Malankara World Journal - Christian Spirituality from a Jacobite and Orthodox Perspective
autumn in Hudson, Ohio 2018
Malankara World Journal Monthly
Theme: Great Lent Weeks 1 to 5, Parables
Volume 9 No. 511 March 2019
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. This Month in Church - Lectionary and Sermons

Bible Readings (Lectionary), Sermon Notes, etc. for each Sunday and special feast

1. week 1 (March 3)

2. week 2 (March 10)

3. week 3 (March 17)

4. week 4 (March 24)

5. week 5 (March 31)

6. Mid Lent (March 27)

II. 7. Malankara World Great Lent Supplement

Malankara World Great Lent Supplement http://www.Malankaraworld.com/Library/Lent/Default.htm

III. Supplement: Lent and Christian Life

8. Choices Have Consequences

In the matter of the last things, there is no middle path, no third way. Either we choose God and His kingdom, and then reflect that choice in all of our smaller decisions, or we do not. ...

9. The Season of Lent

Lent is a season of self-examination and penitence, demonstrated by self-denial, in preparation for Easter....

10. Six Ways to Jumpstart Your Spiritual Life

Years ago I learned the First Rule of the Spiritual Life: He’s God and we’re not. All spiritual growth starts with this truth. Until you grasp what it means, you are still in spiritual kindergarten. ...

11. Trapped in the Darkness

There are people that we walk past every day that, without knowing it, are spiritually trapped in darkness under the weight of sin. ...

12. God Will Empower Us

We've all hit obstacles in our walks that aren't possible for us to pass. In fact, I'd even say that God puts things in our lives that we can't take care of on purpose. ...

13. It’s Not How You Start. It’s How You Finish

We never know when our last day on this earth will be. But here’s what we do know—we have a choice right now, today, to finish well. ...

14. Coming to Terms With the Past

God does not want us to be forever burdened with our past sins. “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” says Romans 6:18. ...

15. Go the Extra Mile

In essence, Matthew 5-7 contain instructions from Jesus for them, and for us today, to go further than the strictly physical application of the law—to God's true intent in it, or as we say, from the letter to the spirit of the law. ...

16. What Are You Living For?

Sooner or later we all come to the end of our earthly journey. What will we have to show for our time on earth? ...

17. We Are Nothing Without God

In this season of Lent, I think we ought to start there—by meditating on the absurdity of God’s care. I so often think myself big. To comprehend God’s love for me I must remind myself daily that I am small. Ludicrously so. ...

IV. Bible Study: Understanding Parables

18. The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Jesus said that His purpose for giving parables was not to expand the meaning to people, but to hide the meaning from the people whom He didn't want to understand. Only with the Spirit of God could we really understand the parables. There are certain keys that unlock parables, and if you don't have the keys you're going to miss the meaning, and the interpretation is going to be wrong....

19. The Parable Of The Leaven, Expanded

Many times what we found in the church is that we have allowed worldly attitudes, ideas, and methods to distort what it means to love one another, to love our neighbor. ...

20. Parables Of Matthew 13

The author presents an encouraging conclusion to his series on Matthew 13 by describing Christ's work on behalf of the church (Hidden Treasure, Pearl of Great Price, Dragnet) and the work of the ministry (Householder). The church constitutes His treasure, hidden in the world, purchased and redeemed with Christ's blood. ....

21. Understanding Parables

In the passage before us, Jesus gives us a clue to the function and therefore the interpretation of his kingdom parables. The crowds have failed to respond to a clear presentation of the gospel, so, in an act of judgment, Jesus preaches the gospel in riddles....

22. Birds, Thorns, and Other Surprising Responses to God’s Word

The biblical passages for this week suggest that the Word of God is an experience. And listening is the key to that experience. ...

V. General Weekly Features

23. Family: Wives, This 'Harmless' Sin Isn't So Harmless

Flirtation, bulging muscles, and an inviting smile do not last. What does last is the fear of God. ...

24. What Makes a True Gentleman

Father Conner advises women not to marry a man who has no friends, who is controlling or irresponsible with money, who is overly attached to his mother, or who has no sense of humor. ...

25. The Church and the Family

The Church begins her responsibility for the whole family phase by binding two Christians through the Sacrament of Marriage, and these ties, the Churches teach us, are not broken, even by death....

26. What should be the order of priorities in our family

The Bible does not lay out a step-by-step order for family relationship priorities. However, we can still look to the Scriptures and find general principles for prioritizing our family relationships. ...

27. My Greatest Life Lesson

Fear and love are the two great motivators. While fear suffocates, love liberates. ...

28. What's the greatest hope of heaven?

When it comes to what heaven will be like, there's much more we don't know than we do. ...

29. About Malankara World

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