Third Sunday after Trinity - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/8Hd8NkBXZZc

 

The Collect starts as they often do by asking God to hear us.  This is rather odd a thing to ask as He hears us all the time. His hearing is perfect. It is our hearing that is imperfect. In order to have the Holy Ghost’s help into our heart, we must let go of self centered and prideful  ways. Prideful beings cannot be followers of Christ.  In the Epistle, Peter makes this point when he says that God resists the proud and gives His Grace to the humble.  The Gospel recounts Jesus tells the Pharisees the story of the shepherd who loses a sheep and searches for it.  When he finds the sheep he carries it back to the flock on his shoulders.  He goes on to tell the story of the woman who loses a piece of silver and turns her house inside out to find it. It all comes together.  Having trouble visualizing that?  Read or listen to Rev Jack’s sermon. PS – The cameraman survived the coughing fit in the last few seconds of the sermon.

The Propers for today are found on Page 192-193, with the Collect first:

 

Third Sunday after Trinity.

The Collect.

 

O

 LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

The Epistle came from the Fifth Chapter of St. Peter‘s First Epistle, beginning at the Fifth Verse.  Peter tells us to not be proud of what we have been given, rather to use those gifts to the benefit of those around us.  We should ask God to carry our concerns and worries so that we might to the tasks set before us.  

 

We must pay attention to the world around us and take care not to fall prey to the devil, for he is constantly looking for ways to help us drift off our path towards heaven.  You must understand that other Christians come from the same pool you do, humanity, they have the same frailties and problems you do.  Hang in there and do your very best, God will take care of you in the end.  There are none so poor as cannot purchase a noble death.  Never forget that.  

 

Trust in God and dread naught.

 

A

LL of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Today’s Gospel started in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the First Verse.  This is a story of Jesus, rather than one of his stories.  The Pharisees were appalled that those who were particularly sinners in their very qualified eyes were attracted to Jesus and even worse, he talked to them, even breaking bread with them.  To the Pharisees, Jesus told the story of the shepherd who loses a sheep and searches for it.  When he finds it he carries it back to the flock on his shoulders.  He goes on to tell the story of the woman who loses a piece of silver and turns her house inside out to find it.  That story ends in a very interesting word play in English, “Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece (peace) which I had lost.”  Jesus ends the story with, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”  Having said that, there is also joy when we do not sin, but choose God’s way.  And we enjoy it more also.

 

T

HEN drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

Rev Jack’s sermon is available on video RIGHT HERE.  

https://youtu.be/8Hd8NkBXZZc

 

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.  

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities …

 

The Collect starts as they often do by asking God to hear us.  It seems to me this is rather odd a thing to ask as He hears us all the time. His hearing is perfect. It is our hearing that is imperfect. That being said, when we do accept the Holy Ghost’s Help to pray, we can expect to receive spiritual, mental and physical comfort from God.  The key is that we have to accept God’s help in order to receive these comforts..  In order to receive the comfort from God, we have to first let him into our hearts to begin his renewal of our spirit. If we do not accept the Holy Ghost’s help, then God will not be able to help us.

 

It would be foolish not to accept the Great Physician’s help to transform our spirits. It would be like having cancer, and there being a cure for cancer and rejecting that cure because we don’t like it. It doesn’t matter if we like it or not, what matters is that God has a solution ready for us, we just have to accept it and let Him enter our hearts, souls and minds to begin that transformation process. Without the help of the Holy Ghost into our hearts, we truly cannot follow Christ. We, of ourselves, cannot follow God without His Divine Assistance. We are sheep gone astray from our shepherd and without Jesus, are wolf food. But with Jesus’s protection, we are safe from the wolf/lion known as Satan.  

 

In order to have the Holy Ghost’s help into our heart, we must let go of self centered and prideful  ways. Prideful beings cannot be followers of Christ. Peter makes this point when he says that God resists the proud and gives His Grace to the humble. The humble are those who are more likely to accept His Grace and the Holy Ghost’s help to renew their spirit. The proud believe they are self-made people and scoff at the very idea of God sending his only begotten Son that we should not perish but have life everlasting (John 3:16). These proud people are very resistant to God and the Holy Spirit. These are the people that scoff at us and do not understand the benefits of the power of God and the Holy Spirit. They will continually be living in their own delusion unless they are otherwise shaken from it. And this is an extremely powerful delusion and it is difficult for these folks to be shaken from it. It is possible, but it does require that they allow the Holy Spirit in them, in order to be snapped out of the delusion. They do not understand that our self centered and prideful ways hurt us way more than it can ever help.

 

The humble know they cannot make it into heaven on their own; thus they know they need that divine help and are willing to accept it. They know that without God’s help they are nothing and thus they are more willing than the proud to rely on God. 

 

Therefore, we must strive to be humble in our lives and less prideful. When we let go of our pride, we can see where we are in error.  This is a life long process for most of us. It is a very difficult thing to let go of our pride, but it is something that must be done to further our character development all the same. Next time you are thinking prideful thoughts, stop and try and switch to a more humble attitude. In life, being humble will get you a lot farther than being prideful ever will.

 

When we accept help from the Holy Ghost, we can begin to fix the cracks and faults in our spiritual character. He can shine a light into the darkest areas of our hearts. Jesus could do this as well and He knew very well the spiritual character of each person He encountered in His Earthly Ministry.  He knows which areas we need to most work on and He will tell us.  We must trust His Knowledge and act upon His Wisdom that he provides us. Listening and then acting is the key phrase here. Without listening we’ll never know what we need to change and without acting we will never be able to change. So we must listen to what He has to say, regardless of how we feel about it and then act

 

With a clear view of the inner most thoughts of their hearts, Jesus tells the Pharisees the story of the shepherd who loses a sheep and searches for it.  When he finds the sheep he carries it back to the flock on his shoulders.  He goes on to tell the story of the woman who loses a piece of silver and turns her house inside out to find it.  That story ends in a very interesting word play in English, “Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece (peace) which I had lost.”  Jesus ends the story with, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” No doubt the Pharisees missed the point of the parable as their hearts were too blackened by pride to hear His Word. They missed the point of all of His Parables as they were too proud to truly have the Holy Ghost in their hearts. They were much like the proud and self made men that we talked about earlier that resist God and His Offer for help. We must strive in our lives to be more like the humble men and less like the Pharisees. 

 

The moral of the parable is Jesus is all about saving the sinners, not those who are already “righteous.” But currently on this Earth there are none who are truly righteous. I liken the church as a hospital for sinners. And all of the saints were sinners in their past too.  Therefore Jesus is all about saving all of us, as none of us are truly righteous without His Influence in our lives. Having said that, there is also joy when we do not sin, but choose God’s way.  And we enjoy it more also. So, it is preferable if we do not sin in the first place, but if we can’t do that, then God finds joy when we truly repent and turn back to Him and ask for His help and be willing to listen. There are no holier than thous in Christ’s flock, we are all equally non perfect folk or sinners that have let the Holy Ghost into our hearts to inspire us to change and become better humans and children of God.

 

Notice Jesus’ actions when He finds a lost sheep, He carries it back to the flock on His shoulders with a smile on His face. He rejoices in each lost soul saved. This is what the Church is about, bringing lost souls to Our Shepherd of Souls, Our Savior, Our Advocate, Jesus Christ, to His Kingdom of Heavenly Joys.

 

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

Second Sunday after Trinity - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack's Sermon – With Video

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/vrjxLCrJyiE

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge God will help and lead us, but only if we will look to Him for that help and leadership. The key being here we have to look to Him for said help and leadership.   The spiritually blind (us) cannot lead the blind (also us).  The Epistle is a great illustration of why we need guidance from the Holy Ghost all the time.  The world is not a nice place and at times it gets depressing to be in. John says we should not be surprised that the world hates us.  The Gospel focuses on prioritization.  It calls us to put the things that are really important in the list of things to do above the things that are not really important.  It all comes together.  Having trouble visualizing that?  Read or listen to Rev Jack’s sermon.

The Propers for today are found on Page 188-190, with the Collect first:

 

Second Sunday after Trinity.

The Collect.

 

O

 LORD, who never failest to help and govern those whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast fear and love; Keep us, we beseech thee, under the protection of thy good providence, and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

 

Today’s Epistle came from the Third Chapter of St. John‘s First Epistle, beginning at the Thirteenth Verse. 

 

M

ARVEL not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

 

John gave us God’s commandment: That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another.   We are exhorted to love one another not in word only, but in deed and in truth.  We are to carry out the word we have been given, not just to repeat the words.

 

Actions speak louder than words.  If we are to lead people to Christ, we must be in front of them showing the way.

 

Today’s Holy Gospel started in the Fourteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the Sixteenth Verse.  This is another of Jesus’ stories.  This one is of a rich man who made a great supper; a thing of great value in times of hunger. 

 

A

 CERTAIN man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

 

Are we like the busy people, are our lives so filled with important activities that we have no time to come to the Lord’s Supper?  Think about that when you set your bedtime on Saturday, think about that when you schedule the outing for Sunday morning.

 

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

Rev Jack’s sermon is available on video RIGHT HERE.  

https://youtu.be/vrjxLCrJyiE

 

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.  

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… who never failest to help and govern those whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast fear and love; Keep us, we beseech thee, under the protection of thy good providence, and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name…

 

We must fully understand and acknowledge God will help and lead us, but only if we will look to Him for that help and leadership. The key being here we have to look to Him for said help and leadership.   The spiritually blind (us) cannot lead the blind (also us). We are spiritually blind without God’s help. We need His Help, in the form of the Holy Ghost, to direct our hearts, minds and souls to look to Him for that Help in our time of need. The Holy Ghost will give us that spiritual eyesight we need to receive His Guidance and act upon said guidance. Thus, we continually ask God, through the offices of the Holy Ghost, to help us understand we actually need help and be open to accepting it. And we must note that to fear God is not to be scared of Him but to respect Him for who He is, our creator and heavenly Father, and loving Him involves loving the others around us with the Holy Ghost in our hearts.

 

Speaking of time of need; when do we need God?  Pretty much whenever we are not perfect, which would be all the time. 

 

The Epistle is a great illustration of why we need guidance from the Holy Ghost all the time.  The world is not a nice place and at times it gets depressing to be in. John says we should not be surprised that the world hates us. For the World does not know of God and His Word so they fear that which they do not understand, namely the Word. And that God is the only one who can protect us spiritually from the assaults of the Satanic forces in this world. The help of the Holy Ghost is an advantage that we have over those who are of this world. They do not have the Holy Ghost to help them understand and give comfort and thus will always be upset, depressed, or angry in times of trouble. Also we are called to love our fellow humans, regardless if they are believers or not. We are not called to lord our faith over them but to use our faith to help people. In other words, we are not to be Pharisees showing and boasting, but to good things to help people, with the help of the Holy Spirit.  This is harder to do than to say, but it is something that must be done none the less. 

We are to perform this task of loving people around us with great cheer. There is no true love without cheerfulness and a giving heart. In order to have God’s love, we have to love those around us. It is harder to put the actual love into practice. We have actually love those around us and not just say it. Sometimes it can be very hard to put actual love into practice, but it must be done. However, as long as we do our best to actually love those around us, then that is all God asks. We may be serious at times, but we can still be cheerful in that we have the love of God within our hearts and we can spread that to others.  Don’t forget the little reminder from GK Chesterton:

 

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.

 

A lot of times people put off church for other “more important” things, do you? They are like the people in the parable.  Like the certain man who made a great supper, the Lord sets aside a time every week for us to worship with Him.  Actually, His time is pretty flexible.  The Lord’s worship can be done at times other than 1000 on Sunday morning if you really do have to work, you have weekend duty, you are on alert or something you really cannot get out of. The key element here is prioritization. If you really do believe Christ’s word and He is important to you then you will make that time out of your week to worship Him. 

 

The Gospel focuses on prioritization.  It calls us to put the things that are really important in the list of things to do above the things that are not really important. We tend to put things that are not really important above the things that are really important and that is why we get in a lot of trouble in our lives.  It all goes back to the want versus need issue. Two different words, often used interchangeably by people, but this is incorrect. We need to think about what is important to us and to God.  Sometimes they are different.  Then, we need the Holy Ghost to get our priorities in order. We have to recognize that our wants are not as good for us as our needs. We need Him to help us identify our needs and overcome our wants. We need Him to overcome our natural inclinations to not prioritize correctly and get our priorities straightened out. Without His Help, we will never be able to see what is important in our lives, which is loving God and loving our neighbor as ourself.

 

People do what is important to them.  When they feel guilty they come up with excuses, but in reality, they please themselves. This is a common reason why there are so few people in churches these days, besides the fact that the churches have by and large embraced heretical teachings, which puts the people off of going to churches.

 

So, what we need to do is ask the Holy Ghost for help to make God’s agenda ours; thus when we please God, we please ourselves.  A win – win situation. And it will make us far happier people as a result, which is what God’s plan is for us all along 

 

If we do not make time for God, how do we expect Him to make time for us?  If we will not diligently study the lessons He has left for us, how can we expect to know what He wants us to do?

 

Do you recall more sage words from GK Chesterton?

 

Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.

 

 

We need to come to church and read the Bible so we can find out what God wants.  But, the idea is not to find out what He wants so we can work around it or live with it, but rather to live it. Once we find out what God wants for us, we need to live that reality He has planned for us, not the one that we want for ourselves.  This means putting into practice in our day to day lives, wherever we may be, the principles of Scriptures. Think about the 613 Mosaic laws and the Pharisees who made a good living telling people how to comply with them to the letter and still do just as they wanted.  There are many people who still do this to this very day sadly. In the end it will not get them to eternal life. However if we follow Jesus and God, we will not have to worry about our eternal future.

 

If we find out what God wants and decide to actually do it instead of avoid it, we are still faced with an often huge problem of where do we get the strength to accomplish this task.   However, the answer is simple, it comes from God, the Holy Ghost.  He never asks us to do anything we cannot do good enough for Him if we rely on Him.  Never. 

 

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

Saint Barnabas - Propers with explanation – Rev Hap Sermon – With Video

 

Rev Hap brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/7egPayhdYL8

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge God gave Barnabas special talents and strengths. We ask He do likewise for us, so we might use those talents to His honor and glory.  The fact is each of us have been granted special talents and strengths. The question is will we use them to His honor and glory or to our own purposes?  The text serving as this morning’s Epistle came from The Acts of the Apostles. Luke tells us Barnabas, a Cypriot Jew, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem, was sent to Antioch, where the term Christian was first used, then to Tarsus to join up with Saul who it was thought was now a Christian.  You can only imagine his trepidation, yet he went and found now Paul.  In this morning’s Gospel Jesus tells the disciples He will be leaving.  He tells them they are His friends, not His servants, but as His friends, they must do His will. He points out that they have not chosen Him rather He chose them. He goes on to tell them that when they pray they need to ask the Father in His name, and He will give it to them. Want and Need figure prominently in today’s sermon.  It all comes together.  Having trouble visualizing that?  Read or listen to Rev Hap’s sermon.

The Propers for today are found on Page 240-242, with the Collect first:

 

Saint Barnabas the Apostle. [June 11.]

The Collect.

 

O

 LORD God Almighty, who didst endue thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost; Leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

 

First Sunday after Trinity.

The Collect.

 

O

 GOD, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; Mercifully accept our prayers; and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The text serving as today’s Epistle came from the Eleventh Chapter of The Acts of the Apostles, beginning at the Twenty-Second Verse. It tells of Barnabas being sent to seek out Saul of Tarsus who by now was Paul. You can only imagine his trepidation, yet he went.

 

T

IDINGS of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cæsar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judæa: which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. 

 

This morning’s Gospel came from the Gospel according to John, the Fifteenth Chapter, beginning at the Twelfth Verse.  Jesus tells the disciples of His upcoming death and makes it clear He has chosen them and to whom they should pray.

 

T

HIS is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 

Sermon – Reverend Hap Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

Rev Hap’s sermon is available on video RIGHT HERE.  

https://youtu.be/7egPayhdYL8

 

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… who didst endue thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost; Leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory…

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge God gave Barnabas special talents and strengths. We ask He do likewise for us, so we might use those talents to His honor and glory.

 

The fact is each of us have been granted special talents and strengths. The question is will we use them to His honor and glory or to our own purposes?  Too often the answer is we use them to our own purposes which turn out to not be His will nor in our best interests in the long run.

 

This Collect is very much a repeat of most of them; we are asking for God to give us what we need and not what we want. The problem is that we cannot manage to differentiate between the two words, want and need.  Two four letter words used interchangeably in our vocabularies and lives that do not mean the same thing.  Let us try to remember how to use each word and concentrate of need rather than want.

 

In The Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us Barnabas, a Cypriot Jew, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem, was sent to Antioch, where the term Christian was first used, then to Tarsus to join up with Saul who it was thought was now a Christian.  You can only imagine his trepidation, yet he went and found now Paul.  He and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They traveled together making more converts (c. 46–48), and participated in the Council of Jerusalem (c. 49). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia.

 

In Antioch, the prophet Agabus predicted a great famine in Judea.  The Christians of Antioch worked together and sent relief there with Barnabas and Saul

 

In this morning’s Gospel Jesus tells the disciples He will be leaving.  He tells them they are His friends, not His servants, but as His friends, they must do His will. He points out that they have not chosen Him rather He chose them. He goes on to tell them that when they pray they need to ask the Father in His name, and He will give it to them.

 

That, of course, depends on knowing the difference between need and want. They are only to ask for needs.

 

It’s also very important to see Jesus is telling us we must have  personal relationship with Him.  While He is our Lord and Master, He is also our friend and guide.

 

In the short little bits of scripture, there is much to think of here. We must see and accept the gifts God has given us and USE them. We must, like Barnabas, fulfill our mission to the best of our ability regardless of our trepidation. While we have our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to act as our intermediary with God the Father, we are to ask directly for what we need.

 

Notice, there is nothing here about talking only acting.

 

There is but one way to heaven.

 

That easy to find, easy to follow, easy to hike path does not lead to the summit where eternal life in the real world awaits.  Open your heart to the Holy Ghost; use His Power to follow our Lord to God who awaits in heaven.

 

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

Trinity Sunday - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

 

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on videoHERE -> https://youtu.be/dynuzaWhIz0

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge there is a Triune God, that is to say there are three aspects of God; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. A Triune God means literally Three in One, not three separate Gods or godlets, but a single being with three aspects. How does this work?  The honest answer is – WE DON’T KNOW, but there is more.  The text serving as this morning’s Epistle came from the Book of Revelation and describes Heaven.  Heaven is the real world, so how do we get to the real world from these Shadowlands? There is but one way, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins.  In the Gospel, Jesus tells us what we need to do to get into heaven.  It all comes together.  Having trouble visualizing that?  Read or listen to Rev Jack’s sermon.

The Propers for today are found on Page 186-188, with the Collect first:

 

Trinity Sunday.

The Collect.

 

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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity; We beseech thee that thou wouldest keep us stedfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

 

This morning’s Epistle was written in the Fourth Chapter of the Revelation of Saint John the Divine beginning at the First Verse.  John attempts to show us the majesty and glory of heaven using words.  The picture he paints is intended to be awe inspiring and seems to meet that goal handily: 

 

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FTER this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. And the first was like a lion, and the second like a calf, and the third had a face as a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created.

 

Today’s Gospel came from the Third Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John beginning at the First Verse: 

 

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HERE was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 

 

THE EXHORTATIONS.

¶       At the time of the Celebration of the Communion, after the prayer for the whole state of Christ’s Church, the Priest may say this Exhortation. And Note, That the Exhortation shall be said on the First Sunday in Advent, the First Sunday in Lent, and Trinity Sunday. 

 

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EARLY beloved in the Lord, ye who mind to come to the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, must consider how Saint Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves, before they presume to eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. For as the benefit is great, if with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy Sacrament; so is the danger great, if we receive the same unworthily. Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord; repentyou truly for your sins past; have a lively and stedfast faith in Christ our Saviour; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity with all men; so shall ye be meet partakers of those holy mysteries. And above all things ye must give most humble and hearty thanks to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for the redemption of the world by the death and passion of our Saviour Christ, both God and man; who did humble himself, even to the death upon the Cross, for us, miserable sinners, who lay in darkness and the shadow of death; that he might make us the children of God, and exalt us to everlasting life. And to the end that we should always remember the exceeding great love of our Master, and only Saviour, Jesus Christ, thus dying for us, and the innumerable benefits which by his precious blood-shedding he hath obtained for us; he hath instituted and ordained holy mysteries, as pledges of his love, and for a continual remembrance of his death, to our great and endless comfort. To him therefore, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, let us give, as we are most bounden, continual thanks; submitting ourselves wholly to his holy will and pleasure, and studying to serve him in true holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Amen.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, California

Rev Jack’s sermon is available on video RIGHT HERE.  

https://youtu.be/dynuzaWhIz0

 

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

Today’s sermon covers the basic concept of the Triune God, that is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and how they were introduced to us through time and the Bible in particular; it draws the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.  . 

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity…

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge there is a Triune God, that is to say there are three aspects of God; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.  A Triune God means literally Three in One, not three separate Gods or godlets, but a single being with three aspects.  How does this work?

 

The honest answer is – WE DON’T KNOW.  We have not been told of how this Being operates. We just have been told there are three and They are ONE.  We have some knowledge and scriptural guidance on how parts of the thing work, but not all.  Saint Paul told the people of Corinth, 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)One of the basic principles of classified information is it is only to be revealed to those who have an actual NEED TO KNOW, not just the curious.  Like many secrets, we don’t really have a need to know, so we have not been told.  Knowledge of the inner workings of the Trinity is not needed for us to be followers of God.

 

What we do know is:

 

·      God is I AM;

·      God the Father sent The Son to be our Savior, He was there at the beginning and created this world;

·      The Holy Ghost breathed life into the world, and brings understanding, comfort, strength, perseverance, courage, inspiration, patience;

·      They all have always been and always will be.

 

That is what we know; it leaves a lot we don’t know, but we can certainly be kept busy with what we do know.  What we do know is that what we have is enough for the here and now. It should enough for us to operate on His Word with our simple and limited understanding of the Trinity. We must be content with what we read in Scripture, all the other stuff we wonder about Him are just extraneous details, like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?  So much theological discussion is captured in that term.  So, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?  Whatever the number, the answer from our standpoint is so very simple; As many as God determines the circumstances require.  Note, as God requires!  Not you, not me.  God.  Trying to think about those intricate details that we do not know or understand only serves as a distraction from following God and doing what He asks. He does not want us to speculate on how the Three in One concept works, but rather just understand it is and go forth and follow Him to the best of our abilities.

 

We must put aside the thoughts of who and what God is, and just understand He is I AM, there is God, there is the Son, there is the Holy Ghost and they all work together in their own way to be the one God of our faith. Any more thought than that is counter productive and digs us into rabbit holes of theological discussion that we do not need to delve into. This rabbit hole digging does not help our faith, only hurt it. If God has told us that He is a Triune God, then we must simply accept it and not try and figure out the inner workings. Why do we feel the need for details when Jesus just asks to believe, 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 18:2-3)

 

You don’t need to know how may angels can dance on the head of the pin, just that a sufficient number can and will at the right time,

 

But, what of later?  If we have eternal life, we have it now and later. Eternal life doesn’t just start when we leave this Earth, it starts when we accept Him into our hearts. What comes later?  Heaven.  What is heaven?  In the epistle John attempts to describe to us what Heaven is like.  He attempts to show us the majesty and glory of heaven using words.  The picture he paints is intended to be awe inspiring and seems to meet that goal handily.  The main thing we can be certain of is that we will not be disappointed.  We speculate as to will this or that be in heaven?  When we get there, the answer will manifest itself and you will have no regrets.  John’s description should serve to tell us heaven will easily surpass all of our expectations. He is trying to convey Heaven is a destination truly worth our earthly toils. He is not trying to show exactly one to one scale detail how Heaven looks like, only convey how majestic it is and that it is worth all the suffering and trials we have endured on Earth. Heaven is the real world, where things are bright, not dull and dark as though looking through a glass.  Rest assured, we will see for ourselves what it is like one day, all we need to know is that it is a really wonderful place we should be aiming to go to when we die, through our belief and actions here on earth working together!

 

As to the details of heaven, think about the angels dancing on the head of a pin.  The only detail I can give you with complete certainty is you will not be disappointed, nothing will be lacking,  there will be no disappointment.  

 

So, how do we get to the real world from these Shadowlands?  There is but one way, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins.[1]

 

Do not be fooled by “there are many paths to God” which seems to be the way of the world today, there is only one way into heaven.  All roads do not lead to heaven. Many lead to the pit, but out of the many roads, there is only one narrow uphill path which will get you to heaven. Doing good is good, so to speak; doing good without God is not good enough.  Only being accounted perfect will get you up the path and in the door.

 

One thing is clear, in order to traverse this narrow uphill trail we need help!  Lots of help as a matter of fact.  The first thing we need in our hearts is a new heart, a new and contrite heart.  This is what Jesus was telling Nicodemus in the Gospel. He was explaining how we need a new heart in order to continue to serve God. Our old heart cannot serve God.  The Pharisees could not or would not see that their hearts were not good enough on their own to serve Him, as ours are not if they are not regenerated. That is really hard, in fact, it is so hard it cannot be done by ourselves.  We need something like turning over a new leaf so to speak. There is a way as a matter of fact for us to do this.

 

We must be born of the spirit to get the new heart to serve God!  What spirit? 

 

The Holy Ghost.  We must accept we in and of ourselves will never be perfect. No matter how hard we try, we will never be perfect, so we must understand this fact right away. We must also understand that because of our free will and imperfect nature, our hearts as they are will not lead us towards God, but away from God unless we have the help of the Holy Ghost! No one gets in to heaven unless they are accounted as perfect.  We will never be perfect in and of ourselves.  Should we quit trying?  No!  We are commanded to follow our Christ.  Will we fail?  Without question.  What is the solution?  To believe and follow the Christ.  To open our hearts to the Holy Ghost that we might believe in full and accept the help from the Christ that our imperfection needs to be His followers.

 

To follow God, we need Christ as our leader and the Holy Ghost as our compass. In short, we need all members of the Trinity’s influence in our lives if we are to arrive in the real world, that of Heaven.

 

There is but one way to heaven.

 

That easy to find, easy to follow, easy to hike path does not lead to the summit where eternal life in the real world awaits.  Open your heart to the Holy Ghost; use His Power to follow our Lord to God who awaits in heaven.

 

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

---

[1] 1 St. John ii. 1, 2 and Book of Common Prayer, page 76