It's been cold for the last couple of days, having been born and raised in a warm place, this coldness is very hard for us to go through. And, some people seem to be suffering from its effects. We should remember to pray for those people.

Last week, I had the chance to visit Okinawa -- and this was my first experience to do so. On the way to Okinawa, I enjoyed some beautiful snowy scenes, but in that place, I very much enjoyed the warmth.

As most of you know, Okinawa is very different from other parts of Japan. Visiting there, I could also go to some places where there used to be terrible war. It was a horrible mistake that we human beings committed in the past. The place and people are still suffering from the physical and mental wounds that they received during the war. There are so many things that gave me strong impressions in Okinawa.

Last Sunday for a sermon I encouraged you to build up the church together. In the Bible, God said, "It's no good for a person to be alone." This verse is often taken for a verse encouraging marriage, but more than that, this verse is telling us that we human beings should be united in completing the kingdom of God. We human beings are lonely and missing something. A certain man said that the reason why people collect together in bars, or drinking establishments, is not that they are alcoholic but that they are lonely. We are created as people who do not like to be alone, for God, Himself, has said that it is not good for us to be alone. And it was the reason God made Eve out of Adam.

Being closer to each other sometimes requires small groups. It's alright to be a member of a large congregation, but even in a big group, it's not difficult to find yourself alone. To be much closer and to be able to know one another better, we should have fellowship with a small gathering of people. Also, from the point of view of taking care of one another, there is a limitation to huge groups. For a pastor, or a school teacher, over ten people is too much of a handful to take good care of.

Read He.12:15. There was a Christian man in Britain. He was a businessman working for a big company. He had been a Christian for a good many years when he realized that almost none of the people he worked around knew that he was a Christian. It was such a shock to him that he started a small group, so that he could take care of some people. Everyone in that group became a mature Christian who was later sent to yet other people.

In Okinawa, I could visit a certain church that had 43 different groups leading bible study. Each group was led by leaders of that church. These leaders were not pastors, but disciples of Jesus Christ. The pastor raised them up spiritually and educated them to be leaders. In fellowshipping with the Lord, they also became more like Jesus themselves. There is a clear and wonderful work of God to be found in each of those groups.

Here is a new commandment; to love each other so that others will know the love that is given to us. We are called to love one another, to wait on each other and to speak well of each other. This should be easier to practice in a small group of 5 to 6 people. But, just like different kinds of flowers give harmony and beauty, if we get together, bound to the tree of Christ, we are able to show our love. Each of us is a different part of the body of Christ. In doing what should be done through us, we will see the fruits of the Spirit.

Translated by Junko Okamoto - Edited for the Net by Shido
For another sermon see: Oita Evangelical Christ Church
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