Sermon Real Life - July 17, 2010

This week I preached about how the church should serve the community. In Matthew 20:26-27 Jesus set the standard of greatness in his Kingdom as those who lower themselves and serve. Christ came to list up those who are the least in the world, when we as kingdom people serve the community we come under people and lift them up through the love of Christ.

To listen to the sermon or download the notes, click here.

Japan Debrief 1

In this 6 min video I talk about the top three learning points I came away with in this trip to Japan. The value of teamwork, earning respect, and never underestimating the power of service. Keep a lookout for more information on what I learned while in Japan, and whether or not there will be another trip in the future. I thank you all for your support and making this service project a reality!

Understanding the Whole Sweep of Scripture

I found this video on Alter Video Magazine it is a video by NT Wright. He gives his suggestions to reading the bible and the importance of reading larger portions of scripture in order to understand the magnitude and unity of theme in the scriptures. My favorite line in this video is when Wright was asked how people should read scripture he said, "Frequently and Thoroughly."

Japan Update 11 - Tokyo

We have been visiting Tokyo today, and it was a blast. We are staying in a tiny room shown in the video below and we got to see a few cool sites. I wish we had the time to see more.

On the metro to our hotel

At our hotel/walk in closet

A garden we visited

The gate to the Emperors Palace 

Second gate to the Emperors Palace

The Emperors Palace in the Background

Rob pretending to guard the gate

Japan Update 10

A little clip about our crew in Ishinomaki. I must have been really tired because it looks like I have a lazy eye.

Japan Update 9

We are currently in the Tokyo Narita Airport, we just arrived from Sendai on an overnight bus. We will spend the day here today and leave tomorrow to fly back home. Here is a short video I shot from the Takiama guest house yesterday morning. It was hard to leave our team in Ishinomaki, we formed several close relationships despite the language barrier. The hardest part was leaving without saying goodbye to half of the team. Our bus left before they made it back, the picture below is of the part of the team that was there.

Japan Update 8

Hey everyone, today we went to a Japanese Church in Ishinomaki. It was a bunch of fun, every time I go to church in another country I am reminded how great our God really is that there are people worshipping Him on the opposite side of the world. We didn't understand a single word they said, but we were encouraged by the presence of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Today we also helped clean out a recycling yard. It has been a great day, we were on a team with other english speakers today, but we missed our usual team. We weren't able to go make snow cones today with our team, nonetheless it was fantastic.

Japan Update 7

Here is today's update. It was a good day, but it was hot and we are tired. We lost our translator Matsumi today which made communication much more difficult. Rob and I had grown close to her in the last few days and will miss her. Below are pictures, she is very short!

Japan Update 6, A Grandmothers Story

Our Crew in Ogatsu

A Bus on the 3rd story in Ogatsu, this bus was on CNN

We travelled to Ogatsu, about an hour and a half from Ishinomaki 2 days ago. This is one small part of the very large town. Most of the buildings in this town were completely destroyed or moved off their foundation and pulled back into the ocean. Many people had time to evacuate in this town, unlike Ishinomaki where 6,000 perished. There was a school here where 135 students were killed. Very sad to see.

Yesterday we shot a video of an elderly woman telling her story of the Tsunami coming in, she survived by escaping to the second story of her neighbors house. Many who tried the same thing perished.

Japan Update 4-5, 1st day working

Our first work project in Ishinomaki, this was half a days work. We signed up with a government work crew and are staying at a college in a small tent city.

On our way back to our camp from working on the house. Here are some views of the devastation we are seeing. Its far worse in person. 

Japan Update 3

In Tokyo waiting for the bus to Sendai.

Pre-Japan Video 2

In Seattle, waiting to board the plane to Tokyo

Pre-Japan Video Blog

Encouraged and Amazed

As my last post showed, God provided for this trip in the last hour. I have marveled in the way He made this happen. All the funds I need to make the trip are in place (or have been promised) and I thank all of you who have sacrificed so much to make it happen. It is hard for me to admit, but I remember thinking early on that raising $2,000 would be a fairly easy task. I am now coming to understand how arrogant that thought really was. The money raised for work I have done in the past and the money raised for this trip are a witness to the work God is doing in my life and in the world. I know if the money for this trip would have come easily I would have taken more credit than was due, and I would have taken for granted the work that is being prepared for us on the ground in Japan. Because I have seen God work so clearly in the fundraising of this trip, I am prepared to see God work great miracles on the ground Japan. I believe God brought the money to me this way in order to open my eyes to what I believe he will do next. I know God is preparing the people in Japan, as he has prepared me. I look forward to meeting the people we will serve and the people we will serve beside. I am praying that God will prepare their hearts as he has prepared mine.

In the meeting Rob and I had with Tom earlier in the week he informed us of the work he will be doing. It looks like we will partner with organizations mobilized on the ground in Ishinomaki (outside Sendai) to assist in the work to clear debris and provide relief. We will also visit one of the displaced cities where more than 40,000 people are waiting to restart their lives. We hope to bring encouragement and support to these people while we are there. Rob and I have our tickets and will leave Monday morning the 30th from Spokane, WA. We will be in Tokyo until June 9th, when we fly back home. Keep an eye out for updates on this blog, we will post video updates as we have internet.

One Love
Derek Murphy

P.S. I had the opportunity to preach again at Real Life last week. The sermon hits at the heart of Christianity, the Resurrection of Christ. In the sermon I take a look to see if it is reasonable to believe in Resurrection of Christ. Here is the link to the podcast.

Update on Japan

I wanted to share with you a really great story about our trip to Japan. First I wanted to share with you a letter I wrote Friday morning that I was planning to post on this blog Saturday. Here is the content.

Many of you may be wondering about my trip to Japan originally scheduled to leave on the 15th of this month. This trip was rescheduled for the 23rd, then the 31st of this month. As of today I have decided to cancel my part in the trip. Thank you to all those who generously supported me, but it seems God has closed this door and I am at peace with that decision. The main reason I am pulling out of the trip has to do with a lack of funding. I was unable to raise the needed funds. Although many gave generously I decided not to ask most of those who have generously given to me in the past because I had already placed enough burden on them in my year here on the Palouse, and my trip to Zimbabwe last spring. I will be sending my support money back to you, but I am encouraged that God is still sending a team to Japan from Real Life, including Tom Shook, and Rob Tarver. I will continue to keep them in prayer and hope you will as well as they serve the people of Japan and help to spread God's Kingdom.

On a related note, ever since my trip to Zimbabwe last March I have been planning a trip to go back to Zim during the summer of 2012 with Ephraim Tshuma and his family. I have had big plans in my head on this trip, plans that only God could make happen. Since I started planning for Japan, it seems like my plans for Zimbabwe have made substantial movement forward. During the summer of 2012 we were hoping to build a team to dig wells, assist the Zim nationals with medical missions, and partner with the local schools. In the last two months I have talked to 2 mechanical engineers who are interested in going to Texas to be trained in building a low cost well drilling device, I met a nurse and a doctor who have a passion for medical missions, and I have met 3 teachers who are interested in training Zimbabwean teachers.

The great news is I no longer have to post this statement. Friday night I received a text message from one of the student leaders in our youth group named Isaiah. He told Rob that he felt God calling him to support him financially, but Rob told him he had the money he needed for the trip and to start praying for me instead. Isaiah started praying for me and decided he felt God telling him to find support to help me get to Japan. Here is our text message exchange:

Isaiah
"Hey Derek, I just wanted to let you know that I've been praying for you and your trip to Japan. I know some people that are interested in covering your expenses. How soon do you need the money?"

Me
"Are you serious? We need to buy plane tickets early next week, and I still need a lot of money, I mean $1,250.00"

Isaiah
"I can get you $950.00 to you by Monday morning, hopefully more by the end of the week."

Me
"Are you serious, who are these people?"

Isaiah
"Just some friends who wanted to help. I'll keep you posted as more funds come in."

It is clear to me that God wants me to go on this trip to Japan, he made sure the support was there when I had given up all hope. It is a reminder to me, that when God wants something done, he will make it happen. I wanted to share with you this story of God's faithfulness, we are in the middle of a really cool God story! I look forward to what God will do while we are in Japan. Please keep us in prayer. I still need to raise about $300 dollars, if you are willing and able to give I would really appreciate your help pushing me over the edge. I will keep you posted as I know more about our plans.  

The Defense of the Person of Jesus

This last week I had another opportunity to preach at Real Life. Here is the podcast of the sermon.
Listen online

The sermon was in our evidences series on the defense of the person of Jesus Christ. We look at the whether or not Jesus existed and whether he claimed to be God, and if we can have faith in that claim as his followers.

Off to Japan

Pictures from April 2011

When the tsunami hit Japan in March, the devastation was extensive. Entire towns were wiped away. Earthquake aftershocks left the country with even more damage. Before the country can rebuild, they must clear away what was destroyed. I have the opportunity to travel to the town of Sendai and help with the relief effort, specifically cleanup of the disaster left behind. A team of 6 people, including myself, will be traveling to the affected areas to help in the relief efforts on May 15. While on the ground, we will be partnering to help clear debris and give aid. Our plan is to spend a week doing hard labor wherever there are needs. We will also make connections to help our church send a larger team to rebuild in August. Tom Shook with ReachGlobal is our contact on the ground, and he is preparing work for us to do while we are there. As the pictures show, there is still substantial devastation, so we will not have a problem finding work that needs done and people who need help.

The trip will last roughly 10 days with travel time. We plan to fly into Tokyo and spend the night there, and Tom has secured a van for us that we will drive to Sendai and then on to Takiama. We will stay in a missionary guesthouse in Takiama as a base of operation.

We are each raising our cost for the trip, so I need your help to make this happen. The trip will cost between $2,000 and $2,500, and I will need money for a plane ticket as soon as possible. Any funds beyond travel and food needs will be used for the cleanup effort. Please consider making a donation of any amount and keep our team in your thoughts and prayers. I set up a Paypal account to make donating easier (button below), and you can always contact me if you would like more information or to discuss our plans.

Any financial support and/or prayer you can give will be greatly appreciated. Please continue to keep the people of Japan in your prayers as they recover from this tragedy.