The Legacy of the Pals Family

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by Mission Network News

Category: Latest News

Published: 05 August 2016

Pals family felt called to Japan before tragic accident; why?

Japan (MNN) — “How soon will some few years pass away, and then when the day is ended, and this life’s lease expired, what have men of the world’s glory, but dreams and thoughts? O happy soul forevermore, who can rightly compare this life with that long-lasting life to come, and can balance the weighty glory of the one with the light golden vanity of the other.” – Samuel Rutherford ... There are few things that unite a body of believers like the loss of a loved one. For the evangelical community in Japan, that came with the recent tragic deaths of Kathyrine and Jamison Pals and their three children. The family of five was killed in a highway accident in Colorado, mere dollars and weeks away from their move to Japan...

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Worst mass killing in Japan since World War II

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by Mission Network News

Category: Latest News

Published: 27 July 2016

Attacker stabs and kills 19 disabled people, nation shocked

Japan (MNN) — Nineteen people were stabbed to death, and 25 injured early Tuesday morning in Japan. Of those injured, 20 are severely wounded. 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu broke into Tsukui Yamayuri-en, a facility for disabled individuals, during the night armed with knives to kill the residents. The attack took place in Sagamiharaa, around 30 miles from Tokyo. Uematsu was a former employee of the facility. In the past, the attacker has reportedly said he believes disabled people should be allowed to be euthanized, with their guardian’s consent — something that is an ongoing discussion in the political realm today...

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The Marks of a Disciple: Part 4 - Abundant Fruitfulness

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by David Bennett

Category: Staff

Published: 21 July 2016

Later on that same evening of the Last Supper, Jesus gave one more statement on the evidence for true discipleship. He was comparing himself to a vine, with the disciples as the branches. His focus was the goal of fruit-bearing. Branches that bear fruit are pruned so that they will bear even more. Only those branches that remain in the vine are capable of bearing fruit. And God is glorified when much fruit is borne. But more than that, abundant fruitfulness is the mark of true discipleship. This is the fourth mark of a disciple [Read John 15:5,8]. A little further on, in verse 16, Jesus says, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” What is fruit? It is what the vine produces when it is healthy and mature. Fruit includes the character qualities of Jesus listed in Galatians 5, where the apostle Paul says...

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The Marks of a Disciple: Part 3 - Love for fellow disciples

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by David Bennett

Category: Staff

Published: 20 July 2016

Jesus' next statement about discipleship is found in John 13, on the night of the Last Supper [Read John 13:34,35]. The third mark of a disciple is love for fellow-disciples. The command to love is not new in itself— back in Leviticus 19:18, God said "Love your neighbor as yourself."  But the measure of that love is new. The standard is no longer the natural self-love that all of us are born with. The measure is the self-sacrificing love that led Jesus to wash the feet of the disciples. It is the love that led him to death on the cross for their redemption. Jesus was calling his disciples to display this love so consistently and openly with one another that even people outside the community of faith would recognize Jesus as the source...

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The Marks of a Disciple: Part 2 - Faithfulness to Jesus' Word

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by David Bennett

Category: Staff

Published: 14 July 2016

The second mark of the disciple is found in John 8. Here Jesus is talking to Jews who had believed in him. But their belief was very shallow. They were offended by the statement that Jesus existed before Abraham as the eternal God, the one who revealed himself to Moses in the great name "I Am." So Jesus raised the issue of true discipleship [Read 8:31,32]. The second mark of a disciple is faithfulness to God’s Word. Jesus knew that there were those who associated with him, yet who were not really...

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The Marks of a Disciple: Part 1 - Total Commitment

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by David Bennett

Category: Staff

Published: 13 July 2016

One of the most familiar verses in the Bible is Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19 to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” But what did Jesus mean by the word “disciple?” The Greek word translated “disciple” comes from the verb, which means “to learn.”  So the basic meaning is “learner.”  A disciple of Jesus is someone who has come to learn from him. The gospel writers sometimes use the word “disciple” in this broad sense to refer to the crowds who followed Jesus. But other times they are referring only to the Twelve whom Jesus chose to be with him constantly. In the Greek world, the word "disciple" was used...

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