​A House of Prayer for All Peoples
(ISAIAH 56:1-8)
 
Pause & Reflect
 
1 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
    and my righteousness be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
    and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

1. [v.1-2] *Biblical principle – A PRAYING HOUSE IS A RIGHTEOUS HOUSE – prayerfully doing what is right. We cannot pray because we do not do what is right before God’s eyes. The LORD has given His invitation to everyone who thirsts, to come and drink of His waters, to come and eat without price, to seek Him while He may be found in His Word that never returns empty (chapter 55). Now, His exiled people need to respond in holiness and righteousness. His people are called to do what is just and right before His eyes – to come into right relationship with Him. In so doing, they will be blessed. The main way the LORD desires for them to do this is to keep His sabbath (“day of rest”) holy, not profaning it. By keeping the day of rest, a righteous relationship with the LORD is restored. For Christians, this “day of rest” is Sunday – the third day on which Jesus rose from the dead. Keeping this day holy and set apart from any other day of the week is a critical pattern that God created for us – after the pattern of His finished creation as He too rested on the seventh day – to cultivate rest and a right relationship with Him.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – If what we pray has not moved us to what we do before God, have we really prayed? What right thing before His eyes do you need to do today?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – How important is the “day of rest” (sabbath) – resurrection Sunday, the LORD’s Day – to cultivating your right relationship before God? How important is it to cultivating a life of prayer? We live in a day and age when “Sunday” is just part of the “weekend” to be casually used as break, an off-day, an extra work-day, a self-pampering day, a fun-day, etc. How must followers of Christ prayerfully live counter-culturally to keep resurrection Sunday holy and set apart for our vital rest and righteousness before the LORD? What does it mean to keep this day holy?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – How is the one “who keeps the Sabbath” and the one who “keeps his hand from doing any evil” related to each other? How is sin and evil at our doorstep when we do not take seriously the Sabbath-rest day, being restored to Jesus in Word and prayer within His worshipping community of the church?
   4. *FOCUS QUESTION #4 – The Bible defines prayer as the declaration of God’s judgments, words, and thoughts upon an evaluation and contemplation of one’s self before God (biblical Hebrew term “tefillah” means to execute judgment, to keep accountable). In the New Testament, prayer is defined similarly as the direction of making an unceasing vow towards God’s judgments, words, and thoughts (biblical Greek “proseuche” means towards (pros) a vow (euche). Prayer means to awaken new desires for God, to change our misaligned thoughts towards God’s thoughts, and to move us toward an unceasing vow – both the one we make to the LORD and the LORD’s unbreakable covenant promise to us in His Word. How do these definitions redefine what prayer is to you? How can you pray more widely and deeply with this incredible gift of communication God has given us through prayer?

 
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
    “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose the things that please me
    and hold fast my covenant,
5 I will give in my house and within my walls
    a monument and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that shall not be cut off.

1. [v.3-5] *Biblical principle – A PRAYING HOUSE IS A COVENANTED HOUSE – prayerfully inseparable from the LORD and His covenant family. Prayer never betrays the assurance that we surely belong to the LORD and to one another with an everlasting name. When the LORD calls “everyone” who is thirsty to His fountain of living waters, He means “everyone”! Up to that time, it could easily have been misunderstood that the LORD God was only the God of the ancient Israelites, but this was never His heart from the beginning. The LORD longed to graft all nations into the Israelite covenant community, creating our blessed community today called “the church.” Foreigners do not have to doubt their union to Jesus and His people. Eunuchs (who remained single all their lives serving the king’s interests) are not hopelessly forgotten, but they have a name better than sons and daughters. When we pray and live righteously before the LORD, His righteousness strings together all kinds of diverse people into a covenanted house. We are part of each other and everyone is needed for our sanctification into the likeness and image of Christ.  
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Is Hosanna Church a body of Christ where someone can say, “The LORD will surely separate me from His people”? Are there ways we are betraying the assurance for the one who has “joined himself to the LORD” that he/she truly belongs to Jesus and His people? How are we in constant battle to break cliques, to forgive each other, to include each other, to love one another as Jesus did – even to death on a cross? How can we spur one another on to belong to Jesus and to His church? How can we cheer and encourage one another to great covenant – covenant partnership with the Lord’s church here at Hosanna and covenant with one another? Without covenant, will we ever experience true Christ-centered community and becoming His family for each other?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – “Eunuchs” are also mentioned here as those who sense they are insignificant, lifeless, and do not belong to the LORD and His people. Eunuchs were disallowed to participate in the temple (LEVITICUS 21), remaining single their entire life in order to serve the king’s interests. They would have no children, yet the LORD promises within the walls of His house “a monument and a name better than sons and daughters.” This is true of the Ethiopian eunuch ministered to by deacon Philip (ACTS 8) – his faith is long remembered in the scriptures to this day. For this AGAPE young adult family, many of us are single and may stay single for a long time, like eunuchs, or may not have progeny of our own. How is this perfectly okay, not to be despised, and even precious before the LORD? For others, the LORD is surely calling you to covenant with an available godly man or godly woman, to increase His image upon the earth. Are you pursuing and obeying that covenant call from God with the grand purpose to increase His everlasting name upon each other? Whether foreigners or eunuchs, young adult singles or married, how can we live in greater covenant – unbreakable promise and commitment – before the LORD and with each other?

 
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
    and holds fast my covenant--
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.”
8 The Lord God,
    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
    besides those already gathered.”

1. [v.6-8] *Biblical principle – A PRAYING HOUSE IS AN OPEN HOUSE – prayerfully gathering others to Him besides those already gathered. Prayer cannot divide, but it must gather all peoples into His house to love His name. With righteousness and covenant, God’s house can be an open house for all to enter, to join themselves to Him, to minister to Him, to love His name, to be His servants, and to keep the sabbath day of rest in His house with one another. The LORD will bring all who thirst for this to His holy mountain – His house of prayer – to accept their sacrifices and offerings in worship on his altar. The LORD will accept our prayers, for we will be His house of prayer for all peoples. God’s heart is concerned for the outcasts – those still yet to be gathered. As we pray, our hearts too should be moved for those yet to be gathered into this blessed covenant and righteous community – His beloved church.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – The late theologian William Temple once said, “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.” Both individually and corporately as Hosanna, are you an open door and open house to those yet to be gathered? Is there a mission to AGAPE life group – a clear direction of why you do what you do in gathering, breaking bread, being devoted to His Word, fellowship, and prayer? Is the end aim to bring still others yet to be gathered – whom God desires to gather into Hosanna – cultivating, preparing that house for them? Yes, the church and our life groups need to be concerned about member care, but do our hearts beat with the LORD for non-member care, those who have yet to believe, yet to trust in Jesus as their Savior and King, yet to partner fully with His church, whose names are still unknown?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – The vision of Hosanna Church is to be a mosaic of vibrant, diversifying, multicultural, and multiplying transformed lives in Jesus Christ who bridge diversity among families, generations, cultures, languages, and backgrounds into the mosaic of one transformed gospel community unified to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ (MATTHEW 28:18-20). We do this by three strategic initiatives to: (1) gather north Dallas into a mosaic of life-giving covenant community; (2) grow God’s family in a transformative personal relationship with Jesus Christ through a reconciled relationship to one another; (3) go into all the world as His ambassadors, unified for the mission to be disciplemakers of all nations and equipped by the empowerment of His holy Spirit. The first strategic initiative is to gather. Without gathering, there is no growing, and consequently there can’t be any going. It doesn’t work backwards either – you can’t be going anywhere, until there is organic growing, that is first rooted in faithful gathering. How can our gathering not be like how Costco gathers people to its stores for the benefit of its members? How can we gather for the benefit of non-members, and train more to step into membership for the benefit of ministering to non-members? How is prayer central to this gathering?
   3. *PRAY THESE SCRIPTURES:
      1. Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (JEREMIAH 33:3)
      2. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (JAMES 5:16)
      3. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (JOHN 15:7)
      4. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. (MATTHEW 18:18-20)

 
The central truth of this word was –
Will we make God’s house a den of robbers or a house of prayer? You are His praying house! Don’t just say your prayers – act on them! One central way is to honor the day of rest (sabbath) every resurrection Sunday to belong to your local church – an eternal family He created to assure us that by Christ Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, we are forgiven! We belong to Him and each other with a name better than sons and daughters! Share this! Step into deeper prayerfully acts of righteousness and covenant so that His house may be an open house for those yet to be gathered in! May God gather all whom He desires!

– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 
Apply & Be Doers of the Word
 
(1) First, if we’re going to be a praying house, we need to keep the sabbath day holy – keep the day of rest – the resurrection Sunday Lord’s day – holy. There’s a reason why this cycle of weekday and weekend is in place. Build your days and family around this holy day. Keep it holy by doing what is right before His eyes. You need Jesus and you need Him through others who need Jesus too. Commit to your local church and get involved the life of the church.
 
(2) Learn to pray. Learn to declare the thoughts and words of God. You can’t pray to God more than what you don’t know about God. We pray so little because we know so little. Remember praying is a self-evaluating action to align to God’s thoughts and Word, to move us to an unceasing vow towards what it says. Declare what you learn not only to yourself, but to one another. See how the truth of God’s judgments, thoughts, and words work itself out through life.
 
(3) Pray for those who do not believe. Through praying, God moves circumstances and people around us to help those who still have yet to be gathered to hear and trust in Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Pray for the nations and those Christians who are persecuted – this keeps our hearts and focus on His mission to bring all peoples into His house.
 
 

Holy Spirit Moment & Group Prayer
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)
 
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (GALATIANS 6:2-5)
 
For the body does not consist of one member but of many... The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14, 21-27)
 
- Jeong’s (Jake, Amanda)
- Lee’s (Sam, Heidi)
- Aiden Song
- Deborah Ko
- Kristen Lee
- Patrick Liu
- Brian Pak
- Samuel Park
- Trey Reynolds
- Tyler Lee
- Edward Jeon
- Johann Lee
- Eugene Hong
- JR Reynolds
- Brian Joo
- James Han
- Winnie Kim
- Philip Oh
- Hana Lee
- Rachel Ko (preschool assistant)
- Hanna Kang
- Soo Nam (Dallas Police)
- Eunice Kim (UT Austin)
- Jedidiah Lim (Louisiana)
- Jeff Park (California)
- Doug Kang
- Stacy Hong
- David An
- Daniel An
- Alice Jeon
- Ashley Min (UTD)
- Mike Choi (drummer, Jeff’s cousin)
- Eric Lee (UTD)
- Lisa Jeon
- Brian Yoon
- Jennifer Chung (UTA)
- June Kim (TWU)
- Hannah Kim (UT Austin)
- Hogan Lee (TCU)
- Steven Kwon (A&M)
- Benny Son (UT Austin)
- Esther Ko (UT Austin)
- Daniel Lee (UT Austin)
- Aaron Lee (Houston, postgraduate optometry)
- Alex Koh (Houston, postgraduate dentistry)
- Matthew Ahn (UT Austin)
- Yura Ahn (UT Austin)
- Katie Han (New York)
- Emily Han (Austin)
- Jung’s (Jae, Mary) – Boston, MA
- Hanbit Kang (Austin)

Come to the Waters, Everyone who Thirsts
(ISAIAH 55:1-5)
 
Pause & Reflect
 
1 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.

1. [v.1-2] *Biblical principle – COME TO THE WATERS – all who thirst and are without money: We do not thirst because we are already filled. How can we thirst for His waters without price when we are already quenched by the pricey beverages in the world? Through the sufferings of the LORD’s servant (Jesus Christ) in carrying all our sins to death on a cross, there is now peace that God invites us into – a covenant of peace with Him and one another (chapter 54). This covenant is for us and for all our children (54:13) – that establishes us in His righteousness and His protection (54:14-17). But this peace cannot be unleashed until His people desire to have it, like a thirsty person seeking the waters to quench their parched throat. God invites His people to come because He first came in His holy servant, His eternal Son Jesus. He invites us. He longs to quench us with the waters of His Spirit that washes all sins away. He desires to give it all without price to us, but at great price to His Son. He wonders why we spend ourselves on other bread and beverages that do not satisfy. He pleads with us to listen diligently, to come and eat His bread that brings nourishment, delight and abundance. Come thirsty, not full! Come take, not purchase! Come for food that endures to eternal life, not for food that perishes with earthly life! (JOHN 6:27).
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – God first came to us (through Jesus Christ), so now He calls us to come to Him. What is the prerequisite to come to the LORD?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – “Seek first the kingdom God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” says Jesus (MATTHEW 6:33). It is vital that we seek and thirst after the primary things, and in doing so also have added to us all the secondary things we worry for in this life. What do you thirst and hunger after primarily – sacrificing even your health, livelihood, and future to obtain? Are you thirsting for those secondary things that only can be earned with a price? Or are you thirsting for what is freely given without price? How can the world never buy nor touch the gifts of God’s peace guarding you, God’s joy in the holy Spirit overflowing you, God’s fruit of His presence with you in Christ Jesus, and the assured hope of God’s face to be seen by you upon entering His Kingdom?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – Hear the LORD asking you directly (verse 2), “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”
   4. *FOCUS QUESTION #4 – We can’t thirst for living bread because we are already filled with earthly snacks. What are we snacking on? What is the junk food that is taking away a thirstful desire for spiritual food? What are the beverages with price that keep us away from drinking God’s living waters without price?

 
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.

1. [v.3-4] *Biblical principle – COME TO ME – all who incline their ear to hear me: The water is Jesus (the living water), and we come to drink of Him by hearing His everlasting covenant of love made with His blood, giving life to the soul to lead His people. The only water to drink that is free and that will never leave us thirsty again is the river of living water flowing forth from Jesus Christ. Everyone who drinks plain water will be thirsty again, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (JOHN 4:13-14). The LORD invites us to come to the waters – to Jesus Himself. Come by inclining your ear to hear. “To hear” carries the meaning to submit, to obey, to become one with, a part of – so by hearing Jesus, we are becoming one with Him in His thoughts, words, and life. What we hear when we listen with the purpose to obey is His everlasting covenant – the unbreakable new promise that the LORD is making to draw us to Himself as His people – not by the blood of bulls, goats, lambs, sheep, etc. but by the blood of His only eternal Son. This gospel of grace revives the dead soul in our sins back to life with His Son and raises godly commanders/leaders for His people, like King David during his days. Come to Jesus. Hear Him. Obey Him. Move to lead like Him.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Jesus is like water that never leaves us thirsty again. When we drink it, we become a “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (JOHN 4:14). We drink by hearing and obeying what is heard. What ways does the ear need to bend – be inclined – to hear? How has hearing the LORD with an inclined ear brought life to your soul?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – The LORD is heard through His Word (the scriptures). The Word is validated and proven true through our personal experiences and visible through natural creation. But it all begins from the root of His Word. How is the hearing of the Word informing your experience with God? How is the hearing of the Word validating what you see around you in creation?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – Hearing the LORD is not a maze or puzzle or riddle to decipher. God speaks plainly. Have you heard of His everlasting covenant with you, His steadfast love for you as it was thousands of years ago with David? Has your hearing of the LORD made you a testimony for God’s people, a leader and a commander for His body to teach others His ways? How is your hearing linked to your growing in Christ?

 
5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
    and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you.

1. [v.5] *Biblical principle – THEY WILL COME TO YOU – because I have glorified you: If we are coming to Jesus, the nations will also be drawn to come running to us as they hear Jesus calling them through us. This living water welling up to eternal life is not for ours only, nor for one ethnic group only, nor for one geographic region only. How selfish would that be? The rivers of living water without price and for all who thirst for our Lord Jesus are for all the nations. That is how the LORD planned it from the very beginning through His covenant with Abraham – to make His children as numerous as the stars in the sky as His blessing to the whole world (GENESIS 12:1-3; GENESIS 15:5-6; GENESIS 22:16-18; GENESIS 26:2-5). In the shed blood of His promised savior and servant Jesus Christ, the promise of these children born of heaven by the water and the blood was fulfilled. As we call the nations to drink of the waters of the new covenant in Christ, God will continue to glorify His Son in us as the head of His church – His light emanating into the darkness of the world. So, are we ready for the stampede? Will we be ready for the nations to run to Jesus through our calling of the gospel, into our covenant family as His church?
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (ROMANS 8:30). God’s glory would not depart Israel, for His mission to extend the light of His gospel through His holy suffering servant Jesus would have no end. So also, God’s glory cannot depart you. In saving you, He has glorified you. He brings you into the spotlight of His greatness and glory so that those still unknown to us can come running into His arms. He invites us as inheritors of this glory, to reign with Jesus together as fellow heirs (ROMANS 8:17) over His kingdom as glorified, imperishable, holy servants. How has God glorified you with His gifts, His time, His life, His calling, His resources?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Church, do we believe the nations will run to us when seeing the glory of Jesus within us? Do you believe Jesus will call someone to Himself through you? How has he done so already?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – The late theologian Francis Schaeffer once said, “The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor the old Roman Catholicism or the new Roman Catholicism, nor the threat of communism, nor even the threat of rationalism and the monolithic consensus which surrounds us [nor, I would add today, postmodernism or materialistic consumerism or visceral sensualism or whatever]. All these are dangerous but not the primary threat. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.” (No Little People, page 66). Perhaps we do not see the reality of the harvest of people around us and the nations that will come rushing and running to us because the problem is with us. “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 PETER 4:17). How are we the problem? How are we not prepared for this work of God? How is the problem within us greater than the unbelieving world around us?

 
The central truth of this word was –
God does not force you. He invites you. He pleads with you in steadfast love – Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters and drink without price. Stop laboring for the bread that perishes and does not satisfy. Labor for the bread that endures to eternal life. Come to Jesus, your living water, whose cup will never leave you thirsty again. Come by inclining your ear to listen diligently to His new covenant made in His blood. Fulfill your hearing by obeying, maturing to lead and call forth for His people from every nation to come to Christ. Get ready for the nations to run into this blessed new covenant family – His church – because of His glory.

– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 
Apply & Be Doers of the Word
(1) Remove your pricey beverages. They take your thirst away. They cheapen the free gift of His waters. These may be literal beverages you turn to, or what first gets attention to start your day, or what makes your wallet open, or what satisfies momentarily yet sought after repeatedly, again and again. Acknowledge it. Discern it – how it is substituting my thirst? How is it stealing my thirst? Trash it. Practice fasting from it. Grow your hunger and thirst again.
 
(2) Do what God says. If we’ve heard Jesus enough, we need to come to Him now. Move your body. Take the next step. Grow from infancy into adulthood. Learn to be a leader and commander of His Word. Take responsibility for His body – the church – as King David did for Israel. We haven’t matured until we’re able to teach others to follow our example.
 
(3) Prepare the way for the nations to come to Jesus through you. Expect God to call someone to Himself through you.
 
 

Holy Spirit Moment & Group Prayer
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)
 
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (GALATIANS 6:2-5)
 
For the body does not consist of one member but of many... The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14, 21-27)
 
- Jeong’s (Jake, Amanda)
- Lee’s (Sam, Heidi)
- Aiden Song
- Deborah Ko
- Kristen Lee
- Patrick Liu
- Brian Pak
- Samuel Park
- Trey Reynolds
- Tyler Lee
- Edward Jeon
- Johann Lee
- Eugene Hong
- JR Reynolds
- Brian Joo
- James Han
- Winnie Kim
- Philip Oh
- Hana Lee
- Rachel Ko (preschool assistant)
- Hanna Kang
- Soo Nam (Dallas Police)
- Eunice Kim (UT Austin)
- Jedidiah Lim (Louisiana)
- Jeff Park (California)
- Doug Kang
- Stacy Hong
- David An
- Daniel An
- Alice Jeon
- Ashley Min (UTD)
- Mike Choi (drummer, Jeff’s cousin)
- Eric Lee (UTD)
- Lisa Jeon
- Brian Yoon
- Jennifer Chung (UTA)
- June Kim (TWU)
- Hannah Kim (UT Austin)
- Hogan Lee (TCU)
- Steven Kwon (A&M)
- Benny Son (UT Austin)
- Esther Ko (UT Austin)
- Daniel Lee (UT Austin)
- Aaron Lee (Houston, postgraduate optometry)
- Alex Koh (Houston, postgraduate dentistry)
- Matthew Ahn (UT Austin)
- Yura Ahn (UT Austin)
- Katie Han (New York)
- Emily Han (Austin)
- Jung's (Jae, Mary) - Boston, MA
- Hanbit Kang (Austin)

​We Grieve, but not without Hope
(1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18)
 
Pause & Reflect
 
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

1. [v.13-14] *Biblical principle – DO NOT BE UNINFORMED – grieving without hope for those asleep: Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, those who have died in Christ do not ever taste death. Rather, they fall asleep until it is time to awake when God the Father brings Jesus again with those who have fallen asleep in His Son. Although the Thessalonian Christian already knew this information, they were acting like they were never informed about it in their excessive and hopeless grief. They desired to put Jesus into their own timetable. Eventually, they became discouraged when He did not return in their lifespan. All the while, the corrupt idea began to spread – that Jesus may not have risen, or that He was late to appear, and the dead are not asleep, but lost forever.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – How influential and harmful is misinformation?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – At the heart of the resurrection and the gospel (good news) is the right information. Yet even the first witness to the resurrection – Mary Magdalene – presumed the body of Jesus was stolen (see JOHN 20:2). Likewise, the Corinthian Christians became weary as death kept prevailing, one dying person after another, thinking Christ had not been resurrected at all. Yet the apostle Paul writes to Corinth of what is of first importance – “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve… to more than five hundred brothers at one time… to James… to all the apostles… also to me” (1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-8). How are you staying informed with the right news? How are you reminding yourself of what information is trustworthy and what is untrustworthy?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – The first scene Jesus left for us in His resurrection is an empty tomb with His graveclothes and facecloth neatly folded, and the stone entrance rolled away. Everything speaks of His absence – He is not there, but has risen. How are you looking for the living among the dead? How is your life still like a tomb with a stone entrance intact? How can you turn away from the tomb, let Jesus roll away the stone entrance, to see He is standing right before you?
   4. *FOCUS QUESTION #4 – Although Jesus has risen and conquered our death, we still grieve when exposed to death, especially those loved ones passed into glory ahead of us. But how can we grieve as those with hope instead of without hope? How can we carry sorrows with the hope of His joy? How can we go through difficult times with the trust He brings times of refreshing? Are our past loved ones dead or asleep, according to Scripture? Are they gone or more alive today than they ever were on earth? Will they never return or will God bring them with Jesus’ return?

 
15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1. [v.15-16] *Biblical principle – BE INFORMED BY THE WORD FROM THE LORD – those asleep will rise first when Jesus returns: Being informed correctly comes only by way of the word from the Lord through holy Scripture. Those who have passed into glory ahead of us in Christ are not forgotten and gone, for they will rise first when Jesus returns at the descent of the Lord Jesus from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. Those asleep in Chrit are first in line to be resurrected. There will be an order to how Jesus will raise the dead. So too, we who are alive until the coming of the Lord should not think otherwise about those who are asleep. Whether awake or asleep, we are together with the Lord. He “died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him” (1 THESSALONIANS 5:10).
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (PSALM 116:15). The LORD cares deeply about those who fall asleep in Him and pass into glory. They will be resurrected first before the living. They will stand-up again – not in ghostlike fashion but in an imperishable immortal bodily fashion. All the saints will be, but those asleep and who have gone ahead are first in order. What can we learn from this priority that the LORD puts on those who have gone ahead of us into glory? What have you learned from those who have left a legacy for Christ through their passing life? How does this teach you to live life now for Jesus with fuller passion, urgency and obedience instead of later?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command – the archangel’s voice and the trumpet’s sound. At times, the return of Jesus Christ appears trivial and aloof, so far away and removed. Yet this unknown time and unknown hour comes like a thief in the night. He is risen, and He is returning. Can your heart say – come, Lord Jesus, come? Or does your heart say – later, Lord Jesus, later… stay away, Lord Jesus, stay away… next time, Lord Jesus, next time? How do you need to be realigned to say – come, Lord Jesus, come?

 
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1. [v.17-18] *Biblical principle – ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS – those alive will be caught up together with those awakened from sleep to meet the Lord in the air: Eventually, we will all be together – both the living and those awakened from their sleep – to meet the Lord in the air. Those asleep will rise first. Those live will then join them to be caught up together  in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so we will always be with the Lord. For those of us alive and yet to pass into glory, this ought to be incredibly encouraging. We will meet our past loved ones in Christ. We also will meet the Lord Himself in the air, to always be with Him. God will suspend the natural law of gravity and take us to the realm of His clouds and air – to have that great union with the saints of ages past and with the Lord Jesus Himself.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Tell each other about a time that you went to a reunion (family, high school, college, church, old friends get-together). What made it a blessing? What made it sorrowful? One day, we will all pass into glory, but we will be reunited together. How can we make our reunion with one another in the clouds, together in the air as we meet the Lord Jesus Himself, a thrilling and joyful hope instead of a meeting to avoid? How must we live with each other now as the church in light of the reunion to come with our Lord?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – We long to be reunited with our passed loved ones in Christ. The pain is real and deep. Yet is our longing to be with the Lord Jesus just as strong? Have you seen the risen Lord Jesus in the eyes, face, and life of your passed loved ones in Christ? How is their lives a reflection of Christ’s life with you?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – Christian music artist Chris Rice wrote the song Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus), where he describes the course of our life, until we fly to Jesus and meet Him in the air. Listen to this song along with the lyrics, and sense all that the Lord Jesus desires to be throughout your days.

Weak and wounded sinner, Lost and left to die
Oh, raise your head for Love is passing by
Come to Jesus, Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live
 
Now your burden's lifted, And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain
So, sing to Jesus, Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live
 
And like a newborn baby, Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk sometimes we fall
So, fall on Jesus, Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live
 
Sometimes the way is lonely, And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain
Then cry to Jesus, Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live
 
Oh and when the love spills over, And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside
Then dance for Jesus, Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live
 
With your final heartbeat, Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side
And fly to Jesus, Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live
 
The central truth of this word was –
You are informed today!
(1) We grieve, but not without hope
(2) Jesus is alive, and so are those asleep in Him
(3) The Lord Jesus is coming again to bring those asleep and those awake to meet Him together in the air
(4) Encourage one another with these words

– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 
Apply & Be Doers of the Word
 
(1) Jesus says, “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (JOHN 11:26). We will not taste death, but keep on living with the Lord at all times. Make plans for that. Talk about that with your family and friends. Just like you will plan for retirement, or write out a will to whom your possessions will be inherited, or not hesitate to discuss with your doctor about your aging health condition, or down-size your cluttered items to make life simplier, or even consider end-of-earthly life issues, plan out and talk about eternal life with Jesus to your family and friends. Even in eternity, it may be a long time before we realize that we’ve fallen asleep and passed into glory! The pleasure of being with our risen LORD will be so great that even the thought of our earthly lives may not pass our minds very often. So before eternity arrives, make sure you have a plan in how you are preparing for that coming eternal life with Jesus and His people. A plan involves how you spend the time, possessions, investments, church etc. all things (however small or great) that God entrusted to you. A plan involves how to live now in light of the eternal future with Jesus.
 
(2) Don’t make too much of your grief! Grieve, but not without hope. Keep your tears momentary. Keep sorrow at a distance. Bring what grieves you daily to Jesus on prayerful knees. Write-out what is grieving you on a notepad, and prayerfully speak against each one in the power of Jesus’ name. Renew your mind away from grief and onto the gladness in Jesus. Release it to Jesus. Do not carry its weight any longer. Do not seek excessive attention for others and their sorrow for you. Seek only the attention of your heavenly Father, who sees you and lifts you up in due time.
 
(3) Take out all misinformation and fake news that infiltrates your day through leisure, devices, screens, and shows. Start each day informed correctly and rightly with Scripture. Narrow what enters the attention of your mind and focused energy. Narrow it on information from the foundation of His Word. Yet do not let it remain solely information. Make use of it as wisdom from God. Speak against the misinformation and news of the world with the good news and informed word from the Lord. Look at the world around you through the lens of holy Scripture, the lens of Christ. Discern what is on His heart and what is not.
 
(4) This weekend, encourage four different people with an encouragement from Jesus’ resurrection. Greet them with, “He lives!” instead of a “Hello!” and “He has risen!” instead of a “Goodbye!” Don’t just give fake complements, but speak God’s promises over their lives (ex. “God has promised you…. His eternal life, His joy… in His only Son”) and see the ways it transforms your hope in Christ.
 
 

Holy Spirit Moment & Group Prayer
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)
 
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (GALATIANS 6:2-5)
 
For the body does not consist of one member but of many... The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14, 21-27)
 
- Jeong’s (Jake, Amanda)
- Lee’s (Sam, Heidi)
- Aiden Song
​- Deborah Ko
- Kristen Lee
- Patrick Liu
- Brian Pak
- Samuel Park
- Trey Reynolds
- Tyler Lee
- Edward Jeon
- Jeff Park
- Eunice Kim (UT Austin)
- Jedidiah Lim (Louisiana)
- Philip Oh
- Soo Nam (Dallas Police)
- Hana Lee
- Rachel Ko (preschool assistant)
- Hanna Kang
- Johann Lee
- Eugene Hong
- JR Reynolds
- Brian Joo
- Doug Kang
- James Han
- Winnie Kim
- Stacy Hong
- David An
- Daniel An
- Alice Jeon
- Ashley Min (UTD)
- Mike Choi (drummer, Jeff’s cousin)
- Eric Lee (UTD)
- Lisa Jeon
- Brian Yoon
- Jennifer Chung (UTA)
- June Kim (TWU)
- Hannah Kim (UT Austin)
- Hogan Lee (TCU)
- Steven Kwon (A&M)
- Benny Son (UT Austin)
- Esther Ko (UT Austin)
- Daniel Lee (UT Austin)
- Aaron Lee (Houston, postgraduate optometry)
- Alex Koh (Houston, postgraduate dentistry)
- Matthew Ahn (UT Austin)
- Yura Ahn (UT Austin)
- Katie Han (New York)
- Emily Han (Austin)
- Jae Jung (Boston, MA)
- Hanbit Kang (Austin)