Zephaniah 3:17-18
The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. “I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.”

Homily:

When God speaks to you, it is impossible not to smile.

I pray He speaks to you often.

Psalm 89:1-2
I will sing of thy steadfast love, O LORD, for ever; with my mouth I will proclaim thy faithfulness to all generations. For thy steadfast love was established for ever, thy faithfulness is firm as the heavens.

Homily:

My life is a testament to Your love.
All that I am, is borne out of all that You give.
My life is a gift of love.
All that I am, I give.

Psalm 71:17
O God, from my youth thou hast taught me, and I still proclaim thy wondrous deeds.

Homily:

I have a loving relationship with God.

He speaks to me, daily.
Some times, I am preoccupied with near concerns.
Most times, I listen.
He speaks, whether I listen or not.

I speak to Him often.
Every moment, He listens.
I know He listens because He acts. He acts promptly.
Most times, it seems He was just waiting for me to speak.

Every time I go against His will, I immediately know. He tells me.
Every time I do His will, I immediately know. He shows me.

From a very young age, I started a loving relationship with God. And it has made all the difference in my life.

Psalm 72:18
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

Homily:

When I read the above passage, I recalled some tweets recently shared by Editi Effiong, who is currently going through deep pain of loss.

“My dearest friend walked with me to get married. I
walked with him a few years later. We worked and
grew together. 18 years.

On Friday he comforted us. On Saturday, he lost his
wife and children. Everything that meant anything.

Please keep the ones you love in prayers.

This morning, another dear friend loses her baby to
the same illness that took our Bibi.

And I prayed so much for that baby. I prayed so
hard.

I prayed so much.

I once thought we needed to be good, to be kind, to
love our neighbours, in hope for redemption, some
grace and kind safe keeping.

I have little faith left in these things today, and the
creator, our father in heaven, has not made it easy
to trust in him any longer.

My dear friend always prayed “Those who trust in
the Lord shall not be ashamed”. For 18 years, I
heard him pray this prayer.

He trusted the Lord on his day of adversity, but is
sat today, shamed beyond belief, broken beyond
recognition.

Please do not preach to me. I trusted God without
question, even on the day I put my child in the
ground. I never asked questions.

If God needs to wreck a man just to prove a point,
that’s plain wickedness and I am not here for that.”

I pray that God heals him and those he cares about, Amen.

Psalms 72:1-3, 6-7, 16
Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal son! May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may men blossom forth from the cities like the grass of the field!

Homily:

Luke 7:18-23
The disciples of John told him of all these things. And John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, `Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?'” In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”

Homily:

What will people see if they look to your works or your fruits?

Stop telling people who you are, show them.

In the areas that you find yourself speaking a lot to prove relevance, you should be doing more to gain prominence.

Matthew 21:28-32
“What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, `I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.

Homily:

Our actions speak so loudly, it drowns our words.

Proclaiming your faith is only important if you are living it.

Those truly living it are non-judgmental. Just as the truth is ever present, the choice to live it is also ever present.

Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Homily:

Those who take delight in the Lord, desire to please Him.
Those who desire to please the Lord, take delight in Him.

Your heart’s desires are fulfilled just by making Him your heart’s desire.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Homily:

Rejoice, pray, and give thanks.

This is the beginning, the way, and the end respectively.

Luke 1:44
For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 

Homily:

Some voices bring joy, others bring pain.

You can choose which voice you give an ear.