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。
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I am now reading two very good books about capitalism. The first is "The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism" by Michael Novak and the second is "Money, Greed, and God" by Jay. W. Richards.
Michael Novak is an American Catholic philosopher and his book is one of the classic works on the subject. I have not finished reading the whole book yet but he seems to cover his subject in a very complete manner. His book was first published in 1982 but is really timeless. He started out as a socialist but gradually came to change his thinking. In his book he takes us through the steps that led to his conclusion that democratic capitalism was not only a good system but seems to be the only economic system that really works. It is a long and scholarly work and seems to be full of what I can only call "wisdom". At any rate, a very good read.
Jay W. Richards is a Protestant Christian Theologian and Apologist and his book was published just this year. (2009) The subtitle for his book reads, "Why Capitalism is the Solution and not the Problem". That pretty much sums up his message. It is a shorter book and is much easier to read than Michael Novak's book. However, their message is the same and I suspect that Jay's book may become a modern classic on the subject. Those who may not read "The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism" because it seems too long and difficult will no doubt find "Money, Greed, and God" easy and fun reading while being very deep at the same time. He uses eight myths that most people believe about capitalism and each chapter is devoted to one myth and showing why it is a myth and not the truth. And so, in this case also, a very good read.
If you have not yet read these two books I highly recommend them.
Paul
English service at the Bethany Christ Church
On Sunday the 14th of June from 4:00pm, we will be hosting our English service. It is an informal get together, praising and worshipping the Lord with our brothers, sisters, and friends. The service is conducted in English, with Japanese interpretation, so anyone can enjoy. Please come and join us. We also enjoy chatting over coffee and cookies after the service. See you there!
ベサニーキリスト教会 英語集会
6月14日（日）の午後4時から英語集会を行います。兄弟・姉妹・友達と共に、リラックスした雰囲気で賛美と礼拝をおこないます。集会は英語で行いますが、もちろん日本語の通訳も付きますので、どなたが参加して頂いても大丈夫。
是非ご参加ください。集会後のコーヒータイムでおしゃべりするのも楽しみの一つです。お待ちしています。
Lydia trying her hand at rock climbing at the Kura Iwa in Osaka, Japan.
Some weeks ago I wrote about "One Rope" and how thankful I was to have someone share their precious climbing rope with me. Some days ago, I went rock climbing with Lydia (Jon Dugan's daughter) and learned another important lesson-that was the joy of sharing.
When I bought all my climbing equipment last fall, the last thing I though about was someone else using it. That thought just did not enter my mind. However, talking to Lydia and finding out that she really wanted to do some rock climbing here I realized that to make it happen I would need to lend her all of my equipment.
Some days ago on a beautiful spring day we went rock climbing at Mt. Makio. After looking at the various climbing areas it was time for Lydia to climb. I helped her into my harness and explained the several pieces of equipment needed. I then had a really wonderful time watching her climb. In fact I think I enjoyed watching her climb more than had I been climbing myself. There is something special about enabling someone to enjoy and experience something new. There is the joy of being helped but then there is the joy of helping. There is the joy of receiving but then there is also the joy of giving.
At any rate we had a wonderful time of climbing (even though I did none of it) and were happy to go down the mountain a bit to the rest house in front of the temple for some hot coffee and good conversation with the good people who run the rest house there.
Matthew: So in everything,do to others what you would have them do to you.
Paul
Title: クリスチャンとして成長
洗礼を受けて早半年とちょっと…。
初めて証しを書きます新米クリスチャンnahoです。
私は救われた嬉しさや喜びでランランルンルン♪♪♪な日々を過ごしていたのですが、
最近になって“罪”という言葉にものすごく敏感になっていました。
というのも、神さまを知らない時は「罪の意識」も、「罪を犯す」ということも何も考えず過ごしていたけど、
神さまを知ってから、神さまが喜ばないこと、悲しむことはしたくない！と強く思いだしたんです。
…が、その気持ちとウラハラに毎日罪を犯してしまうしょーもない自分に凹んでいました。
いい子ちゃんでおりたいとは違うんだけど、いったいぜんたいどーしたらいいんだろうって。
その頃自分自身の問題でも色々あって（人間関係がしんどかったり、失恋したりetc…）、
もぉイヤや！何で？ってなってしまったり。
その時に同じベサニーの姉妹のみんなに聞いたり、聖書を読んだりしました。
でね、最終的には思いっきり神さまに言いました。「助けて～！！」と。叫び求めました。
そしていままでと明らかに違うお祈りを自分でしていることに気がついたんです。
その先にあったのは、何とも言えない“平安”な心でした。
だってこんな私でも神さまはめちゃくちゃ愛してくれてるのがわかったからです。
これがお祈りしてゆだねる、ってことなんだな～と少しだけ（ホントにちょっとだけやけど）
信仰が成長した気持ちになりました。
これからもいっぱい色々なことがあると思うけれども、
どんな時でも大胆に声に出して「神様～！！」って素直に言える自分でありたいと思います。
そしてベタニアのマルタとマリアのマリアのように、
イエス様だけを私の主として、いつどんなときも信じて歩んでいきたいと思います。
Naho
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Snow on Mt. Fuji above 2000 meters on May 28, 2009
My wife and I try to take a trip every April as our wedding anniversary is then. However, this year my physical condition was very bad and we could not do it, In May my condition improved and so we decided to take our annual trip. We decided on Mtl Fuji-not to climb but to look at and to take pictures of. One of the best spots for that is the Lake Kawaguchi area and so we took a hotel there,
On thre way we were treated to a wonderful view of snow covered Mt. Fuji. However when we got to our hotel the clouds moved in and by 5pm it was raining. What to do?
The next day it was raining even worse and so we decided that if we could not see Mt. Fuji from afar we would try to see it up close. In the rain we drove to the 2305 meter point using our 4WD vehicle. By the time we got there, we had entered the snow zone-everything was white-the ground, the rocks, the trees, and of course the parking places, We found a snow free spot to park and spent some time at the gift shop and at one of the coffee shops there. The air was very very cold and the coffee was supposed to warm us up. Realizing that we needed an old fashioned stove we headed to a shop that had a good stove and warmed up. It was amzaing to us to experience snow at this time of the year!
After that we enjoyed a nice drive back to Lake Kawaguchi-it was beautiful green green forest all the way. We just enjoyed the beauty of God's creation as we drove.
Even though we did not get to see the views of Mt. Fuji that we were expectiing driving in the snow zone above 2000 meters more than made up for it-we had a wonerful trip overall.
First of all I want to thank all of you for praying for me. After a very long period of weakness I am again feeling strong and healthy.I used to spend all of my evenings in bed but now I am up and around and can even enjoy various evening programs and visit friends in the evening In fact, by about 3pm I used to be very tired and would often head to bed at that early hour. I also would often run a fever in the evenings-38.5C was not un-common. However, I now do not ever seem to have a fever and have the strength to do many things. Please pray that I will continue to be in this state and of course that the cancer will continue to be contained.
My blood reports are all about the same with no big changes one way or the other. My next CT scan is scheduled for June 23rd-please pray for good results.
By God's grace I am preaching and teaching here at Bethany and also getting lots of exercise by doing rock climbing.My doctor seems very happy about this and encourages me to go to the mountains as much as possible.
Again, I want to thank all of you for your faithful prayers-I am sure that I am alive today because people have been praying for me.
