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John 6:37—“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

Christ had just declared Himself to be “the bread of life” (v. 35), calling sinners to believe on Him. Yet many resisted His teaching in unbelief. As Jesus addressed that sceptical, murmuring crowd, He did not react with frustration, viewing His mission as a failure. Christ rests completely in God’s sovereign, unfolding plan of redemption. In response, Jesus revealed the sovereign grace of God in salvation and the certainty of His saving welcome toward all who truly come to Him.

The phrase “All that the Father giveth me” speaks of God’s eternal purpose in salvation. Those whom the Father gives to the Son will certainly come to Christ in faith. Salvation is not ultimately rooted in human effort or wisdom, but in divine grace. Yet this sovereign grace never discourages sinners from coming; rather, it guarantees that those drawn by God will indeed come.

Equally precious is Christ’s promise: “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”. No sinner who truly comes to Christ in repentance and faith will ever be rejected. The Lord does not cast out those burdened by guilt, weakness, failure, or unworthiness. His saving mercy is sufficient for every repentant sinner who trusts in Him.

Many fear they are too sinful, too broken, or too late to come to Christ. Yet Jesus Himself assures us that those who come to Him will never be turned away. The safest place for guilty sinners is at the feet of the gracious Saviour who receives all who trust in Him.

Ezra 3:11—“And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.”

This joyful scene took place after the Jewish remnant returned from the Babylonian captivity and laid the foundation of the Second Temple. Jerusalem still bore the scars of judgment and ruin, and the rebuilt structure would not match Solomon’s former glory outwardly. Yet the people rejoiced greatly because the restoration of God’s house signified the continuation of His covenant mercy toward them.

Their worship centred first upon the character of God: “because he is good”. True thanksgiving does not begin with favourable circumstances, but with the unchanging goodness of the LORD. Though Israel had suffered chastisement because of sin, God had not cast away His people. His “mercy endureth for ever toward Israel”. The same covenant love that preserved them through exile now gathered them again.

The laying of the temple foundation pointed beyond the physical building to God’s ongoing redemptive purposes among His people. The temple symbolised His presence, worship, atonement, and covenant fellowship in Christ, our Lord, who is the true foundation and meeting place between God and sinners.

Ezra 3:11 teaches believers to rejoice in even the smallest evidence of God’s restorative work. The foundation alone was laid, yet praise arose immediately. We must not withhold our deepest thanksgiving until our prayers are fully answered or our trials are completely resolved. Faith rejoices not merely in completed blessings, but in the certainty of God’s faithful purposes already begun. Our praise must anchor in God’s character rather than the finished product. When God lays the foundation of renewal, His people ought to respond with thanksgiving, worship, and confident hope in His enduring mercy.

Ruth 1:20–21—“And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: whythen call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?”

Naomi returned to Bethlehem carrying deep sorrow. Years earlier, she had left Judah with her husband and sons because of famine, but now she returned widowed, bereaved, and emptied of earthly security. Her words reveal the anguish of a heart wounded by painful providences.  Her change of name from Naomi (“pleasant”) to Mara (“bitter”) reflects a soul crushed by profound loss and economic vulnerability in the ancient world. Naomi believed her life had become marked by affliction rather than joy.

Yet even in her grief, Naomi did not abandon her belief in God’s sovereign rule over her life and circumstances. Naomi appears to have understood her suffering in Moab as coming under God’s chastening or afflicting hand. She repeatedly attributes her bitter circumstances to the LORD: “The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” “The LORD hath brought me home again empty.” “The LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me.” She sensed divine displeasure or chastening in her circumstances.  Naomi did not attribute her suffering to blind fate or cosmic accident. She still recognised that her life was under the LORD’s rule. Naomi returned to Israel, yielding to God’s sovereignty though she could not yet see that God was already preparing future blessings through Ruth, Boaz, and ultimately the lineage of David and Christ Himself (cf. Ruth 4:14–17, 22)

Afflicted believers must remember that present emptiness is not the final chapter of God’s dealings with His people. The same God who wounds also heals; the same God who humbles also restores. In our darkest providences, His covenant mercy still quietly unfolds according to His perfect wisdom and grace.

Ruth 1:16—“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”.

These words were told to Naomi by her daughter-in-law, Ruth, during a deeply sorrowful moment in her life. Having lost her husband and sons in Moab, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem. She urged her daughters-in-law to remain in their homeland. While one of them, Orpah, kissed Naomi and departed, Ruth refused to depart from her. Her response reveals far more than natural affection; it demonstrates a heart transformed by faith in the God of Israel.

Ruth was a Moabitess, a Gentile outsider to the covenant nation of Israel. Yet by the grace of God, she turned away from her former heathenistic background and identified herself with Naomi’s people and, more importantly, Naomi’s God. Her confession, “thy God my God”, is the language of genuine conversion and covenant commitment. Ruth was not merely changing location; she was yielding herself to the LORD in faith. In order to be with the LORD and His people, Ruth willingly chose a future marked by poverty and vulnerability in a foreign land rather than the comfort and security she might have enjoyed in Moab.

What a beautiful illustration of God’s redeeming grace reaching beyond Israel to gather believing sinners from the nations. Ruth’s vow goes far beyond mere human affection; it is a magnificent picture of conversion and faithfulness. Ruth was not just joining Naomi; she was abandoning the gods of Moab to seek refuge under the wings of the LORD. Ruth would eventually become part of the lineage of David and ultimately of the Lord Jesus Christ. God delights to receive those who come to Him in humble faith.

Following Christ often requires us to leave behind familiar comforts and face uncertain roads. Today, ask yourself: Is your devotion to God conditional, or are you all in? Lay down your reservations, embrace His people, and commit your steps entirely to Him.

Jude 1:5—“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.”

Jude reminds believers of a sobering historical lesson from Israel’s wilderness journey. Though God graciously delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage through mighty signs and wonders, many later perished in unbelief because they refused to trust and obey Him. Their outward deliverance did not guarantee their spiritual transformation and faithfulness. Their spatial deliverance did not equal spiritual conversion. 

The phrase “I will therefore put you in remembrance” reveals the necessity of continual spiritual reminders. God’s people are often forgetful. Familiarity with biblical truth can lead to carelessness unless the heart remains humble and watchful. Jude’s warning confronts people’s tendency toward spiritual complacency. It is entirely possible to sit in a pew, speak the language of faith, and look back on a past religious experience, while currently harbouring an unbelieving, rebellious heart. 

This verse also teaches both the greatness of God’s saving mercy and the seriousness of unbelief. The same Lord who delivered Israel also judged those who persisted in rebellion. God’s requirement of holiness in His people is never diminished by the blessings He has sent to them by His grace. Privileges, experiences, and outward association with God’s people cannot replace genuine faith and perseverance.

Believers must guard against complacency. They can participate outwardly in Christian activities while harbouring an unbelieving heart. The Christian life requires continual trust in Christ, submission to His Word, and perseverance in holiness.

This verse calls us to examine ourselves carefully. Let us not merely remember God’s past mercies intellectually, but respond to them with enduring faith, reverence, and obedience unto the end.

Jude 1:3—“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

Jude intended to write a warm and joyful letter about “the common salvation” shared by all believers in Christ. This salvation is “common” not because it is ordinary, but because all true Christians equally partake of its blessings through grace alone. Yet the spiritual dangers of false teachers confronting the church compelled him to warn against their doctrinal and practical errors. Therefore, it became “needful” for him to exhort believers to “earnestly contend for the faith”.

The phrase “the faith” refers not merely to personal belief, but to the body of divine truth revealed by God in Scripture, which He once delivered to the saints. This truth is not to be altered, modernised, or compromised. It was “once delivered”, meaning it is complete, authoritative, and permanently binding upon the church. It is completely and conclusively given to the church.

To “earnestly contend” carries the idea of strenuous effort and spiritual struggle. Contending for the faith does not mean being needlessly argumentative, but it does mean standing firmly against false teachings that compromise the truths of the Word. Christians are not called to quarrelsome pride, but to steadfast defence of biblical truth with courage, holiness, humility, and love for Christ.

In every generation, the church faces pressures to dilute doctrine and accommodate worldly thinking. Christ’s church has always been under spiritual assault from within. So Jude reminds believers that preserving the purity of the Gospel and the scriptural truths is not optional. We must know the truth, love the truth, live the truth, and defend the truth faithfully, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Before baptism is administered, our church carefully instructs baptismal candidates in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. This practice of catechetical instruction is rooted in Christ’s Great Commission itself, wherein He commanded the church not only to baptise, but also to “teach all nations” and to instruct disciples “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Thus, baptism must be accompanied by biblical instruction, understanding, and discipleship.

Catechism classes serve this vital purpose. Through systematic teaching of the basic doctrines of Scripture, candidates are grounded in the truths of the Gospel and helped to understand the significance of baptism and church membership. Such instruction guards against shallow profession, doctrinal confusion, and careless participation in the holy ordinances of Christ.

The classes generally cover essential biblical teachings concerning: the existence and attributes of God, the person and work of Christ, the Holy Spirit and His works, the authority, inspiration, infallibility and preservation of Holy Scripture, the sinfulness of man, salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, repentance and faith, the church and its ordinances, Christian obedience and holy living, doctrine of the last days, etc.

Catechetical instruction is especially important in an age marked by widespread biblical ignorance and doctrinal instability. The church must ensure that those seeking baptism possess a credible understanding of the Christian faith and a sincere desire to follow Christ in obedience.

Furthermore, catechism classes provide opportunities for pastors and elders to know the candidates personally, answer spiritual questions, clarify doctrinal matters, and lovingly guide them towards a faithful church life.

For children born to Christian parents who received infant baptism, such instruction also serves to strengthen and confirm them in the faith and truths of God’s Word that they have been taught from their childhood.

Thus, catechism classes are not mere formalities, but an important pastoral and spiritual preparation for those who desire to receive the covenant sign of baptism and publicly identify themselves with Christ and His church.

Baptizing Them

Authority for Baptism

Baptism is one of the evident and emphatic elements of the Great Commission that Christ has given to His church. With the absolute authority He has over everything “in heaven and in earth”, Christ stipulates that all who respond in faith and obedience to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ and become His disciples, ought to be baptized. For He has declared, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…” (Matthew 28:18–19). 

By virtue of His shed blood in His death on the cross to redeem His people and His resurrection from the grave, Jesus now wields full authority from the Father to institute baptism as a sign of the new covenant He has made with His redeemed people. With ushering in of the New Testament age, Christ, via the Great Commission, commanded baptism to be administered “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. 

Obligatory Practice of Baptism

All Christians are required to be baptised. While baptism is neither a means of salvation nor a meritorious rite that grants salvation, it is required of every Christian as an outward sign of repentance and faith in Christ. All who belong to Christ must obey the Lord’s command to be baptized. In fact, evidenced by command and example in the New Testament, this ecclesiastically obligatory practice of baptism (as stipulated in the Great Commission) extends to the baptism of the young children of those whom the apostles would disciple.

In the apostolic period, all those who believed in the Gospel preached by the apostolic team were baptized as they joined the church. We read in Scripture that “they that gladly received his (Peter’s) word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). Earlier on that historic day of Gospel-preaching in Jerusalem, Peter had exhorted them to “Repent and be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and [they] shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Undoubtedly, baptism not only signifies the remission of sins (through the atoning work of Christ), it also signifies our glad and personal acceptance of the atonement of Christ accomplished on the cross (cf. v. 41a). 

Covenantal Nature of Baptism

It is instructive to note that Peter further went on to affirm that “the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). It is thus clear that this new covenantal promise of the Gospel—ratified by its outward sign of baptism—is (as asserted by Peter) offered to believers, including their children. Undeniably, baptism of the believers and their children was practised in the New Testament churches, as evidenced by the household baptisms recorded in Scripture—Cornelius and his family (cf. Acts 10:2, 48), Lydia and her family (cf. Acts 16:15), the Philippi jailor and his family (cf. Acts 16:32–33), Stephanas and his family (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:16). 

Just as circumcision is the covenant sign in the Old Testament, so baptism serves as the covenant sign in the New Testament. Both are symbols of God’s gracious gift of faith and salvation, administered under the two covenants respectively. What is noteworthy is that, like circumcision, baptism is also administered to households of believers, as corroborated by Scriptural evidence. This is a biblical fact not to be overlooked, which is affirmed by the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), stating, “Not only those that do actually profess faith in, and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized” (WCF, chapter 28, paragraph 4). 

Sermon Text: Psalm 136
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 24th May 2026

Hebrews 2:9—“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

Though God originally made man to rule over creation, sin brought ruin, suffering, and death. Mankind has lost dominion and power under the curse of sin. The prior verse, verse 8, notes, “But now we see not yet all things put under him.” God originally ordained man to rule over creation; the full dominion and glory intended for mankind are not presently seen because sin has brought disorder, suffering, and death into the world. Human history is marked by disorder, sorrow, and mortality. Yet the writer immediately turns our eyes away from fallen man to the victorious Saviour: “But we see Jesus”.

This is the great comfort of the Gospel. When the world appears troubled, and man appears helpless, believers are called to fix their eyes upon Christ. He “was made a little lower than the angels” in His incarnation. The eternal Son of God willingly took upon Himself true humanity, entering our weakness and humiliation. Yet this lowering was not defeat, but divine purpose “for the suffering of death”.

Christ came to die at Calvary. He bore the penalty of sin as the substitute for sinners. The phrase “taste death for every man” speaks of His real experience of death in its bitterness and judgment so that all who come to him may have deliverance from the eternal judgment of their sins. Christ endured what sinners deserved, fully and completely, by “the grace of God”.

But the cross was not the end. The crucified Christ is now “crowned with glory and honour”. His resurrection and exaltation declare His triumph over sin, death, and Satan.

We now have Christ as our Saviour and Lord, to guide and keep us for the eternal glory He prepares for all who trust in Him. In suffering, temptation, fear, and uncertainty, our hope is not in ourselves, but in the crucified and exalted Redeemer who lovingly gave Himself for us.

Hebrews 2:3—“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”

This solemn warning follows the exhortation to “give the more earnest heed” to God’s Word (Hebrews 2:1). The writer argues from the lesser to the greater: if those who disobeyed the law given through angels were judged, how much more serious is the neglect of the salvation proclaimed by the Son of God Himself?

Notice that the danger mentioned is not merely rejecting salvation but neglecting it. Many perish not because they openly hate Christ, but because they treat the Gospel lightly. Spiritual neglect hardens the heart gradually. A soul may become occupied with earthly cares, pleasures, ambitions, and distractions while ignoring the eternal condition of the soul.

The salvation spoken of here is called “so great salvation” because of its glorious Author, wondrous accomplishment, and eternal blessings. It was “spoken by the Lord”, the very Son of God, who proclaimed it during His earthly ministry. The apostles, “them that heard him”, then confirmed this message faithfully to the church.

This salvation is great because it rescues sinners from divine wrath, reconciles them to God, forgives their sins, and grants eternal life through Christ’s atoning death and resurrection.

Every hearer must give himself to serious self-examination. Have we merely heard the Gospel repeatedly while neglecting its claims upon our hearts? Eternal realities cannot safely be ignored. Today is the day to repent, believe, and cleave wholeheartedly to Christ, for there is no escape apart from Him.