“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Dear church family and friends, Helen’s dad entered the church triumphant on Tuesday evening.

Helen is already in Los Angeles with her family. There is currently a backlog of around three weeks at the funeral homes in Los Angeles. Once we can find a date to celebrate the life of Sun Young Park, kids and I will be joining Helen in Los Angeles.

Helen’s dad is currently in the presence of Jesus. He is no longer struggling with Covid. He is no longer struggling to breathe. Helen’s dad is more fully alive at this moment than we have ever known or experienced.

Helen’s dad loved Jesus and we know Jesus loves him. He had no doubts about what would happen to him should Jesus call him home.

Because of Jesus, because of the life God offers in Jesus Christ, this is not the end of the story for Helen’s dad. We know we will be together again.

We thank God for the promise of the resurrection. We thank God that death does not get the last word. We are sad and will miss Helen’s dad’s presence but we have a peace that surpasses human understanding.

Thank you for your prayers and your care.

God is good.

What does it mean to end the prayer with, “Amen?”

Amen is a Hebrew word that literally means “So be it!”, “I agree”, “I affirm it”, “May it be so”.

Dr. Bill Carl tells us, “In Deuteronomy 27 Moses says that the Levites are to inform all the people they shall be cursed for making a graven image, dishonoring mother or father, moving their neighbors’ stones, leading the blind astray, withholding justice from the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. After each of the admonitions, Moses declares, ‘And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'”

Saying “Amen” is like saying “I do” at the end of marriage vows. When a couple declares “I do” at the altar, they are asserting that not only at that current moment but for the rest of their lives they will honor one another. As anyone who has ever been married knows saying, “I do,” is easy. Living out our marriage vows takes everything we’ve got!!!

When we end the prayer Jesus taught his disciples with “Amen,” it means we give ourselves not only at that moment, but for the rest of our lives to everything that Jesus taught in the prayer.

• Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name – Amen!
• Thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven – Amen!
• Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors – Amen!
• Give us this day our daily bread – Amen!
• Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil – Amen!
• For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever – Amen!

When we declare “Amen,” it means we commit ourselves to living out the reality Jesus describes in this prayer to our last dying breath.

What a powerful prayer!!!

“Thine is the glory.”

Is this a statement of fact? Or is this a statement of attribution?

What I mean is, is “Thine is the glory” a descriptive statement – one that describes who God is? Or is this a statement of attribution – a statement of faith?

You see, when you take the CEO of a multi-national corporation and strip him of his/her fancy suits and designer clothes and put them in regular clothes, when you strip them of their fancy titles and their office and leave them on a busy street corner in any downtown, there is no way anyone would notice anything different about them. That’s because what makes someone glorious is their power, fancy suits and clothes, and their titles. Without them, there is no inherent glory in and of themselves.

Not so with God.

Where as a person is deemed glorious by their attributes, there is no glory apart from God. God, in his very being is glory. In fact, we can say, there would be no glory apart from God. Glory exists because God is glorious. You don’t make the sky blue, it is blue. You can’t make water wet, it is wet. You can’t make the sun light, it is light. In the same way the glory is who God is.

“Thine is the glory,” is a shout of victory. Because Christ has already won the victory over sin and death, we share in Christ’s victory. It is the church’s triumphant shout that death does not get the last word, that our past sins no longer define us, that those who have been saved by the blood of Christ share in his glory.

“Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory!”

Amen!