Welcome to the Trinity Mar Thoma Church Channel! We are a Christian community that belongs to the Mar Thoma Church, a reformed branch of the ancient Syrian Church of Malabar. We are based in Houston, Texas, and we invite you to join us for worship, fellowship and service. In this channel, you will find updates on our activities, events, programs and ministries. You will also learn more about our faith, history, culture and vision. We hope that this channel will inspire you to grow in your relationship with God and with others.
Our Address: 5810 Almeda Genoa Rd, Houston, TX 77048, United States Phone: +1 713 991 1557
Trinity Mar Thoma Church Houston TX (www.trinitymtc.org/)
Thank u for revealing to us the treasures hidden in the invaluable golden Psalm 16 which contains the keys of Eternal Joy. In this world we face many difficulties & challenges and we lose our joy. God wants to restore our joy through His word, whatever may be our circumstances. God’s word promises us the Joy of Salvation. How can we live a life of pure joy? The psalm begins thus : Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge God should be our refuge David is asking God to save him from death, as Saul is hunting him down to kill him. None of us can escape death. We have to face it one day or the other. In the parable of the rich fool “God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” All the castles & dreams that we build needs just one second to topple & fall. There’s safety only when we are surrounded by the blood of the Lamb of God. Are we sure we are washed by the blood of the Lamb? Everyone of us is afraid to face death. No one wants to die. God was David’s only refuge while he was fleeing from Saul. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh & his men , they cried out to the Lord & God delivered them. Instead of complaining can we praise & thank God for what He has done. Can we count our every blessing which was poured out by the Almighty God in our lives & be grateful to Him. God should be our safest refuge always God must be our greatest treasure in and over everything in life. The Levites were not given any land , instead the Lord was their inheritance. The Lord is all we want & all we need. Nothing else can satisfy or give us joy unspeakable. The joy of the Lord is our strength. We cannot take joy, away from such staunch believers. God should be our first priority in every area of our life. Wherever we go or wherever we live if God is not with us, it’s worthless for we will accomplish nothing. Even if we lose our health or wealth or anything else dear to us it doesn’t matter but let nothing separate us from the love of our Savior. We can never take the joy out of such a person. The proof that God is our supreme treasure : Delighting in God’s people and desiring to spend time with them is the proof that we delight in God. We must give importance to fellowship. Are we keeping the people of God close to our heart or are we holding on to worldly people? Never delight in other gods or have anything to do with them. Do we have any idols in life or give importance to them. It’s possible to go after empty n dry wells knowingly or unknowingly. When God’s people go after such things they lose their joy. Lord God, you are the fountain of living water. Keep us from looking to other things & people for satisfaction, that can only be found in you. Jesus is the solution to the deepest longings of the human heart. Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water by believing in Him, accepting Him as Lord and Savior, and receiving the gift of salvation that he offers. Broken cisterns cannot hold water. The problem is not in our backyard but right in our midst, God wants us to deal with it and put an end to it. Be content with whatever God has given u. God is our inheritance so we need nothing more. Comparison will steal our joy. Be grateful & thankful for whatever God has given us. Insecurity is idolatry. Saul was desperately trying to kill David but he failed in his attempts as God had already chosen David to replace Saul as King. An insecure person is a trouble maker. A person who is content & secure in Christ has no fear, his satisfaction & joy doesn’t depend on his circumstances, his inheritance is God & no one can take away his joy. God should be our trusted counselor. Are we listening to God’s voice or to the opinions of men. God’s word never changes. God’s word needs to be obeyed not discussed & debated. There in lies true joy. Be God pleasers not people pleasers. Those who trust in the Lord are like mount Zion which cannot be shaken but endures forever. David rejoices in the Lord for he knows that though he will die, yet he will live. Christ our Savior is risen & is alive forever more. Hence we too will live.
Thank u for today’s session which teaches us the importance of having a pure & clean heart. God’s word says “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. Do not cast us away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from us. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ( Ezek 36:26 ) God has put in us a new Spirit in order to transform us into His likeness. Only when we face adversities our true character will be revealed. David had a compassionate & loving heart but God allowed difficult circumstances in his life to transform him. David faced many obstacles. One was his encounter with Saul who considered him as his enemy. He was jealous of David & made many attempts to kill him. David was a man after God’s own heart. God takes us through difficulties to mould us into His likeness. He trains us to be fruitful in His Kingdom. God was moulding David to be the future king of Israel. When David had the opportunity to kill Saul, he refused to touch him for he had great respect for God’s anointed. David’s reverential fear & love for the Lord restrained him from doing that. He was filled with the spirit of God & he was a man after God’s own heart. If we want to live a victorious Christian life we must obey God’s word. David was a man of conscience. Any small wrongdoing pricked his conscience. David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. He had a very sensitive conscience. He always wanted to obey God & do what’s right. David did not bend to social pressure. When David’s men told him to kill Saul, he said “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed.”David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. For Saul, David was his enemy but for David, Saul was never his enemy. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. We must follow His example. God has a higher calling for us, to live a spotless Christian life. We must never interpret favourable circumstances which are wrong, as though they are favored by God. David submitted himself to authority as all authority is ordained by God & he treated his enemies with respect. May God enable us to love & respect our enemies. We cannot do this by might nor by power, but only by the Spirit of the living God. God will repay those who have wronged us, so we must leave room for His wrath. God will deal with it. God is our righteous Judge. He will never fail. We must trust Him, place everything in God’s hands & wait patiently on Him for He is faithful, though we may be faithless. In God’s time He will make everything beautiful. David knew the secret of Christian life so he refused to take law into his own hands. David’s righteous acts made Saul regret about his own actions. We should be salt & light in this world. Our relationship with God should have an obvious impact on everyone who comes in contact with us. May God enable us through His Spirit to be Christ like in character & be salt & light in this world.
Thank u for the practical teaching on the “Principles of living a victorious Christian life.“ We know that many athletes participate in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Let’s run then, in such a way as to win the prize. There are 5 principles to follow in order to be victorious . Paul’s confidence was not in himself but on God. He was spiritually very humble. He knew he hadn’t reached heaven’s benchmark. When spiritual pride enters our life & we feel we know everything we hinder our spiritual progress. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” We must therefore humble ourselves, under God's mighty hand, so that He may lift us up in due time. God enables us to attain spiritual authority if we are humble. The secret of spiritual progress is a humble heart. We must have the desire for things of God, a hunger & thirst for God’s word, a willingness to repent & receive instructions from the Lord n not being satisfied with our spiritual progress & craving for more. Sometimes we think we have attained spiritual maturity but that’s a deception. We need to settle our past sins n failures by confessing & repenting n moving ahead. Unless God settles it we cannot progress. Tomorrow’s success depends on dealing with our past n living in the freedom of Christ. When we sanctify ourselves God will work wonders. Let’s praise & thank our Lord for His blood that cleanses us from all our unrighteousness. God will give us a new beginning. It’s our inner passions which control our life. Let our predominant passion & focus be to glorify Christ in everything & to experience the power of His resurrection. Abraham lived in tents for his focus was on his eternal home, the heavenly city whose architect and builder is God. We must be aware of the inadequacies in our spiritual life & aim to finish well, by not taking the path of a roller coaster ride. We must follow our Savior’s footsteps steadfastly, till the end of our life time. To be Christ like is not easy, it needs a whole hearted & conscientious effort. Spirituality should be our priority. Our constant focus should be on Christ, never giving up or relaxing, being cautious of not giving the devil a foothold, avoiding distractions & everything which is not profitable even though it appears to be good but which hinders our spiritual progress. Jesus should be our passion. Every spiritual discipline has a reward. God will not only bless us but will make us a blessing & enable us to turn the world upside down for Christ. We can leave a legacy for our future generations by following these principles and setting this example of a victorious Christian living.
Congratulations Larry Achan. Excellent message and excellent delivery. The whole point of observing environment Sunday is to draw our attention to the harm that we are doing to our environment and motivate us to correct it. Somehow you have missed it.
