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Lessons From The Life Of Joseph – Part 2

February 24, 2016 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 4 Comments

This is a 10 minute edit of a sermon that was preached at the People’s Church, Sri Lanka, on Sunday, 21st February 2016. It is based on the events surrounding Joseph being thrown into a pit by his brothers. It’s the second sermon in a series titled “Lessons From The Life Of Joseph”

Lessons from the life of Joseph – Part 2Often in life we find ourselves in a pit. It can be cased by the actions of another, or by our own doing. But even when Joseph was in the pit, God was still building a man who would find his destiny, through the trials he was going through. Even as you focus on getting from your dream to your destiny, to become the Man/Woman God wants you to be, Pastor Palitha Jayasooriya shares with us how we can get out of the ‘pit’ we are in. It might give us some insight on how we can avoid falling into a pit in the future as well.We want to encourage you to continue with a small group (cell group) for and extended study over these 6 weeks. If you are not connected to a small group or want to know more about it, speak to one of the ushers or full time pastors regarding one. We will be glad to help you.

Posted by People’s Church on Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Sermon: Torn Between Two Loves

February 11, 2016 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 0 Comments

LOVE FOR GOD

INTRODUCTION

Those who are part of the generation I grew up in would remember the 1977 pop hit ‘Torn Between Two Lovers” sung by Mary MacGregor. It spoke about a lady who was attracted to 2 men at the same time. In the lyrics she tells one of them,

‘It doesn’t mean I love you less’ but ‘there’s just this empty place inside of me that only he can fill’!!!

This raises a question. Can we love 2 things equally at the same time?

Jesus in the passage in 1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It is therefore clear that Jesus is saying that we cannot love God and the world at the same time. In other words, He’s saying that our love for one will be greater than the other!!

Sermon: Breakfast on the Beach

February 2, 2016 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 0 Comments

(Fishing in Sri Lanka) Photo Credit – Vasantha Jayasooriya

Introduction

Many men I know like to go fishing. Others like to eat fish, which is considered to be healthy for the heart (Omega 3 oils?). Yet others are known for loving a sea-food diet. What that often means is that they love to eat all the food they see!!

Since Sri Lanka is an island Nation, fishing is done as a vocation by a lot of people in my country. If one were to travel along the coast in the early morning hours, you would see fisher folk coming back to shore by boat, or maybe spreading their night’s catch on the beach. Some do stilt fishing as well.

Preaching with an Interpreter

January 27, 2016 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 4 Comments

Preaching with an Interpreter

It’s a tough call being a Preacher. I deeply respect the men and women who faithfully teach or proclaim the Word of God to hungry hearts regularly. Preachers however can find themselves preaching in many different situations that can be quite challenging.

In this article, I would like to discuss the subject of preaching with an interpreter.

Sermon: Keep Your Eyes on God Through Your Tears

January 23, 2016 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 2 Comments

Photo credit – Pexels

Introduction

I remember a song I used to love to listen to in my younger days. It was sung by Reggae singer Johnny Nash and it went like this:

Every night I wake up crying,
Tears on my pillow, pain in my heart,
You on my mind.

Everybody has cried at some time or the other. Some may cry often with their tears being visible, while others may cry only on the inside, with no visible sign of tears. A few men pride themselves by saying that they never cry!! A quote however says, ‘Less wars would be fought if men cried more often’!

God’s Restoration of the Lost Years : Sermon (Isaiah 54)

January 12, 2016 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 2 Comments

Sermon : God’s Restoration of the Lost Years

Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka – Photo Credit: Vasantha Jayasooriya

INTRODUCTION

Let me begin this sermon on God’s restoration with the following illustration.

One of the historical wonders of Sri Lanka is the complex rock fortress, Sigiriya, and the palace built on it by one of our former Kings, Kasyapa, many centuries ago. It is an amazing place to see & tourists flock there to view its beauty, grandeur and craftsmanship. One of the highlights of Sigiriya is the frescoes that are painted on the rock walls. These and the site itself are considered National treasures, with UNESCO listing Sigiriya as a world heritage site. (If ever you come over to Sri Lanka, you need to visit Sigiriya).

Many years ago, some of the frescoes were vandalized by an unknown group of people, with, (if I remember correctly), either ink or paint being thrown, to deface them. As a result, many experts had to be brought in (foreign and local), to work at restoring these frescoes back to their original state. Thankfully, they succeeded in most of their painstaking efforts.

Sermon: God’s Favor on the New Year (Psalm 65:11)

January 5, 2016 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 0 Comments

Document

Photo credit: Pexels

“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance”. (Psalm 65:11 NLT)

What a powerful verse for the New Year!

Introduction

As the year comes to an end, you may be going through much reflection as to what happened in the past 12 months. Some will have testimonies, others will remember severe challenges, while some others may think of the health issues they had to face. Some might say, ‘It was my best year’, while others may say, ‘it could have been better’, or, ‘It was a disaster’! The list can go on. Of course, most of the year was overshadowed by the after effects of COVID -19 and economic challenges..

.While preparing this message, here are some old memories that went through my mind.

Sermon: 3 Thoughts on The Christmas Light that Brings Hope

December 22, 2015 / Palitha Jayasooriya / 0 Comments

Sermon: The Christmas Light that Brings Hope

Photo credit: CliffMuller

(This sermon titled ‘The Christmas Light That Brings Hope’ was preached at our Carol Service on 13th Dec 2015. It is shown here as it was preached that night)

INTRODUCTION

Good evening friends, it’s so nice to have you at our Christmas production 2015, “Christmas Hope – for more than a season”. I want to speak tonight about a hope that lasts beyond a season. One of our musicians told me yesterday that santa seems to be in a hopeless situation this year. Apparently, he had opened a Facebook page at the beginning of this year, and he has been complaining that while he received almost no friend requests till November, that as soon as December arrived, millions of people have been sending him friend requests!!