Prayer： Missionary Michio
Praise：
Congregation together
Bible Reading：The Gospel of John５：１０−１８ Missionary Michio
Message：「Sabbath Q&A」 Pastor Megumi
Prayer： Missionary Michio
Special Praise：with Ocarina "I have heard the voice of Jesus"
Missionary Michio
The Lord promised eternal life for me who respond to His voice and follow. The Lord looked for me to save me from dying through His death on the Cross. He encourages me bearing my burdens. I only follow the Lord who blesses me.
Prayer of Thanksgiving： Missionary Michio
Postlude：
Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of God’s redeeming love.
Bible Study series No.9 from the Gospel of John: " Sabath Q & A"
In the previous message, I ended on the Sabbath, the day on which Jesus healed the man with the limp. I explained this last week, but I would like to go over what the Sabbath is.
The Sabbath is the time from sunset on Friday to Saturday. In the Old Testament, God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day, God rested, which is the origin of the Sabbath.
This custom has existed throughout the Middle East since ancient times, but it was primitive Judaism during the Babylonian Captivity in the 6th century BC that began to observe it as a holy day to be kept. After the captivity, it became a day to gather in the synagogue and worship God. This is the holiest day to remember God's creation of the heavens and the earth, the salvation of Jewish history, and the fact that the Jews are God's people.
There is a range of "no labor" rules on the Sabbath, but they vary considerably among religions.
In the Jewish religion, the rules were strict. Since no work was to be done, including housework, this kind of healing by Jesus was against the teachings of the Jews, and resulted in deep anger from them.
Note: Religions that observe the Sabbath are Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, but the rules’ contents are quite different.
When the Jewish people knew that the man had been healed, they began to criticize him, saying, "Today is the Sabbath. It is not allowed."
And when they found out that it was Jesus Christ who had healed the man, they accused Jesus in verse 16, saying, "You have done this on the Sabbath."
So how did Jesus respond? Verse 17: "My Father works to this very day. I also work."
With these words, the Jews were furious and considered it a blasphemous statement. It was unquestionably true because God Himself had observed the Sabbath, as stated in the Old Testament as the fourth of the Ten Commandments of Moses. What made the statement even more problematic was the fact that Jesus declared himself to be God's son and equal to God.
They were sure that this was worthy of extreme punishment.
Jesus was a Jew, so He knew how important the Sabbath is.
Jesus was also well-acquainted with the Old Testament and showed them the true meaning of the Sabbath. The law is a commandment given by God to man.
The Sabbath is a day to give thanks to the Creator and worship Him by not daring to work. The original meaning of the Sabbath was that both people and livestock would benefit from it by being able to rest. Jesus healed the man because it was in accordance with the law to do good on the Sabbath. However, the Jewish scribes insisted on a literal interpretation and said and did things without love.
You may think that this topic is about a special religious code and has nothing to do with us today, but that isn't necessarily the case.
I would like to give you an example of what we are doing in the medical field.
[A diabetic diet should consist of carbohydrates (40-60% of total calories) and needs more fiber-rich foods and no more than 20% of protein and 25% of fat.]
2. In our clinic, we never apply sterilizing liquid nor cream when we treat burns and bedsores. We use "moisture therapy" that is painless and makes recovery faster, but the dermatological and plastic surgery societies still do not approve. They still sterilize the burned skin and apply gauze. When they remove the gauze, patients(particularly children)
3, In the treatment of dementia, there are many cases of misdiagnosis and wrong prescriptions, and there is often a lack of mutual understanding and cooperation among doctors, so we are enlightening the general public to protect themselves. But in the case of the doctors who believe they are doing right, it is very difficult for patients and families to raise their voices to discuss dementia with their doctors as equal partners.
4. In palliative medicine, our country, Japan, has set up an almost perfect system. We have many types of opioids that we can be proud of in the world, but in reality, the amount of morphine and other opioids that are needed to alleviate pain are being used in only about 15% of the estimated cases for all patients in pain.
This means that there are still many patients who cannot even receive such pain relief medicine. Moreover, many medical professionals believe that narcotics are only for cancer patients, and for non-cancer pain (such as pain from wounds after surgery), people are suffering without prescriptions for pain relief opioids. Also, many laypeople have biased views on morphine, that it is dangerous and can cause abuse. If their doctors recommend morphine, they feel they are sentenced to die soon and refuse to use it.
Even with the ever-evolving nature of medicine and science, isn't it a stumbling block for potential development if we cling to tradition and refuse to accept something new and better for patients simply because it is different from what we have believed and learned? Is it because we don't have experience with it, or because we don't have enough evidence? What do you think about this?
The Jewish people considered Jesus Christ a dangerous person who violated the law of the Sabbath, and they planned to erase him in earnest and drive him to the cross.
Let us partake of the Lord's sacrament.
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