Today was the third Sunday in
Advent, the period including the four Sundays before Christmas; the first
Sunday of which is always the nearest Sunday to the feast of St. Andrew (30
November). Advent is a season of preparation and penitence. We prepare
ourselves to celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas, but we also look
forward to his second coming. The
liturgical color for this season is purple reminding us of the Kingship of Jesus
and that Advent is also a season of penitential preparation. Rose-color may be
used on the third Sunday of Advent, signifying for us a lightening up of the
penitential nature of the season as we draw closer to Christmas.
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 –
Wise Devil
It is said that a preacher once
had a dream in which he was shown the abode of the lost. Here a company of
demons were discussing the best means for destroying the souls of men. One
said, "I will go to earth and tell them that the Bible is a fable, and not
of God." "No, that wont do," said another, "I will go and
tell them that there is no Saviour, no Heaven, no Hell." At these words a
fiendish smile lit up their faces. "No, continued another, that will fail,
you cannot make men believe that." At this the old Serpent arose himself,
and remarked, "I will journey leisurely to the world of men. I will tell
them that there is a God, a Saviour, a Heaven—yes, and a Hell, too, but I will
tell them that there is no need of being in a hurry; take plenty time":
and all agreed that he should go.
625 New Bible Stories and Illustrations
I want to tell
At the battle of Williamsburg, a
soldier who had the artery of his arm severed by a fragment of a shell, and was
fast bleeding to death, saw a surgeon going to the front for orders; and,
lifting his bleeding member, cried, "Doctor, please!" The surgeon
dismounted, bound up the vessel, and gave all possible relief. As he started
on, the man said, "Doctor, what is your name?" The reply was,
"No matter." "But, doctor," said the wounded man, "I
want to tell my wife and children who saved me.
625 New Bible Stories and Illustrations
Growing Up
“Aslan, Aslan. Dear Aslan,”
sobbed Lucy. “At last.” The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy
fell, half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent forward and
just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all round her. She
gazed up into the large wise face.
“Welcome, child,” he said.
“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.” “That is because you are older, little
one,” answered he. “Not because you are?” “I am not. But every year you grow,
you will find me bigger.”
Jack Lewis
Prince Caspian
Many sorrows shall be to the
wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
Psalm 32:10
A good man out of the good
treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things...
St. Matthew 12:35
Be ye therefore merciful, as your
Father also is merciful.
St. Luke 6:36
For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are
one.
I St. John 5:7
All that are unsanctified have a
rooted antipathy to godliness and godly people.
Matthew Henry
17th and 18th
century English pastor and author
The Great Depression was a
government failure, brought on principally by Federal Reserve policies that
abruptly cut the money supply; unit banking laws that made thousands of banks
more vulnerable to failure; Hoover’s tariffs, which throttled trade; Hoover’s
taxes, which took unprecedented amounts of money out of people’s pockets at the
worst possible time; and Hoover’s other policies, which made it more difficult
for the economy to recover. High unemployment lasted as long as it did because
all the New Deal policies that took more money out of people’s pockets,
disrupted the money supply, restricted production, harassed employers,
destroyed jobs, discouraged investment, and subverted economic liberty needed
for sustained business recovery.
Jim Powell
20th and 21st
century American economist
(FDR’s Folly,
p.267)
So what did the Crusades
accomplish? They bought Europe time— time that might have meant the difference
between her demise and dhimmitude and her rise and return to glory. If Godfrey
of Bouillon, Richard the Lionhearted, and countless others hadn’t risked their
lives to uphold the honor of Christ and his Church thousands of miles from
home, the jihadists would almost certainly have swept across Europe much
sooner. Not only did the Crusader armies keep them tied down at a crucial
period, fighting for Antioch and Ascalon instead of Varna and Vienna, they also
brought together armies that would not have existed otherwise...
Robert Spencer
20th and 21st
century American author
The Politically
Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), p. 160
Propers
The Propers are found on Page
93-94, with the Collect first:
The Third Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first
coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the
ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready
thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable
people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy
Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
The propers for the First Sunday
in Advent can be found on Page 90-92:
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY God,
give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the
armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus
Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall
come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may
rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and
the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
The Epistle for today came from Paul’s first letter
to the Corinthians, the Fourth Chapter beginning at the First Verse.
Paul calls on those who would be the ministers of
Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God to be good and faithful stewards
leading their flock rather than commanding from the rear. He tells them not to be fearful of the
judgment of man. In fact, he tells
he is not concerned of the judgment of men, or even that of himself, but rather
that of God. God knows our hearts
and when He judges, He “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and
will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have
praise of God.”
Let it be fully understood that when Paul writes of
ministers and stewards, he is talking of each of us, not just those who are
“ordained ministers.” We each must
be good and faithful stewards of the gifts God has entrusted to each of
us. We each must help those around
us benefit from the gifts which
are freely given.
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ET a man
so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries
of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But
with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s
judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing against myself;
yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to
light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
The Gospel for today came from the Gospel according
to Saint Matthew, the Eleventh Chapter, beginning at the Second Verse. Now when John the Baptist “had heard in
the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto
him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” John was Jesus’ cousin and the one who
baptized Him and heard God say, THIS IS MY SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED.” Yet, he and the rest of the Jews of the
time expected the Messiah to come into Jerusalem in triumph, sit in the temple
and rule, commanding, nay compelling the Romans to leave. No doubt marveling at the question, for
it was asked of Him who had performed countless genuine miracles, healing the
blind, the deaf the lame, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John
again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised
up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever
shall not be offended in me.” As
John’s disciples parted, Jesus talked to those about him. He asked them concerning John, “What
went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what
went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear
soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet?” He was counseling them, trying to help
them fully understand the implications of what was around them. He was there! So, he explained that John was not “just” a prophet, but the
messenger of God, the man with the flag running before the locomotive. He went on, “For this is he, of whom it
is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee.” Because
Jesus came into this world, not to be the King of the Present, but rather the
King of that to Come.
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ow when John had
heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said
unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus
answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do
hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the
gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in
me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning
John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they
that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see?
A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of
whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall
prepare thy way before thee.
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
Third Sunday in Advent
14 December 2014, Anno Domini
The Third Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first
coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the
ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready
thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable
people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy
Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of
Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him,
Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and
said unto them, Go and shew John again those things
which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the
lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor
have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the
multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into
the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft
raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say
unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my
messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not
risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of
John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the
violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law
prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is
Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like
unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17
And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have
mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say,
He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and
drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (Matt 11:2-19)
John the
Baptist has been imprisoned for a terrible crime – that of proclaiming the
truth. He had told King Herod that to live in concupiscence and adultery by
marrying his brother, Philip’s wife – Herodias. Can you imagine? Today, John
would be accused of that disarming act of being “too judgmental” yet John
simply proclaimed God’s judgment from His Word! We walk daily among many Herods
and Herodiases who would, if they could, cast us into prison for revealing
their sinful lives to them. “For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon
John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife:
for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee
to have thy brother's wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and
would have killed him; but she could not: For Herod feared John, knowing that
he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did
many things, and heard him gladly.” (Mark 6:17-20) If you cannot abide the message, then by all means kill the messenger.
The messenger is killed today by accusations of being too judgmental; thus the
church has become sterile and impotent in dealing with sin. Instead of being
salt and light to the world, the church has heard the world and agreed not to
judge against the sins of the world.
What is the
first characteristic of John the Baptist that comes to mind when his name is
mentioned? For me, I think of a Voice Crying in the Wilderness – “For this
is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
(Matt 3:3) What is this Wilderness?
Wilderness - a wild or uncultivated state. (Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary) The greatest and most desponding of
wildernesses is not geographic, but spiritual. Bread and water are in short
supply in a geographic wilderness, but so, too, in a spiritual one – there is
lacking the Bread of Heaven and the Water of Life on the neon-lit streets of
most American cities. As one walks those streets, he sees a wanton decadence
and lust in the vacant faces of those he meets. There is no one with which he
can fellowship concerning the riches of Christ for all are spiritually
penniless. On those streets, the only mention of Christ is as a ‘Voice Crying
in the Wilderness.’
The text
today falls into two sections. The first: reveals a faltering faith of the
great witness (John) and Christ’s gentle response to this man of faith. (verses 2-6) The second: Christ provides a witness to
John of the truth of His ministry. We are not to consider John weak in faith
for that is clearly not the case. John has been imprisoned and treated with
dishonor. His life is in peril daily, yet he continues to believe under harsh
conditions that exceed our ability to comprehend. But any of us have moments
when we need a reassuring word, and this is the moment when John sends for
confirmation.
“Now when John had heard in the
prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him,
Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” This is not for
the benefit for John’s disciples, but for his own comfort of reassurance. He is
giving his very life on preparing the way for Christ’s ministry, so a
reassuring word under these circumstances is reasonable. John is in prison in
the gloomy fortress of Machaerus that Herod had built to serve as a sinful
pleasure house and an impregnable fortress in the savage hills of Moab. The
halls of pleasure and impregnable walls have collapsed, but the dungeon area is
still discernible with the holes in the masonry to serve as witness of the
chains of its victims (John included).
“Jesus
answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do
hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the
gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in
me.” Christ gently gives counsel to John’s disciples to go and give
testimony of all that has been prophesied and fulfilled in the ministry of
Christ. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the
deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the
tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 35:5-6) “The
Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach
good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that
are bound.” (Isaiah
61:1) These are prophecies
written seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, so we are emboldened in
our faith to see their complete fulfillment – so was John. I love that phrase
from Isaiah regarding the proclamation of Liberty to the captives. As a nation,
God has favored our founding and our place as a nation among the nations of the
world; but He has also made available to every man and woman of every land this
Liberty from the captivity of sin if they will but come to Him. Jesus tells
these things to John’s disciples so that John will have his faith confirmed,
but to us, too!
“And as
they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What
went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what
went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear
soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet?
yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.” These are all
questions whose import is every whit as directed to us today as to the
disciples around Jesus. When we go to prayer service, do we go to see some
amazing performance of a man preacher? These services are seldom called prayer services today, but
more often ‘Celebrations” or “Festivals.” Such terms describe experiences
intended to uplift man; prayers and worship uplift Christ! Do we expect our
clergy to wear the latest fashion in clothing? My father told me any man given
to frequent changes of fashion in attire is also likely to be blown about by
every wind of doctrine. We have evangelists today clothed in $2,000.00 suits,
wearing great diamond rings, and sporting gold, Rolex watches appealing for
“seed money” from widows and elderly who barely can supply their pantries with
bread. I can almost smell the scorched fires of their punishment to come. John
is no mere prophet, but the chosen messenger of God to herald the coming of His
only Begotten Son!
“For this is he, of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before
thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not
risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (see also Malachi 3:1) Christ extols
the virtues of John after his disciples depart. He desires that no honor be
lost of John’s character in sending his questions to Christ. The character of
Christ is quite different from that of men: Christ gives acclaim to the Baptist
after his disciples have departed. Man gives flamboyant acclaim to men to their
faces, but often critical stabs to their backs. Though John stands high above
the mark in the company of men, he is well short in the Kingdom of Heaven to
which he aspires – as are all of us.
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the
kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all
the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” The battle is hot
and the mournful cries of the battlefield are full of the painful suffering of
the saints. The path to the Kingdom is not a self-willed, demonstration of
manly power (as is today in the modern church), but a gentle following of that
Great Shepherd of the Flock. The wolves stalk the flock seeking every
remunerative opportunity to shed blood and get advantage. This describes the
Kingdom of Matthew 13:31-32. Those ‘birds’ lodging in its branches are demons,
and they most often win the higher positions of honor in the tree.
“And if
ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to
hear, let him hear.” Christ is generous in sharing great mysteries
to those whose ears are open in humble faith to hear. Amazingly, the worldly
wise can never grasp the simplicity of truth uttered by Christ. But if we have
ears (open ears, believing ears, trusting ears, hearing ears) to hear (not just
the Words but the Spirit speaking) understand these mysteries. “Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse.” (Mal 4:5-6) Please note
the last word of the Old Testament: CURSE. The law is a curse to those who do
not believe. Note the last word of the New Testament: AMEN (hearty approval). “Even
so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
(Rev 22:20-21) There is a glorious difference in our
prospects from the Old to the New Testament. Jesus Christ makes ALL the
difference!
“But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like
unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And
saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto
you, and ye have not lamented.” Donald Frasier wrote (in Metaphors
of the Gospel) that Jesus “pictured a group of little children playing at
make-believe marriages and funerals. First, they acted a marriage procession;
some of them piping on instruments of music, while the rest were expected to
leap and dance. In a perverse mood, however, these refused to respond, but
stood still and looked discontented. So the little pipers changed their game,
and proposed a funeral. They began to imitate the loud wailing of Eastern
mourners. But again they were thwarted, for their companions refused to chime
in with the mournful cry and to beat their breasts.” These non-participating
children are non players. They never like the tune or the narrative, but stand
jeering on the sidelines. Have our churches become such dead events of
observation?
“For John
came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man
came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a
winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her
children.” The world will always find cause to condemn the people of
God and to kill the prophets. Either they are too pious, or they lack piety;
either they are too hot, or they are too cold; either they are too bold, or not
bold enough; either they are too spiritual, or not spiritual enough. If we are
the Children of Wisdom, we shall have ears that hear and know. We dare not
stand on the sidelines jeering, but become active responders to the pipe. “The
Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to
speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he
wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear,
and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.” (Isaiah 50:4-5)
Are we
rebellious children jeering those who labor, or are we those who, taking to the
plow, never cast an eye right, left, or back, but plow a straight row for
Christ? (Luke
9:62)
Sermon - Rev Jack Arnold
Church of the Faithful Centurion -
Descanso, California
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and
Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.
The
Third Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first
coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the
ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready
thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable
people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy
Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
In the Collect for the Third
Sunday in Advent, we are referred to as the ministers and stewards (caretakers)
of the mysteries of God: the Scriptures and His Word. We ask for help in
getting the hearts of the disobedient, by the wisdom of the just, to turn and
look to the Kingdom of God for answers and not this world. In view of the recent events, how
timely can this prayer be? When we
look to the world for solutions, we find the solutions of this world. This world, ruled by the Prince of this
world, the Prince of Air, the devil himself! But, what will people think when we reject worldly solutions
to worldly problems. There is an
answer for that, conveniently following the Collect.
In the Epistle, Paul says that we
must not fear of what others would think of us, but rather be concerned about
what God would think of what we are doing and what direction he wants us to go
in. Rather than fear man, we must switch to fearing God, and doing what He wants.
Then perhaps maybe, some in this world will see what we are doing for Him and
come to know Him and join Him. We will never get anywhere if we follow the ways
of this world. As in John 1:11-13 “He came unto His own and His Own received
him not. But as many as received
Him, to them he gave the power to become the Sons of God, even to them that
believe on His name. Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of
God.”
If we are born of God, then it is
He to whom we must return and not man. As the verse from John points out, even
Jesus came to us and we refused him, so how can we expect any better treatment
from man, than of God Himself, who came down for us? But the next part of the verse, tells us what we will get if
we join with him. He gave us the power to become the Sons of God, as we are his
children. He is giving us our eternal inheritance, if we will but follow Him.
We are going to get an absolutely wonderful reward, if we do our very best to
follow Him.
In the Gospel, Christ asks the
crowd of what they expected to see?
Some great big flashy sign He was going to overthrow the Romans and
unite the Jews to conquer the world?
No, He did not come to do this, for that would be only a temporary and
in fact temporal thing to rule the world.
He came for far more than that; to prepare our hearts for eternity and
change us from unjust to just creatures, worthy of God’s creation and His
Hands. He came to mould and to shape us from being roughly made to something very
valuable. He came to transform us from death to being truly alive in all of the
senses of the word.
To be worthy of the charge and
care of His mysteries, we must willing to listen to Him and do whatever we need
to do to line ourselves up with what He wants for us, not what we want for
ourselves. We must think of
others, instead of thinking of ourselves all the time. I must confess that I am guilty of
this, but I am always working on trying to reverse this, as we must, in order
to walk with Him. We must be willing to never give up and persevere; if we
follow this, we will keep getting better and better all the time.
Life is a continual process of
learning in every aspect of our lives, not least of these aspects is our
spiritual growth and development.
The Japanese have a word for this, introduced into their industry by the
American engineer W. Edwards Deming, Kaizen (改善) that is to
say continuous improvement. Never
perfect, but always endeavoring to improve. Day by day.
To care for the mysteries of God
properly, we must keep learning in our spiritual lives and if we do this, we
will keep growing more and more every day. Reading the Scriptures is one way to further our spiritual
development, as well as helping others without thought for ourselves. We must
keep doing a combination of these and similar things, if we expect to be able
to facilitate our spiritual growth and change the minds of the disobedient and
the unjust. We have to undergo our spiritual rebirth before we can help to
transform others and to serve others. We need to have the mental state that
only the Holy Ghost can give us, to do this. We must keep trying our best to
improve and learn from the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit and to trust in God
and dread naught.
As He came to change us for the
better, Paul and the Collect remind us to do the same for the others. We have to keep trying to help our
friends and family and to do our best to do so, while shining the light of
Christ as His ambassadors. We know not what seeds we plant when we perform such
actions and in a future time they may bear fruit.We often resist this change,
when perhaps we should not. We must put our hearts and minds together and think
about what God wants us to do in the end rather than what we want to do. Put
God first and all will be well, is what can be taken from today’s collects and
lessons, ultimately. We must be willing do to this, then we can be properly
caring for the mysteries of God.
Heaven is at the end of an
uphill trail. The easy downhill
trail does not lead to the summit.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
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:
Ministers and Stewards
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Third Sunday in Advent
December 14, 2014
The Church in Corinth is divided. It is divided over the gifts of the
Spirit. It is divided over
ministers. It is divided over status in the Church. Most of all it is divided over the Gospel. Therefore, it is divided over how to be
the Church. Let me say that again, a little differently, for it is very
important. The Corinthians do not
understand Christ, therefore, they do not understand how to be Christians,
therefore they are a house divided against itself.
Paul
loved the Corinthians. In spite of
their many failures, they stood solidly on the side of Christ, even in the face
of violent opposition and persecution.
Paul visited them at least twice, and wrote to them between visits. He wrote First Corinthians in 57 AD
from Ephesus. It was followed by
Second Corinthians, which was written in Philippi shortly before Paul’s second
visit to Corinth. Paul deals with their
divisions throughout the letters.
The passage we are looking at today deals with the division over
ministers by addressing the nature and calling of the ministry in Christ’s
Church.
What he writes will seem strange to people in
our time, when ministers are expected to be able to raise a following by
creating a personality cult. We
live in an era of celebrity adoration, and we expect our ministers to be
celebrities. We even expect that
of church musicians, and we talk about Christian music “stars.” Therefore, most churches don’t care
much about their minister’s theology.
They care about his speaking ability. They don’t care much about what he says in his sermons, as
long as he says it in a way that excites people and makes them feel good about coming
to their church. They want candy
and sugar, not meat and vegetables.
By contrast Paul says “Let a man so account of
us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” Minister, here means to be a
slave. Steward refers to a slave
who is given charge over a specific part of his master’s property. Nehemiah was a steward in the house of
the king of Persia. He had two
jobs. First, he tasted the kings
wine. This was done to ensure that
the wine was good enough to please the king. It was also a safety measure. If Nehemiah drank the wine and lived, the wine was probably
not poisoned, and the king would drink it. If the wine killed Nehemiah, the king appointed another wine
steward. The second part of
Nehemiah’s job was running the king’s wine cellar. He probably supervised
the entire wine making process from purchasing the grapes to distilling
them into wine, to storing the wine, to getting only good, non-poisoned wine to
the king. Nehemiah, then, would
have had supervision of many other slaves in the performance of his duties. The
best Old Testament example of a steward is Moses. He was steward of Israel under their common Master,
God. In a similar way the New
Testament minister is a servant of God who is given charge over some portion of
God’s possessions.
Part of the minister’s stewardship is of “the
mysteries of God.” One of the
greatest gifts of God to His Church is the feast of the Lord’s Supper. We usually refer to it as “Holy
Communion.” After we gather at the
communion rail, after we receive the symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ
broken and shed for us, we pray together what is often called the Post
Communion Prayer or the Thanksgiving Prayer. I love this prayer.
It seems to summarise everything Holy Communion means and everything God
does for us in it. It also seems
to express my heart and my thanksgiving at the wondrous gift of God’s Son. We are a small congregation, and I like
to pray it while we are still kneeling together before the Table. I love the symbolism of kneeling
together before God. In that
prayer we say something very profound;
we thank God for the holy mysteries we have just received.
One of the things I like most about our
liturgy, after the fact that it is the Biblical way of worship followed from
the very beginning, through the Old Testament, through Christ, through the
Apostles, and through the New Testament Church, is the way it conveys something
of the mystery of God. God is
mysterious. There is much about
Him and His ways that are beyond human ability to understand. It has been said God is like an
unquenchable light, hidden in impenetrable darkness. That sounds contradictory, but it is more like a great
mystery, which we know, yet we don’t fully comprehend. Many people dance into the House of God
as though going to a party or a sporting event. I am glad we preserve the sense of the mystery of God, who
comes to us in chariots of light drawn by clouds of darkness.
We know almost intuitively what these mysteries
are. They are the means by which
God makes Himself known. More
specifically they are the Bible, the Church, the preaching and receiving of the
Bible, Holy Communion, Holy Baptism,
and our calling to be His people and Body. In short, they are the means of grace. God has called His ministers to be
stewards of these things. It is
the minister’s task to dispense them according to the needs of God’s people,
and according to the directions of God.
Note that we are stewards of the mysteries “of
God.” The mysteries do not belong
to the minister any more than the church belongs to him. I often hear ministers talk of “my
church,” “my vestry,” or, “my altar guild.” I hear Bishops talk about “my clergy,” or “my
churches.” I cringe inside when I
hear these things, and I try not to say them. The church is not mine and the
diocese is not mine any more than the Bible is mine. I do not own them.
I serve them for God. As
His steward, or, overseer, I have no small amount of authority, but I only have
authority to do as God directs in His word. And every servant under my stewardship can go straight to
God at any time to see whether I am following God’s directions or not.
This brings us to the requirement of
stewards. 1 Corinthians 4:2 makes
it very clear; “it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful.” Our Lord told a parable that is found
in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Since our daily Bible readings this week are in Mark, let’s
use his report as we refer to it.
It is about a man who builds a vineyard and leaves men in charge of it
while he travels to “a far country.”
When the harvest comes, the owner sends servants to retrieve his portion
of the profits. But the stewards,
called husbandmen, beat the servants, and send them away empty. The owner, of course, represents
God. The vineyard is Israel. The servants are prophets, and the
husbandmen are the priests and pharisees.
Three times the owner sends servants; three times the husbandmen beat
them and send them away. Finally,
the owner sends His Son. Do the
husbandmen repent? Do they honour
the Son? Do they send the owner
His due? No. They kill the Son. Who does the Son represent? Jesus Christ. The point is that many of the ministers in Old Testament
Israel were unfaithful stewards.
They acted as if the vineyard belonged to them. They used it for their own
enrichment. They made the vineyard
serve them instead of serving the vineyard for God.
Compare them with the Apostles. Paul, for example, said he gladly spent
and was spent for the good of the Church.
His joy was to give himself to the Church in the service of God. He died a martyr in Rome. John wrote Revelation from prison. Why was he jailed? For the Gospel of Christ. For being a faithful steward of the
mysteries of God. Peter was
tortured to death by crucifixion.
Before his death he wrote, “I think it meet, as long as I am in this
tabernacle (body) to stir you up by putting you in remembrance.” Remembrance of what? Remembrance of the
Gospel of Christ; remembrance to give diligence to make sure your calling, that
you may have entrance into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. He will do this as
long as he is in this tabernacle, “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my
tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me.” Peter is saying, as long as I live I
will put you in remembrance of Christ. And for doing this I am going to die
soon, by crucifixion, just as Christ said I will. He was a faithful steward.
This is the calling of the minister. His calling is not to be an activities
director. His calling is not to
please the crowds by watering down the Bible. His calling is not to change the faith or practice of the
Church to make it more appealing to the un-churched. His calling is to be a faithful steward of the mysteries of
Christ.
John the baptizer was faithful. His task was to prepare the way of the
Lord. In a sense, that is still
the minister’s task. We prepare
the way of the Lord into the hearts and lives of His people. We do this by faithfully administering
the mysteries of God. We prepare
the way of the Lord by teaching people to be ready for the Lord’s Return. And so I come to the conclusion of this
sermon; are you ready? We do not
know when He will come for the world; we do not know when He will come for us
individually.
We can only know if we are ready or not. Are you ready?
+Dennis
Campbell
Bishop,
Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia
Rector,
Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
Powhatan,
Virginia
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
Epiphany.
Third Sunday in Advent
Birth of Jesus Foretold
Psalm 85 •
Mal. 3: 1-5 & Ch 4 • Luke 1:1-25
As we reflect on the passages of the Word of God that
we have heard selected for this the third Sunday in Advent...think
fulfilment. The Word
was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus those long years ago, time and again we
have been pointed to this event in history, now it is done.
One of the interesting things that happened during
this first coming, the birth of Christ; it happened, some people were aware of
the event, others went about their day to day lives without any clue to the
happenings.
Look at the last couple of verses of Ps. 85, vs
8-13
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak:
for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not
turn again to folly.
9 Surely
his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and
peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness
shall look down from heaven.
12 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our
land shall yield her increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in
the way of his steps.
Notice
the following phrases, peace unto
his people,
“.... salvation is nigh them;
mercy and truth are met together
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other...”
And then an interesting promise; “The Lord will
indeed give what is good, and our
land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way
for his steps.”
In these last verses of Psalm 85 we see all the
prophecy of the coming Messiah noted and certified. David is pointing to the fulfillment of the promises made in
the Covenant between God and his people. Salvation, mercy, truth, righteousness and PEACE all
promised to that generation that will witness the time of Christ on earth. That fulfillment will
continue to the present with all who profess the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ.
In this verse as well as in Malachi both refer to
John the baptizer, the cousin of Jesus; elsewhere we can read passages that
speak of preparing the way of the Lord.
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he
shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
Ironically, a group of displaced Jews from the times
of Daniel will pour over all types of sacred script to see what might be
revealed in an astronomical happening.
I speak of the Magi. They
had been watching the heavens as they generally did when they noticed a new
light, a new star, so they try to figure out what it means and are able to
surmise that it was announcing the birth of a king. Interestingly enough, God didn’t always use His
word, there were signs and wonders, “...the Heavens declared the Glory of
God...” as the 19th Psalm begins.
But the people of the book, the Hebrews, should not
have been ignorant, unless someone wasn’t teaching them.
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for
thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou
shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have
joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be
great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the
children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go
before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers
to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord.
Zechariah, John the baptizer’s father, knew that the
birth of his son was special, he will sing his song of praise.
Simeon, a righteous man, will approach the earthly
parents of Jesus at the temple grounds and will praise God for allowing him to
see the Salvation of Israel in the person of this baby Jesus.
We can see that there were people in Jesus early life
who did understand who he was, they did understand why he was here. But you also notice that the Spirit of
God was upon them, they didn’t do this on their own. They did need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to
allow them to see what was before them.
How do we reveal Christ to others ? In today’s world there are many
silent and non-invasive ways to let others know that Jesus Christ is in control
of your life.
You can live a life to the best of your ability or
you can ask God to use you to the best of the talents that He gave you.
We can share God’s love with others without having to
beat anyone over the head with a Bible.
We can show others that God is in us by example, by
trying to be the person that God would have us to be, and most especially
asking God to forgive us and renew us DAILY in the likeness of His Son, Jesus
Christ.
It isn’t easy.
There are plenty of things, events, people, and others issues that can
make us angry, discouraged, depressed, or act just down right
unchristlike. It is so much easier
to give in to our self and not try to behave or be Christ like. We must pray daily for a renewed
spirit of faithfulness and a renewed sense of our total inability to do it
ourselves, we need His help to do the job.
Why are these passages of scripture so important to
us today. We are living in a
time of history where there are many who are ignorant of the Word of God, they
do not know who Jesus is and why he came to dwell with us so many centuries
ago. The times are similar
to times when Jesus first came as a little baby. We are living in a darkened world. It is time to reveal the Light to the
world, it is time to take the message of Christmas to those who are perishing
without it. Let
our light shine before the world, they need to see and understand what hope is,
the hope of salvation that was promised so many years ago. That hope which we have because
we know that Christ died for our sins, it is He who took our lost souls and
brought them to the Kingdom which has no end. Amen.
Let us pray:
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ather God please help us to relate
and understand your Word and to translate it in this season of hyper busyness,
let us try to pause and reflect on the great Gift that You sent us, the
perfect, once and for all sacrifice for our sins, the only begotten Son of God,
Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer.
We ask that you be with all those who are lonely, afraid, cold, hungry,
and without salvation, bringing them the Light of the World, most especially at
this time of the year.
Help us to be the bearers of Good News, to be a small
light in the great darkness that surrounds us, to make us salt and light to the
world. These
things we ask in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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LMIGHTY God,
give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the
armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus
Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall
come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and [the]* dead, we
may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
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LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first
coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the
ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so pre pare and make ready
thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable
people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy
Spirit ever,* one God, world without end. Amen.
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Lord, support us all the day long of this
troublous life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy
world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in
Thy mercy grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.
Third Sunday in Advent
John the Baptist was born into a priestly family. He was a miracle
child in that his conception and birth brought him to parents well past the age
for such things. He was also a cousin of our Lord through his mother’s side of
the family (St.
Luke 1:5-25, 39-45 and 57-80).
Like our Lord, John the Baptist’s early life is a closed book. We next hear
about him in the gospels in his role as the forerunner of whom the prophet
Isaiah spoke (Isaiah
40:3-11) and which was fulfilled
as noted in all four gospels (St. Matthew 3:1-12; St. Mark 1:1-6; St. Luke 3:10- 18; St. John
1:19-27), for in these we are
told of his calling to proclaim the coming of the Messiah and to baptize those
who came to him seeking remission of their sins.
Observe the manner of baptism and the preconditions for it: water with
repentance. The Jews had pools called mikvahs, which they used for ritual
bathing prior to entering the Temple precincts. And so it was not uncommon for
them to immerse themselves, either whole or in part for religious purposes.
Ergo, these baptisms performed by John the Baptist would not have been viewed
by the Jews as strange or foreign, but quite in line with their faith. And we
may safely deduce that hundreds, perhaps even thousands of them were baptized
by John as the Scriptures do not tell us how long he had been preaching and
baptizing prior to the coming of our Lord to him.
John said his baptism was one unto repentance which came about from
those who heard him preach on the subject. Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand (St.
Matthew 3:2). But what does it
mean to repent? The biblical understanding of this word speaks of having a
change of mind. John, being filled with the Holy Spirit, had called on those
around him to turn from their wickedness, and to have a mind that sought after
God because the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Very soon thereafter our Lord appeared on the banks of the Jordan River
seeking to be baptized of him (St. Matthew 3:13-17).
Only after that, did our Lord begin his ministry, preaching that very message
of John with this difference: for our Lord is the King of kings and Lord of
lords who had come to bring salvation to those who would believe on his name.
Christian baptism was born on the banks of the Jordan River. When our
Lord was baptized it resulted in three evidences of his messianic nature:
1.
The Holy
Ghost descended as a dove and rested upon him;
2.
The
Spirit’s descent was accompanied by the voice of the Father who commended his
Son to John et al;
3.
Our
Lord’s prescription in the Great Commission (St. Matthew 28:19- 20), every regenerated Christian should likewise
receive the sacrament of baptism using the trinitarian formula.
4.
Unfortunately, many of today’s theologians and seminarians have taken
John the Baptist’s question in St. Matthew 11:1-6 as proof of his uncertainty
about our Lord. They have taken this position because a sizable number of them
doubt the divinity of Christ, the veracity of the Bible, and, in some cases,
the very existence of God. Additionally, they have ignored those passages which
affirm our Lord’s bona fides such as John’s affirmation, Behold the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, after me
cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me (St. John 1:29-30). John the Baptist knew that Jesus of
Nazareth was the Messiah, and it is too bad that many of today’s pastors do
not.
John’s ministry began to decline the moment he baptized our Lord, and
lasted but briefly until his death at the hands of Herod Antipas (St. John 3:22-36). Such was chronicled in St. Matthew’s gospel
(14:3-12) wherein we are informed that he suffered
martyrdom for his criticism of Herod’s adultery with his brother’s wife. But
even as death took him, the gates of heaven swung open wide to receive this
great and humble man who was sent by God to prepare the way for him whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (Micah 5:2b).
Our Lord paid tribute to John the Baptist upon hearing of him being
cast into prison saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed
shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft
raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went
ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For
this is he, of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy face,
which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily, I say unto you, Among them
that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (St. Matthew 11:7b-11).
God called John the Baptist to go before the face of the Messiah and
proclaim him openly before men, calling them to repentance and to be baptized.
Our Lord then built upon that message, and if we are to learn from him, then we
too must come to God with humble and contrite hearts, seeking his pardon and
receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
John did not have it easy. John did not have a multitude of earthly
resources to utilize in his efforts. He did not have a mega-church building. He
did not wear fine robes. He did not have a band of musicians pounding out
secular rhythms. He did not demand a tithe. He did not make promises of healing
that he could not perform. He did not have a custom hair-do. No, John’s message
was plain, simple and without dissembling. It was the unvarnished truth of God:
Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. If we would be wise in the Lord,
we will heed his calling to do the same.
Let us pray,
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ather, we thank thee for thy servant John the
Baptist whose ministry heralded the coming of our Lord; and assist us as we
continue to watch for his return; for this we ask in the name of him who is the
same yesterday, today and forever, even thy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
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