🔸教会からのお知らせ🔸Announcement from Hakata New Life Church.

博多ニューライフの皆さん
　主の御名をほめたたえます。いくつかの新しいことが始まりますのでご確認ください。

①５月３日から礼拝後すぐに、オンラインでの分かち合いの時間を持ちます。
②５月から毎週水曜の午後８時から３０分ほど、祈り会をします。Youtube で配信します。バイリンガルです。

５月もインターネット礼拝です。早く収束するように、また医療従事者の方々が守られるように、今苦しんでおられる方が癒されるように、何よりも民が神様の愛を体験しイエス様に個人的に出会えるようにお祈りください。

皆さんのために日々祈っています。何か祈りのリクエストなどあれば遠慮なくご連絡ください。皆さんのご家族、
職場の皆さん、周囲の方が神様によって守られ祝福されますように。


To Hakata New Life Church Family
 We hope you are well. As you can see there are a few new things we will be starting soon.

①Starting on May 3rd, we will have fellowship time by zoom shortly after Sunday Services. It will be till 12:15.

②We will start prayer times every Wednesday (8:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) We will start in May. It will be on YouTube and it will be bilingual.

We will continue the Internet Sunday Services. Let us pray for all health care workers and patients who are suffering now. Let us pray that each person will come back to Jesus and meet Him in person. We hope and pray for a cure for Covid-19 as soon as possible.

 We are praying for you daily. Please ask us if you have any questions and concerns. We pray that God will protect you, your family, and people at your work. God bless you!

💒Worship start time April 26🙏

✨4/26もインターネット礼拝です。
✨We are having an online worship service this morning.

💒日曜礼拝は　朝10時30分からです。

💒Family Worship – Every Sunday 10:30am（GMT +09:00）

♰ 説教題/Message Title：「エルサレムに戻った2人」

　　　　　　　　　　　　“Two men returning to Jerusalem”

♰ 聖書箇所/Key Scripture:　 ルカの福音書24：28-35　Luke 24: 28-35

✨一斉メールでお知らせいたしましたが、礼拝後オンラインで皆さんとつながって分かち合いや祈りの時を持っていきたいと準備しています。うまくいくようにお祈りください。

✨As we have informed you by church mail, we are trying to work out how we can connect with each other after the online Sunday service, so that we can share how we are doing and pray together. Please pray for these preparations.

✨バイブルチャット、チャーチスクール、日曜学校はオンラインでミニストリーが為されています。ますます祝福されますように引き続きお祈りください。

✨The Bible chat, Church School and Sunday school are continuing as online ministries.  Please keep praying for a lot of blessings.

✨本日午後1時半から運営委員会、続いて役員会をオンラインで行います。リーダーの方はご参加お願いいたします。

✨We will have a leaders' online meeting from 1:30 pm. And we will have a directors' meeting following that. If you are a leader, please join us.

✨イースターからペンテコステまで、同じ時刻に一斉に祈ることを行っています。導かれた方は、ぜひご参加ください。午後９時から１５分です。

✨We have started a dedicated time of prayer from Easter to Pentecost. Please feel free to join this. Wherever you are, please pray from 9:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.

✨新型コロナウイルス感染拡大の中、グローバルなとりなしの祈り、共同の祈りに関しては日本アッセンブリーズオブゴッド教団のホームページをご確認ください。

✨Regarding the circumstances of the spread of Covid-19, visit the Japan AOG website for worldwide intercessory prayer and joint prayer information.

✨インターネット礼拝が継続されていますが、ラインなどでつながり祈りあっていきましょう。

✨Although Internet worship is ongoing, let's connect and pray through Line, etc.

🍀 Youtube で日曜礼拝をLiveで見る事が出来ます

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSgT7HmqF-WO0TfBYOORiQ

（都合により配信されない場合があります）

🍀You can watch Sunday Service on the Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSgT7HmqF-WO0TfBYOORiQ 　


https://www.hakata-newlife.org/

🔸教会からのお知らせ🔸Announcement from Hakata New Life Church.

博多ニューライフ教会の皆さん
　主の御名をほめたたえます。インターネット礼拝になり二か月になろうとしています。
皆さんと一緒に礼拝できず寂しく感じます。
　今、礼拝後に皆さんと分かち合い祈りあう時間をもちたいと、準備していますのでお祈りください。オンラインになります。つながりや励ましを目指したいと考えます。
　また、説教の通訳方法で新しいやり方にチャレンジしたいと考えています。通訳者が自宅にいて英語に通訳するというものです。４月２６日、５月３日に試してみたいと計画していますので、お祈りいただけますでしょうか。
　皆さんと一緒に礼拝し賛美できる日が早く来ることを願っています。また、皆さんと御家族が神様に守られ祝福されますように祈っています。


To Hakata New Life Church Family
　We hope you are well. It's been almost two months since we started Internet Services and we miss you!
At the moment we are planning about how to make a time to share and pray for one another for a short time after the Sunday Service.
Please pray about this. Also, we are trying to work out a new way to translate the message into English, where the translator stays home and translates.
 Will you please pray with us about this?
  We look forward to worshipping together soon. We pray that God will protect and bless you and your family wherever you are.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSgT7HmqF-WO0TfBYOORiQ 　　　https://www.hakata-newlife.org/

⚡4月26日と5月3日は、英語の説教訳はありません。⚡ There is no English translation for preaching on the website

4月26日と5月3日は、バイリンガルの礼拝ですので、英語の説教訳は、ホームページにはありません。

We have bilingual service on April 26 and May 3, so there is no E nglish translation for preaching on the website.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSgT7HmqF-WO0TfBYOORiQ 　　　https://www.hakata-newlife.org/

🌸This is the message in English( April 19 preaching)🌸

Sunday Message

April 19,2020

Pastor Satoshi Nagasawa

Title: When Jesus rose

Luke 23:50 ~ 24:8

⁵⁰ Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, ⁵¹ but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. ⁵² He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³ Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. ⁵⁴ This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation,^[a] as the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵ As His body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where His body was placed. ⁵⁶ Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint His body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law. But very early on Sunday morning^[a] the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ³ So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

⁵ The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what He told you back in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man^[b] must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that He would rise again on the third day.”

⁸ Then they remembered that He had said this.

What happened when Jesus rose?

It was not by the work of man, but the work of God which caused Jesus to rise from the dead.

On the Sunday morning, those people who had witnessed the events of the crucifixion and were crying near the tomb, got to their feet.

This morning we would like to think about what happened when Jesus rose.

Joseph, from the town of Arimathea, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Then, he took the body down from the cross and laid it in a tomb. The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee saw everything. They went home and prepared spices and ointment to anoint his body.

Why did they do this? It was because they wanted to anoint his body. It was almost the Sabbath when Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross, so there was no time to anoint the body, which was the custom for funerals at that time. The Bible teaches us how important it is to show respect when burying people. It is not just a duty. It is natural that we should bury our beloved ones in a respectful manner. These women who loved Jesus wanted to show respect when they buried him. Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb, but the work of the burial was not yet complete. I think they wanted to anoint the body as quickly as possible.

It was the Sabbath so they could not do it that day. They took a Sabbath rest in obedience to the commandments. Then, very early on the Sunday morning the women went to the tomb taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. When they entered, Jesus’ body was not there. Very early on the Sunday morning the women were surprised to see a different scene from the one they had seen on the Friday evening. They had seen everything. On the Friday they had seen Jesus being buried and they saw the entrance being blocked off with a big stone. But what they saw was that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb and Jesus’ body was not inside the tomb.

They stood there puzzled and then angels appeared to them. They said, “He is not here. He is risen. “

Jesus is risen. So, how did he rise? We do not know those details. What is certain is that everything happened between Friday and Sunday. It happened while the women were taking a rest or sleeping at night. In other words, it happened while they could not do anything.

The resurrection of Jesus was nothing to do with the work of man, but purely the work of God.

One after the other, the witnesses said, “Jesus has been raised from the dead by God”.

It was because of the Father God’s work that Jesus rose. On the Sunday morning, the women saw the result of God’s work. What was in our minds when we woke up this morning? Those who wake up and are able to see what God has been doing in their life, are truly blessed.

I also think God is inviting us to focus on God’s work when we are awake.

In the world during biblical times, the day started in the evening and the morning followed.

Genesis 1: 5, 8, 13

⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

¹³ And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

Mark 4:26-29

 ²⁶ Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. ²⁸ The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. ²⁹ And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

　

It is not in the morning that the day begins. In the evening, the day begins. Getting up is not first. Sleep comes first, and then getting up in the morning. Evening is first.

Here is an important lesson for us. In the evening we go to sleep and take a rest, but God never stops working even when we stop our work. Rather it is in the evening that God started something new, I think. If that is true, we can go to sleep in peace with a sense of expectation for what the morning brings. And then we can wake up feeling good. So, in the morning we see God’s work which has already been done while we sleep and we join His work. That is the new morning. I think that the Sunday morning in this passage was such a morning.

Jesus rose while His disciples were sleeping. The women’s work had been stopped. They wanted to anoint his body but could not do so while they were sleeping. He rose while they were sleeping. Then they saw God’s work when they woke up. So they gave up their plan to anoint His body. Instead, they started to share the story of what happened and became witnesses. It was a new step. They let their own work go and joined His work, however, it did not happen immediately. On the Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene was crying near the tomb. Even though the angels said, “Jesus is risen,” they could not find the body.

John 20:11-15

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”

“Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”

She was still looking for the body. Maybe she was still keen to anoint Jesus’ body and thinking about having a funeral for him, even though Jesus had risen from the grave and appeared to Mary. Yet she still said this. It seems as if her sense of time stopped on the Friday evening. It was as if time stood still from the point when Jesus was buried in the tomb.

Maybe she was full of sorrow.

We may also close our eyes because we are caught up by what has happened in the past.

Even if we have good news, we may not be able to see it. We may be occupied by regret and self-denial, so we cannot press on. We may choose to stay in the past. Mary noticed the risen Jesus, stood up and accepted Jesus’ words. What made her do this? It was Jesus’ calling. Jesus called Mary by name.

John 20:16-18

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus called Mary, which made her take a new step.

The people who were crying near the tomb stood up and became witnesses.

Mary gave up the idea of anointing His body and focused on the Work of the Risen Jesus.

Jesus’ calling changed her life. Jesus’ calling changes each of our lives.

John 10:27

²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Mary was able to listen to Him. We can also listen to Him as He is our true shepherd.

He responds to our calling and reminds us of the fact that He is alive and working in our lives.

We want to listen to Him. Even if we might be caught up by something in the past and oppressed by sorrow, we know that God helps us to take a new step, just like Mary did.

We would like to focus on the truth that God is working in our lives even if it might look as if He has stopped working.

Let us focus on God’s work and seek Him in our daily lives. Let us work alongside Him just like those women did on that Sunday morning.

Let us pray.

💒Worship start time April 19🙏

✨4/19もインターネット礼拝です。
✨We are having an online worship service this morning.

💒日曜礼拝は　朝10時30分からです。

💒Family Worship – Every Sunday 10:30am（GMT +09:00）

♰ 説教題/Message Title：「復活の朝」“When Jesus rose”
♰ 聖書箇所/Key Scripture:　 ルカの福音書23：50-24：8　Luke 23：50-24：8

✨インターネット礼拝が継続されていますが、ラインなどでつながり祈りあっていきましょう。
✨Although Internet worship is ongoing, let's connect and pray through Line, etc.

✨バイブルチャット、チャーチスクールはオンラインでミニストリーが為されています。キッズも先週からオンラインで学びやお祈りをしています。知恵と忍耐が与えられ、祝福されますようにお祈りください。
✨The Bible chat and Church School are continuing as online ministries. Kids school started to study God's Word and pray on Line. Please pray for wisdom, patience, and blessings.

✨イースターからペンテコステまで、同じ時刻に一斉に祈ることを行っています。導かれた方は、ぜひご参加ください。午後９時から１５分です。
✨We have started a dedicated time of prayer from Easter to Pentecost. Please feel free to join this. Wherever you are, please pray from 9:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.

✨新型コロナウイルス感染拡大の中、グローバルなとりなしの祈り、共同の祈りに関しては日本アッセンブリーズオブゴッド教団のホームページをご確認ください。
✨Regarding the circumstances of the spread of Covid-19, visit the Japan AOG website for worldwide intercessory prayer and joint prayer information.

🍀 Youtube で日曜礼拝をLiveで見る事が出来ます

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSgT7HmqF-WO0TfBYOORiQ

（都合により配信されない場合があります）

🍀You can watch Sunday Service on the Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFSgT7HmqF-WO0TfBYOORiQ 　


https://www.hakata-newlife.org/

🙏イースターからペンテコステまでの祈りについて🙏Time of prayer from Easter to Pentecost

🙏イースターからペンテコステまでの祈りについて　　
🙏Time of prayer from Easter to Pentecost

博多ニューライフ教会の皆さん

イエス様の復活を心からお祝いします。復活のイエス様の力をいただきながら共に前進していきたいものです。アッセンブリーズ・オブ・ゴッド教団では、イースターからペンテコステまで、つまり５月３１日まで同じ時刻に一斉に祈ることを始めます。導かれた方は、ぜひご参加ください。午後９時から１５分です。それぞれの場で導かれるままにお祈りください。祈る内容は、導かれるままでよろしいですが、皆さんからの祈りの課題をぜひ取り入れてお祈りいただければと思います。
　○家族や自分、また職場が新型コロナウイルスに感染しないように。
    ○経済的必要が満たされるように。
　○教会が今インターネット礼拝ですが、いろいろな形でつながっていけますように。
　○教会がしっかりと下に根をはることができますように。そのために日々祈り、御言葉を心に刻み、神様を賛美する信仰生活を維持できますように。
　○医療関係者の方々が守られ、力が与えられますように。
　○国家や地域のリーダーに知恵と力が与えられますように。
　○先の見えないこのコロナ問題の中で、真の神様に出会うことができますように。
　○人類が神様に悔い改めることができますように。
　○教会内で、進学する若者たちがこの混乱の中でも、落ち着いて新しい生活をスタートできますように。

そのようにお祈りいただければ感謝します。

また、シンガポールAGの牧師によって、グローバルなとりなしの祈りが３月２日から開始されました。
この祈りに参画したい方は、午後７時から祈祷課題に従ってお祈りください。この祈りに参画されたい方は日本アッセンブリーズ・オブ・ゴッド教団のホームページで祈祷課題などをご確認ください。
https://j-ag.org/notice/covid-19-sync-prayer-7/


それぞれの場所で、ますます祈りの炎を燃やしていきましょう。皆さんをそれぞれの場で主が
支え必要を満たし、豊かに祝福してくださることを信じて祈っています。


To Hakata New Life Church Family
Praise the Lord! We are so thankful we can celebrate Jesus' resurrection. He is alive !! Receiving His power, let us press on in life.

Japan Assemblies of God will start a dedicated time of prayer from Easter to Pentecost( from April 12 to May 31 ). Please feel free to join this. Wherever you are, please pray from 9:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. What should we pray about?
Please be guided by the Holy Spirit. There are many prayer requests from all of you. So it will be great if you can pray about
the following:
 * People at home and at work will not get infected by Coronavirus.
 *That people’s financial needs are met.
 *We have Internet Service at the moment and we will stay connected by Line or any other way.
 * Our church will “take root below”. We pray, read the bible and worship God daily.
 * All health care workers will be protected and strengthened.
 *The leaders will be given wisdom and strength.
 *People are living with a lot of anxiety as we are facing the problems of Coronavirus. In such a time, pray people will find God.
 * People will repent and turn to God.
 *There are some youth who will start college. Pray they will have a good start in peace.

Also, an AG pastor in Singapore started a Global Intercessory Prayer group on March 2nd. If you are interested in joining
this, please check the website of Japan Assemblies of God. There are prayer guidelines.
https://j-ag.org/notice/covid-19-sync-prayer-7/


We truly pray that we will all continue to pray earnestly by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May our Lord Jesus be with you

and meet all your needs and bless you abundantly.

🌸This is the message in English( April 12 preaching)🌸

Easter Message

April 12, 2020

      Messenger：Ps. Satoshi

Translator：Yuko

　“Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee”

Mark 16:1-8

Mark　16：1-8

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

Happy Easter!

There are two major celebrations in the church.

They are Easter and Christmas.

Easter is when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. 

And Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus’ birth on this earth.

There is a common event between the day Jesus was born and the day of His resurrection.

That is the appearance of angels.

The night of the first Christmas, a messenger appeared to the shepherds who were looking after the sheep in the fields and told them, “The Savior has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” The shepherds were also told that they would find the Messiah as a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.

That messenger was an angel.

The shepherds who heard this went to look for the newborn baby and met Jesus who was sleeping in a manger. They were filled with joy.

Similarly, an angel appeared on the morning of Jesus' resurrection.

The angel appeared at the empty tomb.

The body of Jesus who had been crucified and killed was buried in a tomb.

It was a Friday evening.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.

(Mark 15:47)

Early on Sunday morning, three women, including Mary Magdalene, headed to the tomb where Jesus was buried.

They went there to anoint the remains of Jesus according to funeral customs.

When they arrived at the tomb, the stone had been moved and they were able to enter.

Jesus’ remains were not in the tomb, but there was an angel there.

On Christmas night, the angel appeared in a field, and on the morning of the resurrection, the angel appeared in the tomb.

The women who saw the angel in the tomb were surprised. And they listened to what the angel said.

“You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.”

“He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Mark 16:6)

“He isn't here! He is risen from the dead!”

This was what the angel said.

So, where was He?

The angel told the women to tell the disciples and Peter the following:

“Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you before He died.” (Mark 16:7)

That first Christmas night, the shepherds who heard the message from the angels were able to meet the Savior sleeping in the manger as the angel had said.

How about the disciples and Peter who heard that Jesus had risen from the dead?

It is not mentioned in Mark's Gospel, but in John chapter 21, it records the events that the Risen Jesus appeared to Peter and His disciples in Galilee.

John 21:1-4

1 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So, they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

4 At dawn, Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who He was.

Lake Tiberias is another name for the Sea of Galilee.

The disciples were fishing in Galilee.

Peter said that he was going fishing, and the other disciples heard that and went fishing with Peter.

Peter had formerly been a fisherman. But when he was called by Jesus, he abandoned his fishing nets and followed Jesus.

But now, he turned away from the calling given by Jesus and was trying to return to his old life.

However, the results of the fishing were miserable. They couldn't catch anything.

There was a very sad atmosphere.

We can sense the contrast between this event and when the shepherds who found baby Jesus sleeping in the manger at the first Christmas. They were rejoicing and praising God.

I think the disciples had already met with the risen Jesus at this point.

This is because the event described in John chapter 21 is the third account of the risen Jesus having appeared. (John 21:14)

Perhaps Peter thought he was not worthy to follow Jesus. So maybe he was trying to distance himself from the calling given by Jesus.

Because He experienced a great sense of failure.

Peter denied Jesus three times when Jesus was captured by religious leaders.

I can imagine that Peter must have felt that he had totally failed.

That is because once he had said to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” (Mark 14:31) but he did deny Jesus - three times.

Perhaps he was so overwhelmed by his own cowardice and sense of guilt he thought that he could not recover. And as a result, Peter began fishing again.

In such a place, the Risen Jesus appeared. Jesus was watching the disciples fishing.

The Risen Jesus helped Peter to get back on his feet. The disciples lowered their nets as Jesus told them to, and then experienced the miracle of catching a lot of fish.

Maybe this event reminded them about when they met Jesus for the first time.

And Jesus prepared a meal for his disciples to eat when they returned from fishing.

The meal brought comfort to their hearts, and then they realized that they were actually sitting with the Risen Jesus.

What do you think the atmosphere was like as they ate that meal?

I imagine they may not have exchanged many words, but it would have been full of happiness. I imagine it was a very warm atmosphere.

And when the meal was over, Jesus invited Peter to join His work again.

“Feed my sheep”.

Jesus had once invited Peter saying, "You will fish for people.”

Now, He said, "Feed my sheep," and invited Peter again.

And He said, “Follow me”

Jesus said, "I will go to Galilee ahead of you."

What happened in Galilee at that time restored Peter and his disciples. That was Jesus’ purpose. From that point, they re-started their mission to follow Jesus.

When Jesus told Peter that he would deny that he knew Jesus three times, He said the following to Peter:

Luke 22:31-32

31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

“When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

As Jesus spoke these words, Peter was able to get back on his feet.

Jesus prayed for Peter that he would not abandon his faith. And the Risen Jesus appeared to Peter who had become weak. Jesus reminded him of the calling he was given. Jesus had a meal together with him. And once again, he gave Peter an important role.

Because of Jesus’ care, Peter recovered, and he began to work to encourage many people.

The Risen Jesus will also help us recover.

“When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

These words from Jesus really spoke to me through something I experienced this January.

A few weeks ago, Takako-san shared a testimony in the morning service.

She shared about the work of God revealed through a girl called back to heaven.

I was also involved in the funeral.

After she passed away, I went to the hospital and prayed with her family.

Her father and brother surrounded the mother holding Sanvika-chan who had passed away a few moments before.

When I saw the mother holding Sanvika-chan, it was like seeing my wife holding the body of our eldest son, who was called to heaven when he was young.

It was about 20 years ago.

In the same way, my eldest son was called to heaven at the same age as Sanvika.

There was the coffin ceremony, farewell ceremony, casket ceremony, pre-cremation ceremony, picking up the little bones ...

I attended everything and I performed the funeral.

And we talked about various things with Sanvika-chan's parents.

We wept together.

The children were similar not only in age when they passed away, but also that both of them were born with disabilities.

Until now, we have been involved in funerals for various people, but I had never experienced a situation so similar to that of my eldest son.

So, around the days of her funeral, I remembered the time when my son passed away, and I sometimes wept.

They were not just tears of sorrow. I was remembering the sadness but at the same time, I cried because of my appreciation for how God had cared for me through the death of my oldest son.

At that time, the words mentioned earlier came to my heart.

"When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

God helped me to stand again, and then I had the opportunity to be involved in the funeral of Sanvika-chan.

I didn't know if I could encourage this family. However, during the funeral, they shared their hearts with me, and in return I was able to share my feelings.

We could understand each other amazingly.

God’s way is really miraculous. Twenty years have passed since my son passed away.

I never imagined that someday, in Fukuoka, I would be involved in the funeral of an Indian family. And that through this experience, we would find out how much we had in common through sharing our feelings.

"When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

God led me to be involved in the funeral for this family. I think it was really God's grace.

The night after the farewell ceremony, when I was thinking about the funeral and the relationship with this family, one scene came to my mind.

It was the vision of my eldest son Yuya and Sanvika-chan meeting in heaven.

When I was thinking about it, tears came but at the same time, I started to feel joy.

Even though they went to heaven at different times from each other, even if they never met each other on earth, Sanvika-chan’s family and we got to know each other and our children became friends in heaven… What unexpected joy.

God has helped me recover, and He gave me the opportunity to be involved in the funeral of the family who went through an experience like the one I once had.

"When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

These words from Jesus were also words for me.

The Risen Jesus appeared to Peter and helped him recover. In the same way, Jesus appeared to me and He helped me recover.

The Risen Jesus helps us get back on our feet.

Even if we have made the biggest mistakes.

Even if we have failed in a big way,

Even if we feel a big sense of disappointment with own weakness.

And even if we are facing the death of a loved one.

Why can we believe this?

Because Jesus is risen. Because Jesus is alive.

This is our hope.

Our faith is all about Jesus’s resurrection.

In 1 Corinthians 15:19-20, Paul said the following:

1 Corinthians 15:19-20

19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are to be pitied more than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

Jesus is risen. And Jesus is still alive now and helps us to recover.

Jesus said, "I will go to Galilee ahead of you."

Jesus went ahead of the disciples who were stumbling, failing and weak-hearted and He has waiting for them in Galilee.

And Jesus took care of them gently and helped them to recover.

This Easter morning, let's rejoice that Jesus is alive and believe He is waiting for us to draw closer to Him.

Let’ pray.