Lighthouse – February

 

Monthly Newsletter of Horeb Mar Thoma Church

Lighthouse

Message from Rev. Larry Varghese, Vicar

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Dearly Beloved in Christ,

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) – But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…

Christina quickly became defensive when her friend said, “Jesus wasn’t God but a person who taught good morals.” Christina bluntly answered back, “Jesus is more than just a good teacher; he is God incarnate.” Her friend retorted, “Well, if Jesus really were God, couldn’t he pray to himself? Why did he always pray to the Father?” Christina was taken aback. She never really thought about that. She paused for a moment to think, desperately racing through her memory banks hoping to find the one Bible verse or the one line of a sermon which she could use to sharply answer back. The pause became silence, and the silence lingered too long…

When we were young we memorized information. Later, information gave way to a relationship. This is what Peter means when he says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.” Christ moves from being an external topic of study to being honored internally in our hearts as Lord.

There is so much more beyond the memorizing and initial relationship. Wanting to know more is not to be seen as lack of faith or having an “attitude”. I remember a professor that took it as a sign of disrespect and doubt when I asked a question during the lecture. When it comes to so many things in life we ask questions and want to know more. Often with Christ though, we are satisfied with too little. Asking questions is one way of learning. If we don’t like the idea of learning then it becomes difficult to answer the questions others direct against us. Whether we believe it or not, our kids will face questions like the one in the story and many others. We need to be able to say why we believe what we believe. This takes effort. It takes discipline. But if you love someone enough you’ll want to know more about them. Every Christian is called to defend his or her faith. No one is called to be a mediocre Christian. Knowing what and more importantly why we believe in something is the task of all. By the way, the question asked in the story above is a common critique posed by Muslims who claim that Jesus was just another prophet and not divine. Other common questions raised against Christians is “If God is good then why is there evil?” and “How can you say that after thousands of years that the Bible you have is reliable?” We may not have the professorial answer but we all have the mandate to plumb the depths of our faith and grow.

Let me quickly respond to the line of thinking that goes like this: “But why not simply have faith like a child. Just believe. Anything else just over complicates.” To that I quote Hebrews 5:12-13, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.” Who’s up for steak!

Let us always be ready to give our answer for why we believe.
Rev. Larry Varghese.

Worship Service

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Sunday School

All Sundays – 1:30 pm

Praise & Worship

All Sundays – 2:30 pm

Service Times

All Sundays – 3:00 pm

First Sunday Holy Communion Service (English)

Second Sunday Holy Communion Service (Malayalam)

Third Sunday Holy Communion Service (English)

Fourth Sunday Holy Communion Service (English)

Fifth Sunday Divine & Witnessing Service (English)
(when applicable)

 

Lectionary

Bible Lesson Readers & Deacons

News, Events & Monthly Meetings

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General Body Meeting

The general body of Horeb MTC will be held on Sunday, February 9th immediately after the service.
Agenda:

a.      2013 annual report and accounts
b.      Budget for the year 2014 and proposal to increase the annual subscription to $135
c.       Election of Assembly Representative
d.      Election of Manadalam Representative
e.       Retreat 2014
f.        Hosting the Youth Leadership Conference 2015
g.      Picnic Coordinator

 

Parish (Edavaka) Mission

Monthly Fasting and Prayer Meeting
Friday, February 28 @ 7:30pm
(Location TBD)

Tuesday Evening Meeting @ 7:00pm

2/4: Mr. & Mrs. Philip Mathew
2/11: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Koshy
2/18:  Mrs. Annamma Mathai
2/25: Mr. & Mrs. Juby Jacob

Western Region One-Day Conference

Date:    Saturday, February 15, 2014
Time:     10am  –  4pm
Venue: Phoenix MTC
             6101, South River Dr, Tempe, AZ 85283

For details, please click on link below:
https://www.horebmtc.org/western-regional-mtvea-conference/

 

Youth Fellowship

Fun Night 
Friday, February 14, 6:45 pm

 

Sevika Sangham (Women’s Ministry)

Friday, February 7  @ 7:30p
Held at the residence of Mrs. Cini Mathew.

Western Regional Sevika Sangham One Day Conference
Saturday, March 15 – 8am to 4pm
Hosted by Horeb MTC.

For details, please click on link below:
https://www.horebmtc.org/western-region-sevika-sangham-one-day-conference/

 

Young Family Fellowship

Saturday, February 22, 4:00 pm
(Location TBD)

 

Birthday and Wedding Anniversary

     

https://www.horebmtc.org/anniversaries/