Thought for the month: The unchanging in the changing.By Pastor Simon Duan (Hillview Church)The start of this new academic year often brings notable changes to many. Some will be starting new schools, colleges, apprenticeships, Universities, or jobs. Others may have moved into a new area (welcome if that is you). Some may have just retired or lost a job or sadly even a loved one. Others maybe struggling with a loss of their previous good health and independence. Even for those who do not have these significant changes the truth is we are all impacted by change around us much of which we cannot control. Some of us are better at embracing change, others really struggle and are fearful of what is ahead. I am not sure who you turn to when these changes happen and how you get through them but as each of us step into this new season whatever it may hold it is good to be reminded that there is a God who is unchanging. The Bible describes God as a ‘rock,’ solid, dependable and a firm foundation under our feet whatever challenges life brings. The unchanging in the changing.
Today, I thank the Lord for the privilege of worshipping together with you all. I would like to share my testimony.I was born in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and was raised by Christian parents. My paternal grandfather was a Christian, making me a third-generation Christian. From a young age, attending church felt natural to me; I grew up praying and singing praises together with others, without ever really questioning God’s existence.Then, when I was 14, I was baptised.However, my faith at that time was less a “faith that responds to God” and more a “faith centred on my own thoughts.” Even though I attended church, I felt I had the final say in my own path, and the central thought in my heart was not “living for God,” but rather, “how to live my own life.”To someone like me, God revealed the Gospel through His Word. I wasn’t saved because I had become a good person; rather, although had turned my back on God, Jesus Christ bore all my sins on the cross.Ephesians 2:8 says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” Through this Word, I came to understand that salvation does not come from my own efforts or the strength of my faith, but is solely by God’s grace.I realised that it is God who saves and that there is absolutely no basis for my salvation within myself. Through experiencing this wonderful grace of God I longed to dedicate myself to God and respond to Him.“I want to live my life putting God’s will first”—that desire was further strengthened during my college years through fellowship with the Lord and His Word, as well as through prayer at church and encounters with many fellow believers and mentors. However, I did not know what form that would take specifically. I could not clearly see whether I would serve the Lord as a pastor at a church or through my profession. I continued to pray for God to show me the way, but my circumstances did not change immediately.After graduating from college, I worked as a high school teacher for seven years. In Japan, Christians are a minority, making up less than 1% of the population.Walking this path as a teacher—while bringing great joy in my interactions with students—was also a daily struggle as I faced the challenges of living as a Christian.The school where I worked was very busy; in addition to teaching classes and serving as a home-room teacher, I also had to coach club activities on my days off. Because of this, I sometimes struggled to attend Sunday worship services. Furthermore, my Christian values were often misunderstood at work, so I walked through each day in prayer, wondering how best to express my faith.Of course, seeing my students work hard and grow brought me great joy and a deep sense of fulfillment. Yet even amidst all that, I felt constantly challenged to ask myself, “What gives me life?” and “What do I value most?”While evaluating students is part of a teacher’s job, teachers themselves are also subject to evaluation—both by their students and by their colleagues. In such a high-pressure environment, I was constantly plagued by the fear of not being accepted and by the temptation to prove my worth. I was also sometimes troubled with trying to put myself above God. As I continued in this work, I felt a deep sense of loneliness. I lived far from a church, and there were almost no Christians at my workplace with whom I could share my faith.In the midst of this, one Sunday when I was completely exhausted, I went to church. As I prayed in a small, empty room while listening to the sermon, a mysterious peace filled my heart.To me—who was consumed by the pursuit of results and recognition, and who was trying to prove my own worth—the Word of God spoke: “Stand not on what you have accomplished, but on what Christ accomplished on the cross.” Every time I felt my limitations at work and recognised my own powerlessness, I came back to the grace of Christ. Christ gave His life to save me, even though I had nothing to offer in return.I still remember hearing the words in a church sermon one day: “We are sent out from the church to our respective places.” I learnt that church is where our souls are nourished, and although there are many difficulties in the workplace, it is the Lord Himself who sends us there daily. I realized that I was not alone—that the Lord was with me—and I was given the strength to walk by trusting in Him.During my seven years as a teacher, I learnt to recognise my own limitations. But it was also a time when the Gospel spoke into my circumstances most deeply and taught me to walk by trusting in the Lord.I also learned that there are many churches without pastors—churches that are “pastor-less”—praying for a pastor. Furthermore, there are many people in Japan who do not know the Gospel. Faced with this reality, the words of Scripture, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” began to carry ever greater weight for me.I prayed for workers to be sent, while at the same time continuing to pray about my own response to the Lord. And the Lord gave me courage to walk in obedience to Him. Until then, I had thought that dedication was a task I had to undertake alone. However, supported by the prayers of many people and inspired by the way Jesus sent out His disciples, I learnt that commitment is both a ministry the church shares together, and a work carried out by the Lord Himself. When I realised this, I entrusted the anxiety and fear I had been holding onto to the Lord, surrendered my life to Him, asking to be used as a vessel that pleases Him.Two years ago, I resigned from my teaching position and moved to Hokkaido, Japan, where I am currently studying at Hokkaido Bible College.Even now, I still experience moments of doubt and am faced with questions, but what remains unchanged is the fact that I did not choose God—rather, God chose me and redeemed me through the cross.There are still many people in Japan who do not know the Gospel. And many churches are in need of workers. I would be grateful if you would pray for the churches in Japan and for the spread of the Gospel. I hope to continue standing firm in the grace of the Gospel, proclaiming the Gospel in Japan, and walking as one who serves the church.
How is your summer going so far? Nurseries, schools, colleges, and universities are on their summer break, while workplaces and community groups may or may not be quieter.For some, this season brings welcome freedom to spend time with family and friends, travel, enjoy hobbies, explore new places, or simply rest. For others, the loss of familiar routines can feel unsettling.The pressure to make the most of our time — to balance work, rest, and play — can itself become exhausting. Yet healthy rhythms in the way we live our days, weeks, and years matter.Rest is an important theme in the Bible. Genesis begins with stories that highlight Sabbath rest after creative, life-giving work, and the command to keep a day of rest became central to Jewish and Christian life. Jesus, too, regularly withdrew from the crowds to talk to God, reflect, and spend time with close friends.In a culture that prizes constant productivity and instant responses, taking time to rest can feel like falling behind. Yet rest is not laziness, but a shared human need — one that God models and values.After the ups and downs of recent years, my hope and prayer is that each of us finds space this summer for deep, life-giving rest.By Rev. Dr. Joseph Mottram
In July 2026 three students and one part time lecturer from Hokkaido Bible Institute visited us in Hucclecote as part of a 2-week study trip to UK. Choi, who unlike the others is Korean, shared his amazing story with us at our 8:30 service."My life hasn’t been very long, but looking back at my past, I realise I was a self-centered and arrogant person who only cared about himself. On the surface, I lived a peaceful and ordinary life, but inside, my heart was always dominated by a deep sense of emptiness. I carried a void that couldn't be filled no matter how hard I tried, and I lived without knowing what true happiness was.I first came to know about the church when I was six years old and entered a church-run kindergarten. However, shortly after entering, I was involved in a car accident and spent a whole year in the hospital, so I quickly lost touch with the church. During elementary school, I remember following my friends to church, but I wasn't really interested in who Jesus was. I only went to play with my friends and get snacks. Then, after a fight with a friend, I stopped going to church once again.Later, when I was in high school, I started going to church again, encouraged by a friend and a church deacon who lived next door. Truthfully, I started attending because I had a crush on a girl there, and I even ended up getting baptised. However, I had absolutely no interest in Jesus Christ being my Saviour and Lord. I didn't think deeply about the issue of sin, and I only accepted God's love on a superficial level. When the girl I liked moved away, I naturally drifted away from the church once more.After that, I pursued worldly pleasures and success, under the illusion that these things would satisfy my life. But the more I did, the more my heart became filled with emptiness. Around the age of 25, my father forcefully dragged me to church on a Sunday when all I was doing was playing video games. That incident led me to start attending church again. I met good friends and mentors in faith, and I began to enjoy church life.Yet, the emptiness still remained in my heart, and I tried to fill it through serving at the church. I found satisfaction in planning things myself and accomplishing them with my own strength. Gradually, my heart grew proud, and I tried to solve every problem using my own ideas and abilities. To be honest, the phrase "rely on God" did not resonate with me at all. Even when I prayed, I did so with doubt, thinking, "There's no way this will happen." Rather than seeking God's help, I believed that only my own efforts and abilities could fill this void.Then, during a church summer camp, I got into a fierce argument with my mother over the phone. My mother was unhappy with how passionate I was about the church, and it shook our relationship to its core. No matter how much I thought about it, I didn't know what to do. My heart was in true agony, I was completely exhausted, and I finally realised, "This is beyond my own power." I didn't know what to rely on; everything in front of me went dark.During the prayer meeting at the camp, I fell to my knees and prayed desperately to the Lord. I called out from the bottom of my heart to the Lord, whose name I had only ever spoken formally before. "God, I can't do anything in my own strength any more. Please forgive my pride. Please have mercy on me."The moment I prayed those words, tears poured from my eyes like rain. I felt Jesus coming to me and holding me tightly. An indescribable peace came over my heart. I felt a lightness, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off my shoulders, and I felt a warm love wrapping around me. God's word resonated with me in a completely new way, and I clearly understood the love of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save a sinner like me. At that moment, I realised and sincerely acknowledged that the master of my life was not me, but God. After that, my life began to change little by little.When I was 30, my church planned a short-term mission trip to the Philippines. I made up my mind, telling myself, "I'm going, even if it means getting fired from my job." I went to my manager and said, "I want to go on our church's short-term mission trip. Please let me go. If you don't, I will quit the company." My manager was shocked, but eventually gave me permission. Through this experience, I learned to trust God, and I began to understand a little bit of what missions were all about.In 2013, by God's mercy, I—who thought marriage was impossible for me—ended up marrying a wonderful older woman, which surprised everyone around me. When deciding where to go for our honeymoon, I insisted that we go to Japan. "A country with kind people, clean streets, video games, and anime." That had been my image of Japan since I was a child. However, during our honeymoon in Tokyo, I could hardly see any churches. Although it was a short trip, it opened my eyes to the spiritual reality of Japan.The following year, when our beautiful daughter was born in December 2014, God put a heart for mission work in Japan into my soul. We started praying for a path to Japan to open up.In 2018, in a situation where humanly speaking, the chances seemed close to zero, a path opened for us to go to Kanazawa Independent Christian Church in Ishikawa Prefecture as lay missionaries. This was made possible through the introduction of Pastor Kim Seung-ho, the representative of OMF in Korea at the time, whom we had never even met. Overwhelmed with the joy of participating in "Gospel Mission"—a task that even the angels long to do—our whole family decided, "God is calling us, so we must go." We wrapped up our life in Korea and arrived in Japan in March 2020.For two years, from 2020 to 2021, we served at the Kanazawa Independent Christian Church and Hikari Educational Center. During that time, we realised that in order to do long-term mission work in Japan, we needed to study at a Japanese seminary. We kept praying for God's guidance.And then, on January 1, 2022 - it's hard to explain in words, but much like the wise men from the East who were guided by a great star - the path opened for us to go to Hokkaido. In the process of coming to this place, there were unexpected misunderstandings, hardships, and failures. However, I am confident that the Lord's good power has continuously surrounded us and led us on the best possible path."But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)If this is God's will, no one can stop it. Thank you for listening."
