GE: March Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Joseph George and family

Summary of Achen's Speech Based from The Acts of Apostles 3:1-10 

Peter and John were going up to the temple. It was the ninth hour or three o'clock in the afternoon, which was the usual time of prayer for the Jews. More importantly for us, it was the hour on which Jesus had died on the cross. "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And bowing his head, He gave up His Spirit." ( St. John 19:30)

The Lame Man's Problem:

As Peter and John were on their way into the temple they met this man who had been lame from birth. He was " stuck" at the Gate. Our lives are like this, something is always holding us back from our goals and keeping us from moving forward. "And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon indeed Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat'" ( St. Luke 22:31 ) This shows that Satan is capable of acting on anyone at any time. But God is more powerful than our strongest weapons. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" (2 ^nd Corinthians 10:4)

The Lame Man's Position:

The lame man was in front of the Gate called Beautiful, there is an ugly problem in front of a wonderful entrance. Most of the time we live gilded lives, behind our money and status there are many glitches.

When he asked alms of Peter, Peter stopped, and said to him, "Look at us." This man expected to receive something from Peter and John. He did not know what he was going to get, but his faith was quickened by Peter's words. We must always expect something from God in order to receive the same.

Unfortunately there are those who turn off their minds when they get into a church service. They start thinking of all kinds of other things, their minds start wandering to everything except what is going on. The truth from the Gospel readings misses them. This is why Jesus always said to the crowds when he preached, "He who has ears, let him hear," ( St. Matthew 11:15 )

The Lame Man's Progress:

When Peter had the man's attention, he did two things: First, he admitted his deficiency in the material realm: "Silver and gold I do not have" Then he demonstrated his riches in the spiritual realm: "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Seeing the power of God at work, Peter helped up the man.

This man was brought to the temple habitually for a long time, but Jesus never healed him. This indicates that God has his own time for great events.

The Lame Man's Praise:

The man's foundation was established, therefore he jumped up to go with Peter and John to praise the Lord. The people in the temple, seeing the once lame man, were convinced that God was at work. The miracle was done in the name of Jesus. Peter is saying, "This is the Power on whom I am depending" He offers the lame man the authority and power and the resources in the name of Jesus. And all that Jesus was, was working through Peter at that time.

 

-Joseph George Family

GE: March Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Koshy Samuel and family

Acts chapter 3(1-10)

 

1. Problem- Explains how sometimes success & happiness is right in front of u but u can't just get to it as noted by being stuck at the beautiful gate. Problems created by man makes it hard sometimes to get to the ultimate happiness which is being with God

 

2.Progression- noted as begging at the gate. A man in pain being held by hands & made to stand up

 

3 Praise-Standing up & praising the Lord. Everything that man does in the name of God has a strong foundation & it has everlasting effects in their household & in turn, the whole world

 

Thanks,

Sarah, Saramma George & Koshy Samuel

 

GE: March Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Mathews Kochummen and family

Thoughts from Prayer Meeting on March 17, 2007 (Sunday) at Waco .

The bible passage is Acts 3:1-10

Here we see, Peter and John going to the temple to pray and there they meet a lame man at the entrance. The man asks for alms but Peter replies he does not have any worldly possessions to give him. Peter then orders the man "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth get up and walk". Peter then takes the man by his right hand and helped him up. The man is instantly cured and walks around and goes into the temple praising GOD.

Four thoughts were discussed.
a. The man's problem
b. The man's position
c. The man's progression
d. The man praising GOD

a. The man's problem.
    A man, crippled since birth, stuck at the  gate to the church.
    He is stuck because he cannot move.
    This is similar to the way we get stuck when we refuse to heed good advice or change our spiritual ways for the better. Satan is always at work. When life is not moving the way we want, we think we have a problem.

b. The man's position
The man is at the 'Beautiful Gate'. But he is unable to walk around and enjoy the beauty of the place since he is is lame. He is so close the temple; but he is unable to go inside.  We also are often in the same position; we only have to ask GOD for his blessings.

c. His progression
The man had an amazing progression on that day...from being a lame person (as he has been since birth) to a man who could jump around with joy praising GOD. 
How did this progression happen to the man ?
Peter was willing to help the man even if it involved getting dirty himself. The man saw the power of GOD on Peter's face (Peter asked him to look at him). Unless we are willing to come to GOD and pray, we will not have a similar progression.

d. His praise
When the man was helped up by Peter, he was instantly cured. He went into the temple and started praising GOD. When people saw him, they recognized him as the beggar who sits usually at the temple gate. Similarly, we should praise GOD for the blessings that we receive everyday. The man's bones became strong; similarly our faith in GOD should be a strong foundation for our family life.

One more point from our own study..
e. Why was the man cured by Peter and not Jesus ?
    Jesus also must have many times gone to the same temple and must have seen this lame man by the gate. But Jesus never cured the man ? Why did it have to wait for Peter to cure him ?
GOD has a plan and time and place for everything...He uses different people in different ways to work  his miracles. 


How did people remember the 9th hour ?
Here is what we think !

9th hour is 3pm. That was the usual time for the afternoon prayer at the Jewish temple.  After Jesus' death, the disciples still continued going to the temple to pray and meet with people and continued the tradition for a long time.
Mark 15 says...at the 6th hour darkness came over the whole land till the 9th hour. At the 9th hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ?".
So even after generations, people still remembered this 9th hour, since the disciples continued the tradition of the 9th hour prayer.

 

Thanks,

Mathews Kochummen  and family

Bible Quiz questions and answers from the prayer meeting

Bible Quiz: February Prayer Meeting

 

1.  What is the only book in the Holy Bible where God is not mentioned? 

     Esther

2.  Which chapter is known as the song of love? 

     1 Cor. 13

3.  Which chapter in the Gospel has 7 parables in one chapter? 

     St. Mathew 13

4.  Which is the longest chapter in the Holy Bible excluding Psalms? 

     St. Luke 1

5.  Who wrote the most books in the new testament? 

     St. Paul  (14)

6.  The assumption of St. Mary is celebrated on which day? 

     Aug 15

7.  Which book comes after Amos?

     Obadiah

8.  Who was the first king of Israel? 

     Saul

9.  How many people were in Noah's ark? 

     8

10.  How many candles are placed on the altar?

       13

 

11. Which verse did Dayana refer to in her speech on the Body of Christ? 

      St. Mark 14:22

GE: February Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Varghese and family

GE: February Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Varghese and family

We remember the following 5 points from your message at the last prayer meeting.
Your message was about the Great Lent and the following points were discussed:

1. Time for preparation and self examination
   Bible verse - 2 Corinthians (Chapter 13 - verse 5 & 6).
   - Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Do   you not know yourself, that Jesus Christ is in you? -
unless indeed you are disqualified.
   - But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.

- You mentioned about "Pride" being the oldest sin in the world. We
discussed how pride and self praise affect us and our relationship
with others.
 Bible verse - Galatians 6 - verse 3
- For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he
deceives himself.

2. Time for discipline
   - Give something regularly.
   - have more time for others.
   - invest more in spiritual life.
   - use sundays exclusively for worship.

3. Use the lenten period for special prayers.

4. It is a time for spiritual renewal and growth.

5. Share with others our hope found in the relationship with Christ.

Warm Regards,

Varghese & family

GE: February Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Allen Vargheese and family

GE: February Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Allen Vargheese and family

Theme of the message: 2 Corinthians 13:5, 6

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

Pretext: The message was delivered on the saturday before the start of the Great Lent. At this point in time, we examine ourselves and identify the things to do as we enter the Great Lent. We look at the 5 T's of the Great Lent season.

Lent season is a

1) Time of preparation
----------------------

We must get examine if we have Pride. If we have, we must get rid of it since it destroys relationships.

Galatians 6:3-5

"If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load."

Pride is the oldest sin in the world

Pride can be in many ways

 a. Pride in appearance
 b. Pride in position
        Ex. Nebucadnezzer - gave credit to himself

        Light reading: The story of 2 ducks and the frog in the pond. :)

Why we must get rid of Pride

 a. Pride destroys relationship

We must get rid of the attitude in which we think 'i dont need anyones help, and i wont help anyone'.

As we enter the Lent season, Examine if we have PRIDE!

2) Time for discipline
--------------------

We need to discipline ourselves. We can discipline us by

 a. Giving up something regularly
 b. Live more for others than yourselves
 c. Invest more in heaven than in retirement
 d. Watch less TV, read more Bible
 e. Make Sunday a day of worship

Examples of lack of Discipline

 a. Will go to church if we get up
 b. The grass was tall, so did the lawn moving on Sunday morning (instead of going to church)
 c. Will give time to God if we had a 8th day

3) Time for special prayers
-------------------------

We must get up early and pray (Give the First hour of the day to God)
We must pass on the tradition of Great Lent prayers to our next generation (Kumbidal)

4) Time for spiritual renewal
--------------------------

Observe fasting with diligence

 Ex. Yunus (Aby's classmate) is a Muslim young boy who takes fasting very seriously during their religious time. Do we?

 Question for Thought- Will we not fast if the doctor asks, but why we do not fast if the Bible says?

5) Time to share with others the blessings of Jesus
-------------------------------------------------

Spend more time for Jesus and spread the hope in Jesus to others.
Help others who are in need.

----------------------------------------------------
by Allen Vargheese and family

GE: February Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Joseph George and family

 

Summary of the 2/17/07 Speech

 

Achen's speech on February 17, 2007 was based on 2^nd Corinthians 13:5-6, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified." Achen compared lent to the fasting before a doctor's visit. If we are asked to not eat twelve hours before a medical visit, we heed the doctor's advice. We should follow this same structure for the lent so we can cleanse ourselves from our past transgressions. We should imagine ourselves in a doctor's office sharing all our problems and short comings with God. Achen talked about Mardi Gras or "Fat Tuesday", the day before Ash Wednesday the start of the Catholic Great Lent. Mardi Gras is a big celebration, a day where people say "good-bye to meat". But really the Great Lenten time is a time to examine the relationship as well.

The Great Lenten time is the…

1.      Time for Preparation:

Galatians 6:3-5 "For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load." The Bible verse is teaching us about the pride of man. Pride is the oldest sin in the world. One can have pride in appearance or pride in position. Pride will destroy relationship. We should use this Lenten time to keep our relationships with others by keeping the pride away.

2.      Time for Discipline:

During this Lenten time we should try to give something away regularly, live for others and less for ourselves, invest more in heaven than in retirement, read more of the Bible and watch less television, and make Sunday the day of worship.

3.      Time for Spiritual Activities:

This is the time to spend in quality praying. We should set aside more time each day than we normally do to praise and worship properly and wholeheartedly.

4.      Time for Spiritual Renewal and Growth:

We should use this time wisely and spend it more on fasting, praying, and meditating.

5.      Time to Share:

      We should share the hope found in a relationship found with Jesus.

 

The Josephs'

GE: February Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Mathews and family

GE: February Prayer Meeting Message Summary: by Mathews and family

2 Cor: 13:5-6 Paul is asking people to examine themselves to see if they pass the test of faith. Paul is asking people to always what is right.

What is Lent season ?
1. Lenten season is the time for preparation.
    We need to prepare ourselves such that we do not succub to the  problems of undue pride. We can feel proud of our good deeds; but shouldnt feel better than others or hurt others. The wrong kind of pride can destroy relationships. (Galatians 6:3-5)
2. Time for discipline
   Give something away regularly.
   Live more for others; less for yourselves
   Invest more in heaven than in worldly goods
   Make Sunday a day of worship and rest
3. Time for special prayers
    Lent is time to pray and understand GOD more.
4. Time for spiritual renewal and growth
    Fast
5. Time to share with others our relationship with Jesus.
    We need to share with others the thought that when there is Jesus in our lives, there is always something to look forward to.

-------------------------------------------
Summary by Mathews Kochummen and family

What is Golden Ear Program?

What is Golden Ear Program?

Golden Ear Program is an initiative to encourage active participation in the prayer meetings. It is a family based program where the family that listens the most and writes a summary of the message given by Achen during the prayer meeting gets points. 

How does Golden Ear Program work?

1. We attend the prayer meeting.
2. We listen to the message of our Achen and take notes
3. The family members discusses with each other and writes an article with the summary of the message and the points and e-mails it to Achen within 2 weeks after the prayer meeting.
4. The family that submits the summary gets points for each point in the message. The points are  tallied from Feb-Oct. The family with the most points gets the 'The Golden Ear' award during Perunal.
5. The postings by families will appear on our web site/blog.

Thanks,
Rajesh

 

Great Lent: Thought for this week

Spiritual greetings

 

Mathew 4:1-2  Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 

 

Temptation is something that we all must deal with on a daily basis. 

 

Thoughts: 

1.  It greets us when we are awake

2.  It meets us when we begin our daily routine

3.  It finds us on our way to work, school or wherever else we might be

 

When we are tempted of the devil, it is not without the knowledge of God or without his permission (Luke 4:1)

 

Think about:

 

How to overcome temptation?

 

With Christ, you are a hero, without Christ you are a ZERO.

 

 

Thank you

 

Sam Achen

Food Drive: Why should we help to feed the less fortunate? (Part 2)

Why should we help to feed the less fortunate?

1. Because Jesus told us.

Reference: St. Mathew 14:15-17

2. Because there are many who do not have enough food.

Nearly one in five adults and one in four children in Texas encounter food insecurity. 41,000 children under the age of 18 in Travis County are confronted with food insecurity every day. Want to know more, view a Hunger Awareness Presentation from austin food bank. (15.5 MB)
http://www.austinfoodbank.org/help/form-uploads/CE_Hunger_Awareness.ppt

3. Because we want our children to continue to learn the culture of sharing.

During the Great lent, it would be wonderful if we continue to teach our children the importance of sharing our fortunes with others. Please make it a point to explain to the kids what you are doing, have the kids pick/choose the food, have the kids drop the food items in the box. (Instead of you doing it) To go a step further, ask them to write about their experience in doing it and why they think they should be doing it.

How are we helping to feed the less fortunate?

We are helping to feed the less fortunate by organizing a food drive and donating the collected food to the Capital Area Food bank. The Capital Area Food bank in turn will use this to feed the less fortunate?

Support the Sunday School food drive and make it a success.

Thanks,
Rajesh

Food Drive: 'You give them something to eat' (Part 1)

Dear friends,

Year and year again, we read St. Mathew 14:15-17, the passage of feeding the 5000 people.

"As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered."

2000 years later, Jesus is saying the same to his disciples; "you give them something to eat". The 12 disciples, where poor and had left their homes to follow Jesus and did not have much at their disposal in terms of wealth. We are the current generation of the disciples of Jesus Christ. The difference that we have from the 12 disciples, is that we have much more than five loaves of bread and 2 fish at our disposal.

The Great Lent is a perfect time to do our share of due diligence in feeding the less fortunate.

We have kept a box in the church and this weekend will be the final week of the food drive benefitting the local area food bank. Please drop any nonperishable food items in the box.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Thanks,
Rajesh

Part 2: Why should we help to feed the less fortunate?

 

Welcome to the Gregorian Blog

Dear friends,

Welcome to the Gregorian Blog, a blog hosted by the St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Austin, TX.
The goal of this blog is to encourage our Children and adults to express their writing and creative skills in the process of learning more about faith and the church. This blog will a writing pad for our members to share thoughts on topics related to faith and the Church.

The blog can be accessed from our church web site ( http://www.stgregoriosaustin.org/ ) or by accessing the URL http://www.stgregoriosaustin.blogspot.com/

Our 'Golden Ear' entries, thought of the week, devotional message summary and other writings will appear in this blog. We request everyone to contribute to the blog.

Note: Please make sure that all topics are in line with the Orthodox faith and traditions. Any controversial topics will be removed.

Thanks,
Rajesh