Saturday, February 28, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Black History Month - The Black Church
All too often only the most negative aspects of African American culture and communities get highlighted. We hear about the poverty rates, incarceration rates, and high school drop out rates. We are inundated with images of unruly athletes and raunchy reality TV stars as paradigms of success for Black people. And we are daily subject to unfair stereotypes and assumptions from a culture that is, in some aspects, still learning to accept us.
As we celebrate Black History Month let us remember Before there were African-American mayors, governors, or even an African-American President, black churches received leadership from African-American Sunday School teachers, deacons, and pastors. These church leaders, along with others, were seen as community leaders, who helped mentor, educate, and counsel many in the black community. Moreover, the black church was not only a place of worship, but served the community as a center for gathering support and encouraging one another through fellowship. The Civil Rights Movement gained significant strength because of the participation of black churches. They became meeting centers for the organization and strategic planning of the effort for equal rights. Regular church members, church lay leaders, and pastors took a position at the forefront of the work to change a racial and ethnically segregated America. Black churches should be celebrated for their part in influencing a nation to respect and value ethic and racial rights. –Rev.M.D.Rogers
Friday, February 20, 2015
Winter Cold
It is said that in a certain faraway land the cold is so intense that words freeze as soon as they are uttered, and after some time thaw and become audible, so that words spoken in winter go unheard until the next summer.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Black History Month
“It is unfortunate that we should find ourselves at this time the only disorganized group. Others have had the advantage of organization for centuries, so what seems to them unnecessary, from a racial point of view, becomes necessary to us, who have had to labor all along under the disadvantage of being scattered without a racial aim or purpose.”-- Marcus Garvey
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Things like racism are institutionalized. You might not know any bigots. You feel like ‘Well, I don’t hate Black people so I’m not a racist,’ but you benefit from racism. Just by the merit, the color of your skin. The opportunities that you have, you’re privileged in ways that you might not even realize because you haven’t been deprived of certain things. We need to talk about these things in order for them to change.”-Dave Chappelle
Things like racism are institutionalized. You might not know any bigots. You feel like ‘Well, I don’t hate Black people so I’m not a racist,’ but you benefit from racism. Just by the merit, the color of your skin. The opportunities that you have, you’re privileged in ways that you might not even realize because you haven’t been deprived of certain things. We need to talk about these things in order for them to change.”-Dave Chappelle
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
THE JARS
The preacher placed two identical jars on the table next
to the pulpit. He quoted 1 Samuel 16:7 'The Lord does not look at the
things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the
Lord looks at the heart” These jars came from the same factory, were made of the same materials, and can hold the same amount. But they are different, he explained. Then he upset one and it oozed out honey. He turned over the other, and vinegar spilled out.
“When a jar is upset, whatever is in it comes out. Until the jars were upset, they looked alike. The difference was within, and could not be seen. When they were upset, their contents were revealed. Until we are upset we put on a good front. But when we are upset, we reveal our innermost thoughts and attitudes, for “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks ( Luke 6:45)
What if someone tipped you over today ?? What would flow out ?? Would you reveal the “honey” of grace and patience, or the “vinegar” of anger and sarcasm ?? “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8)
Sunday, February 8, 2015
The Sower and the Seeds -By Rev.M.D.Rogers
Scripture: Luke 8:4-15
4 And when a great crowd came
together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5
"A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the
path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And
some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no
moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked
it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold."
As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said,
"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but
for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing
they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of
God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes
and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be
saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word,
receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in
time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they
are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares
and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.What do you know about sowing seeds? For a rural community that lived off the land, sowing was absolutely necessary for survival. The mere act of sowing brought great hope in the anticipation of a fruitful harvest. Jesus' story, however, gives a warning. A seed can't mature into fruit without the proper conditions for growth. Even the prophet Jeremiah gave similar advice several hundred years earlier: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns" (Jer. 4:3).
What's the point of this story for Jesus' audience and for us? Jesus' parable of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are different ways of accepting God's word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. There is the prejudiced hearer who has a shut mind. Such a person is unteachable and blind to the things of God. Then there is the shallow hearer who fails to think things out or think them through; such a person lacks spiritual depth. They may initially respond with an emotional fervor, but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else. Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. They may work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God's word has power to change and transform us into the likeness of Christ. God gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength and freedom to live according to it. Do you hunger for God's transforming word?
"Lord, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan is to grow in the truth. May your word take deep root in my heart that I may grow strong in love and live in the hope of your everlasting kingdom."
Friday, February 6, 2015
Letter from a College Student-Rev. M.D. Rogers
Letter from a college student
The other day, a friend of mine visited me in the lobby of my dorm just to chat while her laundry was drying. As we were chatting, two youngfreshmen came by. One of the 2 boys wanted to 'talk' to my friend (as in date). She asked him how old they were, and both of the boys replied 18. My
friend and I both laughed hysterically because we are both 22 years old.
After my friend left, the young men were still hanging around and one wanted to know how he could gain her interest.
The first thing I told him to do was to pull up his pants! He asked why, and then said he liked saggin' his pants. I told him to come over to my
computer and spell the word saggin'. Then I told him to write the word saggin' backwards..
S-A-G-G-I-N...
I told him the origin of that look was from centuries ago. It was the intent of slave owners to demoralize the field workers by forbidding them
to wear a belt as they worked in the fields or at any other rigorous job. In addition, men in prison wore their pants low when they were 'spoken for'. The
other reason their pants looked like that was they were not allowed to have belts because prisoners were likely to try to commit suicide.
And, saggin' pants prevents you from running.
We as young Black people have to be the ones to effect change. We are dying. The media has made a mockery of the Black American.
Even our brothers and sisters from Africa don't take us seriously. Something as simple as pulling up your pants and standing with your head held
high could make the biggest difference in the world's perception of us. It is time to do right by ourselves. We need to love and embrace each other. No
one is going to do that for us.
It all comes down to perception. What people perceive is what reality to them is. We have to change not only the media's perception of us,
but we need to change our perception of ourselves.
Remember all eyes are on you Black Man. All eyes are on you Black Woman. All eyes are on your Black Child . People point the finger at
us and expect us to engage in negative and illegal activities, to manifest loud, boisterous behavior, to spend our hard earned money in their stores,
buying goods we don't need, or really want.. We have allowed not only the media, but the government and the world to portray us as a 'sub-culture.
' They have stripped our culture down to the point where the image of Black people is perpetuated as rappers, athletes, drug users, and consumers of
junk food, expensive tennis shoes, expensive cars, expensive TVs, cell phones and not investing in homes for our families.
We are so much more!!!!!!!
To all our Black Men: It's time to stand up. There are billions of Black Women who want to do nothing more than worship the ground
that you walk on. We are so in love with your potential. We want to have your back, we want to love, support and cherish every ounce of your being.
But with that you have to show that you are willing to be the head of our households. You have to prove yourselves worthy of our submission. We need
you to be hard working...Not a hustler. We need you to seek higher education, to seek spirituality. We need you to stand! And trust us; we will have your back.
We know that it gets hard. We know you get weary. Trust and believe that there is nothing that a Black Man and a Black Woman can't
handle with GOD on their side.
FTLM
Thursday, February 5, 2015
When the Holy Spirit Groans in Prayer- By Rev.M.D.Rogers
When the Holy Spirit Groans in Prayer
The indwelling Spirit of God works in us in pray to cry out “Abba,” “Father, Daddy.” He helps us to endure sufferings so that we may patiently look forward to the final redemption of our bodies when we will see Jesus “with glory that is burst upon us” at His coming.
We are commanded in the Scriptures to “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17). When we pray we are petitioning the sovereign Creator of the universe and speaking to Him personally as we present our adoration, confessions, thanksgivings, and supplications to Him. He patiently listens to us and responds to us consistently out of His infinite wisdom.
Since that is true why is it so hard to pray? Why is prayer a problem even for mature Christians? The apostle Paul says it is because of “our weakness.” Phillips translates Romans 8:26, “The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations.” The wonderful thing is His intercessions for the saints are always in harmony with God’s will. He comes to our aid in our infirmities.
Paul does not say the Holy Spirit removes our “weaknesses,” but that He “helps” us. We live our whole Christian life in conditions of humility and weaknesses. The Holy Spirit comes along side as our Helper and gives us wisdom and strength. He helps those who cannot help themselves.
What is the problem? We do not know what we should ask God. What is His sovereign will for us, our family, our ministry, etc.? We often do not know what we need, nor do we know what is best for us.
Every Christian experiences these weaknesses and it is this that makes prayer difficult. Have you not experienced on numerous occasions how difficult it is to stop and pray in your busy schedule, and then when you are in His presence in prayer it is so sweet and wonderful you do not want to stop? Your spirit refuses to leave the sacred place. The Holy Spirit helps us in the weaknesses. He “intercedes” for us with groans that words cannot express” (v. 26). The all-powerful Holy Spirit is our Helper. He comes to our aid for access to the Father (Eph. 2:18).
The apostle Paul uses the word sunantilambanetaithat denotes a person coming alongside another to take part of a heavy load to help him bear it.
Jesus had the same idea in mind when He called the Holy Spirit Parakletos, “one who is called alongside of another” to help in time of need. The Holy Spirit comes along side to help us in our weakness. How hopeless we are, yet He bears our burdens. The emphasis Paul is making is this is adivine work, not half-divine and half-human.
We do not know what to pray for in the midst of our suffering the heavy load so He gets up under it with us and bears it along. He identifies with us in our weakness.
We do not know how or what to pray for in those difficult moments of suffering, but He does because He knows us intimately and He knows perfectly the will of God, and our weaknesses. Prayer covers every aspect of our need, and our weakness is made clear by our not knowing what to pray for now. We so often do not have the whole picture. We see only the hurt, pain, suffering, etc. The Holy Spirit comes to our help and makes intercession.
In fact, we have two divine intercessors: Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father in heaven interceding on our behalf (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 1 Jn. 2:1), and the Holy Spirit in our hearts is also interceding (Jn. 14:16, 17). The Holy Spirit intercedes with groanings which cannot be uttered that ascend to the throne of grace.
The Spirit Himself “intercedes,” pleads on our behalf. It is a beautiful word picturing the rescue by someone who “happens on” a person who is in trouble and “in his behalf” pleads with “sighs that baffle words.”
God the Father searches the heart (v. 27; 1 Chron. 28:9; Ps. 139:1, 23; Jer. 17:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; Heb. 4:13). The mind of the Spirit Himself makes interpretation for the saints according to the will of God. The person who makes the intercession is a member of the Trinity. We do not know what the will of God is, but He does.
What are these “groanings”? These inarticulate groans do not escape the omniscient ears of God. They are perfectly intelligent to Him and always according to His perfect will. They are initiated by the Holy Spirit and borne to the presence of the Father. Because they are the intercessions of the Holy Spirit, they are acceptable to the Father.
The God “who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit” and answers according to God’s will. Since His way is perfect we are always assured of His very best for us. “We do not know what we ought to pray for,” but the Holy Spirit always knows, and God the Father will always answer His prayer.
Selah!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Jackie Robinson
BLACK PAST PHOTO OF THE DAY: If you liked last week's writeup about Charles Follis (the first African American signed to a pro football contract), wait till you see what we've got for you today about Jackie Robinson. Ten years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus, in July 1944,
Jackie Robinson — who was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army — was ordered to move further back in a bus he had boarded with a fellow officer's caucasian wife. Robinson refused and was ultimately removed from the bus under his own power by military police who took him into custody for questioning. Later, when Robinson heatedly confronted an investigating officer about racial epithets used in his questioning, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed. After his commander in the 761st 'Black Panthers' Tank Battalion refused to authorize that legal action, Robinson was transferred to another battalion, where his new commander consented to charge him with multiple offenses, including public drunkenness, even though he didn't drink. By the time of his court-martial one month later, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination, and he was acquitted of all charges by an all-white panel of officers.
Robert Robinson Taylor
TUSKEGEE—The most prolific contributor to Tuskegee University's structural design and the namesake of its architecture and construction school will soon be remembered with the launch of a new U.S. postage stamp. On Thursday, February 12, the United States Postal Service will issue a limited edition of the Forever Stamp of Robert Robinson Taylor. The stamp is the 38th addition to the service's Black Heritage series.
Taylor is believed to have been both the first black graduate of MIT and the country's first academically trained black architect. The Taylor stamp will be officially introduced during a ceremony at 11 a.m. EST in the atrium of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. Tuskegee University president, Dr. Brian L. Johnson, will bring remarks, along with Valerie Jarrett, Taylor's great granddaughter and senior advisor to President Barack Obama, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president Rafael Reif. A celebration of the stamp's launch is also planned at Tuskegee University for later this month.
Buildings still used
Recruited by Tuskegee's first president, Booker T. Washington, Taylor came to the university in 1892 and spent nearly his entire career teaching, developing the architecture and construction trade program, and designing more than 20 campus buildings until his death in 1942. He was also the architect of The Oaks, Washington's home and modern day historic site. Many of his historic campus buildings still stand and are used today.
On the same day of the Washington, D.C. stamp launch, a second presentation will be made in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum at 6 p.m. EST to help open its "Freedom Just Around the Corner" exhibit. Jarrett will initiate the ribbon cutting. Tuskegee has also loaned several pieces to the gallery exhibit, which will be open until February 6, 2016.
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