1. Heretical problems in the church of Ephesus

Last week we continued to focus our address on Acts 2, and the day of Pentecost, an event in which the disciples received the Holy Spirit, and were boldly empowered to preach and spread the word of God. Their speeches moved the people, many of whom received baptism on the same day.

Thus the early Church was born and continued to grow in the form of communes, in which believers shared all their personal and spiritual assets. However, as the movement increased in size, the community could not be fully maintained, and so a hierarchical structure was formed. With the passing of the Apostles, certain believers of the second and third generations began to denounce the early religious teachings and substituted the doctrine with heresies. (³¤­…)

1. The day of Pentecost

Last Sunday we learned exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the spirit gave them ability (Acts 2:4). The previously reserved and timid disciples were now empowered by the holy spirit to speak boldly. (³¤­…)

1. Recalling the Disciples

Since Easter, we have focused our attention on the resurrection, and how the resurrected Jesus came to meet the disciples. Concerning this event there are two different records. One is by Mark and Matthew, who place the scene in Galilee, and the other is by Luke who says it occurred in Jerusalem. John in a sense synthesized the two by saying that Jesus appeared to the disciples at first in Jerusalem, and then in Galilee. I think John’s description might be the most trustworthy.

Without Jesus the disciples felt completely lost. During the previous three years they were always led by Jesus, and acted under His instructions. So, it seems they could not see their way clear without Him. Before such a flock of followers, Jesus the good shepherd appeared, an event which no doubt made them extremely joyful. Nonetheless, after the ascension, and in the passing of time, many of them became dubious. They began to doubt if the resurrected Jesus they met was not just simply a ghost. (³¤­…)

* From today on the fourth Sunday of every month, Nihei Mizuguchi, the assistant Pastor of this church, will give a series of lectures on, The Sermon on the Mount, from the Gospel according to Matthew.

1. Blessings from the Mount

We will commence our lecture series from the Sermon on the Mount by focussing first on Matthew 5:1-12, verses commonly know as the Beatitudes.

According to Matthew, Jesus commenced his ministry in Galilee, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them” (Matthew 4:23-24). (³¤­…)