ベサニー・キリスト教会

大阪府堺市のはずれにある、泉北ニュータウンのそのまたはずれにある村の小さな教会。
でもそこに一歩踏み入れたら暖かい家庭的な雰囲気にあなたの心もなごむことでしょう。
聖書の中にある、一世紀当時の教会の姿がここにはあります。
まだ一度も教会に行ったことのない方､以前教会に行っていたけど今は行っていない方､どなたでもどうぞご遠慮なくお出で下さい。

Next Sunday, May 11, 2008, will be a busy Sunday at our church. First of all, it is Pentecost Sunday and so my message will be about the Holy Spirit. We are hoping that Mr. Y will be able to share a special song with us at that time. It is also Mother's Day and so should be a time to appreciate our Moms. Then, in the afternoon, starting at 4pm we will be having an English Service for those of you who speak English or who are interested in speaking English. Mr. Y will also be singing and sharing his testimony at that time also.

You are all very welcome to join us this coming Sunday-join us in our morning service at 10:30 am or join us for our English Service at 4pm. I hope to see you all then.

数日前に経験したことをお話したいと思います。

同じ社宅に住む小学校２年生の男の子が、同じく２年生の女の子を訪ねてきたところに居合わせました。
２人の会話から察するに、男の子がいっしょに帰ろうと約束したのに、女の子がその子を放ってほかの友達と走って帰ってしまい、
その理由を訊きにきたということのようでした。
男の子はよほど悲しかったのでしょう、眼にうっすらと涙をうかべて、自分の気持ちを伝えていました。　
女の子のほうは少しバツの悪そうな顔をしながら、「約束した覚えはない」と答えていました。
結局、『自分がされて悲しいことを、ほかの人にしてはいけない』ということをお母さんに諭された女の子が、
ごめんなさいと謝り、男の子は少しほっとしたような顔をして、階段を上り家にもどっていきました。

約束をしたのか、したという自覚がなかったのか、それはわからないことですが、あいまいなままにしないで、
気持ちを伝え、また相手の考えを確認しようとした男の子の純真な思いと、素直にあやまった女の子の気持ちとを、私はほほえましく感じていました。
また、自分の勝手な解釈で事態を納得しようとしたり、なかったことのようにふるまおうとしたり（もちろん、それもときには必要なことでは
あるのですが）する自分の思いを省みたりしていたのです。
が、ここでもっと大事なことに思い至りました。　それは、この男の子のように、私は神さまを悲しませてはいないだろうかということでした。
　
聖書には、『心を尽くし、精神を尽くし、力を尽くして、あなたの神、主を愛しなさい。』という教えがよく出てきます。
申命記6：5や、第２列王記23：25に、また、聖書のなかでどの戒めが一番大切かと訊かれた主キリストが、
『神を愛すること、そして隣人を愛すること、これ以外に大事な命令はない』とお答えになる場面があります（マルコ12：29-31）。
『御子キリストのいのちと引き換えにしてまで、罪を赦し、愛してくださっている神さまと交わした、神さまを一番にして生きるという約束』を、
私は『したつもりはない』とか、『していない』などと、のらりくらりとかわしては神さまを悲しませてはいないかと思ったのです。

残念ながら今の私には、『悲しませてはいない』と、言い切る自信がありません。
悲しませるようなことをしていた自分を赦してくださいと、この女の子のように素直に謝りたいと思います。
そして、決して変わることのない神さまの約束を信じ、神さまへの約束をいつも守る者でありたいと願い、その力をも与えてくださいと
祈りたいと思います。

　すべての良い贈り物、また、すべての完全な賜物は上から来るのであって、光を造られた父から下るのです。
父には移り変わりや、移り行く影はありません。　　　ヤコブの手紙　1：17

　イエス・キリストは、きのうもきょうも、いつまでも、同じです。　　　　ヘブル人への手紙　13：8

On the 11th of May we will be holding an English Service here at the church starting at 4pm. We hope to have a couple special guests. Mr. Y who now lives in the States will be back in Japan for GW and so we are hoping he will be able to share some songs with us and also to share a testimony.

If you are interested in Englsih, please join us. Mr. T from our church will translate everything into Japanese so you will not miss anything even if your English is rusty.

We are all hoping to see you then. Please come.

The first church service at Bethany Church was in 1980. However, the seeds for this work were planted in 1974 and 1975 at the Omega Coffeehouse in Umeda. My original vision for evangelism in Japan was not through a church but through a Christian coffeehouse.

Over a dozen young Christians from various local Osaka churches joined me in this venture. However it was not long lived and I realized that God was calling me to a more traditional type of outreach-in other words church planting and pastoring.

However, to go from running a Christian coffeehouse to pastoring a church is not an easy process. I am forever thankful that this group of young Christians that gathered at the Omega coninued to support me with prayer and advice and all manner of other help. As a result, in 1980 I was able to start the Bethany Christian Church. However, the Omega people continued to pray for and support Reiko and I. and this support has continued to the present.

One of our main co-workers at the Omega was Shin Chan. He is a Christian Singer/Songwriter and often gave lived gospel concerts at the Omega. Last week he called me up and suggested that we get together to record some of the songs that we used to sing back in the 70s.

And so, yesterday, he brought all his recording equipment and we set up a bit of a recording studeo in our upstairs spare room. We ended up recording 4 songs.

The first was "Glory Glory". This was a song that really sustained me throught the first 2 or 3 years of my missionary work. It is a simple song that I could sing anytime to encourage myself and also if I was placed in front of a crowd of people I could alwasy share a bit about my relationship with Jesus Christ and then sing this song. Besides Shin Chan and I we also got Reiko to join in on this song.

The second song ended up being a secular song-"Country Roads" of John Denver fame. It was a song we sang an awful lot back then and so decided to record it even though it is not a gospel song.

The third song we recorded was "Since I Opened uo the Door" by Lovesong. The only problem was we could not remember neither the melody nor the words! I went searching and found an old tape with the song in Japanese. Through that tape we were able to remember the melody and also the English words of the chorus. So, we recorded it in Japanese with the chorus in English.

Finally, as kind of an afterthought, I recorded "I've Got Peace Like a River"-another simple song that we sang often at various and sundry meetings.

Recording these songs was a wonderful experience as it was a chance to think back about all the help and guidance that God has given us over the years. All the members of the Omega group are serving God in the place where He has put them. It is wonderful to realize that God is alive and He never stops working-the same God who was working in the 70s is now working in 2008. Praise the Lord!

When I came to Japan as a missionary in 1973 I had no idea what Golden Week was. Either the term was not used in the 50s and 60s when I was living in Shiga Prefecture or it just had no relationship to the Sunde family schedule. At any rate I had no knowledge of Golden Week-usually spoken of as GW.

What Golden Week is is a period of time in Japan where there are so many national holidays that the whole work force pretty much takes it easy for a week. The holidays are April 29th, May 3rd, May 4th, May 5th, and May 6th.

Whap happens during Golden Week? Basically, people that can afford it take long trips while others take in a lot of day trips or just spend their time taking it easy at home I have done all of the above. Some years ago, Reiko and I and the Dugan family took a very nice trip to the Shinshu area of Japan during GW. Shinshu is kind of like Minnesota and so it was a lot of fun.

This year, so far, I only have one special event in my schedule. On the 1st, Shin Chan, who I used to do music ministry with back in the 70s, will be coming over and we hope to do some music together and actually do some recording if possible.

Many years on the 3rd of May I head to Mt. Kongo for their annual awards ceremony. Last year, I received an award for climbing Mt. Kongo 1500 times. My friend and fellow Bethany Church member, Mr. K, received a medal for climbing 100 times. I may or may not make it this year. Interestingly, because Mt. Kongo is over 1,000 meters high, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom on the 3rd so that event is known as the Mt. Kongo Cherry Blossom Festival.

At any rate, if you know people in Japan and are having a hard time contacting them, it is probably because of GW. Wait a week and try again and they will be back on the job..

"The flesh and the Spirit are the two powers. Under the rule of either, every act is done. Let our every step be a walk after and through the Spirit." page 190 of The Spirit of Christ

Amen

It is that time of year again! This morning I just could not get myself to head in the direction of Mt. Kongo.It is still cold and the leaves are not yet out at the peak.

Instead, I took down my rock climbing shoes and headed off towards Mt. Makio. There, all the leaves were out and the late cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The sky was blue and the sun was warm-a perfect day to start the 2008 rock climbing season.

Because of my weak body, it took me a bit of time to get to the main rock climbing area. However, that was just more time to enjoy the scenery and to take pictures. The rock was just like I remembered it from last year-nice and dry and just waiting to be climbed.

I had a very enjoyable climb up to the main ledge where I enjoyed the view and a cup of coffee for a long long time. I then headed up to the peak to again enjoy the breeze and the view and a second cup of coffee.

I'm sure I will still continue to climb Mt. Kongo but at the same time I am pretty sure that when the weather is good, I will mostly be climbing the rocks at Mt. Makio. After the snow and the cold it is great to enjoy a different kind of mountain and a different kind of climbing.