To expand on the interpretation of all the church procedures, let’s dive just a little deeper into baptism. Every once in a while, we hold this joyous ceremony called baptism, which whether we feel it or not, is a crucial and touching moment where a person’s life, future, and destiny transform. The baggage, the sinful ways,…
Category: Faith
Forest of Versions
The Holy Bible on our desks, shelves, or phones is quite literally a treasure. I’m not just saying that because it’s a “Christian” thing to say. Even if you have some deep-sea-salvaged articles nicely displayed on pedestals, I’m sorry, they still pale in comparison. The Bible, inspired by the living God, authored by kings, prophets, and…
A Look at Ourselves
Christians. At the mention of this word, a whole array of emotions, experiences, connotations, and implications come to mind. Depending on who you are, they take on vastly different colors. If you are reading this, chances are this word solicits a deep conviction that resonates from the inside out, influencing your thoughts, attitudes, and actions….
Angels and Demons
We’ve talked about kings. We’ve talked about kingdoms. We’ve talked about the patriarchs, and so many more who lived and breathed throughout history. Before moving on to more human beings, how about a detour to spiritual beings? In fact, we talk about them so much more frequently than many individuals that it serves us well to know who they…
Spiritus Sanctus
What better way to spend the Pentecost weekend than celebrating God, the Holy Spirit? Without presuming that everyone understands the doctrine of Trinity 三位一體 {san1-wei4-yi4-ti3}, please allow me, a layman, to briefly repeat what we believe about Holy Spirit, in case anyone needs to interpret messages about Him on the spot. The God we believe in…
The Almighty Name, Revisited
In this post, we touched on the origin of God’s name in various languages and how the approach in English and Hebrew resulted in the choice of “The LORD” for what is “耶和華” in Chinese. But what about “萬軍之耶和華”? In literal terms, it means “The LORD of Myriad Armies”, which sounds unmistakably awesome, but where does that…
Bread and Cup
Important things, no matter how many times they are repeated, should remain important, but our minds tend to have their ways of “diminishing returns” when it comes to repetition. Sadly, one such importance that easily gets diminished, is that of the Communion, 主餐 {zhu3-can1} (a.k.a. Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper). The upside is that within…
What’s Easter About?
Putting the rabbits, eggs, and chocolates aside (yes, they are all very delicious), what is Easter really? The obvious answer is the time to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which took place during a Passover in the early 1st century. But why “Easter”? What’s so “east” about it? The name “Easter” has a…
The Lord’s Prayer
主禱文 {zhu3-dao3-wen2}Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4 There’s no better place to learn how to pray than from the lips of the Son of God. It’s short enough to memorize and profound enough that many pastors have expounded countless sermons on it. Suffice it to say, maybe it IS a good idea to memorize it and meditate on…
By the Book
I think many of us got off on the wrong foot with the Bible. It has, in most cases, been thrown into our laps like an assignment that takes us away from our “productive and meaningful” lives. Yet we fail to see that the Bible is the very secret that gives clarity, meaning, and strategy…