherd in the same way the Son knows the Father. The Lord talked about laying down his life for the sheep five times in eight verses. The shepherd intentionally becomes the sacrificial lamb. (18) Jesus said that He must bring those who have not yet been brought into the one flock which is one body of Christ. (16) His death on the cross did not occur because earthly powers were stronger than the power of the heavenly Father. He willingly laid down his life for the sheep in accordance with God’s will. (17) Christ is the Word of God, the message of the self-giving love of God, who did not want the world to perish. (18) The shepherd alone decides who may enter the fold, but the voice of Christ calls out to all people. The shepherd’s voice is key, but sometimes we go astray just like sheep. Sheep may follow the voice of a stranger, get lost and fall into valleys. Many other voices and distractions tempt us from the right path. However, our good shepherd, Jesus will never leave us, and His voice will bring us back because we belong to him. Sometimes we are getting into troubles and struggling in difficulties, but we always have opportunities to listen to the voice of our good shepherd in our daily choices. We also have chances to be faithful as the Lord’s sheep. We can say ‘No’ to

18th April 2021 Third Sunday of Easter Title: To This We Are Witnesses (Scripture Readings: Acts 3:12-19; 1 John 3:1-7) By Heeyoung Lim “Peace be with you.” As we have seen the video, in the first part of John 3, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer at three in the afternoon. A man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful. Peter looked straight at him when the man asked them for money. (1- 4) They were on the way to pray, but they looked and helped him first instead of passing their way. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (6) Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. (7-8) All the people saw this well-known beggar walking, jumping, and praising. No one doubted what had happened. (9) This happened at the beautiful gate. Where is our beautiful gate? I hope we can all feel the church door is “beautiful” whenever we are coming to church where we worship God together and look after each other. I look forward we can open wide the door toward the wider community and the world beautifully through our faith and lives. The physical and spiritual miracle occurred in the same man at the same time by walking, jumping, and praising in the name of Jesus. God never asks us to give what we do not have; he expects us to give to those in need from what He has given us, and always to do it in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I hope we can thank God daily for all the great blessings we have in Christ. When we call Jesus’ name? Luke uses “in the name of Jesus” thirty-three times in the Book of Acts. How was this man healed? How is all this possible? Because of Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him. However, using the name of Jesus is not a matter of new kind of magic, there has to be faith in the one who speaks His name. When Peter and John were surrounded by an amazed crowd after the miracle, they said to the crowd “why do you stare at us?” (12) It was not though by our power, it was not us, it was Jesus. After healing Peter and John completely denied their own power and immediately said that all healing power came from Jesus. They proclaimed that God has glorified his servant Jesus; His name itself has made the man strong. (13, 16) Jesus has given him this perfect health through the disciple’s faith. We also remember John the Baptist once said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). All Christian ministries need to centre on Jesus. Our service for Jesus begins and ends in Jesus’ name, but God works through His people to accomplish His Mission. In Today’s text, Peter reminded us that people rejected the holy and righteous one, Jesus and sent Him to His death; he said “your sins may be wiped out” by repentance in faith. Acts 3:12–19 invites us not to repeat the crucifixion of Christ and leads us to repent and turn to God. Repentance refers to a change of mind, sometimes it describes turning around and walking in a different direction. They crucified the Messiah, but some of them returned to God by repentance accepting Him as their Saviour. They killed our Saviour, Jesus on the cross, but God raised him up. God wants us to be God’s people who does what is righteous. By God’s grace, repentance brings forgiveness through Christ, and that forgiveness is available to all who call upon His name in faith. The name of Jesus makes us grow up, rinses out our sins, and renews us. The resurrection and His work of bringing new life continues to be at the heart of the church. Most importantly, we are witnesses of risen Christ and God’s work. Repenting sins can be a sign of Christians and loving others can be a mark of authentic witnesses. Obedience to God’s commands is also a mark of our love for Him. In 1 John 3, God is righteous and loves us with a great love, and God’s children do not try to live in sin. Especially Ongoing, wilful sin is incompatible with true Christianity. True Christian experience is revealed not just in our beliefs but in our behaviour. 1 John 3:2 starts, “My dear friends, we are already God’s children”, and it says, “we know that we will be like Him when Christ returns”. This hope will make us keep ourselves holy just as Christ is holy as in verse 3. We are witnesses of Christ in the hope. We are loved by unconditional love and redefined as nothing less than God’s children and Jesus’ witnesses. We are also adopted into the family of God even though we have more changes to undergo. Sometimes our lives are twisted by a combination of our own sin and the effects of the sins of others, but our risen Christ gives us His peace when we are broken and imperfect. From time to tome the world does not understand us because we have been given a new identity in Jesus. On the other hand, when we look at ourselves, we know that sometimes our old identity is too strong to ignore and too powerful to escape. We may reflect “Am I a true child of God? when we do fearless self-searching, but we are precious God’s children and Jesus’ witnesses. We may face physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties in the experience of our own brokenness, but we can have a rest on the love of God and the peace of the Lord. We need to

11th April 2021 Second Sunday of Easter Title: My Lord and My God (Scripture Readings: John 20:19-31, Acts 4:32-35) By Heeyoung Lim The risen Christ is with us! The body of Jesus was not in the tomb, but the risen Christ has come to us. Whenever we are looking for Jesus, He comes to us wherever we are. Jesus went back to Galilee where Jesus spent most of his time with His disciples. He returned to His betrayers. Jesus returns to us. The good news was that Jesus not only rose from the dead, but he was seen in bodily form afterwards. The risen Christ keeps coming to us, calling us as His Easter community of believers. In today’s text, we see the followers of Jesus gathered behind locked doors full of fear, but then the risen Christ came to them. They did not come to Him; He came to them first. The risen Christ is coming to us and wanting us to live God’s ways of love, peace, and justice. We are never alone for the risen Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. We have Easter hope because Jesus has risen, and he loves us no matter what. Who is Jesus? Our living Lord has conquered both sin and death. Our resurrected Jesus said to the troubled disciples, “Peace be with you!” when he first appeared to the group. He had promised to relieve the disciples’ grief by replacing it with joy in John 16:20; His promise has been fulfilled. Jesus offered them peace in place of fear; He showed them his hands and his side, and they knew He is Jesus.  He also said to them, “I am sending you” and “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Jesus gave His disciples ‘Peace’, ‘mission’, and ‘the Holy Spirit’ in their times between the resurrection and the ascension. Sending disciples and giving responsibility are gifts bestowed along with the Spirit itself. Jesus has equipped us with peace and the Holy Spirit before He sends us on His mission field. In verse 23, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” If Jesus came to take away the sin of the world (1:29), disciples would continue the work of forgiving and peace-making through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The disciples were fearful despite what Peter and John had seen and what Mary had reported. The Lord appeared to offer them His peace which is totally different with worldly peace before they could respond. The peace Jesus gave would enable them to go out. As God sent Jesus, he sent them into the world. The locked door could not stop the resurrection body of Jesus, it was nothing to our Lord. He showed them the nail prints in his hands and the spear scar in his side. The disciples saw and met the resurrected Jesus who died now living again and standing before them. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. But Thomas who was absent then said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Thomas doubted even though other disciples said to Thomas “We have seen the Lord!” He did not believe them. There would be mistrust between disciples. A week later, in spite of locked doors, Jesus appeared and greeted them exactly as he had a week earlier. Jesus said again, “Peace be with you,” The Lord’s peace was related to individual’s inner peace and a community’s reconciliation at the same time; The peace within the community which needs to be one is significant. The evidence of the crucifixion continues in the resurrected body of Jesus. Jesus did not scold Thomas or condemn his hesitation. He provided the evidence only then did He say to him, “Stop doubting and believe”. (26) Jesus gave doubting Thomas a second chance and Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” And Jesus replied to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” God has given us the chance to be blessed by our faith. The disciples rejoiced, but Thomas’ response was praise. Praise and glory be to our God. Their joy was not an end, it needed to be continued to the glory of God. He is our Lord and our God. He is alive. Jesus is coming to us first even when we are in the darkness with grief, depression, and frustration. He is giving us His peace, new mission with the guidance of the Holy Spirit after He breaks through our locked door. He is sending us out to the world in the power of Lord’s resurrection. Jesus wants us to become the Easter community which is a peaceful and Spirit-filled church with great joy. When it comes to spiritual truth, we need to be prepared to believe what we have not seen. We are invited to trust our risen Jesus without seeing. We can overcome our trouble and suffering in the power of our Lord’s resurrection knowing the ultimate victory is His and ours. I hope and pray the transformation of fear into joy will be happening in our lives. We can say to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” and believe in Jesus together hoping the unity of the church in Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection is not just a one-time event, the living risen Christ is the Centre of our lives and our faith community. What does the full acknowledgement of the resurrection mean? It means taking our eyes off the empty tomb and placing them on the Lord. Let us allow the resurrected Lord to handle our hesitation to obey Him in everything. The living risen Christ is the Centre of the church’s creed. In Acts 2:43-47 & 4:32-35, Luke emphasized the unity of the church and added a message about its generosity in chapter 4.