Dear EM family,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Christ Jesus. I pray that this email finds you well.
What is the earliest memory that you can remember? Did you ever wonder why some memories seem to stick with you more than others?
I had a chance to work on Jesus’ parables of the “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:24-53) as my final assignment of this quarter’s study of “Biblical Interpretation.”
Before Jesus spoke on the parables of the kingdom, he gave a parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23). A lot of time Jesus’ parables came down to his disciples and crowd without a context, and this was one of them.
Jesus’ disciples also did not understand the meaning of the sower parable, so they asked Jesus.
While the answer and elaboration from Jesus could make several great messages, I’d like to; however, redirect you to think about something referred to as the “radical reading” (vs. conservative reading).
It is believed that the First Gospel in the New Testament was written by apostle Matthew, and was completed sometime after the destroy of the Jerusalem Temple (~ 70 AD) and the before his martyrdom.
Which means, Matthew remembered Jesus’ parables of the kingdom so vividly that, he listed totally seven in the passage.
A conservative reader will be amazed by Matthew’s memory. After all, the event happened at least 40 years ago from the time Matthew wrote the Gospel.
A radical reader will challenge the validity of the writing. After all, Matthew mentioned in the text the in the beginning the disciples had no clue what Jesus was talking about so they had to ask.
So which argument are you more leaning towards to? I will let you ponder upon it 😊. May the Holy Spirit guide our hearts!!
And this maybe of some relevance: In the current weeks of conflict and division, what you read, see, heard on what really matters. May God grant us His wisdom and discernment on how to be the light and salt of the world.
Announcement:
- Friday Night’s Bible Study is ON. We will continue to study the book of Romans. You may dial in or login via your phone or personal computer:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/685376249?pwd=cWtyUk1pckJiRHJxZVZCSGdJZWw2UT09
Meeting ID: 685 376 249
Password: 840840
Dial-in from your phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 685 376 249
- This Sunday, Pastor Nathan Willems will be sharing God’s word with us:
- Live stream Youtube: http://cbcgl.org/resources/live-stream/
- Title: God is our refuge.
- Text: Psalm 46.
- Coworker reminder:
- Sunday bulletin: http://cbcgl.org/ministries/english-ministry/em-weekly-bulletin/
- E.M. Sunday School
Topic: CBCGL EM Sunday Class “52 Major Stories of the Bible” (9:45 am – 11:00 am):
Join Zoom Meeting (Note the different link)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/491248585?pwd=RnpLcnpjQ01nTGZLSmhaZ3l4L3dKQT09
Meeting ID: 491 248 585
Password: 403767
Dial-in from your phone: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 491 248 585
YAs Sunday School (via Microsoft Teams)
Y.A.s Sunday School signup sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H0oSS1kpU8JUZAv0JcmivEIzR-tvDtihkrEtBLE8tJo/edit?usp=sharing
- Returning to church plan is tentatively laid out as follows:
The moving of this plan depends on the reopening guideline from the Massachusetts governor office.
- Some of the EM members are interested in sharing their cares to those are in need. Here is an online form that you can access to request assistance, prayers, or give one!
Let’s build our community up and help those in need.
- Ladies Fellowship Announcement:
June 20, 2020 (Saturday @ 2 pm) –
Title: “Living A Truly Fulfilled Life!”
Speaker: Mrs. Priscilla Lee
Zoom info will follow
· How can you and I live positive, productive and fruitful life in this crazy, senseless world?
· What are the meaning and purpose for living each day?
· Why is it that some of us feel unsettled and restless even when things are going fine?
· How can I live a truly fulfilled life for the rest of my time on this earth?
On this June 20th Ladies Fellowship, we will discover important Biblical Truth and Guidelines on how to live a truly fulfilling life.
- Chinese graduation is this Sunday on Zoom
Time: Jun 14, 2020 01:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: us02web.zoom.us/j/9782519920
Dial by your location: +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 978 251 9920
QR Code for 2020-2021 Registration form:
- All other announcement items can be found here.
Prayer Request:
- Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 pm – 9:15 pm)
Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
- If you have not had a chance to look at our prayer list, please do! There are many answered prayers, and many more that require our intercession. Here is the prayer list. You may also enter yours:
Blessings,
Jeremy