남인도교회 난달노회 희망공동체 봉헌예배 설교

관리자 2013-02-27 (수) 11:10 13년전 1816

배태진 총무는 2013년 2월 23일 남인도교회(Church of South India, CSI) 난달노회 희망공동체(이옥희 선교동역자 협력) 봉헌예배에서 아래의 내용으로 설교하였습니다.

Hallelujah!

Brothers and sisters, it is a privilege to be able to stand here today, and share in this special time of celebration and dedication. Today we lift up our hearts to dedicate not only this building to God’s service, but also the ongoing partnership between CSI and PROK for the work of God’s mission in our countries and the world.

The church began in the Jewish community, when the followers of Jesus, who were all Jews who had come to salvation and new life of Jesus Christ, passed on the teaching to others in their synagogues. This community was soon joined by Gentiles who came to the synagogues, attracted by the teachings of the God of Israel, or in the market places heard the message of Jesus as it was shared by the apostles, and those who heard their teaching were led to belief.

The mixing of communities in this way (Jews and Gentiles) led to tensions: Jewish teaching said that those who came to belief had to take on Jewish ways, but it was the position of Paul, standing up for Gentiles in the Council in Jerusalem, to say that this was a burden not of God’s choosing, and in Jesus, all are one and equal, Jews and Greeks, slave and free, male and female.

This teaching is relevant in the world even today. In the church in India, where there are still caste divisions among people. So still the teaching of unity and equality in God, within the body of Christ, is of vital significance today. We know what a challenge it is throughout India to banish the caste system, even within the churches, and we pray for the unity of the body of Christ to become a deep reality throughout India. In Korea also, there is racism and discrimination against the many southeast Asians who come to work in Korea, and therefore we pray for God’s unity in Korea.

D.L. Moody was a great American evangelist of the late 19^th century. He was a clerk in a shoe store, but convicted by the knowledge of the love of God for him, he wanted to share this knowledge with others. He began gathering street children for a Sunday School, teaching them to read to they could would be able to read the precious words of the Bible for themselves. He went on to found churches, schools and the famous Moody Bible Institute for the "education and training of Christian workers, including teachers, ministers, missionaries and musicians who may completely and effectively proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ". The power of the Holy Spirit was upon such institutions, as we pray they will be on this new institution, Hope Community Centre, we are just inaugurating and on the other places consecrated to God’s work by the Church of South India.

When D.L. Moody died, the epitaph on his tombstone said, “If God be your partner, make your plans big”. He went out in mission daily, in absolute faith that God had entrusted him with a message to share both with his family and friends, and with the nations, and could say, as Paul said to Timothy (II Timothy 1:12), “I am full of confidence, because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that Day what he has entrusted to me.” This is the faith of the people of God, that each one of us is entrusted by God to share God’s Good News through our lives. It is the faith carried out by Mission co-workers and by many within our midst. We celebrate their work, as we celebrate the work of the entire body of Christ.

At PROK we hear and rejoice about accounts from Rev. Dr. Yi Ok Hee of the work that is taking place in the Church of South India. We hear of mission among the Dalits – like this place, Hope Community Centre, that offers vocational training for job opportunities as well as many other community and educational services. We hear from her of church planting and church building, we hear of children who are sponsored and the scholarships which are provided by Koreans in a beautiful mission partnership between Kobaek Church in Kwangju Presbytery and Gyoongbuk Presbytery and Nandyal Diocese. Through Rev. Yi Ok Hee and other mission co-workers, and sometimes through people from India themselves who visit Korea for exchanges or for training opportunities, we hear of the work of the church, of lives that are being changed as people meet Jesus Christ and gain new opportunities, and we in Korea are motivated to grow in support for the mission of God.

In his New Testament letters written to members of the churches and to people he cared for, Paul talks about daily holding others in prayer, and he calls for them to pray for him. This is a most important aspect of mutual partnership, that we bring each other continually before God in prayer. We are fellow servants of God. God has entrusted us to share each others’ lives, both the sufferings and the triumphs. We trust that God will bless those who help and encourage us, but God asks us to pray without ceasing, that God’s perfect work will be carried out, in India and in Korea, that God will lead us to Justice and Peace and fullness of life, and that God will enable us to influence our society, as leaven in the loaf, towards God’s Justice and Peace.

So we in the PROK pray for the successes of your communities of faith in their faithful outreach with the love of God to all the injustices you experience, and call for your prayers in return. As with many of the early Christians, we in other parts of the world have heard of the trials and persecutions of Christians in this country of India, by those for whom your teachings are seen as a threat. We commend your courage and pray that you be strengthened in confidence day by day. At the same time, there are also many situations in Korea that need to be touched by the love of God, and so we depend upon you for prayer. Please pray for us, and we will pray for you.

The work of Christ is done, sometimes in palaces, but more often in the humble streets and homes of the ordinary people of our communities. God has entrusted this work to each one of us. Let us continue in faith, as partners in the work of Christ. Let us make our plans big – to serve our fellow men and women as Christ has shown by his example, and to win our entire nations to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

[이 게시물은 관리자님에 의해 2016-11-03 21:36:25 총무 칼럼에서 이동 됨]

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