07/13/2025 Church service

周日礼拜

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    REMAIN 留


1 John 2:14: I write these things to you, dear children, because you truly have a relationship with the Father. I write these things, fathers and mothers, because you have had a true relationship with him who is from the beginning. And I write these things, young people, because you are strong, the Word of God is treasured in your hearts, and you have defeated the Evil One.
约翰一书 2:14: 孩子们，我曾写信给你们，因为你们认识了父。父老们，我曾写信给你们，因为你们认识了从太初就存在的那位。年轻人，我曾写信给你们，因为你们刚强，上帝的道常存在你们心里，并且你们战胜了那恶者。(page 1978)

1 John 2:7,8: Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
约翰一书 2:7,8: 亲爱的弟兄姊妹，我写给你们的并不是一条新命令，而是你们起初接受的旧命令，这旧命令就是你们已经听过的真道。 8 然而，我写给你们的也是新命令，在基督和你们身上都显明是真实的，因为黑暗渐渐过去，真光已经照耀出来。
(page 1978)
1 John 2:17: The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
约翰一书 2:17: 这世界和其中一切的私欲都要过去，但遵守上帝旨意的人永远长存。(page 1978)
1 John 2:5,6: those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
约翰一书 2:5,6: 遵行主话语的人是真正全心爱上帝的人，我们借此知道自己是在主里面。 6 所以，自称住在主里面的，就该在生活中效法基督。(page 1977)




 

 

 

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Remaining in Him:
The Power of Love and Reconciliation
Monday morning... a time of reflection... and possibly repentance.

Psalm 101:8 reminds us: "At each and every sunrise I will awake to do what's right..."
Every morning we can declare that "His mercies are new every morning."
…But how many Mondays do we actually have left?
Will we have a Monday morning next week?
Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning 'remember you must die'.
How many wake-ups do we have left? How many chances do we still have to get yet another fresh start because we discover we have drifted away?
My goal and desire is always to provide you with words from God's Word to strengthen and encourage you. In these times of unforeseen changes, we need God's wisdom and power to not only to survive, but to thrive—to live victoriously.
And the KEY is this: we need to align ourselves to remain in Him—to stay close to God.
1 John 2:14 says: "I write these things to you, dear children, because you truly have a relationship with the Father. I write these things, fathers and mothers, because you have had a true relationship with him who is from the beginning. And I write these things, young people, because you are strong, the Word of God is treasured in your hearts, and you have defeated the Evil One."
How do you feel when you hear this scripture?
Do you feel comforted—or challenged? Maybe a bit concerned? Coming up short?
The Apostle John repeatedly emphasizes that we should "remain in Him."
To remain means to stay in the place that one has been occupying, to continue to possess a particular quality or fulfill a particular role.
If we don't remain, we are at risk of ending up somewhere we should not be.
1 John 2:28 urges us to "remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame."
We must remain in Him.
We can no longer afford to live as if time will go on forever.
1 John 2:7-8: Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
God's commandments referenced throughout this book are all about LOVE—
a real love that is demonstrated by our actions.
"Love your neighbor" goes all the way back to Leviticus 19:18.
It's repeated in Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, 1 John 3:11...
Jesus said this was the fulfillment of the law.
1 John 2:5-6 confirms: "Those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did." Conversely,

verse 11 warns: "Anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness."
If we love our brother, we live in Light. We remain in Him.
True Repentance and Reconciliation
We all need God's forgiveness. We all need His grace.
We pray "forgive us our trespasses..."
But true repentance is more than just an apology, isn't it?
It's one thing to ask for forgiveness—it is another thing to truly seek reconciliation.

Sometimes that means a real demonstration of your desire to make things right through corresponding actions. Making amends. True repentance.
Consider the wisdom from the 12 Steps—Steps 8 & 9:
"Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."
If I burned your house down (only an analogy)—it is one thing to say "I am sorry"
—it is quite another to rebuild your home.
As Joseph Prince wisely notes: "Knowing that repentance is returning to God's grace, how can grace be a license or excuse to sin, as some claim?
Grace is the power of God to overcome every sin.
The authority of God's Word proclaims that 'sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace' (Rom. 6:14).
No one can use God's grace to justify his or her sin! It is contrary to God's Word and contrary to the gospel of grace. True grace swallows up the destructive powers of sin."
1 John is telling us if we are saved, our lives should show it.
Our actions—our behavior—should grow out of our right standing with God through Jesus Christ, which is accomplished by faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross.
Philippians 2:13 reminds us: "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."
In this volatile season we are now living in, we are the ministers of reconciliation. God has given us this ministry of reconciliation.
2 Cor 5:20 says we "carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleading with them directly through our lips. So we tenderly plead with you on Christ's behalf, 'Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.'"
We are to build a bridge of reconciliation.
…and We have to ensure that we make it crossable.
Our love and forgiveness offered to others is not based on their openness to us.
We have to receive others in mercy and forgiveness and give them another chance.

(Are you listening?)

We offer them the same grace we have been offered.
1 John 2:6 states: "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."
What did Jesus do? "While we were yet sinners," He died for us.
New Mercies Every Morning
Even as we look at our world and see all that is wrong...
and our hearts hurt and our minds are troubled...
we pray for change...
and God tells us to start with our own hearts.

We know we are not supposed to conform to the world’s value system
We know worldy thinking is death
1 John 2:16,17: For all that the world can offer us—the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of the world, and the obsession with status and importance —none of these things come from the Father but from the world.
This world and its desires are in the process of passing away, but those who love to do the will of God live forever.
God tells us, His church, to humble ourselves and pray and seek His face.
We have to persist. We have to remain faithful:
"I don't give up. Thank you God that you don't give up on me."

Perseverance, in its simplest definition, is the quality of continuing to try to achieve something despite difficulties or setbacks.
2 Cor 5:21 assures us: "God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Jesus Christ is the bridge that we all cross to eternal life.

Hebrews 12:1 encourages us: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."
The Passion Translation puts it beautifully: "As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life's marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us."
“the path has been already marked out before us."

“My friend, Jesus, is doing something new. His mercies wash over you every day, infusing you with life and causing a well to spring up in your heart.
The unending rivers of grace flow freely, and the Lord provides fresh vision and renewed hope to help you through each day. He is with you and for you, and the fountains of His goodness and love will never run dry!”

Remember: The Victory is already ours through Jesus’ Victory on the cross.

Let us close with this prayer of repentance and reconciliation:
"Thank you, Lord, for the grace that empowers me to live a Godly life. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning, giving me another chance to remain in you and to demonstrate your love to others. Amen."

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