Good morning,
Thank Jesus it is Friday and Sunday is coming. We are studying and sharing in Wednesday evening gathering on "Becoming a Contagious Christian". We are to use every opportunity to work for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Live boldly! Live creatively! Be a spiritual entrepreneur! Even if we are not completely sure what will work, try everything we can to serve Christ in a world that desperately needs the gospel. Work from morning till night, making the most of our time by offering God a full day’s work. Then leave the results to him, knowing that he will use your work in whatever way he sees fit.
In Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 we read about the preacher's practical exhortation to sow good seed. Sowing good seed is not just for farmers, of course. It applies to many areas of life. The Bible most frequently uses the imagery of sowing and reaping to talk about what we do with the Word of God. Jesus told a famous parable about a farmer who sowed his seed on four different types of soil. When he explained this parable to his disciples, he told them that “the sower sows the word” (Mark 4:14). Of all the things that we ought to be sowing, therefore, the most important is the Gospel of the Kingdom. There is no single way to invest in the kingdom; the best way is to use our time, talent, and treasure whenever and wherever we can to invest in the kingdom of God.
Jesus Christ is the Lord of the harvest, which will come at the proper time. This was true of his own life and ministry. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). Jesus was talking about his own death on the cross and burial in the ground, as well as the resurrection that followed. It was not just words that Jesus sowed but his very life itself, when he offered his blood on the Cross for our sins. The gospel harvest of his saving work is forgiveness and eternal life for everyone who believes in him. Jesus does not offer his grace in portions to seven, or even to eight, but to every sinner on the face of planet Earth.
Jesus sends us out to do a little sowing of our own. He is the Lord of the surprising harvest (surprising to us, not to him).v We do now always know what God will do with what we sow, but if we keep on sowing, the day will come when God will reap a harvest of salvation.
One example of God’s surprising harvest is the story of I read about some time ago of the conversion of Luke Short at the tender age of 103. Short was sitting under a hedge in Virginia when he happened to remember a sermon he had once heard preached by the famous Puritan John Flavel. As he recalled the sermon, Short asked God to forgive his sins right then and there, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He lived for three more years, and when he died, the following words were inscribed on his tombstone, “Here lies a babe in grace, aged three years, who died according to nature, aged 106”!
The most remarkable part of the story is that the sermon that old Mr. Short remembered had been preached eighty-five years earlier, back in England! Nearly a century had passed between Flavel’s sermon and Short’s conversion, between the sowing and the reaping.
Therefore, let us not get paralyzed by our lack of knowledge but instead use every opportunity to work boldly but wisely for the glory of God. Let us be excited about the coming weekend to worship the Living Lord with His people wherever we might be. Let us witness for Him in word and deed. Let us keep on sowing the seeds of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Lord of the harvest will bring forth His Harvest, 100 fold, sixty fold and thirty fold. Blessed be His Name.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AibBR6j2g54
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011
An Italian Fest will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY. The meal will be served, beginning at 5:00 PM. The public is invited. A suggested donation of $5.00 per person will be received.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .: Laureen Naik
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-10-11
Good morning,
Early this morning (at 3 AM today) I was looking at the Face Book page, at some of the pictures of the Maynards ( My wife's clan) from Somerset, England. It is wonderful to know that all of them love Jesus and serve Him faithfully. While visiting them a few years ago, Cousin Steve Maynard shared with us that their great, great, great grandma prayed that her children and all those who will come after them will love Jesus and will serve Him. One of those Maynards was my wife's grandfather who migrated the States and settled in Chenango County, New York, and who loved the Lord. All his sons and daughters loved the Lord and served Him. One of Grandpa Maynard's favorite hymns was, "Oh Love that Will Not Let Me Go".
In the mid-19th century a young man named George Matheson went to seminary to study to become a minister. He was engaged to a beautiful girl whom he loved deeply. While he was at seminary he discovered that he was going blind. When he told his fiancée that he was going blind, she gave back the engagement ring and told George that she simply could not be married to a blind man. As you can imagine, George was devastated.
Being a blind man in a generation that was already unkind to the disabled was a great difficulty. George needed someone who could assist him in his blindness. Fortunately, that assistance was provided by his dear sister. Eventually George’s sister also fell in love and was soon engaged to be married. On the night of his sister’s wedding he wrote a hymn that became well-known and much loved. Years later he described that evening on which he wrote the hymn:
"In the manse of Innelan on the evening of the 6th of June, 1882, I was alone in the manse at that time. It was the night of my sister’s marriage, and the rest of the family were staying overnight in Glasgow. Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering. It was the quickest bit of work I ever did in my life. I had the impression of having it dictated to me by some inward voice rather than of working it out myself. I am quite sure that the whole work was completed in five minutes and equally sure that it never received at my hands any retouching or correction. I have no natural gift of rhyme. All the other verses I have ever written are manufactured articles; this came like a dayspring from on high."
His eyesight had left him, his fiancée had left him, his sister had left him, and George Matheson was left alone and depressed, but into the depths of that darkness of soul God sent the light of his compassion. George was reminded more poignantly than ever of the love that would never let him go. Here is the hymn:
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee:
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
“O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go” became one of the most widely sung hymns of its era, perhaps because so many people could identify with the personal nature of its promise. George Matheson never married, but became one of Scotland’s leading pastors, often preaching to a congregation of more than 1,500 worshipers. In spite of his blindness, Matheson become known as a friend to the friendless, a man who touched thousands of lives. God taught Matheson in an unforgettable way the truths of wholehearted servanthood. He served well because God loved him.
`So, first, we serve because we are forgiven. Second, we serve because we are blessed. Third, we serve because we are free. Fourth, we serve because we are joyful. And fifth, we serve because we are loved.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fchS9fwIznw
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011
An Italian Fest will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY. The meal will be served, beginning at 5:00 PM. The public is invited. A suggested donation of $5.00 per person will be received.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Early this morning (at 3 AM today) I was looking at the Face Book page, at some of the pictures of the Maynards ( My wife's clan) from Somerset, England. It is wonderful to know that all of them love Jesus and serve Him faithfully. While visiting them a few years ago, Cousin Steve Maynard shared with us that their great, great, great grandma prayed that her children and all those who will come after them will love Jesus and will serve Him. One of those Maynards was my wife's grandfather who migrated the States and settled in Chenango County, New York, and who loved the Lord. All his sons and daughters loved the Lord and served Him. One of Grandpa Maynard's favorite hymns was, "Oh Love that Will Not Let Me Go".
In the mid-19th century a young man named George Matheson went to seminary to study to become a minister. He was engaged to a beautiful girl whom he loved deeply. While he was at seminary he discovered that he was going blind. When he told his fiancée that he was going blind, she gave back the engagement ring and told George that she simply could not be married to a blind man. As you can imagine, George was devastated.
Being a blind man in a generation that was already unkind to the disabled was a great difficulty. George needed someone who could assist him in his blindness. Fortunately, that assistance was provided by his dear sister. Eventually George’s sister also fell in love and was soon engaged to be married. On the night of his sister’s wedding he wrote a hymn that became well-known and much loved. Years later he described that evening on which he wrote the hymn:
"In the manse of Innelan on the evening of the 6th of June, 1882, I was alone in the manse at that time. It was the night of my sister’s marriage, and the rest of the family were staying overnight in Glasgow. Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering. It was the quickest bit of work I ever did in my life. I had the impression of having it dictated to me by some inward voice rather than of working it out myself. I am quite sure that the whole work was completed in five minutes and equally sure that it never received at my hands any retouching or correction. I have no natural gift of rhyme. All the other verses I have ever written are manufactured articles; this came like a dayspring from on high."
His eyesight had left him, his fiancée had left him, his sister had left him, and George Matheson was left alone and depressed, but into the depths of that darkness of soul God sent the light of his compassion. George was reminded more poignantly than ever of the love that would never let him go. Here is the hymn:
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee:
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
“O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go” became one of the most widely sung hymns of its era, perhaps because so many people could identify with the personal nature of its promise. George Matheson never married, but became one of Scotland’s leading pastors, often preaching to a congregation of more than 1,500 worshipers. In spite of his blindness, Matheson become known as a friend to the friendless, a man who touched thousands of lives. God taught Matheson in an unforgettable way the truths of wholehearted servanthood. He served well because God loved him.
`So, first, we serve because we are forgiven. Second, we serve because we are blessed. Third, we serve because we are free. Fourth, we serve because we are joyful. And fifth, we serve because we are loved.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fchS9fwIznw
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011
An Italian Fest will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY. The meal will be served, beginning at 5:00 PM. The public is invited. A suggested donation of $5.00 per person will be received.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-9-11
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this Wednesday. We will gather for our Wednesday fellowship, Bible study, and choir practice today beginning at 6.00PM. It is a great blessing to know Christ and to serve Him. My friend Rev. Earle Cowden preached a sermon many years ago in which he talked about the rewards in the Kingdom. There are many rewards of knowing, loving, worshipping, witnessing, and serving Christ. Those rewards begin here on earth and extend beyond this world. Those rewards are eternal and imperishable.
The Lord appeared to Abraham and made a great promise, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." (Genesis 15:1)
Paul also knew the full reward of being in Christ, and he was given the assurance of the crown of righteousness. 2 Timothy 4:6-9 — "the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return." The crown of righteousness is for those who live by determined faith and fully pour out their lives as an offering to God. It is for those who have given their whole lives in service for the Lord. "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." - CT Studd. CT Studd left behind a life with the elite in England, Test Cricket career, a wife and children to follow God’s call to Africa.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose... “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." - Jim Elliot Missionary These are words of determined faith.
Living and serving Jesus is not for cowards. It is for men and women of courage and faith. It is for people like David who, when faced with a Goliath, don’t run away but run towards the giant. You cannot just walk in and possess the Promised Land, you have to fight. You need to be strong and very courageous, like Joshua.
Paul wrote, "I have won the race, I have finished my course". The reward is for completers.
Over the years it is amazing how many people with ‘faith’ have not finished the task in their life. They start well and run for a while but then there is always a reason for not crossing the finish line.
Romans 4:18 - When God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, Abraham believed him. …. even though such a promise seemed utterly impossible! Abraham’s faith did not weaken or waver …. his faith grew stronger … even though he was too old to be a father (100 years old). Because of faith … it was credited to him as righteousness.
We were made righteous by faith and we will receive a crown of righteousness for living in determined faith.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FIZUyAr9_E
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011
An Italian Fest will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY. The meal will be served, beginning at 5:00 PM. The public is invited. A suggested donation of $5.00 per person will be received.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Praise the Lord for this Wednesday. We will gather for our Wednesday fellowship, Bible study, and choir practice today beginning at 6.00PM. It is a great blessing to know Christ and to serve Him. My friend Rev. Earle Cowden preached a sermon many years ago in which he talked about the rewards in the Kingdom. There are many rewards of knowing, loving, worshipping, witnessing, and serving Christ. Those rewards begin here on earth and extend beyond this world. Those rewards are eternal and imperishable.
The Lord appeared to Abraham and made a great promise, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." (Genesis 15:1)
Paul also knew the full reward of being in Christ, and he was given the assurance of the crown of righteousness. 2 Timothy 4:6-9 — "the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return." The crown of righteousness is for those who live by determined faith and fully pour out their lives as an offering to God. It is for those who have given their whole lives in service for the Lord. "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." - CT Studd. CT Studd left behind a life with the elite in England, Test Cricket career, a wife and children to follow God’s call to Africa.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose... “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." - Jim Elliot Missionary These are words of determined faith.
Living and serving Jesus is not for cowards. It is for men and women of courage and faith. It is for people like David who, when faced with a Goliath, don’t run away but run towards the giant. You cannot just walk in and possess the Promised Land, you have to fight. You need to be strong and very courageous, like Joshua.
Paul wrote, "I have won the race, I have finished my course". The reward is for completers.
Over the years it is amazing how many people with ‘faith’ have not finished the task in their life. They start well and run for a while but then there is always a reason for not crossing the finish line.
Romans 4:18 - When God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, Abraham believed him. …. even though such a promise seemed utterly impossible! Abraham’s faith did not weaken or waver …. his faith grew stronger … even though he was too old to be a father (100 years old). Because of faith … it was credited to him as righteousness.
We were made righteous by faith and we will receive a crown of righteousness for living in determined faith.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FIZUyAr9_E
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011
An Italian Fest will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott, NY. The meal will be served, beginning at 5:00 PM. The public is invited. A suggested donation of $5.00 per person will be received.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-8-11
Praise the Lord for the Church. It is the only institution on earth that has been under the same management for over 2000 years. The Lord of the Church has given us word that the gates of hell can not prevail against it. The Church will be here on earth until Jesus comes again. Glory and honor to Him.
Every church I have been privileged to serve has been a great blessing to me and to my family. People at Wesley UMC love the Lord and love each other. They affirm each other. A new congregation is being birthed at the Saturday Evening worship that meets at the Historic First United Methodist Church in Endicott. The people who serve and worship there they are committed to the Lord and to His mission to find the lost and to encourage the found. They believe in miracles and they expect miracles. The people at Union Center love the Lord and love one another, and they are not only hearers of the Word but they are the doers of the Word.
I would make note of few of them this morning. Irving and Orpha are married for 63 years now, both graduates of Clarkson University. Irving was in the Intensive Care almost in a comma for 73 days. The church prayed for miracle and the Lord raised him up. It was 14 years ago that Irving was healed. Irving and Orpha rarely miss being in the house of the Lord to worship Him and praise Him.
Mary Lou Horn, Irene Boyer, and Juna Tinkam are our Church's "Golden Girls". They love the Lord and they serve Him. One of the special blessings is that they share the same birthday, February 3. Shannan Meilunas and her son Joseph share the same birthday (Groundhog Day, February 2). Joyanna Krause will celebrate her first birthday on the 11th of Febrary. She loves to be in the house of the Lord every Sunday with a big smile. People who love the Lord, all over the world of all ages, make up the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord.
In 1 Cor: 2.12-13, 15-16 we read, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
God wants to bless us. He wants us to have all spiritual wisdom and understanding. He wants to do it for a reason that Peter called the building up of
"a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that [we] should [boldly] show forth the praises of Him who hath called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light". 1 Peter 2.9
A few years ago I met Dr. Calvin Miller in a conference in Birmingham, Alabama. He has grandson adopted from Orissa, India, where I am from. I felt an instant bond with Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller tells an old fable about a traveler going through the night, seeing up ahead of him rising out of the mist a monastery rising with the lights on. Cold and inclement was the weather, and he stopped and knocked on the door. When the abbot came, he said, "May I come in"?
The abbot said, "Not only may you come in, but you may eat with us". The food was wonderful; the monks were warm; it was a beautiful evening, safe and dry and warm. Because the weather was so bad, they asked him to stay the night. He agreed, he said, on the basis that they would supply him with a few things. "What is it you want?" they asked.
He said, "If I spend this night with you, I must have in my own room for myself alone this night a pound of butter, a pair of rubber pants, a poker, a cricket bat, and a bass saxophone". Though it was an unusual request, they scurried around the monastery and found it all.
As they went to sleep that night, they heard the awful progression of halftones and squeaks and squawks coming from his room. Because the weather continued bad, they invited him to stay another night. He did do that, and he asked again for that mysterious list of the same things: a pound of butter, a pair of rubber pants, a poker, a cricket bat, and a bass saxophone.
Each night he requested those things, and each night they heard the awful noises, until finally it was time for him to leave. The old abbot walked him to the door and said, "We were glad to supply all of those things, but would you mind telling me why you asked for them?"
The stranger said, "Well, it is a family secret. It has been in our family for years and years, but if you promise not to tell another living soul, I'll tell you". And so he told the old abbot all his heart, and the abbot, being a man of his word, never told another living soul. And so we shall never know.
Does it leave you kind of empty to not know the secret? It's an inside secret, a family thing. Such is the Gospel, and the wisdom of God. We don't have the choice to say, we believe it when we see it. This kind of inside secret is only the kind that,we will see when we believe it.
Let us take the leap of faith. His wisdom is as close as our heart believing, and our mouth confessing!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3e95vb3KMA
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011 5 PM Gathering: Italian Feast.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Every church I have been privileged to serve has been a great blessing to me and to my family. People at Wesley UMC love the Lord and love each other. They affirm each other. A new congregation is being birthed at the Saturday Evening worship that meets at the Historic First United Methodist Church in Endicott. The people who serve and worship there they are committed to the Lord and to His mission to find the lost and to encourage the found. They believe in miracles and they expect miracles. The people at Union Center love the Lord and love one another, and they are not only hearers of the Word but they are the doers of the Word.
I would make note of few of them this morning. Irving and Orpha are married for 63 years now, both graduates of Clarkson University. Irving was in the Intensive Care almost in a comma for 73 days. The church prayed for miracle and the Lord raised him up. It was 14 years ago that Irving was healed. Irving and Orpha rarely miss being in the house of the Lord to worship Him and praise Him.
Mary Lou Horn, Irene Boyer, and Juna Tinkam are our Church's "Golden Girls". They love the Lord and they serve Him. One of the special blessings is that they share the same birthday, February 3. Shannan Meilunas and her son Joseph share the same birthday (Groundhog Day, February 2). Joyanna Krause will celebrate her first birthday on the 11th of Febrary. She loves to be in the house of the Lord every Sunday with a big smile. People who love the Lord, all over the world of all ages, make up the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord.
In 1 Cor: 2.12-13, 15-16 we read, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
God wants to bless us. He wants us to have all spiritual wisdom and understanding. He wants to do it for a reason that Peter called the building up of
"a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that [we] should [boldly] show forth the praises of Him who hath called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light". 1 Peter 2.9
A few years ago I met Dr. Calvin Miller in a conference in Birmingham, Alabama. He has grandson adopted from Orissa, India, where I am from. I felt an instant bond with Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller tells an old fable about a traveler going through the night, seeing up ahead of him rising out of the mist a monastery rising with the lights on. Cold and inclement was the weather, and he stopped and knocked on the door. When the abbot came, he said, "May I come in"?
The abbot said, "Not only may you come in, but you may eat with us". The food was wonderful; the monks were warm; it was a beautiful evening, safe and dry and warm. Because the weather was so bad, they asked him to stay the night. He agreed, he said, on the basis that they would supply him with a few things. "What is it you want?" they asked.
He said, "If I spend this night with you, I must have in my own room for myself alone this night a pound of butter, a pair of rubber pants, a poker, a cricket bat, and a bass saxophone". Though it was an unusual request, they scurried around the monastery and found it all.
As they went to sleep that night, they heard the awful progression of halftones and squeaks and squawks coming from his room. Because the weather continued bad, they invited him to stay another night. He did do that, and he asked again for that mysterious list of the same things: a pound of butter, a pair of rubber pants, a poker, a cricket bat, and a bass saxophone.
Each night he requested those things, and each night they heard the awful noises, until finally it was time for him to leave. The old abbot walked him to the door and said, "We were glad to supply all of those things, but would you mind telling me why you asked for them?"
The stranger said, "Well, it is a family secret. It has been in our family for years and years, but if you promise not to tell another living soul, I'll tell you". And so he told the old abbot all his heart, and the abbot, being a man of his word, never told another living soul. And so we shall never know.
Does it leave you kind of empty to not know the secret? It's an inside secret, a family thing. Such is the Gospel, and the wisdom of God. We don't have the choice to say, we believe it when we see it. This kind of inside secret is only the kind that,we will see when we believe it.
Let us take the leap of faith. His wisdom is as close as our heart believing, and our mouth confessing!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3e95vb3KMA
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011 5 PM Gathering: Italian Feast.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music .
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Monday, February 7, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-7-11
Good morning,
Thank God for the start of a new week; it is Monday. The Lord blessed us with a super weekend. The Saturday Evening worship service was big blessing. It began to come down in an icy sleet as we began to gather for worship, yet many came for worship and fellowship. Emily Sabin, a student at the Binghamton University led the worship. Emma Brownson brought the special music. They were anointed. Pastor Bill preached from the life of the young shepherd boy David. He illustrated our Lord specializes in impossibilities. He shared from his own life how the Lord has given him grace though he had multiple health problems, including brain cancer and surgery. Still he keeps on serving the Lord. The doctors said no to him, but the Lord said yes. We celebrated the Lord's Supper at Union Center and at Wesley, and I preached from 1 Corinthians 1, “The message of the cross is foolishness to the unbeliever, but it demonstrates the power and wisdom of God to the believer”
T. S. Eliot once said “All our knowledge only brings us closer to our ignorance,
and all our ignorance closer to death. But closer to death, no closer to God." [And then he asked the haunting question: Where is the life we have lost in living?]
“Foolishness” = moria, from which we get the word moron. To the unbeliever, the cross is moronic (absolute nonsense) because it conflicts with his own wisdom. That God would become a man, be crucified on a cross, be raised to life in order to provide for man’s forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven is such a simple idea that it appears foolish & far too humbling for natural man to accept.
This verse teaches us that human wisdom is not only unreliable, but it is impermanent.
Another way to look at it is to ask three questions. “Where are all the smart people that have the answers? How much closer to peace is man than he was a century ago – or a millennium ago? How much closer are we to eliminating poverty, hunger, ignorance, crime, and immorality than they were in Paul’s day?"
We have far more formal educattion than our forefathers, but we are not more moral. We have more greater and more diverse means for helping each other, but we are more selfish. We have far better means of communication, but we do not understand each other any better. We have more psychology & education, yet more crime and more war. No, we have not changed, except to find more ways to express and excuse our own sinful nature. Looking back throughout history we find that human wisdom has never been able to solve the basic problems of man.
God’s wisdom, however, is not only superior to human wisdom, but it is also very powerful (vv. 21-25)
Man’s increased knowledge tends to increase problems, not solve them. Hatred increases, misunderstandings increase, mental breakdowns increase, wars increase, drunkenness, crime, and family problems all increase, not only in numbers, but also in severity. The more you try to depend on yourself and your own knowledge, the more your problems increase. John MacArthur addressed this issue with the following, “Human wisdom never solves anything. It’s nice to sit around and talk about it, but it can’t do anything. People don’t get changed lives from it, it doesn’t transform people, it doesn’t forgive sin, it doesn’t make new creatures, it doesn’t usher people into the presence of God, it doesn’t do anything like that. It gives people satisfaction by playing little intellectual games, and builds their ego by telling people what they know.”
When we are willing to recognize our own inner bankruptcy and turn to Christ by faith, He will exchange our poverty for His riches, our sin for His righteousness, our despair for hope, death for life. That, friend, is GOOD NEWS!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sKcw9_PQYA
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011 5 PM Gathering: Italian Feast.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Emily Sabin and Emma Brownson
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
Thank God for the start of a new week; it is Monday. The Lord blessed us with a super weekend. The Saturday Evening worship service was big blessing. It began to come down in an icy sleet as we began to gather for worship, yet many came for worship and fellowship. Emily Sabin, a student at the Binghamton University led the worship. Emma Brownson brought the special music. They were anointed. Pastor Bill preached from the life of the young shepherd boy David. He illustrated our Lord specializes in impossibilities. He shared from his own life how the Lord has given him grace though he had multiple health problems, including brain cancer and surgery. Still he keeps on serving the Lord. The doctors said no to him, but the Lord said yes. We celebrated the Lord's Supper at Union Center and at Wesley, and I preached from 1 Corinthians 1, “The message of the cross is foolishness to the unbeliever, but it demonstrates the power and wisdom of God to the believer”
T. S. Eliot once said “All our knowledge only brings us closer to our ignorance,
and all our ignorance closer to death. But closer to death, no closer to God." [And then he asked the haunting question: Where is the life we have lost in living?]
“Foolishness” = moria, from which we get the word moron. To the unbeliever, the cross is moronic (absolute nonsense) because it conflicts with his own wisdom. That God would become a man, be crucified on a cross, be raised to life in order to provide for man’s forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven is such a simple idea that it appears foolish & far too humbling for natural man to accept.
This verse teaches us that human wisdom is not only unreliable, but it is impermanent.
Another way to look at it is to ask three questions. “Where are all the smart people that have the answers? How much closer to peace is man than he was a century ago – or a millennium ago? How much closer are we to eliminating poverty, hunger, ignorance, crime, and immorality than they were in Paul’s day?"
We have far more formal educattion than our forefathers, but we are not more moral. We have more greater and more diverse means for helping each other, but we are more selfish. We have far better means of communication, but we do not understand each other any better. We have more psychology & education, yet more crime and more war. No, we have not changed, except to find more ways to express and excuse our own sinful nature. Looking back throughout history we find that human wisdom has never been able to solve the basic problems of man.
God’s wisdom, however, is not only superior to human wisdom, but it is also very powerful (vv. 21-25)
Man’s increased knowledge tends to increase problems, not solve them. Hatred increases, misunderstandings increase, mental breakdowns increase, wars increase, drunkenness, crime, and family problems all increase, not only in numbers, but also in severity. The more you try to depend on yourself and your own knowledge, the more your problems increase. John MacArthur addressed this issue with the following, “Human wisdom never solves anything. It’s nice to sit around and talk about it, but it can’t do anything. People don’t get changed lives from it, it doesn’t transform people, it doesn’t forgive sin, it doesn’t make new creatures, it doesn’t usher people into the presence of God, it doesn’t do anything like that. It gives people satisfaction by playing little intellectual games, and builds their ego by telling people what they know.”
When we are willing to recognize our own inner bankruptcy and turn to Christ by faith, He will exchange our poverty for His riches, our sin for His righteousness, our despair for hope, death for life. That, friend, is GOOD NEWS!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sKcw9_PQYA
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 12, 2011 5 PM Gathering: Italian Feast.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Emily Sabin and Emma Brownson
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle
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