Welcome to the Family, Tersha!

Born: 24 July 2012

We joyfully welcome you to the family!
When I was first told by your mom that she is expecting the third child, I was in Tokyo. I can't sleep that night. It was a feeling of happiness and worry, of how your mom and I could cope with three kids. It was near Christmas, and I was reading the narration in the Bible about nativity that night. One verse caught my mind, and it was these words, 'Unto us a child is born.' It was like God is assuring me that a child is given to me, and this child would be a blessing to the world. All my worries faded.

Your name is called Tersha, which is a variant for Tertia, with Latin root which means simply 'The Third". You are my third. A precious Third to your mom and I. Your name in mandarin is 林舒慰. When I needed some inspiration for a name, I turn to the Bible as I did for Fidel and  Habel. Your mandarin name was derived from two key words in Psalms 23. The Lord as our shepherd, He 'restores' our souls, His rod and his staff 'comfort' us. I pray that God will continuously give you restoration and comfort in your life. That was how your name is given. May you grow daily in His grace and gain knowledge of Him day by day.  

你爱永不变- by 巫启贤、玺恩

Apologetics Conference in Hong Kong, 2010

Hi children, Dad wish to share with you this wonderful experience God gave me.
Dad as one of the interpreter.

When we were young.....

Dear children, You were born into the world out of love. God said when He first instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden, "Man shall leave his father and his mother, and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Leaving, cleaving, and sharing of the whole person in life long commitment is the blue print of marriage. These are pictures of your mom and dad when we were 'young' (your mom, not me!).

Bali

ChiangLai

Punchak

Lake Toba

Cameron Highlands

 

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

About Preaching God's Word

Sons,

Here is something about preaching I learned, and I think you should know.

A Theme
Every sermon should have a clear message, a theme. What we want to say.
A sermon is not worth preaching if the preacher is uncertain what he wants to say to audience, in one sentence.

A Goal
Related but not identical with what I mean by a theme, a goal or purpose is why you want to say what you are saying. Or put it in another way, what you wish the Holy Spirit to accomplish through your preaching. A same theme will have two different way of delivery if the purpose of delivering it is different.

The Source of the Message
Needless to say, but easily be tempted to ignore, the message must be Biblical.
It is sad that these days in your dad's generation, many sermons I heard are based on stories and theories from various sources, including secular, myth, atheist, psycologist, religions, and philosophers. Your dad called it 'Chicken Soup preaching'. We as preachers should hold on to this two convictions: The sufficiency of the Scripture, and the power of the Scripture. Holy Spirit does not bring true conviction with stories but by His own Word.

Expository Preaching
In order to avoid the temptation of Chicken Soup preaching and based our sermon in something else, your dad advocate expository preaching. Put it simply, it is expounding the Scripture, let the listeners understand what God says in Scripture, and help them apply it in their lives through illustration, exhortation, challenge, comfort and rebuke (with love and sorrows).

Remember sons, people need God's Word (although they may not realize). It is God's Word that changes lives. Let us humbly hide ourselves behind His Words so that people can see the Lord of the Scripture, not the preacher who put himself upfront and obscure what the Bible has to say.

I Surrender All