A Remedy for the Idle Mind – 30 June 2022, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

 

B

UT seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  (Matthew 6:33-34)

 

            The wise man, Benjamin Franklin, wrote – “An idle mind is the workshop of the devil” and so it is. The average youth, and some older, have been raised on the habit of instant gratification in everything – fast food restaurants, next day mail, instant knowledge revealed at the press of a computer button – no longer does a student need to do lengthy research for his papers since all is available on the internet. He can do his homework without even thinking.

 

            Opulence in all things in America has made us soft and not very personally independent, even socially reclusive. Computer games began with Space Invaders a few decades back. It wasn’t long until our youth became bored with that innocent game, so, now we have bloody games that are graphic in the shedding of blood. These have alleviated the boredom for a while, but now, real action is needed to satisfy what once was innocent curiosities. So, crime soars as the moral and social fabric of America has gone with the wind.

 

            Is the answer for our dilemma to be found in more cruel and bloody games, enhanced technology, more instantaneous response in service industries? No, I believe an over reliance on technology and communicative forums such as Twitter, Tik-Tok, YouTube and Facebook is part of the source of our modern day problem. We have no time to consider the deeper issues of life and relationships.

 

            There is an answer to our problems that is the only answer that seems unacceptable in our day. That solution is found in the Word of God. He is our Maker, and His counsel is inerrant, and His answers are always the best for our souls and society at large. 

 

            There are individuals walking our crowded streets, partying at our pubs, and interacting via computer who are intensely lonely and bored. They have not known the Fountain of Living Waters. They have not learned the Law of God’s Love and Compassion, so they have none of their own. Neither have they sought it. Instead, they have resorted to alcohol and narcotics. The little dose at first will not forever satisfy, so, they increase their abuse in greater and greater quantities until the soul is dead and the body soon follows.

 

            Though there remain pastors in America who still preach the undiluted Word, the greater majority teach and preach a corrupted word that is intended to satisfy itching ears and add to the coffers of the church. (Incidentally, a larger church fund results in higher pay for the preacher) This pre aching has no power lift up, bugt only to tear down.

 

            When the lonely and despondent one finds itself by the wilderness of Beersheba, there is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He heard the cries of Ismael and found His mother, Hagar, by a Fountain of Water. Water is the thing most precious for which Hagar wept, but her profuse tears blinded her from seeing. He will do the same for all who earnestly seek Him. The lonely one will find a constant companion in Christ. His path in life will be made clear and his labors certain. Boredom will cease. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

 

         Once we call upon the Lord, we must focus on Himto the exclusion of the shiny adornments of the world. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)

 

         Next, separate yourselves from those whose sins make them enemies of your soul and of your Lord. 

 

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HEREFORE come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,  (Corinthians 6:17) 

 

         Then serve the Lord with all your heart. You can never do works enough to pay for your sins, but He has already done so. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. (Romans 7:6)

 

         If you are lonely, bored and have no direction in life, come from that basement of despair and turn to the Light of God, I beseech you. He will give you meaning and direction in a turbulent world.

The Slippery Slope of the Lukewarm Christian – 29 June 2022, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

 

 

S

URELYthou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 

(Psalm 73:18)

 

FE Marsh gives this illustration of the slippery places that surprise us:

 

            A deacon was walking home with his minister one frosty night, when the minister slipped and fell back on the pavement. Ah, said the deacon, looking at him; ''Sinners stand on slippery places. The minister looked up at him as if to assure himself of the fact, and said, I see they do - but I cannot! Of course, that tale was intended to evoke humor, but in the Christian life, the slippery slope is no laughing matter. It can deter us from the Straight and Narrow Way and place our feet on the Broad Way that leads ever downward to destruction.

 

            If the Christian believer is to avoid slipping in his Christian walk and testimony, he must avoid those walks where the footing is slippery and uncertain. We have the Light of God as our Guide at all times to keep our feet on safe ground if we only heed the Light. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)

 

Here are some conditions that lead us away, and not to, God and His Word;

 

Blindness

Many are blind by choice, or prefer to follow a blind shepherd for the sake of acceptance.

 

A

ND beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; ⁶  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;⁷  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. ⁸  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. (2 Peter 1:5-9)

 

Overly Self-Confident 

At the Last Supper, Peter made a boast that would humiliate him only a few hours later Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.  (Matthew 26:33) That very night Peter denied our Lord thrice and went out and wept bitterly.

 

Pride

Pride may be considered the mother of all sin and is the first listed as sins that God literally HATES. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.   (Isaiah 14:13-15)  Pride is the mighty sin which expelled Lucifer from Heaven.

 

Love of Mammon

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. You will observe that God does not say money (an inanimate resource) is evil in and of itself – it is the LOVE of money that places its acquisition above all else and blinds the holder to Almighty God. Anything worldly that comes between God and man is evil. The world will blind us to things spiritual just as the Moon eclipses the greater Light – the Sun.

 

Covetousness

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. (2 Timothy 3:2) Have we loved self more than anything else? We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do not amass to ourselves silos of grain while our neighbor begs a morsel of food. There are men today who sleep not in planning the means to take their neighbors holdings.

 

Conformity to the World

This may be the cardinal sin of the modern Church coupled with Pride! When we enter a church, the music should not mimic that of the world. The preaching prayers must be reverent and uttered in dignity. There should be no appeals for money as the Gospel is freely given, bit at great price to the Giver. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

 

Fleshly Attraction

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.  (Romans 13:14)  We will may drift from the path laid out be the Shepherd from time to time, but we must have a firm hand upon which to hold and restore our balance. That is the Anchor of the Soul measured by faith. Though we may falter, we have an Advocate with the Father – our Lord Jesus Christ

The Enemy at the Gates – 28 June 2022, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

 

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E are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:4-6)

 

The enemy arrays his forces without the gates of the Holy City- the Church. If he can penetrate the gates under siege, he will do so; but, if not, he will bring forth a Trojan Horse by which the dwellers of the city may be deceived if not relying upon God alone for their protection and defense. 

 

From the beginning, Satan worked in the Garden to overturn that which the Lord had made. What Satan cannot have, he will try to destroy it by any means possible. We see this manifested not only in politics, but even in the Church itself.

 

During the centuries following the Ascension of Christ, Satan made a frontal assault on the Church by persecution and martyrdom. In that regard, he failed miserably, for the blood of the saints only watered the soil of resolve of the Faith. Satan turns to more subtle means today. He has infiltrated the Church so that its members are little different from those without her gates. He has infiltrated every venue of public, political, and theological discourse to weaken the walls and spread his ungodly and deadly poison. He is a formidable enemy because he wears the dress of the Christian, the smiles of a saint, and the seducing qualities of a demagogue.

 

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OW the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” (Gen 3:1-3)

 

Question

You will observe that the devil begins his intrigues with a simple, but inaccurate question of God’s Word. It is not a seemingly big change, but any change to God’s Word leads to grave error. In fact,his question implies the very opposite of what God said.  God did not say, “Ye shall not eat of EVERY tree in the Garden”, but rather, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17) This question was intended to disarm the gullible Eve. The serpent is slick and perhaps beautiful - just the thing that deceives the uninformed as we judge by the outward, and not the inward, appearance.

 

Response of the Unprepared Believer

There were two trees in the midst of the Garden, so Eve answered without a full understanding of God’s Word. It is for this reason that serious Bible study is so very important to the Christian believer: “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the TREE OF LIFE also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:9) The first represented our Lord, the second, the Adversary.

 

Serpent opens the Net

Satan now disputes, openly, the Word of God! “Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:4-5) Like all modern-day hypocrites, in denying the Word of God, Satan offers an appealing substitute in his denial – an appeal to pride. Not only did God lie, says the serpent, but questions God’s sincerity in His Word. “Ye shall NOT surely die” – just the opposite of God’s Word; and, “Ye shall become as gods.” We see the same appeal of the modern apostates who arrogate the powers of God to themselves. Instead of taking the Word of god into the world, the modern Church has invited the world into the Church. Many have rejected the Shepherd and followed the Wolves.

 

            Today we see the Word of God again turned upside down as the Church prefers the serpent to the Lord. ‘Good’ has become ‘bad’, and ‘bad’ has become ‘good.’ “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”  (Isaiah 5:20-21) We live in perilous times, not only for the body, but for the soul as well. Put on the whole armor of God, my friends.

 

B

E sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8)

AOC Sunday Report - Second Sunday after Trinity

 

Happy Second Sunday after Trinity.

The AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded RIGHT HERE.

We have excellent sermons from Bishop Roy, as well as Rev Jack and Bryan.  RevJack's sermon can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE.

There are always a lot of people who would appreciate your prayer.  Please start with Shamu, Tricia, Jim, Laurie, Lourie and work out from there.

There is an epic week ahead, you might need help finding it.  God has that help for you, the Holy Ghost, that Third God Guy.

Have a super week.

Godspeed,

Hap

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

United States of America

Second Sunday after Trinity

 

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Rev Jack's sermon can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE!

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 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.  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. Through the Holy Ghost, He will give us that protection, we just have to let Him in. He will also cheer us up when we get depressed in this not nice place and give us spiritual comfort. 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.  Like many principles of the Christian faith, it can be hard at times, but as long as we do our best do 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 is about more than just going to church, it is about 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 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 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

Second Sunday after Trinity - Propers with explanation – 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. 

 

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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. 

 

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 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 can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE!

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 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.  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. Through the Holy Ghost, He will give us that protection, we just have to let Him in. He will also cheer us up when we get depressed in this not nice place and give us spiritual comfort. 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.  Like many principles of the Christian faith, it can be hard at times, but as long as we do our best do 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 is about more than just going to church, it is about 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 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 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

AOC Sunday Report - First Sunday after Trinity

 

Happy First Sunday after Trinity!

The AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded RIGHT HERE!

We have great sermons today from Bishops Jerry and Roy, as well as Revs Jack and Bryan.  Rev Jack brings the propers together. The Collect talks about our need for help, the Epistle our need for Love and the Gospel is the story of Lazarus the sick man left to die by the rich man. The lessons might not be what you think, listen and learn.  His sermon can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE.

There are a lot of people who need your prayer every week; this is no exception.  Please start with Roy, Tricia, Shamu, Laurie, Lourie and work out from there.

There is a great week ahead, if you are having trouble seeing it, you might consider opening your heart and soul to that Third God Guy, the Holy Ghost.  The world is not all good, but there is a lot of good in it and more good you need to do.  He can and will help.

Have an EPIC week.

Godspeed,

Hap

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

United States of America

First Sunday after Trinity

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Rev Jack's sermon can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE.  https://youtu.be/cQvYT-se2u0

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

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; … 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…

 

This is a little longer Collect than usual, but in it we acknowledge God is the source of our strength, as without Him we are weak and cannot do any true good.  Thus, we ask His help or grace to do His Will in both in our thoughts and actions. This is a consistent theme through all the collects, because it is based on the simple truth we cannot help ourselves and we need true Divine Guidance in order to make it into heaven.  We need His Guidance to perform the actions we need to follow the course Jesus set for us.

 

And, what is the first action we are to take?  To love one another.  Saint John pointed out if we do not love our fellow creatures here on earth whom we have seen and touched, how then can we claim to have love for God, whom not one of us have seen?  We do not love God if we do not love our fellow humans. Even if they have strayed a long ways off the path, we are still called to love them and help them if they want to be helped. It does not matter how we feel about them personally, it is what God has called us to do and what Jesus has shown us through these actions. 

 

We are called to love individuals. How do we love individuals? The first step is if we have unrighteous anger and or hatred in our hearts to cease that towards them.  First hatred and unrighteous anger needs to be stopped, for it is not a virtue of God. Hate stems from sin and evil and from Satan. There is no individual on this earth worth hating. Ultimately hate will rot away your heart and soul until you have none left effectively. Hate is not worth the energy that it consumes. Instead of hating people, try to love them; a positive force instead of a negative force. It is easier said than done and sometimes it is really hard not to hate somebody, but whenever you find yourself doing that, think of the consequences of hating somebody and switch to loving them instead.

 

However, loving an individual does not mean that you approve of their acts that are sinful and harmful to one’s health, spiritual or physical. This is concept which confuses many today. They think we are condemning them, when in reality that is far, far from the truth. We cannot condone such things as  smoking or homosexual acts or abortion. Though we may know individuals who do these things, we must despise the sin, but realize these people, no matter how truly fallen they may be (Some are worse than others, but none are better. As Paul says, all fall short), are people created in the express image of God by God. 

 

God loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for our sins.  That is true love.  Not that we love Him, but that first He loved us!  God is the source of true love and He is the reason true love has so many wonderful qualities, so strong and enduring.  So, if God first loved us, ought we also not love each other?  No one has seen God at any time.  Yet, He loves us and we say we love Him.  If we do love one another, then God is in us, the Holy Ghost, and we are in Him.  Be bold, the world will end sometime; for each of us this world ends when we leave here.  Fear not, trust in God and dread naught. 

 

Do not be afraid to love one another, regardless of what any man says. Do not fear man, only fear God, the great Judge, and Jesus the Advocate, and the Spirit, the Purifier, Guiding Light. Man can do nothing in comparison to God. Man can only hurt us physically, they cannot hurt our souls. God and His love will keep fear and the damage it does at bay.  Love each other and act on that love.

 

Jesus illustrates perfectly in this parable what happens when we only think of ourselves and do not help or even think of others. He could have taken pity on him and Actually helped him, like the Good Samaritan. Instead, he just let him die, figuring that that was the end of him.  Lazarus was a rather disgusting feature of his world; when he died, the rich man was pleased not to have to pass by him.  Yet, it never entered into his head to help.  

 

Why was he this way? It was because he was a selfish person who only thought of himself and how he was inconvenienced by Lazarus’s presence, and never stopped to think of what Lazaraus was going through and how he could help Lazarus. This man was the total opposite of the Good Samaritan in every way. There is sadly way too many people in this world like the rich man, and not just those of high income status but those of low income status too. This is a problem that effects everyone due to our sinful nature.We must do our best to let God into our hearts and fight this sinful nature, so we can act more like the Good Samaritan and less like the rich man from the parable.

 

How can we prevent ourselves from becoming like the rich man? Put your trust in God and dread naught.  Love those around you and ACT on that love.  It does not matter if they are the same religion as you, but you still must love and act towards them all the same.  That does not mean baring your throat to the Koran following Muslims; but it does mean treating them with kindness and charity until you must act to defend you and your way of life from them.  They deserve pity, for as they follow Allah, that is the Devil, as Christ said They know not what they do.

 

Think how you can help, not how you can “enjoy” life. Helping never means supporting those who do not feel like supporting themselves.  For dependency breeds slothfulness and contempt.  Dependency destroys the soul.  

 

What is does mean is facilitating a way for those who do not have what they need to earn what they need; to bring them the means of acquiring those things which they need.  Those things are spiritual as well as physical.  A hand up; not a hand out.  You will find out the more you help, the more you enjoy real life.  Whether it is helping somebody at the office, around the neighborhood or a friend, there is immense pleasure from the result of helping people, so much more than feathering your own nest, so to speak.  It is not only more blessed to give than to receive, but it brings a lot more happiness into your life.

 

This is hard to do.  We want to concentrate on what makes us feel good about ourselves right here and right now.  We have to be coerced into staying on the narrow path upward and inward.  But, that is where our home is.

 

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

First Sunday after Trinity - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon

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

 

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.

 

Today’s Epistle came from St. John‘s First General Epistle, the Fourth Chapter, beginning at the Seventh Verse.  John pointed out that if we do not love our brethren here on earth we have seen and touched, how then can we claim to have love for God, whom no man hath seen?  “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”  God loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for our sins.  That is true love.  Not that we love Him, but that first He loved us!  So, if God first loved us, ought we also not love each other? No one has seen God at any time.  Yet, He loves us and we say we love Him.  If we do love one another, then God is in us, the Holy Ghost, and we are in Him.  Be bold, the world will end some time, for each of us it ends when we leave here.  Fear not, trust in God and dread naught.  God and His love will keep fear and the damage it does at bay.  Love each other and act on that love.

 

This reading covers the same ground as Jesus’ Summary of the Law, the second portion, “That he who loveth God love his brother also.”  God is love, not hate.

 

B

ELOVED, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 

Today’s Gospel came from the Sixteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the Nineteenth Verse.  It is a story Jesus told of Lazarus, not the Lazarus whom he raised from the dead, but a fictional character. This Lazarus was poor and very ill, he was laid at the gate of an extremely well fed rich man hoping he might be fed with the castoffs from the rich man’s table.  He was so ill, he could not move when dogs came to lick his sores.  He died and went to heaven where he was well cared for and was whole.  The rich man died, and for his self centered behavior here on earth, went to hell where he was tormented horribly.  He looked up and saw Lazarus.  He begged for just a touch of water, that he might be comforted. Abraham told the rich man that he would receive no comfort as he had partaken of all the comfort he would get while on earth when he thought only of himself.  He also told him there was a gulf between heaven and hell through which no one could pass.  Hearing that, the rich man asked that Lazarus be sent to his father’s house that his brothers might avoid his fate.  Abraham pointed out they had the words of Moses and the prophets, if they would not hear them, they would not listen to one who rose from the dead.

 

T

HERE was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is com-forted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Rev Jack's sermon can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE.  https://youtu.be/cQvYT-se2u0

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

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; … 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…

 

This is a little longer Collect than usual, but in it we acknowledge God is the source of our strength, as without Him we are weak and cannot do any true good.  Thus, we ask His help or grace to do His Will in both in our thoughts and actions. This is a consistent theme through all the collects, because it is based on the simple truth we cannot help ourselves and we need true Divine Guidance in order to make it into heaven.  We need His Guidance to perform the actions we need to follow the course Jesus set for us.

 

And, what is the first action we are to take?  To love one another.  Saint John pointed out if we do not love our fellow creatures here on earth whom we have seen and touched, how then can we claim to have love for God, whom not one of us have seen?  We do not love God if we do not love our fellow humans. Even if they have strayed a long ways off the path, we are still called to love them and help them if they want to be helped. It does not matter how we feel about them personally, it is what God has called us to do and what Jesus has shown us through these actions. 

 

We are called to love individuals. How do we love individuals? The first step is if we have unrighteous anger and or hatred in our hearts to cease that towards them.  First hatred and unrighteous anger needs to be stopped, for it is not a virtue of God. Hate stems from sin and evil and from Satan. There is no individual on this earth worth hating. Ultimately hate will rot away your heart and soul until you have none left effectively. Hate is not worth the energy that it consumes. Instead of hating people, try to love them; a positive force instead of a negative force. It is easier said than done and sometimes it is really hard not to hate somebody, but whenever you find yourself doing that, think of the consequences of hating somebody and switch to loving them instead.

 

However, loving an individual does not mean that you approve of their acts that are sinful and harmful to one’s health, spiritual or physical. This is concept which confuses many today. They think we are condemning them, when in reality that is far, far from the truth. We cannot condone such things as  smoking or homosexual acts or abortion. Though we may know individuals who do these things, we must despise the sin, but realize these people, no matter how truly fallen they may be (Some are worse than others, but none are better. As Paul says, all fall short), are people created in the express image of God by God. 

 

God loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for our sins.  That is true love.  Not that we love Him, but that first He loved us!  God is the source of true love and He is the reason true love has so many wonderful qualities, so strong and enduring.  So, if God first loved us, ought we also not love each other?  No one has seen God at any time.  Yet, He loves us and we say we love Him.  If we do love one another, then God is in us, the Holy Ghost, and we are in Him.  Be bold, the world will end sometime; for each of us this world ends when we leave here.  Fear not, trust in God and dread naught. 

 

Do not be afraid to love one another, regardless of what any man says. Do not fear man, only fear God, the great Judge, and Jesus the Advocate, and the Spirit, the Purifier, Guiding Light. Man can do nothing in comparison to God. Man can only hurt us physically, they cannot hurt our souls. God and His love will keep fear and the damage it does at bay.  Love each other and act on that love.

 

Jesus illustrates perfectly in this parable what happens when we only think of ourselves and do not help or even think of others. He could have taken pity on him and Actually helped him, like the Good Samaritan. Instead, he just let him die, figuring that that was the end of him.  Lazarus was a rather disgusting feature of his world; when he died, the rich man was pleased not to have to pass by him.  Yet, it never entered into his head to help.  

 

Why was he this way? It was because he was a selfish person who only thought of himself and how he was inconvenienced by Lazarus’s presence, and never stopped to think of what Lazaraus was going through and how he could help Lazarus. This man was the total opposite of the Good Samaritan in every way. There is sadly way too many people in this world like the rich man, and not just those of high income status but those of low income status too. This is a problem that effects everyone due to our sinful nature.We must do our best to let God into our hearts and fight this sinful nature, so we can act more like the Good Samaritan and less like the rich man from the parable.

 

How can we prevent ourselves from becoming like the rich man? Put your trust in God and dread naught.  Love those around you and ACT on that love.  It does not matter if they are the same religion as you, but you still must love and act towards them all the same.  That does not mean baring your throat to the Koran following Muslims; but it does mean treating them with kindness and charity until you must act to defend you and your way of life from them.  They deserve pity, for as they follow Allah, that is the Devil, as Christ said They know not what they do.

 

Think how you can help, not how you can “enjoy” life. Helping never means supporting those who do not feel like supporting themselves.  For dependency breeds slothfulness and contempt.  Dependency destroys the soul.  

 

What is does mean is facilitating a way for those who do not have what they need to earn what they need; to bring them the means of acquiring those things which they need.  Those things are spiritual as well as physical.  A hand up; not a hand out.  You will find out the more you help, the more you enjoy real life.  Whether it is helping somebody at the office, around the neighborhood or a friend, there is immense pleasure from the result of helping people, so much more than feathering your own nest, so to speak.  It is not only more blessed to give than to receive, but it brings a lot more happiness into your life.

 

This is hard to do.  We want to concentrate on what makes us feel good about ourselves right here and right now.  We have to be coerced into staying on the narrow path upward and inward.  But, that is where our home is.

 

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