In the nature of God, there are three persons, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. In other words, all three persons are one God. We can perceive 3 distinct persons and not 3 gods within the unity. According to John 17:22, it says, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one.”
We generally interpret the bible’s New Testament in the light of Old Testament. If New Testaments says are 3 persons are God, then that means 3 persons are Jehovah or Yahweh or YHVH. If 3 persons are one Jehovah, the God is one and likewise 3 persons are one. The debate gets over here.
Now let us take few questions:
1- Is there any person “The Father” in the New Testament and is He called God?
2 Peter 1:17 says, For when he [Jesus] received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” If we further read John 8:54, it says, Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ From these two verses, we see that we have found two things, 1) there is a person, ‘The Father.’ 2) Father is God.
Now let us read from Mark 12:2, Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
2- Is there any person like “The Son” and is He identified as ‘YHVH’?
Let us read from the Gospel of John 8:57-58, So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Here we see, that there is “Jesus, who is claiming Himself as YHVH. Another clear example according to revelation 1:8, it says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” In its cross reference, Revelation 22:12-13 says, “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” I think this is pretty clear since even according to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Alpha and Omega is the YHVH. Now, according to Revelation 1:17-18, it says “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last (Alfa and Omega), and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Now let us checkout an amazing verse from the Old Testament which further proves the same in Isaiah 44:6, Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
Now let us compare these two questions as mentioned above in the light of Gospel. Let us read from the Gospel of John 10:30-33, it says, “I and the Father are one.”The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
3- Is Holy Spirit YHVH?
Acts 5:3-4 says, But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Now here we see, Peter is talking about Holy Spirit, also, Peter warns that you have lied to YHVH i.e. GOD.
Now what we conclude here is, if there is only one YHVH, which means there is only one God, where as in the 3 questions above, we see that these three persons are proved as one YHVH. In other words, the doctrine of TRINITY is true.
The Son of God movie released in 2014 is essentially "The Life of Christ" section of The Bible TV mini-series that aired on the History Channel in 2013. Having watched the TV mini-series, I did not see anything in the movie I did not remember seeing in the TV mini-series. Numerous scenes that were in the TV mini-series were cut or shortened for the movie, however, likely to keep the movie at a reasonable length.
Overall, I enjoyed Son of God. It is a reasonably accurate portrayal of the life of Christ. The actors did a good job. The cinematography is excellent. The musical score is enjoyable and fits the scenes well. I especially enjoyed that virtually everything the actor portraying Jesus says is a direct quote from Jesus in the Bible, although many of the quotes are not in the same context as recorded in the Bible.
I did not care for some of the "artistic license" taken, especially the times when the "artistic license" resulted in the movie contradicting the Bible. Here are some of the items I noticed:
The Magi
In retelling the story of Jesus' birth, a common mistake is having the Magi visit at the same time as the shepherds. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Magi likely arrived days or years later (Matthew 2:1-12).
Mary of Bethany
In many of the disciples' scenes, Mary of Bethany is shown to be among them. Son of God seemingly portrays her as one of the disciples. Now, it is entirely possible that Mary was indeed present during some of those events. However, the Bible definitely does not present her as having any sort of leadership role equal to that of the disciples. Also, in a couple of scenes, while the disciples were complaining or doubting, Mary stands firm, telling them to obey and trust Jesus. Granted, the disciples often misunderstood or doubted Jesus. But the Bible nowhere records Mary rebuking or instructing the disciples.
Lazarus
The scene portraying Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead has Jesus going into the tomb, while John 11 records Jesus, from outside the tomb, calling Lazarus to come out.
Barabbas
Barabbas, a notorious prisoner (Matthew 27:16), appears in several scenes. In one of them, he encourages Jesus to prove that He is the Messiah by conquering the Romans. In the Gospels, Barabbas only appears when Pontius Pilate offers to release Barabbas or Jesus (John 18:39-40).
Nicodemus
Son of God portrays Nicodemus as being a close confidant to the high priest Caiaphas. John 3 says Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He is never presented as being especially close to Caiaphas. The movie also uses Nicodemus to question Jesus, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?" while Matthew 22:15-17 has the question being asked by a nameless Pharisee. It could have been Nicodemus, but the Gospels definitely do not identify that particular Pharisee as Nicodemus.
Judas
In the movie, Judas needs some convincing before he is willing to betray Jesus. In Matthew 26:16, Judas deliberately seeks an opportunity to betray Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane in the movie, when Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss, Peter punches Judas. While I actually enjoyed seeing Peter smack Judas, the Bible does not record anyone assaulting Judas.
Caiaphas
It was interesting how the movie portrays the political issues between Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas. Pilate is depicted as a brutal character, crushing any rebellion against his authority. In the movie, Caiaphas' issue with Jesus is primarily a matter of preventing a riot that would cause Pilate to close the Temple during Passover. While this was very likely part of Caiaphas' concern regarding Jesus, in the Gospels, Caiaphas is more concerned with Jesus due to His popularity and His claims to be the Messiah. Caiaphas did not want to lose power as a religious leader. That is the primary reason he wanted Jesus executed.
The Temple Veil
At the death of Christ, the movie shows the temple veil falling instead of tearing (Matthew 27:51). This crucially important symbolic event is definitely under-emphasized. The tearing of the temple veil/curtain symbolized how the death of Christ removed the barrier between us and God. Now, through Christ, we can approach the throne of grace boldly (Hebrews 4:16). In the movie, it is merely a small part of the damage from the earthquake.
The First Witnesses
In the movie, Mary of Bethany is the first witness of the resurrection. The Bible has Mary Magdalene and two other women being the first witnesses (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1). The movie depicts Mary of Bethany entering Jesus' tomb and seeing the burial garments. The Bible says Peter was the one to enter the tomb and find the burial garments (John 20:2-10). Even beyond this, the various resurrection appearances are confused and out of order.
Conclusions
Far above the various issues mentioned above, I was most disappointed that the reason for Jesus' death and the meaning of His resurrection are completely missing. The fact that Jesus' death is the atoning sacrifice for sin is not mentioned at all (1 John 2:2). The connection between the Passover sacrifice (Exodus 12) and Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) is not made. The fact that Jesus' resurrection proves His victory over death and sin and guarantees a resurrected eternal life for all who believe in Him (1 Corinthians 15) is nowhere to be found.
In the end, the Son of God movie is nothing more than a reasonably accurate history of the life of Christ. Yes, history is important, but in the Bible, the spiritual/theological meaning behind events is what is truly important.
The Son of God presents a Jewish Messiah who is crucified, dies, comes back to life, and commissions His followers to spread the word. But why did He have to die? What is the meaning of the resurrection? What is the message the apostles were supposed to proclaim, and why was it worth dying for?
Early in the movie, Jesus tells Peter they are going to change the world. That is absolutely and completely true. Jesus and the apostles did change the world (Acts 17:6). The Son of God ultimately falls short in that it neglects to explain why, how, and with what the world was changed.
Good afternoon everybody! What a beautiful time to begin Sunday at Church.
We started off with a quick prayer and daily worship. Here is the list of today’s
worship songs in order:
1- I exalt Thee by Jesus Culture:
2- My Redeemer Lives by Nicole C Mullen:
3- For all you’ve done by Hillsongs:
4- Alabaster Jar by Gateway Worship:
5: This is my desire (Lord I give You my heart) by Michael
W. Smith:
After amazing worship and a quick prayer, Revd. Vivek
Dindorkar takes the microphone. Today Pastor made announcements himself. After
we are done with the offering we have the announcements, here they are:
- Yesterday was Women Fellowship as
informed you all on my previous blog. The theme was “Bring your Oikos”.
Amazingly 71 women turned up. This sounds absolutely encouraging!
-As informed you all
in my previous blog, from tomorrow onwards we are having a 21 days fasting and
praying session. Morning prayers will be conducted every morning at 6:00 AM at
Hotel Avion, Vile Parle East, Western Express Highway, Mumbai. The specific
topics for the prayers would be the followings:
1- There should be a revival in the church.
2- We need to be living tree to bear fruits on all seasons.
3- Unity among all.
4- Oikos. Like it is written, “And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are
few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest.”
So we come to the closing remark by Pastor, “We don’t need a
dry Church. No one wants a dry river, people love living waters. Pray that we
be fruitful and a living river.”
- 4th and 5th of April, we will be
having evening prayers from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM IST.
- One of our trips to our neighbouring continent has been
postponed, so I would request your continuous prayers for Lord’s will be done
here.
- In the month of May, one of our church team will be
visiting to another state in India, so please pray for the safety and success
of program.
Alright, announcements are done and pastor looked energized which actually
encourages us. When he asked “Are you ready?”, it reminded me of Michael
Buffer. (j/k)
As you all already know, the theme of this month is “Finances and Stewardship”,
and today was the third and last instalment for this. As I mentioned earlier,
this is one of the topic that I have noticed many pastors find it difficult to
teach. Whenever church talks about finances, there are many questions raised. I
see pastor did a brilliant job in explaining (also that we expect new members
almost every Sunday) this topic. I am very happy to attend this session and
feel absolutely awesome and stand in agreement with my church. If someone has
objection, please feel free to comment below or inbox me. We would love to
explain you further. (I am sure this won’t be needed by the end of this report).
God wants us to be blessed in all the areas. Ask and it shall be given, if it
is in the line of God and if we really are in need. Finances are indeed needed,
but at times people find it difficult parting with it (if you remember last Sunday’s
story “The Rich Young Man”).
We start off with an opening verse from Luke 12:15, And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard
against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of
his possessions.”
Today we learnt about focusing on three important things, which is the main
sermon today, they are:
1- God is going to bless your bonds.
References:
Proverbs 21:20: “Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a
foolish man devours it.”
Proverbs 6:6-8: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in
summer and gathers her food in harvest.”
Alright, the idea here is, “Save your money, spend wisely. The money is
provided my God, save it for God.” God is going to bless the pure hearted. He
doesn’t needs money in general, but since He is the provider, we are
accountable of our own money. The example from Proverbs above is the best
example to show the discipline. Be wise like ants. Pray for your storehouse to
be blessed so that we can use it for kingdom purpose and factually, we can use
it for personal needs when required, so discipline needs to be maintained being
a Christian.
2- Establish your tithe.
10% belongs to God since he is the provider. We (speaking for church) encourage
your monthly tithes, but NOT AS A LAW, but a covenant we have made with God and
being humble and trusting the ONLY PROVIDOR. The references are:
2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his
poverty might become rich.”
2 Corinthians 9:7: “Each
one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Proverbs 3:9: “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all
your produce”.
Luke 6:38: “Give, and it
will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running
over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be
measured back to you.”
Well, I believe these verses are self explanatory. All I can say is “What
belongs to God, give to God.”
3- Be generous towards poor and needy.
I believe the best way to explain this point are
the verses from the Gospel of Matthew 25:35-40, “ForI was
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and yougave me
drink,I was a stranger and you welcomed me,I was naked
and you clothed me,I was sick and youvisited
me,I was in prison and you came to me.’Then the
righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed
you, or thirsty and give you drink?And when did
we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?And when did
we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’Andthe King will answer them,‘Truly,
I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of thesemy
brothers, you did it to me.’”
When we die, we definitely wont be able to take things we have been blessed
here on earth, but folks, trust me, you are making an investment in heaven,
before you even enter.
Other references are:
Matthew 16:19-20, “I will give youthe
keys of the kingdom of heaven, andwhatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed[a]in
heaven.”Then he
strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.”
Philippians 4:10-20, “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at lengthyou have revived your concern for me. You
were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.Not that I am speaking
of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to becontent.I know how to be brought
low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned
the secret of facing plenty andhunger,
abundance andneed.I can do all thingsthrough him who strengthens me.
Yet it was kind of youto sharemy
trouble.And you Philippians yourselves know thatin the beginning of the gospel, when I left
Macedonia,no
church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you
only.Even in
Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.Not that I seek the
gift, but I seekthe
fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I
am well supplied,having
received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent,a fragrant offering,a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.And my Godwill supply every need of yoursaccording to his riches in glory in Christ
Jesus. Toour God
and Father beglory
forever and ever. Amen.”
Today we also have Child dedication. One of the church member, Brother Shyam
has been blessed by a baby. The couple named teh Baby, “Andreas”.
The reference verse is Ephesians 6:4, “Parents, do not anger your children, but
rear them in the discipline and in the teaching of Our Lord.”
The entire session in short points is:
1-
Dedicate our children unto Lord continuously.
2-
We must ask God and seek protection for our
children.
3-
Establish children in the church and teach
them to love everybody.
4-
Encourage to stay away from world.
5-
Teach baptism to children (Water and Holy
Spirit).
6-
Parents need to be committed.
7-
Teach children about tithing.
With this,
we come to the closing of service. A powerful prayer for the baby and a closing
prayer for the church. We have a meet and greet session. No music in the
background today. I wish there would have been a fiddler! And yes, we had Plum
cakes post service.
We hope you enjoyed the service. How was yours? Please comment below!
Today was a great day. I felt lazy, but got up right at time.
This month is the month of parables at my church.
We started off with worship. That was great!
One of the worship leader made announcement, which I liked, since Pastor makes this weekly announcement every sunday. I must say, youth making announcement post worship is pretty cool.
As usual, Rev. Vivek Dindorkar started off with funny notes and started off with few of his past experiences.....
The word for the day was Luke 15:1-10.
Actually there are two parables within these 10 verses:
1) The parable of Lost Sheep.
2) The parable of the lost coins.
We focused on the Latter.
The verses focused on the interpretation of the Parables.
Well, personally I felt three things......
1) When you go to Church, go to seek Him, not to judge.
2) Luke 12:8 (which pastor didn't told, I figured it out).
3) I am VALUABLE.
For a cross reference.... Luke 12:8 says, "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God."
Here is the complete study...
"Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
By the way verse two proves my point number 1. (And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”)
How was your sunday. Please share in your comments. God Bless!
February 24, 2014
My Sunday Service review for 2/24/2014
Whew! Our church has completed 10 years. What a run! I know this Church since 2009. Looking back, we were a small congregation. Now I see, we have grown decently well. Praise God for that!
It was a busy day yesterday, so there is a one day delay in my review. Apologies for that. Well, as usual we started with a powerful worship. I wasn't keeping well so I went to a chemist before Church to get a cough syrup, so I missed the start of worship.
Post worship, one brother from North-East (I always forget his name, next time will ask him) started off with the announcements as well as the offering (which is never pushed in my Church). He also prayed and spoke for a bit about power of praying for each other and that we need to have Jesus in our daily life in order to keep life. This reminds me of "Being Consistent and Happy" (Ref: William Lane Craig's @On Guard william lane ).
Okay, Pastor, as usual Rev. Vivek Dindorkar, took the podium and welcomed all. He looked nice in his black suit.
Since you all know this is a month of Parables, as I mentioned in my last review. So, yesterday, the reading for the day was Luke 18: 1- 17. This actually covers three parables:
1- The Parable of the Persistent Widow.
2- The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
3- Let the Children Come to Me.
We actually focused on 1 & 3.
What I learnt was that Widow in this parable is actually the Poor, Needy and the Oppressed and the judge is an unjust judge.
Another thing I discovered that there is an argument of LESSER AND GREATER in this where most of the times LESSER wins. The judge here belongs to the latter and that he cannot fulfil everyone's request. God is Omnipresent and unjust Judge of judges. Another verse which hits me was 15th, "Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them". This reminds me of Luke 15:2. I think this parable is self explanatory.
After this, few worship team members came up and started humming while pastor asked for special prayer request, if any. Few people walked on the front including me and the worship team sang this beautiful song you can see in the video below (One of my all time favourites).
I feel really great! How was your service yesterday? Let me know in the comment section. God bless!
March 2, 2014
Sunday Service Report 3/2/2014
Greetings to all!
As usual we started with a powerful service followed by prayers and announcement.
One of the church member, brother Jerry is blessed by a baby, our blessings and congratulations to him (and our church is growing ).
Like every other sunday since last few months, brother Jim Joute led the service with prayers, offering and announcement with a short prayer. The way Lord is using him is really great, he speaks with natural humor. Also our church will be visiting abroad with a team in May-June, please remember this in your prayers.
Finally, the main service. Rev. Vivek Dindorkar started with welcoming first timers and informed we have a guest speaker today, Rev. Joey.
Rev. Joey started off with a short prayer and introduced himself followed by two verses from Psalms 67:4-5, "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!"
Todays Reading is taken from the book of 2nd Kings 5:1-14.
What we learnt here today are three things:
1) Obedience.
2) Courage.
3) Faith.
In regards to obedience, Rev. Joey gave an example of someone he knew, where a couple he knew did Lord's will and were blessed by children where it was impossible for his (the reference) wife to conceive. They went ahead with church plantation instead of adopting a child.
For Courage, he mentioned a pastor whose niece was kidnapped but was released within 24 hours. This is an amazing example of power of prayers. Well, post kidnapping, there were various hurdles and threats to that same pastor, but still he refused to move out. What an example of courage.
For faith, the story of Naaman, he who was tcommander of the army of the king of Syria took this little girl as a slave and kept as a mistress to his wife. Naaman was infected by Leprosy. The mistress, instead of being jealous of Naaman (since he raided her home), suggested to meet her prophet (Elisha). At the end of the story, Naaman is healed and this shows the evidence of not only that little mistress, but Naaman as well.
This is today's study, "1Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” 8One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. 9And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. 10Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.” 11One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. 12And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” 14And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”"
We ended up with the Holy Communion, and on the background the song Crucified (see below) was being played.
It was an amazing spirit-filled service. How was yours? Pease comment below. God Bless!
March 9, 2014
Sunday Sermon 3/9/2014
Last night I slept late so I got up late then I thought I will miss today's service.
Finally I got up and got ready. I left for church and reached almost when the main sermon started. As ususal, Rev. Vivek Dindorkarwas preaching today. He was looking great in his sky blue shirt and red tie. I missed the offering, daily announcements as well as the main worship.
Today was a mixed study from the book of Proverbs 11 & 12 as well as Matthew 10. The topic was "Giving Out".
What we learnt?
- Give out to poor.
- Give out for the work of Lord.
- Supporting church.
- Supporting pastor. (I know this sounds controversial, but actually this is what I am writing, not that pastor taught. Also "giving out" does not means only giving money, but also support, fellowship as well as love.)
One of the verses that hit me hard was, "24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want."
^ I have experienced this one in particular.
I missed the beginning of the sermon, though we discussed later on one on one basis.
The service also encouraged to support Church individuals as a body.
Here is today's main readings:
Proverbs 11:24-31
24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
26 The people curse him who holds back grain,
but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
27 Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,[b]
but evil comes to him who searches for it.
28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and whoever captures souls is wise.
31 If the righteous is repaid on earth,
how much more the wicked and the sinner!
Proverbs 12
12 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates reproof is stupid.
2 A good man obtains favor from the Lord,
but a man of evil devices he condemns.
3 No one is established by wickedness,
but the root of the righteous will never be moved.
4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.
5 The thoughts of the righteous are just;
the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.
6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
but the mouth of the upright delivers them.
7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
but the house of the righteous will stand.
8 A man is commended according to his good sense,
but one of twisted mind is despised.
9 Better to be lowly and have a servant
than to play the great man and lack bread.
10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast,
but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.
12 Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous bears fruit.
13 An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
but the righteous escapes from trouble.
14 From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,
and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.
15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.
16 The vexation of a fool is known at once,
but the prudent ignores an insult.
17 Whoever speaks[a] the truth gives honest evidence,
but a false witness utters deceit.
18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
but those who plan peace have joy.
21 No ill befalls the righteous,
but the wicked are filled with trouble.
22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.
23 A prudent man conceals knowledge,
but the heart of fools proclaims folly.
24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
while the slothful will be put to forced labor.
25 Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down,
but a good word makes him glad.
26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor,[b]
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
but the diligent man will get precious wealth.[c]
28 In the path of righteousness is life,
and in its pathway there is no death.
Matthew 10:5-15
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[c] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics[d] or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
How was yours? Post in the comment section. And stand back for this amazing song!
March 16, 2014
Sunday Service report 3/16/2014:
So last night I reached back home at 2 and slept at 3, and as usual, I was late for the service. When I got up, I had only 20 minutes to get ready and reach. So, yet again, I missed the worship part, offering and the announcements.
As usual Pastor was already taking the control of the podium, but I think I reached right on time avoiding missing the main sermon. Next time, I will make sure, not to make any promises to anyone for Saturday.
Alright, so, Rev. Vivek Dindorkar was looking great and energetic as usual. Today's sermon was actually a second installment to that of previous Sunday. Today's topic was "God will give sufficient for our needs". I am waiting when Pastor begins with the book of "James", "Revelations" and "The Law of Old Testament." But today was absolutely informative topic.
Opening references here are:
"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity." - Ecclesiastes 5:10
""Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the LORD your God; because your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness." - 2 Chronicles 9:8
"Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever." - Psalms 112:1-3
One important thing I noticed in the seromon today was a mathematical equation "Money + Pride = Animal" (You know what I mean to say!) Also, in whatever scenario, strength and wisdom is all because of God (example Solomon, David, Samson {read their stories, they are very interesting, google it}) and importantly, all the money we have, to be rationally correct, I believe is a blessing (Re-read the main topic)
All this happens, when we are obedient. Here are few references:
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I (verse 13 is one of my favorite as well as my watsapp status ) I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." - Jeremiah 29:12-14 (I added 2 verses more to the actual reference).
"If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;" - Isaiah 1:19
"Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams." - 1 Samuel 15:22
What we learn here is, WE HAVE TO BE OBEDIENT. Also, there are certain clauses , not only to Highest Authority, but also to the authority that Highest Authprity has assigned over us, such as Parents, Elders, I would like to include Pastor, senior management etc. At the end, pastor made a quote, which I think I will always remember, "We should ask for the things we really need. If we don't ask, that means EITHER WE ARE NOT HUMBLE ENOUGH or WE DO NOT TRUST THAT PERSON". In other words, we should always pray faithfully and ask Lord to help fulfill our needs.
During this, Pastor mentioned that "Someone blogged on FB in regards to supporting the Pastor, he and I knew about the blog, so I smiled But the truth is, I still stay strong on my previous statement, WE SHOULD SUPPORT OUR PASTORS, they are the sheppards assigned by God Himself. For my Pastor, I have a beautiful rebuttal, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." - 2 Timothy 4:1-5
Moving ahead, we have a reference from 1 Chronicle 4:9-10, "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, "Because I bore [him] with pain." Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep [me] from harm that [it] may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested."
Why this verse came into picture, well it shows how Lord blesses to the obedient. According to these two verses, Jabez is pronounced as "Ya'bets" which means "Pain". (By the way literal pain is pronounced as 'Otseb in Hebrew. Having such a name, still such a blessed life!
For more details on this verse, and scenario surrounding Jabez, please read 1 Chronicles 5:20-22 & 2 Chronicles 20:6-12.
We are near the closing segment, and supporting verses for overall service are:
"Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind. And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. “For he will be like a bush in the desert. And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant." - Jeremiah 17:5-6
"It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it." - Proverbs 10:22
A closing prayer and we ended up meeting and greeting while on the background, we had some Hard Rock Instrumental Music today, I liked it actually and hope this happens everytime! I hope you enjoyed our service. I encourage you to visit our church for one of the sundays, you will really love it. How was your service, please comment below. Also, listen to this beautiful video, you will absolutely love it. This was my first worship rock number, Ever!
God Bless!
March 23, 2014
Sunday Service Report: March 23rd, 2014
Happy Sunday to all.
First of all, I am happy to announce, that my new blogsite is on its way, where I will be posting all previous Sunday reports. Additionally it will also include few reviews of books, videos, sermons, sessions, debates, lectures as well as little bit of news. So hang on for a while! Sorry for a delay in writing this one, as I was busy with other things today at my workplace and wasn't getting time to write. Alright, we started today's Sunday service with these worship Songs (in Order):
1- Gateway Worship - New Doxology (the one with preview thumbnail below
It was great as usual! (Fiddle is one of my favorite instrument, and I am happy, we have a fiddler in our Church).
We ended worship with a powerful prayer dose. We come to the announcements and offerings. Rev. Vivek Dindorkar was out of town so Brother James Joute, Youth Pastor, lead the service today. Sister Judy made the following announcements:
- Coming Saturday, i.e. 29th March, we have women's fellowship for women's day. Theme is "Bring your Oikos". Timings will be 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Avion Hotel (women can message me if interested).
- We will be having 21 days of fasting and praying from 31st of March - 20th April. Please join us!
As you all know, we have "Finance and Stewardship" theme for this month as you may have noticed on my previous reports. Pastor James is on the mic now, he opened with this quote, "When Spirit of God moves, we should not be stumped, but abide it." Today's topic is very important, I would name it, "THERE IS A COST FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST". It is at times easy to explain the good things about the word and God, but factually, life of being a Christian is not "Sunshine & Rainbows" (qt: James Joute), it involves a cost for discipleship. We will learn more about this cost as we move further. Here we have three opening (foundation) verse references:
- Matthew 10:34-38 - "“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."
- John 15:18, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you."
- 1 Peter 2:21, "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."
Now we move to the main course for fulfilling our spiritual appetite. The main reading today is taken from The Gospel of Mark 10:17-31. This story is popularly known as "The rich young man". This is a tragic story of a young man seeking eternal life, but was shocked to hear what he has to do (suffer) and left being greedy and ended up making a wrong decision. Now here is the point, this young man was a Jew, so was Jesus (the point is, Jews were very faithful and sincere about their religious education). He came up with the questions and expected answers to be smooth. Now friends, if you remember, I quoted verses for my pastor in regards to supporting Pastors, "... People want to hear what is nice to ears, not what is harsh even if it is true." Likewise, we have many questions but we do not make a query of significance. Here the most important verses I found are from 17-27. I would like to add an explanation to this set of verses. Contrary to childlike trust (as we can see in verses 13-16), the rich young man relies on his possessions (verse 22) and his self-righteousness (verse 20) to INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE. By the way, the accounts of this incident in Matthew 19:16-22 & Luke 18:18-23 are supplementary rather than contradictory. So, the point I would like to make, is, let us be receptive & pray with our hearts. Not like what I mentioned above and previous Sunday’s report. Additionally, I encourage all of you to spend some quiet time and ask God always with our hearts open. The young rich man's problem was the value he had put on his possession.
Post sermon, Pastor James gave a reference to a poem “The Road Not Taken" by "Robert Frost" (1874–1963), here it is:
- 1 Timothy 6:9, "But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction."
- James 5:1-6, "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you."
- Mark 10:20-31, (this you can read below).
Below is today's reading from the Gospel of Mark 10:
"17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is[a] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,[b] “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”"
We reached the closing, and Pastor James gave another reference to a poem by "Rhea F. Miller" written in 1922, "I'd Rather Have Jesus", in the light of today's sermon. Well, instead writing it here, checkout this video by "Jim Reeves" the lyrics is available on it. This is the one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwGiF0-mlE
We closed today’s service with a powerful prayer followed by a 'meet and greet' session. In the background, we have an instrumental music for worship song, "Draw me close to you". Hope you enjoyed reading this report. How was your Sunday? Please tell us in the comment section below.
