M316 從路得記和以斯帖記看耶和華的掌管眷顧

教師：車潔玲、舒瑞亞、劉延順

Testimony of Brendan Kiu

Growing up, my parents made me go to the BSF school program every week. I had no choice on the matter—if I had a lot of homework or other extracurricular activities, these would have to be planned around BSF, and I would work on homework either before or after Bible study. Every week, there would be homework to do, and I would have to complete it before heading to the weekly meeting. Now, years later, I look back and I see certain effects that this has had on my life:

1. As a result of going through so many studies at BSF, I had a good understanding of Scripture even from a young age. I not only got to read through much of the Bible, but I had done in-depth studies on most of the big pieces of Scripture. Just reading a passage and having to answer questions about it are two completely different things for me. Having to do homework and engage in discussions about Scripture helped it take root in my heart at a young age. Having gone to the school program over the course of quite a few years, I did end up going through some studies twice. However, since it was around seven years apart, I was quite a different person between the first and second times, and the questions were different as well. The way a 7-year-old processes a passage and a 14-year-old processes a passage is, as you can imagine, quite different.

2. Learning how to do homiletics on passages in Scripture was invaluable. In college, when I was leading small group discussions, I would naturally go through the steps of homiletics to lead the discussion. Even now, when I prepare a message, the method of homiletics is so ingrained in me that it gives a great starting point in how to work with the passage.

3. Probably the most important point is that it showed me what was really important. The fact that my parents put the priority of Bible study above extracurriculars and music and homework taught me that God’s Word and following Him is more important than any of these other things. This is one of the things that has helped me take my walk with the Lord seriously over the years, and even now when I consider the choices I make, it’s hard to get away from the priority that my parents put on the study of God’s Word and knowing Him.