St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Scripture Passage James 1:22-27 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Conflicting Desires We struggle with double mindedness. We have two sides: one positive and the other negative. Sometimes our positive side can be also our negative side. We have a bright side and a dark side. Within us, we have these TWO CONFLICTING DESIRES. We want to be good for others and live more wholesome life. We want to be pleasant, kind and loving. We want to stand up for what is good and right. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, we see ourselves being easily angry, negative, lazy, timid, and not care. We are sometimes dark, cynical, and critical. Jesus asked the disciples to stay with him when he was praying in Gethsemane, probably the most difficult time in his life. The disciples could not be with Jesus. Jesus said, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41) The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! This description is so true. Yes, we have a conflict between the spirit and the flesh. Here the flesh does not mean just a physical body. It is more than that. This is what St. Paul said about the flesh. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. (Romans 7:14) The flesh is self that is controlled by our human weakness, and also by our sins. We have the spirit that is willing to do what is good. But we also have the flesh that desires the opposite. Our task is not to deny that we have these two sides but to let our bright side take over the dark side. That is what spiritual journey is all about. See Our Raw Self Being spiritual does not mean to DENY that there is this double mindedness within us. When we are spiritual, we SEE MORE CLEARLY that this DISCONNECTEDNESS EXISTS within us. We see our struggle more clearly. Spirituality helps us to get to our RAW SELF before it reshapes us. In our spiritual journey, we will see the disconnectedness between faith and doubt, hearing the word and living out the word, good desire and evil desire, thinking and action, knowing and living out what we know, fantasy and reality. So our spiritual journey is not necessarily pleasant to go through but we have to do that to grow and also to find who we really are and to be more truthful to our self. It is much easier to divide the PUBLIC SELF that you show to the world and the PRIVATE SELF that is disclosed only to yourself. But living like that does not give us chance to grow and to be real. The more we do that, the more we will deceive ourselves. We should not play blind eyes to this disconnectedness. We should not use our faith as a way to ignore and conceal this tension and make us feel better. We may feel better but that is not who we are. Good faith doesn't do that. Good religion doesn't do that. This is what James said, If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. (James 1:26) If you think you are religious and yet you do not even know that you hurt others by what you say, then it is not a good religion. He said, that kind of religion is worthless. You think you are religious but you don't even know that you are hurting others. You live in your own world. Good faith does not do that. It does not blind us. It does not paint us with a false image. When we have good faith, we have a pretty good idea of who we are. Bad faith does the very opposite. It misguides us and blinds us. This is what James said. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act they will be blessed in their doing. (James 1:22-25) The Book of James The book of James has been MISUNDERSTOOD for a long time. People like Martin Luther, the reformer, even considered taking it out of the cannon at first. He emphasized that faith alone can save us. Not our good works. But James said faith without good works is dead faith. That's why many people misunderstood James, thinking that he was DOWNPLAYING the importance of faith. They think James is saying that faith alone is not enough. You have to do the good works. That is not what James is saying. James also believes that faith is the most important thing. Faith alone can save us. But he is saying that your faith has to be good faith, real faith. Not fake faith. Not bad faith that blinds you and deceives you. James saw his community losing real faith, the good faith. He saw that they were struggling with their faith. The external pressure was too much. Their life was hard. Some of them were losing their faith and left the community. Even those who remained in the church, they did not have living faith. Their faith existed merely in their brain. It was just agreem

Scripture Passage Ephesians 6:10-20 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Strength We have to be strong to survive. We have to be strong to deal with challenges of life. We have to be strong to live a good life. We have to be strong to live out our calling. We have to be strong to be happy. St. Paul said in today's passage, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. (Ephesians 6:10) Be strong in the Lord What does it mean to be strong in the Lord? Be strong in the Lord means NOT TO BE SHAKEN. No matter what situation we may encounter, we have to be solid like a rock. That is what it means to be strong. We need to have a solid existence. We cannot be like chaff that the wind drives away. We should be like a tree planted and deeply rooted by streams of water. To live a fruitful life, we should be strong. To be strong means to be CONSTANTLY positive, thankful, joyful, and hopeful. The key word is constantly. We have to be consistent. It is easy to be positive once in a while, thankful once in a while, joyful once in a while and hopeful once in a while. But it is hard to be constantly that way. To be constantly that way, we need to be strong. To make these positive qualities constant and consistent, we need to have spiritual discipline. You practice it so much that it becomes a part of you. Just thinking about it is not enough. Just knowing that it is important is not enough. We need to prepare ourselves spiritually so that we are constantly positive, thankful, joyful, and hopeful. St. Paul said, Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:13) Unpredictable Times Life is unpredictable. We don't know what situation may come to us. Uncertainty is a part of what life is. We all have learned that very clearly through this Covid crisis. This crisis is not over. We are now in the fourth wave. Nobody knew that we would be affected for this long. This crisis affected all of us in a very profound way. It changed our life style. No one ever imagined its devastating effect. It is something we saw only in movies. Now September is not even two weeks away. School is going to start soon and the daily rate of delta variant Covid cases are doubled in two weeks in US. On Friday, we had 650 new cases in Ontario. And 689 on Saturday. And the kids are not vaccinated. No one can predict what will come in September. We are living in a very unpredictable time. This creates anxiety, anger, and fear. It makes us shaky. It makes us weak. We can easily allow darkness to enter into our soul and let it control our life. It will weaken us. You know what. It is not just corona virus that throws our life into chaos. Life is always full of challenges and it will always be that way. That won't change. We cannot live our lives wishing that there is no problem. Wishing that there is no problem is a very passive attitude. Wishing that there is no problem in life is a sign of weakness. Instead of wishing that no problem may come your way, pray that you may have strength to take these challenges and face them. Pray that you may not fear these challenges. We cannot run away from our problems. We have to be bold to take on challenges of life. That is what it means to be strong. Instead of running away from the flaming arrows of our problems, we need a shield, the shield of faith. Our faith becomes the shield to protect us from the attack. Yes, we all get attacked sometimes. Negative thoughts fill our heart. We are so fearful that we become paralyzed. We get tired and get easily temperamental. Sometimes even meaninglessness of life attacks us. We say to ourselves, What is the point? We cannot let these things enter into our soul and poison us. We need to protect ourselves from the attack. We cannot just sit around, hoping that these feelings will go away. They won't just go away. Even if they go away temporarily, they will come back. We need the shield that protects us from these attacks. That is faith. When these attacks come, we believe that we will be all right. We believe that God will give us strength. God will not let these things destroy us. We are precious children of God. Believe that with God, these attacks will only make us stronger. That is what faith is. When we have faith, our problems will make us stronger, not weaker. Comfort and Luxury We are called to live a fruitful life. We are called to love. We are called to be truthful. We are called to serve. We are called to resist the evil. We are called to fight the injustice. God gave us comfort and luxury as a gift and we are very thankful. Comfort and luxury – They are just God's gift. But they are not our calling for us to seek after. If you live your lives, seeking comfort and luxury, if they become your goal, you become weak. When God gives you comfort and luxury, be thankful but remember that our calling is bigger than seeking comfort and luxury. We are

Scripture Passage Mark 6:14-29 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Power What is the most important power that we should have? I asked myself this question. What is the most important power that I need? What is the power that makes my life happy and meaningful. What is the power that I need to follow Jesus? My conclusion is that I need the power that CAN DEFEAT MY FEAR. We need the power that helps us overcome our fear. This PANDEMIC killed many lives and it drove many people into fear. This virus has gripped the whole world with fear. It has affected our life in the most profound way. It was real fear, not just imaginary paranoid. As of July 9, it killed 4,025,765 people worldwide. Real Fears But it is NOT JUST THIS VIRUS that causes fear within us. Fear is what we experience every day in our lives. Fear is very much A PART OF OUR LIFE. Of course, there are also neurotic fears, I admit. That's why we have all these phobias: acrophobia, aerophobia, arachnophobia, claustrophobia, and so on. But fear is always with us. We have fear about the unknown future, fear about our finances, our health, our children, and unforeseeable accidents, and fear about death. These are real fears. Whatever we do, we will encounter our own fear. When we are gripped by fear, we make all kinds of mistakes we wouldn't usually make. Euro Cup Soccer is going on right now. COPA America just finished yesterday. Also Wimbledon Tennis is going on and a Canadian Shapovalov went up to the semi-final, but lost to Djokovic. I saw some games of both soccer and tennis and I saw clearly what fear did to them. They choked. They made mistakes they wouldn't usually make. It's not just in sports, but in every aspect of our lives, when fear grips us, we make mistakes. We cannot think clearly. So, it is important to learn how to deal with our fear. We can never get rid of fear. It's not even healthy to try to get rid of fear. When we do that, we fall into denial and denial can do worse things than fear. Appropriate fear is all right. But we need to have power to deal with our fear. We need power greater than the power of fear. Mark's Message That was what the disciples needed to learn. Mark had a very creative way of communicating his message. Today's story was inserted right in between these two statements. Verse 13: They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. Mark 6:14-29: John the Baptist Beheaded (flashback) Verse 30: The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. The story we read is right in between verse 13 and 30. Mark uses this sandwich method quite a bit in his writing. Jesus sent out the disciples for a mission. He told them to take nothing. Jesus wanted them to totally depend on God's power, not their own power. They experienced God's power. They never experienced this kind of power in their lives. Actually, it was the first time the disciples did anything themselves. It was all Jesus who did anything fantastic. Until now, the disciples just observed what Jesus did. But this time, they truly experienced God's power for themselves in a tangible way and they did wonderful things. We can see their excitement. Verse 13: They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. They were able to experience the power of exorcising demons and healing people. They never experienced this kind of power in their lives. So, with the excitement, they shared what they experienced with Jesus. Verse 30: The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. But in between these two verses, Mark inserted the story of the head of John the Baptist being beheaded. Power of Overcoming Fear What was Mark trying to say? Mark was trying to say that there was a greater power than the power of exorcising demons and healing the sick. IT WAS THE POWER OF OVERCOMING FEAR. That was the kind of power JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD. He didn't do miracles. He didn't exorcise demons. He didn't heal the sick. But he had the POWER to be faithful to God to the end. Even fear of death could not break him. Mark 6:14-29 is a long passage. You hear about Herod, his wife, and his stepdaughter. It describes how John's head came to be beheaded. Even though it was a story of John the Baptist, JOHN WAS VERY QUIET. We don't hear anything about him. He was completely silent. But his silence spoke volumes. He didn't try to run away. He didn't try to save his life. He didn't try to persuade Herod. But he had the power to live out who he was. He was a voice in the wilderness and he did his job. And when imprisonment and death came as the result of his voice, he accepted them. Imprisonment and death could not break him. He had the power to overcome his own fear. Herod was different. He had all the power in the world. He had the power to execute people. He had the power to kill John the Baptist. But he was a coward. He was completely controlled by his own fear. Whe

Scripture Passage Mark 4:26-34 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script The Key Jesus gave us a wonderful parable. The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. (Mark 4:26, 27) He does not know how. This phrase strikes me. It inspires me. It gives me a sense of freedom. I don't need to know everything. I don't need to control the result. I am not talking about not preparing thoroughly and expecting a good result. I am not talking about that kind of laziness. But we all know that we cannot control the result in everything that we do. We are trying to live a good life that builds the kingdom of God but we don't know how the kingdom of God is established in our life. Nobody knows. What Jesus is trying to say is that we are not the ones who build life that reflects the kingdom of God. It is ultimately God who builds the kingdom of God. The key is God, not us. That's why St. Paul said, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6, 7) Jesus lived like that. He showed us how we should live by his example. He didn't do his work all by himself. He always let God work through him. Because he knew ultimately it is God who would bring about God's kingdom. We are not God. Let us not try to be god. We don't know what the final outcome of the kingdom of God will be like and how God will bring that about. Broken Vessels What is the implication of this truth about our life? It gives us tremendous confidence. We do our best to live a good life. But sometimes we feel that even our best is not good enough. We don't see the result and when we don't see the result, we get discouraged, we get anxious and we even lose hope for going further. We say to ourselves, What's the point? But ultimately God will bring about the mysterious result in the way we don't know. Listen to St. Paul and see his attitude towards his life. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) God will ultimately shape a good life out of us. We are broken vessels and yet God brings good life out of these broken vessels. Not because you are good, you produce a good life. Don't be mistaken. Not because you are a good vessel, God puts his treasure. St. Paul said. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7) Until he met Christ, he didn't realize that he was a broken clay jar. He thought that God's work would be done through him because he was great. But he realized that that was not true after meeting Christ. He said more clearly this wonderful truth when he talked about the resurrection. Resurrection is not the reward for our good behavior. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) The Smallest Seed Jesus articulated this thought more clearly in his second parable about the kingdom of God. It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.' (Mark 4:31-32) The mustard seed is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. That means it is insignificant. But when it is sown it grows and becomes the greatest of all shrubs and the birds of the air can come and rest. But we don't know how. We don't know how the smallest seed becomes the tree where the birds of the air can come and rest. Often when we see ourselves, we see only the smallest seed. We see ourselves very small and insignificant. Sometimes we even feel we are worthless. But don't ever forget that the smallest seed has the potential in it to become the greatest tree. That's what the seed is. It has that potential. That's why Jesus used the example of the seed. We only see the smallest seed. Why? Because we have eyes of fear. Last Wednesday, I reflected on the King David for the Korean Wednesday service. Even when he was merely a shepherd boy, he had this confidence to defeat the gigantic Goliath because he had not the eyes of fear but the eyes of faith. Terrible Events Recently, we have witnessed two terrible events. One is the discovery of the remains of 215 indigenous children. We are confronted again with the evil that was done to the indigenous people in this country. They have been saying this all this time. Just think about how you would feel when your children are taken away against your will and some of them never come h

Scripture Passage John 15:9-17 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script Love Today is Mother's Day. At our church, we celebrate it as Parents Day. The first word that comes to my mind when I think about mothers or parents is LOVE. We all received tremendous love from them. We thank them for their love, their sacrifice, and their many tears for us. They took care of us. They prayed for us and they always worried about us. They taught us what it means to suffer because they love. I saw my mother suffer more when I was suffering. So whenever we think about our parents, it makes us emotional. Because our parents did so much for us. During this Covid period, we heard many sad stories. So many seniors died at nursing homes during this Covid period. Some of them died alone without being able to say a proper goodbye. People could not even visit their parents in a nursing home and spend time with them. They had to meet their parents in the nursing home from outside of their room. Not being able to take care of lonely parents is painful because all their lives they did so much for us. Our parents are not perfect. They may not have social status or hold an important position in our society. Especially in an immigrant society, our parents suffered quite a lot. The immigrant life was not easy but they were willing to suffer for the sake of their children. They felt bad because they could not provide what normal parents would do for their children. Instead of helping their children, they had to depend on the help of their children because they couldn't speak English. But how influential they are, how helpful they are, how capable they are that's not that important. They taught us love, the most important thing in life. What is More Important Than Love? Isn't that what is the most important in life? What is more important than love? We have become who we are by love we received. Didn't St. Paul say that I am who I am by God's grace, by God's love? Without love, we will be lost. Without love, life will be miserable. Having love is more important than any social skills we may acquire. Being able to love and being loved. Isn't that what Jesus taught us? Jesus told the scribes – ALL WE NEED IS LOVE. Jesus said it before the Beatles sang. All the commandments are summarized into one: LOVE – LOVE God and LOVE your neighbour. That summarizes our Scripture today. The last verse we read today summarizes our passage. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. (John 15:17) Love is powerful. With love, we can deal with challenges of life. With love, we can persevere through our difficult times. Love makes life worth living. It makes our life full and abundant. Love makes our relationships joyful and fruitful. We are successful if we are full of love. We are successful not because we are doing well in our lives. We are successful because we are able to love. Those who love – They are the ones who live their life to the fullest. Who taught us that love? Our parents. From the moment we came out into this world, they were there. When we were helpless, they made sure that we received that love. They stayed up all night to take care of us. They changed diapers and they made sure that we would survive. And we learn from them how important it is to love. Our parents taught us the most important thing that we need, to survive and flourish in our life. What was our parents' love like? They made us feel so special, so precious, and so valuable. That is what love is. When you love somebody, you treat that person as the most precious being in the world. When you are loved, you feel valued, appreciated, and important. That was what parents did to us. We are always special and precious to our parents. You know, feeling valued is very important for our survival. That is a very basic thing that all human beings need for their survival. Value Dr. Joseph Shrand, a Psychiatrist at Harvard talked about why being valued is so important. He said, millions of years ago, we human beings were very weak alone. We were physically inferior to other mammals. We could have easily eaten up by other animals who were faster, stronger, and bigger. And then we formed small groups and we got stronger together. But to stay in the group, we have to contribute something. In other words, we have to have value. Otherwise we will be kicked out and become alone and we will be prey to other animals. So, a sense of being valued has become so important. Being valued is our survival. And our parents gave that to us. Through our parents' love, we have learned to value ourselves. I want to tell you, all young parents. Make your children feel valuable. That is the best you can do for them. That is the best parenting you can give to them. Especially when they go through troubled times and hard times, let them know how valuable they are. They need to know that. That doesn't mean that you let them be whatever they want. You can discipline them, you can say difficu

Scripture Passage John 12:20-33 Sermon Video Sermon Audio Sermon Script Suffering is Part of Existence Suffering or pain is not something that we can choose or not to choose. Is it? We don't have an option on this matter. Suffering is a very much part of our existence. Suffering and pain will always be there. I am not talking about a huge, dramatic suffering. I am talking about what we experience in our daily living. We get hurt. We get disappointed. There are things that frustrate us and annoy us. Worries and Anxiety. Illness. Lack of confidence. Guilt Difficulties in relationships. All of these are what cause suffering in us. Suffering is not something we can avoid. It always comes to us like an uninvited guest. It intrudes our lives. It takes away joy from us. When we Suffer Suffering makes us weak. When we suffer, we question, Why do these things happen to me? Did I do something wrong? We wonder whether God loves us. When we suffer, we feel lonely. We feel distant from people. Maybe it's not them. Maybe it's us. We may distance ourselves from them. We don't want to meet people when we suffer. The extreme suffering makes us feel that we are abandoned, abandoned even by God. Jesus cried out on the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That shows the extreme suffering Jesus experienced. It is more painful than saying, I am hurt . When we suffer, we feel small. To inflict suffering on Jesus, that was what they did. They try to make him feel small. They humiliated him. They ridiculed him. They put on a false crown made with thorns. They put on a royal robe. They bowed before him, calling him Majesty. Then they slapped him, spat at him and punched him. They tried to make Jesus look most pitiful. Losing to Suffering That's what suffering does to our lives. It takes away our dignity. It makes us feel small and pitiful. We lose confidence. We feel like we are nobody. When we let suffering oppress us, dominate us, and control us, we lose ourselves. We lose confidence. We lose dignity. We lose even our identity. We lose everything. That is when suffering destroys us. And suffering wins. That's when suffering intimidates us. It makes us run away from it. Overcome Suffering It is one thing to say that suffering is an inseparable part of our lives but it is another thing to say that we have to live under the dictatorial control of suffering. We don't have to let suffering do that to us. That is not what God wants from us. God taught us to OVERCOME OUR SUFFERING. Jesus came to us to show us the way to overcome our suffering. Jesus went through greater suffering than most of us. But he didn't let suffering control his life. HE OVERCAME SUFFERING. In John, he said, I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! (John 16:33) Conquering the world means to have victory over suffering. He defeated the suffering. Conquering suffering does not mean that there is no more suffering. Jesus still went through it but it could not dominate him. It could not paralyze him. Suffering could not intimidate him. It could not control him. That is the strength of Jesus. And we need that strength. We will experience suffering but the important question is whether we let it control us or we LET SUFFERING SERVE US. Be prepared. Be prepared to take on the challenge of suffering. St. Paul St. Paul went through a lot of suffering. We can see that in his confession. Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman I am a better one: with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. (2 Corinthians 11:23-27) He went through a lot. But we see that even this much suffering could not control him. We can see that in his confession. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9) We cannot avoid suffering but we can defeat it. The more you try to run away from suffering because of fear, the more it will control you. If we let the suffering control us, we will lose life. We cannot live anymore a meaningful life. It will scare us. It will make our life dark. And it controls our daily thinking. What kind of life is that? Let Suffering Serve Us What we need is the power to defeat our suffering. Instead of letting the suffering control us, we let the suffering

Scripture Passage Genesis 9:8-17 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script After the Flood What we see in today's Scripture is God's aching heart. God felt so bad after the flood. Aching heart comes from love. Where there is no love, there is no suffering. We suffer because we love. We become desperate because we love. What we see in today's passage is God's pain and his anguish. Who am I that God is so brokenhearted about my fate? Am I that important to him? God saw how evil human beings were. Their wickedness was destroying them. God saw that and felt so desperate. He didn't know what to do. But after the flood, God changed his mind. He said he would never destroy the earth with water. He repeated this word never a few times. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.' (Genesis 9:11) and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. (Genesis 9:15) Describing God We see God regretting. I like how the Genesis writer described God. God is like us. God is sad. God repents. God regrets. God is not like a distant super being up there who has no feeling. God is like parents who blame themselves for the suffering of their children even if it was their own faults. I think this describes God more accurately than analytic description of God such as immutability, omni-present, omniscience of God. Trying to come up with an analytical definition of God's attribute through this kind of passage is misreading the intention of the author. Genesis writer tried to describe God's aching heart for us, in the way we human beings could understand. God changed his mind and declared that he would never destroy the humanity like that. It was more a declaration than a covenant. It was not an agreement of both parties like a contract. God simply let Noah know what he would do. What Noah might do had no bearing on God's decision. Regardless of human behaviors, God said he would not destroy them. He knew that we feeble human beings are too weak to keep their promises. We are too flimsy. Our heart may desire but our flesh is weak. We want to do good with our heart but we do evil with our flesh. St. Paul discovered about himself after meeting Christ. Let us listen to what he said. So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:25) When we go back one chapter before today's passage, we see this. I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth (Genesis 8:21) Evil From Youth Evil from youth. This means evilness is embedded in our very being. It is a part of us. So deeply ingrained, God knew that punishment wouldn't do any good. Look at what they did after the flood. Did they change? They committed a worse evil. They built the Babel tower and said let us build the tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves. That's what human beings are like. If God punished human beings every time they committed evil, no one would have survived. That's why God changed his mind. What human beings could not do on their own, God wanted to do. That is the Good News. We are saved not because we changed and became righteous. We are saved because God changed because of his love for us and that love is God's righteousness. By God's righteousness, we are saved. The World we Live in When I see the world we live in, I see hostility that comes from greed. This world is operated not by righteousness but by greed. People who have power try to have more power, and in the process, they exploit those who don't have much. Isn't that greed? Because of greed, people fight with each other, compete with each other, and hate each other. They validate themselves and invalidate others. God becomes merely inconvenient presence. Greed is deeply embedded within us. Greed invokes violence. And it harbors hostility within us. This hostility divides us and separates us from God. Punishment has no power to destroy this greed. It makes our greed worse. It only enflames our greed. Greed and hostility go together. The ultimate hostility of human beings was manifested at the cross. This hostility killed the Son of God. This hostility put a wedge between God and human beings. Jesus came to put an end to this hostility. This was God's will. God's will is hidden in today's passage and beginning from Noah, God chose to relate to human beings differently with a different attitude. Hostility cannot destroy hostility. The Bow In today's scripture, it says, I have set my bow in the clouds. (Genesis 9:13) Yes, it is a rainbow. But it is also a bow of battle. We can imagine a deity with bow and arrow but in today's story, there is no arrow. And God hung up the bow in the clouds. In other words, there is no more battle, no more fight. Only peace. God knows all our sins, all our shame, all our wickedness,

Scripture Passage Mark 9:2-9 Worship Video Worship Audio Sermon Script A Glorious Scene We see a beautiful and glorious scene in today's Scripture. I love it. It is surreal. Jesus' clothes became dazzling white. It was radian. There appeared Elijah and Moses who died long time ago. Their appearance was not like a hologram. They talked with Jesus. And a cloud overshadowed them and the disciples heard a voice that came from the cloud. It was not something we experience in our mundane life. The disciples experienced something very special. They could not explain what they experienced with their language or logic. Much later, Peter recounted what he experienced on this mountain but he had hard time to describe it. The words he used were Honour , Glory , Majestic glory. He tried his best to describe what he experienced. Unfortunately, his words could not fully capture what he experienced. They didn't just feel that it was wonderful. They were terrified. Peter said, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings. But soon Mark said this, He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. They liked what they experienced but they were scared. Their response was a typical response of those who experience the deep mystery of life. And they experienced exactly that. What do you see? My friends, what we see, touch and experience is not everything. There are things that we cannot explain with the language we have and the logic we operate with. I find that very comforting, though. If what I see is everything about this world and about my life, then I will feel hopeless. What I see is that the powerful use their power to exploit the powerless. The strong always look down upon the weak and treat them with contempt. People who are different from those who have power experience discrimination. That is what I see but I am very thankful that life is more than what I see and touch. I am thankful that we experience sometimes the mysterious hands of God that take care of us. God is still working among us and yet we do not see God. Jesus told Thomas, Do you believe because you see? Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe. Six days later Today's story begins with the phrase, Six days later. Sometimes when you watch a movie, they say, one year later , or one week later . That means what is going on now is related to what happened one year ago or one week ago. When Mark began with six days later , he relates this story on the mountain with the event that happened six days ago. What happened six days ago? Six days ago, Jesus was with the disciples in Caesarea Philippi. There Jesus asked the disciples, Who do people say that I am? And then again, Jesus asked them, Who do YOU say that I am? That was what happened 6 days ago. In today's story, we get the answer for that question. Today's story is about who Jesus is Jesus' Identity. The answer we get is this: This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him! (Mark 9:7) Mark tells us that Jesus is the Son of God. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? It means that Jesus is the presence of God. Jesus was the presence of God in this world. Peter felt that. That's why he wanted to build a tabernacle and the tabernacle was where God dwelled in the desert in Exodus. He knew that before he heard the voice from the heaven. Peter That's Peter. Many times, he said things that he didn't completely understand. Six days ago, when Jesus asked the disciples, Who do you say that I am? , no one dared to answer his question. But Peter knew the answer and I don't know how. But somehow, he knew. When other disciples were pondering on the question, Peter immediately said what came to his mind. You are the Messiah. (Mark 8:29) He didn't understand what he was saying but he felt it. He knew it. He was spiritually connected with Jesus. That's why Jesus loved him, in spite of his shortcomings. The Identifications of Jesus Mark records three incidents where Jesus was identified as the Son of God. The first one was when Jesus was baptized. Then in today's passage on the mountain. Then finally at the cross. First two times, God said that but the last one, a gentile, a Roman soldier said it, not God. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was God's Son!' (Mark 15:39) It was God who revealed that Jesus was the Son of God. It was God who started it. But at the end, it was a human being, not even one of chosen people, but a gentile who said that Jesus was the Son of God. It was proclaimed not in the temple but at the cross. The tabernacle Peter wanted to build on the mountain was built at the cross. The Cross: Where God Is The cross became God's dwelling place. Even though Jesus cried out on the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? , God did not forsake Jesus. God was right there. The world did not see it but God was there. When we suffer, that is a place where God is. When we suffer, sometimes we won

Scripture Passage 1 Corinthians 8: 1-3 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Knowledge and Love appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Jonah 3: 1-10 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post A Second Time appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage 1 Samuel 3: 1-10 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Open Your Ears and Listen appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Mark 1:4-11 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Repentance appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Psalms 81:10 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Open Wide appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Philippians 4:4-8 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer. Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon E-book The post Turning Anxiety Into Prayer appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Luke 1: 26-38 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer. Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon E-book The post When Life’s Mystery Hits Us appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Worship Video Sermon Audio Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Kindle The Spirit appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage 2 Peter 3:8-15a Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post While We Wait appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Isaiah 64:1-9 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Break Open appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 25: 31-46 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer. Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book The post Now, How Do We Live? appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 25: 14-30 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer! Sermon e-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Faithful appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 25: 1-13 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s congregational prayer Sermon e-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Prepared appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Psalm 107: 1-9, 33-37 Worship Video Sermon Audio Be FilledRev. Simon Parkshare Social: jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $('#facebook-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { facebook: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, disableCount: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('facebook'); } }); $('#googleplus-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { googlePlus: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('googlePlus'); } }); $('#linkedin-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { linkedin: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('linkedin'); } }); $('#twitter-player-share-35074').sharrre({ share: { twitter: true }, urlCurl: 'https://timothypc.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/rainmaker/library/external/genesis-simple-share/assets/js/sharrre/sharrre.php', enableHover: false, enableTracking: true, buttons: { }, click: function(api, options){ api.simulateClick(); api.openPopup('twitter'); } }); }); Link: Embed: https://timothypc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BeFilled.mp3 Download Audio Subscribe Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book!

Scripture Passage Psalm 1 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Happy appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 33:12-23 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post You Shall See My Back appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Deuteronomy 8:7-18 Worship Video Kids Church Thanksgiving Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Looking Back, Looking Ahead appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Philippians 3:4b-14 Worship Video Choir Anthem Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Pressing Toward the Future appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 17:1-7 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Absolute Trust appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 20:1-16 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Indebted Heart appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 18:21-35 Worship Video Sermon Audio Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click here to read the sermon e-book! The post Be Merciful As I Am appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 3:1-15 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Pandemic Reflection: Taebin Kim Click to read Taebin Kim’s reflection on this Summer Congregational Prayer Click here to read this week’s Congregational Prayer! Sermon E-book Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! The post Hinneni appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Exodus 1:8-2:10 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Special Presentation: Vision United Summer Camp Sermon E-book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! The post God Works Through Cracks appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Genesis 45:1-15 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! The post God Behind Our Stories appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 14:22-33 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! Graduation Videos This week, we celebrated the graduation of the students moving from Kids’ Church into Hi-C and from Hi-C into College. We also celebrated the graduation of students at St. Andrews Humber Heights. The Hi-C graduates created a video of their reflections on how they feel moving on into their next stage in life and what the St. Tim’s community has meant to them. Several other students in Hi-C put together a farewell video for the graduates. 2020 Hi-C Graduate Reflections 2020 Hi-C Graduation Tribute The post The Hand That Saves appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Genesis 32:22-31 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Finding Our Blessing appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 13:44-46 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read this Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Finding Hidden Treasure appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Last Friday was the third session of the Becoming Together: Toward the Beloved Community study led by Rev. Simon Park. This week, we read and reflected on Galatians 3:1-5:1. In this passage, we saw how normativities in our lives affect what we view as desirable. For the Galatians, the issue was this: they had found freedom from the norms of Roman normativity, and all the negative connotations and mental and spiritual enslavement that entailed. Now, however, they had reverted to a new enslavement, this time under Jewish norms. Like the Galatians, we are enslaved to norms. Our norms have been shaped by white normativity overtime, and have led to an unconscious bias against what is black. Through this study, we learned that Christ is the new normativity that decentralizes everything else. We are all equal in God's eyes. Your worth is affirmed in the love of God shown through Christ. We reflected on how having Christ in our lives can change the way we think and discussed how we can stand with Black people who are suffering with Christ at the centre of our thoughts and hearts. In discussion groups, our ESM congregation members shared their experiences, insights, and newfound understanding of their own views on anti-black racism, privilege and the normativities we live with. Many shared their own experiences of coming to Canada as an immigrant and discussed the privileges they didn’t realize they had due to the fact that Korean immigrants followed the norms already present in Canadian culture. We found that it was hard to articulate the normativity we live with, which lead to questions like “Are we just victims to this normativity or can we break out of it?’ and ‘What is centred in our lives? What should be de-centred?”. As these normativities have shaped the way our society functions as a whole, there are many layers of issues at both micro and macro levels. While minorities find themselves stuck in these cyclical lifestyles where there seems to be no chance at change, how can we empower the underprivileged and break through? How can we change our different upbringings and situations for the better, so that we can all share equal privileges, education and experiences? We must work together as a community to bring to light the needs and struggles that black people face daily, and work with them to find ways to change. We thank you all for participating in a very fruitful session and hope that you can make it to the last one on Friday, July 31st! Let us continue to reflect together. Session 3 E-book The post Session 3: Becoming Together as a Beloved Community appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 13:24-30 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click to Read the Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Sunday’s Congregational Prayer! The post Let Them Be appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

This past Friday marked the second of four sessions in our Becoming Together: Toward the Beloved Community study led by Rev. Simon Park. As part of our mission to seek truth through the gift of Scripture, we reflected on the important issue of racism in our society and our role as a church and community in the fight against anti-black racism. Last week we learned about the history of the Galatians, the concept of model minorities, and the white normativity that we see in today’s society. Many of our ESM congregation members shared their stories and honest reflections on issues relating to racism, freedom and identity. This week we covered Galatians 1 and 2, exploring the source of the gospel as Paul understood it. As we began to delve into the message and thoughts of St. Paul, we learned about how this revelation of the Gospel changed Paul's entire belief system, helping him find a new calling in life. We continued to look at the real-life implications of Paul's understanding of the gospel and how he built communities based on new norms. We began to understand that the essence of a new community is based on the norm of a life where all receive God's grace without regard to their worth. From the insights of these chapters, we were able to relate to our current real-world context. In particular, we reflected on the residential patterns of Toronto, and realized how we've structured ourselves as a society. Toronto is much more segregated and racialized than we thought, even though we hold this reputation of being one of the most diverse cities in the world. What do these facts tell us about the norms we follow and the choices we make? Whom have we deemed worthy to be with? Is this due to the subconscious choices we make as citizens? Or is this a systemic issue that stems from the top and those in power? Questions like this provoked discussion and deep reflection on our actions as a faith community. As we were able to listen in to the discussion groups and hear the thoughts of our congregation members, many insights and new perspectives were introduced to us. Topics such as cumulative advantage, white privilege and ignorance branched many discussions on our history and our role as a faith community. Some members realized that normality and what seems right can be subjective; things that may be wrong can seem normal to us if we are used to it. Others discussed ignorance and how we are hesitant to help those who are different from us. Overall, it was truly a beautiful sight to see many of the members of our community, from all different types of backgrounds and experiences, come together and honestly discuss such prominent issues in our current context. We encourage you to continue to participate in these active discussions and Bible studies as we explore our role as a church and faith community. See you next Friday! Session 2 E-book The post Session 2: Becoming Together as a Beloved Community appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Reading Romans 8:1-11 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! The post A Spiritual Person appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Week's Congregational Prayer! The post Welcoming Heart appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Romans 6:20-23; 1 John 4:7-12 Worship Video Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! The post Love Heals Hatred appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Jeremiah 20:7-13 Worship Video Father’s Day Video from Kids Church Sermon Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Dreams of the Father appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Romans 5:1-8 Worship Video Sermon Audio Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Congregational Prayer Click Here to Read This Week’s Congregational Prayer! The post Hope Makes Everything Beautiful appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Scripture Passage Psalm 8 Worship Video Worship Audio Choir Anthem Sermon E-Book Our interns have prepared an E-book version of this sermon. Enjoy! Click Here for Sermon E-Book! Sermon Text The Psalm that we read today is a beautiful Psalm. This Psalm is about this beautiful world that we live in. This Psalm reminds me of the hymn we heard today (How Great Thou Art), O Lord My God, when I’m in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made. Also this song reminds me of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World: I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and you and I think to myself what a wonderful world . This psalm says when I look at your heavens the work of your fingers. The moon and the stars that you have established (Psalm 8:3). The Beautiful World God Created In the world God created, there are so many beautiful things: the mountains, rivers, deep forests, trees, the sun and the moon, and the beautiful stars in the sky. There are so many things that are so beautiful. Above all God made human beings the most beautiful. This is what the psalm said, what are human beings, that you are mindful of them, mortals, that you care for them, yet you have made them a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honour (Psalm 8:4-5). We are just a little lower than God. The Psalm says that we are just a little lower than God. How honoured and how beautifully we must have been made! Genesis says that we were created in God’s beautiful image. Today's psalm tells us that we human beings are crowned with glory and honour. Another psalm praises God like this I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made wonderful are your works that i know very well my frame was not hidden from you when i was being made in secret intricately woven in the depths of the earth (Psalm 139). The Beautiful You God Created Sometimes, my friends, we feel like we are nobody. We feel like we are nothing. But not to God. To God we are a masterpiece that God has put all his effort into to create. The writer of today’s psalm knew of the care that God has put into creating us. What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them. (Psalm 8:4) We treat ourselves like we are nobody but God treats us as the most precious thing in the world. Would God throw away something that he created with such care God? Would He just use us and throw us away? No! I don’t think so. God will preserve us and God will keep us when life is over on this earth. God will bring us back to his embrace. That’s what God will do. God will not just throw away that which he made so beautifully. God made us with such care and he told us to use the same care to care for the world that He created. This is what the psalm says, You have even then dominion over the works of your hands you have put all things under their feet (Psalm 8:6). God gave us the commission to take care of the beautiful world that he created. That is our responsibility. Destroying the beautiful world that God created is going against God’s will. That is a serious sin. God Put On Our Crowns Above all, God told us to keep in mind the dignity of human beings. We have to keep each other's dignity. God has crowned us with glory and honour. We are precious and beautiful because God crowned us with glory and honour. Not because we are better than other people. No one can take away the crown that God has crowned us with. No matter how small a person may be. No matter how insignificant and powerless a person may be. No matter how weak and vulnerable we may be. On the head of that person, there is a crown of glory and honour that God has put on. We cannot take that down and trample it. That is going against God's will. We have to keep the dignity of a human being. Jesus told us to love your neighbor. That means to keep the dignity of your neighbor. We should not ignore and insult another human being. No matter how angry we may be, we simply cannot humiliate another person. Whenever a person's dignity is trampled down, we should fight to restore it because that is something that must be kept intact. Jesus fought for the dignity of human beings. The poor, the sick, prostitutes, sinners, and tax collectors they were ostracized, rejected and alienated but Jesus fought for their dignity, sacrificing his own life. Keep Each Other's Dignity We are so saddened by the story of a precious and beautiful life that was trampled to death in Minnesota. We are saddened because the dignity of a person was trampled. That's why so many people came out on the street in almost every city and every state not only in the US but the whole world. Their voices were loud and clear. Human dignity must be honoured. Racism is a sin that destroys the dignity of a person. George Floyd was literally trampled to death. Al Sharpton shouted, Take your knee off of our neck. Whenever I think about how he died, it brings tears to my eyes. How can a person die like that? His last words