Sermon

Only when Jonah was thrown into the deep did he truly learn to cry out to God. Reading Jonah alongside Micah, Gia Yu leads us into our own “it’s not fair” — jealousy, self-centredness, self-righteousness — and shares nearly drowning off Kenting. Storm and fish-belly: the space God prepares to turn us around.

Fear narrows what we see. When ten spies could only see the giants, Joshua and Caleb still saw God’s promise. Pastor Hong draws on psychology and personal experience to lead us back to the grace already given — reminding us that even in the wilderness, love is already ahead of us.

Angels have no wings — they might be a classmate who leaves groceries at your door, or a stranger met at a snowy bus stop. Drawing from Hebrews 13, Dr. Sonia Wong reminds us that any ordinary person can be a messenger sent by God.

What does it mean when a community burns but is not consumed? Pastor Vicky Shiu draws from Matthew 10’s three fears to explore three divine reassurances — and from Romania’s Burning Bush Movement to call BMCC a chosen family: a place where, in the hardest times, we keep watch together, because the Lord is in our midst.

It takes more courage to ask for help than to simply endure. The Canaanite woman refused to be silenced — and received grace as her authentic self. Her story is ours: we do not need to be “good enough” before we come to God. Our truest self is the self God welcomes.

JY unpacks what “little faith” really means: not the size of your belief, but the direction of your heart. When Peter stepped onto the water, his faith was real — until the waves stole his gaze. Faith is not a guarantee of outcomes, but the practice of reorienting toward God, again and again.

“Your testimony is allowed to be unfinished.” During an online service amid a typhoon warning, Pastor Hong explored BMCC’s three-part gospel: creation, liberation, and building up. The most powerful witness is the story still in process — still struggling, still finding its way toward light.

Where do weeds take root? Pastor Timothy brings the parable of wheat and weeds into conversation with Chan wisdom and Thomas Merton’s contemplative insight — reminding us that both the world and our own hearts are fields where wheat and weeds grow together. We are sinners saved by grace, learning to live humbly alongside one another.

We often judge people’s soil — but Dr. Dino Wong asks what made it that way. Through the Parable of the Sower, he invites the church to be humble assistants, sowing with unconditional love and patience, trusting God to bring growth in God’s own time.

What is a home? Through Nehemiah’s return to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, Frankie leads us to reflect on home, belonging and our shared part in it — no wall is built by one person. On BMCC’s 34th anniversary, may you too find here the fire that will not go out.