2023 July 16 - Sermon for Christian Education Sunday
Christian Education Sunday 2023. Theme: “Faith”. Sermon by Manuel Sieunarine
Proverbs 3:5-12 (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (NIV)
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
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Hymns from The Book of Praise (published in Canada, 1997):
1. #435: All things bright and beautiful
2. #773: Jesus bids us shine
3. Offertory hymn #344: The wise may bring their learning
4. #496: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
5. Closing hymn #373: Jesus loves me, this I know
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Good morning everyone and welcome to our Christian Education Sunday service. Our theme today is “Faith”.
First of all, let us define the term: “faith” means trust plus hope. With this in mind, let us examine the scriptures: the Old Testament reading admonishes us to trust in God while the New Testament reading teaches us that our hope is Jesus and his Kingdom.
The first scripture reading from the Old Testament book of Proverbs chapter 3 is King Solomon advising his son to trust in God alone. Here we see one of the things necessary for faith, which is trust. The essence of the message is that trusting God is wisdom. Trusting God with all our heart means we decide to put away our own understanding and instead choose to trust God and his understanding, especially as declared in his Word.
How do we learn to trust someone? We must get to know them and spend time with them, like we know and spend time with our friends and family. In this case, we get to know God by reading the Bible, understanding the character of Jesus, and praying to God.
Reading the Bible is important because we won’t know the full story of God’s relationship with humanity in the past, present and future unless we read both the Old and New Testaments. There we can read all of God’s promises, such as the covenants, the predictions made by the prophets, the promises that Jesus himself gave and finally the book of Revelations which tells the future. Being aware of these numerous promises helps us to understand our relationship with God.
Understanding the character of Jesus is necessary because as Christians we believe he is the fullest revelation of God’s character. Moreover, he is our Saviour; the mediator or bridge between God and humanity.
Prayer is critical because it is direct communication with God. He wants us to have a personal relationship with him through his son, Jesus. This connection is made possible thanks to the Holy Spirit, which not only forms the Holy Trinity in heaven but is with us here on Earth right now.
In the final analysis, we trust God because we believe that he will keep his promises, fulfilling them not only in our daily lives but even in life after death in his heavenly Kingdom.
Trusting God with all our heart means to honour and acknowledge him in all that we do. It is the choice to invite God into our everyday life and conduct. It is to bring God into the regular and sometimes mundane things that happen every day. Before we continue, let’s determine whether Solomon practised what he preached.
Solomon was the son of Israel’s greatest king: King David. Solomon was king over Israel for 40 years. During his reign, the nation of Israel reached the height of its power and influence over the ancient world. In spite of all the insight God gave Solomon, he ended up doing precisely what the kings of Israel were forbidden to do. In outrageously self-indulgent ways, he multiplied personal wealth, wives, and sexual partners. Then, when we thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, Solomon built altars to the pagan gods of his wives on the hills surrounding Jerusalem. God was angry with Solomon. God said that because of his wickedness, the kingdom of Israel would be taken from Solomon’s son, and divided. Solomon’s life shows us something very important: wisdom helps us only if we use it. Naturally, the same can be said of faith: faith only helps us if we use it.
It is tragic that Solomon did not take his own advice. Instead of trusting God with his earthly kingdom of Israel, he took matters into his own hands and ruined everything. In the end, as Solomon said in his own words, he had to accept the Lord’s discipline. Now that we have spoken of trust, let us examine the other thing that is necessary for faith, which is hope.
The New Testament reading from 2 Corinthians chapter 5 is about our destiny as Christians. In other words, it is about the hope we have invested in Christ and his Kingdom. When the trials are hard on Earth, it isn’t always easy to take comfort in our heavenly destiny. God knew this, so he gave us the Spirit as a guarantee. He backs up the promise of heaven by giving us the Comforter right now, who is the Holy Spirit.
Regarding the work of the Holy Spirit, let’s talk about Paul. He wrote 2 Corinthians at a vulnerable time in his life. He had learned that the church at Corinth was struggling, and he sought to take action to preserve the unity of that local body of believers. The letter is riddled with personal comments as Paul revealed details about the persecution he had suffered for the sake of Christ as well as the mysterious thorn in the flesh that kept him reliant on God. The presence of the Holy Spirit in Paul’s life gave him confidence. It assured him that God was at work in him and would continue His work. If you cannot say of yourself that you are always confident, then ask God for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life.
We must ask God for faith because faith is not a human creation. There is absolutely nothing we can do as human beings to generate faith because it belongs to God. It is only possible for us to have faith when the Holy Spirit intervenes in our lives by revealing that Jesus Christ is Lord.
As the scripture reading says, one day we will leave our bodies and then stand before the judgement seat of Christ. Until then, we must exercise our faith in Christ by helping others. Of course, we are often overwhelmed, but we must do what we can.
From the many stories in the Bible, including the parables of Jesus, we learn that especially when things seem to be hopeless, we must not give up. We must do what we can, no matter how small or insignificant, because that’s what Jesus did when he obeyed his Father. When he was arrested, all of the disciples ran away from him. When he was crucified, the high priests, religious scholars and leaders of Israel mocked him. No-one believed that he made a difference. Today, we know that Jesus is the only hope found under heaven for the salvation of the human race. The Cross of suffering that all of humanity fears and hates has become the symbol of our Lord. When Jesus died on that Cross, hope and love died with him. However, there was a resurrection, and now Jesus lives and reigns forever, reigniting hope for all time and spreading his love to all people. Now we trust in him alone and we hope for his Kingdom to come.
In conclusion, we must ask the question: why faith? We have faith because we wish to be close to God. When we have faith it changes our lives and the lives of our neighbours. Even further than that, faith changes our circumstances and that of our neighbours. This is because faith allows God to work through us in the world, transforming and redeeming the lives of many people.
Amen. Let us pray. Lord, let us take Solomon’s advice and learn to trust you in every way, every day of our lives. Let us accept Paul’s words of hope that we shall live forever in your heavenly Kingdom. Through your Holy Spirit, give us faith in you, O Christ, our Master and our Friend. Amen.
Proverbs 3:5-12 (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (NIV)
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hymns from The Book of Praise (published in Canada, 1997):
1. #435: All things bright and beautiful
2. #773: Jesus bids us shine
3. Offertory hymn #344: The wise may bring their learning
4. #496: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
5. Closing hymn #373: Jesus loves me, this I know
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Christian Education Sunday service. Our theme today is “Faith”.
First of all, let us define the term: “faith” means trust plus hope. With this in mind, let us examine the scriptures: the Old Testament reading admonishes us to trust in God while the New Testament reading teaches us that our hope is Jesus and his Kingdom.
The first scripture reading from the Old Testament book of Proverbs chapter 3 is King Solomon advising his son to trust in God alone. Here we see one of the things necessary for faith, which is trust. The essence of the message is that trusting God is wisdom. Trusting God with all our heart means we decide to put away our own understanding and instead choose to trust God and his understanding, especially as declared in his Word.
How do we learn to trust someone? We must get to know them and spend time with them, like we know and spend time with our friends and family. In this case, we get to know God by reading the Bible, understanding the character of Jesus, and praying to God.
Reading the Bible is important because we won’t know the full story of God’s relationship with humanity in the past, present and future unless we read both the Old and New Testaments. There we can read all of God’s promises, such as the covenants, the predictions made by the prophets, the promises that Jesus himself gave and finally the book of Revelations which tells the future. Being aware of these numerous promises helps us to understand our relationship with God.
Understanding the character of Jesus is necessary because as Christians we believe he is the fullest revelation of God’s character. Moreover, he is our Saviour; the mediator or bridge between God and humanity.
Prayer is critical because it is direct communication with God. He wants us to have a personal relationship with him through his son, Jesus. This connection is made possible thanks to the Holy Spirit, which not only forms the Holy Trinity in heaven but is with us here on Earth right now.
In the final analysis, we trust God because we believe that he will keep his promises, fulfilling them not only in our daily lives but even in life after death in his heavenly Kingdom.
Trusting God with all our heart means to honour and acknowledge him in all that we do. It is the choice to invite God into our everyday life and conduct. It is to bring God into the regular and sometimes mundane things that happen every day. Before we continue, let’s determine whether Solomon practised what he preached.
Solomon was the son of Israel’s greatest king: King David. Solomon was king over Israel for 40 years. During his reign, the nation of Israel reached the height of its power and influence over the ancient world. In spite of all the insight God gave Solomon, he ended up doing precisely what the kings of Israel were forbidden to do. In outrageously self-indulgent ways, he multiplied personal wealth, wives, and sexual partners. Then, when we thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, Solomon built altars to the pagan gods of his wives on the hills surrounding Jerusalem. God was angry with Solomon. God said that because of his wickedness, the kingdom of Israel would be taken from Solomon’s son, and divided. Solomon’s life shows us something very important: wisdom helps us only if we use it. Naturally, the same can be said of faith: faith only helps us if we use it.
It is tragic that Solomon did not take his own advice. Instead of trusting God with his earthly kingdom of Israel, he took matters into his own hands and ruined everything. In the end, as Solomon said in his own words, he had to accept the Lord’s discipline. Now that we have spoken of trust, let us examine the other thing that is necessary for faith, which is hope.
The New Testament reading from 2 Corinthians chapter 5 is about our destiny as Christians. In other words, it is about the hope we have invested in Christ and his Kingdom. When the trials are hard on Earth, it isn’t always easy to take comfort in our heavenly destiny. God knew this, so he gave us the Spirit as a guarantee. He backs up the promise of heaven by giving us the Comforter right now, who is the Holy Spirit.
Regarding the work of the Holy Spirit, let’s talk about Paul. He wrote 2 Corinthians at a vulnerable time in his life. He had learned that the church at Corinth was struggling, and he sought to take action to preserve the unity of that local body of believers. The letter is riddled with personal comments as Paul revealed details about the persecution he had suffered for the sake of Christ as well as the mysterious thorn in the flesh that kept him reliant on God. The presence of the Holy Spirit in Paul’s life gave him confidence. It assured him that God was at work in him and would continue His work. If you cannot say of yourself that you are always confident, then ask God for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life.
We must ask God for faith because faith is not a human creation. There is absolutely nothing we can do as human beings to generate faith because it belongs to God. It is only possible for us to have faith when the Holy Spirit intervenes in our lives by revealing that Jesus Christ is Lord.
As the scripture reading says, one day we will leave our bodies and then stand before the judgement seat of Christ. Until then, we must exercise our faith in Christ by helping others. Of course, we are often overwhelmed, but we must do what we can.
From the many stories in the Bible, including the parables of Jesus, we learn that especially when things seem to be hopeless, we must not give up. We must do what we can, no matter how small or insignificant, because that’s what Jesus did when he obeyed his Father. When he was arrested, all of the disciples ran away from him. When he was crucified, the high priests, religious scholars and leaders of Israel mocked him. No-one believed that he made a difference. Today, we know that Jesus is the only hope found under heaven for the salvation of the human race. The Cross of suffering that all of humanity fears and hates has become the symbol of our Lord. When Jesus died on that Cross, hope and love died with him. However, there was a resurrection, and now Jesus lives and reigns forever, reigniting hope for all time and spreading his love to all people. Now we trust in him alone and we hope for his Kingdom to come.
In conclusion, we must ask the question: why faith? We have faith because we wish to be close to God. When we have faith it changes our lives and the lives of our neighbours. Even further than that, faith changes our circumstances and that of our neighbours. This is because faith allows God to work through us in the world, transforming and redeeming the lives of many people.
Amen. Let us pray. Lord, let us take Solomon’s advice and learn to trust you in every way, every day of our lives. Let us accept Paul’s words of hope that we shall live forever in your heavenly Kingdom. Through your Holy Spirit, give us faith in you, O Christ, our Master and our Friend. Amen.