Verse of the Day

Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Rose Sunday
We are halfway through Lent, or close to it, 22 days down, 18 to go.  Many people do not realize that Lent has 40 days, as Sundays are not counted.  Sundays are not fast days, as we celebrate every Sunday in remembrance of the glorious resurrection of our Lord.  Situated halfway through Lent, this Sunday is often called Refreshment Sunday after the Gospel, with the loaves and fishes.  The liturgical color lightens from purple to rose as a break in our fasting.  It is also the time when English children traditionally came home from boarding schools for Easter.  It also is observed as Mother’s Day in England for that very reason and also referred to as Mothering Sunday.

On Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come from?  The answer is from the people who uttered them.  But, how did you find them?  Oh, that.  Some from Bishop Jerry, many from Rev Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, some from Rev Geordie Menzies-Grierson, but overall mostly from Bryan.  He always has some great ones to share.  On to the On Point quotes –

On Property Rights
The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.
John Adams
A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787

On goodness
There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him. And the higher and mightier it is in the natural order, the more demoniac it will be if it rebels. It’s not out of bad mice or bad fleas you make demons, but out of bad archangels. The false religion of lust is baser than the false religion of mother-love or patriotism or art: but lust is less likely to be made into a religion.
Jack Lewis
The Great Divorce
On Heaven
“We know not what we shall be”; but we may be sure we shall be more, not less, than we were on earth. Our natural experiences (sensory, emotional, imaginative) are only like the drawing, like penciled lines on flat paper. If they vanish in the risen life, they will vanish only as pencil lines vanish from the real landscape, not as a candle flame that is put out but as a candle flame which becomes invisible because someone has pulled up the blind, thrown open the shutters, and let in the blaze of the risen sun.
Jack Lewis
The Weight of Glory

I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
St. John 6:48-51

But godliness with contentment is great gain.
I St. Timothy 6:6

The reason why hypocrites do not persevere in religion is because they have no pleasure in it.
Matthew Henry
17th and 18th century English pastor and author

Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do.
Charles H. Spurgeon
19th century English pastor and author

The Bible makes it clear: There are no good men and there are no good women ... If you think you’re good, it’s only because you are so far out in the darkness you cannot see how bad you are.
Dr. D. James Kennedy
20th and 21st century American Presbyterian pastor, teacher and author
(Skeptics Answered, p. 156).

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson
American patriot and president

The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.
John Adams
Founding Father and Second president of the United States

Propers
Each Sunday there are Propers: special prayers and readings from the Bible.  There is a Collect for the Day; that is a single thought prayer, most written either before the re-founding of the Church of England in the 1540s or written by Bishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of Canterbury after the re-founding. 

The Collect for the Day is to be read on Sunday and during Morning and Evening Prayer until the next Sunday. The Epistle is normally a reading from one of the various Epistles, or letters, in the New Testament.  The Gospel is a reading from one of the Holy Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  The Collect is said by the minister as a prayer, the Epistle can be read by either a designated reader (as we do in our church) or by one of the ministers and the Holy Gospel, which during the service in our church is read by an ordained minister or our Deacon Striker.

The propers are the same each year, except if a Red Letter Feast, that is one with propers in the prayerbook, falls on a Sunday, then those propers are to be read instead, except in a White Season, where it is put off.  Red Letter Feasts, so called because in the Altar Prayerbooks the titles are in red, are special days.  Most of the Red Letter Feasts are dedicated to early saints instrumental in the development of the church, others to special events.  Some days are particularly special and the Collect for that day is to be used for an octave (eight days) or an entire season, like Advent or Lent.

The Propers for today are found on Page 130-132, with the Collect first:

The Fourth Sunday in Lent.
The Collect.

G
RANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:

The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
The Collect.

A
LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

Dru Arnold read the Epistle for today, which came from the Fourth Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians beginning at the Twenty-First Verse.

Paul talks about the two sons of Abraham, one of the bond, one of the free.  These two, the bond under The Law and the free under The New Covenant.  The people of old are the people of The Law, 613 laws by which they must abide.  Perhaps more properly said in practice that they must work around or evade those 613.  Yet, they cannot comply with all the laws nor even work around them.  They are doomed to failure with no help from God.  As people of The New Covenant, the original and real New Deal, we have only to comply with two laws or rules; To love the Lord with all our hearts and to love our neighbor.  Actually, those two are much harder to fully comply with than avoiding the 613 laws of The Law.  But, we have the key – Jesus Christ.  He came to earth not only to lead us to heaven, from the front; but to be a propitiation for our sins, to make us account as perfect to God to allow us to come into His Land.

T
ELL me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not: break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Hap Arnold read this morning’s Gospel which comes from the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John beginning at the First Verse.


J
ESUS went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

Sermon – Reverend Hap Arnold - Time and Action
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.

 Consider these words from the Collect:

… we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved …

In the Collect, as is oft the case, we acknowledge to God our sad state, our evil nature, and then ask God to grant us His Grace to be relieved of being accounted as evil, rather accounted as perfect even though we are so far from perfect.  This is a constant refrain, so many of the collects have this same theme; we are imperfect, perfect only in our imperfection; yet God is with us and is willing to help us, but only if we let Him.  To let Him help us requires us to let Him into our hearts.

To gain eternal life, to leave this Shadowland world for the real world, the world of Eternal Life, God’s World, that is to say Heaven requires us to be perfect.  For only those who are perfect at the final accounting can gain entrance into heaven.  Inasmuch as we are imperfect and can only be accounted as perfect through God’s Grace of His Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Paul is right on point when he talks about the two sons of Abraham, one of the bond, one of the free. 

These two are representative of the two covenants with God, the bond under The Law and the free under The New Covenant. 

The people of old are The People of The Law.  Six Hundred Thirteen Laws each of which by which they must abide.  Perhaps more properly said in practice 613 laws that they must live around; not so much as comply with, but avoid breaking.  Yet, they cannot comply with all the laws nor even work around them.  They are doomed to failure with no help from God. 

The New Convenant is much less complex.  Remember this from Holy Communion:

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:

T
HOU shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Under the New Covenant, we have only two laws which we must comply with.  But, there is a catch.  We are not to just avoid breaking those laws, we must actually live them in our hearts, souls, minds AND bodies.  We must actualize them.

Hey!  That is way harder.  We are imperfect creatures with free will.  That is a combination doomed to failure.

True, but we have the Get out of Jail Free card – Jesus Christ the righteous and He is the propitiation for our sins!  Remember that?  He accounts us as perfect at our final accounting!

So, now that we know there are two choices, two covenants, we can choose either to be people of slavery, enslaved to sin and Satan, or to be free people, under God and Jesus.

We always have a choice, it is upon us to choose and decide. But we must pick a side.  As Rev Jack put it last week, “He that is not with me is against me.”  Middle ground exists, but it is quicksand.  Any feeling of safety there is illusory.  We must take sides.  And, we cannot keep with those who oppose the side we choose.

We cannot have one foot standing on the slavery side and one foot on the free side. We cannot just be fence sitters, we must have our feet planted on one side.  From rational viewpoint, there is only one side to pick, and that is the side of freedom, of the New Testament offered to us by Christ himself. As people of The New Covenant, the original and real New Deal, we have only to comply with those two laws or rules; To love the Lord with all our hearts and to love our neighbor.  While it is true that those two are much harder to fully comply with than avoiding the 613 laws of The Law, we have the key – Jesus Christ.  He came to earth not only to lead us to heaven, from the front; but to be a propitiation for our sins, to make us account as perfect to God to allow us to come into His Land.

Now, think about the Gospel.  When we need help, how about instead of worry, we substitute trust and action?  Trust that God will give us what we need.  And, then act based on what we can and should do, not what we want to do.  Acting on what we should do gets results.   These results may or not be obvious right away, but they will be soon enough. Whereas if you never do anything, you’ll never see any results of your actions, for you are doing exactly nothing. If one is disillusioned enough by the fact he does not need to do anything, I suppose it probably doesn’t matter to that person. But to those of us who feel the acute need to do something, if we do nothing, we are going to feel that lack of action. Therefore, we are compelled to act upon our faith. Perhaps not what we want right at the time, but certainly what we need then and in the eternal future.  In the middle of nowhere, two thousand years from the nearest McDonalds, the disciples looked to Jesus to fill the needs of their congregation.  Jesus took what they had and gave them what they needed; “for he himself knew what he would do.”  He acted to help them.  Do ye likewise:

ACT

It is by our actions we are known.

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God


Bishop Ogles’ Sermon
We are oft fortunate to get copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes.  Today is one of those Sundays.  Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always, it will give you a lot to consider in your heart.

Sermon Notes
Fourth Sunday in Lent
30 March 2014, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

The Fourth Sunday in Lent.
The Collect.

G
RANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:

The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
The Collect.

A
LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

The Epistle
Galatians iv.21

T
ELL me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not: break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

            When we read and study the matter of salvation, we are drawn to observe that Grace is the very key that opens the Door of Heaven. Grace precedes faith and profession. The Galatian Epistle for today bears this out in stark fashion (along with a host of other Bible passages). Yes, we are saved by grace, but that through faith. As we read in the Epistle to the Ephesians: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-10) If any component of salvation was keyed to some goodness in our own souls, then there might be place for boasting, but such is not the case. Grace is a component of God’s Mercy and not of our worthiness. Good works in no way save, but Grace saves unto good works. We are accounted good, and are able to do good and pleasing works, as a result of the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ issuing from His Love.

            Please remember two particular young men of Abraham’s day – Ishmael and Isaac. God had promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, yet, Abraham was without child. When God promises, the flesh tries to takes God’s place in fulfilling the promise. This was the case with Sarah who, in her advancing age, began to doubt that God was able to provide progeny for Abraham that He had promised – at least, not in the ways and means of grace. In Sarah’s mind, God needed a bit of help. So she gave her Egyptian servant maid, Hagar, to Abraham for the purpose of bearing him a son. Well, Sarah’s willful breach of faith worked in gaining for Abraham a son – Ishmael, the father of the Arab tribes. This was not at all in accord with the will of God, but was an act of free will of the flesh of Sarah. Sarah attempted to bring about the seed of promise by her own deed and not that of waiting on God. From that moment until today, there has not been peace among the Arab peoples, nor of the neighbors that are scattered about them in the Middle East.

            When the seed of promise was granted Sarah in her advanced age (99 years), he came truly by miraculous birth. He was a type and shadow of that coming miraculous birth of the Father’s own only Begotten Son, Jesus. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. From that sorrowful journey to Mount Moriah for the purpose of sacrificing his own only Begotten Son (by Sarah), God was demonstrating to those of the faith of Abraham that that sacrificial Lamb without Blemish would be provided by God to redeem us from our sins.

            It should be noted, too, that Isaac had no volition about being the child of the promise while he was yet in his mother’s womb. It was a thing foreordained by God. Can you fathom the deep and mournful sorrow of Abraham as he traveled to Moraih with Isaac? Though it may have been a most desponding trip for Abraham, yet he knew that God does all things well, and He would make the sacrifice a blessing in the end.
As Abraham and Isaac stood at the base of the mount of sacrifice (the same range upon which the Lord Jesus Christ was later sacrificed), “. . . Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” (Gen 22:7-8) Only in the Received Text Bibles is this truth revealed so powerfully. In the sentence structure, God is the subject, provide is the verb, and ‘Himself’ is that object receiving the action of the verb. “A Lamb of the sacrifice” is a modifying prepositional phrase for the pronominal object…..i.e. (to be, understood) a Lamb for the sacrifice).

            We learned from Abraham’s Mt. Moriah experience that God would not, and could not, take the son of Abraham or of any other man, as redemption for our sins. Out of His unmerited Love, God would, rather, provide His own Son as a Lamb for the Sacrifice. This He did on the mountains of Moriah 2,000 years ago.

            The Galatians may have been influenced in their thinking by Judaizers that they must obey the Law and not place their full faith in the grace of God. But if not, it is still in the nature of man to believe that he must save himself through good works. Truly, even a fervent Christian cannot do any good works at all. Whatever good we do is not our own works, but those of Christ working in, and through, us. Paul asked: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” It must be said that Jesus was, indeed, perfect in His obedience to the Law. But only He among all the sons of men was able. He even saved us through the Law in the sense that the justice of God was satisfied for us in His atoning sacrifice and death – for the wages of sin is death. Jesus took our sins upon His own sinless soul and died in our stead at Calvary. But He paid the penalty of the Law that we might be spared. The Law kills, but grace makes alive.

            “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.” Agar is the Greek pronunciation for Hagar. Even today, the children of Hagar (Arab peoples) are in bondage to the Law. They suffer amputations of limbs and stoning for the most meager of sins. Those Jews who practice their Old Testament obedience to the Law are no better in terms of salvation. Those who reject the benefits of Christ are in no wise chosen people of God. Only those who believe and receive the faith of Abraham are the true children of the promise. The Elect of God are born of the Free Woman (Sarah) by terms of grace and faith – the faith of Abraham. The fleshly DNA of Abraham is not a factor – only the faith that Abraham exercised. God does not place any credibility to race or blood in calling His children. All are condemned already in Adam; but all are made alive who accept the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are made bond-servants naturally through the Law, but we are made free only through the faith that Abraham possessed in looking forward to the ultimate Seed of Promise which was Christ.

            “For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.” It is a remarkable evidence of the veracity of God Word that the two faiths that depend upon obedience to the severity of the Law BOTH hold their heritage in present-day Jerusalem. I pray to be accounted a citizen – not of that filthy and treacherous little town called Jerusalem – but that immaculate and amazing City of Peace called New Jerusalem which descends down from Heaven. Dr., Schofield has deceived untold multitudes in his mischaracterization of this truth. Yes, and those, like Sarah, who are desolate, will have many more children of promise than Hagar who had a child through the works of sinful man and not of God.

            Who, then, are the chosen of God? Is it those who came by the way of the flesh and schemes of men, or those who receive that same promise given to Abraham of the Promised Seed (Jesus Christ)? “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.” The Jews erroneously believe that they are saved by the blood that courses through their veins and through their strict obedience to the Law. They find our reliance upon the grace of God abhorrent. They are yet in bondage. The Moslems are no different. They are dependent upon that blood that flowed through Ishmael’s veins to identify themselves as the chosen of a false god (allah). They are the true descendents of Hagar in whom there was no promise. Where are Christians persecuted more egregiously than anywhere else in the world? It is in the Moslem nations – the descendents of Ishmael of whom God said to Hagar: “And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” (Gen 16:11-12) This prophecy of God has been perfectly fulfilled. The Arab nations flock together today in the Middle East. They are constantly at war. If they are not fighting an enemy from without, they are fighting each other. You will note that the natures of both Ishmael and Isaac were foreordained of God ere these two saw the light of day.

            Here follows a deep thought expressed by Paul in the Book of Romans. It runs counter to the prevailing opinions of modern man: “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.  For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.   (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) (Romans 9:11)

            Note the result of Sarah’s indiscretion in providing Hagar to Abraham. Ishmael was saved in the flesh in the Wilderness. Isaac was saved in the spirit atop Mt. Moriah. Having been lain on an altar (all that touches the altar belongs to God), Isaac was saved as the special seed of promise to Abraham to walk in the ways of faith of his father Abraham – just as we are today. The Old Testament Church of Abraham was saved by that same faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as we are saved today.  They looked forward in faith to the redemption made available by the Son of God as we look back to the accomplished fact. Their faith had to be made of a sterner stuff than ours today. We have history AND faith to confirm our profession – they had only faith and promise. It was enough! “Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” Are you still in bondage to sin and the Law; or have you accepted the adoption made available by Christ into that Elect Family of God?
       
Roy Morales-Kuhn, Bishop and Pastor - St. Paul's Anglican Church - Anglican Orthodox Church
Bishop Roy is pastor of the biggest AOC parish West of the Mississippi and is in charge of the Diocese of the MidAmerica. 

Third Sunday in Lent
23 March 2014

Even though Bishop Jerry delivered the sermon last week Bishop Roy had written a really great one that he tried to get to the Sunday Report for four days.  Computers!  Anyway, here it is:

The Epistle: Ephesians 5:1-14                
The Gospel: Luke 11:14-28

                                             “Light and Darkness”

1. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.

St. Paul begins this passage with a command and request. The command is that we be followers of God. We are to strive to be like God in all our doings, all our days, always striving to please Him. The request, in the same concept Christ gave us when he was here, to do this command as ‘dear children’. Why as dear children ? The innocency and desire of children to please was what Jesus said we must do to become part of the Kingdom. We must enter the Kingdom as a child, with a faith that accepts the gift of God the Father just as the pre-fallen Adam and Eve did in the Garden. Innocency in accepting what God has done for us by sending His Son to die in our stead, that is what Jesus was telling us to be like.

In verse two we see the fulfillment of Christ sacrifice, which had been foreshadowed in the prophecies of the Old Testament. ‘An offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.’

From the time of Cain and Abel, the burnt offering, the smoke rising to heaven (symbolizing our ascending prayers) rising up to God, will be proscribed to foreshadow and predict the coming Christ.  This will be replicated again and again until the final once and for all great sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Now all will be fulfilled. As we approach the Holy Week and the great and glorious day of resurrection, let us remember what a great work this was and what a great promise for us it will reveal. Death will be deposed, death will be overpowered, death will no longer hold fear for those who are children of God.

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

The next five verses Paul explains who will not participate in the life everlasting in the Kingdom of God. The trade city of Ephesus in what is now modern day Turkey, was famous for great silversmiths. These artisans crafted some of the most beautiful statues of the Greek goddess Diana. There was a large temple in Ephesus dedicated to the worship of Diana. Part of that worship included purchasing these finely crafted statuettes of Diana to leave at the temple as a means of sacrifice. Being made of silver, they were most likely very expensive, thus adding to the concept of sacrifice.

Paul is pointing out the behavior of the average Ephesian as being so far removed from the Kingdom of God as to guarantee no access to that kingdom. He catalogs both individual sinful behavior and what was considered accepted corporate behavior, especially in cities where these Greek temples were located. If you think of it in a modern parlance, “what happens in Ephesus stays in Ephesus”. Travelers to these holy sites located all over the ancient world were expected to partake in the revelry and debauchery that was common to the city in question. Paul makes no bones about it, ‘...Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience...’  And then to emphasis the point one more time, Paul in verse seven says to not be partakers with them. Notice that it is a behavior that is corporate or accepted.

Today in our post-modern world we struggle with elements of the church that try to downplay the evil behavior of the world by saying things like; ‘...it is a victimless activity...’ ‘...no one is getting hurt...’  ‘... it is among consenting adults...’  And mind you this is from the so called Christian world.  St. Paul wrote that we are not to be partakers with them. 

Now after all what seems like gloom and doom, St. Paul now gives us a primer in what we should be doing. Let’s look at the next seven verses.

8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

What an interesting construct of words. ‘...ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord...’  The very activities made you darkness. Wow, that is some pretty heavy stuff. We know that people watch Christians very closely to see if they will mess up. They are ever vigilant in looking for flaws in a Christian’s conduct. So Paul writes that we were sometime darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord. What a great promise. What a great change. How do we stay in the light ? We must walk in the Light... ‘..walk as children of light..’  There is that theme of being a child again.  Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. All this that is proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.  Notice that it is in the form of a sacrifice. ‘...what is acceptable unto the Lord...’  

11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

Now we are to not fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but we are to reprove them. Understand that there are ways to show your disapproval of evil behavior. We must do it will meekness and gentleness. We must never appear as if we are holier than the sinner. Because in reality, we are sinners also, forgiven daily as we pray for such, but sinners none the less. So we should approach the idea that such behavior or unfruitful works of darkness are contrary to what we know is the truth. We need to explain that with gentleness. You will be rebuffed. You will be told to ‘...judge not lest ye be judged...’  A bit of scripture twisted out of context. If you look at what Paul wrote, by having no fellowship, by not even speaking of it, by not being partakers of such behavior...we are judging. Yes by not being part of it, we are making a judgement to avoid such behavior. Sorry folks, we have been told to stay away from such things...that in itself is a judgement call. We are to avoid evil, we are to flee from sin as Joseph fled Potiphar’s wife.

13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

So how then are we to live in this evil world ? Verse thirteen gives us a very simple prescription.

All things that are revealed by the light of the Gospel, the epistles, the Word of God are to be avoided. The light of God revealed by His Word (Jesus Christ) is what we are to flee. We are to live in the light, we are to grow in the light, we are to reveal that light to the lost world.
Verse fourteen can be understood in two ways. The spiritually dead are commanded to wake up, to arise from that death and they will be given the Light of Christ. And the other way this can be understood is those who have gone before into death (sleep) shall arise from the dead because of Christ and His glorious resurrection and He shall give them light.

As we reflect on these words that Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, let us apply them to our own spiritual journey. We are on the road to His Kingdom. We are taking theses forty days to reflect on that great event that took place outside the walls of Jerusalem that fateful, awful and yet wonder filled day, the day He took our sins upon his body, and he bore them so we would be free from the spiritual death we were born with.

May God richly bless the rest of this day and in the weeks to come and on into your continued journey to His Kingdom.   Amen

Let us pray:

O
 God, who dost ever hallow and protect thy Church; Raise up therein, through thy Spirit, good and faithful stewards of the mysteries of Christ, that by their ministry and example thy people may abide in thy favor and be guided in the way of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end.  Amen
Bishop Dennis Campbell’s Sermon
Bishop Dennis is a brilliant speaker.  He is able to take biblical precepts and make them perfectly understandable, even to me.  Oft he provides the text of his sermons and I take the utmost pleasure in passing them on:

The Bread of Heaven
Psalm 147, Exodus 16:4-15, John 6:27-40
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 31, 2014

The Fourth Sunday in Lent is variously known as Mid Lent Sunday, Mothering Sunday, or Refreshment Sunday.  It is traditionally a time to ease up on fasting and gain nourishment and refreshment.  It intentionally reminds us that our true refreshment comes not from what Christ called, “the meat which perisheth” but from Christ Himself, the Bread of Life.  The image is clear, as food nourishes and refreshes the physical body, the Bread of Heaven refreshes the soul.  So today I want to talk about Jesus, the Bread of Heaven.

The first thing we need to make plain here is that the nourishment of the body is a good thing.  You body is not evil, and your physical needs are not evil.  We may use the body for evil, and we may attempt to satisfy our needs in ways that are evil, but that is not the fault of the body or the need.  In John 6:32 when Jesus says “Moses gave you not that bread from heaven,” He refers to God giving manna to the Hebrew people in their journey from Egypt to Canaan.  You recall they were hungry, and there was nothing for them to eat in the desert, but God gave a miraculous bread to them and sustained them healthy and full.  Jesus is making the point that the manna/bread came from God, not Moses, and God also gives the true Bread of Heaven, Jesus Christ.  The point I want to make is that God did give the manna in the wilderness.  He did feed His people.  He did provide for their physical needs.  Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, said, “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Mt. 4:4).  But He did not say man shall live without bread, or housing, or clothing, or even amusements or possessions or things that make life comfortable and enjoyable.  In fact, He provides such things for us.

Some people dispute this.  They are like the man in the movie, Shenandoah, who prayed something like, “Lord, we plowed the fields and sowed the seeds and gathered the harvest.”  It is like he is saying, “God, we did it all with no help from you, but in honour of my wife I say a prayer before my meals.”  But who made the soil?  Who sent the sunshine and rain?  Who made the crops grow and the earth give the increase?  Who gave you the minds and the strength to till the earth and gather the harvest?  These things all come from God.

It is the same with us; God gave life to us.  God gave us the strength and minds to learn skills and do the work that enables us to gather wealth and build our houses and build our lives.  God cares about our physical well-being.  God provides for our physical well-being.  The Bread of Heaven feeds our bodies.

The second thing I want to make plain is that the Bread of Heaven came to feed our souls.  When Jesus, in John 6:35, says, “he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst,” He refers to the hunger and thirst of the soul.  Hunger is the sign of need.  Our bodies need food, and when our stores of nutrients begin to run low, we experience the sensation we call hunger.  Jesus is saying our souls need nourishment too, and our souls give us a sign of our need just as our bodies do. We call this sign by many names; emptiness, darkness, and angst are words that come to mind.  Jesus, in John 6:35, calls it hunger and tells us He is the Bread that comes from Heaven to feed our souls.

Jesus is essentially saying we hunger for God.  There is a yearning in us that only God can satisfy.  There is an emptiness in us, a hole in our existence only God can fill.  Augustine stated this well when he wrote, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our souls are restless till we find our rest in Thee.”  Our problem is that we often don’t want to find our rest in God.  We want to find it in toys, in pleasures, and in sin.  But these things don’t give rest.  In fact, they become burdens that weigh us down and keep us from God.  How wonderful it is, then, to hear the words of Christ, “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

This rest has many, many parts or facets.  There is peace with God because of the forgiveness of sins.  There is the new life in Christ, in which we begin to come out of the prison and death of sin and evil and live in the glorious good things of Christ.  These things point us to the ultimate rest, when Christ raises us up to be with Him in that place where all the toils and burdens of earth are gone forever.
--
+Dennis Campbell

Bishop, Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia
Rector, Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
Powhatan, Virginia
Rev Rick Reid of Saint Peter’s Sunday Sermon
We are happy to have a sermon from Reverend Rick Reid, minister of Saint Peter’s, whose congregation is right at the Worldwide Headquarters of the Anglican Orthodox Church.  Rev Rick has all the resources and challenges right at hand. 

We are not Children of the Bondwoman, but of the Free. Galatians 4:21-31
In our Epistle reading this morning, Paul uses an allegory to explain the difference between believers in Christ, and those who trust in the law. An allegory is the use of symbolism to which the apparent meaning of the characters and events is used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning. First, let’s review the text of the Epistle which comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the 4th Chapter, beginning with the 21st verse.

21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Paul is explaining to the Galatians that Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael and is using them as examples of the two covenants. The first covenant of the flesh is of bondage unto sin and death. The second covenant is of the spirit, and is of liberty and freedomBesides the literal and historical sense of the words, St. Paul points out much more. He explains Hagar and Sarah were excellent examples of the two different dispensations, or methods, to which God carries out His purpose towards man.

Hagar represents The Law, compliance with which is impossible, thus destined to bondage unto sin, which itself results in death.  Without the intercession of God, we cannot be accounted as perfect at the final accounting, no matter how many sparrows or lambs are offered as sacrifice for our sins. It takes more than that, it takes our Lord and Saviour, our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the Propitiation for our sins.

That leads us to the heavenly Jerusalem, the true church, which is represented by Sarah. The true church is in a state of freedom and is the mother of all believers, who are born of the Holy Spirit. They are, by regeneration and true faith, made a part of the true seed of Abraham, according to the promise made to him. Regeneration is the spiritual transformation in a person, brought about by the Holy Spirit that brings the individual from being spiritually dead to becoming spiritually alive. In other words there is a new birth or a second birth, also referred to as being born again.

So then, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. The privileges of all believers of Christ are so great, (according to the new covenant); it did not make sense for the new Gentile Christians to be under that law, which could not even deliver the unbelieving Jews from bondage or condemnation.  St. Paul, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, used this allegory in the history of Sarah and Hagar, as an explanation to all of God’s people.

The first covenant is of the Law; bondage unto sin, persecution, and death. The second covenant is of liberty and freedom, love and sacrifice.  Abraham did not have the patience to wait for God and His promise, so he turned to Hagar to fulfill God’s promise made to him. So it is possible, that we as believers may forget what Christ did for us on the cross, and begin to defer to our works, according to the law, and not of grace. When this happens there is a void created and that can never be filled, until that person returns to Christ once again.

It should be noted that nearly every one of St. Paul's letters contains a message on morality.  This was necessary because the Gentiles who converted to Christianity were unacquainted with Hebrew morality, and were involved in idolatrous activity.  This idolatry was perhaps most objectionable to Paul than because it inevitably led to immorality and to serving other gods. 

This is the Good News that we hear of!  Those who are born again of the spirit in Jesus, through the actions of the Holy Ghost, according to the grace of God, are heirs of the kingdom of God, according to the promise that God gave to Abraham.   Amen.

Rev Bryan Dabney of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon
We are fortunate to have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon.  If you want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, expouse the truth and live the truth.    This is really a good piece and I commend it to your careful reading.

Fourth Sunday in Lent

In the first verse of Genesis chapter one, we are presented with the very beginning of Creation. It is a verse that is full of power and majesty. I once heard this verse described as In-Your-Face Theology because God has left the reader with only two choices concerning its nature: either to accept his word as truth, or reject it as fantasy. And on account of its message regarding the origins of life, if a person cannot accept Genesis 1:1, he or she likely will not accept the other miracles found within the pages of the Bible.

In our gospel (St. John 6:5-14), our Lord exercised, on a smaller scale, that same power of creation as found in Genesis. He took five barley loaves and two small fish and fed a multitude with food to spare. Events such as this one stand as testimonies which confirm that God’s provision exceeds necessity. It is more than a mere subsistence. In the 23rd Psalm we read: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...my cup runneth over. And so it is fitting that in our worship, we will offer up to God our praise and thanksgiving for the many blessings which we have received at his hands. We accept Genesis 1:1 as truth because it speaks of God’s creative power. We also understand that it is the very beginning of God’s miraculous and awesome displays of his power as found within the pages of Scripture.

In that same book, we are informed that God made man in his image and after his likeness. We are further informed in Scripture that all things were made by him, and that through his will and pleasure we have been given material items as well as spiritual gifts. Whether it is bread and fish, or the gift of grace, everything from the clothes we wear, to the jobs we hold, to the education we have received, it all came from our good and loving God. Thus it is meet and right that we offer up to him thanks and praise, not only for what we are and what we have; but for what we will yet receive through the atoning work of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. What joy there will be for us in God’s heavenly kingdom, for we have his assurance that he has prepared a place for us there. That ought to stir our hearts and bring us to our knees in tearful praise to him who suffered so that we might live with him forever.

Returning to our gospel lesson, we find that our Lord fed the people both physically and spiritually. They had come into a desolate region to hear his words of truth and he had compassion on them for their apparent lack of sustenance. God does not lead his people into the wilderness to die. He provides for his own. Psalm 37:23-25 affirms this: The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. The spiritual aspect of our feeding comes in our hearing of God’s word written. As our Lord replied to the devil during his temptation in the wilderness, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (St. Matthew 4:4). Christ came to bring his own more than the bread of physical sustenance. He came to make us whole spiritually that we might be redeemed— cleansed from all unrighteousness— and made fit members of his body and joint heirs with him in God’s coming kingdom. And so by our being baptized of the Holy Ghost, we are assured of our salvation via God’s gift of grace (see Romans 8:1-17).

The church was established to provide for the spiritual and material well- being of those who have been born-again in Christ Jesus. Think for a moment about the work and witness of St. Paul. He had been sent on an evangelical mission to physically establish and spiritually feed the various flocks of our Lord within the Roman Empire under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Generally, though not always, he came, he set in order, he followed up as an overseer of the faith and he appointed just men to serve in like capacity prior to his departure for another locale. And those churches which he established were not left spiritually impoverished when the apostle moved on because they were nourished and enriched by the teaching and instruction of those whom the Lord had called into his service.

God sustains. God strengthens. God increases. It is all due to his efforts, his will, his choosing. We are but his servants whom he has called out of darkness into the glorious light of his gospel. Our duty is to serve, not to be served. We are to work within the church to materially assist any member of the body of Christ whom God has brought to our attention for such ministration. It is the church’s duty to look after its own, not the state, and certainly not the unregenerate of this world. Hear now the word of God, What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or a sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed, and filled: notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (St. James 2:14-17).

But let no able-bodied person lay back and become a burden on others for it is also written ...this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat (II Thessalonians 3:10). There is no room in Christ’s church for the slothful, the lazy and the unregenerate in spirit. If that seems harsh, it is not my word but that of the Holy Ghost via St. Paul for in the closing of his second epistle to the Thessalonians he said, And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. God’s sufficiency is for his own first, and then afterward, as the Holy Spirit leads you, contribute to those who are of the unregenerate that the Lord might call them too to salvation through your works.

So, when we consider our lesson today, we find that our God is our Creator, and Sustainer as well as our Redeemer. He will not lead us into a permanent state of privation and want, but into provision and abundance. And though at times we may experience such; nevertheless, we know that our God will see us through those times and will lead us to green pastures and still waters. He will turn our hunger into satisfaction and our lack into more than what we could ask or imagine, and all because he loves us. But one cannot know the fullness of his grace and the height and depth of his love without being obedient to his word. If you have not done so, ask him to turn your heart today that you too might experience the peace that only he can give, that love which is beyond all else, and that joy which comes with that blessed assurance of salvation unto eternal life. Please make that your prayer today.

Let us pray,

G
racious and loving God, who sent thine only begotten Son to serve as a sacrifice on our account; accept this our prayer of thanksgiving for those blessings which you have bestowed upon us through his atoning work; and this we ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour, and thine only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have a blessed week, Bryan+