Articles Archives - Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde

Renovation Works of Christian Education Center Supported by ELER Begin

editor — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 06:20:06 +0000

Berlin Immanuel Church is preparing one property for future uses as an University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule). The progress is moving forward step by step and this month the renovation works begin.

Regarding the renovation works, the roof of the blue building and the window shutters will be supported by the ELER.

It is hoped the renovation can be accomplished successfully.

The post Renovation Works of Christian Education Center Supported by ELER Begin appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Surely God Is Good To Israel, But As For Me, I Had Nearly Lost My Foothold

Macey Kim — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:48:58 +0000

15 November, 2020 – When Zophar insists on God’s legalistic treatment of his friend (book of Job 20-21), Job refutes the claim that God’s justice can always be observed in his punishment of the wicked and his blessing of the righteous. It is simply not true that the ungodly live a short and miserable life. God doesn’t discriminate and he shows his mercy and goodness to all. God is patient and overlooks our sins for a time, leading us to repentance with his kindness (Rom 2:4). Zophar’s view of God was very narrow, he never looked outside of his own limited experience and the wisdom of his ancestors. Job challenged him to ask the travelers and listen to their accounts, and examine and test his own observations and beliefs. But if the legalistic view of God’s love is wrong and God shows no partiality, if he indeed causes his sun to rise on both the evil and the good (Mat 5:45), and equally allows them to suffer, what advantage is there to live righteously? What advantage is there to believe in God and pray (Job 21:15)? As Christians, we must ask this question sooner or later, and we should be ready to give the reason for our faith that is often made or broken over this.

Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, looked at the prosperity of the wicked and he felt regret that he devoted his life to God. He was deeply troubled by this question – why do the ungodly prosper, why do they experience no struggle and illness, but the godly must suffer? Asaph saw how the wicked mock God and yet go on unpunished, while he had worked hard to keep his heart and hands pure before God just to suffer affliction every day. Asaph began to envy the ungodly, and he almost lost the foothold of his faith, but as he entered God’s sanctuary (Ps 73:16-17) to find answer to what troubled him so deeply, he repented that he had questioned God’s goodness. Asaph realized that in his bitterness, he was ignorant of God’s mercy towards him (vs 21-22). He realized that the Lord did not reject him when he doubted God’s love and when he questioned his goodness and wisdom, instead he held him by his hand and lead him through his struggle (vs 23). When we realize that there is no greater blessing than to be in God’s presence (vs 28) and that itself is an amazing gift of God’s grace, we are humbled immediately and our hearts go towards those who perish without knowing God’s love in Christ (vs 27). We will never envy those who don’t know God and we will never pity ourselves if we truly know the greatness of God’s grace given to us in Christ Jesus, and we will never again be legalistic and uncompassionate as Zophar was to his neighbor, but we will simply love because He first loved us.

The post Surely God Is Good To Israel, But As For Me, I Had Nearly Lost My Foothold appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Sunday Service: He Who Withholds Kindness From a Friend

Macey Kim — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 13:02:21 +0000

27 September, 2020 – Job’s response to his friend’s accusations in chapters 6 and 7 reminds us that we should live the life of gospel, of being servants of God’s grace. Eliphaz failed to see God’s grace and ended up condemning his friend, instead of being an agent of God’s grace when his friend needed it the most, he became the agent of the enemy. But the life of the gospel is to fix our eyes on Christ who became our servant and gave his life for us. And when we see this great grace God demonstrated on the cross, we can’t help but make ourselves servant of his grace to others. Apostle Paul comforted believers in Corinth in their suffering, reminding them that because we have Christ, God’s power is revealed in our weaknesses and when we live for his glory, serving others, we see God’s grace extend more and more and bringing hope to others to the glory of God – 2 Cor 4:5-15.

Job’s suffering was great, his burden was too heavy to carry by himself (Job 6:1), but his friend failed to show him compassion. When we suffer greatly, it is hard to see grace in our life. Job lost hope, there was nothing for him to expect (Job 6:11) and he felt helpless and useless (Job 6:13). And although Eliphaz’s words were right, they were tasteless to Job (Job 6:6) and only caused disappointment (Job 6:20), because they offered no comfort when it was most needed (Job 6:15). Withholding kindness and grace from others when we have received so much from God is a sin (Job 6:14), no matter how right our words may be (Job 6:25).

Apostle Paul, who once used to persecute God’s people, thinking he was right, thinking he was the agent of God’s rigtheousness, found out painfully on the road to Damascus that he has been the agent of the enemy and had been persecuting the Son of God. But just as shockingly, the Lord did not give him the punishment he deserved, instead he gave him grace and showed him that the punishment for our sins was carried by our Savior. Let us be those who don’t look away from those who suffer (Job 6:28), even when they speak with bitterness, for impetuousness comes from pain (Job 6:2). Let us remember the heart of God who gave his Son so that we could be healed and comforted in his grace, and let us live as servants to others, bringing hope and encouragement that comes from the grace of God, a hope that is eternal (2 Cor 4:16-17).

The post Sunday Service: He Who Withholds Kindness From a Friend appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Sunday Service: Let Us Draw Near to God with a Sincere Heart

Macey Kim — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 16:13:48 +0000

9 August, 2020 – Opening with Hebrews 10:19-27, the sermon looked at important lessons for our faith that are provided in the book of Exodus dealing with the construction of the tabernacle. The priority for Israel was not to rush to the Promised Land, but first to follow the heavenly pattern shown to Moses and construct the tabernacle according to God’s instructions so that God may dwell with his people. Many think of salvation as simply getting to heaven, but clearly, salvation is about coming to God and learning to live with him first. We must know and follow God’s will to be able to pass through the wilderness of life and enter his kingdom. One of the most important things we must learn is to commune with God through prayer. The altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-10) symbolizes prayer (Ps 141:2, Luke 1:10, Rev 5:8), and so looking at this altar, we can learn about what our prayer life should be like, since what Moses was shown was a heavenly pattern according to which all was built.

First, the fire for the burning of the incense was to be taken only from the bronze altar of sacrifice, not any fire was to be used (Lev 16:12-13). The sacrifice points to the cross of Christ which is our altar and the only sacrifice for sins that is needed. And so our prayer must always be in the name of Jesus, it must be based on the sacrifice of Christ. A true prayer is not about powerful or beautiful words, but one that exalts the works of Christ. What an amazing blessing we have, that God gave us a way to pray and have communion with him! For how is it that the holy God should hear the prayer of sinners, and yet he hears us when we come to him through Christ. Secondly, the incense was a mixture of specific spices (Ex 30:34-38), not any kind of blend would do. And so our prayer must not be a senseless babbling, but it should follow the pattern of the Lord’s prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples. We must receive the Spirit who helps us in our weakness and who leads us in a prayer that is according to the will of God (Rom 8:26).

Lastly, the prayer was to be seasoned with salt (Ex 30:35) which was a symbol of purity and holiness, and also God’s covenant (Lev 2:13). And once a year, on the day of Atonement, the priest would cleanse the altar of the burned offering with the blood of the atoning sin offering (Ex 30:10). And so we must remember that we are in a holy covenant with God, through the blood of the Lamb, and offer prayer that is pure and holy. We must repent and be renewed first, for how can God receive a prayer from a sinful and unrepentant heart? And so we see, that the making of the tabernacle was not about making furniture but a pattern of life that taught God’s people how to properly approach him, receive his grace and live a life that is a living pleasing sacrifice to God. And we will do well to learn and follow the pattern shown to us in Christ as well.

The post Sunday Service: Let Us Draw Near to God with a Sincere Heart appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Sunday Service: Acknowledge And Take to Heart That the Lord Is God

Macey Kim — Wed, 20 May 2020 13:11:09 +0000

17 May, 2020 – Berlin Immanuel Church continued studying the Ten Commandments this Sunday. The First Commandment in Exodus 20:3 exhorts us to examine our hearts and acknowledge that there is no other god (Deut 4:39) in our life but the Lord who loved us in Christ Jesus. There were many gods in Egypt that Moses could name, but the purpose of the Commandment is not to give us a list of false gods. There is only one God who created the heaven and earth, and only one God who gave His Son for our sins, there simply is no other. So our highest devotion must belong to Him only. God uses revelation to make Himself know to us – Deut 4:32-34. Not that He needs to prove Himself – Deut 4:35 – but that we may know Him. The Commandment thus exposes the false ‘gods’ in our life, things that are our highest goal, things we give our highest devotion to before God. If God is not at the highest place in our life, we end up replacing Him with other ‘gods’ and we break the First Commandment.

So since our main concern is to be for God to be God in all aspects of our life, the list of false gods is not necessary, nevertheless the Bible gives us plenty of examples of the kind of things that commonly compete with God in our lives. The most common one is the desire for possessions and earthly security in them. Jesus taught us to “store up treasures in heaven” instead of on earth – Mt 6:19-21. We cannot serve two masters, either God is in the highest place or the possessions, they can’t both be in the same place, because they are not equal – Mt 6:24. In the Parable of the Rich Fool, in Luke 12:13-21, Jesus taught us that “man’s life does not consists in the abundance of possessions”. The rich fool used the possessions as if they were the goal and purpose in life, making himself abundant beyond what is necessary. But our earthly life is not the end and when we stand before God, if our goal in life was rich towards ourselves and not towards God, we will stand before Him empty handed in the end – Luke 12:21. The rich young man who came to Jesus to enquire about inheriting eternal life left sad because even though the kept the Commandment of loving his neighbor, he broke the First Commandment. He wasn’t able to follow the Messiah because he loved his possessions before God. So that is a clear sign that we break the First Commandment, when God asks us to follow him but we have something more important to do first. Our response to God’s calling shows where our heart truly. Those who are gripped by greed must repent and those who are overcome with worry must learn to trust the Lord, for when we follow Him and seek His Kingdom first, he will graciously provide all things – Mat 6:25-33. For if we have God who did not spare His own Son, how will He not give us all things – Rom 8:32.

For most people, and most Christians, our own happiness becomes the highest purpose and goal in life. If this god of happiness takes God’s place in our life, we treat God as a means to our happiness, God is here to help us to get what we desire. Of course God loves us and wants us to be happy, but to be happy is not the purpose of our life. We experience the fulness of joy in life when we rejoice in the Lord, when God is our goal, our joy is true and lasting. The self-centered pursuit of happiness of man is a false god. The purpose and commandment for man since Adam, through Noah, Abraham and Moses is to be a blessing to many. It is this outgoing sacrificial agape love shown to us fully in Christ that moves the believers since the time of apostles until God’s Kingdom is fulfilled to go to the ends of the earth and be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, being a blessing to many and serving in the love of God. Our life is to be a living sacrifice – Rom 12:1, not a self-serving pursuit of my own happiness and comfort. Only when we unite with Christ and His life, we can experience the joy of the gospel-like life and be truly fulfilled.

The post Sunday Service: Acknowledge And Take to Heart That the Lord Is God appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Sunday Service: My Spirit Rejoices in God My Savior

Macey Kim — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 08:56:15 +0000

22 Dec, 2019 – Berlin Immanuel Church ended the Christmas retreat on Sunday with a sermon on Mary’s Song in Luke 1:46-55. Meditating on Mary’s response to the good news of the coming of the Savior, we can be reminded of the meaning of Christmas. Mary’s first reaction was confusion and disbelief – Luke 1:29, 34, but she humbled herself and accepted that this is not about her – “I am a virgin” – but about what God is doing. We always fall in the error of thinking of ourselves first, of what we have done or what we have to do. The rich young man who met the Savior but left empty in Luke 18 or Nicodemus in John 3 made this error and Jesus always pointed them to what God is doing – “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” So when Mary put her faith in God, the confusion turned into knowledge of God’s glory, power and grace and she burst into the deepest joy coming from her spirit and a desire you glorify the Lord with her soul, her whole inner being.

Christmas is not about what man does, it’s not about trying to be nicer to each other, it’s about looking at the riches of God’s grace in sending His one and only son into the sinful world. It’s about seeing our “humble state” (verse 48) as sinners who have to give account to God who is holy (verse 49) and in whose presence there can’t be any evil. But the same holy God is also merciful, he lifts up the humble (verse 52) and fills those who hunger and thirst (verse 53) for true righteousness in Christ. Christmas is a joyful news because it’s about the faithfulness of God who fulfils his promise (verses 54-55) and poured our his grace on us in Christ even though we were underserving sinners. Christmas is a revelation of God’s love for us who gave his Son for the world. May we look at this great work of salvation that God does and rejoice in his mercy and magnify him in this world because we have found favor with God.

The post Sunday Service: My Spirit Rejoices in God My Savior appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

SSunday Service: Sealed with the Promised Holy Spirit, the Guarantee of our Inheritance

Macey Kim — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:39:38 +0000

10 Nov, 2019 – Berlin Immanuel Church continued in the series on Ephesians in chapter 1 verses 13-14, focusing on the sealing with the Holy Spirit. When Paul first entered the city of Ephesus in Acts 19, he found disciples who heard the message of truth and believed, but were not yet sealed with the Spirit. The experience of Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the baptism that Christ gives, is essential in a life of a Christian. Without the Spirit there is no life of God, no power, no revival neither in the church nor in the individual. It is through the Holy Spirit that the love of God is poured out in our hearts (Rom 5:5), the love of the cross we have heard about and believed. We can work hard, we can persevere in our faith, but the first love (Rev 2:2-4) is, above all else, it is the basis of our hope, the guarantee of our inheritance. It is this experience of the pouring out of the love of Christ in our hearts that makes us cry Abba Father (Gal 4:6). It is through the experience of the baptism with the Spirit that we have the full and intimate knowledge of God’s love in the same way a son knows the love of the father. May we heed Paul’s word of exhortation to remember the first love and seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit who alone can seal us in the love of Christ.

The post SSunday Service: Sealed with the Promised Holy Spirit, the Guarantee of our Inheritance appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Sunday Service: He Predestined Us to Adoption as Sons to Himself

Macey Kim — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 13:14:28 +0000

22 September, 2019 – Berlin Immanuel Church continued in the series on Ephesians in chapter 1 verse 5. Apostle Paul, writing to the Gentile Christians brings out a Roman legal term ‘adoption’ that they were closely familiar with, as many of them would have been slaves and servants. No matter what the position of the person getting adopted was before, even if he was a slave, after adoption he would enjoy the same rights and privilege as a natural child. This term emphasizes the status and position we have as children of God. Paul wants us to realize that we are firmly in the hands of both the Son and the Father (Jn 10:27-29) and no one can snatch us away from Him. God’s predestination for us to become His children through adoption reveals His great love for us. We are not His children based on our own nature, based on what we have done or who we are. We are called God’s children according to the kindness of His will. Our weaknesses and insufficiency don’t make us less of a child; in times when we feel like we failed, we are not less of a child of God. We are the children of God solely thanks to the great love of God that was lavished on us (1 Jn 3:1) and if we are in Christ, nothing can change that fact, because the one who is greater than all called us so. Let us therefore rejoice in this truth, knowing that since we are sons we are also the heirs (Rom 8:17). Let us not forget we have the Spirit of adoption that cries Abba Father. Let us not forget that there is nothing that can separate us from the great love of God that is in Christ Jesus, for we are His children.

The post Sunday Service: He Predestined Us to Adoption as Sons to Himself appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Wednesday Service: Paul Before Festus

Macey Kim — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 14:19:06 +0000

Berlin Immanuel Church members gathered for Wednesday service, continuing in Acts 25. After two years of the apostle being held in custody under Felix, a new governor, Festus, comes to Caesarea. The high priest in Jerusalem had changed as well, but Paul’s situation was still the same. The Jews still breathed hatred and death towards the apostle and the Roman governor wasn’t able to do what was right and release Paul despite knowing the accusations against him had no evidence. Being a new governor in the province, he was more interested in gaining favor with the Jews and giving Paul over to them, rather than upholding the Roman law and protecting her citizen. Luke records a story of those who were in position to do justice but withheld justice, they were in position to do righteousness but they withheld it because something else was more convenient. They lived a life following what benefits them rather than following their principles and doing what was right. And the people of God are in the danger of falling in the same sin. In Micah 6:8, God says He has shown his people what he requires of us – to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God. But they have failed and walked in sin too often. They forgot the love of God who saves us from sin (Micah 6:3-5) by his grace (vs 6, 7), so God gave them over to the consequences of their sin. But those who look at God first and remember his great love and walk humbly with Him will do justice, they will do what is right even when it comes at a cost. Paul said in his defense he was willing to receive even the punishment of death if it was deserved. A man who remembers the grace of God finds patience when injustice is committed against him and waits patiently on God; he finds courage to do what is right even when it’s hard because he loves God; and he finds wisdom to be ready to defend his hope. May we be people who remember to look at the cross of Christ first and put God’s will above self-interest, and God will not disappoint us.

The post Wednesday Service: Paul Before Festus appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.

Sunday Service: The Cherubim and the Flaming Sword Guard the Way to the Tree of Life

Macey Kim — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 11:28:56 +0000

14 July, 2019 – Berlin Immanuel Church continued with the study on Genesis 3 this Sunday with Genesis 3:20-24. Adam and Eve were banished from Eden, the place where life was picking the fruit, life of fulness of joy and peace that came from the communion they had with God. But after they sinned they find themselves outside of the garden, facing toil, hardship, insecurity and death. They are in the wilderness of life and the access to the tree of life is blocked. It’s important that we don’t misunderstand God and know why we are in this position. We are not meant to be on the outside, and yet here we are, banished by God. Adam believed, just as all mankind after him, that he didn’t need God, that he had a glory of his own. But God reminds him in verse 23 that he came from the ground he now has to work and he will return to it. He thought the knowledge of good and evil would make him like god, but this knowledge he obtained was different from God’s. God who is holy and in whom there is no evil looks at it from the outside, objectively, he remains unchanged, holy and righteous. But man was changed once for all by this knowledge, that became subjective, the evil became part of him (Rom 7:14-23.) And it’s the hardest thing for people to admit, that the sin is not only in their actions, but that in our core, we are sinners, we are ungodly and unworthy. We love the idea that somehow we are good and right and all that needs to be fixed is on the outside, then we will be perfectly happy.

In verse 22, Adam’s hand reaches out to the tree of life, and he would still avoid the consequences of his sin if he could, he would have both the fruit of the tree of life and the knowledge, having all the blessings and joy, but never really having to submit to God. But Bible makes it clear that the idea is foolish, there is no true happiness and fulness of life apart from our union with God. No sinner can enter the holy place, the presence of God, without being destroyed, no sinner can avoid the righteous judgement of God and His wrath against sin (Rom 2:5-8). But God doesn’t abandon us, he doesn’t leave us out there. Through a sacrifice of blood he clothes Adam in skin to provide protection in the wilderness (Gen 3:21.) His banishment is unto toil not torture and destruction. God allows Adam to face the consequences of his sin and to see himself for who he really is as he works the ground from which he was taken.

Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1 that God gave us over to our sinful desires and depraved minds to take their course in us (Rom 1:28), but not as to give up on us, but so that we may repent and seek His mercy. And before the covenant of grace, he establishes first the covenant of works, the law, to show us the seriousness of the sin (Rom 3:19-20), to show us that it is impossible for us to be truly righteous apart from God, and that we completely depend on his grace (Romans 5:20-21.) And so what was impossible for us, God has made possible through Christ. It is God only who justifies a sinner, he is our holiness and righteousness (Rom 3:21-26.) It is only through Jesus Christ that we have access to the tree of life by grace, through faith only and not by works. So there is nothing in ourselves we can boast about, but we do boast in the Son of God who gave his life for us, and approach the holy throne of God with confidence as we stand in his grace and glory (Rom 5:1-2.)

The post Sunday Service: The Cherubim and the Flaming Sword Guard the Way to the Tree of Life appeared first on Berlin Immanuel Gemeinde.