Past Sunday Message
Identifying the Helpless and Harassed
by Rev. Sonny Silva
on 25.10.2009 at 7.30a.m. service
Reading : St. Mark Chapter 10 verses 46 – 52
When Jesus traveled from Jericho to Jerusalem with his disciples, Bartimeus, a blind man was
sitting on the way begging. Although he was blind, he had heard of Jesus and his healing power. He trusted in Jesus that he will be healed.
When he heard of a commotion, he inquired for the reason from those around him. He was told that Jesus of Nazareth was coming. He started to cry out for mercy from Jesus.
Since he was blind he could not meet Jesus on his own. When Jesus heard his cry he stood
still and commanded his disciples to call Bartimeus. Jesus, after inquiring the need of Bartimeus, told him "Thy faith had made thee whole."
There are two important messages we get from the above.
First message, Jesus cares for us always. On this important journey, Jesus stopped to listen to the cry of Bartimeus, who could not see Jesus due to his blindness.
Second message, is our faith in the Lord. It is the faith of Bartimeus that made him whole.
It is now necessary to bring along people who do not know Jesus to Him.
For this, it is necessary to have people who will be around Jesus. They have to bring those who have not heard about Jesus, to Him.
When we are preparing to celebrate the 10th Jubilee of our Church, let us strive to fulfill this noble role of winning people for Jesus.
May Jesus Bless you all in his endeavour.
"God's Calling"
by
Rev.S.L.W.Pathmasiri
delivered on
11.10.2009 - 7.30a.m. service
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this morning I would like to draw your attention to the today’s gospel reading according to St: Mark 10. 17 – 31.; which evolves around a conversation between a Rich Young Man and Jesus, on the concept of the Kingdom of God. The question of the young man deals with the criteria for ‘eternal life’, as he asks ‘Good master, what must I do inherit eternal life ?’.
In the ensuing dialogue, our Lord Jesus specifies the lasting truth -
‘ Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor and follow me, for you will have treasures in heaven’.
Yet, the young man is dismayed and rejects our Lord’s invitation to inherit ‘eternal life’.
According to this story, the young man seems to be a honorable person, but lacked the essential in life. If so what do we learn from this story ?.
1. Faith/Trust in God
2. Share our resources
Faith / Trust in God
If according to our Lord’s teaching, we are called to sell everything, a practical question arises – ‘If so, how are we going to survive ?’.
The story implies on the teaching for complete trust and faith in God, who as creator and sustainer of life, will supply the day to day needs of His creation.
The example of the Old Widow, who contributed all her belongings to the temple treasury, supports the teaching that God is in control and will meet the needs of His people.
Share our resources
Sharing, on the other hand, is the practical aspect of our faith. If we believe and trust in Jesus, His teaching must be reflected in our lives, for He commands -
‘ Love thy neighbor, as thyself’.
If so, are we willing to share our resources with others – how true is this teaching in our own personal lives – within the family, the Church, the Community etc.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we ought to question ourselves daily ‘ What must I do to inherit eternal life ?’.
As we prepare to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of our Church in Year 2010, our Lord Jesus asks us -
‘As a historical and a youthful community, how would you demonstrate your faith ?’
Are we willing to listen and respond to God’s invitation.
“Jesus looked at him and loved him ‘ One thing you lack ; go sell everything you have and give it to the poor, for you will have treasure in heaven, then follow Me’.
May the Good Lord bless and guide us to respond to His Invitation.
Amen.
The perseverance of a Child
by
Mevan Peiris
delivered on
04.10.2009 - 7.30a.m. service
Today is a special Sunday which is dedicated to the children and the elders.
Jesus said “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Over the years we have analyzed this passage in different ways. But today God is giving us a new definition which is to be persevering as a little child!
Although we do not give it much thought all of us in our infant days start crawling, and with a persevering effort we start to walk, and even though we fall many times we somehow learn to walk and thereafter even to run. All of this is possible because of the persevering strength that God has bestowed upon us.
I will relate a small story- Many years ago there were a group of believers who used to worship on Sundays in a small wooden hut. There were also two old trees which bore no fruit at the time. A few motivated youngsters came up with the idea of cutting down the tree and building another hut with the wood as there was limited space for the congregation.
However when they started work there were a group of elders who were against this and said that since the tree had been there for a long time it should not be cut down. There was another set of elders who knew that it would be a good idea and encouraged these youngsters.
Even among the youngsters there were two groups- some said that they do not want to get into trouble and be looked down upon by the elders, some said that since a few of the elders are encouraging them they will complete the work they started.
The next Sunday when everyone came for mass there were two huts in place of the two dried up trees and even the elders who were discouraging the youngsters were praising them.
Now we have to think and ask ourselves what character we are in this story.
Do we discourage others and test their perseverance?
Do we give up when others discourage us?
God is inviting all of us to encourage others when they try to do something good and also to be persevering in everything that we do.
God bless you all!
Amen.
SALT OF THE EARTH
by Rev. Sunny Silva
delivered on
27.09.2009 - 7.30 a.m. service
Reading : St. Mark – Chapter 9 Verse 38 – 50
According to todays reading, verse 38, the issue is one of authority. The Disciples rejected the person who chased away the devil because he did not follow them.
From where did the disciples get authority (power) to drive away the devils. The answer is – From Jusus (St. Luke – Chapter 9 Vs. 1)
When we look at the present day churches, still this concept of authority exists. This is
the main reason standing in the way of Church Union.
Jesus says in Mark (Ch. 9 Vs. 39) that if a miracle is done in His name, not to cast it
away.
We have now commenced the programme of a Task Force marking towards Church Union. This is the will of the Lord. Read – (St. John Chapter. 17 vs. 21)
Let us not think of authority. Let us follow Jesus. When Jesus referred to children in Mark
Ch. 9 vs. 42, He meant of new members in the church and those whose spiritual development is beginning.
Lord said in Mark Ch. 9 vs. 50 that salt is good, also in Mathew Ch. 5 vs.13 he said “We are the salt of the earth”
Salt has many good qualities – Taste, Preservation, Protection etc.
If we could have the good quality of salt in living with others, then we can all live peacefully.
MESSAGE OF THE GIDEONS
FROM MORATUWA CAMP
by Oclen Fernando
delivered on
20.09.2009 - 6.00 a.m. service
The Gideons International is an association of Christian business and professional men drawn from the protestant and evangelical churches banded together since 1899 for the purpose of sharing the Gospel with the world. Today, we are organized in 190 countries of the world and publish and distribute scriptures in 88 different languages. Two questions are asked from us when scriptures are distributed .
1) Why do you do it ? and 2) Does it really make a difference?
We take our charge from St. Mark’s Gospel Chapter 16 vs 5 “Go into all the World and preach the scripture to every creature.” and as in the First Epistle of St.Peter Chapter 3 vs 15, you must “ but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,and always be ready to give a defense to every one who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meakness and fear”.
It has been said if you want to change the World, then change peoples’hearts”.
We place Bibles at FIVE designated busy traffic lanes of life namely,
• Hotels,Motels,Guest and Rest Houses
• Hospitals,Nursing Homes,Convalescent Homes,Clinics and Dispensaries
• Schools,Colleges, Universities and Tutories
• Prisons,Police personnel,fire brigades and para militaries
• Amongst men and women of the Armed Forces
Gideons visit local churches periodically to bring a stewardship report of the activities of the ministry since we are an extended arm of the Church. In fact we are missionaries distributing the Word of God to win the hearts of the forgotten and lost to Christ. It is you in this congregation as the members of the Church who provide all the resources eg. men and women , funds and most importantly prayers to uphold our ministry.
By God’s grace we have placed over 76 Million Scriptures worldwide last year and since 1908 we placed over 1.5 Billion Scriptures around the four quarters of the globe. You may be interested to hear that we distributed thousands of Testaments in Iraq. In our own country distributions were done amongst our own armed forces last year and very recently in the IDP Camps in Vavuniya . Today our Gideons are distributing around 1.5 Million scriptures every week. So in effect although we have been placing scriptures at the speed of two every second worldwide and there is still much more to be done.
However there are still countries in which the ministry is not yet regularly organized. Countries like the Peoples Republic of China, Iran, Algeria,Tunisia, Morocco, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Iraq, Afganistan, Saudi Arabia,Yemen, Somalia, Turkmenistan, Mauritania, Djibouti and Maldives have still not been open for our Ministry.
The promise of Isaiah in Chapter 55 vs 11 is fulfilled which I quote ,”So shall my Word be that goes forth from my mouth;it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomlish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Men, women, boys and girls are transformed by reading the scriptures placed by Gideons. In June this year the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse received a copy of the dignitary Holy Bible placed in his hands by one of our brothers at Temple Trees.
In Sri Lanka the ministry commenced with 2 camps in 1961. in Colombo and Batticaloa. Today we have 25 camps spread over all parts of the Island. There are four camps in Colombo In the South we have Moratuwa,Galle,Matara and Hambantota and Ratnapura in Sabaragamuwa. In the central hills we have Kandy, Hatton, Nuwara Eliya,Nawalapitiya and Badulla. In the area North of Colombo we have Negombo, Gampaha,Chilaw with Kurunegala in the North Central Province.In the East we have Kalmunai,Batticaloa and Trincomalee. In the North we have Jaffna and Vavuniya. In the Moratuwa Camp we have 25 Gideons and 13 Auxiliary members . Auxiliaries are the wives of the Gideons.
Earlier I mentioned that last year we placed 76 Million scriptures at the speed of two scriptures worldwide every second. You may now be wondering how you could help?
Number 1 is PRAYER. Please pray that we will have a steady flow of funds for the exclusive purpose of printing scriptures and for open doors to the countries and places which need them most.
Secondly, if any of you in this congregation are led to JOIN OUR MINISTRY please speak to one of us after the service.
Finally we have a practice when we visit a Church, to stand outside after the service and with the approval of the priest to ask those who are led to place on the open Bibles or collection bags any amount you are disposed to GIVE FOR THE PRINTING OF SCRIPTURES AS A FREEWILL OFFERING..
As Gideons we will never change the truths of this Ministry.
• The Bibles we distribute is the inspired, infallible inerrant and undiluted Word of God
• Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God
• Jesus died for the remission of sin and the only way to salvation is through Him
• The world is lost and needs to be told about Christ
Thank you Revd Nilanga Gunasekare for the priviledge of participating and giving this message and to you members of the congregation for the attention given.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY
Proper, 19 Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Rev.S.L.W.Pathmasiri
delivered on
13.09.2009 - 7.30 a.m. service
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Our meditation to day will be based on the text from the gospel of St: Mark 8 / 34 “ If any one would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
According to the biblical passage of St:Mark chapter 8 / 34 , Jesus calls His disciples and the crowd of people who followed Him and taught and directed them on the correct path “ Of becoming a true disciple of Christ”
Hence, those willing to follow Him should:
1. Deny self
2. Take their cross daily
3. Follow Him
Deny you’re self
What does Jesus mean by the words ‘deny self’?
It means to ‘cease from making “self”the object of ones life and actions. That is complete “Emptiness” with your self.
In the encounter between Jesus and the Rich Young Man, Jesus demands that the young man sells all his possessions to support the ‘poor’ and thereafter follow ‘Him’ – Mtt. 19. 16-22. Yet, unfortunately, the young man failed to accept the fact that all the possessions he had acquired and was unwilling to part or share with others belonged to God. Elaborating on the teaching of Christ, St. Paul testifies that all what we possess belongs to God, including our very lives – 1 Cor. 6. 19.
Take up your cross daily
The word “Cross” in general refers to ‘pain’. We see this reality in the ministry of our Lord Jesus who pursues His mission of proclaiming the love of God, amidst fierce opposition, pain, humiliation and violence.
In our journey with Jesus, we are called to forego our own desires, pleasures, benefits etc. and be subject to pain and suffering in proclaiming the love of God in Christ Jesus in our lives. If not, we cannot be partners in Jesus’ ministry.
Follow Him
The Will of God was foremost in the life and ministry of Jesus. This truth is confirmed by the words Jesus spoke “Love your enemies” (the most difficult exercise) and to be engaged in a life of ‘sharing’ – our time, our resources, our capabilities etc.
When Jesus entered into the life of ‘Zacchaeus’ we see ‘Zacchaeus’ emerging as a new person who desires the will of God to be instilled in him – Lk. 19. 1-11. In the same manner Jesus expects us to search and live with ‘kingdom values’, in our earthly life.
A true disciple of Jesus, must be willing to deny self of his or her own desires, face difficulties and challenges and allow God to rule in our lives and also seek and live daily with kingdom values, fulfilling God’s Will.
Are we willing to accept His Invitation? If so, then we must deny our selves, take up the cross and follow Jesus.
We Pray to Our heavenly Father, to help us to be true disciples of Jesus Christ – Amen
- Archdeacon’s message -
by Rev.Devapriya de Silva
delivered on
30.08.2009 - 7.30 a.m. service
Thirtieth Anniversary of "Singithi Hamuwa" brings us to an important junction to recollect and reflect and give thanks.
It is an astonishing coincidence that the Bible reading for today compiled almost an year ago, is exactly in line with today’s celebrations.
Deuternomy – 4: 9 Quote
It is remarkable to see such a similarity between the text and in today’s context. I believe HEC Sunday School is by far the largest in South Asia. We give thanks to God for this.
Let us move forward and challenge ourselves further with the guidance of His ………
I think it is a challenge and timely that we think of ministering to differently abled children who also require the guidance of Sunday schools.
I vouch my support in this course with special teacher training and skills. I am sure God will select those who have a heart for this special service.
Both in the Epistle and Gospel readings we are stirred to examine the status of our faith.
We acknowledge that something is wrong if we don’t live to our convictions.
Let us make today the time that we reaffirm our example of tiring conviction before the eyes of our children.
Beauty of Holiness in the Sacrament
Bible text : Eph. 5: 15 -20 / St. John 6: 51 - 52
Jesus said to them : I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ( St. John 5: 53)
The Gospel reading from St. John 6: 51 – gives us an impression of the Holy Eucharist. So let us reflect “The Beauty of Holiness in the Sacrament“
How can Jesus give us his flesh to eat? What does it mean to accept Christ in to our lives and be united with him. We are united with him in two ways;
1) By believing in His Death and Resurrection
2) By devoting ourselves to live as he requires and to be dependent on his teaching.
St. John 5: 54 Says; Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. To receive the eternal life you need to eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus.
To every infant at the breast, the mother virtually says: “Take, eat and drink; this is my body and blood.” The mother would be untrue to nature if she said, “This represents my body,” knowing that it is her body. So too, the Lord would be untrue to the fact if He said: “This is not My Body and Blood. It is only a representation or a symbol of it. But in the Eucharist, the nourishment is on two different levels: The Divine and the Human.
So in the Eucharist a deep relationship is with the divine and the human (God and us)
Through the Sacrament we become United with the Life of Christ
The moment of communion is that special intimacy reserved to real lovers. There are five intimacies in our lives, but I would like to bring 3 of them: hearing, speaking, and touching. Our first contact with anyone who loves us is to hear his or her voice; our second is to see him or her, the third – and this is reserved only for intimates – is the privilege of touch. We hear of Christ in the Scriptures, we see Him by the eyes of faith, but we touch Him in the Eucharist. He only asks that we should purge our consciences of sin and come to Him, ready to receive what He wants to give us, for He knows that we need Him.
We as Christians believe that Christ is really and truly present in the Sacrament and will come in to our hearts when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. What is that makes a difference in the Church; is it the pulpit, is it the organ, the servers, the priest or the choir ? Not only these things , but Jesus Christ through the Sacrament is the One most important.
The next is the “SACREMANTAL UNITY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST’
When we are talking about Sacramental Unity in the Church it is very important to encourage one another as we work for the good of this Church and for the Glory of God. As we are marching towards the 150th Anniversary of our Church, the people want the priest to encourage the youth to join the Ministry. We as ordained priests would like to encourage youth to the Ministry. But I personally have a doubt, what is the Church’s response to the Christian Ministers today, is it encouraging or discouraging?
At the Passover Festival, Jews remembered their historical liberation from Egypt and this very fact was taught to their children to take back to the next generation. Today we need to teach our children about the Holy Sacrament and the deep meaning to it.
Giving Communion to children is a problem in the Church today, some say to give and some say not to give, this argument is going on from generation to generation. Some priests give, some don’t, I heard that some priests give peppermint to the children during the Communion time to satisfy the children, some priests give the unconsecrated wafers to the children. I feel we must not cheat our children. If we give, we must give the Blessed Sacrament. We would like to give the best things to our children, so why not the Holy Sacrament? If we think the Holy Sacrament is a Blessing, why not give it the children? If the Sacrament is a Heavenly meal let us receive it as a family from God, and why not give it to the children? These are the some of the questions which need to reflect in our prayers.
So, Holy Eucharist is that we are receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are mixed with his Body and Blood and we become one with Jesus. So the sacrament is,
1) It is to remember what Christ had done for us
2) It is a great thanks giving to God for Jesus
3) It is a time of fellowship with Christ and with others,
4) It is a time of sharing a heavenly meal as one family of God.
What should we teach to our children about the Eucharist? What is our Example to them as adults?
"God calls us to Experience the Christian Unity"
(Christ, the one Founder of the Church)
Readings- Eph. 4 : 1 -16,
Today we reflect through the readings, how we may experience Christian Unity, though we are different in our thoughts and deeds. We are called over to experience Unity in diversity as the Body of Christ.
Christian Unity is a theme which is very important for all of us to meditate on as we are on a journey towards the 150th anniversary, because in today’s readings GOD has chosen us to be Christ’s representatives on earth.
Therefore we should remember what unites us; if you read Eph.4:4 it says;
1) One Body of Christ
2) One Spirit; that is the Spirit of God
3) One Hope; that is Hope in Christ
4) One Lord.
5) One Faith
6) One Baptism-
In St: John 17: Prayer for Unity. Jesus’ great desire for his people was that they would become One. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God’s love. Here Jesus’ humble prayer is “Father let they be One as we are One”.
So Jesus is calling us to dedicate ourselves to work for the Unity and that is the Unity within us, Unity among Christians, and Unity among our neighbors.
What are the hindrances for the Unity-?
1) Selfish attitudes-
2) Not open to accept views of others
3) Power greedy (greedy for power)
4) Not willing to share what we have with those who have nothing,
5) Difficulty to work together in Humility.
Friends, Let us walk together for the Glory of God. There may be lapses, shortcomings and mistakes; let us correct each other with a spirit of Love and Humility. So, this morning,I would like to keep a few challenges before you.
1) Let us join together and work together to fulfill the Prayer of Jesus in John 17. We’ll tell the World that we are United in Christ with no divisions.
2) Let us work together in Faith and Prayer to go towards the year 2010.and beyond
3) Let us see through all the problems and temptations as an encouragement towards our journey.
So, our God will bless and guide us to work together to fulfill God’s
"Church is the House for Sinners and a School for Saints"
Opening of New Sunday School Hall... and the progress more>>
Others...
Dear all....
To all those members of our Parish sworn-in as Attorneys-at-Law ....