Hakata Letter 85. Why Our Church Has Only One Message (Sermon)

Hakata Letter 85. Why Our Church Has Only One Message (Sermon)

Our church has only one message at the Sunday Mokjang Joint Worship. Compared to other churches that have not only Sunday morning service but also Sunday afternoon service, Wednesday prayer meeting, and daily early morning prayer messages, our number of messages is far too few. I am also a preacher. Counting only Sunday services, I have delivered over 250 messages. When I was in Korea, I also delivered messages at Wednesday prayer meetings and early morning prayers, so the number is much higher. But one day, when I thought about how much the congregation who heard so many messages had grown spiritually, it seemed difficult to answer whether it had actually led to life changes. This was not so much a problem with pastors and congregation members as it was a structural problem with the church.

The first reason is that there are too many messages. When there are many messages, pastors lack time to prepare and quality declines, and congregation members have no clear Word to hold onto. The internet is full of messages by famous pastors, but they are good words that do not easily lead to changes in my life. What we need is one clear message to hold onto and live by for a week. So I think it is better to focus on one message and help the congregation understand and prepare for that Word more deeply through CU-IN.

The second reason is that our lives have a structure that is too difficult to live while remembering the Word. No matter how gracious the Word we receive on Sunday, we forget it as soon as the service ends, and we meet the next Sunday with almost no opportunity to remember that Word during the following week. Unless this structure is changed, growth is nothing but a slogan.

So our church has structured the Sunday Word to be continuously connected through "Sunday Worship - Family Mokjang - Wednesday Prayer - Mokjang Meeting" so that the Word stays in our lives. At Wednesday prayer meetings, we summarize and share the Sunday message again, and at Mokjang meetings, we share based on the Sunday Word. Why do we do this? Because the Word to live by for a week should be the Word we heard on Sunday.

CU-IN is right in this flow. The CU-IN text I share daily is the text for the next Sunday. It is meditating a little each day in preparation for the next Sunday. Because we have already meditated on and read that text with questions before hearing the Sunday message, the Sunday message is heard much more deeply. We will be reducing the devotional sharing messages we have been doing.

So what makes CU-IN different? CU-IN is a good tool for activating our frontal lobes by approaching the Word not passively but actively. The process of preparing for next Sunday's message by understanding the text in advance, gaining deeper insights through the Sunday message, and living the week with that Word is exactly what CU-IN is. This way, the Sunday message does not end as a one-time event but lives and breathes in our lives throughout the following week.

Some say, "Pastor, I don't have time to do CU-IN." But please think about how CU-IN is not just a tool for personal meditation but for communication with family.

Even in devout Christian families, communication among family members is still difficult. This is because family conversations can easily become interference or advice. However, Word sharing in family mokjang becomes grace-centered, enabling a receptive attitude rather than interference, and allowing natural transmission of faith.

I spend much time creating CU-IN daily so that children and parents, and people of different educational backgrounds, can share, be moved by, and pray over the Word together. If we prepare for next Sunday's Word together through CU-IN and then share that Word at mokjang after Sunday worship, the Word will take deep root in our lives. This does not make living with the Word easy. However, if we do it this way, we will certainly be able to stand before God in a much better state than those who live a thoughtless, formal Christian life.

I hope you will deeply hold onto the Word to live by for the week through Sunday's message, and continue communication with your family or mokjang members while doing CU-IN in preparation for the next Sunday. (January 18, 2026)

Pastor Kim Juyoung, walking together with you