text:
1st – Advent Lessons & Carols (5:30pm)
3rd – Seminar (5:30pm)
12th – Get-together: Widows / Widowers
16th – 9 Lessons and Carols – Featuring 10:00am Choir
19th – 21st – Encounter 2012 & Praise / Worship Night (6:00pm)
22nd – Party for the Elderly
24th – 9 Lessons & Carols – Featuring Divine Favour Choir (6pm)
25th – Christmas Day (9:00am)
26th – Sunday School Fun Fair & Youth – BBQ Night
31th – Song Ministration / Evensong / Watchnight Service
One of the prayer points she used to pray: (My God, in the midst of those asking me. "where is your God?" arise and show them that you are my God). Then something shocking happened.
Here's Elizabeth to tell her story:
" I thank God for enabling me to get to know you 2 months ago. I must say I have grown tremendously spiritually. I had been seeking God to help me grow spiritually and teach me how to pray. I have been out of a job for more than 2 years and God has come through for me in a BIG way!!
For me, I feel this is just the beginning of big things to come. My friend Charity and I decided enough is enough and met like 3 months ago to speak to God concerning my need to earn a living.
We requested Him to answer us by fire in 3 days and for sure He did. In 3 days, I had 3 invitations for job interviews. I went for the interviews and I told God to choose for me which one He has sent my way. (I had previously gone for so many interviews with no
call-backs, frustrating!!!). I told God to shut the doors He did not open (counterfeit jobs).
I went for 3 subsequent interviews for the same position and glory to God, He favoured me all through (I would go for the interviews with angels of happy meetings, the Holy Spirit and Jesus).
We were an invincible team. They asked me to report to work immediately. I had told God that by June I want to be employed, but I am reporting TODAY. I am going to be a RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT, in-line with my career goals and with a six figure starting salary(when everyone had said no one would hire me after 2 years, and if they did, maybe pay me as peanuts).
The Lord is faithful to His promises. He always comes through for His children who seek Him with all their hearts. Please say a word of prayer for me…."
- Sis. Elizabeth,
(Prayer Warrior)
Praise the LORD! Her story has changed. And this can happen for you too, if you'll draw a line in the sand today and tell the enemy: Enough is enough! Be An Overcomer this Week
Dinah Cristina Amane's Testimony
March 18, 2009, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Stage 2B. I crossed over the realm of uncertainty & anguish when CANCER was pronounced on me. It never crossed my mind that I would be a part of CANCER statistics.
I feel renewed and rejuvenated in the sense that after diagnosis, I willed myself not to dwell on the dark probabilities or what lies ahead. I underwent the slice, poison and another prophylactic slice to get me going. I have been a recipient and still am a recipient of prayers from brothers & sisters in the BCBP (Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen & Professionals); from relatives & friends and even of strangers & "classmates" in the CANCER world. Definitely I CANCERVIVE!
My positive attitude and happy disposition help in making me what I am today. I attribute this to the constant love I get from my children, from my husband, Glenn, from my Dad and siblings, from my friends and even from strangers. I got a positive insight about cancer and chemotherapy or poison from another Sister in the community who has leukemia. She assured me that it was not the end of the world for me. It is because of this that I am paying forward the very same support I got from her by visiting some that have just been recently diagnosed or even other cancer patients. I want to infect them with my positive outlook, my hands-on attitude by educating myself what I am faced with. I want them to also learn more about their sickness and what toxic effects medicines or procedures can do to them. I want them to know first-hand what to expect after each procedure and for them to always have copies of their pathology results and familiarize the medical terms used. It made a lot of sense to me, I know it will also help them confront or accept their sickness. Denial will not help a bit. On the contrary, it will even aggravate what they already have. While stages are made by men or medical practitioners to help them evaluate or manage their patients, God still has the last say. I'm a 2-B. I would have wanted to be a stage 0 or a 1. This would mean a better chance at survival or recovery. But getting this mark or stage I have to contend with. I trust and surrender everything to God. In His own time, He will lay His healing hand on me; release His power to restore my health fully and take away all the cancer cells in me! In God's own time.
People always ask me how I was, I always tell them I'm coping fine. Indeed I am. It's safe to say that I am on remission. Just keep me in your prayers and call on me if there's anything I can do for you or your friends who are similarly situated like me. I have moved on and never a day passes that I fail to thank God for His blessings and graces bestowed on me and my loved ones. I live each day like it's my last. I relish and cherish moments shared with friends and loved ones. Always reminding myself to hold on and never let go of God's abundant love.
During moments of sadness or when episodes of depression hit me; whenever Glenn gets nasty or mean at mean for some trifle things which I did or did not do, or even when the culprit of his anger is someone else but I still get blamed for it, I always tell myself that he's stressed out and needs to unwind. I love him so much that even if he's at his worst, I am never short of excuses for him and in the end; I can only feel more love, understanding & even pity for him. Patience is something I am so proud to say I have loads of supply. Having loads of patience and an ounce of understanding help a lot in keeping an outbreak of war at bay. My hair has turned salt and pepper after chemo. Before diagnosis, I had very healthy, thick but coarse long hair. The grays were there but minimal. When my hair started growing back, I noticed there are more whites than black. I don't mind this at all. I am living another phase of my life and have to contend a different beginning. Whatever is at hand, I have to thank God for it. I cannot and will not complain. He's done so much in my life and I owe everything to Him.
Early this year, 2 co-fighters died. While theirs were of the invasive & more serious kind of CA, their passing deeply affected me. But I thank God that it did not cause me doubts or unanswered questions to my own plight. I am still fighting my fight. I know, somehow, sometime, we each have to go. I am thankful that like Sis Bing & Sis Lou and all other cancer patients who lost their fights, we were made more special and blessed. We were given the chance to mend our ways or make our peace to some people whom we have caused hurts or pains. So even when another friend just recently passed on due to CA of the colon, stage 4, he also touched my life and others because of his generous & giving heart. He was an anesthesiologist and he fought a good fight to the end. He administered to his patients up to the time his CA metastasized to his brain and he lost his balance prompting him to stop and rest.
When I got the biggest scare in my life, I panicked like hell! Thoughts of dying came to mind. Then, I was struck with a thought. I talked to my kids and told them of my sickness. Told them that I was afraid but my fear was more of their Dad being left all alone when our kids will have their own lives to live later on. So, I told them to allow their Dad to remarry. That was my wish. Then, with my only girl Juliene in tow, we started looking for a 2nd Mom to be for them. Three personalities came to mind. When I told Glenn this, he was shocked beyond words and curtly told me to back off! That he was not interested. Maybe, this idea will have to be put on hold.
My life has never been so lively and so colorful until now. I always surprise people with my different looks. While apt to doing this, because of my desire not to look sick or maybe because the loud side of my personality has become more pronounced with the advent of cancer, I just tell myself that I am entitled to looking different because I am living on borrowed time just like all of you. Before, I never gave a thought about death or dying. I reasoned I was healthy and will live to be a hundred!!! I have a more personal relationship with my Creator now more than ever. My faith in Him served me well when CANCER was pronounced on me. I never questioned His plans for me because I know, He is my God and in Him I surrender everything and put my trust. I am a recipient of countless prayer petitions from friends and even from strangers. I just recently reactivated our Support Group not only for CANCER but also for life threatening diseases. We meet every 2nd Monday of each month. We comfort each other and visit other patients who have just been recently diagnosed. In all the various activities of which I am personally involved, I always invoke God's love and mercy for all of us. And if God calls me to His kingdom, I am not afraid to go to Him. I know that He gave me ample time to prepare and heed His call in His own time. Amen.
Growing up I was baptized Catholic. My Mom was Catholic and Dad was not, but Mom was the boss as far as religion was concerned. I received My First Holy Communion, and was Confirmed. Mom would always make sure we headed off to Church every Sunday, all Holidays and Ash Wednesday. My Dad never attended any Church. My grandfather was an avid Bible reader, He (Grandpa) would quote scripture to me daily growing up. (The Seed) When I became a teenager, going to church lost it's luster to me. I was more concerned with hanging out and running with the pack than going to Church. In time Church was just a memory. I used to think that just because I was baptized and believed in God, I was covered. I had no clue! In 1978 I met Cynthia, we dated for a few years and in 1982 we married. We were married in a Roman Catholic Church by a Monsignor and we had a spectacular wedding. Through the years God blessed us with 3 Children. Our son and Daughter were born in New York City and our third child was born in Florida. Our Children were also baptized Catholic. We attended Church regularly and my youngest was an alter server in the Church. Going to Church had purpose for us and every Sunday after service we would go out for brunch. I always felt good all day Sunday, then by Monday, something seemed missing. My grandfather would always drill John 3:16 into my head as a child, I knew this scripture by heart when I was merely 5 yrs old. Throughout my life I would often recite this verse in my mind, it was really the only scripture I was familiar with. But it was one that lived in me all these years, every time I thought of my Grandfather I thought of that scripture, the two went hand in hand. My Grandfather passed when I was 10 yrs old. I was devastated because he was my mentor, he loved me unconditionally and took care of my every need. No matter what, he loved me with all his heart and I was blessed to have him. I was his favorite child. One day in early 2001, my wife had an issue with our church administrator, feelings were involved and we decided to remove ourselves from the congregation. A few weeks went by and my wife was invited by our neighbor to a small Bible based Church in our neighborhood. I did not go, mainly because in my mind it wasn't Catholic and I wanted no part of that! When my wife came home that day, she was excited and anxious to tell me all about her experience in this new Church. I listened then in my twisted mind resented the fact that she was now talking of making this a routine. I was not happy about it, and warned her that I refused to attend because it was not Catholic and I would have no part of it! She told me that if I found a Catholic Church she would attend with me, then attend the new Church as well! Well, this flustered me…this wasn't about me though, this was about God and God will always win! I backslid into my old ways and stopped attending Church, while My wife and Children went without me. (Satan must have really enjoyed this!)
For two years this went on, every Wednesday and Sunday off they went. When they would get home my wife always told me that she saves the seat beside her for me , and will not let anyone sit there. Even during crowded services she remained vigilante not to allow anyone to sit there. Everyone knew this, all the congregation, the ushers, pastoral staff etc. Yet I remained steadfast in my ways to stay away! One day my wife comes home and tells me that she has been called to Bible School, she needed my okay because I am the head of the household. After a long discussion, I agreed for her to attend. This was going to be two days a week 4 hours a day plus twice a week for Church. Also, it was going to cost me money! Imagine the grouch I became over this little tidbit of information. I succumbed to the fact and eventually got over it, but I wasn't that happy about it at the time.
In early 2004 I was asleep and I heard my wife in the bathroom at around 2:00a.m. I asked her if she was alright and she replied not really, thinking it was probably nothing more than an upset stomach I rolled over and fell back asleep. 2 hours later I awoke again, I went to the bathroom to find my wife in agony, she had been bleeding internally and was a pale color which I have never witnessed before. I rushed her to the emergency room where we spent all day and night undergoing tests to determine what was going on. The following day after tests she was admitted and placed in a room, we hadn't received any word on the results and I was frightened beyond words. Two people walked into her room that I did not know, when my wife noticed them she seemed happy, she introduced them as Pastor Ken and his wife Melissa. Pastor Ken asked that we join hands and pray, as we did this he asked the Lord to heal my wife and that the results would come back negative. When we broke hands and I opened my eyes the Doctor was standing bedside waiting for us to finish, he told us that my wife was going to be ok and after a night of rest she would be released the following day. She had a severe case of food poisoning. God blessed me that day big time! After hearing this I told my wife that the seat in Church would never be empty again and I meant it. She beamed at this statement.
When I started attending this new Church, I felt somewhat uncomfortable, I was not used to singing and lifting hands, it was out of my element. Secondly, I wasn't familiar with the Bible. I knew one verse from the Bible, and that was about it! Over time I became more comfortable and the Word was starting to consume me. The more I read the Bible the more I wanted. I was on fire for God now! I wanted to know more and more. In may 2004 I'm sitting in service and Pastor is delivering a message on Salvation. I felt like God was telling me things through the Pastor that night, He was telling me what that "missing" feeling was. At the end of service during prayer the Pastor calls anyone who wants to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior to come up and receive salvation. I heard God tell me to go and Go I did! That night I accepted Jesus into my life, after the prayer of salvation ended I turned to my wife, during this time the congregation is praying and my wife didn't realize I was the one accepting Jesus, I looked at her open her eyes and focus on me, she let loose an astounding "Hallelujah!" and cried with joy! I don't think there was a dry eye in the Church. That was my night, I was the only one accepting Jesus, it was me and Jesus, he made me the center of attention. My wife and I are truly blessed. Soon after this I signed up for Bible School and I'm on a mission for God ever since. I Worship, Honor and Praise His Holy Name.
By God's special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Ephesians 3:7
- We pray and thank the Lord for our preservation and sustenance for the past years, months, weeks and days. We pray that He may increase our resources and boost our economy to enhance the alleviation of our National and Financial difficulties to His praise and glory.
- We pray for the Anglican Diocese of Accra for the forth coming Synod. That the Lord will endow us with divine wisdom and unity of purpose as we deliberate on issues concerning His Church.
- We pray for all backslided Christians and members of this church, that the Lord will revive them and renew their love for his work and worship.
- We pray for all sick members of this Cathedral that in whatever condition they find themselves, God's hand will be upon them..
- Let us with one accord sing praises and thanks to God for his goodness and mercies which are renewed daily.
- We pray for all church groups in the Diocese and this Cathedral, that they will be unified and directed by the power of the Holy Spirit to work in accordance with their aims and objectives for the growth and welfare of the church.
- We pray for all children who by misfortune has become orphans and abandoned. We pray for divine assistance through benevolent associations and individuals.
- We pray for all members to have adequate resources to enable them meet their financial obligations in the church for onward facilitation of church programmes.
- We pray for all parents whose wards are in school. We ask for God's divine support in their financial assistance.
- We pray for the aged, the hospitalized, week and depressed, poor and needy in society. We trust the Lord to meet them at their points of need.
- With a joyful heart of praise and thanksgiving, we thank the Lord for another Sunday, the beginning of another promising week.
- We pray for the church that we may have a sense of unity, love and concord in dealing with each other.
- We pray for the Diocesan and clergy of this Diocese that quickened by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may disciple more of our members into full stature in Christ, that the Anglicah Church may be a discipleship driven church.
- We pray for this years Harvest. We pray for members to honour their financial obligation to enable the church reach its target for the onward development projects of the church.
- We remember the sick, suffering, marginalised, poor and needy in society, that God will meet them at the points of needsat the points of needs
- We give thanks to God Almighty for bringing us safely to the beginning of the ninth month of the year. We rededicate our lives, families, works and marriages to his continuous protection and providence.
- We thank the Lord for a successful and peaceful verdict declaration that brings Ghana to a new pedestal in our democracy. We continue to pray for the peace of our loving nation Ghana.
- We pray for our Sunday School children, that as they return from their Annual Camp meeting; the will be doers of they word as well as grow into maturity in Christ.
- We pray for all who have need for our prayers, the sick, the suffering, the depressed and oppressed in our society.
- Praise glory, honor and dominion be ascribed to the Lord our God who has safely brought us to the beginning of another promising month. We pray for His ever increasing grace and mercies to all parishioners of this Cathedral and their families.
- We pray for the Bishop, the Dean, Cathedral Clergy and all Clergy of this Diocese that the good Lord will continue to protect, guide and inspire them to duly administer the sacraments to the benefit of the church and to the glory of God. We pray for their families also that they may progress in their works, education and health.
- We continue to pray for peace and good governance in our beloved country Ghana.
- We remember to pray for the aged, the sick, the lonely, the depressed and the poor, we entrust them to the Lord's care.
- We offer our sacrifice of praise to God for the success of the ordination and pray for those who were ordained that the hand of the Most High God will be their strength today as they celebrate their first mass, may the worship be a spirit fulled encounter for all.
- We thank God for the gift of life of the late President of the Republic of Ghana His Excellency Prof. John Evans Atta-Mills. We pray for the repose of his soul and may all of us be comforted for the loss, as we remember his demise.
- The judgement of the election dispute is close, we pray that God will unite the nation even more closer after the ruling. That every form of division will be done away with.
- We ask for good health for all those who are weak in their bodies and pray that strength may be given to them. We pray for restoration and claim our possession in Jesus name.
- We thank God for the gift of today and praise Him for His providence. We wish to honour and adore Him for mercies received.
- We continue to pray for our Nation Ghana; we pray that as we await the results of the 2012 elections petition in court, we will remain united and whatever the outcome may be Ghana will remain peaceful and united.
- We pray for St. George Garrison Anglican Church, Burma Camp; that as they recover from their losses caused by the fire outbreak that raised down their place of worship; we pray that the Lord will touch the hearts of sympathizers to help in their onward progression as they build their new place of worship.
- We remember the sick, the neglect, the marginalised and all those who suffer persecution, that God himself will bring healing, comfort, and also give them internal peace that comes only from Him.
- We give praise, glory, honor and Power to the Lord our God for safely bringing us to the beginning of another promising week. We ask for his divine assistance in all things.
- We pray for all students who are out of school; that the Lord will order their thought patterns and actions so to prevent them from making wrong choices.
- We pray for a revival of the Bible study life of the church remembering all our Bible study leaders that they will be enriched by the word and spirit of God as they lead.
- We pray for all PCC members of the church. We pray the Lord to grant them divine wisdom in their deliberations and works for the Church.
- We pray for the sick, aged, deprived, unloved, and depressed. That they will receive love and assistance from God.
- We give thanks to God for safely bringing us to the second half of the year. We pray for this abundant grace and availing mercies.
- We pray for the Dean, Clergy, Lay Ministers and the Cathedral Office Staff. We pray that with the help of the Holy Spirit they may work to promote the advancement of God's work in His church.
- We pray for all members of this Cathedral Church, that they will be endowed with divine favour in every endeavours of their works, marriages and contacts.
- We pray for the sick, lonely, poor, unloved, the forgotten, widows/widowers the aged and all in any kind of trouble. We Pray for God's divine assistance.
- Gracious Lord, we pray for your holy Church and ask you to flood it with the truth and peace of your Holy Spirit.
- Where the Church is right, strengthen it; where it is in error, re-direct it. Where the Church is corrupt, purify it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it.
- Lord give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature that no one may suffer from our abuse of them.
- Take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth.
- Most merciful God, we remember before you all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us to forget, the old and the sick and all who have none to care for them.
- Lord, help us to follow you without any hesitation.
- Lord, draw your Church together into one great company of disciples, together serving your Son in his mission to the world.
- May we as a Church be open and welcoming to all people. Prepare a room in our hearts, we pray, so that those who are hurt, rejected or ignored in the world may find kindness there.
- By the power of your Spirit make us, your children, followers and partners in the grand design of your kingdom of love.
- We pray for peace in a world of war, for health in a world of hunger, and for harmony in a world of discord. Lead us from war and want by the pathways of justice and peace.
- Help us to overcome our fears and prejudices and to see your image in all people.
- We remember before you the homeless, the destitute, the sick, the aged and all who have none to care for them.
- Heal all those who suffer, whether physically or mentally, and restore them to strength of mind and cheerfulness of spirit.
- Remember especially, Lord, those whom we have forgotten. For you are the helper of the helpless, the saviour of the lost, the refuge of the wanderer and the healer of the sick.
- Gracious God, make our lives, through Jesus our true Vine, living branches of faith, hope, and love, so that the existence of others may be enriched and our own lives grow mature with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
- Help us to be persons who love unconditionally as you love people
- Help us not to place unchristian demands or conditions on others
- Help us not to give up the freedom that Christ won for us by trying to win the love of others or seeking to conform to conditions that they may set upon loving us.
- Caring God, for our brothers and sisters in all their diverse needs we also pray this day.
- We pray with thankfulness for those prayers you have already answered. · Gracious God, with hearts of hope we pray for those things yet to be.
- We remember before you today, O God, ……… Lord hear our prayer…
- Thank God for loving us and for His presence to heal us.
- Pray God for increase of your faith and trust in Him as the one who provides and sees us through life.
- Let us pray that His word would come alive in our being to recreate us.
- Pray that the favour of God over Ghana will be responded to by Ghanaians for a full measure of His rulership.
- Let us call on our loving Lord for the healing of the sick and suffering.
- Thank God for loving us and for His presence to heal us.
- Pray God for increase of your faith and trust in Him as the one who provides and sees us through life.
- Let us pray that His word would come alive in our being to recreate us.
- Pray that the favour of God over Ghana will be responded to by Ghanaians for a full measure of His rulership.
- Let us call on our loving Lord for the healing of the sick and suffering.
- Thank God for the day, having lifted us up this week. Thank the Lord for his mercy and goodness towards us.
- As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, thank God for the life of every member of this Cathedral.
- Let us pray that God will help us know him as he is. Pray also that Ghanaians will seek his face and presence in all that we do.
- Pray for the Jobless and needy. Pray that the Lord will save and heal us from all sicknesses and diseases.
- Let us pray that as we rejoice for the favour the Lord has shown the Anglican Church, Diocese of Accra. We will as well humble ourselves as a church before the Lord for him to direct our way.
- Gracious God, Spirit of life, move upon the face of our world, our Nation, our Church in the power of your Holy Spirit. Startle the powerful and the humble with your power and tenderness, your purpose and determination, your patience and mercy. Hear our prayers of thankfulness and our requests for your intercession.
- Almighty God we thank you for your nurture and your care for how you pour your gifts out upon the earth blessing your people not only with food, but with talents and abilities, with dreams and visions, and with all that goes to make us one body, a body of light, of love and of care, of healing and of witness, Lord, hear our prayer.
- Heavenly Joy, rock of Ages, Wind upon the Sea, we thank you for how you have made us to drink of the one Spirit and for how you work through us to bring wholeness and peace to the world. We pray O God that each of us in this part of your church, that each of us in this Cathedral may find the perfect freedom that you promise in Christ Jesus and in dying to self and coming alive to him, walk his path of service and devotion, of sacrifice and of love. Make us a servant people with him, that like him, we may also share in your glory. Lord hear our prayer….
- Father, as we worship today, in this time of celebration of the birth of your church, and for what you have done through your faithful ones in this place and at the Independence Square, we pray for ……. Lord hear our prayer.
- We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the gift of a new week, praying that His favour will continue to rest on us, our church and our Nation Ghana.
- We pray for peace, security, and the prosperity of our dear country Ghana, praying for the leadership and the various arms of government to uphold and promote the peace of God in our nation.
- We pray for the organisers of this years Harvest, that this year's harvest and fundraising programme will be successful and achieve its purposes. We ask the Lord's divine assistance for the Guilds that have come together to work for this purpose.
- We pray for the Diocesan Crusade scheduled for 15th – 17th May, 2013. We pray for all the resource persons; that the Lord will use them massively as channels of blessing and inspiration.
- We pray for all who for one reason or the other are not in church that the Lord will reveal himself to them.
- We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the gift of a new week, praying that His favour will continue to rest on us, our church and our Nation Ghana.
- We pray for peace, security, and the prosperity of our dear country Ghana, praying for the leadership and the various arms of government to uphold and promote the peace of God in our nation.
- We pray for the organisers of this years Harvest, that this year's harvest and fundraising programme will be successful and achieve its purposes. We ask the Lord's divine assistance for the Guilds that have come together to work for this purpose.
- We pray for the Diocesan Crusade scheduled for 15th – 17th May, 2013. We pray for all the resource persons; that the Lord will use them massively as channels of blessing and inspiration.
- We pray for all who for one reason or the other are not in church that the Lord will reveal himself to them.
- We offer special thanks to God for His presence that has been with us to this day. We pray for his continuous mercies and protection from all evils.
- We pray for all leaders, that they may emulate the examples of Christ our Chief Shepherd.
- We pray for leaders and rulers of nations especially our lovely nation Ghana that they may come to the saving knowledge of Christ and be changed for better leadership of God's people.
- We pray for the on-coming crusade at the Independence Square. We pray for the full participation of our members, a spirit filled program and for traveling mercies to all who will attend the program.
- We pray for the sick, the poor, the depressed, the lonely, the rejected that the fountain of God's healing be their portion.
- We offer to the Lord all praise, glory an d honor due for safely bringing us to the beginning of this day. We pray that this week will be a productive week in our lives.
- We pray for all those writing their final exams especially, all Senior High School Students in the Third and Fourth years, that they will perform excellently and live responsible lives after their exams.
- We pray for God's divine provision to open job avenues for the jobless and unemployed that they may discern the will of God for their lives.
- We pray for all children those by misfortune have become orphans and abandoned. We pray that the Holy Spirit, will touch the hearts of people to assist individuals orphanages that are providing for these unfortunate ones.
- We pray for all our sick and aged members that the Lord's presence will continue to help them to overcome the sense of loneliness and rejection, looking and trusting the Lord all the time.
- We praise and thank the Good Lord for a successful Easter celebration. We trust that the resurrection Power of our Lord Jesus Christ will revive our hope, faith and strength and also minister peace to every trouble minds.
- We pray for all Clergy Spouses, that at their ongoing Conference in Ho, the Lord will reveal himself to them. We pray for their continuous support for the Clergy to perform and to discharge their priestly duties effectively.
- We pray for the new Archbishop of Canterbury – Justice Welby, that in his vocation and ministry, he may be an instrument of God's love, and also to be endues with the needful grace to lead the Alnglican Communion Worldwide.
- We pray for the weak, disabled, and helpless people in society, that the resurrection of Christ will inspire their hope in the midst of their Challenges.
- We pray for all our benefactors and all those who have been helpful to us in one way or the other.
- Let us thank the good Lord that we have lived to see another Palm Sunday. We pray that as Jesus Christ our Lord entered Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple, He may enter our hearts and cleanse us of all our sins.
- We pray for all Teachers in all institutions of learning that the Lord will grant them more knowledge to impart unto all those entrusted to their care. We pray that the demands of NAGRAT and GNAT will be considered so as to enable all teachers to return to the classrooms to teach.
- We thank God for the gift of children. We pray that our children and our youth may be responsive to good nurturing so that they will become responsible members of the church and good Patriots of the Nation.
- We pray for all Doctors, Nurses and other Medical Personnel, for God's protection in the course of their duties. We pray that as the Holy Spirit blesses their efforts, they in turn will administer to the sick with love, patience and devotion.
- We praise the Lord for His goodness and mercies towards us as a nation and a Church.
- We thank God for the lives of our Clergy, we pray that they may always be protected and guided by the Holy Spirit to lead holy, righteous and sober lives worthy of emulation by the flock they are shepherding.
- We pray that God may bless all who have offered themselves to the service of Lay Ministry; That strengthened by the Holy Spirit they may faithfully continue in their respective vocations in the Lord's vineyard.
- We join our faith together in praying for the sick, poor and needy; for God's divine intervention in their situations.
- Let us with one accord give thanks to God for bringing us safely to the beginning of another week. We pray that God will forgive us all that we have done against his most holy will and commandment. We pray for the renewing of His Spirit in our lives.
- We pray God's divine prosperity for our Nation Ghana. We pray that He will continue to shower his blessing on all good endeavours of the Government so as to eliminate all predicament that may hinder the progress of this Nation of ours.
- We thank God for the lives of all parents and guardians, especially, Mothers. That they will be endowed with patience, wisdom, and strength in nurturing their children in the fear of God.
- We pray for God's mercies on all peoples especially the poor, needy and desolate in society. Pray for God's divine guidance and providence for their basic requirements in life.
- Thank God for his mercies, love and care for a good weather and peacefulness in our country.
- We pray God to give us good listening ears which will hear him when he speaks, eyes to see his directions and a heart to obey him with understanding and humility.
- That we might bear fruit in its season since God has provided us with all that we need, both spiritually and physically.
- That each one of us will recognize and acknowledge his/her call and hence be of use to the fullest for the benefit of all mankind.
- That our children will grow according to the will of God.
- We offer to the Lord our Salvation all praise and glory due His name for safely bringing us to the beginning of this week.
- We pray for the education system of Ghana, remembering all Heads of Schools, teachers and all in decision making positions that they will be selfless and dedicated to their duties.
- We pray for all those who are qualified, but jobless. Praying for more job avenues for them to be employed. We also pray for all those who are being under payed that the Lord will touch the hearts of their employers to treat them better.
- We pray for the sick, the poor, the unloved, the forgotten, the lonely and all in any kind of trouble.
- We praise the Lord God for his goodness and mercies which are new every morning.
- We pray for the unbelievers and backsliden Christians to turn to the Lord for forgiveness during this Lenten season.
- We pray for divine empowerment and for the assistance of the Holy Spirit during this Lenten season. We ask the Lord to help us in ourself denial, Prayer and almsgiving exercise.
- We pray for our President, Vice and all in authority in our land; ie. The Speaker of Parliament, Chief Justice, Ministers, MP'S, MCE's, DCE's etc. We pray for Godly led leadership.
- We pray for all who need our prayers, the sick, the depressed, oppressed, widows and widowers; for the Lord's divine assistance.
- We praise the Lord God for what He has done for us, and for what He continues to do for us as a nation, a church and a people called by His grace.
- We pray for God's forgiveness for wrongs we have done which retards progress in society. We pray that we will be instruments in the hands of God in fulfilling His purposes on earth and in our nation Ghana.
- We pray for our Bishop's, Priests and all Ministers of the gospel, praying that in their lives, and doctrines they may increase in the grace of God and also set forth rightly the word of truth without fear, favor or prejudiced.
- Pray for all unbelievers and people of other faiths that they may come to the saving faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- We pray for all in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or other adversity, that God will intervene in their situations.
- With joyful hearts and Praise to our God, Let us thank the Lord for safely bringing us to the beginning of a new month.
- Let us pray for the Spirit of thankfulness as we look back at what God has done for us, and for wisdom to order our affairs to achieve fruitful results.
- We pray for all retired workers and Priests of this Diocese; we ask for the continuous protection and provision of the Lord to maintain and keep them strong.
- We pray for all members of the Anglican Diocese of Accra, especially members of this Cathedral that we may be committed in fulfuling the Vision and Mission of our Church .
- We pray for the sick, the deprived, the oppressed and depressed, aged, widows, and widowers, that the Lord may intervene in their challenging moments.
- Thank God for the Word He has given us for our guidance. For the Word that shows us how to live in a way that is pleasing to Him, which sets free God's liberating and healing power in our midst.
- Thank God for all who proclaim the Word faithfully and help us to understand what His Will is.
- Thank God for the living Word, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth, Jesus Christ our Saviour..
- Extend your blessings to others through your prayer for them and in so doing ask that God's name be blessed by what you seek of Him, both in its intention and in its fulfillment. .
- Pray that we may obey God's will in all things and do the works that He has gifted us to do, as a revelation of His presence.
- Pray for heads of states: that they may know how to read worlds events and see the signs that God gives through these, so that they may lead their people with wisdom.
- Pray for Church leaders: that they may be attentive to the signs that God gives them through daily events so that they may guide God's people as He wants them to do.
- Pray for people who always look for extraordinary happenings to find a direction for their lives: that they may rather be attentive to the ordinary events which carry God's signs and His message.
- Let us pray for ourselves: that we may be sensitive to the signs that God addresses to us personally through his Bible, the visit of a neighbor or the advice of a friend.
- May God help us to recognize the signs that he gives us through what happens in the World.
- Pray for those who do not know God, as a Father: that they may come to discover who God really is.
- Pray for those who do not see themselves as God's children, that they may also come to the saving knowledge of Christ and His love.
- Pray for parents: that they may express their love for their children in a way that will reflect God's own love for us.
- Pray for those who have experienced little love in their lives: that this may not prevent them from trusting in God's love for them.
- Pray that we may firmly believe in God's personal love for each one of us and that we may share this conviction with those we meet.
- Pray for travelling mercies for all students and teachers as they return to school for the second term.
- We pray for those who, having been Christians for some time, have stopped looking for you, Lord: that they may learn anew to find you in all that happens to them.
- We pray for those who say that they have searched for you, Lord, but did not find you: that they may not cease trying to meet you.
- We pray for those who look to the stars and to secret doctrines in search of you, Lord: that they may be attentive to the genuine signs pointing to your presence with us.
- We pray for ourselves: that we never stop looking for you, Lord Jesus, no matter how demanding this may be at times, and that we may not rest until we have found you.
- We pray for our nation Ghana, that we may enjoy the peace which passes all understanding.
- Thank the Almighty for ushering us into a new week. Pray that the week may be a successful one for us.
- Pray that the Electoral Commission of Ghana may resist every influence from outside and strictly abide by its given mandate.
- Pray that all the country's natural resources may be exploited and faithfully applied to the needs of Ghanaians.
- Pray for a just society in Ghana, where human dignity is respected and maintained.
- Pray for all accident victims that the Lord may grant them relief in all their trials.
- Let every heart be opened in praise and thanksgiving.
- Pray for the Electoral Commission of Ghana that it would do its utmost to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, come December 7.
- Pray that the world's natural resources would be equittably shared among the worlds peoples.
- Pray for the disadvantaged in society and those whose voices are styfled on political grounds.
- Pray that God himself will choose the right leader for Ghana to manage faithfully the national resources.
- Thank God for ushering us into a brand new week, full of various possibilities and blessing.
- Pray for all school children, especially those who have to trek long distances to their schools.
- Remember the sick the lonely and the unloved in your prayers.
- We pray that the world will increasingly become a place of peace and love.
- We pray for the Electoral Commission of Ghana that it will uphold its tenets to ensure free fair and transparent elections this year.
- Pray for young men and women who are searching for life partners that God may guide them to pick appropriate partners.
- Let us thank God for a continuous fair weather and adequate provision of our needs.
- We pray for all women labouring of child and a decrease in infant mortality.
- We pray for all labourers and artisans especially those whose tasks involves working with dangerous equipment.
- We pray that the world will increasingly become a place of peace and love.
- We pray for the Electoral Commission of Ghana that it will uphold its tenets to ensure free fair and transparent elections this year.
- Thank God for a successful Harvest.
- We pray for a spirit filled Enthronement ceremony in this afternoon.
- Pray that the week we have just entered may be one in which all our needs and petitions will be granted by God the Father Almighty.
- We pray for traveling mercies for traders who travel to various places to buy wares for sale in the urban centres.
- Let remember all those who are unable to fend for themselves on account of various defects and illnesses..
- Pray for all doctors, nurses and para-medical staff that God the healer will heal the sick through their efforts.
- We pray for the Electoral Commission of Ghana that it will uphold its tenets to ensure free fair and transparent elections this year.
- Thank God for ushering us into another week full of opportunities and breakthroughs.
- Let us pray for the success of the impending Harvest. Pray the Lord of the Harvest to bring in as many willing supporters as possible to help us achieve our target.
- We pray for all who will be involved in the Harvest, especially, those who will have to travel from far places. May the Lord grant them all traveling mercies.
- We pray that the prayer answering God will meet all petitioners at their points of their needs.
- We magnify and exalt the Lord for the blessing of another day.
- We thank God for the successful sod-cutting ceremony of the Anglican Bishops Towers. We pray for its success and for the successful implementation of all Diocesan projects.
- We pray for this years Harvest we trust the Lord to enable us exceed our target and to make achievement of this years Church Projects.
- We pray for all invited guests for the Harvest, the planning committee and all members that the Lord will endow them with means to honour their financial obligation.
- We pray for all members who seek for God's divine intervention in various challenges. That their expectation may not be cut off.
- We offer praise, glory, honour and power to our God now and forever for all mercies freely given.
- We pray for the Electorral Commission of Ghana that it will uphold its tenents to ensure free fair and transparent elections this year.
- We pray for all hospitals and medical centres, remembering all Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses and Medical Assistants that God will continue to use them as channels of healing to the sick and the depressed.
- We pray for all bishops of the Anglican Communion especially within our Province that they will be united in seeking the purpose of Christ for his Church.
- We pray for all psychiatry patients trusting the Lord to intervene in their healing process.
- We thank the Lord for safely bringing us to the beginning of the last quarter of the year; trusting Him to see us safely to the end of the year fulfilling His purpose for our lives.
- We continue to pray for Ghana and for National peace before, during and after the General Elections. We pray that our youth groups will be committed and loyal to the Lord in promoting peace and eschewing violence during the electioneering period.
- We pray for all married couples who are trusting God for the gift of Children.
- We pray for all inactive members of our church, that the Lord's Spirit will revive them for greater works.
- We pray for all sick members, especially the disabled, depressed and mentally challenged, that the Lord will remember them.
- We bring our prayer of thanks and praise to God for his live, forgiveness and safety we've enjoyed throughout the year's.
- We pray for our schools and education, institutional; especially our teachers and head teacher's, that they will continue to render selfless and dedicated services.
- We pray for a new passion of God's word, prayer and Evangelism among church members of this Cathedral.
- We pray for God's healing to manifest in the lives of those whose health conditions need God's divine intervention.
- We thank God for his Goodness and mercies, his loving kindness and provisions from the beginning of the year to date.
- We pray for all youth groups in the Diocese, that they will continue to remain disciplined, spirit filled and Spirit led.
- We pray for all our Clergy and their families, that as the year draws to a close, more grace will abound in their lives to sustain them in their duties towards God and man.
- We pray for all sick persons, especially those with depressed conditions; that the hand of the Lord will sustain them in their challenging moments.
- We pray for God's protection on all member of this Cathedral
- Take time today to think back and consider how wonderful God has led you. Thank Him.
- We pray for peace, security and prosperity of our nation, Church and families.
- Let us pray for the media to show some tact and decorum in discharging their duties, and in upholding and promoting the peace we enjoy as a nation.
- We pray for the unsaved members of our communities, that they may come to the saving knowledge of Christ.
- We pray for the sick especially those under intensive care. We trust the Lord to heal them.
- We thank God for a successful ordination of Deacons and Priests, pray that God's hand will strengthen the ordained to be faithful to the course of the Gospel. We also pray for their spouses and family.
- Pray for the Church universal, asking for the guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit to enable us live to His glory.
- Pray for the President, the three arms of government and the nation as a whole, pray that God will prosper our endeavours for the growth of our nation.
- Pray for the security personnel and the media for wisdom to discharge their duties effectively.
- Pray for wisdom for all teachers that the good Lord will bless them with more knowledge to impart unto all those entrusted into their care. Pray for patience and understanding as they teach our children to be responsible citizens.
- We pray for all candidate who are writing their remedial examination.
- From the depth of our hearts, we give thanks to God for His innumerable benefits that we continue to enjoy and bringing us to the beginning of another month.
- Pray for the Church universal, asking for the guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit to enable us live to His glory.
- Pray for the President, the three arms of government and the nation as a whole, pray that God will prosper our endeavours for the growth of our nation.
- Pray for wisdom for all teachers that the good Lord will bless them with more knowledge to impart unto all those entrusted into their care. Pray for patience and understanding as they teach our children to be responsible citizens.
- Pray God to mercifully look upon the sick persons especially our members and relieve them of their sufferings.
- With a grateful heart and a mouth full of praise, let us give thanks to God for the great and small things He had done for us.
- Let's all with one pray for all those who will be ordained that God will fill them with the overflowing of his spirit and endow them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
- Let's pray for all our outstation churches, that they should grow according to God's will
- Let's pray for the peace of Ghana, as we approach election 2012.
- Let's pray for all broken relationships We pray for our President, Vice and all in authority in our land; ie. The Speaker of Parliament, Chief Justice, Ministers, MP'S, MCE's, DCE's etc. We pray for Godly led leadership.that God should restore them
- Give God w/liorship and thanks for one particular thing you are grateful for.
- Let's pray for all clergy and their families for God's protection and provision.
- Let's pray to God, to heal all those who are sick, especially those slated to undergo surgery.
- Let's pray for couples who are seeking for the fruit of the womb, that God should meet their heart desires.
- Let's pray for broken homes, and marriages for God to reunite them.
- Let's pray for all conferences going on especially that of AYPA and Women's Fellowship
- Bring your personal needs before God.
- Let's us all with one heart and voice give God worship for who He is and what He does.
- Let's thank Him for the gift of life He has given us.
- Let's pray for the children's study camp, that starts today, pray for transport mercies to and fro.
- Let's ask God to use the Sunday School teacher to shape the lives of the children.
- Let's pray for our relatives, friends and loved ones who have not yet come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Pray for the sick, suffering, the aged and the dying that God should heal and protect them.
- Bring your personal supplications before God.
- Let's give thanks to God for his constant care, protection and provision for our families, church and nation.
- Let's give thanks to God for a successful Children's Harvest, ask God to replenish all those who gave to support the harvest.
- Let's give thanks to God for a successful completion of Youth Week Celebration, let's ask God to help our youth to stay focus on Him.
- Give thanks to God for a successful Synod, ask God to help us implement the synod resolutions, so as to uplift the Anglican Church to a greater height.
- Give God worship throughout this week.
Our focus this week is directed towards the Nation.
- Let's thank God for the Nation, Ghana for the peace we are enjoying.
- Let's pray for the newly sworn in President that God should give him wisdom to lead the nation according to God's own way.
- Let us also pray for the organs of the Government.
- Lets bring our economy before God.
- Pray for the citizens of Ghana that we will lead a peaceful life.
- Pray asking God's blesssing on all citizens and the nation at large.
- Our focus this week is directed towards the church.
- Give God praise and thanks for all that He has done for you, your family and the Church. (Ps. 103:1-5).
- Let's thank God for the lives of the leadership of the churches.
- Pray for all workers in the body of Christ, both the clergy and the laity.
- Pray for love and unity among the members of the church. (Psalm 133:1-3)
- Pray committing every programme of the church into God's hand that He should grant us success in all (Prov. 1).
- Let's pray for the afflicted members, that God should deliver them from all their affliction. (Psalm 34:17,19)
- Let's ask God to give us a productive and blessed week.
- Our focus this week is on Children (Ps127:3-5)
- Let's give God worship by praising Him for who He is and thanking Him for what he has done and what He will do for us (Ps. 95:6).
- Let's ask God to protect all children against any plan of the enemy
- Pray that our children would grow to become what God had destined them to be.
- Pray for street children, orphans, those involved in slavery that God will meet them at the point of their needs, by raising people who will come to their aid.
- Pray for all parents and teachers that they will instruct their children in the fear of the Lord.
- Ask for God's blessing on all parents, guardians, children organizations, that they would be able to care for our future leaders.
Note: Without children trained in godly fear our families, church, nations will have no future.
- With grateful hearts we give thanks to God for a brand new week and for answered prayers.
- We pray for the Church universal to demonstrate unity and partnership in the body of Christ and maintain a strong standard of godly living
- We continue to pray for next Sunday's consecration of a new Bishop. We pray for all who will be travelling from far and near to attend the service. We pray for journeying mercies and a spirit filled service.
- Pray God to hear the prayers of persons asking for the fruit of the womb. Pray that His mercies bestowed upon Sarah and Hannah will be extended to them.
- Pray that God will have mercy on our children especially the youth. Pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in all their endeavours
- Pray for the needy, and the desolate and all in any king of trouble.
- We praise and glorify the name of the Lord our God for his goodness and mercies that are new every morning.
- We pray for all Doctor's, Medical Officers, Nurses and all health workers, that the Lord will increase their love for saving lives. We pray for God's blessings on their lives, work and families.
- We pray for the forth coming Consecration of a new Bishop, praying for our new Bishop to be endowed with the riches of God's grace and gifts of leadership.
- We pray for all unemployed members of this Church, asking for the divine direction of God to show them avenues of usefulness.
- We pray for the sick, suffering, depressed and destitute. Praying for the Lord's divine intervention.
- We thank God for the wonderful and spirit filled anointing service held last Sunday. Thank God for the presence of the Holy Spirit, for healing breakthroughs and testimonies.
- We also thank God for the fresh anointing upon His children, and pray that we may declare the word of God with boldness and clarity.
- Pray and thank God for all the activities held throughout the week. As we celebrate our feast of Title today, we pray that all members of this great Cathedral will participate fully in the programmes for this month. Pray that we will seek the kingdom of God, trusting fully in the Father.
- Pray for God's light to awaken the Church in Ghana to put aside all slumbering and false teachings and prepare the way for the king of Glory.
- Pray for all persons you know are burdened and going through difficulties and are becoming weary, that they may find rest in Jesus.
- We give praise, glory and honour to God for sending the gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide, keep and to inspire the Church to remain in the truth.
- Let us pray for the continuous infilling of the Holy Spirit, we pray that the Church will be guided to lead Holy, righteous and sober life worthy of emulation.
- We pray for all clergy and Lay Ministers; that being strengthened by the Holy Spirit, they will faithfully continue in their respective vocations in the Lord's vineyard.
- We pray for today's Healing and Anointing service to be spirit filled that there will be evidence of the healing presence of the Holy Spirit at work. Pray also for the Archbishop and all vessels to be used by God to be channels of God's blessings and healing to the sick, oppressed and destitute.
- With hearts full of gratitude we give thanks to God for a spirit filled Confimation service held last Sunday. We thank God for the lives of those confirmed praying that they would be faithful to the word of God.
- We also thank God for a brand new week and the gift of life with its blessings.
- We pray for the Archbishop, the Dean and All Clergymen. We ask for God's continued blessings upon them and be guided by the Holy Spirit.
- We pray for all activities lined up in the Cathedral for the month of June. Pray for God's direction and guidance and for the resources needed to organize these programmes.
- We also pray for the Youth of this Cathedral, especially for the programmes planned for the rest of the year. Pray for the leading of the spirit and for the resource persons.
- We pray for the leadership of this nation for God's wisdom and guidance.
- We also pray for all caregivers of Orphans and abandoned children. We ask for God's abundant grace on these people in providing care for these unfortunate children.
· We pray for all in any kind of need.
- With grateful hearts we give glory to God for bringing us this far, His love, protection, care and manifold blessings.
- We pray for the Church worldwide for the spirit of God to guide and strengthen the church for greater works.
- We pray for the confirmants that they will be filled to overflowing by the power of the Holy Spirit and be endowed with diverse gifts to edify the church.
- Pray that God will bless all who have offered themselves to the service and that strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit they may faithfully continue in their respective vocations in the Lord's vineyard.
- We pray for the entire congregation to lead lives worthy of emulation to the greater glory of God. Pray that the Lord will bless and keep us closely united to Him.
- Pray for the three arms of government for wisdom, direction and guidance. We also pray that this year's election will be a peaceful one. We pray for the Electoral Commission that guided by the Holy Spirit they may execute their duties in the fear of God.
- We remember the sick, the unemployed widows/widowers and all in any kind of trouble.
- Thank God for the gift of life as individuals and as members of the body of Christ. We also thank the good Lord for a successful Alpha retreat.
- We pray for the Anglican Diocese of Accra that the Holy Spirit may at all times guard, guide and strengthen the Church. We remember all Clergymen, that guided by the Holy Spirit they may lead holy, righteous and sober lives worthy of emulation.
- We pray for the leaders and the entire congregation of Cathedral Church to draw closer to God, look up to Jesus in all things and live. We ask that God will look down with favour upon us and answer our prayers.
- Thank God for the lives of all parents and guardians especially mothers. Pray that the Lord will bless them with strength, wisdom and patience to nurture their children in the knowledge, fear and love of God.
- We remember the needy, and the sick. We pray that the great Physician will have mercy and heal them.
- Praise, Glory and honour to the Lord, for his mercies which endures forever. We continue to pray for the SHS students for success in their exams.
- We thank God for the peaceful and successful completion of the B.E.C.E.
- We pray that as the Pupils (J.H.S Graduands) spend the next four to five months at home, God will protect them and that their hands find fruitful work to do.
- For God's direction and Peace on marriages going through troubled moments and for those yet to marry, He himself should grant them wisdom and the needed resources.
- For the Children's Ministry that God should be their guide and provider directing them daily.
- Pray for the sick, needy and all those who are disturbed in one way or the other. Ask for God's healing on them.
- We give thanks to God for life, creation, preservation and sustenance.
- We pray for the leaders and the entire membership of all church groups. Pray that the Holy Spirit may unify and direct them to work in accordance with the aims and objectives of their respective groups for the growth and welfare of the church.
- We pray for all Lay Ministers that guided by the Holy Spirit, they may humble themselves in the service of the Church and towards one another.
- Pray for peace and understanding in our nation Ghana among Political opponents.
- We pray God for guidance and directions to increase our resources and boost our economy.
- We pray for all those who are qualified but are jobless. We pray God Almighty to open job avenues for them.
- Pray God to have mercy on all mankind, especially the needy and desolate. Pray that He may provide for their needs with the basic requirements of their lives.
- We continue to thank the Lord for the manifestation of his resurrection Power in our lives, works and ministry.
- We pray for all examination candidates; especially remembering SHS candidate writing their exams and JHS pupil's who are starting their exams from Monday. We pray for excellent performance this year.
- We pray for all Old St. Monican's for unity and love for God's support for their aged members.
- We pray that the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will quicken the bodies of the aged and all who are sick in any part of their bodies, that they will experience a miracle of healing.
- Pray for Chiefs, Queen Mothers, Elders of Families and all holding any sort of traditional authority. Pray the Holy Spirit to guide them to administer with integrity, to promote understanding, peace and love among their subjects.
- With hearts full of gratitude, we give thanks to God for the strength given us to go through the Holy Week rites and beyond.
- We thank God for the Blood of Jesus that avails for us and the Resurrection power.
- We pray for the Church universal for God's Spirit to continue to direct and guide us. We also pray for vision and unity of purpose for the Anglican Diocese of Accra to proclaim God's great and marvelous deeds among all people.
- We pray for our nation Ghana for the ongoing biometric registration exercise. We pray for sanity in all the registration centres, and for a successful exercise devoid of any difficulties or problems.
- We pray for the wisdom for the leadership of the Trinity Club and also for the membership drive. We ask for God's direction and guidance as they use their resources to bless the church and the society at large.
- We pray for the comfort of the Holy Spirit to surround all in any kind of trouble.
- We sing praises and thanks to the Lord for safely bringing us through to the end of March. Pray that the Lord will fill us with grace to go through this month.
- We pray for safety and solemn reflections during this Eastertide. We also pray for all Clergy of the Diocese that the Lord will endow them with strength to go through the season.
- Pray for retentive memory for all Pupils and students; We pray for humility and teachable, spirits and also trust the Lord for excellent performance in this years B.E.C.E. and WASSCE.
- We pray for the Men's Fellowship of this Cathedral. Praying that the Holy Spirit may unify and direct them in accordance with their aims and objectives.
- We remember all sick members of this Cathedral that by the stripes of Christ they may be healed.
- We praise and glorify the Lord for giving us the privilege of a new life this day.
- We pray for all parishes holding Vestry Meeting and elections to elect new leaders, praying especially for this Parish that the Lord will guide us to have a successful Vestry meeting and elections. We pray that he will guide us to make right choices for the good of His Church.
- We pray for a new evangelism drive in the church and among all Guilds and Associations.
- We pray for all Polytechnic teachers on strike, we pray for God's divine intervention that they will be able to go back to teach the affected students who are preparing for end of Semester exams.
- We pray for the leadership and entire members of the Brotherhood of St. Michael and All Angels, that they may be committed to their aims and objectives.
- We pray for the sick, the poor, the needy, the suffering and underprivileged for God's help at their various points of need.
- Let us thank God for strength given us in this Lenten season. Thank Him for all mercies He has bestowed upon us.
- Pray for a revival for the Church of God. Pray that the Holy Spirit will visit our church in a special way. We pray for all clergymen and their families asking for God's protection and guidance.
- Pray God may have mercy on our children. We pray that they may grow up in the knowledge and fear of the Lord. We pray for all parents and guardians for strength, wisdom and the patience to nurture their children in the love of God.
- Pray for the fruit of the womb for all couples waiting upon the Lord.
- We pray for the leadership and entire members of the Trinity Guild. We ask for God's wisdom and guidance and pray for zeal and commitment as they contribute towards the development of the church.
- Pray for all sick persons for God's divine touch. We also remember all in any kind of danger of stress. Pray God to relieve them of their sufferings.
- Let us with one accord sing praises and offer thanks to God for his ever increasing mercies and loving kindness towards us.
- Let us thank the Lord for a successful launching of the 2012 Harvest last week. We pray for the hosting Guild that the Lord himself will assist their efforts to make us reach and exceed our target this year.
- We pray for our great country Ghana thanking God for all mercies showered on us for the past 55years that the Lord will bless every government efforts for the progress of this Nation.
- We pray for the A. Y. P. A. that being guided by the Holy Spirit, they will unite the youth of this Church, especially this year as they celebrate 60th Anniversary. We pray that the youth will grow up to be disciplined, loyal and committed members of this Cathedral as well as becoming useful citizens of this country.
- We pray for the sick, needy, poor and unloved, that the Lord will be gracious to them.
- We pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and discernment as we prepare to elect new leaders for the Cathedral church on 25th March, 2012.
- From the depth of our hearts, we give thanks to God for His innumerable benefits that we continue to enjoy and bringing us to the beginning of another month.
- ·Pray for the Church universal, asking for the guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit to enable us live to His glory.
- ·Pray for the President, the three arms of government and the nation as a whole, pray that God will prosper our endeavours for the growth of our nation.
- · Pray for the security personnel and the media for wisdom to discharge their duties effectively.
- ·Pray for wisdom for all teachers that the good Lord will bless them with more knowledge to impart unto all those entrusted into their care. Pray for patience and understanding as they teach our children to be responsible citizens.
- ·Pray for the Women's Fellowship. Ask God for wisdom and direction and pray that their efforts will make an impact on the Church and the society at large.
- · Pray God to mercifully look upon the sick persons especially our members and relieve them of their sufferings.
- We thank the good Lord for the very gift of our life and the strength He gives us. We are grateful for His love and compassion.
- ·We pray for all Christians worldwide and ask for more grace during this Lenten period.
- ·Let us continue to ask for the enablement of the Holy Spirit to help us go through with all seriousness in order to grow /ul Let us pray for the continuous infilling of the Holy Spirit, we pray that the Church will be guided to lead Holy, righteous and sober life worthy of emulation.We pray for the Archbishop, the Dean and All Clergymen. We ask for God's continued blessings upon them and be guided by the Holy Spirit.strongspiritually.
- · Pray also for the Cathedral clergy and other ministers for strength to go through this discipline and come out stronger spiritually to face the task ahead of them.
- ·Let us pray for peace in all troubled spots throughout the world. Pray also for our own nation Ghana asking for wisdom for our leaders and pray that they will seek the face of the Lord daily in taking decisions.
- ·We pray for Mother's Union. We ask God to give them direction and true vision. We pray for the leadership and ask for Godly wisdom and abundant grace.
- · We remember all in any kind of distress especially the depressed, the afflicted, the mentally challenged, HIV. and Aids patients and the marginalized in society.
- With Hearts full of gratitude. We give thanks to God for a brand new week and the gift of life.
- We pray for the Alpha course which is about to take off in all the parishes during this Lenten season. Pray for God's direction and for more souls to be won for the Lord.
- We pray for the Archbishop, the Bishop – elect and all clergymen. We pray for unity of purpose and for vision. We also pray for the Clergy spouses and children of clergymen for God's protection and direction.
- We pray for the Guilds of St. Andrew thanking God for their induction service. We pray for zeal and commitment and to follow the footsteps of St. Andrew to bring in more souls to the kingdom of God.
- We continue to pray for the re-roofing project asking God for His continues protection for the workers and all around the premises.
- We remember the sick, the aged, the bereaved and all in any kind of danger.
- We are grateful to the Lord for His protection, guidance and abundant grace.
- We thank God for the week-long celebration of the Bible Society of Ghana, for making God's Word available and affordable to the people of this nation.
- We pray for peace throughout the world especially Nigeria. We pray for our President, the Vice President and all in authority. We pray especially for peace in this election year.
- We pray for the youth of this Cathedral for God's guidance and commitment. We also pray for those looking for employment. May the good Lord open doors for them.
- We pray for the striking lectures and workers of the Cape Coast University. We pray that their demands will be met for normal lectures to begin.
- We also pray for the Guilds of St. Michael and all Angels, asking for God's guidance and direction as well as commitment and dedication. We also pray for the leadership
- With hearts full of joy and gratitude we bless the name of the Lord for safely bringing us into the beginning of a new month.
- We pray for the Lord's divine presence and assistance to aid us throughout this month.
- We pray for the ongoing re-roofing project of the Cathedral and ask God to protect the workers and all on the church premises.
- We pray for the leaders and members of our various Guilds and Association, asking God for direction, guidance and vision for this year. We pray for loyalty and commitment.
- We remember the sick, the orphans, widows/ widowers, aged, the poor and all in any kind of distress.
- We thank the Lord for the beginning of another week; praying that His constant love and care will continue to sustain us.
- We pray for the re-roofing project of the Cathedral to go on smoothly devoid of any mishap. We ask for God's protection over all the workers.
- We pray for the Lay Readers and lay pastors that they will receive divine empowerment and guidance in discharging their duties. We pray that the Lord will bless them as they do this work in the church
- We pray for the Archbishop, the Bishop elect, the Dean and the entire clergy of this great Diocese. We ask the Lord to unite us and bind us together with love as we continue to discharge our priestly duties. We pray for their families for protection.
- We pray for the sick, the lonely, the depressed for the Lord to restore them to health.
- We pray and thank the Almighty God for safely bringing us to the beginning of another week. we thank Him for the gift of life and for His numerous blessings.
- We thank the Lord for a successful synod.
- We pray for the Lord's assistance this year as the church starts with the Cathedral re-roofing project.
- We pray for the government especially for the President, the Vice and all who are in leadership positions, that the Lord will grant them the wisdom they need in leading this nation.
- We also pray for the Guild of the Servants of the Sanctuary. We ask the Lord to help them do their work as unto the Lord. We pray for more commitment and dedication.
- We also pray for the Sunday School and the youth. We ask God's hands to be upon them and guide them. We pray for the Sunday school teachers that the Lord will bless them mightily and reward their efforts in taking care of our children.
Today's gospel reading features a manager or steward of an estate who is so poor at what he does that eventually, when he is called to account by his master, he cooks the books. This fellow knowing that he has done a poor job and that he is going to get sacked changes the bottom line on all the debts that are owed to his master. Some he drops by 20%, some by as much as 50%, his theory being that the debtors of his master will be so happy to get a discount that they will gladly welcome him into their homes and feed him and care for him after he is fired. What happens in the parable when the master finally hears the story and calls the manager before him? The master commends his manager because he had acted shrewdly, because he had showed some intelligence in doing what he had done. In this story Jesus is not praising the fact that he was a bad manager, one quite willing to cheat his master, but rather he is commending the shrewdness, the forethought of the manager in looking after himself in doing good to those who in turn may be expected to do good to him.
The life issue in today's parable is: "just how shrewd, clever, and committed are the children of light when it comes to their faith?" Do we really look after ourselves? Do we really use what we have at hand, in whatever proportion we have it to the best advantage? Are we as anxious to ensure our future with God as the dishonest manager was to ensure his future in this world? Are we willing to change the bottom line so that when the time of reckoning comes there will be a place that welcomes us? Indeed, the issue at the very root of the parable of the dishonest manager is: are we, as Christians really committed to God and his way? Are we?,
Jesus ends the parable of the dishonest manager with these words: "the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth, so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes." … "No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
The children of this world are more perceptive than us at times, like the dishonest manager, the children of this world will do all that is required to look after themselves. They will use all their money and all their power to get more money and more power. If they can they will use other people's money and other people's power to get these things, to ensure their future, to change their own bottom lines. The children of this world show a perception that the children of light often lack and it seems they appear to have this savoy not because they are any smarter than you or I, but because they are more committed, they are only serving one master, their efforts are not divided, not confused, not lost in the gap that always exists between two masters.
Leslie Conrad says this of today's gospel lesson: I am always amused at how seriously some church members take their politics around election time…They can devote hundreds of hours ringing doorbells or making phone calls for their political party and its candidates. Yet they wouldn't walk next door to invite a neighbour to attend church with them. Yes, Jesus was correct. The children are wiser in worldly matters than they are in churchly matters." Much the same can be said for the zeal we bring to sport's activities or excursions or to our own personal recreation times. Where do we put our efforts? What do we do with our time, energy, and our money? Who or what are we really serving?
Think of Christians who want to evangelize only after everything else they have in their life is taken care of. Think of the leaders who always arrive late to church, of the teachers who prepare their lessons at the last moment, of the singers who are not bothered with a full practice, of the worshipers who never pray for others and themselves as they prepare to worship, of the members who never give a minute at all to the work of God.
Are you serving God with all the shrewdness and effort and resources that you put into other things in your life? Remember a manager who is finally approved by the master is the one who is unafraid to invest time, energy, emotion, and money so that the work that he or she is entrusted with succeeds, the one who is unafraid to change the bottom line in the way that God intends for us to change it.
"Seeking The Lost"
The Gospel reading began with these words: Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him (Jesus) And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:1-2) It is important to remember the situation which prompted Jesus to tell the story of a shepherd and his sheep, of a widow and her coins. We are to ask "whom do we identify with in this situation as well as in the stories that Jesus tells".
Which group or character do you identify with in today's gospel reading? With Jesus, the good person who tries to straighten out the religious folks? Who calls into question all they believe? Who reaches out and loves everyone, especially the most unloved? With the Pharisees, the ones who rightly saw the dangers of too close an association with the "wrong crowd", so convinced that they and they alone were only in the right? With the tax collectors and sinners, those traitors, the tax collectors who were working for the Romans and robbing their own people? With the sinners, the people of the land who never attended synagogue and seemed to lack even basic morality? With the shepherd who lost a sheep or the poor widow who lost a coin? With the 99 sheep who were OK or the one who was lost? With the coins secure in the widow's purse or the one that was lost between the cracks in the floor? Our way of identification can blind us to who we are, or who we could be, to where we are and to where we could be.
A teacher asked the kids one day, "If all the bad children were painted red and all the good children were painted green, which colour would you be?" Think about it. What colour would you be? Red or Green? One very wise child answered the teacher: "Striped" That in the frame of the story everyone but Jesus is striped.
We are a curious combination of the lost and the found. We are striped. We are in some sense not completely complete. It is hard language, this language of lost and found, especially for folks in the middle, as most of us are most of the time. There is always a part of us that needs to be dragged and cajoled into the light, and there is always a part of us that is already there. Some more, some less.
The wonderful thing is that God wants us to enter fully into the light. The wonderful thing is that God wants to bless us all richly to keep us safe, to make us strong, to help us be like a Shepherd who really cares for his sheep like a poor widow who really values all her coins. The wonderful thing is that the lost part of us is as valuable to God as the found part, that God does not want any one of us or any part of one of us to be ignored, neglected, or lost. God wants to bless us all of us and God rejoices when one of us or a part of us is found.
Clearly Jesus wants us to understand something important about God. That God values and seeks out everyone, even the most unlikely persons. That God calls and wants to embrace everyone, even those whom others would not. That God rejoices when those who have lost their way are found and that God celebrates when he can once again sustain and nourish those who for one reason or another have wandered away from him.
Jesus wants us to identify with both the shepherd and the poor widow in their sorrow and their joy, and to understand that each of us is valued no matter what our colour how many stripes we have. All of us are valued. The 99 and the 1. The coins in the purse and the one under the floor. Without all we are incomplete. So when we are found there is much joy. The joy of the widow who finds her precious coin, the joy of the shepherd who finds his precious sheep.
Rejoice in your value. Let the shepherd gather you in. Rejoice in your worth. Let the widow find you. And be like the shepherd. Be like the widow. Seek, look, find those of every stripe. And rejoice when they come in and their pain and their sorrow is relieved. Rejoice. Indeed, there are the lost and there are the found and there are parts of us that are in the light, and parts in the dark. As you are searched for, as you are looked for, as you are valued and as you are found rejoice! And search for, look for, and find and rejoice over others.
"Counting The Cost"
In some countries Christian aid workers and church workers, both foreign and domestic, have been imprisoned or killed for no other reason than that they bear the name of Jesus Christ. Most of us will never face that kind of choice in our lives. We will not be asked to give our freedom or perhaps even our lives for the sake of the Gospel. But what about the other costs? The giving up of self that we are so reluctant to do? The giving up of a lot of our self control which is no easy thing, so God might rule in us? The giving up of hatreds and resentments against those who injured us or slighted us? or the giving up of meaningful amounts of cash money to God's work, money that could be better spent on our pleasure and comfort?
Discipleship is what today's passage from the Gospel according to Luke is all about. The discipleship , the following that calls us to love God, to love Jesus above ALL other things. We are commanded to "Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength"? Our love of God, is it real and genuine, is it one in which we are willing only to put in so much effort.? Is it but one love among many?
There is a difference between loving God and doing what God wants us to do, a difference between loving Christ and being his disciples, being those who take up their crosses and follow him. Jesus uses graphic images today to remind us that God wants more from us than our eagerness to receive bread without cost and wine without price. He uses words about hating all those we should love to shock us. He uses words about taking up the cross to horrify us and help wake us up to what is at stake: to help us realize that for his followers there is more to loving God than simply feeling thankful to God, more to loving God than simply waiting for God to pour a handful of goodies into our laps.
God wants us to be disciples, to be followers to be vessels able to receive his love, vessels able to hold his love and then to pour it out upon others. Jesus is telling us that being half-hearted is about as much good as having no heart at all. Giving up some things, but not everything, to God, he tells us can only earn us the ridicule of others.
The one who talked about the cost of loving God does not only shows us what true love is like when he died for us upon the cross, he has also shown us what God's love for us is like when he was raised from the dead on the third day. God's intention is to make us like more like Christ in every way, every day, to make us ones who are a blessing to others and who ourselves know the blessing, the presence, the peace, that only He can give.
What do we need to give up? What do you need to give up? Are you a child of God and yet you claim to be too busy, too distracted to spend a few hours once a week with your fellow Christians? Are you cantankerous and a troublemaker? Do you easily stop coming to church when you get upset? Are you the complainers who spread all the false messages? Are you church members who expect to be invited to your own church? Are you a part of the problem instead of the solution? Do you gossip to cause strife and divisions in the house of God? Do you easily get offended, get angry and quit? Do you refuse to give your offering/collection to carry on God's work? Do you profess to love God but hate your brother or sister?
Our gospel reading today ends with the words: "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Things that we do not give up to God cause us and others nothing but grief. When we give them up to God He alone can renew them and remake them. Those things we treasure that get in our way are things that we cannot keep anyway.
May we be ready to have God mold us and fill us. May we follow Jesus not counting the cost as people of this world count the cost wondering if we can do what we purpose to do, but rather counting the cost as Jesus counted it, knowing that this slight, momentary affliction will prepare us for eternal glory.
"Manners of the Kingdom"
After synagogue "one of the leading Pharisees" invited Jesus back to the house for a meal. Jesus accepted, knowing fully well that the Pharisees intentions were to trap him in some heresy or, at least, to entertain his friends with this rather unconventional religious teacher. As it turned out it was Jesus who was entertained by, if also disapproving of, the antics of these self-styled "important," and supposedly serious people.
The invited were competing for position and scrambling for the seats of honour. Who among us has not had a quiet laugh as we observed people at banquets or weddings or even funerals either trying to sit next to people they consider their social equals or complaining that they were put down too low on the seating order of importance? First it is funny. Then it is sort of sad that such folks are so insecure within themselves that a chair's place or a place in line is so important to their self-worth. We laugh, of course, until we realize that we are just as insecure, only we have enough sense to try to hide it.
Jesus is certainly not recommending that we pretend to be humble, all the while remaining proud undercover. He is recommending, requiring really, that we be truly humble. That means that we see everyone's self worth in the light of God's estimation. It matters not to God what our social or economic status might be. All his children are worthwhile to him and that is so because of him, not because of us. We cannot earn our worth before God. It is given.
The Pharisees overestimated their worth, thinking it had something to do with themselves and their self-righteousness. They also, thereby, underestimated the worth of the poor, the disabled, the outcast and even the sinner. They would never think of having such folks for dinner or associate with them in any way whatsoever. After all, they were not their "kind," of people. The irony was that this Pharisee had invited Jesus for dinner, who, at this point in his life, had no home to invite him back.! Jesus was, in effect, saying, "Now that was not so bad, was it? Why not invite more folks like me into your home and into your charity and generosity?"
Our place in the world is not determined by where we sit or what our title is, but where we stand before God and what he calls us, namely, his children. People who overestimate their own worth underestimate the worth of all others. Real generosity, non-reciprocal generosity is not "you scratch my back and I will scratch yours." Real generosity says, "I do for you because I owe God everything, God who really owns everything I have, and want to show him my appreciation."
Humility is simply having the same opinion of ourselves as God has of us. God has his "rank," his order of preference. Jesus has told us that true greatness consists in service to others. However, if we serve the poor but still look down on them as less worthy, less important, less human than ourselves, we are not truly humble. Many people help the "poor" but also look down on them. When a 'poor" person is honoured you hear "well, I have been doing that for years now and no one has recognized it or me" or "I really deserve than honor more than the one who got it" or "If it were not for me that person would still be in the gutter" or "I made him or her what he or she is today."
Occasionally we see on TV and read in the news churches sponsoring a big meal for the "poor." Why is that news? Because that is the only time these churches do so. Are not the "poor," hungry every day? Who cares for them and feeds them after those occasions? This display of public generosity, supposedly a sign of caring for the poor indicates just how truly poor many Christian communities are, poor not economically but "poor" in what matters to God. (Luke 12: 21).
Jesus does not forbid throwing parties for one's friends. He commands that we also do the same for those who really need a meal and need one every day. If it is an every day occurrence it will not make the news because it is the good news in action, not a rare event but a real one. Each one of us needs to see to it that we are supporting those who cannot return the favour. They could also be relatives and friends, but need not be. We do so not only to help meet their needs but to meet our own needs as well.
"Set Free"
The story of the bent over women afflicted by a spirit which crippled her for eighteen years is a very powerful account. It highlights the unbidden grace of God coming upon a person, a woman and setting her free to walk upright and to praise God. A story about an awesome miracle bestowed freely upon one in need in the midst of the worship of the living God in "Church".
This woman, this daughter of Abraham, afflicted for 18 years with a spirit that left her crippled and bent over, is us. She is no-one important, just another person worshipping on the Sabbath day in the synagogue, just another person carrying a heavy burden, and not doing well with it at all. She is oppressed by a social system that devalues her, by a world order that sees her as more or less of no account. Eighteen years she was afflicted by a spirit that crippled her, that bent her over, that wore her down.
Maybe she is oppressed by a system of expectations and demands that she simply can't live up to. Perhaps she feels forced to carry the burden of another person's desperate need, or the burden of a child gone wrong, a husband who abuses her, a mother who expects her to look after her, a father who criticizes her every deed. Perhaps she is afflicted by friends who love her only if she does those things that they want her to do and a society that expects her to keep silent about her own woes.
Bent over, crippled, unable to stand upright, in need, this woman comes to the synagogue to worship God. She comes to a synagogue full of people. She is us, and we are her, bent over, crippled, oppressed by a spirit, perhaps a spirit of self-doubt, a spirit that convinces her that she has no strength, no ability, no purpose, even though she is a child of Abraham, even though she is one of God's chosen ones.
As Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, he sees this woman and discerns that a spirit has oppressed her and bent her over for many years and in the midst of his teaching he calls her to come to him. How surprised she must have been to have been beckoned forward by Jesus. She may have been a pain and bother yet Jesus sees her and calls her. Without being asked, Jesus sees her and calls to her, and then he touches her and speaks to her saying, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment"
That is for us! That is what so many of us need. The word of Jesus addressed to us. The touch of Jesus healing us. And praise be to God when it happens to us, and praise be to God when it happens to others. We are in this story, we are bent over and need to be set free. Sometimes we need a verbal heart surgery to set us free, sometimes we need the firm voice of faith and the power of the healing touch. Our task is to listen and to respond as Jesus wants us to respond. Our task is to come to him that he may set us free and to bring others to him that they may be set free as well.
We need to be set free. All of us. Some more than others. Some less. Each of us has a spirit in us that wars against the spirit of God, a spirit that oppresses us. But the Spirit of God is stronger than all the spirits that might oppress us. Jesus sees us, he discerns who we are and the spirits that are in us, and unbidden he calls to us, just as he called to the bent over woman and unbidden, he reaches out to touch us unbidden, he seeks to set us free.
Jesus is calling to us, he is stretching out his hand, he waits to speak a word to us. The question is will we recognize him in our midst, and accept what he has to offer us? Jesus sees us in our need. He knows what oppresses us. He is here to set us free. Look and believe, listen and be set free. His word and his touch still drive out the spirits that oppress, and allow those who respond to his call to stand straight once again, to stand straight and to praise God's name now and forevermore.
"Fire Upon The Earth"
What a teaching we have been given in today's gospel reading! Jesus said "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Generally the idea of fire is associated in many minds with something that is negative, that it is associated with death and destruction. But fire is associated with God who has said on more than one occasion that "his wrath goes forth like fire", and "that his anger burns like fire".
Jesus said: "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Fire can be good or it can be bad. But good or bad, fire cannot be ignored. It was fire that Moses saw in a bush and fire which led the people by night through the wilderness. It was fire that touched the lips of the prophet Isaiah as he was called to proclaim God to Israel and fire that fell upon and consumed the Altar of Baal when Elijah prayed. "Is not my word like fire", says the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" Is it not like fire that descends upon the heads of the apostles and of all the believers gathered in the upper room?
Fire can mean many things, it can do many things. Fire can cook our food or burn it beyond recognition. Fire can warm us or destroy us. Fire can mean many things, it can do many things, but fire cannot be ignored. "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!"
Jesus wanted fire to come upon the earth. He yearned that the fire were already kindled. Would that there were fire in all of our hearts. Fire to burn off the dross. Fire to bring out the purity of the gold and silver within us, spiritual wealth beyond price. Fire to inflame people to care and to bless one another with all the gifts of faith in the way fire purified the lips of Isaiah, in the way fire consumed the alter of the false gods, in the way fire led the people through the darkness through the wilderness.
We need fire. And Jesus came to bring it. Fire to inflame the heart with the love of God and with love for all that he has made, for all whom he has made. "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"" It is not about judgement. It is not about wrath as much as it is about mercy. It is about love overcoming hatred, life overcoming death so that we might be united forever with all that lives.
God has a very positive means of destroying "the world" by fire. He might use forces that, while reacted to with great opposition, will actually be healing. He might use forces that, while leading to division amongst people, will actually be uniting.
Teilhard de Chardin, wrote: Some day the energy of love, an energy that is like fire [will be] able to lead us in the darkness. An energy that is like light which permits us to see. An energy that is like water which refreshes and makes new. An energy that is like air that allows us to live. An energy that is like earth upon which the kingdom of God will come.
Our prayer ought to be that all those who are in darkness may be lit by the fire that we see, warmed by the fire that warms us, refined by the fire that refines us. What does it mean this hard teaching of Jesus? And how should it affect our understanding of him and our daily walk with him? Your heart has the answer. God has put it there. Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength; and love your neighbour as yourself.
"Purses That Do Not Wear Out."
This week's Gospel reading begins with the words: "Be not afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and not moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
How many of you have made up a last will and testament? It is a good thing to do, by it you go a long way towards seeing that your wishes are carried out; and just as importantly, by it you normally help your family members avoid the temptations that any unspecified inheritance generally causes a family.
What if your soul, like that of the rich fool, in last week's parable, is suddenly required of you, or what, as Jesus speaks of latter in today's reading, the Master, the Lord, suddenly returns, if the Son of Man not only comes at an unexpected hour but comes right now. Do you have a last will and testament that applies towards God? Do you have a plan for eternity. Have you been rich towards God and saved a treasure in heaven?
A group of people talking said they could afford to be generous only if they win the Lottery. Lots of people think that way about the "Kingdom of God". Once they have it, they can afford to spread good will and random acts of kindness. But that is not how it works. And it never has been. The kingdom comes in the giving. The gates of the entrance to the way of life open when you are prepared to let your life go, when you are prepared to trust God. Be not afraid, says Jesus, for it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Be not afraid, and make for yourselves purses that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven.
Purses are interesting things they look small but so many things can be crammed into it. In the mid-east at the time of Christ just about everyone carried a purse with various useful things in it including of course money. Jesus tells us that it would be good for us to make for ourselves spiritual purses with spiritually useful things in them and especially with treasures that will not fail in heaven but continue to provide for us the things we need.
Unfailing treasure in heaven. What is this unfailing treasure. How do we make and accumulate a purse full of it. It is in giving away God's blessings here and now. It is in living as Christ lived, here and now. Treasures in heaven are those things we give away here on earth. The kingdom comes in the giving. Which means you will never have treasure in heaven, and you will not be as glad to see the coming of the kingdom as you might be, if you wait until you have enough of whatever it is you think you don't have enough of before you spread good will and engage in random acts of kindness.
It is hard for us to give to those we think will not give back. Sometimes it is hard to give from what we have today and to trust God to look after us tomorrow. We keep waiting for more money before we do that nice thing we would like to do. We keep waiting for the right time, the right person, the right circumstance, rather than risking with what we have, and with who we have before us, right now.
Make for yourself purses that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven. With what we do, with what we think, with what we pray, ultimately, even what we feel, makes our purse and helps to establish the unfailing treasure we shall enjoy in heaven and here on earth, for remember, the kingdom begins here, in our experience of what happens when we live as if it was coming to us soon, when we live as if it was already here.
Be not afraid little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"Beware of covetousness."
Jesus issues a warning, a warning inspired by a squabble over inheritance, but one that all of us need to hear. He says: "You all be careful and stay on your guard against all kinds of greediness. For a person's life is not for the piling up of possessions." He says "beware of covetousness." Covetousness means "wanting more of what you already have enough of".
This farmer had done very well for himself. Remember that he has done nothing illegal. He is a hard worker and an upstanding citizen. But at the end of the day Jesus says the man is a "FOOL". Jesus said "So are all of you who are rich in the things of this world but have no treasure in heaven."
The message of the parable is NOT, God doesn't like people who work hard and are successful. What happens to the farmer is not a denial of any of the good, loving, charitable actions which may have characterized his life. The parable is simply an observation of the way life is for all of us, rich and poor, successful or struggling. This is one of those facts of life.
What is the rich man's problem? Why is he a fool? He is all alone. In the Middle East, it is extremely rare to be alone. Middle Eastern life is often very gregarious. They live in tight knit communities. This fellow talks to himself. He has no friends, no cronies. His money has allowed him to build a vacuum and live in it. His speech, full of "I" and "me" and "mine": My goods, my grain, my barns, my soul is not a sad speech but a pitiful one. He's arrived, he's finally made it, but there is no one to share his joy, no one to hear his arrival speech. He speaks to the lonely audience of his own soul.
Jesus' point is to show that the farmer's formula for the good life, "eat, drink and be merry", is sheer futility, it is vanity. For like everything else he has accumulated, even his soul is on loan, and now the owner wants it back. And the sting of Jesus' words lie in the question at the end of the parable. "Who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" They show just how lonely and empty the man's life truly is. The Romans had a proverb: "Money is like seawater; the more you drink the thirstier you become". Yet money, or the things which money secures, are a passion for many people.
All material things are given to us by our creator to be enjoyed. But it is easy to become enslaved by them. We find ourselves driven by the urge for more, more, more. More to eat, more to drink, more to wear, more to entertain us, more to distract our minds. And every time we surrender to that inner urge for gratification we lose a little bit more of that inner freedom that allows us to exercise one of the chief human powers, the power to choose. Beware of covetousness.
A very rich man died and left his inheritance equally to his two sons. Now one son had married young in life and had a large and happy family. The other was still a bachelor. The night after the division of the estate the single man sat thinking in his living room. "Why did my father make such a mistake? Here's my brother, with all those mouths to feed, so many to provide for and no real joy in it. While I'm quite comfortable, I've got more than I could ever use. Why divide the estate equally?" The other brother, when the children were tucked in bed and his wife was off at some project of her own mused: "Why would my father divide the estate equally? Here I am, surrounded by a loving family and all that joy, while my brother sits alone over in his house. I have my family to care for me, while he will need financial security for his future. Why divide the estate equally?" So each man, that very night, resolved to place the majority of his inheritance in a suitcase and take it over and hide it where the other brother would find it and use it. As they were doing just that, they met between their two homes and realizing what each had intended fell into one another's arms, meeting in love as their father had hoped they might.
Beware of covetousness If you want the life that lasts forever, don't look to the stuff around you. But look to the things unseen, the promises of God in Jesus Christ. Life, abundant life consists in these things.
"The Way of Prayer"
Today's gospel reading continues on from the story of Mary and Martha by showing Jesus a few days later at prayer. When he is finished praying, one of his disciples says to him: "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples to pray." Jesus answers the request of the disciple, and shows his disciples with a model of prayer, and with a parable and an exhortation, what their prayers should be like, and with what spirit prayer should be made, and finally, the faithfulness that God has to us when we pray.
The question is do we know the way of prayer? Do we pray as we ought? Or is there something holding us back? Indeed, how many of us pray each day with a sense of freedom and intimacy? How many go beyond muttering a few words here and there, now and then and actually sit, or kneel, or prostrate ourselves before God and call upon his name with deep and persistent yearning until he answers? It is easy to miss connecting with God, to miss receiving the help we need to face the pain and the struggle that each day brings, and the joy that expressing appreciation for our blessings grants us.
Many of us have hang ups about prayer. People hang up on God by thinking that they are not good enough to call on God. And so they don't. Jesus has given to each one of us a calling card by which we can call upon God. Jesus teaches us in his model of prayer to call God "Father". God, like a good parent, wants all his children to come to him and to learn from him and be blessed by him.
Others hang up on God because they think God is too busy with important things. In today's reading, with a certain sense of humour Jesus teaches his disciples that even if God is busy doing something else, even if he, like a friend of ours, is in bed after midnight with all his children safely tucked in, he will get up and answer the door if we continue to bang on it, if only to get us to stop bothering him. There is no matter too small to bring to God.
Some Christians hang up on God on the assumption that persistently asking God for something is a lack of faith, that it is a bother to God. Harry Emerson Fosdick, writes: " Some things God cannot give to a man until the man has prepared and proven his spirit by persistent prayer." Jesus instructs us to pray saying things like "Give us this day our daily bread", "Forgive our sins" "Lead us not into the time of trial but deliver us from evil?". What is good to ask of God for others is good to ask for ourselves.
We pray for the Kingdom of God to come. For justice and mercy in every nation. For daily bread for ourselves and the hungry around the world. For healing for the sick. For peace. For the oppressed. For our children to be whole and happy. For our work to be pleasing to God and to us. As the Lord's prayer and the parable that follows shows us these prayers are not meant to a be once and for all request that we make to God but a dynamic part of our daily relationship with him.
Keep on coming before God for the things that keep on coming before us. Persist in prayer and God will persist with us and give to us that which we want or explain to us why something else might be better. Because we often do not know what to pray for "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
When we present everything that concerns us and everything that delights us to God we are sharing with God who we are and what we are, and that builds between God and ourselves the intimacy that allows the new life that God wants to give us and our world to come about. As in human relationships sorrows shared are sorrows divided and joys shared are joys multiplied, so it is in the divine-human relationship but more so for our God is greater than we are and is fully able to help those who call upon him and ready and willing to lift us up when we are cast down and bless us when we hold forth our hands in trust and in thanksgiving. Speak often with God about those things upon your hearts and God will speak with you and answer you.
The Better Part
The story Luke tells of Mary and Martha is a controversial one. It angers some people and confuses others, especially when they identify with one sister or the other. Two individuals, both women, are portrayed welcoming Jesus, they both respond to his presence one by working for him, by serving him, by feeding him and his disciples, and the other by listening to him and by learning from him. Both responses have a lot going for them, they are both faithful responses, yet as we see they are responses that seem to end up contradicting each other.
Is there something fundamentally wrong with Martha's response to Jesus?" The answer is Yes. Martha not only does a rude and inappropriate thing by asking Jesus to chastise Mary, she also fails to show love as she ought. In Martha's effort to love one neighbour, Jesus, she takes love away from another neighbour, from Mary her sister. Truly Martha is worried and distracted by many things, so worried and distracted, so anxious, that it leads her to anger and ruins her effort to be loving.
The parable which comes just before today's reading is told in response to the question of a lawyer who asks Jesus "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" As we heard last week, Jesus tells him that he must "Love God with all his heart, soul, strength, mind and his neighbour as himself." Do this and you will live." Then in response to the lawyer's question: "and who is my neighbour?" Jesus tells the story of the Samaritan who shows mercy to a man who was the victim of thieves concluding with the words: "go and do likewise"
The emphasis in the passage just before today's reading is on action: "do this and you will live" and "go and do likewise". Immediately following this we get the story of Mary and Martha; we get a real life situation concerning being a neighbor and we see someone who is doing that which leads to eternal life, we see Martha doing, we see her labouring, out of love, to please her Lord. But we also see Mary who is not labouring out of love for her Lord, but who is instead, out of her love for him, simply being with him, and listening to him.
Martha is distracted by all that she is doing, and she comes to Jesus, and in her anxiety, in her frustration, she asks him to rebuke Mary: "Lord", she says, "Do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." The response of Jesus to Martha's plea is not a criticism of her work for him, nor of her love for him rather it is a response to her anxiety and anger – and a response to how she regards the choice made by Mary: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her."
Martha, Martha, you are so busy looking after me, so busy serving me, so concerned that the right things be done, that you are missing being with me, you are missing the necessary thing, the thing that Mary has chosen, the thing that I will not take away from her.
You know – sometimes the best way to treat a guest is not by doing something special for them, but by spending as much time with them as possible. I know that in some homes when company comes after the meal the dishes and all the cleaning up is set aside and everyone moves to the living room out of sight of all the work that needs doing so that they can enjoy a few hours together without distraction. That really is the point of the story of Mary and Martha.
The church recognizes that it is the word of God that gives life, and the word of God that strengthens us to do good, and so the church turns towards God and listens to the word, it pauses and sits at the feet of the eternal much as Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. It is the word that enables us to serve and to make a difference in that service, It is the word, in and through us, that allows us to have eternal love, that love which is never anxious, or worried, or hurtful to others.
Some of us are more like Martha and some of us are more like Mary; but there is in all of us a built in need to combine the two within us, for without sitting and listening to God our work for God can only lead to anxiety and anger and angst, and without doing the word our faith is clearly nothing.
What Must I Do?
A certain man, a lawyer, stood up to put Jesus to the test, asking him: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" When the lawyer in today's gospel lesson was reminded that the whole of his religious devotion could be summed up by loving God and loving his neighbor, the lawyer asked, "Who exactly is my neighbour?" Isn't that just like people? We tend to make everything so complicated and divisive, who's in and who's out, who belongs and who doesn't? The lawyer was asking the question not so much to know who his neighbor was, but to know who his neighbour wasn't. In other words, the focus of the lawyer asking the question was on the fence, not the neighbour.
Jesus turns the question back around on him. Jesus doesn't tell him a story so much about who his neighbour is (or isn't), but a story about what it means to be a neighbour to someone. Jesus shifts the focus from the fence to the neighbour and from the neighbourhood to neighbourliness.
This story about the Good Samaritan is one most people know by heart and reveals to us the way we live our lives even today. What does it teach us? It teaches us that everyone is our neighbour and that we are to be a neighbour to everyone regardless of the circumstances surrounding the situation. We don't know much about the priest in the story. We don't know much about the Samaritan. We don't know much about the victim. We do know he was traveling alone which was something that was very risky to do. You could make a case that the man brought his condition upon himself by not being a smarter traveller. We are inclined to put people into those categories of deserving and undeserving. We think that if the people deserved their lot that we don't have to help them. This story that Jesus tells reminds us that Christianity is about help for the undeserving because we are all undeserving.
Verse 33 of this story tells us, "But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity." A second thing we can learn from this story is a lesson in coming close to people and seeing them. Many times we simply close our eyes to the hurt and pain and suffering in this world. Many times we avoid those places where we know our hands might get dirty. Jesus reminds us here that being a neighbour to someone is more than just passing by on the other side. Being a neighbour involves coming near and seeing and then acting.
The Samaritan bandages the man's wounds and pours oil and wine on them. The act of the Samaritan pouring on the oil and wine has double meaning to it. The Samaritan is helping the man by doing that, but there is a scathing comment on the religious establishment at the same time. Oil and wine were prominent fixtures in Jewish worship, and the priest and Levite that handle the oil and wine at the temple fail to apply them as needed to relieve human suffering on the road. It is the hated Samaritan who pours out the libation on the altar of the man's wounds. It is the hated Samaritan who pours out the true offering acceptable to God (Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes, 50).
In this exchange, Jesus leads us to define neighbour, not in terms of boundaries, but in terms of relationships and human need. There are people out there who do not act like they are our neighbours, or the neighbours of anyone else. There are people who do not show love to us or to anyone or anything else. That is the way it is in the world around us. But we are not of the world my friends. We are of God, we are born of the Spirit into Christ, and we are called to live differently, to think differently and to act differently. We are called to be neighbours to those who are not our neighbours, to love those who do not necessarily love us, to give to others who may not ever give back to us. This is the answer to "what must I do?"
As Lambs In The Midst of Wolves
What do we rejoice in, what do we spend most of our time doing, what do we work at? How Christian is our rejoicing and our work?
Some Christians are somewhat inclined to rejoice as did the disciples in today's gospel reading (Luke 10:16-20) in the power that has been given them to help people. They rejoice that in Christ's name they can help heal the sick and cast out demons. They rejoice in the power that they seem to have in prayer and in the fact that they can apparently do miraculous things to defeat the power of evil that is in the world. But Jesus says we should rather delight in the fact that our names are written in heaven instead of in the powers that God gives us in his name.
What do you actually rejoice in? Do you rejoice that your name is written in the book of life? Or do you rejoice only in lesser things? How excited are we about the life that God has given us and the life that God has promised us? A life in which his presence is all around us, to help us and lead us and guide us in every situation, until the day when we shed this mortal body and put on the resurrection body and join Christ with God in heaven?
Many of us have lost the sense of rejoicing and the sense of excitement we can have because we have allowed ourselves to be distracted by the tribulations of life, by the busyness of each day and by the worldly care that each day brings. Most of us if the truth be known put God on a back burner. We rarely consult his word in the Holy Scriptures. Our prayers are neglected. And our meditation on God's goodness is simply ignored in the daily bustle of our lives.
What do we rejoice in? What joyful hope do we hold onto to get us through each day and to do so in the way that God intends for us? What is important to us as we go about the course of each day. Is it the joy of owning a new possession, or getting the highest grades at school? Is it the happiness of watching movies or getting a raise at work? What do we rejoice in?
Rejoice says Jesus not in your power over demons, which indeed you do have when you have faith in God, but rejoice rather that your name is written in heaven, that God has chosen you and has promised to protect you and help you through every danger. Rejoice that through Christ God forgives you your sins and calls you to repentance and new life in him, a life in which as you strive to do his will more and more goodness flows.
What is it that we work at? what do we strive at? Who is it that we work for? Most of us work for ourselves and strive for our own happiness and contentment rather than working for God and doing the works of God.
Often in fact we work harder at ensuring that we are comfortable and that our needs are being met, than we do at serving God and helping others in the way that he commanded. We all forget at times who we are and what we are here for. We forget that we are cared for and worry more about ourselves than about anything else. We seem to forget that God who knows our every need, carries us in the palm of his hand, and blesses all those who call upon his name and walk in his path.
Jesus commissions us all as he commissioned the 70 disciples in today's gospel reading to go forth and proclaim the peace of God to every place that we enter to bless those we meet and to heal those who are around us and to proclaim to all that the Kingdom of God is near to them. The Harvest is plentiful he said but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way see I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. This is our calling and our commissioning to this day.
The cost of Discipleship
You and I receive many different kinds of invitations during our lifetime. How we react to those invitations depends on what type of celebration it is. Today the Lord extends to us His invitation to follow Him. It's the most important invitation that any of us will ever receive. We understand that because we look at the one who extends the invitation. Jesus invites us to follow him without any hesitation.
Jesus and His disciples are on the path going to Jerusalem. A man approaches and says, 'I'm going to follow you wherever you go.' Jesus wants him to stop and think about what he is really saying. Will he follow Jesus when there is no glamour? Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." In other words, 'you want to follow Me but we're not going to go home at night to our own beds. You want to follow Me but we're not going to find a house to live in.' Jesus was not accepted in His own country, some didn't want to hear Jesus preach and some didn't want to see Him perform any miracles. Jesus reminded this man who said, 'I'm going to follow you', that animals have a place to lay their head but not the Son of Man.
Jesus extends His invitation 'Follow me,' to another man. But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." It would seem a reasonable request but we see that this contains some hesitation. Jesus reacts "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." We have to understand that this person's father, was not yet dead. What he was saying was 'Lord, my father is living and I'm going to wait around until he dies' before I follow you. Jesus says, 'Now is the time to proclaim the kingdom of God.'
A third person said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Again, he has that hesitation. 'I'll serve you, but when I'm ready. I'll serve you but when I'm done.' Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Jesus says if a person does not keep focused on what is ahead of him, he is not fit for service in the kingdom of God. If he hesitates, he's going to be wandering. In all three of these examples, we can hear the doubt. We can see the hesitation of each one as they say, 'Lord, yes, I will follow but maybe not now. Lord I will follow but my family.' They hesitate. The Lord invites us today to follow Him without hesitation.
It's easy for us to look at these examples and say, 'Well, I would never do the same thing.' Yet, as we look at our life we realize there are many times that we say to the Lord, 'Well, I will follow but I've got other things to do.' You and I know that from time to time, we miss coming to God's house and for what reason? Is it because we're too busy planting or harvesting? Is it because we have too many things to do with our family or we are off attending some party or programme? We too, hesitate. We too, sometimes say, 'Lord, I am too busy for your invitation.'
We also know how easily our family and other things can come between us and loving the Lord our God above all things. The Lord reminds us this morning, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him"(1 John 2:15). The 'world' is all those things that we can see and feel and touch. Sometimes they become a great love in our life.
We are no different than these three. We are no different than anyone else who sometimes stumbles. We also sometimes hesitate and say to the Lord, 'Not now, I have got other things to do.' The Lord invites us to follow Him. The Lord promises that those who follow Him are not going to be forsaken nor forgotten. Jesus simply said in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Jesus invites us to follow Him during this life without hesitation. He invites us to follow Him every day of our earthly life and then right into eternal life.
Freedom from Demons
God's word tells us very plainly that demons are real and that they pose a very serious danger to life, earthly life as well as eternal life. In our gospel reading today we see the reality of Satan's demonic forces. We see their potential for destruction of the blessed gift of life. Satan, through his demons, has brought this poor man to the brink of death. He lives in the cemetery, naked and alone. He's a danger to himself and to anyone who comes near. He lives this way for one reason and one reason only, he is possessed. Possessed by demons, legions of them who have charge of his mind and body. But even they know who their ultimate authority is.
Luke tells us, (8:28-29a, 30-31) the man begged Jesus not to torture him. Jesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Even demons bow down to Jesus and profess the truth that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God. They can't do otherwise. The demons know Jesus is real. And we know they are real. With his heavenly authority Jesus bids the demons to leave this man. (Luke 8:32-33) The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs feeding on the hillside and he gave them permission. The herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. Jesus freed the man from his many demons. Those who saw the pigs rush down into the lake were scared.
When they learned what had happened the townspeople were afraid. Afraid of Jesus' authority? Afraid he might be another demon or be possessed by demons more powerful than the ones he sent into the pigs? Maybe they were afraid he might kill all their livestock and completely destroy their livelihood. Whatever the reason, they were frightened by what they just experienced.
For our own reasons, we're afraid, too. Afraid to admit that demons really exist. Afraid to face the fact that there's a battle going on for our very bodies and souls, a battle between Christ and our evil foe, the Devil. Deep down we're afraid that if we admit there are demons out there, we may have to join the battle against evil and commit ourselves to fervent prayer and intercession to Christ on behalf of those among us who just might be possessed.
I'm not trying to frighten you, but suppressing the reality of demons or denying it all together is dangerous. Demons are real. Peter says, (1 Peter 7:8-9) your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12 – For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. To deny the existence of these dark forces; to deny the reality of the devil and his minions the demons is to surrender to them. Even though acknowledging their existence can be frightening, we have something they don't. We have Jesus Christ and Christ has promised to defend, protect and deliver us from all evil, demons included. So we have no need to fear.
The man freed from his demons was not afraid. He sat at Jesus' feet and worshiped. He longed to be with Jesus and travel with him on his next mission. His fear was removed along with the demons. And it was replaced with faith and confidence in Christ as his Saviour. He longed to join the battle on the side of Christ and Christ sent him on a mission to his own family, friends and neighbors.
Christ promises the same for us. Freedom from demons, freedom from fear, and a faith strong enough to follow him into the battle against Satan. In a way similar to this man in our gospel reading, we have all been exorcised of our demons, even though we probably don't even realize it. In our Baptism, Christ has given each of us our own freedom from sin, death, and the devil; from all the forces of evil the devil could array against us. What Jesus did for the man at the lake, he does for us. He drowns the demons that would possess us and sets us free to follow him and to proclaim to the world all that he has done for us .
As Christians we live our lives at the feet of Jesus and we rejoice in the freedom he brings. Freedom from the forces of the devil, even though we know they are in our midst. Freedom to face our reality with sure and certain faith. Freedom to enter the battle against Satan on the side of Christ and know that in Christ, the battle has already been won. Freedom to live faithful, fruitful, eternal lives with Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
"Applying The Word"
It is easy to believe in the Word and most of all it is easy to apply that word to other people. What is not so easy is to apply that word in its fullness to our own lives. Judging others is an easy game to play. But it is one that is filled with danger.
In the first reading we see king David, a man who had a passion for justice and a great zeal for the Word of God. We see David upon hearing the story that the prophet Nathan spun for him, ready and willing to condemn the rich man who took a poor man's lamb and yet apparently unable to see that the story was about him. David could apply the word of God to others but could not recognize how that word spoke about him.
In the Galatians 2 (11-15) we see Peter who felt free to live like a Gentile, when in their presence, free to eat with them and to socialize with them in the freedom of the Gospel, back off from this freedom when faced with external pressure and to instead live in the old way of exclusion and isolation, the old way of judging Gentiles as impure and in need of keeping the law of Moses. Thus Paul is forced to say to Peter "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ." Peter applied the word of the law of God to the lives of the Gentiles about him but did not do so to himself rather he lived in the freedom of the Gospel.
And in the Gospel Reading we see Simon the Pharisee a man who had a zeal for God and a passion for the word of God, open his home to welcome Jesus and yet at the same time close his heart to the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus at his table and ministered to his needs. Simon named her as the sinner she most surely was, he judged her, even as she did the works of love and of hospitality that the law and the traditions of the elders suggested that he ought to perform. We often judge others we often apply the Word to them but not to ourselves. We become intolerant and unloving, we act, as Jesus puts it to Simon, as if we are forgiven little, and so we love little.
As Christians we need to set an example by our own faithfulness. People need to see the word living in our lives. We need to remember we are forgiven much. We need to develop a godly humility and faithfulness. We need to keep our promises rather than to worry overmuch about how other people keep theirs. And more than that, we need to remember that not only are we called to NOT judge others. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ, people who let God make his appeal through us, Christians who are instruments of his reconciling love.
Why was David not completely disowned by God for his disgraceful actions? Why was the adulteress not condemned by Jesus for her open disregard of the moral laws? Why was Peter not disavowed by God after his blatant denial of Christ in the courtyard? Why was Paul not banished by God forever because of his persecution of the Christians early in his life? And the answer is because there is nothing in the world so tenacious and resolute as the grace of God. John (3:17) tells us: "God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."
The Word that God applies to our lives is the word of forgiveness and of love. As we turn to God may we apply that word to the lives of others and live that word within our own lives. May we be ones who realize that we too, like Jacob, like David, like the woman caught in adultery, like Peter and like Paul, and like the sinful woman who anointed Jesus' feet are forgiven much. May we be ones who apply that word to our lives and love much, even as we are much loved.
"Jesus Came to Me"
When Jesus came to Nain that day; He did not arrive at a joyous moment. He arrived during a time of great grief and mourning. The name "Nain" literally means "beauty." But, there was no beauty in Nain that day. Death had invaded the little town of Nain. The victim is a young man "the only son of his mother". A great crowd of mourners are making their way through the gates of the city, to a cemetery, where he is to be buried.
When Jesus came it was a time of desperation. "There was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow." Here is a woman who has already felt the icy hand of death as it took her husband from her life. The only things remaining from her marriage are a few memories and the only son that she and her husband brought into the world. Now, her precious son has been taken away by death as well.
But, there is more here than just the death of a beloved son. This poor woman has no one left to care for her in her old age. She is all alone, helpless and caught in a desperate condition. She has nothing to look forward to except poverty and despair. She is at the mercy of others people's kindness. She has nowhere to go and nowhere to turn. She finds herself trapped in a helpless condition. This poor widow woman is a picture of that lost individual who is helplessly trapped in the bondage of their sins.
When those two groups met at the gates of the city of Nain, a time of death and a time of desperation became a time of deliverance. That afternoon at the gates of Nain, two groups met: One group was headed to a cemetery and that other group was headed to a city! So it is in life! There are but two groups. One group is headed to Hell, and is even now under the condemnation and judgment of God (John 3:36). The other group, those who are following Jesus are headed to an eternal city of glory, joy and perfect peace (Rev. 21:4; John 14:1-3).
Two Sons met: One was the son of a man, and he was dead. The other was the Son of God and He was and is the Prince of Life (John 11:25-26).Two sufferers met: One was a broken hearted widow, going to bury her only son. The other was the Lamb of God Who came into this world to suffer rejection, crucifixion and death for the sins of the world,( Isa. 53:1-12; John 1:11; Mark 10:45).Two enemies met: The first enemy was death. He had invaded and devastated this little family. The other was Life. When He same, He defeated death and drove him away! When Jesus arrived at Nain that afternoon, He arrived during a time of desperation and of death. Notice how He overcame both by His power.
The Sovereign Lord spoke peace to a suffering lady: We are told that Jesus had "compassion" on this woman. When He saw her, He understood her circumstances and He knew what kind of future she faced. Her need touched His heart and He did something about it for her. She had not invited Jesus, yet He came anyway.He came to her at the very moment she needed Him! She wasn't even looking for Him, but He showed up anyway. She might not have even known about Jesus, but He knew about her.Just as He had for that mother, Jesus operated in grace for this son. He had not asked to be raised up; but he was raised anyway. The sovereign power of God moved in a hopeless and helpless situation and changed it for the glory of God!
When the Prince of Life met the cruel enemy death in Nain; Life prevailed and conquered death! This is a clear picture of what Jesus does for those who are trapped in the cold grip of sin. He comes even though we are not looking for Him. He comes even though we have not called for Him. He comes even though we do not deserve Him. He comes to us because He loves us, (Jer. 31:3). He gave them life in the place of their death.
He gave them everything they needed to turn around and go home with joy in their hearts! He can come to you today. He can change your life as well. He can raise you up; set you on a new path, give you hope and joy. Do you need Him today? He is here and if He is speaking to you, it means that He has come to where you are. All He asks of you is that you look to Him by faith.
Such Faith as This
Jesus is on his way home to Capernaum after several days on the road. As he entered the city limits of Capernaum, a group of elders from the synagogue were waiting for him. They told him that the local centurion had sent word for him that his servant was near death and wanted him to come at once. In a city like Capernaum, Roman centurions were the law. They commanded a company of a hundred soldiers, hence the name, "centurion." Centurions were to be respected, even feared. They had a lot of authority and they could exert whatever force was necessary to keep the peace.This particular centurion stands out in several ways: He obviously held the Jewish people in high esteem.
The elders told Jesus, "…he loves our nation, and he built our synagogue for us."All the more remarkable was that he loved his slave. The fact that the centurion worried about the health and well-being of his slave sets him apart from the others.The elders told him about the centurion's servant and so, Jesus went with them, but before they got to the centurion's home, some of the centurion's friends stopped them and gave Jesus this message:"Lord, don't trouble yourself," the centurion said, "for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. Therefore I didn't even think myself worthy to come to you; but say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, 'Go!' and he goes; and to another, 'Come!' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
As far as the centurion was concerned all that was necessary was for Jesus to speak, to give the nod, and the deed would be done. "Just say the word." That's the way it worked in the military. Why should it be any different for the Son of God?Little did he know it, but the centurion had put his finger on the essence of God's power. In the Book of Genesis God spoke, and by the Word of God the creation came into being: The sun, the moon, the stars in the heavens; the day and the night, the seasons of the year; the land and the sea and the sky above; the plants and the trees and the fruit of the earth; the birds and the fish and all the animals of the field; men and women and the breath of life. God created them all, and he did so by the power of His Word.When God speaks, miracles happen, and that's the essence of the miracle today.
Do you remember the story about the night Jesus and his disciples were in the boat out on the Sea of Galilee? A storm came up, and the boat was about to sink. All the while, Jesus was asleep down below. The disciples cried out, "Save us, Lord! We are dying!" And Jesus got up and called to the wind and to the waves, and as quickly as it had come up, the storm ceased. The disciples looked at each other and said, "What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Matthew 8:23-27)
"Just say the word," the centurion said, "and my servant will be healed."When Jesus heard the centurion's message, he was amazed and said, "Most certainly I tell you, I haven't found so great a faith, not even in Israel." And when the friends returned to the centurion's home, they found the slave had been healed.
Too often we hedge our bets. We pray to God and look to God to order and provide, yet we never quite let go of the reins. One way or the other, we want to be in control, just in case God doesn't come through. We take a leap of faith, but we keep one foot on the ground.
I haven't found so great a faith, not even in Israel," Jesus said.If you and I were half as willing to trust in the power of God's grace and love and share that faith openly with others, we could transform the world into the very kingdom of God on earth.
What did the centurion have that the elders didn't? In a word, he had blind faith. With nothing whatsoever to substantiate his belief, he was confident that Jesus could heal his slave. And according to the Letter to the Hebrews, this is the essence of faith: "…is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
Into All Truth
Jesus says: "I have more things to tell you (or teach you) but you cannot bear them now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you (or guide you) into all truth". If learning sets off positive vibrations within us we'll hear that as a reassuring, hopeful, and exciting statement that there is more to learn.
Jesus clearly indicates that we learn in stages. He tells the disciples that they can handle this much now and there's more later on but they couldn't handle it now even if he told them. We develop through stages. God want us to grow up, mature, and develop into all truth. But the first stage of that journey of growing up is faith. Individual faith in Jesus.
The first and most significant stage is to say "I believe". We have no idea where that journey may take us. It doesn't matter what good works we've done or what offices we've held; it doesn't matter who our parents were or our spouse or children might be; it doesn't matter whether we give huge amounts or nothing; it doesn't matter what we may have been or done. All of that important stuff comes second.
The greatest things in life and life eternal come to us only as a gift and we can achieve them only if we're willing to receive them as gifts. The Spirit is our guide for that truth. Jesus had things to say to the disciples. He has things to say to us. But there is often a limit to what we can take on board. The disciples were coping with the imminent tragedy of his death and what would come after. They couldn't handle much more. So too with us. Truth in our lives is built in stages. The foundations are as important as the heights we achieve.
Karl Barth, one of the great theological minds, whose books fill shelves in libraries, was once asked the greatest truth he ever learned. "The greatest truth? The greatest truth is this: Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so". We crawl before we run. We walk before we skip. God delights in our growth. When was the last time you stopped to realize that God delights in you? Roll that around in your mind this day "God delights in me" and see if it doesn't change your day.
But being sensitive to where we are is combined with the expectation that we will grow. If there are truths we cannot bear now that clearly implies that down the road we will be able to bear them. God expects us to be people who want to grow.
Where are you consciously, deliberately seeking to grow in your knowledge and love of God? What have you done in the last four months to increase your awareness of God? One of the saddest sight I know is the Christian who has stopped growing, who has denied their spiritual birthright, who refuses to let the Spirit guide them into new awareness and truth.
In this world many voices counsel us and many things pressure us. Sometimes evil masquerades as good. Sometimes good appears unreasonably demanding or difficult and we draw away. We all need to stand before Christ, the true mirror of life and through the action of the Spirit in our lives be justified to him. So that, as far as possible, we resemble him, not distorted in our speaking or acting, our thinking or being. So, where are you eagerly cooperating as the Spirit guides you into all truth?
Jesus was with the disciples for 40 days (Acts 1:3), then ascended back to Heaven. Ten days after ascension and 50 days after resurrection, the words of Joel (Joel 3:18) and John the Baptist (Matt. 3:11) were fulfilled. On the day of Pentecost, the Lord began to harvest the lost souls of this world through His church. The church would never be the same! The world and the church were changed forever. Amazing things took place that day.
We cannot duplicate the events of Pentecost. We cannot go to Jerusalem, enter the upper room and wait to be filled with the Spirit. The Holy Ghost has already come, and baptized every person who is saved (1 Cor. 12:13). We cannot duplicate the miracles of that day. While we cannot duplicate the events of that day, we can duplicate the conditions that existed among the people of God on that day. We can see the Lord move in our midst in power and glory in these days, just as He moved in those days. We need another Pentecost! When we create an atmosphere like the one that existed in the church on that day, we will see God move in power among us.
One of the striking characteristics of the early church on the day of Pentecost was that they were together "with one accord". The word "accord" means "to have one mind." These early disciples, were united in their desire to seek the face of the Lord, Unity was the calling card of the early church, and it should mark us as well. If we want the Lord's presence and power in these days, then God's people are going to have walk together in unity. We Need Another Pentecost! We need a move of God in these days like the early church enjoyed in those days. But, if that is to happen, there must be unity among God's people. Let's me show the ways in which the early church was united. We should seek unity in the same areas.
They waited on the Lord together. This same trait should mark the church. (Phil 1:27 – We are told to "strive together". This phrase means "to work together as athletes". We are a team! We are to work together, for the glory of God, carrying out His will in the world. We each have different function s but we should all have the same goal (1 Cor. 12:7-26, 1 Cor. 10:31). There are some glory hounds, Diotrephes (3 John) and James and John (Mark 10:35-37). Don't get caught up in their antics, do what God has called you to do and be what He has called you to be! We may have different ideas, but once a consensus is reached, we should break out of our huddle and stand together! Satan is a divider (1 Cor. 1:10) Christ unifies (Eph. 2:14-15).
They prayed together. They prayed with and for one another. Nothing builds unity in a church any more than carrying one another's burdens to the Lord in prayer ( Gal. 6:1-5). When we pray for others, we are less focused on ourselves and our own problems ( Phil. 2:1-4).They were "all filled with the Holy Ghost". The unity of the early church came about because they were all right with God and filled with the Spirit of God. This unity produced amazing results: They preached the same message, (2:11); They believed the same things (2:41-44a); They carried the same burdens( 2:44b-45; 4:34-35). They loved the same things (2:46-47).
One of the problems in the modern church is that we are in all different stages of spiritual development. Some are saved but immature. Some are saved and growing. Some are saved and Spirit-filled. Some are not even saved. This diversity makes for difficulty in the family. There is no way around diversity, but God's will for us is that, every single saint be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). To be filled means "to be controlled". When God controls me and He controls you, we will walk together in His power for His glory!"…all were filled…and began to speak…" Each one was busy doing their part! God saved no one to sit; He saved all to serve (Eph. 2:10; James 2:18) A faith that won't work isn't real!· No task is unimportant or small; each is vital to the success of the church. Are you doing what God wants you to do? Are you doing all you can do? We need another Pentecost! It will come when walking and working together!
"By this they will Know "
Here in a farewell address, Jesus is telling his disciples that they must obey a new commandment: "Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." Christians are to love one another because God in Christ first loved us. "We love, because God first loved us".
Our response to God and God's love for us is faith towards God and love towards one another. We hear and know what God has done for us in sending Jesus our Savior. We hear Jesus crucified and risen and we believe. Our response is faith and we express that response in prayer, praise and thanksgiving to God.
Our response to God's gift is love towards other people. Jesus reminds us that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our mind and all our strength and love our neighbour as ourselves. St. Teresa of Avila said, "The Lord asks two things of us, love of God and love of our neighbour. And the further advanced we are in this, the greater will be our love for God."
We love because God first loved us. We love because Jesus commands us to have love for one another. We love because we have been loved in Christ. We also love because it works. Love can work miracles and break down barriers because it is truly the power of God. It works in our schools, workplaces, homes and families. Jesus commands us to love because it will change our lives and the lives of others.
Love becomes a mark to the world that we are God's people, that we do believe what we say we believe. Jesus gives this new commandment to love because He is going from the world back to His heavenly kingdom. This world is not heaven but by loving God and our neighbour, we can build a little kingdom even while we wait for His coming. We can break down barriers between people, between races and genders, ages and abilities, political opinions and ideologies. We can show in our lives that we believe what we say we do, even in this Cathedral. We can be a community that loves one another and support one another.
A Jewish scholar told an Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, that he prayed for Christians every day. He said, "I pray that you Christians may be more like your Jesus, that your love for one another will be made more plain." The marks of love were plain on Jesus. He showed his disciples the wounded hands and feet and side. Even in the glories of His risen body, the marks of Jesus' suffering and love were still plain.
Our love for God and our neighbour may leave their marks on us too. When we give to the mission work of our church and tell others of Jesus these are marks and signs of our faith. We are showing themark of Christian love when we live out Christ's love at work or school, or with friends a bit more open, caring, more accepting, more loving especially of people who are different from us, then we are showing the effects of our faith.
Love is from God and of God. It is not mere emotion or feeling or sentiment. Biblical love is not all hearts and flowers but actions and deeds. It is loving because Christ first loved us. It is loving because Christ commands us to love. It is loving to build a little kingdom here as we wait for God's great kingdom to come. It is love which changes hearts and minds and deeds. It changes communities and congregations. Love changes lives. How do people know that you are disciples of Jesus? By this they will know you are my disciples says Jesus, if you have love for one another.
"By this they will Know "
Here in a farewell address, Jesus is telling his disciples that they must obey a new commandment: "Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." Christians are to love one another because God in Christ first loved us. "We love, because God first loved us".
Our response to God and God's love for us is faith towards God and love towards one another. We hear and know what God has done for us in sending Jesus our Savior. We hear Jesus crucified and risen and we believe. Our response is faith and we express that response in prayer, praise and thanksgiving to God.
Our response to God's gift is love towards other people. Jesus reminds us that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our mind and all our strength and love our neighbour as ourselves. St. Teresa of Avila said, "The Lord asks two things of us, love of God and love of our neighbour. And the further advanced we are in this, the greater will be our love for God."
We love because God first loved us. We love because Jesus commands us to have love for one another. We love because we have been loved in Christ. We also love because it works. Love can work miracles and break down barriers because it is truly the power of God. It works in our schools, workplaces, homes and families. Jesus commands us to love because it will change our lives and the lives of others.
Love becomes a mark to the world that we are God's people, that we do believe what we say we believe. Jesus gives this new commandment to love because He is going from the world back to His heavenly kingdom. This world is not heaven but by loving God and our neighbour, we can build a little kingdom even while we wait for His coming. We can break down barriers between people, between races and genders, ages and abilities, political opinions and ideologies. We can show in our lives that we believe what we say we do, even in this Cathedral. We can be a community that loves one another and support one another.
A Jewish scholar told an Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, that he prayed for Christians every day. He said, "I pray that you Christians may be more like your Jesus, that your love for one another will be made more plain." The marks of love were plain on Jesus. He showed his disciples the wounded hands and feet and side. Even in the glories of His risen body, the marks of Jesus' suffering and love were still plain.
Our love for God and our neighbour may leave their marks on us too. When we give to the mission work of our church and tell others of Jesus these are marks and signs of our faith. We are showing the mark of Christian love when we live out Christ's love at work or school, or with friends a bit more open, caring, more accepting, more loving especially of people who are different from us, then we are showing the effects of our faith.
Love is from God and of God. It is not mere emotion or feeling or sentiment. Biblical love is not all hearts and flowers but actions and deeds. It is loving because Christ first loved us. It is loving because Christ commands us to love. It is loving to build a little kingdom here as we wait for God's great kingdom to come. It is love which changes hearts and minds and deeds. It changes communities and congregations. Love changes lives. How do people know that you are disciples of Jesus? By this they will know you are my disciples says Jesus, if you have love for one another.
"They Listen and They Follow"
Jesus our good shepherd promises his sheep eternal life. "No one will snatch them out of my hand." The 23rd Psalm says "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Almost everyone of us here today believes that Jesus is the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. The question is are we his sheep? Do his words of comfort apply to us?
Jesus says my sheep know my voice and they follow me. They will not follow a stranger but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers. I am the good shepherd I know my own and my own know me. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. The test is whether or not we are the sheep of the good shepherd. Do you pass the test? Do you know and listen to your shepherd's voice?
How many of us here today know what the Bible says? How many of us actually read it? Do you know the voice of the shepherd? Think about it some more. How many of you actually pray? How many of you actually take time to quiet your hearts and your minds and to listen for a message, for a word, for a thought, for an impulse to come to you from the heart of the living God, to come to you from the stirring of the Holy Spirit?
There are Christians who believe and yet who are so unfamiliar with the voice of Jesus, so unfamiliar with the word of God that they run each day to the astrology section on the web to discover what is happening and what they should do that day rather than turning to the Scriptures, and to prayer, and to the indwelling Spirit of God for counsel and advice. There are Christians who are so unused to listening to God, so unaware of the presence of the living word in their lives that they consult and call up Diviners for advice rather than seeking the wisdom of mature Christians who live among us in this church.
Jesus said the works I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. The great test of listening is in responding. Believe that Jesus is the lamb of God slain for the sins of the world, that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid his life down for us. Praying Jesus to watch over us to protect us to prepare us a table in the presence of our enemies.
If we hear his voice does that make us one of his sheep? No it doesn't until we actually respond to that voice, till we actually try to do what it is calling us to do, till we actually follow the one who is speaking. Are you a sheep that belong to the Good Shepherd, do you know his voice and do you follow him?
These are very serious questions because the quality of our lives here and now is affected by whether or not we have a relationship with the living Christ, by whether or not we actually listen for his voice and strive to do what he tells us to do. The quality of our lives here and now is affected and the quality of our eternity is affected.
God is calling out to you. God is asking you to come to Him, to listen to Him, and to enter his fold and be sheltered and made safe with the rest of his sheep, As parents call their children to themselves so that they might bless them, so that they might instruct them and nourish them and show them love, so God is calling you. Listen and follow and you shall not want. Listen and follow and you will lie down in green pastures. Listen and follow and your soul will be restored.
A Tender Moment
In our text (John 21:1-19), we are told about a face to face encounter between the risen Lord Jesus and Simon Peter. Peter had made his boast that he would never forsake the Lord. When Jesus was arrested, Peter fled. When Peter found himself surrounded by the Lord's enemies, he denies that he even knew the Lord Jesus. After the denial he went out and "wept bitterly." Peter was miserable in his new condition. He knew that he had wronged the Lord.
After the resurrection, Peter must have assumed that his ministry was over. He had denied the Lord and so he decided to return to the old way of life. When Peter went back to the old life, he and his cronies fished all the night long and did not catch a single fish! They toiled and labored all the night and produced nothing of value! This is just the way it works for those who are out in sin. No matter what they try to accomplish in their own strength, it always comes to naught!
After Peter's return to the old life, after a long night of failure, Jesus stepped onto the scene and turned everything around and made things like they ought to be. What made the difference? When Jesus came by: Peter admitted his failure, started to obey Jesus again – he stopped doing things Peter's way and started doing them the Lord's way- he renewed his desire to be near the Lord. Peter wasn't willing to wait for a more convenient time but went to meet the Lord immediately.
If you are one of those who have wandered away from the "Father's house" and are presently walking in the far country, then you need to know that you still have a Friend in Jesus. He hasn't forgotten you. Jesus hasn't forsaken you. He still loves you as much right now as He ever has. He just wants you to come to the place Peter came to. He wants you to be willing to confess your sins, begin again to follow Him and just love Him like you ought to.
When Peter and the other Disciples, reached the shore; they found that Jesus had a fire prepared with fish already cooking. They found there, with the Savior, all the things they needed after being out on that boat all night long. They found food, warmth and fellowship. They found a Saviour who loved them and who had all the provisions in place that they needed. Everything they lacked out on that boat, they found when they came to Jesus!
Some of us have toiled and laboured since we have been away from the Lord. We are miserable, there is no peace and no joy in our lives and we need to get right with the Lord. I encourage you to come back to Jesus. He still loves you and He has all the things you lacked while you were away from Him.
Peter may have felt that his work and ministry was forever gone, but Jesus came to call him back into the fight! This was a time of unique fellowship and restoration between Jesus and Simon Peter. Jesus freed Peter from the bondage of his sin and failure and set him back about the business of serving the Lord and His church. The same will be true for every backslidden child of God who returns to the Father's house today. Not only will He forgive your sins, but He can restore you to a place of service for His glory. You still have a Friend in Jesus regardless of how far you have fallen!
What would the future hold for this restored man of God? Peter would eventually give his life for the Lord who had saved him and who had restored Him. Peter is told that his life, from this moment forward, is to glorify the Lord! He is no longer to live for self, but in everything, he is to live for the glory of God. When Jesus re-commissions Peter, He issues the same call. The last call is the same as the first, "Follow me". The Lord hasn't changed His mind about Peter, or about Peter's duty. Regardless of how deep you may have fallen into sin, know that the Lord hasn't changed His mind about you! God gives the same command to you today that He gave to Peter then, "Follow me!" What does your future hold for you?" Does it hold chastisement, misery and difficulty? Or, does it hold joy, peace, blessing and glory for the Lord? The answer depends on you right now. The final decision is yours. What will it be? Tough or Tender, you decide.
That You May Believe
Last Sunday we celebrated Easter. Today's gospel lesson from John tells us about the first appearances of Jesus to his disciples after his death and resurrection, about how Jesus appeared in their midst on the first evening of that first Sunday when they were gathered together in fear and greeted them with words of peace. Then he showed to them the wounds in his hands and his side so that they might believe what their eyes and their ears were telling them.
The disciple Thomas was not there that first night, but the scripture records that the other 10 told him about how Jesus had come to them and how they had seen him and heard him. The scriptures too record his reaction to this news: "Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe." His reaction, give me proof, give me something I can touch and see and I will believe. A week later, Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room and Thomas was there. Jesus called to Thomas and told him to look at him and touch him and to believe and Thomas did so, he believed what he saw and said to Jesus when he believed "My Lord and my God"
It is easy to believe when you can see and touch as did the disciples. But think about Jesus's words to those disciples and to Thomas in particular: "Do you believe because you see me? Blessed are those who believe without seeing me." Why is it blessed to believe without seeing, without touching, without hearing first from the Messiah's mouth as it were, for ourselves? The answer lies in the nature of seeing and in the nature of faith.
Many people say that seeing is believing, but that is far from true, in fact the opposite is more often the case believing is seeing, believing something opens up to us the possibility of experiencing it, of seeing it come to pass in our lives, and of having that which we believe produce in us many kinds of blessings. If you wait to see something before you will believe in it then you may never see what you want to see come to pass.
We do not require the "see and touch" experience of the disciples to have faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection and to receive from him the blessings of the power that God has given him.
All we require is a decision to believe the reports that we have heard, and to commit our lives to Jesus as our Lord and our God, and all the rest will come out of that. Paul writes: "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your hearts that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." He also writes: "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed"
Think of all the people who have believed in Jesus, without ever having seen him as the disciples saw him, and who, after a number of years of believing have claimed that many have been the times since they first believed that they have felt Christ's presence in their lives, seen their prayers and the prayers of others answered, and been helped through hard times because of their faith in God's promises.
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." And faith my friends has healed many a sick person and overcome many an obstacle. As the book of the Acts of The Apostles shows, when the disciples finally believed in Jesus, when they were convinced that he truly rose from the dead, they went from being people who hid in fear, fear of the authorities who had crucified their teacher, to being people who like that teacher not only healed the sick and did many mighty works, but who actually, despite being imprisoned by the authorities, were able to stand up before them and proclaim the name of Jesus.
Their faith gave them courage and peace, the peace that Jesus kept praying upon them. It gave them power to help people who were lost in their own sin and despair. And it gave them invulnerability to the criticism and negativity of the world around them. It gave them the Spirit of God, the Spirit which is given to all who believe in and do God's word.
Why Do You Weep?
What we celebrate here today was totally outside of the frame of reference of every single disciple even though Jesus had told them over and over again that it would happen, that he would be killed and that on the third day he would be raised from the dead. Yet not one of them believed it would happen. Not one of them took Jesus at his word.
On the day after the Sabbath, on Sunday morning, while it was still dark Mary Magdalene and some other woman went to the tomb of Jesus with special spices to finish the process of preparing his body for burial. When she got to the tomb, something was different than it had been when she had been late Friday afternoon. The huge boulder in front of the tomb had been rolled aside. Mary is stunned not because she remembers that Jesus said that he would rise from the dead. She is shocked because she believes that someone has stolen the body.
Mary runs and she tells Peter and John that "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" And they return to the tomb with her and they look in the empty tomb and then they go away back to their own homes. None of them understood what they had seen. They return home still in mourning "as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead."
When they leave, Mary is again alone by the tomb and she is weeping. Does she, who has heard the promises of Jesus believe those promises? Does Mary believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead? She does not. She is still crying "someone has taken the body of my Lord and I don't know where they have put it!" Mary doesn't expect to see Jesus walking about fully alive. She doesn't see Jesus even when he talks to her "Woman why are you weeping? She is blinded by her grief. Jesus then calls her by name, "Mary", then suddenly her eyes clear, her heart clears and she realizes that Jesus is alive and is standing in front of her. Jesus asks Mary to go tell the others what she has seen, to tell them that he has risen just as he said he would. And she does as Jesus has asked.
Like Mary and the disciples we hear the message that Jesus proclaimed. We witness the miracles that he performs in other people's lives. But when it comes to the hard times, the times of trial, the times of loss , the time of mourning, it can be so hard to believe in what Jesus has said about being raised on the third day, so hard to believe that not only was he raised but that we too will be raised, that death does not in fact have the last word.
Christian, Why do you weep? There are many ways to answer that question. There are many good reasons to weep. But today Easter Sunday the empty tomb, Mary's encounter with Jesus, the testimony of Peter and indeed the existence of the church itself is a reminder to us that while there are many reasons to weep, there is also a great reason to rejoice.
Jesus was crucified he died and he was laid in the tomb but that tomb could not hold him. And because of him it cannot hold any of those whom God loves. Death is not the end of the story of Jesus. Nor is it the end of our stories. Why do you weep? Look around you, see the signs of God's love all about you in the midst of this world's troubles and turmoil.
Listen to the voice of the one who called Mary by name in the garden, He is here speaking to you. It is not over. If it were over, if Christ was not raised, the church would never have come into existence. The disciples would never have gone on in the face of the opposition they encountered to proclaim that God raised him from the dead on the third day and that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. They would never have passed to us their testimony for they would have had nothing to testify about. On that first day they did not believe despite all that Jesus had said and done before he died.
We thank God today. We thank God for Mary and for all the other disciples. We thank God for them because their faith tells us that there is hope for us when we weep; hope for us when we face the cross and the tomb, hope when we feel despair rising up within us. But most of all we thank God today for the living Christ, for Jesus, God's anointed one who was raised up on the third day and who for me and for you has broken the power of sin and death. Alleluia!
Palm Sunday to Good Friday
The events from Palm Sunday to Good Friday is almost like those "Good news and Bad news" stories. The good news is that Jesus Christ reached the peak of his popularity riding in a triumphal procession into the holy city of Jerusalem. Riding the symbol of public approval Jesus went to the temple and began to teach and preach. From Sunday to Thursday Jesus was unstoppable. His enemies tried to trick him several times but to no avail; each time he turned the tables on them and exposed their treachery. In this same period Jesus established the greatest new commandment, the one that says: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" and He began a new ceremony with bread and wine which would later on, become the sacrament of Holy Communion.
So, what's the 'bad news'? On Thursday Jesus was betrayed and arrested and on Friday he was hung on a cross and killed. The truth is that the people who shouted "Hosanna" on Palm Sunday shouted "Crucify him," just five days later. He did nothing deserving death.
What if Jesus had stayed in Galilee and retired as an old rabbi full of wisdom and compassion? The question helps reminds us of something we find easy to forget namely, that Jesus chose his path, to leave the relative safety of Galilee and his rural ministry, and chose to confront the powers of both politics and religion in Jerusalem.
Jesus saw the purpose of his life in terms of proclaiming a new relationship with God, a relationship of intimate familiar love, and no issue of popularity or acceptance could truly intervene in it. Jesus came to Jerusalem neither excited or deceived by the applause of the crowds, nor downcast by the treachery and the desertion he would endure. Jesus knew what would happen to him. In both popular acclaim and in denial and rejection Jesus made it plain to everyone that he was not ruled by the feelings or events of the minute, but rather was walking step by step along a path which would lead him to the only source of true and lasting meaning for him and ultimately for us, that he was moving towards the fulfillment of God's will, for him and through him for the world.
Jesus knew that his goal was not the top of the mountain, not popularity or power or applause. No, regardless of appearances, regardless of the popularity that Jesus found, and regardless of the suffering that he knew he would undergo, Jesus chose to be true to his mission, to be obedient; knowing he would be surrounded and encompassed by the presence, the mercy, and the love of God.
It is a lesson for all of us to remember. We like Christ have the opportunity to walk our own unique path of obedience toward God. It is a path which may see us surrounded by enjoyment, possessions, and popularity, or it may lead us into loneliness, misunderstanding,
and poverty. But none of these things will finally give life its meaning. Up hill or down, it is the destination which counts and no one's life can be more well spent than in seeking to find and do God's will.
The journey from Palm Sunday to Good Friday reminds us that God can take any situation no matter how bad it seems, and make it into good news for all of us. Practically everyone has known the taste of Palm Sunday, the sweetness of success and popularity and nearly all of us have tasted the bitterness of Good Friday, of betrayal, failure and rejection. What saves us from an endless round of ups and downs, what frees us from the tyranny of events over which we have no control is our commitment to press forward in obedience to God, it is trust in God's love to bring about Easter morning.
Extravagant Love
Our text talks about a woman named Mary. We are told that she gave a gift to Jesus that some people thought was excessive, over the top, simply too much. In other words, many thought Mary's gift to Jesus was extravagant.
Now, often the word "extravagant" has negative connotations. It is used in a bad way. And, when we see people take the blessings they have been given by the Lord and squander them on themselves, it is a bad thing. However, when a person expresses their love and worship for Jesus Christ in an extravagant manner, there is nothing negative about that! After all, He is worthy of everything we can render to Him, because all we have comes from Him anyway. No gift is excessive; no expression of love is over the top, and no form of worship should ever be considered too extravagant to give to Jesus.
The worship of Mary has much to teach us about what our own worship of the Lord Jesus should be like. The expense of her worship was extravagant. She broke a box of ointment and poured it on the head of Jesus and the feet of Jesus, (Mark 14:3). This spikenard was produced from a rare plant that grew in India. It was hard to acquire and it was very expensive. People were forced to save for many years just to be able to provide enough ointment for their own funeral. In the breaking of this box, Mary gave everything she possessed to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Have you broken the alabaster box of your life and poured out yourself, every drop for Him? This is the thought that occupied the mind of Paul as he faced his own death ( 2 Tim. 4:6)! We should look at our lives and ask ourselves if we have given everything we have and are to Him. Mary's sacrifice was the ultimate expression of her love and worship of the Lord Jesus.
Have we placed everything we are on the altar for Him? Think about it seriously. What have you given to Him and what have you held back for yourself? When we love Jesus with all of our hearts, and when He occupies the proper place within our hearts, no price will be too great and no gift too extravagant to give to Him for all He has given to us!
By kneeling to Jesus and anointing Him, she was declaring her faith in Him as the Messiah. She was telling everyone who saw her do what she did that her faith was in the Lord Jesus Christ. By her selfless act of love and worship, Mary was making a tremendous statement concerning Who she believed Jesus to be. Certainly, Jesus is the King of Kings, (Rev. 19:16), the Great High Priest (Heb. 3:1), the Prophet ( Matt. 13:31). He was dead, but is alive forevermore, (Rev. 1:18). This is what Mary believed about Jesus and she demonstrated her surrender to Him as all those things by her act of love and worship.
What about us? Are we as surrendered as Mary? Does the life you live reveal you kneeling before Him as absolute Lord and God? When Mary came to the feet of Jesus and gave her all; truly she had done all that she could do. When we get there, we can go no farther with Jesus. Just as Mary broke the box of ointment so that every drop might be extracted, let us break our lives on His altar so that He might extract the very last drop of glory from us. That is the price of surrender!
Has the vessel of your life been broken? Is the worship of your life being poured out at the feet of Jesus? Does the scent of your love for Him permeate your life with the sweet fragrance of Heaven? Or, is there room for more sacrifice; more love and more worship? Why don't you bring all you have and all you are to Him today? Why don't you lay it all down at His feet as the ultimate expression of your love and worship?
"The Eldest Brother"
The Scribe and Pharisees criticized Jesus, because he ate with sinners. And so Jesus told them a story. Many look at the story from the point of view of the youngest son, the one who wasted his living in a foreign land. When he comes to his senses he flees homeward hoping against hope that there he can put his life together again. Others identify with the father in the story, especially those who happen to be parents of children who have gone, or are going, wrong. But how many of us, identify with the other son, the oldest brother?
The older brother is like a lot of us. He gets up and goes to work every day and tries to be responsible. Indeed he feels it is expected of him. So you can understand why he would be upset with his younger brother. The younger brother asked for his inheritance early, while his father was still alive. It was the same thing as wishing his father was dead. Then he squanders it all. Now the younger brother comes home and Dad throws a party for him. Nobody ever threw a party for me. Nobody ever appreciated that I stuck around and did what I was supposed to do. I didn't waste Dad's money. I worked hard in the fields every day.
Who do you think will be responsible enough to take care of Dad when he grows old and feeble? Do you think it will be that brother of mine? No, it will be me. Yes, Dad, little brother can come home, but don't throw a party! Make him plead a little. He asked to be a servant, let him do that for a while. He doesn't deserve to wear your fine robes. Does this sound familiar? It should, because that older brother is that responsible part in all of us who doesn't like it when somebody else gets something for nothing. The older brother is that part of us that measures and weighs every deed for its value, it is that part of us that measures every person for what they have earned or deserve, and it is that part of us that has decided that by comparison we aren't getting the deal we deserve to get, or that someone else is getting more than they deserve.
Those to whom Jesus told the story of the prodigal family were responsible people. They did what they were supposed to do. And what did they see when they saw Jesus? They saw a man who they recognized as a holy man, a man who many said was the Messiah, one who some said was the Son of God, welcoming sinners and eating with them. Telling them that God loved them. They didn't like that one bit because those sinners did not deserve it. Yes, let them come in but make them kowtow a little. The Pharisees were not getting the message. They could not hear that God had enough love for all.
Who are you in this story? Are you the older son, jealous that somebody else is receiving God's love? Are you the younger son, afraid to come home and ask for God's love? Are you the Pharisee, so aware of what you have done and what others have failed to do that you can't enjoy the party? That you resent your God for being loving and forgiving? The youngest Son learned an important lesson while starving in a foreign land. He learned about priorities. He learned that his father was a life giver. That is something that we all need to learn. What our real priorities are in life. Where life is to be found and how good that life really is.
In the story that Jesus tells to the Scribes and Pharisees who resented his eating with sinners, in the story he told to the oldest brother or daughter that lives inside our hearts he says: "My child, you are always with me. You are very special to me. Indeed all that I have is yours understand that and rejoice with me that your younger brother, he who was as good as dead, is alive, he was lost, but now is found." Embrace your brother or your sister. Welcome them. Pray for them. Give thanks for them. The world won't end if you do. In fact it will become a better place for everyone.
One More Year
Jesus told a parable about a man who owned a vineyard. In that vineyard was a fig tree, a fig tree that had no fruit on it. "Cut it down," the owner said to his vine-dresser. "For three years I have been looking for fruit on this tree and have found none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?"
Time and time again God has shown his impatience with people who do not take advantage of the opportunities he has given them. Time and again God has judged his people and found them wanting. That is the message of today's Epistle Reading, a reading in which Paul reminds us of all the opportunities that God's chosen people missed and the results.
The people of Israel in the Wilderness had seen God's goodness, and they had opportunity to praise and to trust God, but they grumbled and complained instead and they were struck down. They had been given all that they needed to have by God, they had been given freedom from slavery, but rather than placing their trust in God, they worshipped the golden calf and the success it was supposed to bring and 120,000 of them died in a single day.
They drank of the same spiritual drink and ate of the same spiritual food that we eat through Christ, but they did not enter the promised land. These things, Paul writes, occurred as examples to us, that we might not desire evil as they did; that we might not become idolaters; that we might not become people whose only desire is to sit down to eat and drink and to rise up to play.
What is it that you are passionate about? What is it that you are giving your life to accomplish? What fruit are you bearing? Will you be able to stand when the time of judgement arrives? Or will you be cut down and tossed into the fire? Note that the fig tree was only required to produce figs. You and I are asked to accomplish what our God given gifts allow. Brethren that is what we are asked to accomplish. Remember God does not ask us to become what we are not.
God is not asking that we produce more fruit than everyone else, or better fruit than that which our brothers and sisters in Christ produce, but he does expect us to produce the fruit that we are able to produce. Each one of us is able to bear fruit, because each one of us is gifted by God with the ability to produce what the Scriptures call in some places "the fruit worthy of repentance" and in other places "the fruit of the Holy Spirit," - "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control". The question is, is it that important to us? Are we willing to give it our best?
Of the barren fig tree the owner of the vineyard said to his vine-dresser, "Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?" And the vine-dresser answered: "Give it another year, sir. Let me put fertilizer around it and if it bears fruit, well and good; but, if not, you can cut it down." This is a good time to ask ourselves whether we are bearing the fruit that Christ means for us to bear, in our jobs, in our homes, in our communities, in the Cathedral, in serving him?
We're not asked to be something we are not. All Christ is asking of us is that we be the best that we can be, that with his help, we bear the fruit that we are meant to bear. Jesus understands that we have barren years and he pleads before the Father for us, he pleads for "one more year" – a period. May each of us use that time in the way that God intends for us to use it, to use it in growing in the way we should go and bearing the fruit we are meant to bear.
With Eyes wide open
This week's text from Genesis is one of the most important in the Bible. It is the story of Abraham and Sarah, whom the Bible remembers as the standard models of faith. Years before this story happened, at the youthful age of seventy-five, God had spoken to Abram back in Haran and said, "set out for a land that I will give to you. For I intend to make of you a great nation." Abram packed up all that he owned and along with his wife, set out for parts unknown. It takes faith to do something like that. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for but not seen.
Abram and Sarai had been tempted to give up along the way; but God wouldn't let them and, at strategic points, kept showing up to remind them just how many their offspring would one day be. Nevertheless, at one point Abram had finally had enough. He was in his eighties with his wife Sarai was still barren. Finally , Abram said, "What offspring? God I don't have any offspring; and my servant Eliezer stands to inherit everything I own!"
God spoke again and said, "No he won't. Go outside and look up at the stars. How many can you count? That's how many YOUR offspring will be." And Abram went outside and looked up and believed. It was still too good to be true. But for some reason that night Abram looking up at all those stars decided to believe what he had been told and to settle down and wait for it.
The point of this ancient story is that faith is something that does not come easily. The real thing is not something you get all at once. It is the continuous, committed response to a promise in the face of real doubts, deep questions and painful struggle. That is why Abraham and Sarah are remembered in scripture. That is what the Bible calls faith. As Christians no matter the circumstances, we don't have to give up. We must work hard enough at it, we must keep believing in God. We must keep on picking ourselves up no matter how many times we fall flat on our face. This in a way is the faith of Abraham and Sarah. The faith that comes from keeping your eyes wide open no matter what comes.
Abram had finally made peace with God and had stopped throwing Sarai's barrenness back in his face as a reminder. He didn't even complain when God renamed him Abraham which means 'father of a great multitude'. Abraham and Sarah found faith and then held on to it for two dozen years by living life reverently, deliberately and fully awake, by watering every seed that fell upon their path, by holding on to the delicate thread that was stitched through their hearts and by never losing sight of where they were going and who was leading them. It is a hard thing to have such faith, to live it day by day and step by step. But, if we are willing, the wait itself becomes as rich as its end.
This week's text reminds us that Abraham and Sarah did not come to such faith easily but against the constant backdrop of barrenness and hopelessness. Eventually Abraham and Sarah came to trust the promise given to them without any assurances and to settle down into waiting for it to happen. Paul urges the virtue of imitation (of Jesus) to encourage the Philippians to learn what it means to be faithful.
During Lent we are reminded that faith was not easy for Jesus. He was surrounded by enemies who sought long and hard to destroy him. Knowing this, Jesus was neither intimidated nor deterred from the path he chose. His "lament" over Jerusalem is the anguished cry of a man who knows what he must do even in the face of terrible rejection.
Faith and The Importance of Temptation
What is the importance of temptation and how does it relate to the life of faith? Temptation needs to be taken seriously because it is designed to take you away from God and deprive you of the life that Christ died to give you. People who believe and do God's will are a real threat to Satan. The devil tempts us to forget God, to forget God's love and care, to forget God's mercy and to either worship the devil, or at the very least, do things contrary to what God wants.
The temptation to turn stone into bread was an effort to get Jesus to see if he was really what God had said he was, "If you are God's Son do this." The unwritten message being that God has lied. This temptation can also be seen as one in which we are tempted to replace God in our lives with material possessions and comforts, to seek the gifts of the creator instead of the creator himself.
The second temptation is to get Jesus to outright break with God and to worship Satan. All this he says, pointing at the world, will be yours if you but worship me. This temptation can also be seen as the temptation of compromise. This temptation says that the means we use to obtain something are not important, only the thing we obtain. The third temptation brings into question God's care for Jesus. Will he or will he not protect you if you jump off the temple roof. Test his care, see if you are really important to God – see if God will save you.
It is important to know that while all temptation has the same goal, it comes at us by different means. The temptations of Jesus are the same ones we experience as well, but because we are different people, they come at us in different ways. What are the things that make you doubt God or Forget God? What makes you try to put God to the test? These are your temptations, for these, if given into, will take you ever further away from God until you finally perish.
Temptation is important to the life of faith because it tests us and provides us with an opportunity to grow. Temptation can, if we look at it with the eyes of faith, be good for us and good for God's plan for our lives. A faith that is tempted, or tested, and survives, is a better faith. The question remains therefore, how do we survive temptation? Jesus is the model. We see Jesus turn aside every temptation by turning to the word of God. He remembered, in each situation what it was God expected of him and told the tempter so.
To successfully resist temptation, we too need to recall the good things of God, to remember what is right, and speak of it. Like Jesus, we need to know the Word of God so that we can do what God would have us do in every situation. Those who are wise in the faith tell us that every temptation is an opportunity to flee to God and that the best way to escape evil is to pursue good. The lesson of the scriptures is that he who is able to resist temptation is able to help us resist. If your mind is on Christ, if you are asking him what you should do, you are not going to be able to think a whole lot about what is tempting you. Jesus will help you.
The last thing that is important to know about temptation is this: Temptations are sure to knock at your door, but it is your fault if you invite them to dinner. Temptation is always a test of the heart of the person and if you recall that this is the case, then you can combat it if you want to. No elaborate rituals are needed to resist temptation, one just has to say no and to turn to God for his help in prayer, and to do other things that you know are in his will for you.
Satan, remember, wants you to forget God or to doubt God and if he can get you to think that you are beyond God's love because of your sin, that is what he will do. If you have let it in to dine at your table and feel guilty over it, turn to God immediately, claim Christ's victory over sin and temptation, accept in your heart that God forgives you. Thank him and then ask for his help to try to walk once more without falling.
Look and Listen
This passage (Luke 9: 28-36) is a testimony of who Jesus is. God's voice calls out from the cloud that surrounded them on top of that mountain saying, "This is my son whom I have chosen. Listen to him." The text also tells us of the preparation of Jesus' death. Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah appear and "spoke about his departure, which he was to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem." This sets the stage for what will happen in the days ahead as Jesus begins his walk towards the cross in Jerusalem. Finally, this portion of Scripture gives us a glimpse of Jesus' Eternal Glory.
We are told, "As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightening." Jesus was transfigured on top of that mountain right in front of Peter, John and James. What Peter, John and James witnessed on top of the mountain was a miracle. This miracle of Moses and Elijah appearing on the mountain top and Jesus being transfigured, was a testimony to the fact that Jesus was truly the Son of God, just as most of the miracles that Jesus performed were used to convince others of his Divine authority. The account of the transfiguration is perhaps one of the greatest of God's miracles and we can learn a great deal from it.
People often dismiss or explain away miracles. As a Christian "Do you really believe that Jesus walked on water, that Jesus healed all of those people, that Jesus raised someone from the dead, that Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah on top of a mountain?" It requires a lot of faith to believe the miracles of the Bible.
The transfiguration is a miracle that describes to us what we sometimes call mountaintop experiences of life. A mountaintop experience is where we have felt like we were on top of the world and in the presence of God. Mountain top experiences help us to get ready for the tomorrows. They help us to face the future in hope and assurance that God is there with us. Mountain top experiences also prepare us for the valleys in our lives. We are able to make it through the valleys in our lives, because we have been to the mountain top with God.
When we are in the valley of joblessness, or in the valley of loneliness, or in the valley of sickness, or in the valley of depression, or in the darkest of all valleys, the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil for the Lord is with us. We need to remember our mountaintop experiences and remember that just as God was with us up on the mountaintop, God is with us in the valleys of our life.
Today is a time to step aside for a while, to find the quiet space in which you can pour out your heart to God, to climb the mountain of transfiguration and to fix your eyes upon the fire and the cloud of God's presence, and to pray, and to listen. Today is the time to allow the ordinary bread and wine of our existence to be held up before God and transformed by his love into the body and blood of Christ.
As we prepare for the season of Lent, the season where we consider the temptations that assail us, the season where we contemplate the suffering that we, with Christ, undergo, the season where we gaze upon both the good and the evil that is in this world, and in our own hearts, we should be attentive to this vision, to this experience. The experience of the transfiguration that remained with the disciples. That experience shaped them and it became part of them, part of their testimony, part of their witness to who Christ was to who Christ is.
It is God's will that the glory that came upon Moses as he entered the tabernacle of God's presence in the desert of Sinai be seen by all. It is God's will that the glory that came upon Jesus as he communed with Moses and Elijah upon the mountain, be known by all. There is a mystery involved in entering into the presence of God, of turning aside and of praying and listening to what he says. Jesus is the Son of God the chosen one, the one whom we are commanded to listen to. Jesus is the one who is able to carry us into the presence of God, the one who gives peace, the one who gives joy, the one who gives victory over sin and death –look up to Jesus and listen to him.
The Purposes of Storms
Luke tells us this story to teach us very important lessons. When storms come, we show if we truly believe in where God is leading us. In the Gospel we are told that Jesus 'went into a ship with his disciples: and he said to them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth." As far as Jesus was concerned the end of their boat ride was the other side of the lake, not the bottom of the lake. Sometimes the Lord takes us through troubled water not to drown us but to cleanse us. So it doesn't matter how black the storm looks or how bleak the future, if we are doing what the Word of God says, we will pass over to the other side.
Sometimes storms come when we are running from God's will. Jonah ran and found himself running into a major storm and almost lost his life in the process. His storm came because he was outside of God's will for his life. Storms can come when we have attitudinal problems about God. Zechariah fails to believe the angel's message from God about his wife having a son and he was struck with blindness for a time. Storms also come into our lives, when we have unconfessed sin.
In the Gospel these disciples went exactly where Jesus told them to go. It was Jesus that led them out there, and the reality is that, storms come even when we are in the middle of God's will. Each member of this Cathedral must understand that we will all face storms in life. The Bible says that in this life we will have tribulation. But we are encouraged in our text today, that as the storm rages, the waves crash and the fears grow, we can go to the Lord and find peace in Him. When we turn to Jesus Christ in the midst of our storms, at least inside of us, He will quiet the waves and make the winds stop howling and we can lie down and rest in peace.
Storms reveal our faith in God's plan. It's easier to understand facing a storm outside of God's will, but to face a storm in the middle of God's will is much more difficult to handle. The question is, are we going to stick with His plan and His direction or are we going to go the other way? Storms reveal our faith in God's protection. In the midst of their problem the disciples were acting as though they didn't have a God that could handle the situation. Jesus says, "Where is your faith?" They behaved as if they did not have a God who could handle the situation. The disciples are in the boat with Jesus and they are following the will of God and they still thought they were going to die! Their storm revealed their lack of faith in God's protection. We do the same thing when we begin to fear and panic when storms come. When we find ourselves in the middle of the storm, our true faith in God's protection is revealed. It also reveals our faith in God's presence.
One of the most astounding elements to this story is that while the disciples fear for their lives, Jesus is sleeping. "Why doesn't Jesus do something. What is He waiting for?" Jesus was waiting for them to turn to Him and the same thing holds true for us. God has not left us, but He is waiting for us to turn to him. When we are in the midst of the storm we need to do what the disciples did, turn to Jesus.
There will be storms in your life. Storms that will rock you and shake you. Storms that will test your faith and knock the breath out of you. But Jesus is the only one who can comfort you in the midst of crisis and help you in the midst of hopelessness. It does not matter how difficult and painful your circumstances are, if you have given your life to Jesus, He will get you through them. No matter what it is God will bear you through it. Never doubt God's plan, God's protection, or His presence in your life!
Hearing With Joy, Doing In Peace
In today's story from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth where he had been brought up, he is given the Scroll of Isaiah by a synagogue officer, and he reads from Isaiah 61. Then he sits down, the position from which they taught or preached, and said: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing". That is a very short sermon.
In the Old Testament reading the people, who have recently returned to the Promised Land after spending five decades in Exile in Babylon, are gathered together in the square next to the Water Gate in Jerusalem and there the Law of Moses is read and explained to them. From early in the morning till mid-day for close to six hours! The people are completely wrapped up in it. They cry and raise their hands to heaven. They fall down on the ground and bow their heads low and pray. They are completely involved with the word that they hear.
When was the last time you were moved by the Word of God that it caused you to cry, to fall upon your knees, to lift up your hands in thanksgiving, or to say with enthusiasm and with joy Amen! Perhaps we have become too familiar with the scriptures or we are not familiar enough with them. Have we lost our hunger, our sense of our need for something more? Are we afraid that the answer will call us to make changes in our lives that we do not want to make?
Christian, do you know what God has to say about how you are living right now or about how our country is living? Do you know what God has to say about working all the time and about the importance of worship? Do you know why we should pray for our politicians every day even the ones we do not like? Do you know what God says about gossip? Do you know what God has to say about your outbursts of anger, your impatience, your worry and about how you can overcome them? The Word of God is exciting but it can be frightening as well, frightening when you realize just how much it has to say about how we are living, and just how far away we are from what God wants of us.
The people of Israel wept when they heard the word for the first time in many years. They mourned who they were, who they had become, they mourned and they wept and they prayed to God for help. Ezra and the leaders asked them not to grieve – not to sorrow – "for the Joy of the Lord is your strength." And indeed it is. For the word of God tells us just how far away we have strayed from Him it also tells us that God is acting and will act to deliver us should we allow him to do so.
The sermon that Jesus gave in the temple in reaction to the word of God as it is found in the prophet Isaiah – is the same word that Ezra and Nehemiah and all who understood the word of God aright through the ages have proclaimed. Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing! Today is the day of salvation. Today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Listen to it. Listen with more than your ears. Listen with your hunger. Listen with your needs. Listen with your hope. Listen with the Spirit that God will give you.
The Word, most surely does convict us of our sin but that same word proclaims the saving love of God. The more we understand that love and rejoice in that love and allow ourselves to be filled with joy by it, the stronger and more healthy we will become. Rejoice in the Word. Rejoice in God he is here to save you, not to condemn you, he is here to make you whole, not to strike you down, he is here to open the door to eternal life to you, not to send you to hell. For the word is that – God so loves you that he sent his only begotten Son – Jesus to you and to the world so that if you come to believe in him, rejoice in him, trust in him, follow him, you might not perish. The joy of the Lord is our strength, the word of the Lord is our guide. Rejoice in the word, read the word and bless the name of the Lord day by day.
The First Sign
The gospel today is about how the wine ran out at the wedding in Cana and how Mary asks Jesus to do something about it and he does, ending with these words: This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. The gospel of John speaks often about signs and about faith. Signs point to something for those with eyes to see, they testify to something that is greater than what they are and it is that greater thing we are meant to grasp and not simply the sign itself.
The first sign that Jesus did points to many things about himself and what he was about. First, Jesus' turning water into wine is itself a picture of all that he came to do. He takes what is and shows us that it has the possibility to become something else. That which is tired, worn out, devoid of joy, empty, and lacking purpose can be transformed. It can be turned into something rich, fragrant, and ripe with the fullness of joy through his presence, through his care. Jesus can bring new life. He can fill the emptiness in our lives, he can take whatever it is that we bring to him, no matter how little or how much and utterly remake it, giving to it a savour, a taste that is beyond the best that we ourselves are capable of providing.
Second, the Gospel story emphasizes the abundance of Jesus' provision of wine. The wedding guests went from having no wine at all to having almost enough to swim in. Now, the age of the Messiah was long expected to be one of abundance, one in which the wine of joy, the cup of salvation would always be full and overflowing. Thus this miracle is a sign, for those who have eyes to see, of Jesus' Messiahship. He is the long-awaited deliverer of Israel. He is the one who will purify Israel and all people. He provides more than is needed.
Third, the miracle takes place at a wedding feast. Marriage has long been a symbol of the relationship between God and the people of God. We can notice that in this morning's reading from the Book of Isaiah, where the prophet tells us that at the time of Israel's restoration and vindication, God will take delight in them and their land will be married. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
The fact that the first sign that Jesus did was at a wedding would not be lost on people. It was their belief that at the time of salvation that God would provide a table for feasting for his servants and a cup that would never run dry. That imagery is in fact present in the much loved twenty-third Psalm of David whose final verses say: Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Fourth, in this, his first sign, Jesus also stresses the place for his mother, Mary, in the work of redemption. It is Mary who triggers Jesus' first act of public ministry by saying to him: "They have no wine." It was a simple request showing that she trusted that her son would immediately respond and help. Jesus' response to her seemed slightly brusque. He said, "Woman, what is that to me and you; my hour has not yet come."The miracle at Cana is, among other things, a preview of the last Supper, the hour when Jesus transforms not water into wine but wine into blood, his blood shed for all humanity. By telling Mary "my hour has not yet come" Jesus links what she is asking him to do with his sacrifice on the cross. The best wine is saved for the last the wine of salvation, a salvation won for us completely by Christ Jesus when he gave up his life for us, a salvation that is not just for one day but forever. Mary tells the servants in today's reading to "Do whatever Jesus tells you."
That is what faith is all about, responding to the words of Jesus, trusting that his word will be fulfilled, trusting that as he transformed the water of purification into the wine of joy, so he will transform us and lead us into the kingdom where the best is not only saved for the last, but where the best lasts. As we receive Communion today, may we open our lives anew to God's gifts of grace. The best is yet to come.
Because I Love You
I would like to repeat two phrases from the reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah this morning. Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Fear Not Do not be Afraid, these are some of the most common words in scripture, found over 70 times in the Bible. They are words spoken by Angels and by prophets at the command of God to his people, to his servants. And they are words spoken by Jesus over and over again, words spoken more often by him than by anyone else to his disciples and followers.
Why should we not be afraid? Especially when you consider the charges that can be brought against us? The charges that John the Baptist alludes to when he calls the people to repent of their sins? The charges that Jesus himself makes when he speaks of how we should not only sin with our bodies, but how we should also keep the law within our hearts and our minds, the law concerning adultery, murder, loving God with all of our mind, heart, soul, and strength and our neighbours as ourselves.
Not only are our hands dirty and need cleaning but so are our hearts and minds. Not one of us is without sin. So why should we not be afraid? The answer is found in today's reading from the prophet Isaiah, and demonstrated to us in the baptism that Jesus received at the hands of John. That baptism which ends with the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in bodily form like a dove and a voice from heaven saying to him: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Because God loves us we need not fear. Because God loves us he has bought us back from our slavery to sin. He has given Jesus in exchange of us. You are precious and honoured in my sight. "Because I love you", that is the key to it all.
God is pleased with his Son whom he loves as he begins the ministry that will cause him to pass the waters of death. He loves us and knows that if we are to be washed clean then he must come to us and wash us. We need not fear the waters for God is with us the rivers will not sweep over us, the fire will not be burn us, the flames will not set us ablaze.
And what does it mean for us today. It means it is never too late. It means that we do not have to carry our sin around with us for all of eternity. It means that we can begin afresh – no matter what others may say about us, no matter what others might do to us, no matter what we feel about ourselves.
It means that we should come to God much as the prodigal son approached his Father, with humility and with hope. Hope to believe that God will, at the very least, treat us as one of the least of his servants and feed us and watch over us far better than we can do on our own.
The message is one and the same throughout return to God. Repent and return to God for he loves us and does not want us to be destroyed.
"Towards The Light – By The Word"
The journey of the magi by the light of a star to find the one King of the Jews is a part of the Christmas Story. Some favourite Christmas Cards feature a picture of the wise men traveling by camel through a star lit night, one star dominating the sky, arriving on the crest of the hill overlooking Bethlehem. For most of us the story of the magi, is dominated by the star and by the wonder of how it pointed the way to Christ, for the three wise men. It is a good image to have, it helps make the whole story of Jesus' birth and his unique place in the plan of God even more special.
It has been pointed out that the wise men were not just led by the star that they saw in the East. In fact, the Wise Men did not find the one they sought, they did not discover Jesus and worship him, until they had asked Herod, and Herod had asked the chief priests, and teachers of the law, where the Christ was to be born.
The same thing that was true for the wise men, is true for us: we may know the way to Christ, what direction to travel in. We may have a general idea of where he lays, but until we, like the wise men, consult the scriptures or those who know the scriptures well, we cannot find Jesus and worship him as we would like to. It is the word of God that leads us to God, as much as it is the light that God gives for guidance, be it the light of a star, or more commonly, the light that shines through another person's life – the light of peace, joy, hope and love.
Two things are required if we are to make a connection with our Lord, the willingness to track down the light that God gives to see where it leads, and the willingness within that tracking down, to turn to the Word of God and take the advice it gives about how to find and how to follow the Lord. Christians we need the word to find Jesus today, as much as we need the light that is cast by faithful disciples and witnesses to Jesus Christ, our savior and our Lord.
It is easy to miss things of importance because we are looking at other things or concentrating on other issues. We easily overlook things of importance, things that help us become happier, more faithful and more fulfilled while at the same time focusing on things that make us unhappy, less faithful and less fulfilled
In 2013 our prayer is that you will get rid of old things that are holding you down and preventing you from discovering the abiding presence of God in your life. That you will replace these things by a careful examination of the word of God and a long hard look at the stars in the sky – for when you do this you will find the Christ in our midst. This is what the magi did when they followed the star and when they consulted the scriptures and the wisdom about them held by the chief priests and teachers of the law.
They focused on the right stuff, they listened to the right voices, and they consulted the right sources and they did this while actually dealing with a man who had nothing but evil upon his heart – King Herod… and so they ended finding Christ. Can you find the good in the midst of what seems to be all bad? Can you find the light of God in the world around you and the presence of Christ in the people you meet? If you feel trapped, alone and have little hope in your life, it is time for you to develop a new view, and look at new things and listen to different songs.
As you go through 2013 remember this, many, many, good things are happening all around you, and that good things lie in store for all those who believe that good can and will happen, and that good is always triumphant over evil.
God is present to support and guide all those who listen to his word and who look for the light he gives in the lives of his saints. The wise men found Jesus, because they watched for the signs of God, and listened to God's word. Praise be to God for his word, and for his light, and for the gift of faith which allows them to work in our lives. AMEN.
Why do so many people who already believe in God and accept Jesus as their saviour believe that God is not speaking to them personally? That God is not trying to guide them in a particular way? That God is not reaching out to them? The answer is that people fail to hear the call of God, that they fail to notice how God is summoning them, not because that call is not issued but because they are either ignorant about how God calls us, or because they allow themselves to pass over that call, to set it aside as it were, and so grow used to ignoring the Word when it comes.
Think about the boy Samuel for a minute. He was dedicated to the Lord by his mother. He lived in a time in which the word of the Lord was rare, a time in which visions were not widespread. Like his teacher Eli, he prayed to God, like his master – he served faithfully. Like others, he had heard the story of God's love.
Samuel lived in a special place. He should have been able to recognize the call of God. But as the story in the 3rd chapter of the book of Samuel shows us – he did not – that is he didn't until Eli recognized that call for him. Three times the Lord called to Samuel where he lay in bed, and three times he answered by saying "Here I am" and running out to see Eli in the next room. On the third occasion Eli perceives that Samuel is answering God's voice and instructs him to"go, lie down, and if the Lord calls you, you shall say – speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."And so it was that Samuel finally heard what it was that God wanted to say to him, so it was that Samuel learned the fate that was to befall Eli and learned that he was to speak the word of God to others.
How much are we like Samuel listening to the stories of God's love and serving him in his house and in his world? How are we like Samuel dedicated to the Lord? How much are we like him thinking that the voices we hear in the night come from another room, thinking that our dreams are simply the result of eating before bedtime, that inner nudges we feel come only from our intuition, or from the fact that our unconscious mind is able to play tricks on us?
God calls us in many ways. God speaks to us in many forms. And almost all of them are gentle, almost all of them subtle. Almost all of them can be mistaken for something else, that is until we heed those calls, then we discover the power of God is in them and behind them. The power behind the call of God is discovered by one who decides to listen to it.
I wonder how many of us believe that God has spoken to us? How many of you believe that God has personally called you to do what you are doing? How many believe that God is still with you – guiding you, or trying to guide you, each day? God is calling all of us. He is calling us not just to follow him, He is also calling us to do and say particular things at particular times. He is calling us to walk a particular path with him, a path that is similar to, but not identical to the path of all the disciples, apostles and saints before us. God has a plan for you. God seeks to guide you. And that call is personal.
God seeks you out . God is calling you by name just as he called Samuel by name. God calls in our dreams. He calls in the voice of those people who are trying to help us find our way. He calls through our spouses and our work mates. He calls when we pause to read his word, or to meditate. He calls when we are trying to decide what to do next. He calls when we gaze upon the heavens. He even calls out to us when we pray.
Christian, listen for God's call where-ever you are, be it in a dream you have just had, in the message of a preacher you have just heard, in the quiet voice you have heard inside you or in the words of a friend who is telling you how God has dealt with him/her. Listen too to "the book", and judge the things you hear by the book and by the Spirit that is within you. Examine the events around you and pray about them. Look and listen and you will hear the voice of God, you will hear his call. Amen!
- Bible Studies are held every Sunday before services.
- Daily celebration of the Eucharist is at 5:30 a.m.
- Afternoon Meditation: Wednesday at 12:00noon.
- Please contact any of the Clergy at their office for Baptism, Outdooring, etc. to be conducted only on the 1st and last Saturdays of the month.
- Visitors and New Members should please contact the Wardens after Service.
- The PCC meets monthly on the third (3rd) Tuesday.
- Weddings are done by arrangement with the Clergy.
- Counseling sessions are by arrangement with the Clergy.
- Endowment Fund: Parishioners are reminded that contribution to Endowment Fund II is still ongoing. Parishioners contribution for the Five year period is GH¢60.00 (Sixty Ghana Cedis).
- Harvest Levy: Members are reminded to pay their Levy.
- MEMBERS ON THE SICK LIST. Parishioners who know any member who has been ill for a long period should please write their names at the Cathedral office.
Watch Out for this year's Youth Week - 30th July, – 5th August 2012.
There will be an Evensong with the Divine Favour Choir on 19th August, 2012 at 5:30pm. All are to come and experience the power of songs.
- Bible Studies are held every Sunday before services.
- Daily celebration of the Eucharist is at 5:30 a.m.
- Afternoon Meditation is held everyday from 12 noon to 1 pm.
- Please contact any of the Clergy for Baptism, Outdooring, etc. to be conducted only on the 1st and last Saturdays of the month.
- Visitors and New Members should please contact the Wardens after Service.
- The PCC meets monthly on the third (3rd) Tuesday.
- Weddings are done by arrangement with the Clergy.
- Counseling sessions are by arrangement with the Clergy.
coming soon