As you all know by now, Haiti was hit last year on January 12, 2010 by a devastating 7.0 earthquake. It’s been slightly over a year now, but the needs of this country are still great and they are just as much in need today as they were a year ago when the tragedy occurred. Even prior to the earthquake, Haiti ranked as one of the least developed countries in the world, and has an approximate population of 10 million, with most citizens living below $2 per day.  Our Ministry would like to give our community another opportunity to respond in prayer and giving as many of you did so last year.

We partnered with an amazing organization last year called One Days Wages, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be able to join with them again this time as well. What we appreciate most about ODW is their honesty and transparency. 100% of the over $5000 we received (minus c.c. transaction costs) went directly to the relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti, and we want to extend our sincere gratitude to those who contributed to this need.

We showed a video this past Sunday (January 16th) from Eugene Cho, founder and director of One Days Wages, in which he shared where and how the donated fund were used and about the current state of need in Haiti. There is still much that needs to be done, and we want to ask you again to renew your commitment to Haiti through your prayers and financial support.

If you would like to give online, please visit our Haiti contribution page at www.onedayswages.org/binnerri.

*All donations are tax-deductible.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Beautiful. That’s the one word that keeps coming up in conversations with those who came from America. We see this country and see the mountains, the city, and the food (pão de queijo), and it’s beautiful! I had the privilege of coming here last September to see firsthand how beautiful Brazil is. And when I went back home, I showed pictures and told everyone. When I told the team of 12 people that came from our church how beautiful everything is, I’m sure they believed me. But when they saw it firsthand, like I did, they were just as amazed at everything as I was.  I heard comments from our team like, “If I wasn’t Korean or American, I would want to be Brazilian!” Or one team member asking a Brazilian if they wanted his return ticket to America, because he wanted to stay here. We have truly fallen in love with the beauty of Brazil. But as beautiful as Brazil is, there has been something more beautiful.

We have been blown away by your hospitality and generosity.  The selflessness of your church community has been amazing. From allowing us to stay in your homes, to making sure that we have delicious meals, to building relationships and friendships, it truly has been a blessing. The most beautiful thing about our experience here in Brazil has been YOU.

That has been our prayer as well.  We don’t have much to offer, but we came here hearing in Isaiah 52:7, “How BEAUTIFUL on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” Our prayer was for us to have beautiful feet!  We pray that as we spent time with the kids in the baseball clinics this week, that God was glorified and that we were able to partner up with you in bringing good news and proclaiming that “God reigns!”

We have been praying for you and your congregation.  We know that you are going through and will be going through some challenging times as a church as you move locations and transition to another place. But I trust in God’s word that He will make all things BEAUTIFUL in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). I pray that GOD would use this time to unite you together as a community and a time where your trust and confidence in God would grow. We will continue to commit to praying for you.

More than anything, all of this is a testimony of how BEAUTIFUL our God is. How incredible and mighty our Savior is. And how powerful the Spirit is in all of our lives. I pray that we would glorify our Heavenly Father, who doesn’t see us as who we WERE, but who we ARE in His eyes … beautiful.

Rev. Kye S. Chung
Lead Pastor of Binnerri English Ministry

We wanted to share a letter we received this past week from our Singles retreat speaker, Pastor Sam Park.

Greetings Binnerri EM from Los Angeles!

It’s been almost two months since my visit to your wonderful community, and yet, so many aspects of that weekend are still vivid in my mind.  Thanks to you, I have been watching more “Minute to Win It” clips on Hulu!  I can’t stop thinking about the BBQ restaurants that Pastor Kye took me to.  Yet, I am most grateful for the individuals whom I met, both at the Refuel retreat and at the Sunday worship services, and the conversations that took place at both venues.  I was overjoyed to hear that the feedback from the retreat was, in general, quite positive.  I was so happy when I was asked to write an article for your website to, perhaps, refresh your memory of that weekend.

The first evening got off to a bit of a late start (but isn’t that the case with most retreats?).  Yet, despite the fact that most of you were so tired from the drive over to the retreat site, you all hung in there and I really appreciated that.  The message that night dealt with redefining our common notion of “passion.”  In reality, we were reacquainting ourselves with the original meaning of the word.  We discussed the fact that passion is not just an intense feeling.  Instead, passion comes from the word meaning “to suffer.”  As Christ has passion for us, and indeed suffered for us, we too, in order to be passionate followers of Christ, must suffer for His sake.  Discipleship has a cost.

Saturday morning’s worship focused on the sacrificial path of the cross.  We meditated on the cross, and in particular, through reflection on the hymn of Christ found in Philippians 2.  We saw that the paradoxical truth in Christ is that life can only be truly full, if we empty ourselves in obedience to God.  Moreover, the practical way in which that self-emptying is displayed is in service to others.  Discipleship has a way.

The final message for the retreat spoke about the relative ease with which people who make even strong commitments to Christ can “go back” to their life before Christ.  At the end of the Gospel of John (this is after the resurrection!), we find Peter and some of the other disciples pretty much in the same place as when they were first called to “follow” Jesus.  We learned that our love of Christ is best demonstrated in our love of others.  Despite our failures, and our backsliding, Jesus calls us to follow him, and become his agents and ambassadors in the world.  He commissions us to ministry to a hurting and broken world with his love, and only as we minister to the world, as Jesus did, can we ever hope to know Jesus intimately; become more like Jesus.  Discipleship has a purpose.

It is my sincerest prayer that these messages have taken deep root in your hearts., and that it will bear much fruit in His time.  I once again thank you all for being such gracious hosts, and I pray that God would abundantly bless your community!

In Christ’s service,

Pastor Sam
Community Church at Holliston

These verses have been constant reminder for me, because I’m the type of person that likes to have the newest and latest toys and gadgets. And so Jesus’ words have been a daily, humbling gut check for me. And just today I came across a blog post from pastor and author John Ortberg on the importance of leveraging our desires for good. Here’s an excerpt from his post:

So my task is not to get rid of desire. Its to learn how my desires can lead me toward the person God made me to be. So here are the three laws of desire:

1. Acknowledge my desire. There’s no use pretending to God that I don’t really want that gi-normous house; he already knows. A desire named has less power than a desire hidden.

2. Reflect on my desire. Desires are so powerful that I am apt to think I am my desire. There is actually great freedom in stepping back from it and realizing that I am not identical to any of my desires, and none of them get to have veto power over my life. Very often–just like birds desire to fly and fish desire to swim, my desires are important guides about what God made me to love and to do.

3.Surrender my desire. This doesn’t mean renounce it. It means to place it in the context of my greatest desire. I can do this only because what I want more than any particular outcome is life; and the life I want can only finally be found in God.

My hope and prayer is that we would feast our eyes on good things, and saturate our hearts with the Light of Jesus Christ, so that we may be able to shine forth His love and character in our lives.

We want to especially thank Pastor Sam Park as well as the retreat team for making this a memorable retreat. May God continue to refuel us for His sake!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death, come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I admit, when I watched this video for the first time I got goosebumps as well, but then, I decided to take some time to actually read the words. And as I read and meditated on these words, I couldn’t help but be encouraged knowing that the Almighty God of the universe desires to know me and love me as my heavenly Father. It’s so easy to forget this truth, especially when we fall down and mess up, but that’s the amazing thing about God’s upside down love for us; it’s unconditional, and this is the Truth. Below are the words to the video when they are read upside down. I pray that these words would encourage you this day:

God is Holy, we are not
This is “the Truth”
But there is so much more you don’t know
We have lost the connection to God but
Because of our dependency on Christ
We could be loved by God right now
I refuse to believe under any circumstance that
We are forever separated from God
And I am convinced of this because I know the heart of man
You do not deserve any of this
But you must know that you can be loved
That you are wanted; that He wants to know you
That God has a plan for your life
The Almighty wants to be your Father
I would be lying to you if I said that
You can’t know God and feel His presence
If we just turn things upside down
This is the Truth

1. I woke up in the morning to about 5-6 inches of snow (in Dallas, in March, on the first day of spring!). We had a white Christmas this year and now a white birthday! Hoping that I don’t get any white hairs though.

2. My kids all gave me cards and each of them had money in it. That’s a big deal because my kids love MONEY. Kailey gave me $20! Emily gave me $20 too! Nathan gave me $1.27.

3. But, not only was today Sunday, in which I get the privilege of sharing God’s Word with a congregation that I love, but they threw me a surprise birthday party after our second service. It was just fun to share that moment with the congregation and I didn’t see it coming.

4. Then I was scheduled to have a birthday dinner at a pastor’s house but they told me they changed the venue and it was at another house. To my surprise again, they had more people, including pastors, staff and leadership. They all cooked some great food and dessert and we all were so stuffed!

5. Then they brought out another surprise … a huge framed poster of a mosaic picture of our family that was compiled by all the picture of the events in our church for the past 3 years. Wow. And the whole church signed it … without me even knowing about it! It’s got to be one of the best gifts I’ve received. The only problem with this gift is that I have a huge dilema of whether to hang it in my home office or my church office. Can I have another? =)

6. I have been waiting all year for my birthday, as I have been looking forward to giving my annual one days wage to an incredible non-profit organization called OneDaysWages. They partner with some great organizations to fight extreme global poverty. I know giving 0.4% of my annual salary (one days wage) is not that much, but I want to share and be a blessing to others, as I have been so blessed. I would challenge you to consider doing the same on your birthday.

God, thank you for my family and my church. I am so blessed. May I be a blessing to others.

Crossposted from KSC’s Blog

Have you ever wondered where your place is in the grand story of the Bible? Are you seeking to find some answers about God, Jesus, the Bible, or Christianity? Or have you just begun a relationship with Jesus Christ? Or maybe you have some church experience, but have been away for a while? Then, maybe Starting Point is the place for you.

Starting Point is a conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community. It is a safe place for people with questions about faith, as well as those who want to learn about the Bible and Christianity. The goal of Starting Point is to help participants find their place in the story. It is for seeker (those who are curious about God, Jesus, the Bible, or Christianity), starters (those who have just begun a relationship with Jesus Christ), and returners (those who have some church experience, but have been away for a while).

Starting Point groups will meet on Sunday mornings and afternoons for 10 weeks for 75 minutes to explore the grand story of the Bible. We will be offering Starting Point orientations on April 11, where you can hear all about Starting Point, be able to ask questions, have an opportunity to sign up for a group, and get materials. There is no commitment when you come to the orientation, just show up to find out more. Orientations last typically 20-30 minutes. For more info, please visit us at www.binnerriem.org/startingpoint.

I am so excited to see what God is going to do through this new ministry! Would you like to join me on this journey?

By chance, did you miss the message last Sunday? How about 8 weeks ago? Do you remember what the 4C’s from the “Gripped” message are? Do you need a refresher on what the 3 “Vital” relationships (Part 1, 2, or 3) which we believe is the measure of a believer’s spiritual health? Are you in a season of your life where you are “Waiting…?” Or maybe you have questions about what it means to be “Consumed” (Part 1, 2, or 3) by a life of worship? What does “Standing in the Gap” means? Does PK want us to go the mall and stand in The Gap so that we can share the gospel with shoppers? Or have you ever wondered if you have a “Faith that Works” or curious about how you can “Ignite” your faith? How about “God and Country?” (Part 1 or 2) How are the two related? Do you like fishing? Did you know that Jesus asked us to “Go Fish?” (Part 1, 2, or 3) Or maybe you are trying to “Discover God’s Will” (Part 1, 2, 3, or 4) for your life? Whether you want to hear last weeks message or a message from 2 years ago, we want to help you to grow into devoted followers of Jesus Christ. So you can either come visit us on our website or subscribe to our podcast in iTunes.