Happy New Year! May God richly bless you through a new year. I know it’s already February. But this is the first time to greet you in the Hinge this year. By the way, Lunar New Year in 2019 is February 5th.
The 2019 theme of Aldersgate Church is “Live Faith with Holy Boldness.” The main point of this theme is to put faith in action with boldness and courage.
God said to Joshua, “No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them” (Joshua 1:5-6, NRSV). God was indeed with Joshua and the Israelites were able to conquer the Promised Land.
God is with us. What dreams do you have? What dreams does Aldersgate Church have? Let’s dream big and live faith with holy boldness to achieve our goals.
First, dream big. Dream God’s dream, not just dreams that you can achieve by yourself with what you have. Dream dreams that God has for you and for our church. I mean dreams that look unreal to you. Our God is omnipotent. Nothing impossible for God.
Second, increase the capacity of faith in your personal life and the life of Aldersgate Church big enough to hold God’s dream. I am talking about the size of your faith. If the size of your faith is the size of a 16.9 FL OZ water bottle, that’s the maximum of God’s blessing you can get when God has prepared to fill a huge tank. Let us increase the capacity of faith.
Third, let us cross the Jordan. Joshua and his people had many challenges. The people who were living in Canaan were huge. Compared to them, the Israelites felt they were like grasshoppers. But they crossed the Jordan with boldness which came from their faith in God and gave them the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey.
The year of 2019 is a blessing from God. Let us live faith courageously with holy boldness in your personal life and in the life of Aldersgate Church.
Pastor Sung Ho