Lord, Hear Our Prayers! (The Week of March 30, 2020)

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and 

unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Breathe on Us Again”, Promise Keepers

Hi Family!!! 

It was a beautiful day yesterday… but now it is quite a cloudy day today. Actually, we do not know what our day will bring us each day; however, again, we know God hides sunshine behind the cloud up high above. But we are able to see it through… with the eyes of our faith because we know God is faithful!

Hope you go out, from time to time, and walk for a while even though you don’t have to meet and talk with anyone whom you meet on your way to walk. We can just show our big smiles without shaking our hands or saying much - not easy though. If this is the way that we can keep down the speed of the unseen virus’ spreading until our cure is coming, we want to follow it continually even though it is not our nature.  

Seems like we are not able to gather for celebrating the resurrection Sunday as well as this Palm Sunday; however, we will continue to worship in spirit and truth through online. Our office will keep the door open during our regular hours (M/W/F from Noon till 4:00 p.m.) with Ms. Izzy, and continue to carry the ministry of Christ’s church in Markesan and Princeton area without stopping.

So please continue to pray for us and our ministry without ceasing!! Everything is depending on your prayers!!  

Now, I want to remind you a few things this week. Until all of the dangers from COVID 19 is cleared, we will take this challenging time as our opportunity to grow deeper and stronger in the presence of God in truth and spirit… even staying at home. In other words, we will pray together more, we will sing together more, and we will read the words of God more, making those our habits as our Christian character. So please don’t forget to tithe your time, energy, heart and all other resources that God has given us as we practice those with God each and every day!!!

When you have to come for dropping off your regular offerings or taking some resources or information from the church or serving, please also keep washing your hands before entering and leaving the building with the hand sanitizer provided or use gloves as well… and keep the healthy social distancing (at least 6 feet) when you talk each other in the church building. We all need to keep healthy as long as possible, such a time as this, to carry the ministry of the church continually until it is over. Victory is ours because of the presence of God through Jesus Christ! Amen!

Now our churches will continue to find alternative ways to worship together, to grow together, to pray together as well as to meet together through online. So please keep connected with each other and with our web site for further information.

-Web Site (Online Worship) 

                     https://sites.google.com/markesanumc.org/markesanumc/home or

http://www.markesanumc.org/

I also attached our most current Newsletter in this email. Please take our newsletter as a helpful tool for your spiritual growing during this time since it has lots of steps that we can make each day, each week and each month.

Thank you all for joining our online service on Sunday last week as well as Lenten Experience last Wednesday… also thank you for joining our social network through Facebook, Twitter and Blog. Again, I was so thankful when you all joined worship there on Sunday morning. God was truly there for us and with us as we open our hearts and minds to worship in spirit and truth. And also I felt so connected with you when you respond to our social network posts.

So don’t forget to join us those two special online gatherings this week too, one on Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m., our last week of Lenten Experience with Jonah, the prophet, and the other on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. Also don’t forget to communicate through our social network - If you find anyone missing in our connection, please also let us know, we will find the way to connect with them.

This will be a great growing experience for us to learn from each other and also share our faith with all those who joined our circle inside of our church and outside of the church as well. So be ready each time of our online gathering with expectation… also with your own bible… to dance with God!

If you have any questions or prayer concerns, please don’t hesitation to share with me or through the office. We will be happy to answer you and include you in our prayer list.

If you also want to keep that in private, please also call me, email me or message me and let me know. I will love to hear from you all!

Now we have our prayer list updated for this week. Let us continue to call upon the name of the Lord as we move out of the box of mortality and keep clean and distance from the unseen enemy evil including COVID 19. We will find the treasure of heaven through this challenging time as we worship God in spirit and truth continually and we will find the Kingdom of God there!

Be clean and keep distance!!

pk

Lord Hear Our Prayer! (The Week of March 23, 2020)

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and 
unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Psalm 42”, Nederland Zingt  

Hi Family!!!

It is quite a cloudy day today; however, we know God hides sunshine behind the cloud up high above. Even though we don’t see it now, we know it is there always as God allows it for us. It is God’s creation and those are all for us. No wonder why the weather is getting warmer since we are moving closer to it. How’s your spiritual temperature today and this week as we continue to fight with this unseen enemies for our body and spirit? Are we being clean and keeping distance from it? Yes, we are. Depending on our health, our family, our neighbor, our community, our nation and our world will be getting back to healthier places each and every day.

Since the Wisconsin Conference decided to hold our gatherings until April 5, Palm Sunday, at least, including Sunday Worship Service, we will continue to worship in spirit and truth through online. However, our office will keep the door open during our regular hours (M/W/F from Noon till 4:00 p.m.) and continue to carry the ministry of Christ’s church in Markesan and Princeton area without stopping. 

I want to remind you a few things this week. From now on, until all the danger is cleared, we will take this challenging time as our opportunity to grow deeper and stronger in the presence of God in truth and spirit… even staying at home. In other words, we will pray together more and we will read the words of God more, making those our habits as our Christian character. So please take one tenth of your day (24hours) for those practice with God!!!

When you have to come for dropping off your regular offerings or taking some resources or information from the church or serving, please also keep washing your hands before entering and leaving the building with the hand sanitizer provided as well… and keep the healthy social distancing (at least 6 feet) when you talk each other. We all need to be healthy, such a time as this, to carry the ministry of the church continually until it is over. Victory is ours because of the presence of God through Jesus Christ!

Now our churches will continue to find alternative ways to worship together, to grow together, to pray together as well as to meet together through online. So please keep connected with each other and with our web site for further information.

         Web Site (Online Worship)  
      
       https://sites.google.com/markesanumc.org/markesanumc/home  or 
      
       http://www.markesanumc.org/

Also you will be connected with our social network that our church just created last week.

            -Facebook     https://www.facebook.com/markesan.umc.1

            -Twitter           https://twitter.com/PastorK94649280

            - YouTube      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXlSvzeZRMx9hbgef4wrKGg/videos

You can also find our weekly prayer list through Pastor’s Blog    https://kyochul.blogspot.com/

And also our weekly Lenten Experience from our Web Page https://sites.google.com/markesanumc.org/markesanumc/home

Now we have our prayer list updated for this week. Let us continue to call upon the name of the Lord as we move out of the dark room of confusion and doubt, pain and suffering in blindness… and as we keep clean and distance from the unseen enemy evil including this coronavirus. We will find the treasure of heaven through this challenging time as we worship God in spirit and truth continually!

Thank you all for joining our online service on Sunday last week as well as Lenten Experience last Wednesday. I was so thankful when you all joined worship there on Sunday morning and I sensed God’s presence when we gathered like that even in that way. So don’t forget to join us those two special online gatherings this week too, one on Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. and the other on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.

If you have any questions or prayer concerns, please don’t hesitation to share with me or through the office. We will be happy to answer you and include you in our prayer list.

One more thing, for this week, when you participate the online worship and Lenten experience or even in our social network, please also leave your comments or any questions on our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blog or our Home Page. This will be a great growing experience for us to learn from each other and also share our faith with all those who joined our circle inside of our church and outside of the church as well.

If you also want to keep that in private, please also call me, email me or message me and let me know. I will love to hear from you all!

Be clean and keep distance!!

pk

“As the Deer”, Cor Ysgol Y Strade

For Confirmation Class... Spiritual Growing through Decision

Holy Spirit Your Are Welcome Here!

Please Response to below... Contact - Pastor

https://sites.google.com/markesanumc.org/markesanumc/connect/contact

1. How did Peter, Thomas and John follow Jesus? (page 132)

2. Is there any exiting moment for them when they decide to follow him? How did it happen?
   Peter:
   Thomas:
   John:

3. Is there any embarrassing moment or shameful moment for them when they fail to keep their words?
    Peter:
   Thomas:
   John:

4. How about you? Have you ever had any exiting moment when you decide to do something for God? How did it go?

5. And have you ever had any embarrassing/shameful/disappointing moment when you fail to keep your words?

6. Is your decision for confirmation making you exited or anxious?

7. What did Jesus do for them when they failed?
   Peter:
   Thomas:
   John:

8. Finally, what did they become as they went through all those ups and downs to follow him?
   Peter:
   Thomas:
   John:

9. Are you like Peter or Thomas or John?

For Confirmation Class... Credo!

1000 Reasons - Praise the Lord O My Soul

Please Response to below... Contact - Pastor

https://sites.google.com/markesanumc.org/markesanumc/connect/contact

Based on your own experience through your life, scripture and confirmation journey...

1.Who is God the Father for you?

2.Who is God the Son for you?

3.Who is God the Holy Spirit for you?

4.What is the Church for you?

5.What is the Bible for you?

6.What does Heaven mean to you?

7.What does Love mean to you?

8.What does Sin mean to you?

Lord, Hear Our Prayers! (The Week of March 16, 2020)

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and 

unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Let My Prayer Arise”, Russian Orthodox Chant  

Hi Family!!! 

It is truly a bright day today, a day of winter into spring. However, it is quite a challenging as we deal with the coronavirus outbreak situation around the world. The Wisconsin Conference decided to hold our gatherings until April 5, Palm Sunday, including Sunday Worship Service. It means we are not going to have any public gatherings in our church buildings even though the office is still open during the regular hours (MWF/Noon till 4 p.m.) and helps us to carry the ministry of Christ’s church continually. 

It was not an easy decision but sad and painful. Such an emotion took me to the Babylonian exile where the people of Israel were not able to worship freely in the Temple together anymore because they were deported to the foreign land as war slaves. However, we know last week’s message about a Samaritan woman at the well encountering with Jesus - God is looking for the worship in spirit and truth regardless of location. Such a time as this, it is encouraging! 

So from now on, until all the danger is cleared, we will take this challenging time as our opportunity to grow deeper and stronger in the presence of God in truth and spirit… even staying at home. In other words, we will pray together more and we will read the words of God more, making those our habits as our Christian character. 

However, our church will find alternative ways to worship together through online. So please keep connected with each other and with our web site for further information on live streaming. 

-          Web Site (Online Worship)  https://sites.google.com/markesanumc.org/markesanumc/home 

-          Pastor’s Blog (Prayer) https://kyochul.blogspot.com/?zx=f270d8680d48100

I also found a little practical and helpful observation from the University of California psychologist Elissa Epel to navigate the stress and anxiety that many are experiencing in such a time as this.

“When threats are uncertain, such as the current Coronavirus situation, our anxious minds can easily overestimate the actual threat and underestimate our ability to cope with it… When we are in a panic state, we suffer, we stress out our children, and we are more likely to make mistakes and engage in irrational decisions and behavior.” Therefore, let us pay attention to the following. 

1.      Stay informed, but avoid over saturating yourself with media reports of the virus.

2.      Take deep breaths and pray – for all health care providers, those who are sick, and their anxious family members.

3.      Exercise regularly and eat healthy foods.

4.      Read and study the scriptures daily.

5.      Worship with others each week (even if it is online through the livestream).

6.      Remind yourself that God is with us and at work in our world.

7.      Connect with others – by phone, by text, and by email.

8.      Maintain healthy relationships with friends and family members.

9.      Be grateful – gratitude is the seed you plant to discover joy.

Now we have our prayer list updated for this week. Let us continue to call upon the name of the Lord as we move out of the prison cell of fear, anxiety, problems and trials as we keep clean and distance from the unseen enemy evil including this coronavirus. We will find the treasure of heaven through this challenging time as we worship God in spirit and truth continually!

By the way, just for reminder,

 1.      Wash your hands often with soap and water signing the Lord’s Prayer!

  “The Lord’s Prayer”,  Shenandoah Christian Music Camp

2.       Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

3.      Stay home when you are sick.

4.      If you experience coughing, sneezing, or a fever, seek medical attention.

5.      Avoid close contact (within 6 feet) with people who are sick. 

Judy suggested those, especially the bold two above…

Lord, Hear Our Prayers! (The Week of March 9, 2020)

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and 

unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)

“What A Beautiful Name””,  Voices of Lee

Hi Family!!! 

It is a gorgeous day today. The spring rain melt the snow on the ground and our grand river is flowing well under the bridge! In other words, our new season, spring, is much closer. Thanks be to God! Now we have our prayer list updated for this week. Let us continue to call upon the name of the Lord as we move out from the hot shower booth and take steps to grow following the Jesus' teaching so that we can find any treasure of heaven every day!

Hallelujah moment!

God’s presence in every moment of our life!

Ryan A.’s family having triplets

New Requests

Our Lenten Experience each Wednesdays

Preparation for New Discipleship Group from April

Thailand Missionaries traveling US in March and April

Izzy’s training for the new administrative assistant role

Tom’s brother waiting for an open Heart Surgery

God’s comfort and strength for Bill Coleman’s family

Tornado victims in TN

Lona, Eileen’s aunt recovering from fall

Margaret’s niece trip to Japan

Alice N., finding the solution for her eye problem with headache

Bill’s brother Charles, dealing with Alzheimer’s in California but declining now, and her sister, his care giver for God’s sustaining power & Bill’s trip to CA to see him in April

&

Christian Churches and leaders around the world, especially, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung in our conference and his spiritual leadership following the Holy Spirit in this challenging time so that they all can see the Will of God clearly as well as the UMC’s direction in God’s will; Preparation of our Conference's Delegation to represent not just Wisconsin Conference but God’s will in the future as they become able to see what God's will is for the Christ’s Church; Our United Methodist Community of Faith - for God’s healing, healing for our wounded-ness and brokenness and for God’s guiding light in our every steps to follow only the Holy Spirit so that we don’t miss this divine opportunity to be cleansed and renewed by the power of Jesus Christ to be One with God and each other for God’s eternal Kingdom without losing hearts so that we are able to see Christ’s love from each other’s lives.

  

“O Lord, we believe our life is touched by you, that you want something for us, and of us. Give us ears to hear you, eyes to see the tracing of your finger, and a heart quickened by the motions of your Spirit. We pray this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

21 Days of Breakthrough Prayer (Lenten Experience)

Daily Prayer

Lord, Hear Our Prayers! (The Week of March 2, 2020)

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and 

unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)

“It Is Well with My Soul” ” by Acapeldridge

Hi Family!!! 

It is quite an interesting weather this morning since we had a snow for a quick moment, seemingly very heavy snow, and then it was gone. We might think that winter was coming back. However, it was just passing by and spring is coming anyway because it is how God has made and what God has promised. We figured it out as we entered into the Lenten season! Now we have our prayer list updated for this week. Let us continue to call upon the name of the Lord as we move out from the tangled yarn in our spiritual journey with God following Jesus’ simple way in obedience to the scripture so that all may find His Way, Truth and Life!

Hallelujah moment!

God’s presence in every moment of our life!

Worshiping with families from a far!

Hannah Celebrated 4^th birthday that comes every four years

New Requests

Our Lenten Experience each Wednesdays

Preparation for New Discipleship Group from April

Griffin family and Hass Family in Kingston for God’s comfort and strength

Shirley’s friend Julie Jo diagnosed with breast cancer.

God’s healing and strength for Sadan, a child in Hope School, having her brain cancer treatment

&

Christian Churches and leaders around the world, especially, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung in our conference and his spiritual leadership following the Holy Spirit in this challenging time so that they all can see the Will of God clearly as well as the UMC’s direction in God’s will; Preparation of our Conference's Delegation to represent not just Wisconsin Conference but God’s will in the future as they become able to see what God's will is for the Christ’s Church; Our United Methodist Community of Faith - for God’s healing, healing for our wounded-ness and brokenness and for God’s guiding light in our every steps to follow only the Holy Spirit so that we don’t miss this divine opportunity to be cleansed and renewed by the power of Jesus Christ to be One with God and each other for God’s eternal Kingdom without losing hearts so that we are able to see Christ’s love from each other’s lives.

  

“O God, may we have rest and peace in our hearts.  May angels surround our beds in the night, and may each day bring healing with the dawn. May hope remain strong in our hearts and may we find new strength each day. We pray for restoration and your peace that surpasses all understanding to touch us and renew us every day. We pray this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Get Up and Go

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. 

Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 

Wash me clean from my guilt. Purity me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2, NLT)

“Rise Up Oh Men of God” ”, Northern Lights Chorale 

  Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,

Now we are entering into Lent, a season of forty days before we celebrate the Christ’s resurrection from the dead - Christians in America call it Easter while other Christians around the world call it the Day of Resurrection. During those forty days, we participate in Jesus’ suffering through our fasting and penance. We deeply touch the human reality of sin and death. In other words, those days are not going to be light but very heavy. It begins from Ash Wednesday and ends after going through the Holy Week before Easter. 

During this time period, we don’t count Sundays as a part of Lent because we celebrate each Sunday as a little Easter all throughout the year. However, it is interesting to see that we call it ‘Lent’ which means ‘spring’ in old English as the daylight is getting longer. It is true that, in spring, the darkness is retreating; the cold and frozen land is thawing; the inactive life is becoming active. It is like waking up from a long sleep. However, the springtime and those heavy days do not go well together.

We know the spring is a time of preparation for the new year’s crop, including land preparation and seeds planting etc. In other words, it is a very busy and hard working season. Now somewhat it makes sense to us why we are preparing our big celebration through the season of spring called Lent. However, our preparation is spiritual preparation.   

So are we ready for the spring, I mean our preparation through the hard working now in our spiritual soil for next forty days?

Some years ago during the Old Testament time, there was a man named Jonah. He is a son of Amittai and also he was one of the prophets who lived during the reign of Jeroboam, a king of Israel. It was after Israel was destroyed by Assyrian Empire and gave tribute to them to survive. However, it was not too bad time because their king Jeroboam managed their situation well, relating with their surrounding nations, except worshiping idols continually. It looked like a very peaceful time; however, it was full of hatred and they kept lustful idolatrous life style. And later on, Jerusalem in the Southern Kingdom of Judah would be totally destroyed by the Babylonians - we know it happened though. Sounds like this nation was falling asleep deeply, I mean spiritually, without knowing what is to come because of their sins. Because things were looking OK, they did not realize that they sinned against God continually.

A prophet Jonah was a part of them. He was in deep sleep spiritually. But one day, God called him.

“Get Up and Go...” (Jonah 1:2a)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, where are we now? Are we in a deep sleep like those people in Israel and the prophet Jonah because things are still looking OK for us? God is waking us up now to give us a special mission as a church together, a new purpose of life as Christians through the story of Jonah. Why don’t you join us on this forty day journey with him as we gather each week and prepare our big celebration? We will truly find Christ there!

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”  

(Psalm 51:10, NLT)

Join me! 

Pastor Kyochul