by Rev. Andy Yong
Church Planter, Covenant BP Mission, Tacoma, WA
the Missions Banner, Feb/Mar 2026
A new year has begun. I’ve been preaching on Romans for the past year, and just finished chapter 3. Every verse of Romans is truly precious for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Last week, I began topical sermons because I wanted to clarify our church’s identity with new people visiting more. Matthew 5:19-20, quoted in my sermon a few weeks ago, also had impacted that decision.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
As verse 20 says, we believe in justification by faith, entering the kingdom of God by relying on the perfect righteousness of Christ, which is superior to the external righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. This is a Reformed teaching and the identity of our church. Our church’s identity can also be found in verse 19. It is a church that practices and teaches even the least of the commandments of God’s Word. While heavenly citizenship is granted to all who believe in Jesus Christ without discrimination, we believe there is a distinction between great and small in heaven as Jesus said in verse 19. Our church desires to be a great church in heaven, although we could be called least in the world. It is our desire to be faithful to God’s Word as the church in Philadelphia. “for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” (Revelation 3:8b)
Therefore, for a few weeks, I have decided to preach some topics that are often neglected in modern churches. Through this, I hope to underscore our church’s identity and become a congregation that strives to know and practice all aspects of God’s law. Last Sunday, I shared God’s Word on the sanctity of human life. I particularly emphasized that abortion and euthanasia are sins prohibited by God’s law, and that Christians must serve as salt and light in this fallen world with the unchanging truth and sacrificial love.
Other topics I plan to preach are biblical teachings on women’s leadership in the church, sexual ethics, biblical separation, and the Lord’s Day. Recently, a couple visited and seriously considered joining our church. But they stopped attending after they learned that our church does not recognize the ordination of women as pastors or women in leadership in the church. The wife said that she grew up in a conservative Presbyterian church but she became an ordained pastor because she wanted to baptize people in the mission field. She argued that as times change, our understanding of the Bible must also change. That is not the identity of our church. We believe that the Bible should not change with the times. Man-made religions are diverse. But God’s religion is one: the religion of the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We pray that God will strengthen our church even more this year, while maintaining our faithfulness to God’s Word. May God’s will be done for His glory.
