Please click on the URL to see video by Bishop Ogles:
https://youtu.be/bu_dWEFkfeg?si=IuDVCbe9adrpFE5u
Sunday, April 6, 2025
THE CROSS, Sermon Summary for Passion Sunday, 6 April 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide (Bishop Jerry Ogles)
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Hebrews 9:11-12
Judaism has its Day of Atonement, and the Christian Faith has its Day of Redemption. Judaism has its High Priest, and the Church has its High Priest in the Lord Jesus Christ. The difference is this: the High Priest of the Jews no longer exists, but that High Priest of the Church rules in glory. In Him, we have the true Day of Atonement certain.
In the Collect, we observe in our prayer, that our High Priest observes us in mercy and grace, and that
we are governed and preserved forevermore by His Sovereign grace – both in body and soul. Christ made that certain on the cross at Calvary. Looking from the vantage point of the cross, our Lord looked down upon those who ridiculed and scorned, and those who stood pitifully at the foot of the cross such as His mother and John, the Apostle of Love. But He not only looked down upon those near at hand, but those throughout the centuries future - to you and me. He tells us in Isaiah 49:15-16: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, Yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven (CUT) thee upon the palms of my hands; Thy walls are continually before me.”
The High Priest of the Temple sought forgiveness of the sins of the people through a blood sacrifice of animals, but Christ, the High Priest of our Atonement, purchased our redemption at the cost of His own blood sacrificed for us. We are His Tabernacle, and He is our sacrifice – no higher could be offered.
The latter part of today’s Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews assures us that “ . . . they which are called might receive the tpromise of eternal inheritance.” (vs 15)
“As all sacrifices had a double object, that is, to convey the sense of pardon, and at the same time to increase men’s compunction for sin, we may consider that these two objects were present in the sacrifice of Christ. Pardon given without some method of emphasizing guilt might make men think little of sin, but this is wholly prevented by the death of the Son of God, at once our hope and our condemnation.” Melville Scott
THE HARMONY OF THE COLLECTS, EPISTLES, AND GOSPELS.
“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” John 8:47 Herein we learn that we know we are the sheep of the Lord if we hear the voice of the Lord in speaking to our hearts. The Church is a family of God who is our Father, and we must bear the likeness of a child to the parent. The Roman penny was impressed with an image of Caesar. The Christian is impressed with an image of the Son. We follow the Shepherd in faith and righteousness. He knows the Way, and it is His Way that we must follow if we expect good pastures and still waters.
The Old Testament Law and Prophets forever pointed to Christ as our Redeemer by demonstrated our utter failure of possessing any native righteousness. It was, indeed, our school master. But it did not point to a completely new covenant of grace, but to that same promise of a Redeemer made to Abraham back in Genesis.
We find assurance that Abraham was saved in the same fashion as we today are saved – by faith in the promise of a Redeemer to come; while we today look back in faith to the accomplished fact. “Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.” John 8:47
Please note the unchangeability of the Triune God – He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His plan of salvation has not changed from the day of Abraham – in fact all the way back to the Beginning in Genesis 3 – until our own day. The Old Testament is simply a darkened shadow of its fulfillment in the New. Abraham believed in the eternal Christ. “Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am.” John 8:58 Herein we see Christ as the great ‘I Am ‘of the Burning bush, and the ‘I am’ of Moses. He is the eternal I Am from Eternity Past to Eternity Future. He is the Eternal Presence at all points of the time scale, but also beyond that created scale of time at the beginning.
There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood, but only the Blood of the Lamb of God will suffice completely to redeem us. Do you have that assurance of your blood sacrifice in Christ?
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Names & Titles of our Lord & SAVIOR.
A savior is someone who saves us out of trouble when we are helpless to help ourselves. If we are drowning and unable to swim, a savior is someone who lifts us up and saves our lives.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Savior that saves completely – He lifts us up from spiritual death and places our feet on solid ground. He may save us, as well, from mortal danger in a physical sense when he heals us of drugs, alcohol or other afflictions.
He saved Peter from drowning in the Sea of Galilee when Peter exclaimed the shortest and most effective of prayers: LORD SAVE ME!
Matthew 14:28-3028 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
We learn a lot about prayer from Peter. It doesn’t need to be long or eloquent – it simply needs to express our hearts desire, or our gratitude to our Father in Heaven for His mighty works.
There is a subtle difference between Redeemer and Savior – the Redeemer removes the yoke and bondage of sin from our weary shoulders, and the Savior saves us from our sinful natures by bearing the burden of our Sins Himself.
The Lord is both Redeemer and Savior among other titles.
Isaiah 43: 2-3 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:
hWhen thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3 For I am the Lord thy God,
The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:
Isaiah 49:26
And all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour
And thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
The first mention of our Savior is in
Luke 1:47 in the Magnificat –
46 And Mary said,
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour
&
Luke 2:11 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord
In John 4:42, The men of Samaria proclaimed:
Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
And there are too many other texts that declare our Lord Jesus Christ as Savior to list. The important thing for us to know is Him as our Savior and none other.
This is a beautiful title for the One who saves us.
Until next time – God bless and Good bye
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
TO THE HILLS I WILL LIFT MINE EYES, a Hymn Devotion for 1 April 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, From whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, Which made heaven and earth.” Psalms 121:1-2
This is a paraphrase hymn of the 121st Psalm much in the traditions of the early Reformation Psaltery. The wording is that of Marcus Morris Wells (1815-1895) as well as the tune, GUIDE, itself. Wells is most known for his hymn, Holy Spirit, Faithful Guide, for which he also composed both lyrics and tune. This latter is a favorite of mine as it was sung at my father’s funeral.
TO THE HILLS I WILL LIFT MINE EYES
To the hills I lift mine eyes;
Whence shall help for me arise?
From the Lord shall come mine aid,
Who the Heav�n and earth has made.
He will guide through dangers all,
Will not suffer thee to fall;
He Who safe His people keeps
Slumbers not and never sleeps.
Thy Protector is the Lord,
Shade for thee He will afford;
Neither sun nor moon shall smite,
God shall guard by day and night.
He will ever keep thy soul,
What would harm He will control;
In the home and by the way
He will keep thee day by day.
To the hills I lift mine eyes; Whence shall help for me arise? From the Lord shall come mine aid, Who the Heaven and earth has made. He will guide through dangers all, Will not suffer thee to fall; He Who safe His people keepsSlumbers not and never sleeps. With Passion Sunday coming up, these words are a foreshadow of a great hill outside the gates of Jerusalem called Calvary where our Lord is destined to surrender His life for us. We look to that hill as the Hill of our Salvation that rises above the mundane plains of worldly vanity. Our help comes not from that Hill, but from the Lord of that Hill. There is none other who can save us but the man on that solitary cross on the Hill. He made the Hill, and all else that was ever created. He is our Guiding Light through a dark and restless land. He knows the Way, and, in fact, is the Way – the ONLY Way. He not only knows the Way, but He knows the dangers and pitfalls of that Broad Way against which He counsels us not to tread. Though we, of our own frailty, may stumble along the Way, He will not allow us to finally fall from His sure and certain grasp. Then men sleep in the hours of darkness, there is no darkness with the Lord, and He is watchful of His own at every moment.
Thy Protector is the Lord, Shade for thee He will afford; Neither sun nor moon shall smite, God shall guard by day and night. He will ever keep thy soul, What would harm He will control; In the home and by the way
He will keep thee day by day. We have no other Protector than the Lord, and there is none other who is able to defend against every plague and wicked design. Our great Sentinel is on guard duty day and night so that we may sleep in peace. In the heat of the sun, He will shield and cool our tempers; and in the dark night He will be our candle. He has never lost a single soul that His Father has placed in His hands. You may ask, What of the traitor, Judas? True, Judas was lost, but he was never a chosen child of the Father. Judas was likened to many professing Christian who profess with their mouths, but deny Christ by their thoughts and actions. Though the billows of the sea threaten, He will not allow them to swamp our bark. It is by the power of His powerful, outstretched Arm that He saves us and secures our passage on the sea of life.
Monday, March 31, 2025
Sunday, March 30, 2025
SERMON SUMMARY FOR 4TH SUNDAY IN LENT, 30 March 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Galatians 4:21-23
We constantly hear that the Old Testament was the Book of the Covenant of the Law. In a certain sense, that is true; however, the Old Testament Law simply points to the covenant of Grace begun in the promise of a Savior made to Abraham and consummated in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the pure Gospel of Grace. Having proven that we were unable to abide by the Law of God in perfection, we needed a Savior upon whom our burdens of sin could be borne on the cross and His righteousness imputed to those who are drawn to His Throne of Grace and Mercy.
God ha promised Abraham to be the father of many nations by Sarah his wife. But in old age, being barren, Sarah decided the Lord needed a little help. She therefore offered her servant, Hagar, to Abrahm for the purpose of conceiving a son for Abraham. This was a failure of faith on the part of both Abraham and Sarah that would lead to a great misfortune for the whole human race. Hagar did, indeed, conceive a son – Ishmael, but Ishmael was not the son of the [promise made to Abraham AND Sarah. Later, Sarah did conceive a son, Isaac, in the advance age of ninety years of age. This was the son of promise that came by the way of God’s promise – not that of Sarah’s presumption in Hagar.
Ishmael was the first son of Abraham, but not by means of the legitimacy of the promise made through Sarah. Ishmael persecuted Sarah’s son, Isaac which resulted in the exile of Hagar and her son conceived in law, but not in accordance with the promise made to Abraham. But in the only promised son of Abraham we can see the shadow of that Covenant of Grace fulfilled in Christ. Hagar represents the Covenant of Law, and Isaac that of Grace. So we find both covenants in the Old Testament. “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
I hope that the reader can see how , by faith in Him, the Son of Promise in Christ is the means by which we, too, are the true children of Abraham – not by way of the flesh, but by faith in that Promise fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We find evidence of that faith in today’s Gospel text: “JESUS went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him” Herein we find the seeds of faith, but misguided as it was. The people followed Christ “because of His miracles’ and not out of faith in His true nature. It may be true that some realized a growing faith in the real Christ of the Feast, but most were seeking a king who would free Israel from the Roman yoke. Many are seeking signs and wonders, but signs and wonders do not save the sinners soul. They saw His former miracles and , now, this miracle of feeding the five thousand with just “five barley loaves, and two small fishes.” Signs and wonders may attract curiosity, but is by no means the end of faith in Christ. “15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” It is His sinless life, His death and resurrection that are sufficient for saving faith – and that is a gift of God’s grace.
It is the sinner whom comes to himself as did the prodigal son of the pigsty, when the Holy Spirit awakens him to his misery and separation from His Father, and makes Him alive in Christ. Our misguided faith is just as bad as no faith art all; but true faith is Christ as Lord and Savior of those who are worthy of death but made alive in Him is the peak of faith.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Devotion on Prayer of Collect for 4th Sunday in LENT 30 March 2025 Anno Domini
The Collect
Fourth Sunday in Lent
GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
We must have learned long ago in our childhood Bible school that there is not anything we must do to go to Hell. Hell is where we are headed the moment we are born into the world. If we simply do nothing, then we shall surely wind up in the fires of Hell. Similarly, there is nothing we can do to earn eternal life – it is a gift of God to those who believe. If you have believed upon the name of Jesus Christ, then you have responded to God’s call as His chosen and elect. Our good works will not keep us from Hell, nor earn for us an entrance into Heaven. But faith, responding to the Grace of God, will, indeed, gain for us such an entrance to Heaven.
All comfort and all grace is from God. It is never earned, but comes ‘paid on arrival.’ It is, as the Collect avers, a grant and not a wage. Thankfully, we are not paid wages for our wages would result in a loss of grace. “For the wages of sin is death;” (sin ALL have sinned, I prefer to forgo the wages to which I am entitled, don’t you?)…. “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) It is so clear and simple, isn’t it? We have all earned our suite in Hell, but God has made a free provision for us in His mansions on High.
This prayer of Collect comes from the Gregorian Sacramentary.
GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved Please note the quality that triggers grace – it is MERCY. We have seen many clergy come and go in our church and in others that are within our purview. The single thing that distinguishes a true minister of God from all others, regardless of a parchment attesting by man’s hand that they are ministers, is the single quality of that Compassion and Mercy that was in Christ. It matters not how hard they labor, how long their hours, how accomplished their sermons, or how broad their experience; if they have not the Compassion of Christ for the little children, for the widows and orphans, for their fellow men and women in all walks of life, then they are not true ministers of God. If their concern is more for personal reward than for the additions to the family of God, they are without hope as ministers. Are we judgmental against others? Remember that same judgment will be levied against you.
Being in the midst of the Lenten Season, we may be feeling overwhelmed by the sense of our sinful unworthiness, but bear in mind that even our unworthiness cannot compare with the altogether worthiness of Christ to redeem us. Just as on the mountain two thousand years ago, He is still able to spread a table before us in the wilderness of our sins.
How is it that the Grace of God is a comfort? When we know that it is the Grace of God that has saved us, and not any personal merit we may boast of, then we are comforted in not wondering always if we have done quite enough to earn our salvation. We are comforted as a little child in knowing that, though we have displeased our parents today, their love for us has not diminished. We are as love in our disobedience as we were loved in our times of favor. But the child, like the Christian, must learn through parental discipline, to improve on his incorrigible behaviors under the father’s counsel and discipline. If you are recipient of the grace and call of God, He will not turn you lose for childish misadventures. Did He not tell us: “….I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Heb 13:5) As far as I know, Christ has never lost any that belonged to Him for as He prayed the night of His betrayal in the Upper Room: While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12) Of course, the son of perdition – Judas Iscariot – was never a follower of Christ for the Scriptures tell us that he was a devil. (see John 6:70)
I hope that we will know with certainty at the conclusion here of this devotion that we deserve to die for our sins, but that it was Christ Himself who died in our stead. Now we are blessed to have a Heavenly comforter to strengthen us through the feeding of the Bread of Heaven just as that ancient multitude was fed, nourished, and comforted on the mountain slope overlooking the Galilean Waters. Have you enjoyed that comfort and strength today?
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
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