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Sunday Sermonettes | When Your Boat Is Caught in the Sudden Storm

Sunday Sermonettes #006


Life is like that. The calm of life is suddenly broken by the unexpected changes that come. And it is quite natural that we become afraid when our boat is caught in the storm.

Remember it was the same sea Jesus and his friends had travelled many times before. But the challenge of the storm this time was totally new. And all the wisdom of past experiences failed to give the friends courage in the sight of this present danger.

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As we look at this incident; there are many simple lessons we can learn from it:

One, just because Jesus is in the boat with you and me, doesn’t mean that the storm won’t come. Life’s struggles are common to all. Some storms do threaten to drown us. And being afraid is a normal reaction at such times.

Even though the friends of Jesus who were with him in the boat were experienced fishermen; they were afraid. They came to Jesus, sleeping on a cushion, woke him up and asked, “Teacher, don’t you care, if we drown?” For the waves threatened to sink the boat.

Second, Jesus sleeping is no sign that he does not care. Often, we expect him to do something in our desperate situations. And he seems to be totally not available to attend our frantic prayers and calls of distress.

At such times, it is quite natural to find fault with God for the troubles we face in life. But don’t ever forget that Jesus, the Son of God, is with us in our boat; even in the storm.

Third, we find the disciples waking Jesus up. It was after talking to the crowds and teaching them during the day that Jesus was sleeping. He, as a human being, was just like us. He became tired, hungry, and thirsty like any one of us.

But Jesus did not become angry with his friends for waking him up. He immediately got up and took care of the storm. So don’t you worry to call him 24 x 7 in any of your crises in life. He understands. And he helps because he too was caught in the storm.

Fourth, we find Jesus having authority over the winds and the waves. There is no situation or difficulty in our lives he is not able to handle.

When frightening situations seem to overwhelm and destroy us, our emotions will give us no rest. We will be tossed about on the rising waves. Yet, let us find courage in this true incident that Jesus is in control even when the circumstances are all against us, and threatening to drown us.

Again, one word from Jesus, the wind died down and it was completely calm. He stood up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet, Be Still.” The storm is not the end of the story. The command of Jesus is.

He, with you and me in the boat, is the greatest assurance we can have in life. He won’t throw you or me away. But will act when it is needed.

Finally, his question to his friends, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” is a challenge to each one of us. His friends had seen him do a lot of miracles. They had seen impossibilities turn to triumphant possibilities with Jesus. Yet the storm drove the wits out of them!

But when calm had come, the friends were terrified and they asked: “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” The storm had rocked their boat; but it also made the friends of Jesus get a real glimpse of who he truly is.
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Based on Mark’s Gospel Chapter 4: Verses 35 to 41
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Sunday Sermonettes | Jesus Is Calling You: “Come, Follow Me”

Sunday Sermonettes #005


Jesus is calling you to himself. You cannot stay where you are to answer that call. You have to take a step forward. He is inviting you to a life of daring into the unknown. He is not promising you a bright future. He is simply promising himself.

Many people are disappointed because they look for material benefits when following Jesus. But Jesus pointed out that he had no place to rest his head unlike birds of the air which have nests and foxes which have holes or dens to retire to at the end of the day. So he was not promising an easy life to anyone who chose to follow him.

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Jesus also demands for himself the highest priority you can give when he invites and commands you to follow him. He is asking for your best love towards him. All other loves you have will appear like hate compared to your love for him. Perhaps this is hard to swallow.

Then look at role models; we have many. But when we look closely; there are so many things we find in them that can disappoint us. With Jesus, the more you look at him, the more you talk with him, the more you think of him, his loveliness only increases. He is not asking you to follow rules; he is simply calling you to follow him.

That also means that even when he seems to be absent in our struggles of life; he is always there. Though at times, he seems to have forsaken us; he is there. For he who said, “Come, follow me,” will not leave us or forsake us in times of our distress. He has gone ahead of us. Our role is to keep our eyes focused on him; and him alone.

Following Jesus can be a lonely journey at times. Some of your best friends might hate you because you follow Jesus. Your close relatives might not be as enthusiastic as you are in following Jesus. But Jesus is not calling you to follow him with a crowd. His call to you is personal.

Following Jesus demands that we focus on him; and try to avoid distractions. It is not easy. We are surrounded by gadgets that steal away much of our precious time. So to focus on Jesus, you need to make deliberate choices:

Instead of reaching out for your mobile to check for messages or updates the first thing in the morning; why not spend five minutes thanking God for the gift of a new day. Ask him for his help, presence, wisdom, and guidance to do all that you need to do that day.

“Come, follow me,” is both an invitation and a command. You are free to accept or disobey. The choice is entirely yours. But if you reject Jesus and his call; you are missing a journey along with the One who loved you and gave himself on the cross for you where he bled and died.

There are so many broad paths in this world that lead to destruction. But Jesus is inviting you to follow him along the narrow way and find life.

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Sunday Sermonettes | That First Question: “Where Are You?”

Sunday Sermonettes #004


“Where are you?” That was the first question God ever asked the first man and woman. Even now he is asking that question to you.

The question “Where are you?” is full of mercy. It shows that God has not given up on you. You might have made mistakes and also gone away from the right ways. God doesn’t want to lose you. So he is calling out to you.

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“Where are you?” God is asking because you belong. If you did not belong to God; he would not be searching for you. You have been lost. But God is coming after you to find you and celebrate it with joy. That is why Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

“Where are you?” God is asking not because he doesn’t know where you are hiding and why you are hiding from him. He already knows what you are thinking. He knows that you are afraid to face him. But he is asking the question to give you a chance to become friends with him again. Will you listen?

The question, “Where are you?” is so simple. But it has potential in it to bring you back to your senses. The question should make you think: “Am I now where I am supposed to be?” The question will help you to know that now there is an opportunity to return to the love of God. Those who will return to him; he accepts without finding fault.

The question, “Where are you?” is God calling out to you to come out of your hiding from him. He is hurt by your disobedience. But he is looking at you with love.

The question, “Where are you?” finally is a chance for you to be honest with God. It is easy to put the blame on others for your moral failure. But God’s question is an invitation to you to confess to God what you have wrongly thought, said, or done. And find in him a father’s love and a mother’s comfort.

Now what will be your response to God’s question? Will you come to God with a grateful heart, seeing that he cares for you and came to seek you? For the ultimate need of any man or woman is God’s forgiving love. You find that in Jesus, the Lamb of God, who came to reach out to you.

Remember, God is asking “Where are you?” not to the crowds, but to you as an individual. It is a very personal question; because he is concerned about you and cares for you.

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Sunday Sermonettes | An Unusual Introduction: Look the Lamb of God

Sunday Sermonettes #003


No one in all human history has been introduced to the public in this fashion. The forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist, cried out when he saw him: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” The question is what does this intro mean to you?

First of all, it is an invitation. To look closely at this person.

He is described as a Lamb. Gentle. Not rebelling and crying out against all the sufferings inflicted on him as he was led to the cross. To bleed and die for all of us.

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Secondly, lambs were used for sacrifice. An innocent animal’s blood had to be shed for God to turn away from punishing someone who had done wrong. The Bible calls all wrongdoing and rebellion against God, sin.

When the forerunner said, “Look, the Lamb of God,” he was saying to the people that all those animal sacrifices in the past were looking forward to this Man sent from God to die for all.

Thirdly, he was like a sacrificial lamb roasted over the fire as God’s judgement and wrath against all our sins fell on Jesus on the cross.

In that sense, Jesus is your substitute. He died in your place. The punishment for all your sins that should have rightly come upon you; the whole of it came upon him. Yes, the Lamb of God has taken away your punishment.

Finally, in the sacrificial system, a lamb that was to be sacrificed had to be without blemish, without spot, and without defect of any sort. So the priest would examine a lamb carefully to make sure it is perfect before sacrificing it.

The invitation to you is to look and examine this Man closely. What is the fault you can find in him? If you can’t find any; look to him in faith. It was sacrificial love for you that took him to the cross. If that doesn’t prove that God loves you; nothing else will.

One look of faith is enough to fall in love with him.

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

Above all, we are called to look beyond time and into the heavens to see and experience the mighty thundering songs of praise, adoration, and worship that belongs to the victorious Lamb of God who has triumphed:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise.”

Yes, in heaven, the songs of praise revolve around the Lamb who bled and died to remove our sins from us.

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!” “Amen.”

“Hallelujah!

For our Lord God Almighty reigns,

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come.”

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This post was last updated on 6th February 2025.

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Sunday Sermonettes: Let There Be Light

Sunday Sermonettes #002

The first words God spoke: “Let there be light.” He can speak that word again in your darkness. It might be chaos at the moment in your life. There might be despair. And you might be losing hope. It happens like that sometimes. But when God speaks, there will be light.

We, who are used to seeing the darkness, often tremble in fear. But that is precisely when the Spirit of God hovers over you just as he did over the waters and darkness that was over the surface of the deep at the beginning of Creation. He prepares the circumstances so that when God speaks the word, there will be light.

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Light that God causes to shine will dispel all your doubts. It will reassure you of his unfailing love for you. It will guide you. It will never shine a beam across the years; but enough light to guide you one step at a time.

Light that God causes to shine in your life will cancel all negativity. The more you have been in darkness the more your thinking has become tuned to failure and defeat. You might have counted yourself useless and might have lost your self-esteem. All these will bow down to the might of the light that God speaks to come to pass in your life.

Therefore hold on to hope. No darkness in your life is beyond God’s light. The Bible says about God that even darkness is as light to him. I read somewhere of a time when a cave inside the ocean depths invited the sun to come and experience the power of darkness inside it. One day, the sun came and stepped inside the cave and asked: “Now, where is your darkness?” Oh, it is just like that when God steps into your situation of darkness!

The night might have stretched long for you. But joy comes in the morning. Light will break. Invite God to speak a word of hope in your life: “Let there be light.” When God said those words, the Bible says, “And there was light.” God is unstoppable.

You need to believe that God is willing to help you. Don’t dictate how he should do so. Leave the methods to him. He is a God of creativity and joy. Let him speak light to blaze in your darkness in a way that surprises you; beyond all that you could ask or imagine or pray for.

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Sunday Sermonettes: In the Beginning

Sunday Sermonettes #001

The opening verse of the Bible does not introduce God. He needs no introduction. He was, is, and always will be.

He created everything out of nothing. He created everything with a purpose.

The heavens are vast. They are beyond the stretch of human imagination and its ends beyond discovery.

But the earth he created for you. That you may know him and love him. He does not yield to your intellect. Because your intellect is like a spoonful of water beside the oceans. You cannot know him with your intelligence.

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Like every kingdom has a currency; the kingdom of God too has a currency. It is faith. Therefore the Bible says that “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

This faith is more personal when it comes to the cross of Jesus. When the world demands that we find God through knowledge and wisdom; God says find me through my message of foolishness.

The cross of Jesus is the message of foolishness. Why? Because the cross says you can have a new beginning in your life by simply looking to Jesus in faith.

He shed his precious blood there for you; that you might find peace with God. Yes, you can be friends with God right now as you look to the cross and put your faith in the Son of God who bled and died for your sins.

When you trust in him who lives forever, he makes you a brand new creation. It is a new beginning for you. For he puts his own life within you.

Circumstances might not change but the power of this new life will give you the lift to fly above all that pulls you down. You too can enjoy this new beginning in life.

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