Reflections

Divine Revelation in Worship Acts 2:43-47 Anila Thomas Epiphany MTC, NY 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; The second chapter of Acts is divided into three “sections”; 1) The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost, 2) Peter Addresses the Crowd and 3) The Believers Form a Community.  Today’s portion is taken from the third section where we see the formation of the early Church.  The focus here is on fellowship.  The first Christians met together, worshiped together, shared meals, and shared everything all the while praising God.  Their fellowship with one another was a form of worship that was pleasing to God, as “each day the Lord added to their fellowship” (vs. 47).     Today, it has become even harder to share everything with...

Holiness of God Isaiah 6:1-8   Jeril Philip St. Thomas Delaware Valley MTC, PA   King Uzziah of Israel, was brave, strong and wise person.  The people had felt a sense of security during the  reign of King Uzziah . The death of the King was sudden and unexpected. This made the Israelites very confused, frustrated and depressed.   Prophe...

Trinity Sunday: Trinity Community of Love Mark 1:1-11   Joseph Koshy St. Paul’s MTC of Dallas,Texas “And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” vv. 10-11 (NRSV) There is no style of music that is more characteristically American than Jazz music and...

Trinity Community of Love Psalm: 150   Philip Manuel and Laila Anie Philip Carmel MTC, Boston V6.Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praising God with words of admiration, deep appreciation and  worship can only come from a heart of great gratitude. It is giving God the recognition He deserves for the unmerited mercy He extends to us. Throughout the Bible we come across different people who are praising God for His love, protection and care and most of them are found in the book of psalms. (Exo.15:2, 2 Sam.22:4, Jer.20:13, James  5:13 , Rev.7:12, Psalm 96:4, Psalm 100:1-5, Psalm 103:1, Psalm149:3 etc.) Psalm 150 uses the word praise thirteen times in its six verses. Verse 1 provides the “where" of praise - “in His Sanctuary and in His mighty heavens.” Verse 2 says  “why” to praise the Lord-“for his acts of power and surpassing greatness.” Verses 3-5 says “how” to praise the Lord- with variety of instruments a...

Trinity  Community of Love 2 Corinthians 13:11-14                 Philip Manuel & Laila Anie Philip   Carmel MTC, Boston, MA 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.   Once a puzzled Irish asked St. Patrick about the doctrine of Trinity, when he was preaching the Gospel to them in the 5th century AD. “You tell us that there are three Gods and yet one. How can that be?” The saint bent down and plucked a shamrock. “Do you not see, how in this wildflower three leaves are united on one stalk, and will you not then believe that there are indeed three persons and yet one God.? Talking about Trinity, C.S Lewis said” All sorts of people are fond of repeating the Christian statement that “God is Love”. But they seem not to notice that the words “God is Love” have no meaning unless God contains a...

Trinity Community of Love Genesis 18:1-15    Rev. Thomas Kurian Vicar, MTC Oklahoma 8 Then Abraham took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.   From the story of the Samaritan Man mentioned by Jesus, the moral of Hospitality is brought out in the term, “Mine is...