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“城造在山上，是不能隐藏的”（马太福音5：14下）。我们祈祷，求主使用小石城以马内利华语浸信会，使“这座造在山上的城”能“如日头出现、光辉烈烈”（士师记5：31），在新时代中为主发大光，照亮周围的人，使荣耀归于上帝。

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    李春海牧师

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2024年8月11日 牧者之言

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“寻求 十 寻找”

——记孟菲斯第一华人浸信会的家庭退修会
路10: 2  就对他们说：“要收的庄稼多，做工的人少。所以，你们当求庄稼的主，打发工人出去收他的庄稼。
感谢主奇妙的预备，受蔡炎康牧师邀请，我有幸于上周末（8月2日-4日）参加了孟菲斯第一华人浸信会的家庭退修会（First Chinese Baptist Church of Memphis），并担任中文组专题讲员。他们的退修会从1993年开始到2017年，今年是疫情后第一次恢复。主题：“寻求 十 寻找”。经文：路10: 2。从中受益匪浅，特将以下心得体会与弟兄姐妹分享。
第一，    历史的见证 这是一间有着70年历史的教会。“1944 年，一位名叫高保罗(R. Paul Caudill) 的年轻牧师被任命为孟菲斯第一浸信会的牧师。凭借上帝的恩典和他所热爱的乔治亚州奥古斯塔华人教会的介绍信，他迈出了建立华人教会的第一步。如今，该教会已发展成为第一华人浸信会”（https://en.fcbcmemphis.org/about/fcbc-history）。教会经历多位牧师。我们熟悉的黄日强牧师（Rev. Dr. Paul Wong）曾于1976-1991年在这间教会牧会。黄日强的师母Mrs. Frances Wong于2018年7月到2020年3月在小石城以马内利华语浸信会走完人生最后一程 (https://chinesebaptists.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Sharing-by-Rev-Chunhai-Li.pdf) 。2017年蔡牧师受主呼召担任此教会会牧，牧养主的群羊，直到如今。
第二，    美好的教会 这里有一群爱主热心服侍的弟兄姐妹。教会主要有英文、粤语和中文三种语言，散会前牧师以三种语言祝福。退修会有107位弟兄姐妹注册参加；周五晚在教堂举行，周六和周日在营会举行。他们的敬拜赞美团队很特别，由十位左右弟兄姐妹组成，各年龄层搭配，吉他钢琴伴奏，热情洋溢地赞颂主的圣名。
第三，    信息与专题 主题讲员Jack Moore牧师的信息是“求主教导我们祷告”（路11: 1-13），他分享了耶稣给我们的七个基本原则中的一些原则。七个原则包括：个人的原则、特权的原则、赞美的原则、目标的原则、供应的原则、洁净的原则、保护的原则。主日崇拜的信息是 “代求式的祷告”，挑战大家通过成为代祷者成为神的朋友，并要作牺牲和舍己的代祷者。他分享的许多生动活泼的生活见证对我们很有启发。 专题分中文、英文和青少年三个组。我在中文组分享了关于“传福音”的三篇信息，主旨是：福音就是生命；传福音就是改变生命！鼓励和训练弟兄姐妹操练以各种方式随时、随处传福音。第一篇“福音本是神的大能”（罗1: 1-17），第二篇“向知识分子传福音”（约3: 1-21），第三篇“向众人传福音”（约4: 1-42）。弟兄姐妹当场到台前演练传福音。
第四，    主里交通、建立连结 在与弟兄姐妹的交通过程中，得到许多祝福和恩典。其中，多数人几乎不知道我们教会。至此，我们便建立了连接，并期待今后能有更多彼此团契的机会。有位78岁的熊阿姨作见证说，她的外婆在山东因慕拉第（1840年12月12日－1912年12月24日，英文全名：Charlotte Diggs “Lottie” Moon）传教而信主，外婆和母亲都是虔诚的基督徒，她是第三代基督徒。作为歌剧演员，她曾受邀在纽约百老汇唱过半年。在疫情前，她到中国大陆和美国多间教会举办音乐见证会，为主作见证。奇妙的是，周六下午专题结束后，她与一位第一次来的慕道友传福音。之后，我们趁热打铁，当时就带领这位朋友作决志祷告，使他成为神的儿子。第二天，这位朋友有来参加教会崇拜。荣耀归于主。我们要继续为这位主里的新弟兄生命的成长代祷。
最后，孟菲斯第一华人浸信会的见证给我们的挑战是a. 要更积极祈祷预备我们教会能尽快有自己的教堂；b. 要在教会各项事工上计划更加周密，“凡事都要规规矩矩按照次序行”（林前14: 40）；c.更爱主敬虔，殷勤传福音，积极做主圣工。愿主继续赐福他们的教会，也赐福我们的教会，以基督之名，阿门。

Family Retreat at the First Chinese Baptist Church of Memphis “Reach up 十 Reach out”:

Luke 10:2 “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 
Thanks to the Lord’s wonderful preparation, at the invitation of Pastor Vincent Choi, I received the honor to attend the Family Retreat of the First Chinese Baptist Church of Memphis last weekend (August 2-4) and serve as a Chinese workshop speaker. Their retreats started from 1993 to 2017, and this year is the first time they have resumed after the epidemic. Theme: Reach up 十 Reach out. Scripture: Luke 10:2. I have been blessed a lot by it and would love to share the following insights with brothers and sisters. First, the testimony of history This is a church with a 70-year history. “In 1944, a young pastor named Dr. R. Paul Caudill was called to pastor First Baptist Church of Memphis. Armed with the grace of God and a letter of introduction from the Chinese congregation he so lovingly ministered to in Augusta, Ga., he took his first steps to develop a Chinese church, which today has blossomed into First Chinese Baptist Church” (https://en.fcbcmemphis.org/about/fcbc-history). The church has experienced many pastors. The pastor Dr. Paul Wong, who we are familiar with, pastored this church from 1976 to 1991. The pastor’s wife Mrs. Frances Wong spent her last journey at our Little Rock Immanuel Chinese Baptist Church from July 2018 to March 2020 and returned to heaven (https://chinesebaptists.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Sharing-by-Rev-Chunhai-Li.pdf). In 2017, Pastor Vincent was called by the Lord to serve as the pastor of this church until now. Second, a wonderful church It is a group of brothers and sisters who love the Lord and serve enthusiastically. The church mainly speaks English, Cantonese and Chinese. The pastor did the benediction in three languages. 107 brothers and sisters registered for the retreat; it was held in the church on Friday night and in the camp on Saturday and Sunday. Their worship team is unique. It consists of about ten brothers and sisters of different ages, with guitar and piano accompaniment, and they praise the Lord passionately. Third, Messages and Workshops The message of the keynote speaker, Pastor Jack Moore, was “May the Lord teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1-13). He shared some of the seven basic principles Jesus gave us: the personal principle, the privilege principle, the praise principle, the purpose principle, the provision principle, the purification principle, and the protection principle. The Sunday message is “Intercessory Prayer”, which challenged everyone to become God’s friends by becoming intercessors and to be sacrificial and selfless intercessors. The many lively testimonies he shared were very inspiring to us. They have three workshops: Chinese, English and youth. Three messages on “sharing the gospel” were given in the Chinese group. The main theme: The gospel is indeed life; sharing the gospel is indeed to change life! Our brothers and sisters are encouraged and trained to practice sharing the gospel at any time and in any places in various ways. The first one is “The gospel is the power of God” (Romans 1:1-17), the second is “share the gospel with intellectuals” (John 3:1-21), and the third is “share the gospel with everyone” (John 4:1-42). Some brothers and sisters came to the stage and practice sharing the gospel on the spot. Fourth, fellowship and establish connections in the Lord In the fellowshipping with brothers and sisters, I received more blessings. Most of them knew little about our Little Rock Immanuel Chinese Baptist. So far, we have established a connection and look forward to more opportunities for mutual fellowship in the future. A 78-year-old aunt Debra Pan testified that her grandmother in Shandong Province was converted to the Lord by our Southern Baptist missionary Lottie Moon (from December 12, 1840 to December 24, 1912). Both her grandmother and mother were devout Christians. She is a third-generation Christian. As an opera singer, she was invited to sing on Broadway in New York for half a year. Before the epidemic, she went to many churches in mainland China and in US to hold special music testimony meetings for the Lord. Amazingly, after the workshop on Saturday afternoon, she shared the gospel with a first-time gospel seeker. After that, we led this friend to pray right away and make a decision to accept Jesus as his Savior. The next day, this friend came to worship. Praise the Lord and we will continue to pray for his growth in the Lord. Finally, the challenge given to us by the testimony of the First Chinese Baptist Church of Memphis is a. To pray more actively to prepare our church to have our own church building soon; b. To plan more carefully in various ministries of the church, “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:40); c. To love the Lord more fervently, share the gospel diligently, and serve the Lord actively. May the Lord continue to bless their church and bless our church as well, in the name of Christ, Amen.

2024年8月4日 牧者之言

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超越眼见的视野

那是真光，照亮一切生在世上的人 – 约翰福音 1:9

我们每年都会在自家的地盘边缘露营，地盘与邻居的树林接壤。我抱着三岁的孙女，指着月亮对她说：“看月亮在树丛间偷看我们。”过了一会儿，我听到她爸爸安慰她说没什么好怕的——没有意识到，爷爷是她害怕的罪魁祸首。但她一直坚持说有东西在树丛间偷看我们。

我们需要谨慎使用比喻性语言，尤其是对小孩子，因为它可能会产生误解。当然，很容易看出这个小事幽默的一面，但对于一个相信爷爷、从未考虑过月亮可能在偷看她的小女孩来说，这并不好笑。然而，没有造成任何伤害，一个解释解决了这个问题。

这件事让我想起了耶稣引用的以赛亚的预言。“你们听是要听见，却不明白；看是要看见，却不晓得”（马太福音 13:14）。耶稣用比喻来教导许多事情，除非我们理解它们的意义并正确应用它们，否则它们对我们来说就没有什么价值。今天的圣经阅读就是一个很好的例子。

我们的理解力应该更进一步。我们能否超越我们自己的自然视角，感知到上帝透过我们的情况所发出的光芒？保罗写道：“那吩咐光从黑暗里照出来的神，已经照在我们心里”（哥林多后书 4:6）。我们需要那神圣的光芒充分照耀；否则，我们就会像我的小孙女一样，因为她只看到了字面意义上的东西便感到害怕。

梅尔文·布鲁贝克——宾夕法尼亚州特雷弗顿港

凭借信心的眼睛，灵魂可以看到许多对于肉眼来说完全隐藏的东西。

—— 译自《溪水边》第九日, 阿米什人灵修

   A View Beyond the Visible


That was the true light, which lightenth every man that cometh into the world. -John 1:9
We were having our annual family camp-out at the edge of our property, which borders our neighbor’s woods. While holding our three-year-old granddaughter, I pointed out the moon to her and said, “Look how the moon is peeking at us through the trees.” A little later I heard her dad reassuring her that there was nothing to be afraid of— not realizing that Grandpa was to blame for her fear. But she kept insisting that something was peeking at us through the trees.
We need to be careful about figurative language, especially with little ones, because of the misunderstanding it can generate. Of course, it was easy to see the humorous side of this little happening, but it wasn’t funny to a small girl who believed Grandpa and had never considered that the moon might be peeking at her. Yet no harm was done, and an explanation settled the issue.
This incident reminded me of the prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus quoted. “By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive” (Matthew 13: 14). Jesus used parables to teach many things, and unless we understand their figurative meaning and apply them correctly, they hold little value for us. Today’s Bible reading has a good example.
Our comprehension should go even further. Can we see beyond our own natural view and perceive the light from God that is peeking through our circumstances? Paul wrote, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 4: 6). We need that divine light to shine through abundantly; otherwise, we will be like our little granddaughter who feared because she saw things only in a literal sense.
                      

Melvin Brubaker – Port Treverton, PA
With eyes of faith, the soul can see many things that are completely hidden to the natural eyes.

Cited from Day 9, Beside the Still Water, Amish Devotion.

2024年7月28日 牧者之言

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3-P时代

 “人非有信就不能得神的喜悦, 因为到神面前来的人必须信有神,
且信他赏赐那寻求衪的人”。 ——希伯来书 11:6

有人恰当地指出，现在这一代人可以称为 3-P时代：“百事可乐、披萨饼和享乐”（Pepsi, pizza, and pleasure）。鉴于如今餐馆数量众多、种类繁多，美国人似乎变得自我放纵，过度喜欢享受美味。也许我们的味觉和肚腹已经成为我们的上帝，正如《腓立比书》 3:19 中所提到的。
在《但以理书》中讲到的四个希伯来奴隶有“特权”享用国王的美食。但他们拒绝了国王餐桌上的食物和美酒，而是要求“素菜”和白水。为什么？因为吃素菜符合旧约饮食规矩，而且更健康、更有营养。因此，除了信仰意义之外，希伯来人选择的饮食反映了自我约束、自律和节制，与自我满足和“吃喝玩乐”的心态形成了鲜明的对比。
他们在异国他乡不敬虔的人中间表现出的忠诚是高尚而鼓舞人心的榜样。同样，作为后世的朝圣者和寄居客，我们不应采用世界放纵的生活标准，其中包括“酗酒、荒宴”（彼得前书 4:3）等。让我们持守古道，包括在家吃简单的饭菜，在餐桌旁享受有益的家庭时光。
《但以理书》 1:15-21 总结了上帝对这四个年轻人的认真顺服和节制生活方式的赏赐。上帝赐予他们非凡的智慧和在国王面前的恩惠。事实上，我们今天仍然侍奉同一位上帝！确实，主仍然保佑那些勤奋寻求他、并愿意以纯洁的心遵守圣经教义和教导的人。
斯蒂芬·莱因巴赫 – 肯塔基州, 埃尔克顿
暴食和放纵使朝圣者和寄居客堕落。
—— 译自《溪水边》第七日, 阿米什人灵修。

     

The 3-P Generation

       But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 
Someone aptly observed that the present generation could be called the 3-p generation: “Pepsi, pizza, and pleasure.” In light of the large number and variety of restaurants today, it appears that Americans have become self-indulgent and overly fond of eating things because they taste good. Perhaps our taste buds and our belly have become our God as mentioned in Phillipians 3: 19.
The four Hebrew captives had the “privilege” to eat of the king’s delicacies. But they refused the food and wine from the king’s table and requested “pulse” and water instead. Why? The “pulse,” or vegetables, was in keeping with Old Testament dietary laws, and it was also more wholesome and nutritious. So besides the religious implications, the Hebrews’ chosen diet reflected self-restraint, self-discipline, and temperance, in contrast to the mentality of self-gratification and “eat, drink, and be merry.”
Their faithfulness among godless people in a foreign land is a noble and inspiring example. By the same token, it behooves us as latter-day pilgrims and strangers not to adopt the loose living standards of the world. Which include “excess of wine, revellings, [and] banquetings” (1 Peter 4:3). Let us rather maintain the old paths, which include eating simple meals at home and enjoying profitable family time around the table.
Daniel 1: 15-21 sum up the rewards that God bestowed upon these four young men for their conscientious obedience and their temperate lifestyle. God blessed them with notable wisdom and with favor before the king. Truly we still serve the same God today! Truly He still blesses all those who diligently seek Him and who willingly obey the doctrines and precepts of the Word, out of a pure heart.

Stephen Leinbach- Elkton, KY
Cited from Day 7, Beside the Still Water, Amish Devotion.

2024年7月21日 牧者之言

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冲洗过滤器

“人若喝我所赐的水的，就永远不渴；我所赐的水要在他里头成为泉源，直涌到永生”。
-约翰福音 4:14
“出了什么问题？”我打开灌溉器后反问自己。灌溉器没有像往常那样发出规则的咔嗒声，而是偶尔发出不规则的咔嗒声，吱吱作响，仿佛承受着重负。因为缺乏维持水分和养分，悬挂在花盆里的茂盛花朵很快就会枯萎死亡，而这些养分不知何故被阻止流过灌溉系统。
“一定是过滤器的问题，”我断定。我关掉水，拆开过滤器的保护壳，取下筛网。筛网被太多的石灰石和其他沉积物堵塞，只有一点水可以流过。用水冲洗掉沉积物后，过滤器又焕然一新了。
今天的钥节揭示了耶稣是活水的源泉，我们的灵魂可以自由地从中汲取并得到满足。这水是“凡愿意的人”都可以得到的（启示录 22:17）。一个不经常用水补充身体水分的人很快就会脱水，并最终死亡。同样，我们必须从基督的泉源中喝活水，以补充我们灵魂的干渴，并在祂里面保持灵性的活力。
撒旦的目的是用罪恶和谎言“堵塞”我们心灵的过滤器，从而限制这种维持生命的活水流淌。通过我们肉体的诱惑，它可以让骄傲、欲望、仇恨、愤怒、冲突或嫉妒的沉积物堆积在我们的生命中。让我们通过与我们的救主保持良好的关系，经常彻底地“冲洗过滤器”，以便祂的活水可以一直流过，并维系我们的灵魂。                                
约书亚·齐默尔曼 – 田纳西州派克维尔
“请来就近来这水，这里水源充足；这是一条永不干涸的河流”。
– 大卫和马克斯·萨普
—— 译自《溪水边》第一日, 阿米什人灵修。
     

Flushing the Filter

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. -John 4: 14
“What’s the problem here?” I asked myself after I had turned on the irrigation system. Instead of the usual erratic clicking, the fertilizer injector was only emitting an occasional erratic click, creaking and groaning as if under a burden. The lush, blooming flowers in their hanging pots would shortly wilt and die for lack of sustaining water and nutrients that were somehow being blocked from flowing through the irrigation system.
“It must be the filter,” I decided. I shut off the water, disassembled the protective casing of the filter, and removed the screen. It was clogged with so much limestone and other sediment that only a little water could flow through. Flushing out the sediment with a blast of water made the filter good as new again.
Today’s key verse reveals Jesus as the source of living water from which our souls can freely drink and be satisfied. This water is available to “whosoever will” (Revelation 22:17). A person who does not frequently replenish his natural body with water will soon dehydrate and eventually die. Likewise it is vital that we drink of the living water from Christ’s fountain to replenish the thirst of our souls and to sustain spiritually alive in Him.
Satan’s aim is to “clog the filter” of our hearts with sin and untruth, thereby restricting the flow of this life-sustaining water. Through the appeals of our carnal nature, he can cause the sediments of pride, lust, hate, anger, strife, or envy to accumulate in our lives. Let us frequently and thoroughly “flush the filter” by maintaining a good relationship with our Savior, so that His living water can always flow through and sustain our souls. Joshua Zimmerman – Pikeville, TN
        Come to this water, there is a vast supply; there is a river that never shall run dry.
– David and Max Sapp
                   Cited from Day 1, Beside the Still Water, Amish Devotion.