Newsletter 2015/3/22

Lord’s Day Message: John 9 (ESV)

¹ As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. ⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” ²² (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) ²³ Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶ They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” ²⁸ And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴ They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” ³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Message Outline

A.  The healing of a man born blind

• The question of disciples: who sinned?

1. Their thought: A religious concept
2. The answer of Jesus: To display God’s works

• The healing and commands of the Lord Jesus: He spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva to anoint the man’s eyes and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”
• The obedience and acts of the blind man

B.  The testimony after being healed

1. Confession: It is I.
2. Testimony: which includes the name of the Lord, His merciful acts, His words and man’s obedience

C.  The examinations of Pharisees

1. Their prejudice and oppression upon others
2. The answer of the man who was blind: simple, sincere, yet full of power to expose their being in the darkness

D.  The true vision

1. It is not a matter of “who sins”, but a matter of the ability to see
2. The true vision always helps us to believe in Him and worship Him
3. The true vision comes after the confession of our blindness – not trusting what we know and what we have

Next Topics: John 10

Church Meetings/Time/Place

Chinese Bible Study: 22/3 Sun. 1:30pm, Meeting Hall

Home Meeting: 23/3 Mon., 7:30pm, (Dinner @ 7pm)  Richard Cui’s

Young Professions Meeting: 24/3 Tue. 7:30pm, Meeting Hall

Sisters Meeting: 25/3 Wed. 10am, Cindy’s

Prayer Meeting: 25/3 Wed. 7:30pm, Meeting Hall

Pursuing of Words: 27/3 Fri., 8:00pm, David Tan’s

Young People Meeting/Pursuing for Adults：28/3 Sat. 7:30pm, Olsen & Likun’s

Announcements:

1. We welcome all the new ones who are joining us today and hope that you can leave your information for us to contact you in the future.
2. Next Lord’s Day will be a cooperate meeting. Brother Michael Samulake will share the message on John 10.
3. On April 3-6 the church will have a young people conference at Collaroy. Brother Mike Samulak will arrive on the coming Thursday for the conference. If anyone is still interested in attending this conference, please contact Brother Thomas.

The expense for each person is 263 dollars for the camp site and will be covered by the church. However, if you have the desire before the Lord, you may offer according to your own will (please write down “for YP conference” on the envelop).

4. After today’s meeting we will have a fellowship regarding the service of Cleaning and of Kitchen. All participating brothers and sisters please join the fellowship to learn the service.
5. The church plans to have a baptism on the first week of April. If any gospel friend is willing to receive the Lord and be baptized, please contact Brother Yu-Lin Wang that the lesson for baptism can be arranged.

<Reminder>

1. Please take the Bible Reading Supplement for your daily Bible reading.
2. Please come on time for the meeting. During the meeting, please turn off your mobile phone or put the volume on silence.
3. When you prepare the love feast for Lord’s Day lunch, please do not prepare any food containing nuts that someone may have food allergy. After the love feast, please remember to bring back your plates.

 Intercession:

1. May the Lord keep us fervent in spirit to serve in the church together so that the Lord may give us more and greater blessings.
2. Pray for the coming young people conference. May the Lord give us a bountiful supply of His words and open the heart of these young people so that they may give their heart to Him.
3. Pray for the gospel friends among us, especially the young people and our family members, so that our Lord can open their hearts to see God’s salvation and be willing to receive the Lord and become the member in God’s family.
4. Pray for the brothers and sisters who are weak in body or spirit. May the Lord care for them and give them grace. Also pray for some relatives of our brothers and sisters (Jack, Pauline, Susan, Brett) that the Lord may heal and care for them.
5. Pray for the recovery of Sister Lena and the growth of baby Mikayla.

Serving Today: (Mar. 22)

1. Sharing:  Yulin Wang
2. Breaking the Bread:  Yulin Wang & Jack Lee
3. Serving Bread and Cup:  Sean Dong, Jack Lee & Richard Cui
4. Pianist:  Hannah Cui
5. Cleaning:  Jason & Susan Family, Andy & Anne Family, Robert & Jennifer, Chuan Ma & Maggie Family, BenChu & Julie

Serving Next Week: (Mar. 22)

6. Sharing:  Michael Samulak
7. Breaking the Bread:  David Tan & Olsen Yu
8. Serving Bread and Cup:  Jack Lee, Benchu Guo & Jason Wang
9. Pianist:  Hannah Cui
10. Cleaning:  Jason & Susan Family, Andy & Anne Family, Robert & Jennifer, Chuan Ma & Maggie Family, BenChu & Julie