Young Disciples HQ Christmas Retreat
Day 1: Sermon on the Mount
Young Disciples (YD) has been hosting a retreat which began this week On Dec 18th, 2025. The event is hosted for YD ministers, staff, students, and those who live in Fort Morgan, Colorado, the town that houses the headquarters for YD. The retreat is themed primarily around the Sermon on the Mount, along with some talk of Advent. Among those joining are Pastor Edward Shih and family of Fort Morgan, Colorado, Siheng Pan and Priscilla Wang of St. Louis, Missouri, Marcus, a YD student attending the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Bror Ekdahl of Gainesville, Florida, and Pastor Faith Young from London, England.
Participants have been arriving since Wednesday afternoon. Those present on Wednesday evening enjoyed dinner together and attended the Wednesday service at Immanuel Church in Fort Morgan. On Thursday morning, the first of the Bible studies began. Pastor Edward Shih kicked off the studies by looking at the Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). He walked through each of the blessings which Jesus spoke of and explained how these blessings ultimately come to be by allowing the work of Jesus in our lives, and how they reveal a portion of God’s Heavenly Kingdom in our lives. Shih also led the second study, covering the passages on the Salt and Light and the Fulfillment of the Law, which Jesus brought. The salt and light are allegories for those who follow Jesus, who commended His followers to live with distinction– keeping a firm identity as followers to preserve the true meaning and purpose of life and so bless the rest of the world. This study also covered how, with the completion of the Law brought by Jesus, believers are still to follow the law God gives, but with a motive of love.
The participants present took a break for a wonderful taco lunch prepared by YD staff. Following lunch, the next Bible study commenced, led again by Shih. In this third study, he covered Matthew 5:21-48, exploring six separate laws that Jesus used as tools to reveal how the Gospel completes the law. These laws concern murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, vengeance, and dealing with enemies. Each of these has a corresponding core issue that the Gospel addresses through a greater standard. These core issues are anger, lust, hardness of heart, keeping up appearances before others, feeling wronged, and being selective in love, respectively. Each of these exists primarily as an issue in the heart, unseen by others, but must be addressed in that place so that none grow into a bigger problem. The final study for the day was given by Siheng Pan, on Matthew 6:1-18, covering Jesus’ teachings on giving, prayer, and fasting. Central to each of these is the heart behind the action; each one of these things can easily be maligned into actions that are done before others, expressly for receiving praise from others. However, Jesus taught that these things are only a blessing when done with the motivation for God to see them. Following this Bible study, those participating gathered in the gymnasium at the YD headquarters to cut loose for some physical activity. The lineup included table tennis, badminton, and basketball. A Japanese curry dinner followed. The day ended with a praise and prayer session, both to sing worship songs and to pray for the needs of YD.
It was a blessed beginning to the retreat, filled with the Holy Spirit and the love of God. Members gave thanks for the Word that renews hearts and prayed that the following days would bring even deeper encounters with Christ and greater devotion to His mission.
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