Silence

"In an age of ISIS brutality, [Silence's] themes are sadly relevant today, and it opens a window on a period in church history of which too few are aware." Silence for Silence | John Murdock | First Things

I recommend the movie Silence. (Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ Asks What It Really Costs to Follow Jesus | Christianity Today) Naho and I watched it last Saturday with both sadness and joy. Our Japanese brothers and sisters in the past endured so much for their faith. Japan now is only 0.3% Christian. The nail that sticks out gets hit, as the Japanese saying goes, even now.

Matthew 16:24, "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"

More: Martin Scorsese Interview: From Near-Death Drug Addict to 'Silence' | Hollywood Reporter

Happy New Year

Missionaries and others in our area had a New Years meal last Saturday (at Azumino Family Chapel). Beautiful group!

Dad and Dan…

My younger brother Dan (Arizona) spent some time with Dad (Michigan) this Christmas. Dan wrote, "Good time singing hymns n reading scripture." Thanks, Dan. And may the Lord's presence abound to you, Dad.

May the Lord truly bless you all!

Christmas at Kyoritsu Hospital

Dec. 10th, the Abundant Life Christ Church served some patients at Kyoritsu Hospital near Matsumoto station. Others shared the Christmas story and some songs. Above picture: I gave a short Christmas message. Please pray that the staff and patients at the hospital would experience Christ's shalom.

Articles on Christmas...

If your interested in Japan, this is a must read. Japan's first Christmas | The Japan Times “'High-class men and women assembled in great numbers in the priestly residence,' missionary Duarte da Silva writes in a letter about the Japanese Christmas of 1553, also in Yamaguchi City. 'From one in the morning, they listened to stories from the Bible — hearing of the creation of heaven and Earth and of man’s sin, then of Noah’s flood, the separation of languages, the beginning of idol worship, the destruction of Sodom, the story of Nineveh, the story of Joseph’s son of Jacob, the Babylonian captivity, the 10 commandments of Moses and the flight from Egypt, then of the prophet Elisha, Judith, Nebuchadnezzar’s statue — according to the ages — and finally the story of Daniel brought us into the dead of night.' Such protracted instruction in Old Testament storytelling was meant to bring home the necessity of Christ’s advent — which the Japanese converts learned about during the second half of the night."

   "The first of these Christmas plays took place in Bungo — today’s Oita Prefecture — in 1560. People traveled from distant towns and villages to witness the event. Enacted by Japanese believers, the play told the story of Adam and Eve, and a tree decorated with golden apples was placed in the middle of the stage, according to a letter by Juan Fernandez. The set also included a stable and crib to symbolize the birth of Christ. Such was the performance’s hypnotic spell that when Lucifer proceeded to tempt Eve beneath the apple tree, the spectators — men, women and children alike — are said to have burst into tears. The distress escalated to fever pitch as an angel appeared and led Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. For the playgoers, relief came only when the angel reappeared before the first man and woman — wearing the clothing given to them by God — and consoled them with news of a distant day of salvation."

Tim Keller, Christmas is the most unsentimental way of looking at life | New York Post

What a Rabbi Taught Me About Keeping Christ In Christma... | Pivot | A Blog by Karl Vaters

GLS

We had a great ‎Global Leadership Summit last month (Matsumoto area). The live speaker was Shigeto Sanada. He spoke on servant leadership. There were about 70 people there… May the Lord raise up a multitude of servant leaders in this land, not only for the church, but for the nation as a whole.