{上週講道} 在試探中～約瑟的兩難王進財牧師

溫哥華台灣基督長老教會

VANCOUVER TAIWANESE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

2733 W. 41^st Ave., Vancouver, BC V6N 3C5

Tel: 604-266-0820 Website : www.vtpc.org

主後2008年6月29日 2:00pm 第26週

青年主日禮拜程序

Youth Sunday Worship Service

靜候上帝 WAITING UPON GOD

敬拜與讚美Praise Through Songs

會眾Congregation

奏樂Prelude

司琴Pianist

宣召

王美加

Call to Worship

Na Na Kuo

聖詩

321萬國萬人攏有一次

會眾

Hymn

Once to every man and nation

Congregation

祈禱

蔡佑澤

Prayer

Luke Wang

使徒信經The Apostles' Creed（P.2）

會眾Congregation

恭守上帝的話 HEAR THE WORD OF GOD

成年禮Recognition

王進財牧師Rev. Wang

讚美Anthem

愛是從神來For love comes from God

聖歌隊Choir

聖經

馬太4:19, 16:24；約翰12:26

陳加恩

Scripture Readings

Matthew 4:19, 16:24；John 12:26

Danny Chen

講道

主說：「來跟從我」

王進財牧師Rev. Wang

Sermon

Lord said, “Follow Me！”

應答上帝的話 RESPOND TO THE WORD OF GOD

聖詩

主，我在此

會眾

Hymn

Here I am, Lord

Congregation

接納新會友Reception of New Members

小會Session

聖餐Communion

王進財牧師Rev. Wang

奉獻Offering

306A我的生命獻給祢

會眾Congregation

祈禱Prayer

Daniel Liao廖修平

報告Announcement

王進財牧師Rev. Wang

聖詩

446願主保護咱後會有期

會眾

Hymn

God be with you, till we meet again

Congregation

祝禱Benediction

王進財牧師Rev. Wang

阿們頌Choral A-men

(懇求主，祢引導我腳步)

會眾Congregation

殿樂Postlude

司琴Pianist

使徒信經

我信上帝，全能的父，創造天地的主宰。我信耶穌基督，上帝的獨生子，咱的主。祂由聖神投胎，由在室女馬利亞出世；在本丟彼拉多任內受苦，釘十字架，死，埋葬，落陰府；第三日由死人中復活，升天，今坐在全能的父上帝的大傍；祂要自彼再來審判活人及死人。

我信聖神。我信聖，公同的教會，聖徒的相通，罪的赦免；肉體的復活；永遠的活命。阿們。

The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

本週金句Golden Verse 馬太福音（Matthew）4：19

（台語）伊就給講：「來隨我，我欲互恁得著人親像討魚的。」

（華語）耶穌對他們說：「來跟從我！我要使你們成為得人的漁夫。」

（English）And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

肢體交通Announcement

1. 我們歡迎今天第一次參加我們聚會的兄姊，很高興您和我們一起敬拜上帝，盼望您能繼續在我們中間一起成長。本教會聚會時間是現代英語禮拜中午12點30分在副堂、台語禮拜下午2點，歡迎參加。（介紹後）唱「在耶穌裡，咱攏做一家人（三次），從今直到永永遠遠，在耶穌裡，咱攏做一家人。」今天禮拜後，在副堂備有茶點，希望所有兄姊留步，一起分享、認識，在主裏交誼，並共享鄉親情。

2. 今天是我們今年的青年主日，我們有廖惟柔、廖惟剛、王路加、黃安婷行成人禮，他們今年高中畢業或滿18歲，教會送他們每位一枚原住民的Hummingbird銀戒子，願上帝賜福他們，帶領他們前面的路。

3. 我們今天恭守聖餐，歡迎相信主耶穌基督是你救主的兄姊，同來共享主宴。

4. 我們今天也接納林辰芳(聖道堂)轉籍入會，及王路加、王美加信仰告白，願上帝的恩典繼續在他們身上。

5. 今天是王牧師在我們教會牧會的最後一個主日，我們感謝王牧師14年來的帶領，願上帝繼續施恩在他身上，保守帶領他未來的路及家庭的安頓；禮拜後在交誼廳有歡送會及婦女團契為大家準備的晚餐，請踴躍參加。

6. 七月中我們有自加拿大長老會退休的張信一牧師，將協助一些教會事工，並在禮拜三晚上帶領查經，請兄姊預備心。張牧師也是今年夏令會的講員，請兄姊預留夏令會時間(8月1-3日)。

7. 迦勒團契主辦的父親節寫生比賽，經大家評選之後，第一名共有3位(各14票)，他們是Jonathan Leu、蘇吳碧清、 Marshall Shoro請與迦勒團契會長顏聯冠連絡並領獎。

8. 林玟君姊與鐘大偉兄將於7月12日(禮拜六)下午2時在教會舉行婚禮，歡迎兄姊參加，共享他們的喜樂。願主祝福！

9. 國立台北藝術大學交響樂團與合唱團，今年在Powell River 的音樂節擔任繁重的表演任務之後，將於7月9日晚7:30於溫哥華市中心，非常雄偉豪華的St.Andrew's-Wesley United Church, 1022 Nelson St〈位於Nelson 與Burrard路口〉舉行一場管絃樂團與合唱團的演出。因應兩年前演出後，掌聲熱烈，但部分僑胞反應「演出程度極高但曲目略為艱深」，所以本次演出特別精心設計一套包含氣勢磅礡與溫馨感人，大家保證愛聽的曲目，有電影主題曲如歌劇魅影、真善美、星際大戰等，也有懷念的家鄉歌曲如河邊春夢、滿山春色、雨夜花等，值得一起來感動並見證台灣的驕傲！本場演出為免票自由入場。

我們珍惜可以選擇的自由

我們也珍惜我們和別人之間的連結。你和你的社群及人際關係網是否緊緊地相連結?

還是你有自由去做任何你想做的事嗎? 亞伯拉罕必須要回應一個可怕的指令。

－創世記 22: 1-14

詩篇的作者感到被遺棄和迷失。

－詩篇 13

耶穌要我們和他以及別人在接待款待中來相連結。

－馬太福音 10:4042

保羅給我們選擇要服侍誰的自由。

－羅馬書 6: 12-23

恩典。

能有自由來選擇或服侍其實是會緊張不安的。

我們有自由來決定是否貢獻我們自己成為上帝在世上的媒介，來連結上帝和人的關係。

當我們今天要來慶祝加拿大日，讓我們來省思我們生活中的選擇，和人與人之間的相連結。

今天在本拿比我們的”子會”參加踐行王牧師的晚會, 是個充滿感情的場面, Don Hill牧師說, 今天正好是2008年一年之中白晝時間(也就是 ”光” – Light) 第二長的曰子, 使我們更加體會到王牧師多年來帶給我們的 ”光”.

對我個人而言, 我想到十四年前我們教會的情形, 和在有幸請到王牧師來牧會後的不同, 一般主內兄姊的感受怎樣我不敢講, 可是對我來說, 可真是”暗”和”光”一般的截然不同, “光”這個字, 可真是個重要的字眼, 聖經一開始開宗明義就是: 上帝說要有光就有光, 歷史思想的啟蒙, 英文也叫做 enlightenment. 多年來, 感謝王牧師有智慧的領導和他特有熱情, 帶給我們的”靈光”, 啟蒙和建樹. 今天我坐在本拿比歡送會中聆聽台上演講, 我的腦海卻一直浮出所羅門王的祈禱文, 尤其是其中兩處, 由於我有我自己的解說, 有點猶豫不敢講, 怕會給姑婆罵我班門弄斧, 但是, 我想, 如果今晚 Don 在短短的演講中, 以不同的說法一再回到他的主要信息: 光 (Light) 四,五次, 一氣呵成, 很有連貫性, 如果有人在快速的翻譯之中沒體會到那整個信息的美好, 實在可惜, 所以我硬著頭皮嘗試提筆來指出他的信息如上, 並談談它給我的聯想.

我第一個感觸是在所羅門王建造耶和華的聖殿後, 他祈禱說:

“上主啊, 祢決定要住在濃密的黑雲裏, 但我已經建造殿宇, 作你的居所, 為你永遠的住處。”(代下6:1-2)

上帝要住在哪裏, 應該是祂的選擇, 是在祂的計劃之中, 沒人能夠逼祂, 沒人. 在出埃及記中那一群忘恩又老是埋怨的以色列人, 上帝就給他們在曠野流浪四十年, 同樣地, 他給我們這群敬拜上帝不夠努力的臺灣人, 在曠野迷茫了三年, 謝牧師走後, 在王牧師來到我們中間之前, 我們教會三年沒牧師, 我常在想, 那三年我們到底怎麼過的? 後來, 我瞭解, 在那時, 上帝並沒離開我們, 他之所以決定躲在烏雲之上, 幽暗之處, 一定有他的旨意. 況且, 上帝的住處我們是看不到的, 看不到使人以為上帝在黑雲之中, 其實, 到底是誰在黑雲之中? 就如當有人問 Elie Wiesel (納粹餘生的諾貝爾文學獎得主)說: “當蓋世太保將你吊在樹上, 當晚就要槍斃你, 在那時, 你有沒有想到上帝在哪兒?”, 他回答說:”有, 祂就在我身邊.”

一切真都是上帝的意思, 王牧師來後, 就像帶來了光照亮我們, 他的領導, 他的親和力, 他精采的講道, 他的查經班, 金齡大學, 和Kerrisdale 長老教會的夥伴關係, 創造子會, 愛加倍基金等等所帶來的, 可說是比歷代志中所說的 “建造殿宇, 作你的居所, 為你永遠的住處” 還要溫韾, 還要有現實作用, 因為, 他建造的不是殿宇, 而是會眾心中共同的一個敬拜神的教會, 他起造的不是居所, 而是一個移民在外的一個歸屬感, 他為我們建立的, 是個永遠心靈可寄托的上帝住處. 君不見, 我們不只是父母輩的, 就是青少年也趨之若鶩, 充分享受新裝璜的交誼廳.

我第二個感觸, 是在歷代志下 8:16:

"所羅門建造耶和華的殿, 從立根基直到成功的日子, 工料俱備。這樣, 耶和華的殿全然完畢。"

這幾年來, 王牧師替我們打好很好的基礎, 可說是"立根基", "工料俱備" 也差不多了, 但是我們的聖殿還未"全然完畢", 還得繼續努力, 願以此共勉. 願我們不可忘記, 所羅門王所蓋的聖殿中最重要的是什麼 ? 是他錫安城搬來的耶和華的約櫃,約櫃裡是什麼?惟有兩塊石版,就是以色列人出埃及後,耶和華與他們立約的時候,摩西在何烈山所放的,除此以,並無別物。反顧一下,我們有沒有真正和耶和華立約, 有沒有遵守這約?聖經的教誨, 確是帶來我這個旁聽的留級生某些約束, 是美好的約束, 其實我也是個"資深"的目擊者, 從在溫東的St. Columba經downtown 的Central 教會到四十一街教會, 也算是一隻歷盡滄桑的老鳥了. 我若把王牧師當做所羅門王, (雖然都是”王”), 那就未免太肉麻了, 但是王牧師幾年來的苦心, 也就是要我們在生活上一切都得回到聖經的教導, 每一個人心中都建造一座聖殿, 與耶和華立約, 作神的器具.

就像傳道書第三篇所說, 萬事都有一定的時刻, 王牧師的離開, 我們暗自傷心, 但是我們也為他能在台灣追求他的理想, 為那還在曠野無助的原住民打拚而歡呼, 套句吳承恩的智慧, 當孫悟空打個筋斗雲翻身踩在雲朵上時, 他說了一句很有哲理的話: "行動自有三分財氣", (當然老孫的意思不一定和財有關係, 只是在強調積極行動必有收穫), 相信, 王牧師這一行動, 必定帶來充分的福氣, 相信, 上帝永遠在他的身邊,幫他帶來上帝的榮"光"照耀在貧困的原住民身上, 照耀著我們的母親台灣.

2008-06-21

Tonight we bid farewell to Rev. Wang at the Burnaby Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. It was a very emotional occasion, for we will all miss him so much. In his farewell speech, Rev. Don Hill said something like this: Today happens to be the second longest day of this year as yesterday we saw the summer solstice. This means today we have the second most amount of light for the day in 2008. And this reminds us of how much "light" Rev. Wang has brought to us in the last 14 years.

This also puts me in a reminiscent mood, of our church 14 years ago, and what a world of difference Rev. Wang made since he came to us. I don't know how the members of the congregation – both VTPC and BTPC felt, but personally, it was a difference like night and day – or I should say, to continue Don's thought, darkness and light. I thought it's fitting to use the word Light, which is so important in every way. Our Bible starts with the words of God: Let there be light; and there was light. And the Age of Enlightenment was such an important cultural and philosophical event in history. For 14 years, Rev. Wang certainly enlightened us with his great compassion and vision for our church, not to mention his oratorical skills and a great personality. As I sat there listening, somehow out of nowhere King Solomon's prayers lingered in my mind. As usual, I have my funny way of interpreting the written words and I was afraid if it was appropriate to write about them so I tried to refrain myself. But I found it would be a great loss if the Taiwanese-speaking audience did not hear the crust of a message so cleverly delivered and the way in which Don kept drawing us back to the word "light" during his short speech, hammering home a very nice message. So here I am.

At first, what came to me was King Solomon's prayer after he built the Temple. He prayed:

“Lord, you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness.

Now I have built a majestic temple for you,

a place for you to live in for ever.” (2 Chronicles 6:1-2)

Where should the Lord be is His choice. I think it must be part of His grand design. No one can change Him. In Exodus we learned that, on the way out of bondage from Egypt, God made the ever-complaining and unappreciative Jews wander in the wilderness for 40 years. God chose to do that. Similarly, God left the Taiwanese Presbyterians in the wilderness for 3 years in Vancouver. Between the departure of Rev. Hsieh and the arrival of Rev. Wang, we were left without a minister for 3 full years. I used to wonder often: how did we live those three years ? Maybe during that time God made a choice to "live in clouds and darkness" for three years. And by doing that, He must have a lesson in this for us. Besides, we mortals certainly could not see where God lives; and that made us think he lives in the darkness. I wonder who lives in the darkness in this case. So I thought I learned that God has never left us. He was with us all along. Just as someone asked the Nazi death camp survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel: " Have you ever thought abut where God was when the Gestapo was putting you into the gas chamber ?" His answer was: "Yes, He was with me there at Auschwitz".

Everything is indeed God's will. Since Rev. Wang came to us, his leadership, his passion and his powerful sermons brought to our congregation something more than " build a majestic temple" . What he built for us is larger than a temple. It's a place drawing together the God-searching Taiwanese to worship Him in harmony. What he built is more than a place of worship. It's a sense of spiritual belonging for the lonesome immigrants from Taiwan. It's not just for the adult members. Even the youth and younger ones are flocking to and enjoying the Church Hall which Rev. Wang pushed so hard on its renovation to make it a centre of our activities.

My second reflection came from 2 Chronicles 8:16:

By this time all Solomon's projects had been completed. From the laying of the foundation of the Lord's Temple to its completion, all the work had been successful.

In the last 14 years, Rev. Wang has certainly completed " the laying of the foundation" of not only VTPC but also its offshoot BTPC. We realize that all the work has not been and may never be completed. We must work hard to continue the work. Let us not forget what's the most important thing inside Solomon's Temple. It was the Lord's Covenant Box that he moved from Zion, David's city. Let us not forget that, inside the Covenant Box was nothing but the two tablets which Moses had placed there at Mt. Sinai. We must ask ourselves if we made our covenants with Him and if we obey them.

The Bible teachings undoubtedly change our lives, including mine, although there is so much more precious teachings of the Bible that I do not understand. I have been through the up's and down's of our church from the old days at St. Columba in Vancouver East, through the Central Church downtown and then to our current location in Kerrisdale. It would be stretching too far if I left an impression that I was comparing Rev. Wang to King Solomon (although Wang means King in Chinese !), but we all know for so many years Rev. Wang's hard work has only one aim in mind: to lead our lives to the Bible in faith and in deed, and to offer ourselves to be God's tool.

We are saddened by Rev. Wang's departure. But, just as Ecclesiastes 3 says "there is a time to every purpose under the heaven". We are happy for his next pursuit: to help the less fortunate aboriginal people of Taiwan. To quote a famous Chinese novel/fantasy fairy tale "The Journey to West" in which the magic monkey can somersault to the sky. When he was up there standing on a cloud he said something philosophical: (Too bad the original literary flavour is lost in translation.) "Don't stand still, if you move on, you always bring some result". We believe the move Rev. Wang is making will for sure bring great results. May God be always with him, helping him bring the light of hope to the needy aboriginals, and to Taiwan.

June 21, 2008

6月30日	撒母耳上第1章
7月1日	撒母耳上第2章
7月2日	撒母耳上第3章
7月3日	撒母耳上第4章
7月4日	撒母耳上第5章
7月5日	撒母耳上第6章
7月6日	撒母耳上第7章