2026年4月5日　イースター礼拝 Unfinished Community教会 ヴァンアントワぺン　亜希子先生 イースターは喜びの時です。新しさを受け入れ、新しいいのちがもたらされることを祝う日です。
復活。 しかし実のところ、私たちの多くは「復活」とは何かを本当の意味ではよく分かっていません。私たちはそれを「再生」と同じものだと思ってしまいがちです。まるで擦り切れた靴を修理したり、古いソファを張り替えたりするように、古いものを修復し、壊れた部分を繕い、以前よりも良くなった姿として再び世に送り出す――それが再生です。 しかし復活は、壊れたものの修復を意味するのではありません。死んだものが、まったく新しいいのちへとよみがえることです。どれほど繕いや修復を重ねても決して成し得なかったかたちで、その本来の目的を果たすことを可能にするものです。 復活とは、まったく新しい創造です。不完全であったものが、完全なかたちへと変えられるのです。 イエス様が十字架にかかられ、よみがえられたことによって開かれた、この「死からいのちへ」の道は、ときに「地獄」のような苦

This is the English-translated outline of the homily preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi on Easter Sunday, April 5th, 2026, to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community, drawing from Matthew 28:1-10 Last week, we read together in the evening the account of Jesus’ journey to the cross in Matthew chapters 26–27. As we were reading that story, I was very curious to know to what extent you were able to sense the feelings and thoughts of the characters invo

This is the English-language homily delivered by Rev. Don Van Antwerpen to the congregations of Unfinished Community and Ashiya Christian Church on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, drawing from Jeremiah 31:1-6 Easter is a time of celebration; a day when we embrace renewal, and the bringing of new life.   Resurrection.   But…the thing is, a lot of us don’t really know what resurrection is, exactly. We THINK it’s the same as regeneration, the taking of something old and bringing i

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026, drawing from Matthew 26:14 - 27:66. Today, we will read together from Matthew chapters 26 and 27, the account of Jesus’ journey toward His death on the cross. This reading will take a little time, but before we begin I would like to briefly share some thoughts and insights I hope you might

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the people of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, March 22, 2026, drawing from John 11:1-45 In the Gospels, among all the many people associated with Jesus, none seem to convey as much of a sense of closeness to Christ quite like Lazarus’s family. Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, appear in the Gospel of Luke immediately following the parable of the Good Sam

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, March 15, 2026, drawing from John 9:1-4 There are many things that lead us to believe the world is unfair. Some are born into wealthy families, while others are not. It’s simply the environment into which they were born; the person themselves bears no responsibility for it, right? Yet their lives still turn ou

This is the English-translated outline of the Sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, March 8, 2026, drawing from John 4:5-42 The Gospel of John differs significantly from the other three Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—in how it approaches the story of Jesus. When events surrounding Jesus occur, John explores their meaning in many different ways, writing in a way that helps us better understan

This is the sermon preached by Rev. Don Van Antwerpen to the congregations of Unfinished Community and Ashiya Christian Church on Sunday, March 1, 2026, drawing from John 3:1-17 To be honest, today feels like a good day. The sun is shining, the scaffolding has been removed from the new church building, and despite the many difficulties, struggles, and outright existential horrors of life right now, it feels like…well, a good day.   But while I can’t speak for everyone, there

Unifinished Community教会, 2026年3月1日 ヴァンアントワペン　ドナルド牧師 ヨハネによる福音書3:1-17 太陽が輝き、新礼拝堂の足場も撤去された今日は良い日だと思います。  しかし、皆さんの気持ちはわかりませんが、私にとってはこうした良い時、太陽の下にいる瞬間が、なぜかより辛く感じられる時があります。良い日が存在し得るという気づきが、悪い日を何だかより理解しがたいものに感じさせるからです。こんな良い日があるなら、永遠の愛に満ちる神様の名において、なぜ悪い日が必要なのでしょう？なぜ毎日が良い日ではないのでしょう？毎日暖かく晴れる代わりに、なぜ雨は降るのでしょう？雨の日には何の意味があるのでしょう？   礼拝堂にいる今この瞬間、窓の外に広がる新礼拝堂の景色を眺めながら、私の心は古いアメリカのテレビドラマ『ザ・ウエスト・ウィング』のエピソード、特に「二つの大聖堂」という回のある場面を思い起こします。 そのシーンは全てが完璧に調和して、人間的でありながら、霊的なものさえ表現していて、見た者の心と魂に焼き付くようなシーンだと私

This is the English-translated outline of the Sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, February 22, 2026, drawing from Matthew 4:1-11. Last week marked the beginning of Lent according to the church calendar. This forty-day period leading up to Easter on April 5th is a season for deeply reflecting on Jesus' journey to the cross, His suffering, and death. In musical terms, the word “Lent” indicate

This is the English-translated outline of the Sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, February 15, 2026, drawing from Matthew 17:1-9 Today is, in the traditional church calendar, Transfiguration Sunday, and the passage from the Gospel of Matthew has been chosen to reflect on this event. This event marks the midpoint of Jesus' ministry. Immediately preceding it, in Matthew 16, Jesus begins to sp

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, February 8, 2026, drawing from Matthew 5:13-20 Those who have long been familiar with the Gospels and the words of Jesus will surely know the phrase “the salt of the earth, the light of the world.” Salt, even in small amounts, is necessary to prevent decay and helps to preserve things for a long time. Likewise

This is the sermon preached by Rev. Don Van Antwerpen to the congregations of Unfinished Community and Ashiya Christian Church on Sunday, February 1st, 2026, drawing from Micah 6:1-8 and Matthew 5:1-12. One of the greatest challenges I have faced in my ministerial career, as some of you may (or may not) be surprised to hear, has been the intensity I naturally bring to the pulpit when I rise to preach. I tend to think of myself as a fairly reserved person truth be told, but de

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, January 25, 2025, drawing from Matthew 4:12-23 We often summarize things by saying, “In a nutshell...” a phrase which highlights the central point of what we're trying to communicate, the one core thing we really want people to grasp. But if we were to try and summarize Jesus' teaching in a single phrase, prec

This is the English-Translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, January 18, 2025, drawing from John 1:29-42 My seminary professor, Dr. Susumu Kinosaki, would always come to the pulpit with a sermon related to the Chinese zodiac sign for the new year. Today's lesson, unfortunately, is not about the horse but the “lamb” instead. Incidentally, horses are not highly valued in

This is the English-translated outline of the Sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church on Sunday, December 21, 2025, drawing from Matthew 1:18-25 Every Christmas, this passage from the Gospel of Matthew is always read, but this account of the foretelling of Jesus' birth is not something we easily grasp, at least at first glance. The relationship between Mary and her betrothed husband Joseph seems to have been a source of deep dist

This is the English-translated outline of the Sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, December 14, 2025, drawing from Matthew 11:2-11 “Are You the One Who Is to Come?” Throughout their long history, the Jews had eagerly awaited the arrival of their Savior, the Messiah. When they first encountered Jesus, they sought to confirm whether He was that Messiah, wondering if instead they should “wait

This is the sermon delivered by Rev. Don Van Antwerpen on Sunday, December 7, 2025, to the congregations of Unfinished Community and Ashiya Christian Church, drawing from Matthew 3:1-12. John the Baptist is an…interesting character in the Gospel story. We tend to think of him as “one of the good guys,”  in that binary “good vs. bad” way many of us tend to read the Bible at least. And not only that, he’s one of the original members of “team Jesus,” in that he was declaring the

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi on Sunday, November 30, 2025, drawing from Matthew 24:36-44 This Sunday, today, marks the start of the Advent season; the four-week period in which we prepare ourselves for Christmas. ( Our church will be holding a Christmas worship service (in Japanese) on December 21st, and Unfinished Community will be holding Christmas Eve services in English as well; so please make plans to attend!) When

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi on Sunday, November 23, 2023, drawing from Luke 23:33-43. Today marks the last Sunday of the church calendar year, and as we discuss every year our church calendar begins again with the Advent season; the four weeks in which we prepare for Christmas. Next week however, our church will be holding a Memorial Service for the Departed, commemorating our church's faith pioneers, followed by a bur