Sermon – Page 22 – Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church Sunday School Department

The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7)

God is a good father, who wills safety for His children, for they will be reversed from suffering. During Torah, while Israelis were imprisoned by the Egyptians, God protected them from their enemy scam and their sufferings they brought on them. As it was His will to free them Egyptians and called upon and Prophet Moses and said, “Therefore say to the children of Israel: “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 6:6-7)

“Blessed are the Merciful” (Matthew 5:7)

The Sermon on the Mount of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, specifically His Beatitudes evokes about blessing, revealed through the beatitude on as to how to be blessed. “To be blessed” means “being in an enviable state of those who are in God’s heavenly Kingdom.” Focusing on a particular Beatitude which is “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy,” it is important to understand, we shall be merciful for God shall have mercy on us. (Matthew 5:7)

“Away with you, Satan!” (Matthew 4:10)

Counterfeit preaching and lies about the existence of evil and the devil as well as his existence in this world confuse people hindering them to reach the truth. However, through learning the words of God, it is probable to understand the truth. One of the best gospel passages for us to learn about the devil, evil and temptation is the reading in Matthew’s Gospel about the Temptation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Matthew 4:1-11)

“God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31)

God created men for glory; however, some creatures are more glorious than their forefathers and mankind is the foremost amongst them. The Prophet Moses, who wrote the history of creation says, “He saw that it was good,” but when it comes to man, he concludes, “He saw that it was very good.” Saint Jared the Great said, Greater than the Sabbath day, He is the greatest of all creatures.” (Genesis 1:31)

“Lord, you now dismiss your servant in peace as you have promised” (Luke 2:29)

The story of Saint Symeon witnessing the Birth of Lord Jesus Christ enlightens the value of time. When Saint Joseph and Saint Mary bring the infant Jesus to the Temple and they bring with them a sacrifice of turtledoves. Before they can accomplish this though, Saint Symeon meets them at the entrance. There Symeon says, “Lord, you now dismiss your servant in peace as you have promise for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:29)

Entreaty

Entreaty according to the King James Dictionary is “To make an earnest petition or request” People make entreaties for a variety of reasons. For example they say, “If God hears my heartache; I will do this it for him. If Saint Mary hears my vows or supplications, I will submit an umbrella for the service of Church.” Or else they promise to give as much their capacity. When their vows were fulfilled, they say, “Our Lady has given what I pleaded.” They submit an umbrella as an entreaty in her for honor in the Church.

Hope in God

The Hope in God is unshakeable and basically confidence in Him. Every humans hope in reaching our destiny is unquestionable if God is on our side. So, our hope depends on how much strength we have to hold on to His hands. Even if we are in a bad situation and circumstances, God is will heaves us through. We hope and pray that one step in our lives would be the stepping stone to our future.

Gospel

A Gospel narrates life of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth, his teachings and all the miracles He perform. His life is a form of foundations of the Christian faith. Lord Jesus Christ chose four Apostles from the 12; Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke and Saint John, known as the four Evangelists to write his stories in the Holy Bible.

“Be aware of False Prophets” (Matthew 7:15)

False prophets strive to weaken Holy Church deceiving laities with lack of faith; some might fail while others do not. Lord Jesus gives preference to the some as Prophets, preserving the truth and to the many lost: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom!” and He promises His faithful His Godly protection from spiritual wolves, saying: “And I will give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (Luke 12:32, John 10:28)

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56)

Father Abraham rejoicing was witnessed during the apostasy era after his desire to see the day of the revelation of LORD Jesus Christ. His spiritual diligence in addition to his grace was immense. He welcomed people as his guests and nurtures them in his tent. Discerning this, Enemy Satan distorted the truth so that guests would not go to Abraham’s house, pretending to be stoned saying, “Do not go to Abraham’s house. He is not the Abraham you knew; I went to his house thinking that He would nurture me, but, look at the blood that comes down from my head after he stoned me. Don’t go to his house.”