† VICAR'S MESSAGE
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE VICAR
APRIL 2010 EDITION
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
By God’s grace, our new sanctuary has become a reality. It was our
dream and prayer. We should be thankful to all those who supported
and labored to make it a reality.
Why We Need A Sanctuary
Worship of God started from the beginning of creation of human beings (Genesis
4:26). Noah and Abraham built an altar (Genesis 8:20 ; 12:7). God asked Moses to
build a sanctuary for God to dwell among the people (Exodus 25:8). God asked King
Solomon to build the Jerusalem Temple to bless the
nation (2 Chronicles 7:12-14).
Jesus followed the custom of worshiping God at the temple (Luke 2:42 ; 4:16). The
early church was a worshiping community (Acts 2:46) Our Mar Thoma church became a global church because its members built sanctuaries where ever they
reached. The sanctuary is a place where the people of God came together to worship
God.
What Is Sanctuary?
It can be understood in three ways:
i) a place where people worship God (1 Kings 8:20)
ii) human body in which the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16)
iii) The body of Christ, the church (1 Timothy 3:15)
Everyone who has breath has to worship God (Psalms 150:6). Jesus said that worship should be in truth and in spirit (John 4:24). Since Jesus is the truth and spirit
we should worship God in Christ. As the royal priesthood, we are called to offer sacrifice to God.
The Sacrifices that we have to offer to God are praise (Psalms 50:23), faith
(Philippians 2:17), our body (Romans 12:1) good works and
fellowship (Hebrews 13:16).
Our sanctuary is a symbol. It is divided into two parts- Madbaha (altar) and congregational hall which symbolize the heaven and the earth respectively. Due to human
sin we lost entry into heaven. But when Jesus died on the cross, the separation was
removed. The curtain used in our sanctuary is a symbol of the body of Christ
through which we can enter into heaven (Hebrews 10:19)
How To Come Into The Sanctuary?
i) Come in with gratitude and thanksgiving (Psalms 50:14)
ii) Come with praise and adoration (Psalms 106:1)
iii) Come with repentance and humbleness (Psalms 66:18)
iv) Come in Unity and reconciliation (Matthew 5:23,24)
We are looking for eternity where we can worship Christ forever (Revelations
7:15). The church is called out community to worship God. It is also a sent out
community to witness Christ. That means we worship to witness and witness to worship. Let our worship in the new sanctuary be a sacrifice that is pleasing
to God so that God may bless this land.
Yours in Christ's Service,
Noble Achen