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The Church Built by the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 | Pentecost Sunday A Question on the Church's Birthday Today is Pentecost Sunday. In the church calendar, we can call this the church's birthday. On the fiftieth day after Jesus' resurrection, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples who were gathered in the upper room, and after Peter preached, three thousand people were baptized that very day. That event marked the beginning of the Jerusalem church. And the church th

The Blessing of Living by the Word (Psalm 1:1–3 | May 17, 2026 | UP Series) Everyone knows that in order to understand the age we are living in, we must first understand the prevailing philosophies of that time. Today, we are said to have moved beyond modernism and postmodernism into an era called metamodernism — an age of oscillation, randomness, and contradiction. It is an era that seeks new meaning amid great complexity and confusion, one that acknowledges diversity while

One Name Acts 17:22–31 Introduction: My Son Cried Last week, my son's sports season came to an end. It was the last official game of a sport he had played for four years. I wasn't able to drive him to every single game, but I tried my best to make it whenever I could. After the games were over, I would drop off all the kids who came along before heading home, and it would usually be close to 10 o'clock at night by the time I walked through the door. With last week's game, tho

Another Stephen Acts 7:55–60 | Sunday Worship, May 3, 2025 ▸ Introduction — Does What I Do Even Matter? 1. Have you ever found yourself thinking this — maybe in the middle of serving at church: "Does what I do here even matter?" Practicing an instrument week after week with the worship team, ladling rice in the kitchen, scrubbing the church bathroom... What does any of that have to do with the Kingdom of God? 2. I think Stephen's story today has an answer to that questi

John 10:1-10 "Do You Know This Voice?" A Familiar Passage That Feels Unfamiliar Today's passage is one we've heard before. The Good Shepherd, the gate for the sheep, abundant life. These are stories anyone who has spent time in church has encountered at least once. Yet as I prepared this passage, I found myself realizing that what I thought was familiar had never truly sunk in — it had simply felt comfortable. I want to share with you today how directly this passage speaks to

The Road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-35 The Avignon Captivity If you've been following the news closely lately, you may have heard about the "Avignon Captivity." Tension between the United States government and the Vatican has been ongoing ever since Pope Leo XIV — a Chicago native — sharply criticized President Trump's remarks during the Iran conflict, in which Trump suggested he would "wipe out entire civilizations." The Pope declared this absolutely unacceptable. Trump criticized

Opening the Door of Fear, Walking the Path of Mission John 20:19–31 Introduction After Easter Sunday passes, personally, the tension unwinds and I return to everyday life to take care of various things that have piled up. Since our second child is heading to college this time, we need to help decide on a school, so we've arranged a trip to New York next week. To wrap up the first half of the year well, the church has also built a congregation management program using AI. I fe

He is not here. Matthew 28:1–10 (Easter Sunday) Introduction: The Morning of the Empty Tomb Let us greet the person next to you: Jesus has risen. Dear beloved congregation, the Lord has risen! Over this past week, as we gathered for early morning prayer during Holy Week, we deeply meditated on the suffering of Jesus. On Friday evening, we stood together before the cross. And yesterday morning, we spent time in the silence before the tomb. And today, at last, the morning of t

Cheers and the Cross Matthew 21:1–11 | Palm Sunday Today is Palm Sunday, the day we remember when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem and the people waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The story of Jesus entering Jerusalem is recorded in all four Gospels, but only Matthew mentions two donkeys. Today, we will look at what is unique to Matthew and reflect on the meaning of Palm Sunday, as well as the journey through Holy Week to Easter. The Legacy of

The Mind Set on the Flesh, the Mind Set on the Spirit Romans 8:6–11 What Are We Becoming Like? Last week, the Academy Awards took place. For those of us who grew up watching dubbed movies on weekend television specials, the Oscars have always felt like a dream stage—a global festival celebrating the world of cinema. From time to time, we have seen Korean films receive attention at European film festivals, but it seems that this was the first time an animation called Kedeheon

Who Is Jesus? And What Kind of Church Are We? Text: John 9:1–41 The Beginning of the Question: “Who Is Jesus?” The passage we read together today, John chapter 9, is a very long story. It begins with the healing of a man who was blind from birth, but the center of this text is not simply about the healing itself. There is one question that carries the entire story forward: “Who is Jesus?” When this event occurs, people begin asking questions from their own perspectives. The

From Tribulation to Hope Romans 5:1–11 “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger” – How Culture Talks About Suffering There is a song I sometimes listen to that became a hit when it was released in 2007. It is Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger).” If you hear it, you have probably heard it at least once before. As the title suggests, the song carries the message that if the hardships we encounter in life do not destroy us, they will instead make us stronger. I

Riding the Headwind Upward John 3:1–17 Beyond the Romance of The Little Prince to the Mission of Night Flight When we think of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, we often recall the romantic star journeys and childlike innocence of The Little Prince . Though the novel certainly gains new depth as we age, the work that has given me deeper reflection and spiritual awe as a pastor is his other masterpiece, Night Flight . This novel is rooted in the author’s own intense real-life experie

“Our God! The God of Grace” Matthew 4:1–11 Into the Wilderness, Right After the Baptism Dear beloved congregation, as we enter the first Sunday of Lent, we stand before the Word of God from Matthew chapter 4. The passage opens with a striking scene: Jesus, led by the Spirit, goes into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The placement of this text is remarkably intentional. Just one chapter earlier, in Matthew 3:17, God publicly declares over Jesus, “This is my beloved

The Glory Revealed on the Mountain Matthew 17:1–9 A City on a Hill: A Shining Ideal and a Weighty Warning Last week, we shared Jesus’ words, “A city built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt 5:14). In the Gospel of Matthew, the meaning of the mountain is distinctive. Just as Moses went up Mount Sinai, Matthew continues to record scenes in which Jesus goes up a mountain, and stories of Jesus going up the mountain with his disciples—such as the Sermon on the Mount and today’s

Living as the Light and Salt of the World Matthew 5:13–20 Introduction | Standing Before Two Awkwardly Paired Passages 1. This week’s lectionary presents preachers with a somewhat awkward configuration of the biblical text, because it brings together two passages from the middle of the Sermon on the Mount: “salt and light” (5:13–16) and “the fulfillment of the law” (5:17–20). 2. At first glance, and even upon a second reading, these two passages appear to be addressing diff

Remember, and Live It Out Micah 6:1–8 Introduction | An Age When Comfort Has Become the Standard of Worship These days, we live in an age where the standard for worship has become how comfortably we can worship. We consider the condition and location of church buildings, and we place importance on how well worship is “served.” The church is increasingly becoming a place that worries about how to satisfy people. Originally, the church was meant to be a community where serving

The Kingdom of God Matthew 4:12–23 The Turmoil of the Age We Are Living In There are several moments of major change that I remember clearly. When I was young, hosting the Asian Games and the Olympics in Korea marked a major turning point for the nation, and when I entered college, it seemed that computers and the internet were beginning to bring profound changes to the world. Around the time I was discharged from the military, the 2002 World Cup felt like another major turni

The One Who Dwells Among Us John 1:29–42 A Decisive Question Hidden in a Quiet Passage The passage we read together today, John 1:29–42, does not appear particularly remarkable at first glance. There is no striking miracle, no crowd rushing in. Jesus is not healing the sick, nor is He delivering a powerful sermon. It simply seems like a story where one person points to another and says, “Look,” and a few people follow Him and have a conversation. Yet as we read the passage re

Someone Was There for You Matthew 3:13–17 Encountering the “Adult Jesus” Standing at the Jordan River for the First Time 1. With the beginning of the Season of Epiphany, today we are reading the passage from Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17. This passage corresponds to a very important turning point within the Gospel. 2. The Scripture we read today is the scene in which the child Jesus, who was born in a manger, is revealed as the adult Jesus together with the Season