Reflections

Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Knowledge Proverbs 1:1-7 Rev. Shibi Abraham Youth Chaplain North East Region 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. The fear of the Lord means to respect God because God is our creator and master.  This respect has to be shown by obeying God’s will.  Loving children will respect their parents because they know that the parents have the best interest of the children in mind.  Also the children know that if they do not obey their parent’s instructions, it will cause their parents pain. In Genesis 6 it describes the wickedness of people right before the Great Flood, and verse six states, “And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart (NSRV).”    Someone once said, “Sin is not just the breaking of God’s laws, but it is also the breaking of God’s heart.” The fear of the Lord can be viewed in a positive manner.  According to Rabbi Jo

Memorial Day Joshua 4:1-9             Pradeep John Connecticut Mar Thoma Congregation 6 so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it cross

Wisdom to discern God’s Word Mark 6:1-6 Pradeep John Connecticut Mar Thoma Congregation   2  On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.  The context of this passage is the visit of Jesus to His home town, Nazareth. This was Jesus' second visit after beginning His ministry and because His reputation preceded Him the Jews allowed Jesus to teach in the synagogue. Jesus taught the people with great wisdom and authority.  Jesus would have an emotional attachment to Nazareth as it was the place He grew up. His family and friends were all around Nazareth. The people in Nazareth obviously knew Jesus

Divine Revelation In Worship Mark 1: 21-28 Rev. Mathew Baby Vicar, St. Mathew’s MTC, Toronto. 21  They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. Mark, a writer with an idea of promoting the work of Jesus more than the person of Christ, is  writing about an early episode in the life of Jesus. It is placed immediately after the description of the baptism, the temptation of Jesus, and the calling of the disciples. Jesus always gave prime importance for worship which is closely linked to the proclamation of the truth. Part of worshiping  in spirit and in truth (John  4:24 )  is also proclaiming His word and divine revelation with boldness. Jesus entered the Synagogue and taught them with Divine authority from the Father. The authority is a term having many divided ideas. Today all are seeking the authority to rule. But Jesus gave a new dimension to the authority entrusted to Him. In the great commission – “Then Jesus came

Dwelling with God Psalm 84   Jessie Samuel St. Andrews MTC, NY  10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. What is happiness. How can it be achieved. Psalm 84 gives us some insights into this. 1. "Happy are those who live in your house" How do you feel about attending church? Is it something we look forward to? For some, church is a place to socialize with their friends, and they would look forward to seeing them every week. However, church is a place where great things can happen. It gives us a glimpse of what Heaven would look like.  It is a place where God is praised, and where people encourage each other. Christians can look to other Christians for guidance, amongst other things.  According to this Psalm, our worship starts with a focus on God. The writer of this Psalm longs to worship God and spend time with Him. He is excited to the point of

Believing in ‘Christ the Truth’ John 14:1-7 Grieshma Thomas St Thomas MTC of Delaware Valley, PA 1. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.   The context of this passage gives us a sense of the confusion in the minds of the disciples. Jesus had just told them that He was going to be betrayed by one of them. He predicts that Peter will deny Him three times and He then tells them, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.’ John 13:33.  In the given passage we see Jesus gives comfort for not only the troubled hearts of the disciples but also for those of us going through tough times. Jesus offer three comforts for the troubled soul. 1. "I go to prepare a place for you." We can take comfort in the fact that Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven in the presence of His Father. This promise is so not just to the disciples but to all who shall die in Jesus Christ. Whatever be our sins, however numerous or egregious, if we confess

Revelation in Worship 1 Kings 8:26-43 Jebin Yohannan St. Andrews MTC, NY “Hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live.” –1 Kings 8:36 On the surface 1 Kings Chapter 8 seems to be all about a temple however, through this prayer we learn that it is much more about the nature of Israel’s (our) God and Israel’s (our) response to God. In this passage we see that God’s nature is trustworthy, forgiving, and gracious. He is a trustworthy God who can be counted on to stay true to His covenants and promises. He is also a gracious and forgiving God, allowing and desiring our access to Him at all times, despites our wrongs, so we can join with Him in bringing correctness to this world (the Israelites at the time believed they needed the temple rebuilt for this access and God graciously provided it for them even though all along God intended for each individual to be the temple in which He resided).     In this section w

Divine Revelation in Worship 1 Kings 8:26-43                           Michelle Prakash St. Andrews MTC, NY 30 Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive. The dedication of the temple was a pivotal point in Israel's history. It was an exciting time for a people that had never before had their own place of worship. Solomon understood the importance of promises, especially those of God's and His unrelenting fulfillment of them. God fulfilled His promise to Abraham that His presence would be with His people on the land He had given to them. Solomon knew that God keeps His promises, and calls upon God to do so because he realizes that he can take hold of God's promises through prayer. "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! Yet regard the prayer of You