ベサニー・キリスト教会

God has broken into our silence. He has spoken and has come down Himself. And in his written and living Word we are given truth from outside our situation, truth that throws light on our little lives and our little world. This word of God is the only effective Archimedean point to gain the leverage to raise us above the forces of gravity in our human condition.

Page 107 of Prophetic Untimeliness by Os Guiness

Spring has come and is a great time to enjoy canyoning at Mt. Kongo.Today, Mr.K and I took a couple suburban kids canyoning up the Myoken Valley. The whole valley is like one long gentle waterfall and so the kids had a great time choosing which route to take and sometimes getting wet but still loving it. I hope that through this experience the kids will have learned that there are more fun things to do in life besides computer games and comic books. At the end of our climb I was hoping for some nice views from the top but the annual spring winds brought so much desert sand over from China that there was nothing to see. We finished our hike by going to see how the wild dog's tooth lilies (katakuri in Japanese) were coming along. The leaves were out but no flowers yet. So, now I have something to look forward to on a future climb....

来週の日曜日はイエスキリストの復活をお祝いするイースター礼拝があります！是非ご出席くださいますよう、ご案内致します。８時半〜墓前礼拝(金剛生駒霊園・河内長野 １０時半〜礼拝 礼拝後、昼食会(無料)皆様のお越しをお待ちしています！

The cherry blossoms are now at their best at Ohike Park. At 5:30 this morning I drove to Mt. Kongo and found the upper part of the mountain all covered with snow. The trees on the main peak were all white with a different kind of blossom-blossoms made of snow and ice. Mt. Kongo is not a high mountain but the contrast between the lowlands and the peak always makes it a worthwhile climb. I certainly did not think I would see any more snow there this year so today was a real treat for me.

昨日はイースター礼拝でした！朝８時半から、教会墓前でニューライフ教会の兄姉と共に素晴らしい礼拝を持つ事ができました！ドウゲン先生がメッセージをして下さいました。「このお墓に納められているのは、愛する兄弟姉妹の亡骸であって、魂はすでに天国です。ここにいる私達はいずれ死を経験します。その時イエス様にある希望を持っている事は何と素晴らしい事でしょうか？」お母様を先に天国に送られた三人の娘さんとご主人が賛美されました。その賛美は、まるで青空に吸い込まれ、天国まで響いているように感じられました☆主を知っている幸いを思います！ハレルヤ☆

Twenty years ago I attended a leader's meeting at Bethany in Minneapolis. At that time we were challenged about the importance of the Critical Event-that in any work there is a critical event that MUST be happening to make that work worthwhile. This Easter that teaching came to mind. For Christianity the Critical Event is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Either Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is still alive or Christianity is all a lie. Of course that is the point that Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 15:17 "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!"

But praise be to God, Christ IS risen.And on Easter morning that message was preached across the whole land of Japan. Our church had nearly twice the number of people attending as usual-I trust it was the same for other churches and that a great number of people heard the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and came in touch with this Critical Event!

For the first time in maybe 15 years I got good and lost in the mountians today! Mr. S and I planned on seeing the Shimizu Waterfall which is the highest waterfall in the Izumi Mountains. After seeing the falls I thought it would be good to go through the beautiful valley up beyond the falls and then take the ridge route back to the Sefuku Temple and then back to the parking lot. However, at the end of the valley I took what I thought was the right route up to the ridge but it was the wrong ridge. After an hour of hiking with a vague feeling that this is not right, we came out on an un-familiar logging road. At that point I knew we were completely lost and I had no idea where we were. Of course the only thing to do was to back track and hope that we remembered the way we came. We made it back to the main valley before dark and so were able to end the day on a positive note. At least I ended the day on a positive note. Mr. S asked me, "Were there any parts of today's climb that you liked?" I assume that that meant that he himself was having a hard time finding any good points-getting all sweaty and tired and then being told at the end that we were lost and would need to back track does not seem to be his idea of a good day!!

4月21日土曜日　メンズ主催の食事会を行います。メニュ-はホワイト・シチュ-とビズケットです。濱さんのお友達リックさんが作り方を教えます。スペシャル・ゲストは諸岡信一さんで最近かかった病との戦いについて証と歌を歌います。（ポ－ル先生とのデュエットがあるかもしれない。。）お友達、愛する人々を誘ってお集まりしましょう。会費は大人500円；子供200円です。時間は16時から準備と18時から食事とプログラムです。よろしく、どうぞ。　　西山マ－ク。

来週の木曜日午前11時に予定していましたミニB会は、都合で今度の日曜日礼拝後に変更になりました。ぜひ礼拝からご参加ください！昼食を共にします！皆さんにお会いできるのを楽しみにしています。

I am now about four fifths through "The Great Evangelical Disaster" by the late Francis Schaeffer. I am ashamed to admit that even though I knew about this book I never took the time to buy it or read it until now. I am finding it really well written and easy to understand and even though over 20 years have passed since it was published it seems to be really timely. While reading it I was reminded of "The Battle for the Bible" by Harold Lindsell. This is a book that I have read many times and which is also a very good book. However, Schaeffer presents his material in a way that only he can. I strongly recommend "The Great Evangelical Disaster". If some of you have never read Schaeffer before, this might be a good book to start with.

こんばんは。今日はニューライフの20周年記念コンサートに参加しました。ゲストは森繁昇さんでした♪イエス様を一人でも多くの方に伝えたいと言う彼の心が伝わる素晴らしいコンサートでした♪今年の夏、キャンプで彼の賛美を聴くことかできます！皆さん、ぜひ、ご参加ください。

That is the title of one of Christain Singer/Songwriter Noboru Morishige's songs. Last night some of us went to hear him in concert at the New Life Church. His last song was, "I'll Die Walking" and speaks of his desire to live his life to the end serving Jesus. Not to sit down and give up and die but rather to live and die serving Jesus. Noboru Morishige is a person who has been a great help to all of the Bethany churches here in Japan. He has come and done concerts in at least three of the Bethany churchs and a fourth church expressed interest in having him come in the near future. He also is a regular guest at our annual Bethany summer camp where members from all of our Bethany churches attend. I want to thank Noboru San for his songs and his message to us in the Bethany group of churches here in Japan. He lives in Hawaii but comes to Japan about four times a year to do concerts and evangelism. His homepage is www.theday.org Check it out and if you have a chance attend one of his concerts.

土曜日２１日メンズ・サパ-がもうずぐ始まります。リックさんは一人でカルフ－ルで材料を買った皆さんに彼の専門ホワイト・マッシュル－ム・コ－ン・シチュウを作り方を教えます。導きたい友人または家族がいればこれがチャンス。ちょっと疲れた方にも元気が出ます。是非参加しましょう・・・　西山マ-ク

昨日、コメントをして下さった方、ありがとうございました。ただ、文が文字化けしていて読めませんでした。ご確認してもう一度トライしてください！

In spite of the heavy title this is a most interesting and challenging book. In his introduction he makes the following statement on page 16. "Evangelical theologians believe the Bible is an infallible, absolutely true communication in human language that came from an infinite, personal, and morally perfect God."

In part one he covers such subjects as God, Miracles, Revelation, Logic, Meaning, Truth, and Language-all subjects which are very meaningful to us as Christians.

In part two he gives the best treatment of Bibliology that I know of. The term that keeps on coming up in my reading recently about the Bible and Biblical inerrancy is "watershed". Once we lose our faith in Biblical inerrancy all manner of other errors follow. Dr. Geisler starts with Biblical inerrancy and builds his systematic theology from there.

I believe there are four more books in the set but I have not bought or read them and so can make no comments about the rest. However, I would strongly recommend Volume One to thinking Christians who are concerned not only about what they believe but also why they believe what they do.

「ミニB」って何かふざけてる？ような名称ですが、実は「B」は「ベタニア会（婦人会）」の「B」であり、べサニーキリスト教会のすこーしばかり若い（幼くて小さい→ミ二）婦人たちが、先輩婦人方のように、お互いに祈り合い信仰を支えあい共に成長して行きたいと願って、できました。現在は３０～４０代の女性教会員が中心になって、楽しく交流しています。

２００６年５月から２００７年３月まで、毎月１回、友人たちを誘い、集会をもちました。賛美と祈りで始まり、牧師夫人（れいこサン）やメンバーが順に、聖書にある女性たちについて調べてきたことを発表して、いろんな思いや考えを述べあう機会をもちました。昼食を作りながら、そして食事中も、和気藹々と話がはずみ、毎回、神様の祝福を実感する集会があたえられました。感謝！９月には温泉に一泊してきたのですが、とにかく笑いつづけていました。（あ、もちろん、たくさん祈り語りあいもしましたよ。）楽しかったです。クリスマス・イブ礼拝では、恒例の合唱で賛美しました。（準備練習中は、女子高生の集まりみたいに．．．）（~o~）/～

２００７年４月からは、毎月１回、日曜礼拝後に、軽食をとりながら１時間半ほど交わりをもつ予定です。
また、年４回（３ヶ月毎）は、友人・知人を招き、教会に（そして神様に）出会ってもらえる機会になれば．．．と願って、昨年のような集会をする予定です。

みなさん、どうぞお気軽にお立ち寄りくださいね。

４月の集会は、４月２２日（日曜）１３時～１４時過ぎです。参加予定者は教会（０７２－２９９－６０２８）にご連絡ください。

西山

先ほど、メンズ・サパ－が終わりました。非常に良かったです。祝福ありました。２０人ぐらいが参加して、Rick-さんが作った野菜たっぷりのホワイト・シチュ-をたべて、おいしかったです。レイコ姉のビスケットもほっかほっかでうまかった。真弓さんのﾌﾞﾗｳﾆ-もｺ-ﾋ-とあいました。そして、師岡さんの話しも良かったです。彼の去年の正月に膀胱炎になって、昇天したお父さんの苦しみをわかり、イキイキしてました。彼が引いた音楽も感動でした。最後までいた人はﾎﾟ-ﾙ先生とのデュエットのGloryGloryも聞けた。感謝です。お手伝いした皆さん（特に土屋兄）ありがとうございます。これなかった人は次回是非参加してください。　西山マ-ク

今晩は。今日はメンズサパーがありました。アメリカンスタイルのシチューとベーキンパウダービスケット、デザートはブラウニーとタピオカカスタード・・おいしかったです。ゲストは諸岡氏。(彼はオリジナル曲をいくつも書いておられます！)すばらしい証詞と賛美をして下さいました！９時に集会は終わりましたが・・「まだ帰りたくな〜い」グループは、結局１０時半まで語り合い！！もうひと賛美をして、家路に向かいました。(＾-＾)主にある交わりは本当に楽しい！明日も一緒に礼拝できるのが嬉しいです☆では、皆様、おやすみなさい。

今日は、礼拝後に４月のミニB会をしました。昨夜のメンズサパーのRickさんの美味しいシチューとビスケットのランチをいただき（*＾o^*)、賛美と祈り(♪）ではじまり、今年の教会活動の希望や、集会に求めるものについて話合いました。自分たちが御言葉から元気をもらい導かれ支えられていることを、まだ神様のことをしらず困難にあって苦しんでいる友人たちにも伝え知らせたい！！との思いが、ひとりひとりにあるんだなぁと、３ヶ月毎の平日の集会をぜひとも「分かち合い」の機会にできるように、計画を立てていこうね、と再認識しました。５月は１３日（礼拝後１３時～１４時３０分：　昼食含む）です。５月に受洗を迎えられる姉妹が主の守りと導きのうちに居られるように共に祈り、メンバーはそれぞれの信仰のきっかけを３分間証しする予定です。本日参加された姉妹達、準備や片付けも本当にありがとうございました。もっともっといろいろ話したかったけど、時間切れでした。今月参加できなかった姉妹達、また共に交わりましょう。
　
また、今日のメッセージに「わたしたちは地の塩・私たちは世界の光」と語られました。塩味は薄くても辛くてもいけないけど、無いと有るとでは味に大きな違いがあり、味付けに必要なものですって。神様は私たちをそれぞれの（家族や友人との）集まりで味付けに置いてくださっているのかぁと思うとなんだかうれしくなりました。ミニBメンバーも、「美味しい塩味」になれたらいいな。　（すでに「ユニークな塩味」は出しているんですが、５ツ★レストランの味は近いのか、それとも．．．？）　上手なシェフ（神様）に用いてもらえる塩になりたいですね。そして、一人の家族や友でも私の光が足元を照らすことができるなら、惜しまずに照らし続けるようにしたいと思いました。

真弓

Today I invited Mr. K to come along with me as I tried to get my revenge on Mt. Makio where I was lost 2 weeks ago. This time instead of climbing up to the wrong ridge I continued straight on up the valley and was glad to actually find the correct ridge route marked with a sign. We enjoyed same very nice climbing for the next couple of hours. One of the high points was a look out point where the views of Mt. Iwawaki are the best I have ever seen anywhere. Mr. K asked me if that was really Mt. Iwawaki as it looked so great. The other high point was visiting the Kura Iwa which is a huge rock formation. From here also the views of the surrounding mountians and of the sea can't be beat. Mr. K was amazed that such a place existed in the Osaka area. After that, it was a nice relaxed climb down to the Sefuku Temple and down the stone steps to the parking lot. I'm sure Mr. K and I will sleep extra well tonight!

Yesterday we had a bit of a reunion here at our church. When I first came to Osaka in 1973 one of my first projects was a Christian Coffeehouse called the Omega. The Christians that I met at the Omega have remained my good friends for over 30 years now. One of the Omega group, Yamada Kun, now lives in America but right now is visiting Japan. He attended our morning church service and gave a wonderful testimony and also shared with us a song he had written.

In the afternoon we were joined by another Omega member, Shin Chan, who is also a guitar player and a Christian singer/songwriter. Shin Chan and Yamada Kun basically played non-stop for a couple of hours. When they finally gave up in exhaustion it was time for supper when we were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Furukawa and their son. Mr. and Mrs. Furukawa were also involved with the Omega Coffeehouse and so for the rest of the evening it was just a case of enjoying wonderful Christian fellowship. My heart was full of thanks for God's grace and goodness in guiding and being with us all these years and allowing us to keep in touch. It was sad when our group had to break up because of the lateness of the hour. My prayer is that all the members of the Omega group will continue to stay in touch and that we will have many chances in the future to again get together for fellowship.

Our home is always open-Reiko and I are waiting for the next Omege member to give us a call!