Pulpit Message Introduction for Oct.28

Pulpit Message Introduction
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” What is the good of being called sons of God? The good is to be His heir. We Chinese know better that inheritance is to be passed on to heirs. Once there was a rich man. He was old and had no sons. He said to himself. Since I have to let people take away my things after I die, I will give them away now so that I know who take what before I die. He called in many people and said to them, “Find whatever you like and you can take it!” Some took the piano, refrigerator, computer, hi-fi system, others took the watch, diamond, gold, pearl etc. But there was a little boy who took nothing. He said to the rich man, “Can I take you as my dad?” The rich man said, “Yes, of course!” Then the little boy said in an affectionate tone, “Daddy!” The rich man was very happy. He said, “From now on I have a son.” And he passed an order stating that from then on people could not take things from his house anymore. It was because he had to leave them all to his son. Likewise, if we are God’s sons and daughters, we are His heirs. All that is His is ours. How do we become God’s sons and daughters? We do that by being peacemakers. In II Corinthians 5:18 Paul said, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” The Ottawa Chinese United Church has been doing the ministry of reconciliation in this capital city for 45 years. Today on this anniversary Sunday let us celebrate how blessed we are to be called sons of God.
講壇信息介紹
耶穌說使人和睦的人有福了，因為他們必稱為上帝的兒子。作上帝的兒子有什麼好處呢？它的好處就是作後嗣。我們中國人的習慣，遺產都是給兒子的。從前有一個財主，老而無子，他想到，與其死后，不知甚麼人分享我的財產，不如趁我在生，由我分送好了！他便召集了許多人來，對他們說： “你們喜歡我的甚麼東西，只管拿就是！”于是有人拿了鋼琴，冰箱，電腦，音響系統，也有拿了手表，鑽石，黃金，珍珠等等，唯獨有一個小孩子，甚麼都不拿，只對那個財主說：“我想拿你做爸爸，可以嗎？”那財主說：“當然可以！”於是小孩子便很親熱地叫了一聲爸爸，財主就無限歡喜地說：“從今以后我有兒子了。”便吩咐說：“你們不能再拿我的東西了，全部都要留給我的兒子啊!” 照樣我們若是上帝的兒女，若是上帝的後嗣，則所有的都是我們的。我們如何才能做上帝的兒女呢？使人和睦的人，就可以了。哥林多後書五章18節說：“祂藉著基督使我們與他和好，又將勸人與祂和好的職分賜給我們”。所以耶穌說使人和睦的人有福了，因為他們必稱為上帝的兒子。加京華人聯合教會45年在渥太華宣傳和好的福音，我們做了使人和睦的工作，今天我們要慶祝我們必成為上帝的兒子的福氣。

Pulpit Message Introduction for Oct.21

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus preaches the Constitution of the Kingdom. Jesus preaches what he practices. His life proves his words. Measured by His effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away, one of them betrayed Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth—His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Many centuries have come and gone, and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. We are far within the mark when we say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever were built, all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.
講壇信息介紹
耶穌講登山寶訓，耶穌不單是講，祂也把這個天國的大憲章，切切實實的行了出來。這位溫柔謙卑的耶穌，出生在很少為人所知的小村落，母親是一個農家女。祂在另外一個小村莊長大，在父親的木匠店裏工作。三十歲后開始旅行佈道，先后三年之久。祂沒有寫過一本書，也沒有擔當過甚麼職務，也沒有一個屬於自己的家。他從沒有進過大學，也沒有涉足大的城市。足跡所到的地方，離祂出生地最遠不逾兩百公里。一切和偉大的人有關的東西，祂全沒有；祂連一張證書也沒有，有的只是祂自己。年紀很輕的時候大家就看不起祂，反對祂。祂的朋友拋棄祂，其中有一個更出賣了祂。祂被交在敵人手中，受審判，為人戲笑，嘲弄。祂被釘在一個十字架上，在兩個強盜當中。祂在世上擁有唯一的一件外衣，被執刑的士兵拈鬮來分。祂死后被人從十字架上取下來，埋葬在一個朋友讓出來的墳墓里。可是死亡沒有勝過祂，祂的復活給一切信他的人帶來了無比的希望和力量，祂愛的福音從祂生活的小城開始，逐漸傳遍全地球，改變了千萬人的生命。今天，祂已成為人類的中心，世界進步的動力。我們可以絕對不誇張地說，把全世界所有的陸軍海軍，所有議會的議員，所有統治過人類的皇帝，通通加起來，對地球上人民生活的影響力，還遠逺不及這個溫柔謙卑的耶穌哩。

Pulpit Message Introduction for Oct.14

Pulpit Message Introduction
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…
Since fall our church has been preaching on the subject about challenging Christian lifestyle in the secular world. The Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew chapters 5-7 also known as The Magna Carta of the Kingdom gives a good imperative to that kind of lifestyle. The standards of lifestyle that Jesus sets are very high. Jesus chose to give this sermon from a mountainside as a parallel to the mountain that Moses received God’s commandments in the Old Testament. The difference between the two mountains is that the former speaks about law and the latter speaks about grace. There is some debate as to whether the sermon is addressed to His disciples or to the crowds. He appears to begin with His disciples (Matthew 5:1) and to finish with everyone listening (Matthew 7:28). The teaching would seem to be primarily for the disciples, the equivalent today of those who are already Christians. But it is clearly appropriate that it be heard by the crowds—comparable, perhaps, to those who are not yet Christians. Jesus continually contrasts the two. He says, “Do not be like them.” His disciples should be different both from the non-religious, the gentiles and pagans (the equivalent today of the secular world), and also from the religious, the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus was not laying down a new law to replace the Old Covenant of Moses; He was teaching His followers how to live out the Christian life. The law sends us to Christ to be justified and Christ sends us back to the law to be sanctified. It is not easy to make good Christians in the contemporary world. But with Christ’s grace we can make it.
講壇信息介紹
耶穌看見這許多的人、就上了山、既已坐下、門徒到他跟前來。。。從秋季開始本堂的講臺信息將集中在基督徒生活在世界所面對的挑戰。馬太福音第五章至第七章稱為登山寶訓，正好對這個問題提出了最實際可行和有效的指示。登山寶訓也叫天國的大憲章。它是耶穌上山（馬太5：1）到耶穌下山（馬太8：1）所講的天國子民要聽的信息。這個信息的聽眾最初是門徒（馬太5：1） 后來是眾人，因為他們都希奇他的教訓（馬太7：28）。耶穌上山頒佈這憲章，就好像摩西上西乃山頒佈十誡一樣。所不同者是摩西講律法；耶穌講恩典。我們基督徒是天國的子民，但仍然住在這個充滿邪惡的世界上。我們要入世而不屬世。正如耶穌最初是講給門徒聽的，后來眾人也一起來聽了。耶穌說你們不要像他們。意思是說基督徒不但與不信的人有分別，更要與那些只有宗教外表但沒有信仰實質的經師和法利賽人有分別。耶穌來不是要廢掉律法，乃是要成全律法。律法把人帶到耶穌的面前去求恩典得憐憫，耶穌就把我們帶回律法那裏去實現成聖的工夫。面對世界的挑戰，作基督徒是不容易的，但靠著耶穌的恩典我們可以得勝有餘。