A Day of Podcasts

Regular Update

Today was a day of catching up on a couple of podcasts that I kind of neglected for awhile. Well first off, we started a new series today entitled "The Power of Money", looking at the dangers of loving money. All of Wesley Mission is beginning a month of financial stewardship so we were asked to keep to this theme in our Sunday messages. You can listen to the message in the podcast player on the right or download it through iTunes here.

Also, for those who would like to download the sermon outline for this message, you can download the outline here.

New Updates

But my "song" podcast and the weekly memory verse podcasts were a bit lonely throughout my sabbatical so I finally wanted to update those today. Between the morning and afternoon services, I partnered with my beloved new piano player Daniel Athysayaraj (who sadly will be moving to Canberra next month) and we tried out some of my old songs I wrote back in my university days. My deepest apologies for my voice; it's been over a year since I tried singing properly.

Back to the Verses

But more than that podcast, I'd like you to listen to my weekly memory verse podcast, this time with Daniel's anointed piano playing as the background music (instead of my basic guitar plucking!). His music has really ministered to my heart in the weeks we've been together. I'm sad to see him go, but I know God will provide for all of our needs in His time.



I included the direct player for each podcast above, but if you'd like to download them through iTunes, here are the links:

The Podcast with Songs, click here.

The Weekly Memory Verse Podcast, click here.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouraging messages, emails and visits. They've been a source of strength and joy throughout my new journey in the city. Enjoy the new podcasts and I "hope" to be able to have more of these "offerings to God" on a regular basis in the coming months. God bless and have a great week!

Currently Reading The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31 (New International Commentary on the Old Testament) By Bruce K. Waltke see related

A Legacy for Eternity

Podcast Update

We finished up our 4-part series on Ruth this past Sunday, looking at the impact that a life of "hesed" has, even beyond our lifetimes. I was blessed by God over and over again during the preparation and study of these passages. The sermon has been uploaded on my podcast, and you can listen to it through the player on the right or download it through iTunes here.

Slowly Adjusting

It's been 4 weeks so far at Wesley (where I'm currently the interim pastor until the end of the year), and I'm slowing getting a better "feel" of the congregation and my role within it. It's been a cool experience meeting people from so many different backgrounds within our congregation. We have people from Fiji, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Solomon Islands, various parts of Europe, people who have been in Australia for several generations, people who come literally straight off the street and of course Korea. There's also a praise leader who looks like he's from Vietnam ... but claims to be Korean ;P I don't know about that one ...

Seeking Prayer

If you could please pray for wisdom as one of the biggest tasks for me is to help organize their ministries and bring clarity in their structure, their mission and their ministries. Though I enjoy organizing things, there's A LOT to sift through and develop along the way. And most importantly, please pray for a greater anointing of God in my life that I might honor Him and help others treasure Him ... and that His presence might rest heavily upon me, especially as I preach His Word. Thanks for your prayers! As always ... your prayer support is my life support.

Currently Listening The Joshua Tree By U2 Where the Streets Have No Name

Baby Got Book

God Tube (www.GodTube.com) ... YouTube with a Christian twist. The video above is currently their most viewed. It's pretty entertaining and creative. Enjoy.

Currently Listening Wide Awake in America By U2 A Sort of Homecoming

Sweet and Sour

Podcast Updated

I just uploaded part 3 in my Ruth series entitled "A Match Made in Heaven". You can listen to it in the podcast player on the right side of the blog or download it in the iTunes link here. I've been thoroughly enjoying the preparation of this series and I've definitely fallen back in love with sermon prep.

A New Ministry ... A New Lesson

Things in the new ministry has been interesting to say the least. It's by far the most unique ministry situation I've been in. One lesson God has been teaching me is that as we grow older in this journey called life, we either become sweet or sour. And I think that depends on how we learn to embrace all that God sends our way. If we learn to give thanks for all things and trust Him in faith during seasons of suffering, our hearts will grow tender and softer as we age, but if we think our rights were violated and complain that life stinks because nothing goes our way, I think that's how people grow sour and bitter. So I pray I will grow sweeter as the years go by :) BTW, there are some amazingly sweet people in Wesley! Radiant with warmth and love. And by God's grace, I hope I can grow old gracefully as they have :)

Wrong Question

To help me with this goal, instead of asking "why?" to God when difficulties come my way, I have now learned to ask God "what?" ... "What do you want me to learn through this difficult situation, God?" "What is it that you are trying to teach me?" "What do you want to develop in me through this?" This line of questioning has greatly changed my perspective on life, difficulties and other people that come my way. And this change in approach effects my faith and heart ... and determines if, with each passing day, I am becoming sweet ... or sour.

Anyways, I pray that all who read this will be growing sweeter in faith until we reach our final banquet table with our Savior and Friend, who has been and always will be working out ALL THINGS for His good purposes ... and for His glory.

(Man, all this sweet and sour talk makes me want to eat "tang-su-yuk"!) Maybe Sunday :)

Currently Listening Jars of Clay By Jars of Clay He

Follow Up

A Cool Tool

This is a bit of a random post. First off, I guess it's a bit of a follow-up post to my previous one about moral integrity in ministry. Piper's Desiring God blog listed an accountability questionnaire that their pastoral staff fill out and go through with each other. The link is here and you can download a PDF file of the handout. It's a great tool to use, so I wanted to post it for accountability groups who may want to use it.

XLV in Big D!

And I wanted to share my excitement that Dallas just won the bid to host Super Bowl XLV (45)! So mark your calendars now! On February 6, 2011 the Super Bowl is coming to Dallas! Woohoo! They've made the most Super Bowl appearances of any team but have never hosted the Big Game. With the young talent that's assembled right now, I think they have the best shot to be the first team to play in the Super Bowl on their home turf. They'll have their new psycho-awesome stadium finished in a couple of years, which will be the best sports facility in the world (slightly biased) ... and ready just in time for XLV. I think I'm going to start saving up for tickets now :) Woohoooooo!

Currently Watching NFL Super Bowl Collection - Dallas Cowboys By Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith see related

Seeing the Face of God

Update

I guess just to get the logistics out of the way before I share from my heart, I just uploaded today's sermon onto my podcast. I added a new feature (on the right ... look for the thing called "My Offering to God") so you can just click the media player to hear the latest sermon, but for those who use iTunes and still want to download the MP3, you can visit my iTunes podcast link here (it might take a day or two to show up on iTunes though). And now to what I really wanted to share ...

Surprise Gifts

God really ministered to me today even though I was the one called upon to minister. I was SOOOOO happy to see so many old friends come and visit during the morning and afternoon services. Some of them I haven't seen for months but seeing them today made me realize how much I missed them ... their fellowship, their friendship and simply their presence in my life. Worshiping God together again was sweet ... and spending time in fellowship afterwards confirmed that they still hold a very special place in my heart.

Seeing the Face of God

I've missed being in a close-knit community for so long (almost a year and a half) that having so many loved ones around me was almost an emotional overload (in a good way) =) I understood in a new way what Jacob felt when he was reunited with his brother and declared, "to see your face is like seeing the face of God." [Genesis 33:10] The love, care and support symbolized by their simple presence was a manifestation of the kindness of God through them ... to me. The message of kindness I was preaching about today, was the same message God was speaking to me. It was a reminder that "the LORD has not stopped showing kindness" to His people ... to His children ... and even to me. [Ruth 2:20]

Hesed

He has showered over me with His "radical kindness" [hesed] ... and for that I am led to run to God again ... to find my rest and shelter under His mighty wings. And with my heart at peace, I can say with confidence that "surely mercy and goodness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." [Psalm 23:6] So thank you to everyone who came to visit. You were the "hesed" of God to me today.

Currently Listening Window in the Skies, Pt. 1 By U2 Can't You See What Love Has Done

Our Blessed Famine [EDIT]

I'm finally preaching again! Wow, have I missed it. For those who don't know, I'm currently the interim pastor for Wesley Church in the city. It's one of the first churches in Australia and they're celebrating their 195th anniversary next week (wow!). I preach at the 10:30am and 3:00pm services. There are some great people in those congregations and I was thankful to see some familiar faces as well on Sunday. Because there might be some big changes for me next year, I decided against church planting (for now) and took this interim position instead.

Since it was Mother's Day, I preached from Ruth and decided to do a series on the book that will take us through the next few weeks. Though I did a study through Ruth before, I wanted to start from scratch again and see what God had in store. My love for sermon prep came back as I was preparing for this series during the past few weeks. I was literally blow away at the depth and power of God's Word while studying these chapters. With every word from God to me, I felt like I was on top of the world ... and then it led me into worship as I lavished in His presence.

Thank you to each person who has been praying for me. And now I ask for your prayers in this new season of ministry. I'm looking forward to growing and learning together with these new congregations. Here's a link to the sermon from Sunday's morning service (and if you don't have iTunes, click here for the direct link ... please excuse the huge photo). It's entitled "Our Blessed Famine" from Ruth 1:1-22. Hopefully my podcasts will be updated more regularly again. Have a great week and thanks always for your partnership through prayer.

EDIT: And for people who have been asking about parking for Wesley, you can park at the Piccadilly Car Park on Castlereigh St., get your ticket validated at the Wesley Mission reception desk and then parking is $5.00 ALL DAY SUNDAY! Yea! :) Pretty good for city parking!

EDIT 2: Just wanted to share a recent graduation message from John Piper called "Four Mistakes I Hope You Don't Make". His outline of mistakes we make are: #1: thinking big is better than small, #2: thinking new is better than old, #3: thinking having is better than being, #4: thinking visible is better than invisible. Some solid wisdom for living no matter what season of live you're in. Enjoy.

Currently Listening Blessed Be Your Name the Songs of Matt Redman, Vol. 1 By Matt Redman Blessed Be Your Name

YHWH

A cool video for an awesome song.

The Weekend

Hyun and I had a great weekend celebrating her birthday (which she prefers to downplay). She's a huge Mozart and Bach fan, so I got her the Complete Works of Mozart which had like 150 CD's (!) and my parents got her the Complete Works of Bach, which I think had even more CD's. I never quite got into classical, but I guess I'll have to start getting used to it now because I'm sure I'll be surrounded by it from now on.


We explored some nice restaurants, fun hang out spots AND ... saw Spiderman 3, which is now in my list of favorite movies (the others being Shawshank Redemption and Gladiator). I personally think it's the best one in the trilogy, mainly because of the powerful message of forgiveness and restoration. I loved the way they played out the themes of evil, the influence of sin and the effects of revenge in the inner-man. But I guess I shouldn't talk too much about it in case people haven't seen it yet. But Parker's final words to the Sandman still ring in my ears to this day. An awesome movie with an even better message. SEE IT! :)

Not by choice, but currently listening to ... Bach: Complete Works - CD Box Set see related

Bibles for India

Just in case you didn't know, Koorong is partnering up with OM to provide much needed Bibles to India. This will be going on throughout the month of May.

All you have to do is bring in any Bible you'd like to donate to your local Koorong Bookstore and place it in the "Bibles for India" section.

Here's some info on their project:

Why India?

There are currently around 1.1 billion people living in India. According to government figures, the estimated Christian population is 2.6%. However it is estimated that the true figure is around 7%.

Over 80% of India’s population is Hindu and the country also has the second largest Muslim population in the world. Other religious groups include Sikhs, Buddhists, Baha’is and Jews.

This diversity of religions, coupled with the size and growth of India’s population, make it a prime place to target evangelism projects.

Who is STL OM Books India?

STL OM Books is a fully integrated publisher, distributor and retailer of Christian resources in South East Asia. Based in Hyderabad, India, the not-for-profit company aims to produce quality products to resource the Christian community. As part of the STL group, the company is the largest distributor of Christian products in Asia.

STL (Send the Light) and OM (Operation Mobilisation) first partnered to distribute Christian literature in India in 1964, with STL OM Books India officially created in 2006.

OM Books now has 23 stores throughout India. The organisation also resources 300 hundred agencies across India that also sell Christian products, including retail stores, libraries, bible seminaries and third party agents.

The mission of STL OM Books India is to advance the Christian faith through the publishing, distribution and retailing of quality Christian resources. Part of this aim is to provide the Indian church with low-cost Bibles.

For more information you can go to their website.

Currently Listening Christ His Passion: Remembering the Sacrifice By Various Artists With Every Breath

The Fight of Our Lives

Throughout the past several years of ministry, one of the most difficult and saddest things I've seen was the moral failure of people in ministry. Whether it was public figures or people I knew well, each instance broke my heart. It was a splash of cold water in terms of the reality of how hard the enemy is at work to destroy God's Work and His people.

It was also a wake-up call for me to make sure I set stronger boundaries in my own life. A new resolution I've made was to never meet up one-on-one with a female anymore, no matter how much she may “need” counseling and even if it is in a public place. It may seem extreme, but as Rick Warren says, “I'd rather go overboard than be thrown overboard”. I've also renewed my need for my close friendship and to share life's challenges and struggles together openly and honestly.

Rick Warren recently published a podcast talking about how their staff deals with moral failure. It's a very helpful, practical and down-to-earth chat with fellow pastors. Listen to it here. There's a lot of valuable wisdom in this podcast.

I've also read something recently that was very helpful and convicting from Dallas Willard on the same topic. Here are some highlights:

"Those who experience moral failure are those who have failed to live a deeply satisfied life in Christ, almost without exception. I know my temptations come out of situations where I am dissatisfied, not content. I am worried about something or not feeling the sufficiency I know is there. If I have a strong temptation, it will be out of my dissatisfaction."

"The moral failures of ministers usually are over one of three things: sex, money, or power. That always comes out of dissatisfaction. Ministers are reaching for something, and they begin to feel, I deserve something better. I sacrifice so much and get so little. And so I'll do this. The surest guarantee against failure is to be so at peace and satisfied with God that when wrongdoing presents itself it isn't even interesting. That is how we stay out of temptation."

More than anything else, I write this as a war-cry because we are in a battle for both people's salvation and their sanctification. And those who serve on the front lines will always be attacked first and with force.

So I plead with you to pray for me and all the pastors and spiritual leaders in your life. Pray that they would be protected ... but also pray that their souls would find satisfaction and rest in God alone. As Willard also writes, "what we really need are preachers who can stand in simplicity and manifest and declare the richness of Christ in life." May that be the mark of God's servants in this generation and the next.

Currently Reading The Art & Craft of Biblical Preaching: A Comprehensive Resource for Today's Communicators Various Authors

With Prayer

Forever a Student

I was reading a book on leadership recently and it began with the reminder that to be a Christian is to be a disciple. And the word disciple means to be a "student" or "learner" of Christ. I had to ask myself, am I still a "student" of Christ? Am I still growing? Am I still developing in my walk with Him each day? If I'm going to call myself a disciple/student of His, then my life needs to be marked with a lifestyle of learning.

So I decided to focus my learning on a different area of my life each day. For that day of the week, I focus on growing in that particular area. For example, on Wednesdays, I focus on growing as a pastor. It may include reading a book on pastoring in the morning, organizing and developing an area of church ministry in the afternoon, and following up on "pastoral" type email in the evening. Throughout the day, I'll also be staying open to the Spirit speaking to me through circumstances about lessons on growing in that area of my life.

So I created this list that I keep on my desk to remind me to grow as a disciple each day:

Investing my days to grow as a ...

• Sunday: Child of God
• Monday: Missions Mobilizer
• Tuesday: Leader/Servant
• Wednesday: Pastor
• Thursday: Preacher
• Friday: Teacher
• Saturday: Husband

I guess this is one way I'm trying to stretch myself to keep growing ... and to make sure I'm forever a student ... or disciple of Christ.

I think this is also a sign for me that God has restored a lot of inner peace and joy in my life through my sabbatical. There is excitement in learning again. At the peak of my burn-out, I dreaded looking at my books ... but now, I love devouring and dissecting them again (and filing them of course) =P My devotional times are a delight again ... approaching His banquet table filled with food that nourishes and satisfies the deepest part of my soul. Every morning I come empty to His table, but I leave full, filled and satisfied. I taste and see that the Lord really is good.

More of You, Lord; that is my desire ... only more of You.

Currently Reading Elders and Leaders By Gene A. Getz see related

The Greatest Weekend of the Year

In light of this Resurrection Weekend, I've been doing a lot of reviewing, reflecting and refocusing on Christ, the cross and my calling. It's been a time of letting go of selfish dreams and embracing a lot of the unknown, trusting God's goodness (character) and greatness (control over all things). It's been a time of seeing how much of my "living sacrifice" to God had crawled off the altar of worship and surrender. It was a lot more painful than I expected, but in the end, my soul felt a lot more free ... the weight of carrying my own burdens had been lifted by the arms of my Savior who died to set me free.

I also went back to reviewing something that challenged me all throughout my seminary years, something that always helped put things into proper perspective for me ... the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. There are so many favorites for me on that list, but for today, #10 and #19 were especially tugging at my heart.

I also found a second list of convictions recently and that is the one pictured above. It belonged to John Piper's father who passed away recently and was a mini-version of his own resolutions that kept him focused on living for Christ. You can read an article of Piper explaining the list here.

The older I get, there seems to be 2 dangers that keep getting stronger that I must fight: 1. The lure (and lie) of financial security and all the toys that come with it, and 2. the dangerous feeling that God "owes me" for what I did or didn't do while serving Him. Both those dangers reveal, at its core, a heart that is no longer beating for Christ and His Kingdom. Instead of reverence, there is resentment, instead of worship there is worry. And for these reasons, there is the cross on which Christ died ... so that this selfish heart can be renewed to new life, new passions and new energy and joy that we never would have known before.

And this Resurrection weekend is a reminder that I need Christ and His sacrifice more today than I ever have before. It's a reminder that I was a beggar who received life's greatest riches that will last through eternity. It's a weekend to soften my heart again and remember the reason why God gives me life each day ... and that is live my life aways for Christ, His honor, His glory and His Kingdom. Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone. He is risen!

Currently Listening How Great Is Our God By Passion ... Live Worship From Passion05 Holy is the Lord

More Congrats

First off, congrats to Eddie Bang on his marriage on Saturday. Finally! We're all happy for you bro. I forgot to bring my camera, so sorry no pix. I'll wait for other people to post and maybe steal a pic from there.

Also, congrats goes out to my friend Sunny Park for winning the Australian Amateur Golf Tournament last week. It's featured in this Golf Australia and Sydney Morning Herald article. It's been cool to see her move up the ranks. I can't wait to see what her pro career will turn into!

And the video above isn't connected to anything I wrote about. I just thought it was so cute, I wanted to post it. My favorite part is their reunion at the end.

Currently Listening Window in the Skies, Pt. 2 By U2 Window in the Skies see related