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| Like Prodigal Son, we once were lost, but now are found! |
Today we celebrated the Ninth
Sunday after Trinity Sunday.
On
Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come
from? The answer is from the
people who uttered them. But, how
did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, many from Rev
Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, some from Rev Geordie Menzies-Grierson,
but overall mostly from Bryan. He
always has some great ones to share.
On to the On Point quotes –
On Vice
If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice,
he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of
all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting
other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and
back-biting, the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside
me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the
Animal self, and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the
two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may
be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be
neither.
Jack Lewis
Mere Christianity
Delay No Longer — NEVER MEET
It is a solemn thing to say tomorrow when God says today, for man’s
tomorrow and God’s today never meet. The word that comes from the eternal
throne is now, and it is a man’s own choice that fixes his doom.
625 New Bible Stories and Illustrations
Comment
Time stretches from the far forgotten past to the unknowable
future. The present is where the
Finger of God touches the Line of Time.
We live in the present, we can never re-live the past and for us the
future will never come. We live
and act only in the present. To do
something tomorrow is not possible.
If it will be done, it must be done now, that is today.
Rev LTC Hap Arnold
Timing is everything, this came in on Friday!
Screwtape strategizes with
Wormwood, using Time as a weapon:
I had noticed, of course, that the humans were having a lull in their
European war—what they naïvely call ‘The War’!—and am not surprised that there
is a corresponding lull in the patient’s anxieties. Do we want to encourage
this, or to keep him worried? Tortured fear and stupid confidence are both
desirable states of mind. Our choice between them raises important questions.
The humans live in time but our Enemy destines them to eternity. He
therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity
itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present
is the point at which time touches eternity. Of the present moment, and of it
only, humans have an experience analogous to the experience which our Enemy has
of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them. He
would therefore have them continually concerned either with eternity (which
means being concerned with Him) or with the Present—either meditating on their
eternal union with, or separation from, Himself, or else obeying the present
voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace,
giving thanks for the present pleasure.
Jack Lewis
The Screwtape Letters
Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
St. Luke 22:40
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13

This present world is an evil world. It is so full of sins, snares, and
sorrows. We travel a dangerous road full of stumbling blocks, precipices, and
false guides... Being told before that there will be seducers, tempters,
persecutors, and many bad examples, let us stand upon our guard.
Matthew Henry
17th and 18th century English pastor and author
No defense is more secure against Satan than a life crowned and crowded
with unselfish duties. When they are faithfully done, the Devil has no
opportunity to speak reproachfully. James directs us to resist (James 4:7)— to
set ourselves against the Devil with will and thought, conscience and heart. We
must hold the Word of God strictly, strongly, and rigidly. The truth of God
inflexibly held will make one invincible to the Devil, unyielding to his
assaults.
EM Bounds
19th and 20th century American Christian pastor
and author
(Guide To Spiritual Warfare, pp. 135-136)
I would not have you exchange the gold of individual Christianity for
the base metal of Christian Socialism.
Charles H. Spurgeon
19th century English pastor and author

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed
(and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series
of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
HL Mencken
20th century American writer
Moreover, one cannot say that the South committed treason in
establishing its own republic. It did not give aid and comfort to American
enemies. It merely separated itself from the United States in order to achieve,
to its own satisfaction, a more perfect union of like-minded states. There is,
in fact, neither crime nor treachery in that— only the democratic desire of the
people of the Southern states to go their own way. The people of the South were
loyal to their states and that loyalty in no way endangered the peace of those
states that wished to remain part of the United States.
HW Crocker
20th and 21st century American historian and
author
(The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War, p. 130)

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence. It is force. And force,
like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
George Washington
18th Century American
patriot, general officer and president
Propers
The Propers for today are found
on Page 200-203, with the Collect first:
The
Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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RANT to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do
always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good
without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle came from Paul’s
First Letter to the Corinthians, the Tenth Chapter beginning at the First
Verse. Paul reminds us we have a
common past, regardless of our actual lineage. Spiritually, we are descended from the Jews of the
Exodus. Their God is our God,
their actions were directed by our God, the same God. He was a Trinity then as He is today. Their reality it our reality, whether
we choose to understand or accept it. Our forefathers drank of “the same
spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and
that Rock was Christ.” Those who
have gone before provide examples, both good and bad. In this letter Paul addresses the bad and suggest we should
see what their ill behavior gained them before we set our course and not after. And, let we think ourselves ever so
special, he reminds us that we are subjected to no special temptations, only
those “as is common to man.” This
is another example of the adage, Those who are ignorant of history are doomed
to repeat it.
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rethern, I would not
that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and
all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and
in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same
spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and
that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they
were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the
intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye
idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat
and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of
them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us
tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the
destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Today’s
Holy Gospel started in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St.
Luke, beginning at the Eleventh Verse and recounts the story of the prodigal
son. A man has two sons, the older
is a wonderful young man who strives to please his father in everything he
does. The younger son asks for his
inheritance, now rather than later, and sets off to spend it wastefully in a
far off land. In dire straits, he
decides to go home to his father and beg to be allowed to live as one of his
servants. He decides to tell his
father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son…”
Before he can get the words out of his mouth, his father welcomes him,
gives him new clothing and calls the servants to prepare a fatted calf for a
big party. The elder son is very
angry and hurt. He asks his father
what he did wrong; he followed his instructions every day to the best of his
ability, worked hard, and yet his father had never even given a small party for
him. The father answered, saying,
“Son, thou are ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” It was meet that we should make
merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was
lost and is found.” This story,
like that of the workers in the vineyard has a number of meanings. Like the father in the story, God wants
us to be His faithful child, but rejoices when we return to Him. Like the prodigal son, we should be
grateful to live long enough to return to Him. If we are like the oldest son, let us learn from his mistake
and be joyful when our brothers and sisters come home to our family. Let us join in the celebration and not
begrudge the fatted calf.
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esus said, A certain
man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me
the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his
journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he
began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that
country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have
filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto
him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my
father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise
and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as
one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he
was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and
fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy
son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it
on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the
fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was
dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be
merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the
house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and
asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy
father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and
sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out,
and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do
I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou
never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as
this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast
killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with
me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be
glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is
found.
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.
Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Saint Andrew’s
Anglican Orthodox Church
17 August 2014, Anno Domini
The
Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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RANT to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do
always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good
without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Gospel Text for today’s sermon comes from the 15th chapter of St. Luke,
verses 11-32. For the benefit of those who will be reading these notes instead
of hearing them, I will include the entire text by individual verses in the
body of my sermon rather than print the entire text at the beginning. We all
have Bibles, so perhaps this will simplify our understanding.
Here is another of my favorite passages of Holy Scripture. It is the
third series of Parables in this chapter that address “lost” things – the first
is one lost sheep out of one hundred (Vs. 4-7). The sheep might be compared to
a baby Christian who has not gotten his roots deeply set in the Word of God ere
the winds of doubt and temptation assail. He has little vision to see the road
ahead, and wonders off from following the Shepherd. Once lost in the rocky
crevices of the mountain plain, he is terrified and begins to bleat. His
Shepherd is the Good shepherd and He never loses a single lamb placed in his
charge. The second example is that of a lost coin – one silver coin out of ten
– that a lady misplaces. All those who are lost without the church are precious
to the Lord. The lost have no conscience of being lost. They are as good as dead
– just like the silver coin. They cannot even bleat for the Good Shepherd for
they are “dead in trespasses and sins.” That lost coin can in no wise find
itself, so it is like the sinner who is without hope unless he is found by the
good woman (the Church).
Now the third example is you, and me, and all who call themselves
Christians. Do not make the mistake of assuming, ladies, that this Parable is
just about some errant son – it is about the errant daughter as well. If we
belong to Christ, we are all equally the sons and daughters of God the Father.
I understand this parable quite well because I have traveled the same road that
the Prodigal traveled and, thank God, I have also returned by way of that same
road. I have wasted my substance in riotous living, found myself alone and
devoid of a friendly soul, wandered to the depths of the pig sty, and then,
thank God, came to myself and arisen and returned. If you are honest with
yourself, you, too, may have done all that the Prodigal did unless you are a very
unusual son or daughter of Adam. The prodigal, unlike the lost sheep and the
coin, knows his Father well, has a conscience to think, and goes into a far
country away from his Father with intentional resolve.
Let us go back in time to that day when Jesus, confronted by the
murmuring scribes and Pharisees, looked deep into the hearts of all men and
spoke this Parable. His mind could see every human heart and every prodigal
that had ever lived, or will ever live. Being the Master of all Truth and
Wisdom, He condenses all of those prodigals into a single account, so much more
accomplished at the art of example than any Shakespeare that ever lived – or
any other. “A certain man had two sons.” (Luke 15:11) This is
every man – every father, but especially, God the Father. The two sons are you
and me, and every daughter that has seen the light of day.
The man is a good Father, and He loves His sons dearly. The younger son
is a rebellious boy, just like you and me, who resents the authority of his
Father over him. “And the younger of them
said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.”
(vs. 12a) The boy believes that he deserves a reward for which he has never
labored or sacrificed. He believes the wealth of his Father falls to him simply
by accident of birth. How many of us cry for the blessings of God, but deny His
Sovereignty over us? I venture to say everyone who hears this sermon does so to
some extent. The Father looks at His willful son with love and disappointment;
but His disappointment does not abate His love for his rebellious son. “What
can I do to awaken my son to his great need?” the Father must have asked.
Surely He could have denied the boy’s request, but would that have awakened him
to his dire shortcomings, or simply hardened his heart in the matter?
“And he divided unto them his living.”
(vs. 12b) God the Father has no obligation whatsoever to bless
us, but He chooses to do so. This old Hebrew father has no legal or ethical
constraint to grant the boy’s request, but he grants him his prayerful request
knowing that the boy will fare badly on his own. Why? Because the only way that
we can have our dull eyes opened, often, is by having all, losing all, and then
coming to our right minds. It is coming to the last rung on our ladder. So what
does the son do?
“And not many days after the younger son
gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there
wasted his substance with riotous living.”(vs. 13) This son was
in a great hurry to get out from under his Father’s thumb. “And not many days after” he gathered up
his newfound wealth and left his Father, his brother, and all that was his
Father’s. That is what we do when we have known God and, yet, embark off on a
far journey to satisfy our own lusts and desires.
“And when he had spent all.” The
only thing we own in this world is what our Father has given us. We have no
wealth of our own at all since ALL belongs to God. When we strike out away from
our Father’s House, we will soon expend the daily Manna He gives and exhaust
ourselves in barren places. “And when he had
spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.”
(vs. 14) Wherever we go away from God, it is a ‘far country’ of unloving strangers.
Whenever we obey our own wills and not the Will of the Father, there will
result a famine in that land to which we have fled. The want for bread is not
nearly so dreadful as the want for spiritual fellowship with our Father. A
famine of the word, as Amos says, is far more severe than a famine of bread and
water. (Amos
8:11-12)
If we take a chunk of our Father’s money and go out to a far country – say, Las
Vegas – we shall have many friends as long as the largesse remains; but once gone,
so are all of the doting friends. Their faces now become sharp and condemning.
Just as sodium is never found in its pure form in nature, but always joined to
some other element, so the son who is not joined to his Father, must join
himself to others – others who only use and do not care for him. “And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that
country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.” (v.15)
There is no real love among the Godless. This young Jewish son found himself in
the most deplorable of conditions for his faith – feeding the pigs. I will
remind you that the Father knew all that was happening to His son just as God
knows every second of your life, but He lifted not a finger to bring him home.
Why was this? We shall see in due time.
Once famine strikes at the heart, it is unrelenting – never lessening, but
always increasing from misery to misery. “And
he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and
no man gave unto him.” (v. 16) Once we have known God as our
Father, separation from Him becomes unbearable. Our hunger for righteousness
becomes ravenous. God did not put us in this deplorable state: we did it to
ourselves without Him. No man will lift a finger o alleviate the suffering of
the poor in the Far Country of the World. It is a terror to be ravenously
hungry and to know that no man cares enough to give us a crumb from his table.
As the Prayer of Collect truly asserts, “. . . cannot do any thing that
is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The Lord does not bless us in Far
Countries from Him.
There are five profound matters that come to light which the son acted upon
when he found himself in extreme depravity of soul:
1. HE CAME TO HIMSELF
“And
when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have
bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (v.17) It
is my opinion, and I believe one supported by Scripture, that all who are apart
from God are out of their right minds. The son finally “came to himself” and recognized his total lack
of worth in this “Far Country away from his Father. Everyone who comes to
Christ must first recognize their depravity and great need.
2. HE RESOLVED TO ARISE AND CONFESS TO HIS
FATHER
“I will arise
and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee. And am no
more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”
(v.18,19) Every repentance of man begins with a resolution to arise.
Certainly, a sinner can sink no lower than he has already sunk. The only way to
move is up toward God and His Savior.
3. HE ACTED ON HIS RESOLUTION
The son did not pay mere lip service to his
resolution – he ACTED upon it! “And he arose,
and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw
him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
(v.20) Here is a picture of whose beauty I can barely imagine! We know that the
Father is completely aware of His son’s debauchery, yet He never sought to
bring him back. If He had sought the son to bring him back before he had
reached the end of his rope, nothing would have been learned. The Father waited
and watched in pain of soul. Every rebellious sin we commit as Christians is
like another lash over the back of Christ. The son returned! His Father has sat
watching the horizon patiently for days, then weeks, then months, and then the
months turned to years. But with failing eyesight, He watched. Suddenly, a
figure emerged over the distant horizon over which the road wound upon which
his son had left long years before. The figure was dressed in rags, walked with
a stumbling step, smelt of the filth of the pig sty, was bearded and gross of
appearance – no one would have recognized this figure as the handsome young boy
who so proudly marched away on the road of prodigality years before – no one
EXCEPT the Father. His loved told Him who this fellow was at such a long
distance. God loves us so much that He knows and recognizes us even when we are
in desperate sin. The Father could no longer sit and wait. He waited when His
son was going away, but when he was returning, this was a joy to the old man’s
heart. God cares that we are headed in the right direction even if we are yet a
long way off from being at His side. Sin is a DIRECTION and so is
RIGHTEOUSNESS. The Father hugged a filthy, flea-bitten son who stank to high
heaven.
4. HE CONFIRMED HIS RESOLUTION BY CONFESSION AND
REPENTANCE
“And the son
said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am
no more worthy to be called thy son.” (V.21) It is only when we
recognize our unworthiness that we can please God. It is HIS worthiness upon
which we must furl our flags. The Father, just as He knows our hearts, already
knew, without words, the heart of His son. He did not even hear the verbal
confession of His son – the spirit had shouted the news to His heart from afar.
5. HE IS FORGIVEN, RECEIVED, AND RESTORED
“But the
father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:” (V. 22) The
Father does not quibble over the depth of our sins and disloyalty when we have
returned to Him with broken spirit and contrite heart. THE ROBE:
He takes that precious, blood-bought Robe of Righteousness that Christ
purchased at our Redemption and covers our filthy rags of sin and pungent odor.
That covering represents forgiveness, justification, and acceptance. “I
will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he
hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the
robe of righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:10a) THE
RING: This is literally a signet ring which conveys the authority of the
Father upon the son. As believing Christians, we too have that authority
conveyed upon us. In labeling sin as sin, we express not our own opinion, but
the law of God. SHOES: I have seen disturbing pictures of late of the
senseless and cruel murder of captured Iraqi soldiers by ISIS. Most were lying
in a ditch to be shot, and shoeless. Why? It has been a tradition as far back
as King Cyrus that the shoes of captured prisoners be taken to prevent their
escape. Shoes are a sign of liberty; and Christ is the Perfect Law of Liberty.
The Father
arranges a feast for all who return to Him in love and repentance. “And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us
eat, and be merry” (v.23) There is rejoicing in Heaven over the
repentance of a single sinner. (V. 7)
“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost,
and is found. And they began to be merry.” (v.24)
Time does not suffice to bring out all of the beauty inherit in this
Parable, or to expound upon the final verses. That will be food for a later
time. But each of us should read this parable and, in each place the prodigal
is mentioned, insert our own names. It will be an eye-opener.
If you are whiling your days away in a Far Country (no matter how far
away that country is), come to your senses, resolve to arise, then follow up by
arising; return to your Father, confess your sins, and be restored.
Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and
Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California
Today’s sermon tied the Epistle and Gospel together
talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply diction, the
general content is in forewords above.
Consider the words from the Collect, wherein we ask
God to give us … the spirit to think and do always such things as are right;
that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be
enabled to live according to thy will …
This is kind of a follow-on to last week’s
Collect. We are asking God to give
us direction that we might know right from wrong and follow the right way. If we listen to our hearts and minds,
like the aviator, mariner or adventurer without a compass, we will soon be
hopelessly lost. With the compass
that God gives us, we can find the One True Way, much like the compass always
points North.
This is nothing new. As Paul reminds us we have a common
spiritual past, regardless of our actual lineage. Spiritually, we are descended from the Jews of the Exodus. Their God is our God; their actions
were directed by our God, the same God.
He was a Trinity then as He is today. Their reality it our reality, whether we choose to
understand or accept it. Our forefathers drank of “the same spiritual drink;
for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was
Christ.” Those who have gone
before provide examples, both good and bad. We should aspire to follow the good
examples of those who have gone before and not the bad examples that they have
left behind. In this letter Paul addresses the bad and suggest we should see
what their ill behavior gained them before we set our course and not
after. And, let we think ourselves
ever so special, he reminds us that we are subjected to no special temptations,
only those “as is common to man.”
Which is to say, common to everybody within the human race that is not
Christ, which is also to say 100% of the human race. This is another example of
the adage, “Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.” It is an old saw, but one that is as
valid today as the first time it was used.
Speaking of lessons, when Saint Luke recounts the
story of the prodigal son we oft think ourselves at that prodigal one returning
to God so late in life. Yet there
is far more to be learned than this, the titular one.
Consider the two sons. The older is a wonderful young man who strives to please his
father in everything he does. The
younger son asks for his inheritance, now rather than later, and sets off to
spend it wastefully in a far off land.
In dire straits, he decides to go home to his father and beg to be
allowed to live as one of his servants.
He decides to tell his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven,
and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son…” Before he can get the words out of his
mouth, his father welcomes him, gives him new clothing and calls the servants
to prepare a fatted calf for a big party.
The elder son is very angry and hurt. He asks his father what he did wrong; he followed his
instructions every day to the best of his ability, worked hard, and yet his
father had never even given a small party for him. The father answered, saying, “Son, thou are ever with me,
and all that I have is thine.”
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother
was dead, and is alive again; and was lost and is found.”
This story, like that of the workers in the vineyard
has a number of meanings. Like the
father in the story, God wants us to be His faithful child, but rejoices when
we return to Him. Like the
prodigal son, we should be grateful to live long enough to return to Him. We should recognize when we have erred
and as soon as we recognize that, we should immediately return to Our Lord in
prayer, asking for His forgiveness. Like the father in the story, Our Lord will
warmly welcome us back with open arms. The moral of the younger son’s story is
that God is always waiting for us, and if we are not late, we can always return
to Him. Today preferably rather
than tomorrow! He will always accept us with opening arms, but we must make
sure it is not too late. Don’t wait until you die! If you feel you have erred
and strayed, repent now! Do not let the sun go down on your sins and wrath, you
may not live to see another day! On the other hand, consider the oldest son, let
us learn from his mistake and be joyful when our brothers and sisters come home
to our family. Let us join in the
celebration and not begrudge the fatted calf. We should not be jealous or angry when our long lost
brethren return to the flock of Christ! We should be merry and joyful that they
have returned to us! Do not let you anger and pride cloud your emotions like it
does so many of us. But rather see a sinner coming back into His flock and
rejoice in that he is no longer headed towards the Pit!
Action counts.
For by their actions ye shall know them.
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:
What’s on God’s Mind?
Psalm 115:12
Ninth Sunday after Trinity
August 17, 2014
What is
on God’s mind? I have always admired Thornton Wilder’s play, Our Town, especially
the close of Act One, where George and Rebecca Gibbs are looking over the town
by the light of a full moon and a clear sky. They are in a pensive mood, and Rebecca takes the
opportunity to describe the letter a sick friend received from her minister. Actually, it was not the letter, but
the address that interested Rebecca.
It was addressed to:
“Jane
Crofut: the Crofut Farm: Grover’s Corners: Sutton County; New Hampshire; The
United States of America.”
At this
point George interrupts, asking, “What’s funny about that?” “But listen, it’s
not finished,” Rebecca replies. “The United States of America; Continent of
North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe;
the Mind of God.”
I think
those words express something very important, and they express it very eloquently.
There is a benevolent Divine Being in whom all things exist. And this Divine
Being is mindful of us. I don’t
know anything about Thornton Wilder’s beliefs, but on this point he agrees with
Psalm 115, “The Lord hath been mindful of us.” The God of the Bible is no distant disinterested God who
only looks at His creation occasionally, like a person going to a beach or
engaging in a hobby. He is
continually interested and active in His creation. Jeremiah 23:24 says, He fills heaven and earth. Jeremiah
23:23 tells us He is at hand and near to us, not afar off. Psalm 147:9 says He feeds the
ravens. Matthew 10:29 says He sees
even the sparrow, and not one of them falls without His knowledge. The point of these verses is that God
is active in the small details of His creation, and of the lives of His
creatures. Therefore we can know
He is interested and active in our lives also.
Again,
multiple passages of Scripture make this point. In Genesis 6:5, God sees the wickedness of man. In Exodus 3:7 He tells Moses, “I have
seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt.” And He is not watching
from outside, like a spectator at a sporting event. He is on the field and in the game. He knows what is going on inside of
us. He knew the imaginations of the
hearts of people in Genesis 6:5, and in Jeremiah 17:10 He says, “I, the Lord,
search the heart.” It is God’s
complete knowledge we recognise in the opening collect for Holy Communion;
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lmighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all
desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee,
and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen
“The
Lord hath been mindful of us.”
That is the first point of this sermon. We need to be reminded of this because, sometimes we forget
it. Sometimes it seems like God
has forgotten us, or, worse, abandoned us. I think that is part of the background of Psalm 115. The Jews were going through a dark time
and they thought God had abandoned them.
Enemies had risen against them, and the Jews thought the enemies would
destroy them. But when the enemy
came upon them, God delivered them in a great victory. He was mindful of them, and had not
abandoned them. And He watches
you. He is mindful of you. His eye is on the sparrow, and you are
infinitely more valuable to Him than a sparrow.
Let’s
look at verse 14 for a moment: “The Lord shall increase you more and more, you
and your children.” Prior to the
battle, Israel probably expected to be conquered and nearly exterminated. That’s what conquerors did in those
days. Instead, God promises to
increase Israel. In its original
sense, this refers to blessing the Jews with numerous, healthy children and
grand children, so the population will increase and Israel will become a large
and powerful nation. But this
increase goes beyond this. It
looks to a time when the nation of Israel will have no boundaries, and her
people will number in billions rather than millions. It looks forward to the day Christ brings the Gentiles into
the faith, and transforms Israel from a geographic nation to a spiritual family
that unites people of all races, nationalities, and social, economic and
cultural backgrounds in Christ. We
call this united people the “Church.”
In the Church we find the real United Nations, and the real New World
Order. In the Church Israel is
fulfilled and increased. As Paul
wrote in Romans 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”
There
are other ways God gives increase to His Church. We, the New Israel have been given increased light. We see God far more fully than most
people saw Him in the Old Testament.
To them He was a shadowy Being, revealed, and, at the same time, hidden
in the sacrifices, feasts, and liturgies of the Temple. To them He was the mysterious
Melchisedec. He was the Three Men
who came to Abraham at Mamre. He
was the Man who stood among the myrtle trees in the book of Zechariah. He was known to them as glorious light
enshrouded in impenetrable darkness.
But in Christ, “The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth” (1
Jn. 2:8). By His life and
teachings, and by His death and resurrection God reveals Himself more fully
than He had ever been revealed before.
We see the light as we look into the Bible. There we “see” Him walking by the sea, teaching in the
Temple, and dying on the cross.
There we see the empty tomb.
There we hear His words and see His miracles. There the light still
shineth in the darkness, and those who receive Him become the sons of God.
God
gives increase in faith. We often
think of faith as something we create in ourselves. Not so.
Ephesians 2:8 &9 clearly tells us faith, even the faith that trusts
Christ as Saviour, is “the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should
boast.” Is your faith small and
weak? Rejoice that God has given
you any faith at all. But don’t
quit there. Pray. Ask God who giveth to all men
liberally, for greater faith.
Trust the words of the One who said, “Ask and it shall be given.” Ask
for faith to increase, that you may love and trust Him more. Pray like the man
who said, “Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief.” Pray like the disciples, “increase our faith.”
God
gives increase in grace. Grace, in
this sense refers to the God-given ability to believe the teachings of
Scripture and to live the Christian life.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us to pray for this grace. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
So, what
is on the Mind of God? You
are. He watches over you with
unfathomable loving Providence. He
keeps you in His mind and in His thoughts. He works all things for your good. He is preparing a place for you in Heaven, and He is coming
back to escort you to your mansion in His Mansion of Mansions.
His mind
is on you to give you increase. He intends to give you increase in light and
knowledge of Him. He intends to
give you increase in faith to love and trust Him more. He intends to give you increase of
grace that you may find help in time of trouble. “The Lord shall increase you more and more.”
Notice
how the blessings promised in this Psalm are fulfilled in Christ Jesus. In Christ God is mindful of us. In Christ He accomplishes what His mind
intends. In Christ Israel is
increased beyond the physical boundaries of Canaan. In Christ, light and faith and grace are increased to us
today. Surely Psalm 115 speaks
truth, “Ye are the blessed of the Lord.”
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.
Ninth Sunday after Trinity
17 August 2014
“Examples”
1 Corinthians
10:1–13 St. Luke 15:11–32
The
Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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RANT to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do
always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good
without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
How is it that we learn from
examples? We can and do learn from
bad experiences, a bad taste, a burnt finger, a bad smell, so how do we learn
from examples? In our
passage from the first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul is admonishing a
rather randy group of believers to shape up and learn from other’s
experiences. Paul gives the people
of Corinth several examples of bad behavior as modeled by the ancestors of
these believers, those who left Egypt with Moses.
The city of Corinth was located
on the isthmus that would one day have a small canal built near it. This area
was a thriving seaport with ALL the sport, vice, corruption, and resident evil
humans could put together in one area.
Corinth was well known for its’ vices. So when Paul was writing to a group of Jewish
believers who had settled in that city, he used examples from their past, he
pointed to the forefathers and what mistakes they had done; and then just to
make it clear, Paul also wrote about the consequences of this behavior. Remember Jesus gave us many
examples during his three and a half years on earth, we know them as parables. The are stories filled with
examples, what to do right, how to avoid the pitfalls of life, and more
especially, how to live a Christian life.
Paul gives us three specific
examples of those in the desert, three examples that we should also avoid.
1. Avoid
idolatry. Today that means putting
too much affection into something or someone that can keep you from your
primary affection, worship of the Lord. Jobs, hobbies, sports, friends, parties, all things
that can get in the way and take your eyes off of Jesus. The above mentioned activities are ok,
as long as they do not become the central focus of your life, don’t let them
come between you and your God.
2. Do
not commit sexual immorality.
“Well some things are no longer considered immoral today as they were 50
years ago” Ah yes, the age
of relativity, the beginning of post modern thought. If it is prohibited by both the Old and New Testament, it would
be considered immoral. If we
leave the social, psychology, and humanist ideals on the shelf, they are not
the determinants for what the Bible says is still considered immoral. Remember, at one time
in the Old Testament, throwing your first born child into a fiery furnace to
appease Molech was considered the norm by societies that surrounded the Hebrew
people. Thanks to
Judeo-Christian influence we have gotten away from child sacrifices. Today we have too many people who think
that maybe rules about marriage are passe and all sexual activities outside of
marriage is ok, no holds barred. The only problem is God’s Word tells us to not go that way.
We are to either be chaste in our singleness or faithful to one spouse. That
one spouse is supposed to be of the opposite gender. Remember, when God instituted the family in the Garden, it
was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.
3. The
last example Paul give the Corinthians is grumbling. Yikes, that covers a large group of us. I know that when something isn’t
happening fast enough for me, I tend to grumble. Why do you suppose grumbling was singled out? For one thing, it calls into
question God’s ability to provide for us, IN HIS TIME, NOT OURS. Also, we show our ingratitude towards
our Creator, by not accepting what he has given us, He knows what we need and
don’t need. And I think
probably the most important reason grumbling was included in the list of
examples.....it causes others to stumble.
When we hear someone grumble about things, especially about God’s work,
it can cause us to lose hope. It
can cause us to be downhearted, it isn’t a good thing, sort of a slow poison,
that causes others to stop enjoying the blessings of the Lord.
But just in case you were totally
discouraged by the three examples, Paul leaves us with a wonderful promise;
“There hath no temptation taken
you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a
way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Wow, what a wonderful
promise. Now when we
pray together the Lord’s Prayer, let us take to heart the phrase’...lead us not
into temptation....but deliver us from evil’.
Let us take this message to
heart, let us avoid evil in any form, let us cling to the Lord, let us put our
trust in Him, He that is able to keep us from harm and lifts us up from
temptation.
Let us pray
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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our
being; We, thy needy creatures, render thee our humble praises, for thy
preservation of us from the beginning of our lives to this day, and especially
for having delivered us from the dangers of the past night. For these thy
mercies, we bless and magnify thy glorious Name; humbly beseeching thee to
accept this our morning sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; for his sake who
lay down in the grave, and rose again for us, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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GOD, by whom the meek
are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly; Grant
us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest
have us to do, that the Spirit of Wisdom may save us from all false choices,
and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not
stumble; 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.
Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Ezekiel 14:1-11 (KJV)
14 Then came certain of the elders
of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart,
and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be
enquired of at all by them?
4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his
heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and
cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the
multitude of his idols;
5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart,
because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord
God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from
all your abominations.
7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that
sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his
idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his
face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will
answer him by myself:
8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a
sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye
shall know that I am the Lord.
9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I
the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him,
and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the
punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh
unto him;
11 That the
house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more
with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be
their God, saith the Lord God.
When we examine Ezekiel
14:1-11, we find the familiar theme of idolatry. God despises idols and
idol worship because it opens the door to the evil one. And Satan will lead all
who engage in such behavior away from their worship of the Almighty and into
the worship of anything else. While we will briefly touch on the topic of
idolatry, our primary focus will be on those whom God has labeled as false
prophets and false teachers both then and now.
Chapter 14 of Ezekiel
opened with a group of Israelite elders who had come to the prophet seeking the
LORD’s advice (v.1). The prophet then said, And the word of the LORD came unto
me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and
put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be
enquired of at all by them (vv.2-3)? Therefore speak unto them, and say... Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols
in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face,
and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to
the multitude of his idols; that I may take the house of Israel in their own
heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols (vv.4-5).
To begin with, God
questioned the prophet on whether he should even answer those men on account of
their deceitfulness. He then described their idolatry as being a
stumblingblock. That word is derived from the Hebrew word mikshowl and can
denote an offense, an incitement to go astray, or a cause of failing or
falling. God’s message here is that the sin of idolatry makes plain the
worshiper’s state of being with God. Ergo, he cannot realize the love of God,
or enjoy his benefits as he has chosen to worship and serve that which is
false. For in that error, the idolater has fallen away from the true faith. And
yet here they came to enquire of the LORD concerning a particular matter. We call
that being “two- faced” down here in the South, as it refers to someone who
tells you one thing but will do another. A “two-faced” person cannot be
trusted. Our Lord said, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (St. Matthew 6:24). For the duplicitous,
it is a matter of who can do them the most good at that moment. It might be
termed “religious opportunism” as the person so moved is simply looking for “a
better deal” or arrangement.
These men had come to
the prophet Ezekiel thinking he would not know their hearts. In the ordinary
scope of things, the prophet would not have possessed such knowledge. But the
LORD gave him that insight as part of his message to those men wherein he
stated plainly, Every man... that setteth up his idols in his heart, and
putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the
prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of
his idols; that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they
are all estranged from me through their idols (vv.4-5).
Those that worship idols
and then come to God’s prophets for his counsel will be counseled, according to
the multitude of his idols. Matthew Henry noted that, “the counsel... given
them [was] for the preventing of this fearful doom.” God was doing them a favor
by advising them to come clean and remove their idols from their heart. He
called on them to, Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn
away... from all your abominations (v.6). And this applied to not only the
house of Israel, but to the stranger that sojourneth among them (v.7).
As with every warning,
there was a consequence— a judgment that God would carry out if his will was
not obeyed— which the prophet proclaimed: And I will set my face against that
man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the
midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD (v.8). God will be
against any person who will not be obedient to his word and commandment, and
will also make him an example in word as well as remove him from among those
who are his own. God’s omniscience permits him to know the secret things of
men’s hearts. Even as those men thought that they might deceive the prophet,
they could not deceive him who is above deception.
But what if they had
gone to a false prophet? God had an answer for that as well: And if the prophet
be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet,
and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of
my people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the
punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh
unto him (vv.9-10).
Notice that it did not
matter whether the prophet was of God or a false prophet; if they possessed a
heart for idolatry and persisted in seeking a “word” from the LORD even by
means of the fraudulent, the punishment would be the same.
In our world today,
there are a sizable number of false prophets and false teachers. Some travel
about like the snake oil salesmen of old, while others broadcast their
nefarious doctrines on various networks both over the airwaves or on cable.
Most have written volumes on their questionable doctrines which they sell at
their pay-for-view gatherings, as well as on the internet. Sad to say, that
their followers know more about their false teachings than what’s in the Bible.
God’s word written contains all that is necessary for salvation and for living
the Christian life. My question is, “Why re-invent the wheel when you don’t
have to?”
Our heavenly Father
offers every person the opportunity to know of him, and what he desires from
each of us. The Bible tells us about those things that God regards as good and
acceptable as well as those things which he regards as sinful and abominable.
All that is required of us is that we read and heed his prescriptions for life.
Reading the works of men or women who are commenting on Scripture is secondary.
Only by reading the Bible and comparing its teachings with those who have
written on what God really means can one get the sense of truth or, to the
contrary, that of falsehood which lies within their understanding.
The false prophets of
Ezekiel’s day were notorious for telling the people what they wanted to hear.
Their modern-day counterparts are no different. And God’s message to those in
the Old Testament— that they would become signs and proverbs as well as being
cut off from among the people— should serve as a warning to us that he will
deal with the false teachers and ministers of our day.
St. Peter tells us that
there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And
many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth
shall be evil spoken of. Through covetousness shall they with feigned words
make merchandise of you... (II St. Peter 2:1-3).
The apostle noted that
false teachers would bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that
bought them. Think for a moment about the various the false teachers in today’s
world. Consider those “faith healers” who actually heal no one; or the
“name-it-and-claim-it” pastors who say if God does not give you what you asked
for, then you really do not have enough faith in God. Consider the following
description of such deception,” ...James Randi, a magician, in his book, Faith
Healers, documents many of the tactics used to deceive the gullible. Some are
as simple as placing staffers in the audience who pretend to be healed. [One
healer] would pull the heel of one shoe out slightly to make it appear that he
was lengthening a leg. [Another] received his “Words of knowledge” through a
[radio earpiece] through which his wife [would transmit information to] him as
she read from cards collected by staffers. Several faith healers have rented
wheelchairs to use as props. Some have even encouraged people who walked into
the crusade to sit in one of these chairs so they could be taken up to the
front to get a better view. These same people were then pulled out of their
wheelchairs to the amazement of the crowds (Rev. Keith Gibson, “Faith Healers
or Fake Healers?”, Apologetics Resource Center).
God does not charge us
for membership within the Body of Christ neither does he command a fee for any
healing he extends to a believer. If these so-called healers and evangelists
were true to the faith, they would not sell their gifts. Did St. Paul charge
for his ministry? Did St. Peter or the other apostles do so as well? Absolutely
not! They gave what they had freely. It is one thing to ask for offerings or
donations; but to scoop up bucket-loads of money from those who are the least
able to contribute, and then lie to them about their condition is twisted and
evil. St. Peter reminded the faithful concerning such persons that The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust
unto the day of judgment to be punished: but chiefly them that walk after the
flesh... Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil
of dignities (II St. Peter 2:9-10).
God will one day deal
with all who have twisted his word for their gain at the expense of his sheep.
We would do well to remember his words to Ezekiel and admonish those around us
to avoid the smooth and soothing words of those who would make merchandise of
you for their gain in this life but who will forfeit eternal life in God’s
coming kingdom.
Let us pray,
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ather, as you have
communicated to the prophets of old, and to the apostles after them, so fill us
with thy most holy Spirit; that in all things we will seek to properly discern
the truths of Scripture and avoid the snares of the world, the flesh and the
Devil; for these things we ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
