Houston Chinese Church - English

Abraham's story concludes with an account of his death – one that is conspicuously bookended by two genealogies listing out his children of the flesh. But the focus is squarely on Abraham's child of promise and his descendants. The juxtaposition of these two lineages challenges the reader to ask, “To which lineage do I belong? With the people of the flesh or the people of the promise?”

We fear doing God’s work because we don’t have the assurance of success. We hesitate to participate on a short-term mission trip because we fear not raising enough support. We prefer to remain in an unhealthy relationship because we fear that we might not find another one. We refrain from serving because we fear the time commitment. If we only had the assurance of sufficient support, another signi...

Death isn’t necessarily the topic of choice for most of our day-to-day conversations. But it’s a reality that stares us in the face, whether we like it or not. How should we face the reality of death, either for ourselves or for our loved ones down the line, when it’s just such an uncomfortable topic to begin with?

Abraham’s story has been marked by sacrifice. He has been asked to leave behind family and land. But at least those sacrifices were accompanied by promises of blessing – of a new family and a new land. But in today's text, Abraham is asked to make a sacrifice with nothing to gain. He is asked to kill – not just his son – but what he perceived to be the very source of his hope. Don't be surprised i...

Christian life is a journey filled with highs and lows. Our goal is to grow in our faith so that we represent God well. The key to growth is how we respond to trials. Abraham just had a humiliating experience with Abimelech. But he learned from his mistakes and embraced God, who demonstrated His grace and power.

Since Genesis 12, Abraham has had his share of stumbles and shameful moments, but on the whole, he has matured into a man of faith and a prophetic leader. And yet on the cusp of receiving his promised son – and his greatest demonstration of faith in giving that son back to God – Abraham reverts back to an old sin pattern. This episode in his life may be embarrassing, but it offers hope for believe...

People refuse to believe in the gospel for different reasons. The idea of needing a savior for their sins repulses them. Some refuse to acknowledge their sinfulness. Others refuse to believe in the gospel because of the hypocrisy they see in the church. What should we do when we encounter such people?

God already appeared to Abraham on a number of occasions, promising a son. In Genesis 18, he appears again with the same promise, but this time it is directed more at Sarah – with the goal of growing her faith, turning her cynical laugh into a cheerful one. Her encounter with God Almighty speaks to all who question if his promises are too incredible to be true.

In Genesis 15, God established a covenant with Abram, guaranteeing great promises of land and offspring. But by Genesis 17, thirteen years have passed and circumstances have yet to change. So to reassure Abram, God reaffirms his covenant, sealing it with the sign of circumcision. And to this day, God continues to use covenant signs to remind us of his covenantal love and commitment.

We may find ourselves thinking sometimes: Does God see me? Does he know that I’m in a bind? Does he know my needs? Will he ever provide for me a job I enjoy? Will he ever help me to overcome this chronic illness? Will he ever cure me of this feeling of loneliness? We feel that God averts his gaze from lives. What should we do when we feel that God has turned his eyes from our lives?

Today’s text is a needed reminder that a relationship with God is ultimately based – not on a bilateral contract with mutual obligations – but on a unilateral covenant where God carries the load. Where he willingly bears the covenantal obligations and curses for us.

These days, people tend to trust only what can be proven or verified or what makes sense in their minds. So if you can’t see, touch, taste, feel, or hear something, there’s no reason to consider it worthy of your belief. But Christians have this thing called faith. And in a world where seeing is believing, what does it look like to trust in a God we can’t see, who says he can do more than we can i...

How do we make wise decisions when unexpected challenges pop up? We need to demonstrate courageous faith in the midst of uncertainty. When God gives us the victory, we might be faced with another challenge. How do we handle success? We are vulnerable when we face success as we are tempted to compromise. Again, we need to demonstrate courageous faith. Come, let us learn from Abram, the Father of Fa...

As we follow along in Abram’s story, we come to two seemingly unrelated stories. In the first story, Abram lies about Sarai being just his sister. In the second story, Abram and Lot get in a scuffle and part ways. We’ll actually see many things that make these two stories parallel with each other and that both stories point us to one God and His promises that we can fully trust in.

When God calls Abram, he promises blessings for faithful obedience. But we struggle to obey because we wonder: “Why obey God when obedience doesn’t pay off?” I obey my parents, but it doesn’t feel good. I share the gospel, but I experience ridicule. I love my spouse, but they don’t appreciate my efforts. In this morning’s text, we’ll learn the reason for obedience even when we can’t seem to see th...

Biblical genealogies are rarely considered riveting passages to preach. But as divinely-inspired texts, they relate to the larger story of redemption being told in Scripture. This genealogy in Genesis 11 serves as a bridge that connects the depressing story of Babel with the hopeful story of Abraham and his kin.

The idea of a man rising from the dead sounds like the stuff of fantasies (or horror stories!). But this idea lies at the core of the Christian faith. Is the Resurrection make-believe or does it make sense? And does it answer our deepest hopes and longings? Disciples of Jesus have been wrestling with these questions from the start.

The discord that divides a Christian community can often be traced back to a clash of consciences. In Corinth, that clash concerned the eating of meat offered to idols. Some saw it as a matter of Christian freedom to enjoy; others saw it as a sinful act of idolatry. The preservation of unity – in their day as much as in ours – calls for Christians to tend to their own consciences while being sensi...

There is a form of secular singleness, statistically on the rise these days, that stands in stark contrast to the scriptural singleness advocated by Paul. His view of singleness is dictated by a bigger and more selfless vision of life and ministry.

These days, it’s easy to get into our heads that change will solve all our problems. Those finishing off high school just can’t wait to get into college. Those who are single just can’t wait to get married. Those unhappy with their jobs just can’t wait to finally move on. Change would make life so much better...   ...or would it?  

A mark of a healthy marriage is a healthy marriage bed. Yet, sadly, sex is a common source of marital strife. And it doesn’t help that our culture is confused when it comes to sex. People are either prudes or pagans in their attitude. Either degrading sex or deifying it. Thankfully, Christianity offers a unique perspective from the context of marriage.

A holy church should model a biblical vision of sexual ethics. But sexual immorality continues to exist within the church. Pre-marital sex. Pornography use. Adultery. Sexual Abuse. Why? This morning, we’ll discover what causes members within a church to engage in sexual immorality. But we’ll also think about what needs to change in our thinking if a church wishes to avoid sexual sin.

In our litigious culture, many Christians don’t think twice about turning to secular courts to sue each other for damages. That is to our shame. Believers should be turning to their churches to resolve their personal disputes. After all, we have a resource that goes beyond the reach of any civil court to address the matters of the heart at the root of our conflicts.

The Apostle Paul draws attention to a shocking sin that, like a contagious sickness, has infected the body of Christ in Corinth. But to make matters worse, there has been a systemic failure in the body’s immune system. Their refusal to confront the sin and remove the sinner from their fellowship has exposed the unhealthy state of the church. The antidote would be to turn to Scripture and apply cor...

Paul wraps up his exhortation to the church in Corinth to be a unified church here in chapter 4. Behind the division from following different leaders was the desire to distinguish themselves from others and rise higher than others. They had inflated views of themselves. Puffed up in arrogance. So how do they go back to being a unified church? Through humility. So how do we pursue humility?