TWENTYFIRST SUNDAY
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Neighbors in Need
Please participate in the collection for Neighbors in Need, which will last through the month of October. When writing a check, please note “Neighbors in Need” in the memo section. Thank you for your support. Information about your donation. What Must I Do? Short Sermon Rev. Dr. Chris Ponnuraj, Preaching In the Bible, we read about many great men of God experiencing various types of emotions. For example, David experienced a feeling of isolation from God when he was running for his life from Saul. We read in Psalm 13:1 that David cried out to God and said, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (ESV) If you read the rest of Psalm 13, you will realize that David, who was obedient to God at this time, believed that God was not with him during his time of intense trials. He felt isolated from God.
The other example is from our first reading from the book of Job: Job, who lost everything; his children, his wealth, his servants, his reputation, and his friends; experienced despair and isolation from God. It is common and natural to feel isolated from God when we experience difficult times, however, the Bible assures us that God is present even when He seems to be far away! Even when we feel God seems 1,000 miles away and uninterested in our affairs, let me assure you that God is with us, in our step-by-step difficult times. Our creator God is walking right along with us especially during our times of suffering, even when we feel isolated from Him. God has not abandoned us, for we are His children, and He loves us and cares for us. We must realize that God is watching over us and is doing what is best for us. (1 Peter 5:7) tells us to cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Does this sound like a God who cares little about our problems? When we suffer, we may feel isolated from God, but the reality is that God is with us all the time, during every step of our journey. If we believe this, it is encouraging news for all of us. Not only God will not leave us in our time of suffering; but God is on time even when He seems late. Look at Job’s insight in our first reading verses 12-14 When we suffer, we naturally want God to immediately take away our pain. But sometimes, God can be agonizingly slow in solving the problems that we bring to His attention. But even though at times God seems to be late with His assistance, I would like to say that His timing is always perfect. You see, God is never late when it comes to Him handling our painful situations. He is always on time: His time and not our time. When we suffer, there is a possibility that God is allowing us to go through it for His purpose and for our own good. Sometimes, we wish that God would remove our struggles and take away all the obstacles; God doesn’t take away our problems and difficulties, but He promises to be with us during them and to use them to restore us, making us into better, stronger people. When Job lost his sons and daughters, his wealth, his servants, and was stricken with painful sores that spanned throughout his body, it would have been easy for him to blame God and abandon his faith. However, the Bible says that Job “fell to the ground” (Job 1:20) and worshipped God. Job held onto his faith in God even though his life was full of pain and agony. When we go through tough times, the most important thing for us to do is to keep our faith in God. Faith is important to God. The gospel lesson for this Sunday is taken from St. Mark 10:17-31, in this passage verses 17-22 we read about the encounter between Jesus and a wealthy young man. The young man comes to Jesus and asks what must he do to inherit the Kingdom of God? This young man appears to Jesus out of nowhere as Jesus is making his way towards Jerusalem. This young man comes to Jesus for assurance that he will be accepted by God after death, that he’ll live forever in the presence of God. Jesus perceives that the man is well educated in the Jewish Scriptures. Mark tells us that Jesus loved him. Jesus had affection and sincere appreciation for this young man. He was wealthy, he was a respected leader, and he had integrity. Jesus does not see hypocrisy; he sees a young man on a spiritual quest. Jesus invites him to become a follower, but the prerequisite Jesus gives the man is amazing. Jesus tells him to liquidate all his assets, his homes, stocks, businesses, bank accounts--and give the money away to the poor. Then this man will be ready to become a follower of Jesus, to live as a Christian. If you would like to know more about “What must I do?” to inherit the Kingdom of God, please join us in our worship at 11:00 AM on Sunday. If you would like to learn more about “What must I do?” to inherit the Kingdom of God, please join us in our Sunday worship at 11:00 AM. Peace! Rev. Dr. Christopher Ponnuraj Your Donations help us to continue with
our Missions during these trying times! Mail a check or make a donation through your online banking service. Make the donation to: West Center Congregational Church. 101 Pondfield Road West Bronxville NY 10708 View other ways to donate to West Center. |
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Church Office: 101 Pondfield Road West,
Bronxville, NY 10708
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (914) 337-3829dskp