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March 4, 2001 "Almighty Lord, you have brought us to these All Holy Days for the PURIFICATION of body and soul, for the CONTROLLING of carnal passions, and for the HOPE of the Resurrection. ENABLE us to FIGHT the good fight; to ACCOMPLISH the course of the fast; to PRESERVE the Faith; to Crush under foot the heads of invisible serpents; to be accounted VICTORS over sin; so we, Uncondemned, may ATTAIN and ADORE the HOLY RESURRECTION!" It is my prayer, friends, that each of us uses this time as a significant opportunity in which we draw near to God and have an understanding of the true purpose of our journey called Lent. In the book of Zechariah 1:3 we hear the words; "Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you." As we gather in our churches may we make a commitment to seek the Lord. I truly believe we are standing at the gateway of a major outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT that we have never experienced before. We must be intent on using this time for a personal spiritual transformation with true REPENTANCE OF HEART and a strong commitment to the values in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This season like Spring is a time of change, a time of planting, a time of new growth, and new life. STAND FIRM in the name of JESUS and never lose FOCUS of what God is doing in your life. My friend, take time, step back and take a good look at your life, JESUS awaits for your love, for HE gave all of HIS on the Cross for us. Spend time in prayer, in the reading of the Scriptures and you will indeed be ready to celebrate EASTER. May the Lord Bless you, in His Love, |
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January 7, 2001 - First Sunday of the New Year. Scripture references: Psalm 68:35, Ephesians 6:10, Philippians 4:13, Romans 15:13, and Isaiah 40:31 Isaiah 40:31, "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Open our hearts that your word may be seed in our heart. Water it so we can produce your works. The new year is a time of beginnings. Just like beginning a new job or new life path we need to take inventory of our strengths. Isaiah 40:31 assures us that "...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles..." The eagle is a beautiful and powerful bird, the symbol of our country. It waits on its perch not for the calm air, but for the turbulence. It takes off into the turbulent air where it can soar for hours. With God we can make it through the turbulent times of our lives. We need motivation and encouragement from God. The Spirit of God speaks to us through the scriptures. Psalm 68:35 tells us that our awesome God gives power and strength to His people to win the battles in life. Ephesians 6:10 commands us to "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power." Philippians 4:13 adds assurance that we can do all things through Christ if we trust Him for the strength. God doesn't want us to be miserable. He wants us to have a happy and peaceful life. But there is a condition - we must trust in Him. If we do, He will give us strength, power, encouragement and hope. Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Share this powerful message with others. Enter the new year with power, healing, cleansing and hope that flows from our faith in the Lord Jesus. Psalm 68:35, "You are awesome, O God..." |
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December 31, 2000 - First Sunday after Christmas day Scripture readings: Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Psalm 147:13-21, Galatians 3:23-25, 4:4-7, and John 1:1-18. John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us..." The New Testament Word was life. How many really understand the true meaning of Christmas - God choosing to become man? What is the significance of it? What does it really mean for Christ to be born to die so that we may have life? 2001 is not just the beginning of a new year, but is actually the beginning of the new century and millennium. Deuteronomy 11:11-12 tells us, "But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain form heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end." We have a new year beginning and it will have hills and valleys. How we deal with them is important. Many people go through the hills and valleys of their lives alone and without hope, but there is hope in Jesus Christ. He gives us hope and life and importance to our existence. In Deuteronomy 11:13 God says that if we are faithful to obey his commandments, He will provide for our needs. First Samuel 7:12, "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer (meaning stone of help), saying, 'Thus far has the Lord helped us.'" This passage teaches us to give thanks to God for what He has done already, for the victories "thus far" and to have confidence that if we follow Him there will be more victories to come. "Thus far" the Lord has blessed our country in the past millennium and we know there is hope for the new year with faith in the Lord. January is named for the Roman god Janus, who had two faces looking in opposite directions. It is an appropriate name for the first month of the year. Time to look back and give thanks for where we have been and to look forward to the new year with the promise of victory in Christ. Don't just look back at the disappointments, but look at the blessings too. Look to God for the future, for hope and new life. We each have the opportunity to become heirs to God's kingdom, to become the sons of God. We may feel that we have failed, because we failed to live up to the expectations of people. But our real failing is trying to live up to the expectations of people rather than God. We can go to the Father when we fail Him and He will not hurt us. He may discipline us, but we will feel His loving arms around us. Go forth with His blessing and His light to shine into the world. Revelation 5:13, "...To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" This should be our cry for the new year. We Christians are already victorious through Christ. Make 2001 a year of victory.
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December 24, 2000 - Fourth Sunday of Advent and also our Christmas service Scripture readings: Isaiah 9:2-7 and the Christmas story in Luke 2:1-20. The fourth candle in the Advent wreath is purple. It is symbolic of the angelic proclamation of Christ's birth. The center candle in the Advent wreath is white and is called the Christ Candle. It represents the incarnation of God in Christ and reminds us that Jesus is the one and only reason for the Christmas season. Many preachers find this a great time to preach about the hype, stress and commercialism of the Christmas season, or about world events. But we want to focus on the old story of the birth of Christ as foretold in Isaiah 9 and chronicled in Luke 2. If you ever purchased a toy for a child or something for yourself that required assembly, you may recall the instructions for assembly probably weren't very clear. From the Bible we can assemble the story of Christ, and the instructions are clear. About 700 BC the prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of Christ in chapter 9 verses 2-7 with divine accuracy. Luke chapter two assembles the Christmas story to fulfill the old prophecies. The first few verses provide the reason for bringing Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem so that the Savior would be born in the town of David. Verses 6 and 7 tell of the birth. In verses 9-14, an "angel of the Lord" and "a great company of the heavenly host" announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds in the fields. In verses 15-16 the shepherds go to Bethlehem to see the newborn Savior, and in verse 17 they begin to spread the joyous word of His birth. In verse 20 the shepherds glorify and praise God for the birth of the Messiah. When you were a child you were told you might receive a lump of coal if you had been bad or a candy cane if your had been good. The candy cane tells the Christmas story. The rock candy it is made of represents the church, which is built on Christ the rock. Held with the curved end down, the candy cane is the letter "J" for Jesus. Turned over it is a shepherds staff to guide us. The candy cane has two red stripes over white. The white represents the purity of our Lord. The narrow red stripe represents the whipping Jesus endured for us. The wide red stripe is for the blood he shed for us. We are all like a lump of coal; born into sin, dirty, unpleasant, something no one wants to get near. But coal, under purification, intense pressure and heat, can be transformed into a diamond. Likewise Christ can transform us from a defiled sinner into a forgiven member of the family of God if we will ask him. Jesus birth had a purpose - to make possible, to provide a way for us to have everlasting life with him. We all need to read and study the Christmas account. What do we need for the new millennium? Hope, forgiveness, mercy, strength? A new beginning? Jesus meets all our needs if we just ask him and have faith. O Come Emmanuel, God with us, the gift of a lifetime to show us the way. |
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December 17, 2000 - Third Sunday of Advent Scripture readings: Micah 5:2-4, Psalm 80:1-7, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-56. The third candle in the Advent wreath is pink and represents our joy at Christ's coming.
We celebrated the Third Sunday of Advent with the Community of the Holy Spirit Church in Willoughby. Fr. Kostan participated in the Liturgy. |
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December 10, 2000 - Second Sunday of Advent Scripture readings: Psalm 126, Philippians 1:1-11, Luke 3:1-6. The second candle in the Advent wreath symbolizes Peace. A time for the preparation of receiving Christ in Bethlehem. Christ who is the Prince of Peace. For us it should represent the peace within ourselves and the ability to walk with God. This time of the year you see much chaos, hustle and bustle in the stores and even on the roadways. Luke chapter 3 gives us the account of John the Baptist, whose job was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ, and so we should prepare ourselves for receiving Christ. Luke 3 proclaims an historical event. This account gives the firm foundation that John the Baptist and Jesus were real people who lived in a real place. The exact time and place is given by Luke including the ruler Tiberius Caesar, the governor of Judea Pontius Pilate, and even the local officials. John the Baptist was the one about whom Isaiah wrote: "A voice of one crying in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth, and all mankind will see God's salvation.'" What John said back then, 'preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,' is not what the world wants to hear today. Today we are so selfish and think of ourselves before others. But we were told by John the Baptist to straighten up our lives, repent of our sins and prepare for the way of Christ so that He can have a place in our lives. The message is the same today and does not change from what was told then to what we should do today. We are to be the light to a darkened world. Matthew 5:16 it says, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." You may ask, "How can you say the world is dark? Look at all the prosperity we now have." But ask yourselves, is there peace in the world? Is there peace in the Middle East? How many children were murdered this week in the Cleveland area at the hands of their fathers or mother's boyfriends? We are to be examples to those in the world around us. Let us begin with changing ourselves. Stop thinking, "I'm number one." Open your heart to Jesus and let him be number one in your life. |
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December 3, 2000 - First Sunday of Advent Scripture Readings: Zechariah 14:4-9, Psalm 50, First Thessalonians 3:9-13, Luke 21:25-31. The lighting of the first candle stands for Hope. The circle which holds the four Advent candles symbolizes the unending love of God. Think about an old Christmas song, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It talks about a very special person coming to town. He knows if you've been good or bad. Look at the song and replace every Santa with the name Jesus. Remember your childhood years, remember the smells, the excitement, the anticipation, the decorations! Do you anticipate the King? Advent teaches us that God will come again, and this is what we should be looking forward to. In the last days, the Tribulation, we can see even then the love of Christ. While the world is going through the Tribulation we are the elect, the chosen ones of God. And because we are the elect we are to do his work, not just sit and anticipate but to participate in God's work. We are to expect. But what are you expecting? Are you looking for the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, or are you expecting the return of the King? The angel proclaimed, "Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." (Luke 2:10). The second coming of Jesus Christ is also good news. This is the time when evil will be destroyed and the elect will rise to go to glory and live victorious forever. So at this Christmas time pray for control, control of your selfishness. Refuse to buy entertainment that promotes violence and conflict. Hug those who are lonely and ask what you can do to help. Be willing to help them. If Jesus was willing to die so you could have a home in heaven, can't you look to help others, and stop looking at yourself? Let this Christmas be a time to spread to the world the hope promised through the birth of Jesus Christ. |
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November 19, 2000 The service was a joint service with Park United Methodist Church. Rev Alvey spoke on Psalm 100 and Fr. Kostan spoke on Hebrews 10. Psalm 100:4-5 Hebrews 10 |
