Kai Chen

Isaiah 6 gives us one of the clearest pictures of what it means to encounter God. Isaiah comes face-to-face with the presence and holiness of God. And that encounter led him to recognize his own brokenness, receive the mercy of God, and ultimately be transformed by God.

Moses’ story of his calling reveals that deep faith often emerges from moments of “holy interruptions”, and we’re invited to lean in to the interruptions with curiosity and wonder.

As we come to Christ, we (the church) are like living stones being built in various ways into a spiritual house, with Christ as the cornerstone. Peter invites all to reflect on our identities in the eyes of God, and to respond with praise and witness.

Worship is in our nature, and idolatry was especially rampant in Ephesus. But Jesus frees us from the life-draining worship of idols, and into the life-giving presence of God.

Traditionally, it was assumed that the good news of Jesus was reserved exclusively for the religious. But God gives vision to both a religious man and non-religious man to correct the cultural understanding of who this good news was for.

The parable coveys the message that righteousness is unobtainable through our own efforts, and only obtainable through the finished work of Christ on the cross. “We are right not because we have done right, but because we have been made right.”