2nd week of Advent: Peace!

This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent, and we will think about "Peace" based on Matthew 3:1-6, 11-12 through a story of John the Baptist and Jesus.
Also, it is our first week of December, it means that it will be our communion Sunday. At 8:00 o clock service, I will lift up a song called " Light of the World" as an offertory. It is a beautiful Advent song with poetic lyric. At 11:00 o' clock service, the choir will lift up "Advent Cry" from our Christmas cantata "the Winter Rose". It is also a beautiful song with a phrase of "Veni, Veni, Redemptor"- Come, come, Redeemer. Laura and Larelynn will sing a Christmas carol as a duet during offering time.
Here is the lyric of Advent Cry. I pray that we all have same desire that longs to the Lord deeply with this song.
 

Veni, Veni, Redemptor.

Peace will come on the wings of a promise.
Hope will come like the morning’s first call.
Joy will come on the winds of the Spirit.
Love will come, Love will come.
Come Lord Jesus, come!
Veni, Veni, Redemptor.
Peace will come on the sings of the angels.
Hope will come like a song in the night.
Joy will blossom like roses in springtime.
Love will come, love will come.
Come Lord Jesus, come!
Veni, Veni, Redemptor.
Come Lord Jesus, Come!

First week of Advent!

Even though we do not feel any yet it is coming, but the Advent is here!! :) I am very excited to sing those beautiful advent songs and Christmas carols with you all.
This Sunday is the first week of advent; the message is about "hope". At 8:00 o' clock service, Sonrise singers will lift up " O Come, o come, Emmanuel" and the Sanctuary choir will sing a beautiful advent anthem "The Yearning" by Craig Courtney at 11:00. The Advent is a time to be more closer to God with longing heart. I wish you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and come together on Sunday to worship our Lord!
Don't forget there will be "Celebration of Season" at 5:00 o' clock with lots of carols!
Here is the lyric of the Yearning.
There is a yearning in hearts weighed down by ancient grief and centuries of sorrow. There is a yearning in hearts that in the darkness hide and in the shades of death abide, a yearning for tomorrow.
There is a yearning, a yearning for the promised One, the Firstborn of creation. There is a yearning for the Lord who visited His own, and by His death for sin atoned, to bring to us salvation.
Emmanuel, Emmanuel within our hearts, the yearning.
There is a yearning that fills the hearts of those who wait the day of His appearing.
There is a yearning when all our sorrows are erased and we shall see the One who placed within our hearts the yearning.
Emmanuel, Emmanuel within our hearts, the yearning.

The Majesty and Glory of Your name

When fall arrives, my heart starts beating faster than usual to see beautiful trees and sky. It seems that every fall is new; every trees change their clothes differently each year. I might be forget how they looked like last year but still the inspiration in fall makes me wonder of God's world and creation. I enjoy walking anytime of a day in my neighborhood, watching trees mostly and sky. Fall in this year has been a real treat for me from God. I did feel blessed much last year but somehow I feel more blessed in this year through the season. Some trees let their leaves go earlier than others, some stay until the end with green and finally change their clothes. When I walked this morning, there were tons of late leaves covering the streets. Still those vivid and undescribable colorful leaves are just gorgoeous. When I stood under one of trees to look up to see the beauty, I could hear the tree speaking to me " there is a time to gain, there is time to lose. however, I praise the Lord with all my hands lifted. " Maybe...,my imagination was too childish to accept, but truly, I could hear them talking, and praising God who created them beautifully. I have thought about me: I love to worship and praise my God, the Creator.However, I could confess that I do not praise in all circumstances. I have been learning through the trees that we don't have to find reasons to praise God, because He is the Creator: we just need to praise and worship God because of who He is! We try hard to find making lists of blessings to give thanks in this time of season near Thanksgiving. However, I have learned the trees that I don't even have to think about the list to praise Him. He has given us the most wonderful gift, the life; the eternal life through Jesus Christ.

The choir and Floris Strings will praise God with "The Majesty and Glory of Your name" at 11:00 service on this Sunday. It is a beautiful, poetic praising anthem based on Psalm 8. I pray that we all lift up our heart together to praise and worship God with all our hearts like the trees. " O what is man, that You are mindful of him." God is mindful of us, gave us salvation through His only Son, Jesus. What else we need to praise and give thanks to God?

Psalm 47

I have been enjoying "fall" very much lately; beautiful sky, shinning sunshine, colorful trees, etc. What a treat from God that we can enjoy! I love taking a walk especially right at sunrise. It is like a breath taking moment from a scene through a big screen in a movie theater. Sometimes, I started clapping to God without thinking that I am outside.
We are in "servant leadership" series, have taken time to think about Jesus. I think about Him when I walked through that beautiful scene beautiful Jesus. His humility and compassion are more than any beauty of the world.
This week, we will praise God with Psalm 47; a simple upbeat song with congas, and some simple percussions along with the choir at 11:00 o'clock service. It is a simple praise song however, it has full of joyment with clapping, and dancing. I love this song because of simple expression of praise with "doo, doo, doo..." in the beginning. The composer express this full of joy with the sound. I would like to invite you all to join us to praise Him fully wiht the choir this week.
Also, Call to Harmony will lift up "Holy, Holy, Holy" as offertory music. They will also lead congregation hymns at 11:00!
At 8:00 o'clock service the Sonrise singers will praise "Be Exalted O God" as an offertory.This wellknown song is fully praising God also!

Let' fill our week with full of praise and thanksgiving!!

Servant Leadership

When I was a middle school student, I had a chance to attend one of retreats during summer break. Even though I was serious about my faith at the age of 14, I never had this experience before. On the last day of the retreat, we had a time to serve each other. The leaders at the retreat intentionally let us play outside without shoes for a while right before the event. We did not know that our feet will be washed by someone else. Well... we were teenagers, full of energy, naive, and sweat really, sweat and ran around at the grass and dirt. Can you imagine how dirty our feet were? Anyway, the experience being washed was not that bad but washing my friends' feet like Jesus was totally amazing. I could not explain why but I really loved my friends more after my washed their feet somehow. I was not crying when my feet were washed but I started crying when I washed my friends' feet. I still do not know why but indescribable feeling overwhelmed me and I could not stop sobbing until all the event was done. I was not only one but everybody were sobbing. I have thought about why we were sobbing for a long time, and got an answer: it was conviction that I realized that I was not living as a servant like Jesus. I wanted to be treated as a princes, not a servant. I wanted to be a center of all attentions, be praised, and be noticed by other people how great I was. Even though I am still learning the servant hood, I ever felt that much convicted before.

This week, our new sermon series starts; servant leadership! We can't talk about the servant leadership without Jesus as you all can imagine. I pray that we all get convicted deeply by the Holy Spirit so our hearts will be restored as servants like Jesus.

The Sanctuary choir will share a beautiful song called " Seek to serve" at 11:00 service. It is a prayer, and like a chant style. Here is the lyric of the song. Let's praise God together.
"Seek to Serve"
May I live in the world, as one who always seeks to serve.
May I live as one who knows the love of God. 
Lord, teach me how to live and how to serve. 
With my ears may I hear, with my eyes may I see, 
with my lips may I speak. May Your word be heard through me.

Thus, as I live each day may love sustain the will to serve. Amen.  

Praise the Lord all Ye people!

I would like to share special thanks to all brothers and sisters in Christ for your help and devoted hearts for the Fall Music Festival! Even though the weather was really nasty, the festival was very inspiring and full of energy. It is just amazing to see how much God has given people in various talents, and lives styles. The beauty of God's world is in diversity; colorful! He made all creatures differently. He likes that. It is not easy to accept differences with others often, but still... we need to learn how to live in harmony. Harmony made up of all different notes. If it is from same notes, it can't be a harmony.

I have felt how God has been plesed with our open hearts to accept diversities in His world.
I pray that Floris UMC may grow deeply in God's vision to represent God's colorful beautiful world.

Thank you all so much!

Enough

We have started a new sermon series with a book "Enough" by Adam Hamilton. It was a such blessing personally to have to think about again what things to remember in my life through last week sermon and reading the book. I am looking forward to learning more through this series.
Celebration choir and Sanctuary choir will sing together "I will serve You" on this Sunday as our anthem. It is arranged with incorporating of the children's choir singing a hymn "For the Beauty of the earth". It is a beautiful anthem to praise!
The Floris String will also lift their music up to the Lord during the offertory with Handel's "Largo".
The Christmas Cantata rehearsals have been going really well with many Cantata singers! I have been enjoying a lot, and looking forward to having more people to praise Him!
As you all know, our Fall music festival is coming up soon on October 29th at 7:00 in our church! It is free but there will be an offering time to support "Connections for Hope" during the Festival. I am so excited that many singers from all over the world will join us! Please come to celebrate God's colorful world through music!
Here is lyric of our anthem this week.
For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Lord of all, to You we raise . This our hymn of grateful praise.
I will serve You, Creator, Savior, I will serve You because I love You.
Every sunrise reminds me, Jesus, You are my lord, and I, I will serve You.
Lord of all, Creator of all, Lord of life, Lord of Lord and King of kings;
Lord of all, this prayer toYou we raise: that our life may be a hymn of grateful praise.