(Sunday Worship in Bankok)

Hey there, this is Reid writing. It is 9:50 p.m. Sunday evening here in Bangkok Thailand. Today was truly a blessing to me as I am sure it was a blessing to our entire Calvin team. This Lord's day was truly special because we worshiped in spirit and in truth as one body giving praise to God Almighty in different tongues and representing different nations. Every Sunday at New Community Church, there are two worship services. The English speaking service is in the morning and the Thai service is in the afternoon. Pastor Aaron was given the opportunity to preach for both services and was a true blessing to all of us as he talked about Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41. Here is a rough outline of his sermon: A. God really does deliver us from the Storms of life. But what happens when Jesus doesn't deliver us? This question is answered in Romans chapter 8 where Paul says, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" and specifically in verse 35 asks the rhetorical question, "Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? B. Jesus is Lord over even nature and creation. Jesus commands the storm to "Be still" and the storm stops. Jesus has power to sustain us in every aspect of our lives. C. We need to turn to Jesus in prayer for our sustenance and protection D. the disciples were young in their faith. They didn't even realize God himself was in the boat with them. The disciples showed their lack of trust when they woke Jesus up and said, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" It was like they were saying, "What about now Jesus? What good is all your preaching and hope if we will all drown now? They didn't trust in God and didn't know or trust in Jesus' authority as God of all things. E. Jesus had an interesting response to the disciples. He doesn't relieve the disciples' fears. They are even more terrified after he calmed the sea. Only God can calm a sea. They then show their complete fear and awe of Jesus in saying, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Now instead of fearing the storm, they fear Jesus. They realize they are in the boat with God himself. Jesus challenges them to a deeper faith. They will face storms in the future that they will not be delivered from. F.Peter eventually confessed Christ as Lord. It was tied to Jesus telling Peter, "people will take you by the hand and take you where you don't want to go." Peter learned to go through hardship without fear. G. God is challenging us in our faith. God never promises that it will be easy. H. James - "consider it pure joy when you are persecuted for the faith" I. Paul - "Nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus." He has saved us already from the bondage of sin and death." After Aaron preached we were blessed to "eat of the bread and drink of the cup" with the members of New Community Church. What a true blessing it was to be unified in this way! After the formal worship service, we split up into groups to pray with and for each other. This was just a wonderful way for us to share with each other real needs and desires of our hearts and then lift them up to the Lord in prayer. After the Thai worship in the afternoon, Paul led us in adult Sunday school. He focused on the character of Stephen in the book of Acts as he was persecuted. Paul emphasized to us that Stephen was a righteous man before God and we looked at his response to his suffering while dying for his faith. The passage described Stephen's face looking like that of an angel's. Paul then challenged us with some questions. How do we respond as Stephen did in the midst of difficulty in our lives? Do we immerse ourselves in prayer and the reading of God's word? Do our faces show Christ to others on a daily basis? Do our co-workers, bosses, and families see an angel's face when they see us? Paul did a great job of challenging us to trust in the Lord and find great joy in him in difficult situations. It was moving to hear Paul challenge us in this way especially since he and his family just went through a difficult time with the situation with Eliab right before we left for the trip. Paul mentioned the fact that he and his family felt God's presence and our church's prayers through this time and I think we all had a tear in our eyes after hearing such a wonderful example of how we can trust in God and take great joy in him even in difficult situations such as a little baby having surgery. God was faithful to all of our prayers and he showed his healing hand and awesome faithfulness to the Eichelberger family in the progress of Eliab's health. What an amazing God we serve! One thing that really impacted my heart during the English service is that God is the same in Bangkok as he is in Pittsburgh, and his people worship him in truth in Bangkok like we do in Pittsburgh. What a wonderful common ground we share with this church half way across the world!. It was wonderful to experience the Unity in Christ's body between Calvin and New Community Church. After the English service we all headed to the market where we spent time in meal and fellowship. The Thai worship in the afternoon was also a true blessing to us. One thing that really was meaningful to experience was the Thai people praising and worshipping God in their own tongue and with their own music. What a testimony to God's sovereignty and reign over all creation. We were again reminded that there will be a day when every tongue, tribe, and nation will bow before the King who is Christ Jesus our LORD. What a blessing it was to worship God together with the Thai believers! By the time we were finished praying in small groups after Paul Eichelberger led us in Sunday school, it was late afternoon and time for us get some food. While the rest of the team gallivanted to a local pizza place, Paul H. and I played basketball with some of the university students in the area. This basketball ministry has actually been an important ministry for Paul to take part in since it has given him a chance to form some relationships with some of the Thai university students who love to play basketball. Recently he has been meeting regularly to study the Bible with a young man named "Mi". Mi has not professed faith in Christ and is the main focus right now of Paul's attention in the afternoons. I had the privilege of talking and interacting with Mi on and off the Basketball court this evening and I feel encouraged that this young man is not too far from God's grasp. Please pray for Mi's heart to soften to the truth of the Gospel and for Paul to continue to be able to meet with him regularly. That's all for now from team Calvin in Bangkok, Thailand. Wow, now it is 11:00 p.m. I better get to bed! :-)

Aaron preaching in the Thai service thru the translator, Dave Veldhorst

We discovered three floor tiles that make very distinct sounds if you hit them right

Andrew and Becky Bronson - They're halfway through their two year tenure here in Thailand. Pray for them as they decide whether or not to stay after these two years.

Logan and Melissa Keck - They've been here for a month and they leave this coming Tuesday. Pray for their safe travels and future mission work in South Africa.

This is Yu. She's the first Thai person we had any interaction with. She works alongside the MTW team and is a devoted Christian and wonderful woman. She has just begun to disciple two young girls that have recently professed faith in Christ. Pray for Yu's ministry to them.