The Propers for today are found
on Page 194-194, with the Collect first:
Fourth Sunday after
Trinity.
The Collect.
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O
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GOD, the protector of all that trust in
thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply
upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through
things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O
heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dru Arnold read the Epistle, which came from
the Eight Chapter of St. Paul‘s Letter to the Romans, beginning at the
Eighteenth Verse. Paul tells us that walking God’s path, though it may seem
hard at the time, is nothing compared to the reward we receive in heaven for
following God’s will. God gave us
free will, which if we exercise it properly, that is the will to overcome
temptation. What at first seems
like a constrained way of living, once actually lived is really perfect
freedom. If we overcome temptation
to do what we want and do what God wants, we will receive the gift of eternal
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
For until Christ, there was no delivery from the pain of worldly
existence; through Christ there is redemption of our souls and our resulting
bodily resurrection.
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I
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RECKON that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity,
not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that
the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not
only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even
we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body.
The Holy Gospel came from the
Sixth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the
Thirty-Sixth Verse. This is a
simple message, yet often misunderstood, with majestic language that brings the
message to a point of incredible sharpness. “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye
shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven; give and it shall be
given unto you… …Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into
the ditch?” “… why beholdest thou
the mote that is in the brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in
thine own eye? …How canst thou say
to thy brother, Brother let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when
thou thyself beholdest no the beam that is in thine own eye?” This is often quoted, but the following
sentence is left out, “Cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, then shalt
thou see clearly to pull out the more that is in thy brother’s eye.”
Only when we first take care of
our own spiritual health, look to our own relationship to God and evaluate and
improve how we follow His Word, we will be able to effectively spread the Word
of His love for us.
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B
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E ye therefore merciful, as your
Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not,
and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it
shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and
running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye
mete withal it shall be measured to you again. And he spake a parable unto
them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as
his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but
perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to
thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou
thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast
out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to
pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.
Sermon
– Time and Action
Today’s sermon discussed the Collect, Epistle and
Gospel. It is partially contained
in the forewords above.
Consider these words from the Collect:
… protector of all that trust in thee,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us
thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things
temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal…
God can only help us if we put our trust in Him, we
can never be strong, nor set aside to Him if we do not let Him be our
leader. If we will follow His
lead, we will pass through this world in good order and go on to the next in
eternal happiness.
Paul builds on this, telling us
that walking God’s path, though it may seem hard at the time, is nothing
compared to the reward we receive in heaven for following God’s will. God gave us free will, which if we
exercise it properly, that is the will to overcome temptation. What at first seems like a constrained
way of living, once actually lived is really perfect freedom. If we overcome temptation to do what we
want and do what God wants, we will receive the gift of eternal salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ. For
until Christ, there was no delivery from the pain of worldly existence; through
Christ there is redemption of our souls and our resulting bodily resurrection.
Luke presents a simple message,
yet one that is often misunderstood, with majestic language that brings the
message to a point of incredible sharpness. What we do to others is a good measure of how we follow
God’s Will and Direction. We are
expected to treat others as we would be treated. Our real earthly fortune, as well as are eternal lives, are
a reflection of our commitment to God.
We are so ready to condemn the
performance of others when our own is even worse. As Paul tells us, “all all short.” The operative word here is ALL. If we look to condemn and repair our own spiritual lives
before condemning others, we will be better suited to help them. Our beam before their mote.
For only when we have taken care
of our own spiritual health by looking to God for help to evaluate and improve
how we follow His Word, we will be able to effectively spread the Word of His
love for us.
And that is our job, to improve ourselves to
effectively spread His Word by example; our action, not our diction, is the
measure.
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. It will give you a lot to consider in your heart.
Sermon Notes
The Fourth Sunday after Trinity
1 July 2012, Anno Domini
Fourth Sunday after
Trinity.
The Collect.
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O
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GOD, the protector of all that trust in
thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply
upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through
things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O
heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1. In those days the multitude being very
great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and
saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the
multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to
eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to
their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with
bread here in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them, How
many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the people
to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and
brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them
before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and
commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and
they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that
had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
This passage is another
occasion of Christ feeding the multitudes as earlier revealed in Matthew 14:17
in which Christ fed 5,000. In this instance, there are about 4,000 people.
You think to
yourselves – 4,000! That is a large number of people to be fed! Is it really?
The Lord of Heaven has
created billions and billions of people to populate the world – all with
different faces and features, personalities and characters.
How many were not fed?
How many in Israel that day were not fed the Bread of Heaven (which Christ is)
because they did not bother to come into His Presence?
Matt 11: 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light.
Jesus Christ is the
Bread of Heaven! He is the Bread of Life!
We need earthly bread
to sustain our bodies which die at last, but we need the Bread of Heaven, the
Bread of Life, to sustain our spirits into eternity.
John 6: 32 Then
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the
true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from
heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him,
Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and
believe not. 37 All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will,
but the will of him that sent me. 39 And
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one
which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I
will raise him up at the last day. 41 The Jews then murmured at him,
because he said, I am the bread which came down
from heaven.
In those days
the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his
disciples unto him, and saith unto them Apart from Christ, we, too,
have nothing to eat . We are poor and hungry even if we are dressed in furs and
silk…..our souls are without nourishment without Him, and without Him, we die.
Jesus always has
compassion and knows our condition – the condition of our physical well-being,
and the condition of our hearts.
2. I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now
been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they
will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far
There is a time for
fasting and a time to eat. Eccle 3: 1 To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time
to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time
to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A
time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A
time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to
embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to
lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to
sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time
to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 9 What profit hath he that worketh
in that wherein he laboureth? 10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given
to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
I love the Reformed
approach to preaching. When we take the pure Word of God and allow it to speak,
there remains little for the Preacher to consider otherwise. The minister
is to proclaim the Word of God – not the Word of the preacher!
Jesus, seeing our
need, provides the resource to feed us. But we must be on the mountain with
Him. We must not be in Dothan playing around at the arcades, or at home
watching TV, or any other thing apart from being with Christ.
4 And his disciples
answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the
wilderness?
These men had already witnessed
the mighty works of God that Christ had performed. They had even previously
witnessed His feeding 5,000. How short our memories! Have we forgotten when we
deserved to fail, and God made us to succeed? When we should have been
humiliated but he spared us the shame?
When God speaks, do not
question His power to bring it to pass. It is not witnessing the miracles that
saves us – though we are saved miraculously – it is the Grace of God through
Faith in Him.
And he asked them, How
many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.
Seven was all they had!
Christ will help us, but He wants ALL our hearts and nothing held back. Though
we may possess little, Christ can magnify our resources both spiritually and
physically, to reach lost souls. We have little, but He possesses all things –
cattle on a thousand hills.
6 And he
commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves,
and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and
they did set them before the people.
When we will be fed by
Christ, we must become lowly. We must sit at His feet as Mary of Bethany – we
must humble our soul and spirit. Even Christ gave thanks to the Father for
bread – so must we express our gratitude to God for every blessing.
God provides the heavenly
Bread, we are His family to serve the younger ones in Christ – much like our
church meal: Every one pitches in to make the table ready and to restore the
dining room when finished with the meal.
7 And they had a few
small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
How often in life does the
provision seem inadequate, but the touch of Christ makes the ends meet. Even
when there are only a few small fishes, Christ will multiply the provision.
There will not only be enough, but left-overs as well. The left overs will
exceed the resources with which we began.
8 So they did eat, and
were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
We cannot always sit and eat
– there is a time to eat and a time to labour.
After being fed with Christ,
we must feed others. We must go out into the wilderness to find others who are
starving and lead them to the mountain of blessing. Just like St Andrew after
whom our church is named:John 1: 35 Again the next day after John stood,
and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith,
Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak,
and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and
saith unto them, What seek ye? They said
unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest
thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see.
They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about
the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and
saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the
Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called
Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Be a stone for Christ like
Peter, but also be a gatherer to Christ like Andrew.
Whom have you led to Christ
lately. Have you searched out the sorrowful, the deluged deluded of the world,
your brother, sister, father, mother?
He shall come for you. Be ready with the Oil of the Holy Spirit burning in your
Lamp. AMEN
Rev David
McMillan’s Independence Day Sermon
I commend the following sermon to you for
reflection upon the Liberties God has given us above every other nation of the
earth, as well as to consider the consequences of a lack of vigilance in their
preservation – Bishop Jerry Ogles
Sermon by the Rev David McMillan - 1st Presbyterian
Church-PCA – Florala, AL
Lamentations 3:21-33 (KJV)
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his
compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in
him.
25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that
seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the
salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it
upon him.
29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full
with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according
to the multitude of his mercies.
33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
When I was a seminary student in 1976, I had the marvelous opportunity
to work down town Philadelphia as a volunteer in the American Bible Society
(for my seminary was in downtown Philadelphia). There I operated an old
printing press and printed off Bible verses during our nation’s bicentennial
for people that stopped in. I would often take the subway or walk over to the
Liberty Bell and Independence Hall to go through the halls to see our nation’s
origin. Here I saw the actual place where our founders signed the Declaration
of Independence and the crack in the liberty bell with the inscription from
Leviticus 25:10, “ Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the
inhabitants therof..” I was in awe of these places. I am still in awe of our
nation and its principles and its founders who through rough times hoped in God
and did not give up despite the force arrayed against them. They were of the
spirit of Patrick Henry who in response to the unfair taxes of the colonial
British empire said, “ Give me liberty or give me death!”
I saw a picture yesterday of the American Bald Eagle in front of the
American flag with his head down. Someone put it on Facebook. I do not think he
was praying so much as crying. That is what I thought. Why was he crying? He
was crying just as Jeremiah did in Lamentations which we take a look at today
because the true nation of Israel was in exile. Jerusalem and Judah were
destroyed. The beautiful structures of the people’s places of worship were torn
down. The Chaldean army had down their work. How could this all happen ? “ How
doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a
widow! She that was great among the nations.” Lamen 1:1
The rabbis called this book, “Dirges” . It is a book of laments about
what has happened and a self-examination of the people which caused it. Here is
the reason, “ Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the
LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her
children are gone into captivity because of the enemy.” 1:5 Her transgressions
against the law and love of God are the reason. God does not act without
reason. “ The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts..”
1:4
We do not get it. Neither did the people of the Old Covenant. “
Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed…” 1:8 For this the
prophet does not shout. He does not pout. He mourns and He crys and He prays! “
O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.” 1:9 He
takes it personally. Imagine going to Philadelphia and not seeing the Liberty
bell and Independence Hall because they have been removed. Liberty is no longer
among us. Today we are fighting
such a battle for the soul of our nation and the liberty of its people. We are
fighting for the unborn who are slaughtered every day in our nation. We are
fighting to worship God as we believe and in the extension of our worship to
not have the interference of the government in works of charity in dictating
what religion should look like. This problem sounds a lot like what we started
with when the settlers left England because of this very problem. We believe in
the 1st amendment to
the Constitution.
What does it say? “The First Amendment (Amendment I) to
the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment
prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of
religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on
the freedom of the press, interfering
with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting
the petitioning for a governmental
redress of grievances.” Wikipedia. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Is there hope?
What should we do? What did Jeremiah say and do?
Yes, there is hope. In our reading today we heard it. “The LORD’s
compassions fail not.” 3:22 They are new every morning: great is thy
faithfulness.” Jeremiah could hope because he had hope in God. He knew “ The
LORD is my portion…I hope in him.” “ Though He cause grief, yet will he have
compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.” 3:32 We should not
lightly read over these verses. Even if the situation in our country does not
change we have hope. We have life. We have liberty. For our liberty is found in
God and His faithfulness. It does not come from men. Our portion is Him.
Therefore I hope. And if we can lovingly persuade those of the opposing view
that their liberty too does not start with themselves or their pleasures, but
in God, we will see our country and our churches prosper. It is not in
fireworks that burn for a moment but do not last. Even if we are the last to
say it, it will not matter. God’s Word and His truth march on. He will sweep
this generation away if it does not turn back to His laws and His love. We may
have to experience His judgment in disaster if we do not turn to our true
liberty.
So now is the time and the time is short. The time for liberty is upon
us. I do not want to walk thru Philadelphia and see a hollow display. In that
display of liberty of the bell and the Hall are true heroes of our nation who
fought and died for liberty. Can we do less?
Guest Commentary
from Bishop Pressey, Anglican Episcopal Church
The Emperor's New Clothes
and Professional Clergy
American society has come to venerate titles, degrees,
and credentials. Specialization garners much respect and adoration. But for
many titles and degrees, the reality is the "Emperor's New Clothes".
I have earned degrees and titles; yet because of experience in the "School
of Hard knocks", I look with reservation on anyone who is so enamored with
degrees and credentials that they hold their achievements as a badge of elitism
and status. I have seen stateside officers and noncoms who failed the test of
battle. I have seen school administrators who are consummate politicians; yet,
totally lacking in courage to administer with wisdom. Within the church, there
are pastors, priests, bishops, and even rabbis who are money and status driven.
Dedication and Service vs
Pride and Ambition
Part of the reason for inadequate behavior from
so-called educated people is that ambition overrides dedication to service.
There is a flaw in character. All too often schools of higher learning often
benefit the staff rather than the students. For example, when professors earn
sums in the hundred thousand dollar range and teach less than 12 hours per week
while extorting unconscionable fees from the student, there is a problem. It is
even more egregious when the courses are based on opinions and untested
theories and the earned degree has produced no saleable skills in the job
market. How many students waste their time earning a degree in general studies
or the softer and nebulous disciplines?
Some Seminaries are No
Different
Religious seminaries are even
more suspect when they develop curriculums that perpetuate theologies that are
inconsistent with Bible teachings. They are suspect when theological students
get the idea that they are all knowing and all wise. Nothing is so ridiculous
as when a seminary student graduates at 22 years of age and is an expert in
counseling, guidance, family affairs, finance, and human understanding.
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