Peter Chen
Psalm 127:1, Without the LORD, Frustration!

This familiar psalm reminds us that the ultimate worker and provider in all our endeavors is the LORD. While the natural principle of cause and effect is indeed taught in Scripture, this psalm shows us that that principle must always be accompanied by the understanding that the LORD is the crucial provider in all our affairs. Whether it's our homes or the house of God, our greatest need is the LORD’s provision. In this unique psalm of Solomon, the Holy Spirit teaches us that human strength and ingenuity alone do not guarantee success. It is the LORD and His provision that ensure true success. May we learn to pray, depend on the LORD, and carry out His work with hearts that wait on Him.

Peter Chen
Revelation 7:1-14 The Protection of God's People

Revelation 7 shows that the wrath of the Lamb will be poured out on those who dwell on the earth, not upon Jesus’ own beloved people. John is shown two groups that will stand despite the intense judgments to come and contrary to the unbelievers’ outcry (6:17): the 144K Israelites and the raptured Gentile church of God. This sermon is part one of two sermons on Revelation 7 on the important topic of the rapture and its implications.

Peter Chen
Micah 5:2-4 The Messianic Message of Micah

Micah prophesied of the Messiah that He is the LORD God and that He is the shepherd over His people. This is the true message of Christmas that woos us to worship Christ, to love, honor, and serve Him. May we ponder deeply the wonder of Christmas, that the LORD, the eternal God, came from heaven in human flesh, born in Bethlehem, born of a woman, in the person of Jesus, to seek and save that which was lost and to shepherd all His elect who repent and trust in Him, to guide them away from sin and in the pathway of sanctification all the way home to glory.

Peter Chen
Psalm 37 - God: Your only refuge!

Psalm 37 is a Psalm written by Israel’s greatest king, king David. It reveals only two possibilities for the end of a person’s life. The wicked will be cut off by God’s judgment. Although they prosper abundantly in the present, their end is certain. They are not satisfied with prosperity, so they seek to destroy the righteous. Yet, the righteous seek refuge in the LORD. A repeated refrain in the Psalm is, “do not fret.” The path for settling your soul is through seeking refuge in God. The Christian’s heart is encouraged through this revelation of God, who sustains the righteous. Moreover, the Psalm directs Christians to trust, with great hope, in the LORD. The result is that they can progress through life’s difficulties and into eternity because of the salvation of God. He truly delivers those who seek refuge in Him from evildoers.

Dan Lee
Revelation 4-6, The Reign of God

The revelation of the future is given from the perspective of heaven. God reigns as the supreme ruler and deity who is enthroned and worshipped in heaven. What is true in heaven becomes the reality on earth as the revelation of the future unfolds. This revelation commences with Jesus breaking open the seals and shows the backdrop against which the judgments of God will come: ordinary and natural suffering in the fallen world and the persecution of Christians and their holy prayer for justice. In response to their prayer, divine wrath is poured out upon the world (with the seventh seal [8:1] and the trumpet and bowl judgments that ensue). All of this affirms the resounding biblical call to be ready for Christ. He is indeed coming quickly. May we be dressed in readiness and keep our lamps lit.

John 11:36-40, Unbelief Grieves God (Part 2)

Unbelief is a chameleon. It takes on a different color at different times. In this scene at Bethany, we find the Jews expressing their distrust in the Lord with suspicion, questioning whether Jesus loved Lazarus at all. Jesus is grieved again at the sight of this unbelief. When Jesus gives the command for the tomb to be opened, Martha protests His command. She goes down in history as the woman who refused the Lord because of a smell. May the Lord keep us from such forms of unbelief, whether suspicion or excuses against His commands. Our sovereign God is fully capable of addressing all our concerns when He gives His good commands.

John 11:27-35, Unbelief Grieves God

Unbelief grieves the heart of God. In today’s passage, the grieved heart of God is seen in the incarnate Son of God upon whose face this grief is put on display through His nostrils and in His eyes. May the Lord help us to see the great evil of unbelief and grant to us a heart to embrace all that He’s given to us in the Scriptures and live as people of faith.

John 11:17-26, Believe in Me

In the midst of great mourning and disappointment, the Lord speaks words of great hope. But this hope is available only to those who believe in Him. In this portion of the gospel of John, we catch another facet of true faith in Christ, that Christ is everything to the believer. May the Lord draw us to find our soul’s full satisfaction in Him alone, even to the very end of life when we will desperately need Jesus as the resurrection and the life.

John 11:5-16, Trust the God of Providence (Part 2)

God knows where He’s headed and he knows how to get there. And this God of all wisdom is working all things after the counsel of His will to bring about His perfect effects to ultimately bring glory unto Himself through His Son. We trust God because He has a purpose and He has a plan. Furthermore, He calls us to participate in His will revealed in Scirpture. May the Spirit of our God strengthen us to trust in the God of providence so that we would walk after the example of our Lord, the incarnate Son of God, who was the epitome of perfect human trust in God.

John 11:1-4, Trust the God of Providence

John 11 is a demonstration of God’s providence. What is providence? Providence is God’s wise orchestration of all things (both good and evil) to achieve His good and eternal purpose. We often see the parts, but not the whole. But the whole is precisely what God sees. He is causing all things to work together for the good which aligns with His good and eternal purpose. This is what the Lord sees with the sickness of Lazarus. May the Lord grant us His perspective to trust in the God of providence.

Psalm 16:1-11, The Divine Joys of a Right Personal Relationship with God (Part 2)

There is no joy apart from God. In this second installment on our studies on divine joys, we again see the joys of God expressed in Psalm 16 and the right personal relationship with God that is the foundation of those joys. I experience divine joys when God is my refuge, my Lord, my treasure, my counselor and my Savior. May the Lord evermore mature us to be like Christ who Himself knew these joys to their fullness!

Psalm 16:1-11, The Divine Joys of a Right Personal Relationship with God

A right personal relationship with God emanates divine joys. In Psalm 16, we hear of a man who knew such joys. in this two week series, we will consider the vital truth in this text: I experience divine joys when God is my Refuge, my Lord, my Treasure, my Counsel and my Savior. May our joy meter read “full” as we rightly and personally relate to the Lord as we ought to and as He deserves.

John 10:31-42, Four Witnesses to Divine Equality

Jesus’ full divine equality with the Father is an undeniable doctrine in Scripture. While some cults mangle this passage to make it mean something other than this, John presents to us four witnesses that confirm divine equality of the Son to the Father: 1) the Jews, 2) the Father, 3) Scripture, and 4) John the Baptist. Jesus is God, Yahweh, the second person of the Holy Trinity. This is what we mean when we speak of Jesus as the Son of God, and this is the faith we endeavor to live out by the power of the Holy Spirit who is at work within us.