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Preach the Word

2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”

I. 2016 Thanksgiving topics

The key verse of 2016 was 2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” At the beginning of the year, we started the Bible study with the sermon on the mountain in the gospel of Matthew. Through this passage, we developed the attitude of God’s children. We learned who the blessed people really were, why we should be perfect and how we can be wise builders. With this sermon, we can upgrade our Christian basics. From April to July, we studied First and Second Timothy. The apostle Paul taught us how we can be a workman approved by God, how to fight the good fight of the faith and why we should preach the word in season and out of season. Since July, we studied Ephesians. We realized that we are God’s handiwork to do good works and God predestined us for adoption. In addition, we learned how to grow to the fullness of Christ. The word encouraged us to have the desire to grow as mature believers. Throughout the year, around ten missionaries from the US and Canada had a biweekly online Bible study on Monday nights using Google Hangouts. Even though there were some technical difficulties, we maintained the spiritual discussions and studies. In spite of our busy schedules, we voluntarily met together and encouraged each other. We studied First and Second Corinthians and the gospel of Mark.

I helped several students in my school with my shepherd’s heart. Edward lost his parents early in his life and is often depressed because of his difficult situation. I encouraged him a lot during class and personally. Robert could not sleep at night because of his personal and family issues, so I encouraged him continually, and he finished his studies smoothly. I did my best to help my students with my shepherd’s heart, and they felt my compassionate heart and gave me very good course evaluations at the end of semester. During the summer vacation, John Kim Jr. from Vancouver, Canada, visited us, and we have close relationship with him. Because of the heavy burden of his studies, he needed some encouragement. We visited several famous places and encouraged each other a lot during his trip. 

God blessed my daughter Hannah. At the beginning of the year, she got a nurse practitioner job in Bronx, New York, but the work environment was poor and tight. After six months, God allowed her to get a good job in south New Jersey so that she could focus more on the Bible study. God helped me to publish two papers in peer–reviewed journals so that I could fully prepare for the next year’s tenure evaluation. God also protected my family from any kind of car accidents, even though we traveled a lot, and provided us with all necessary things without deficiency. Thanks to God, who protected us, provided for us and guided us step by step in 2016!

II. 2017 key verse and prayer topics 

My new year’s key verse is Psalms 119:147, which says, “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.” In 2016, more than anything else, I felt that I needed to love God’s word more and pray more in order to grow spiritually. If I love God’s word more than anything else and dedicate myself to praying early in the morning every day, then I can do anything with God’s help and glorify his name. In addition, I can devote my life freely and without any hesitation with God’s direction. May God help me to love His words and prayers wholeheartedly in this year! May God also help us to have one-on-one Bible studies with several students and to have Sunday worship services with several students on the campus!

Dr. Peter Cho