Three Factors for Christian Growth
There are several factors for Christian growth. For example, Christian friendship is very important especially when a person is discouraged. In every worship service, we encourage one another in three areas in order to grow spiritually. First, we should read the Bible daily. Some may read it for the sake of reading without understanding anything they read but we read it in order to understand God’s will for us and put it in practice. Therefore, a new Christian does not have to read prophets in the OT but ought to read the basic teachings of Christ. Second, we pray to God daily. The primary reason for praying is to praise, glorify God and give thanks to Him. Everyday we realize God’s authority, providence, and care for us. Third, we regularly attend the worship service in order to grow. The Christian cannot grow apart from Christ’s body but must be connected with one another in Christ.
We grow gradually with God’s care and love. I believe if we keep doing these three things, we will grow spiritually and numerically. We continue depending on Him as we seek His will.
Introducing Our Member, Bogi
We have changed the location of our picture board and rearranged the pictures. When I looked at the board, I thought we were truly an international church.
In the Japanese congregation we have a Chinese woman from Shanghai. She has been a very faithful Christian although her husband is not a Christian yet. Her name is Bogi. Her husband and she have been living in Japan for 20 years. She was baptized at Tachikawa Church of Christ about 15 years ago. I am often blessed to see her strong faith in Christ. Her desire and hope is that someday her husband will become a Christian. According to her, he is impossible, but she continues praying for him. We do too and often remember him in prayers after an invitation song.
Introducing a Couple
Kazuo and Seiko have been attending the service since two years ago. Seiko, his wife has been a Christian about six years and a very faithful member of the church. But Kazuo is not a Christian yet. He has read the New Testament a couple of times, and now he has been reading the Old Testament. He has a hard time to accept what God did in history of Israel. He thinks God of the Old Testament is so different from Jesus Christ. I have a class with them once a month which no other people attend.
Tomorrow we will talk about this subject. We will discuss the uniqueness and attributes of God’s nature throughout the Bible, which both God of the OT and Jesus Christ reveals. But also we will discuss differences in terms of covenant.
A Class on Western Civilization
A couple of weeks ago I started teaching a class on Western Civilization to two adults. I had taken a class on this subject in college. I have been also reading two volumes of college text books on it. Last week I talked about the overview of the western history in Europe. They asked me about the meaning of B.C. and A.D. They were also curious about why some people use B.C.E. and C.E. This week I will talk about Old Testament history and Judaism. It will be very interesting to see how this class will go. They are kind of off guard because they listen to lecture in English. It may sound strange to you, but it is true.