Sunday, March 30, 2025
SERMON SUMMARY FOR 4TH SUNDAY IN LENT, 30 March 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Galatians 4:21-23
We constantly hear that the Old Testament was the Book of the Covenant of the Law. In a certain sense, that is true; however, the Old Testament Law simply points to the covenant of Grace begun in the promise of a Savior made to Abraham and consummated in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the pure Gospel of Grace. Having proven that we were unable to abide by the Law of God in perfection, we needed a Savior upon whom our burdens of sin could be borne on the cross and His righteousness imputed to those who are drawn to His Throne of Grace and Mercy.
God ha promised Abraham to be the father of many nations by Sarah his wife. But in old age, being barren, Sarah decided the Lord needed a little help. She therefore offered her servant, Hagar, to Abrahm for the purpose of conceiving a son for Abraham. This was a failure of faith on the part of both Abraham and Sarah that would lead to a great misfortune for the whole human race. Hagar did, indeed, conceive a son – Ishmael, but Ishmael was not the son of the [promise made to Abraham AND Sarah. Later, Sarah did conceive a son, Isaac, in the advance age of ninety years of age. This was the son of promise that came by the way of God’s promise – not that of Sarah’s presumption in Hagar.
Ishmael was the first son of Abraham, but not by means of the legitimacy of the promise made through Sarah. Ishmael persecuted Sarah’s son, Isaac which resulted in the exile of Hagar and her son conceived in law, but not in accordance with the promise made to Abraham. But in the only promised son of Abraham we can see the shadow of that Covenant of Grace fulfilled in Christ. Hagar represents the Covenant of Law, and Isaac that of Grace. So we find both covenants in the Old Testament. “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
I hope that the reader can see how , by faith in Him, the Son of Promise in Christ is the means by which we, too, are the true children of Abraham – not by way of the flesh, but by faith in that Promise fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We find evidence of that faith in today’s Gospel text: “JESUS went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him” Herein we find the seeds of faith, but misguided as it was. The people followed Christ “because of His miracles’ and not out of faith in His true nature. It may be true that some realized a growing faith in the real Christ of the Feast, but most were seeking a king who would free Israel from the Roman yoke. Many are seeking signs and wonders, but signs and wonders do not save the sinners soul. They saw His former miracles and , now, this miracle of feeding the five thousand with just “five barley loaves, and two small fishes.” Signs and wonders may attract curiosity, but is by no means the end of faith in Christ. “15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” It is His sinless life, His death and resurrection that are sufficient for saving faith – and that is a gift of God’s grace.
It is the sinner whom comes to himself as did the prodigal son of the pigsty, when the Holy Spirit awakens him to his misery and separation from His Father, and makes Him alive in Christ. Our misguided faith is just as bad as no faith art all; but true faith is Christ as Lord and Savior of those who are worthy of death but made alive in Him is the peak of faith.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Devotion on Prayer of Collect for 4th Sunday in LENT 30 March 2025 Anno Domini
The Collect
Fourth Sunday in Lent
GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
We must have learned long ago in our childhood Bible school that there is not anything we must do to go to Hell. Hell is where we are headed the moment we are born into the world. If we simply do nothing, then we shall surely wind up in the fires of Hell. Similarly, there is nothing we can do to earn eternal life – it is a gift of God to those who believe. If you have believed upon the name of Jesus Christ, then you have responded to God’s call as His chosen and elect. Our good works will not keep us from Hell, nor earn for us an entrance into Heaven. But faith, responding to the Grace of God, will, indeed, gain for us such an entrance to Heaven.
All comfort and all grace is from God. It is never earned, but comes ‘paid on arrival.’ It is, as the Collect avers, a grant and not a wage. Thankfully, we are not paid wages for our wages would result in a loss of grace. “For the wages of sin is death;” (sin ALL have sinned, I prefer to forgo the wages to which I am entitled, don’t you?)…. “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) It is so clear and simple, isn’t it? We have all earned our suite in Hell, but God has made a free provision for us in His mansions on High.
This prayer of Collect comes from the Gregorian Sacramentary.
GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved Please note the quality that triggers grace – it is MERCY. We have seen many clergy come and go in our church and in others that are within our purview. The single thing that distinguishes a true minister of God from all others, regardless of a parchment attesting by man’s hand that they are ministers, is the single quality of that Compassion and Mercy that was in Christ. It matters not how hard they labor, how long their hours, how accomplished their sermons, or how broad their experience; if they have not the Compassion of Christ for the little children, for the widows and orphans, for their fellow men and women in all walks of life, then they are not true ministers of God. If their concern is more for personal reward than for the additions to the family of God, they are without hope as ministers. Are we judgmental against others? Remember that same judgment will be levied against you.
Being in the midst of the Lenten Season, we may be feeling overwhelmed by the sense of our sinful unworthiness, but bear in mind that even our unworthiness cannot compare with the altogether worthiness of Christ to redeem us. Just as on the mountain two thousand years ago, He is still able to spread a table before us in the wilderness of our sins.
How is it that the Grace of God is a comfort? When we know that it is the Grace of God that has saved us, and not any personal merit we may boast of, then we are comforted in not wondering always if we have done quite enough to earn our salvation. We are comforted as a little child in knowing that, though we have displeased our parents today, their love for us has not diminished. We are as love in our disobedience as we were loved in our times of favor. But the child, like the Christian, must learn through parental discipline, to improve on his incorrigible behaviors under the father’s counsel and discipline. If you are recipient of the grace and call of God, He will not turn you lose for childish misadventures. Did He not tell us: “….I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Heb 13:5) As far as I know, Christ has never lost any that belonged to Him for as He prayed the night of His betrayal in the Upper Room: While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12) Of course, the son of perdition – Judas Iscariot – was never a follower of Christ for the Scriptures tell us that he was a devil. (see John 6:70)
I hope that we will know with certainty at the conclusion here of this devotion that we deserve to die for our sins, but that it was Christ Himself who died in our stead. Now we are blessed to have a Heavenly comforter to strengthen us through the feeding of the Bread of Heaven just as that ancient multitude was fed, nourished, and comforted on the mountain slope overlooking the Galilean Waters. Have you enjoyed that comfort and strength today?
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
KIND MAKER OF THE WORLD, a Lenten Hymn Devotion for 25 March 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“For thy Maker is thine husband; The Lord of hosts is his name; And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” Isaiah 54:5
This ancient hymn composed by St. Gregory the Great (540-604) is a hymn for Vespers during Lent to the French tune, Jesu Dulcis Memoria, despite its Latin title. It celebrates not only the Sovereignty of God over all Creation, but also over the heart of the believer. It reminds us of our need to repent in light of that magnanimous sacrifice made in redeeming us of our bondage to sin.
KIND MAKER OF THE WORLD
Kind maker of the world, O hear
The fervent prayers with many a tear
Poured forth by all the penitent
Who keep this holy fast of Lent!
Each heart is manifest to thee;
Thou knowest our infirmity;
Now we repent, and seek thy face;
Grant unto us thy pard’ning grace.
Spare us, O Lord, who now confess
Our sins and all our wickedness,
And, for the glory of thy Name,
Our weaken’d souls to health reclaim.
Give us the self-control that springs
From abstinence in outward things;
That from each stain and spot of sin,
Our souls may keep the fast within.
Grant, O thou blessèd Trinity;
Grant, O unchanging Unity;
That this our fast of forty days
May work our profit and thy praise! Amen.
Kind maker of the world, O hear The fervent prayers with many a tear Poured forth by all the penitent Who keep this holy fast of Lent! This hymn is actually a prayer that can be sung to music – one which every believer can sing in heartfelt faith and contrition in light of this season preceding the Passion of Christ. Certainly, the tears of the saints are treasured by God when they are shed in repentance and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Christ fasted for us during the forty days and nights following His baptism, surely the blessed of the Lord could fast forty days and nights prior to the observance of the coming Friday of His Passion at Calvary.
Each heart is manifest to thee; Thou knowest our infirmity; Now we repent, and seek thy face; Grant unto us thy pard’ning grace. There is nothing hidden from the notice of God – even the thoughts of our hearts. “ I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Those sins committed in darkness are revealed in the brightness of the sun to the Father, as well. But God understands our frailty in the flesh and is willing to forgive all who are drawn in repentance to the Throne of Mercy and Grace. He has never turned away any who have been placed in His hand by the Father.
Spare us, O Lord, who now confess Our sins and all our wickedness, And, for the glory of thy Name, Our weaken’d souls to health reclaim. It is to the glory of God that our souls are saved, and nothing of worth that we have done. The Lord is the Great Physician who practices the approach of triage – treating the most serious malady first; therefore, He heals the soul of the deathly disease of sin, and then makes the body whole. When our souls are made whole, we are whole in every whit.
Give us the self-control that springs From abstinence in outward things; That from each stain and spot of sin, Our souls may keep the fast within. Remember, it is the inward spiritual grace that is reflected in the outward man – not the reverse. When we are drawn to Christ, sometimes screaming and resisting, we are first cleansed in the inward man, and then washed in the outward form. That is the meaning of Psalms 51:7 “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Hyssop is a purgative to cleanse the alimentary canal within, and then we are washed without to be whiter than snow (sinless with the imputed righteousness of Christ). Every snowflake contains an impurity at its center, else ice crystals could not coalesce to form the flake, but the saved of God are regarded as having no spot or blemish.
Grant, O thou blessèd Trinity; Grant, O unchanging Unity; That this our fast of forty days May work our profit and thy praise! Amen. The Triunity of the Godhead invites the believer to not only be a child of God, but also enjoy a oneness therewith. The blessed Trinity of God has offered all to us in our salvation. The Father offered His Only Begotten son; the son offered His very Life Blood; and the Holy Spirit guides and directs our feet in Light and Truth. We fast to demonstrate our deep sorrow for sin – even sin forgiven. But the greater fast is to fats from those sins more than of meats. A young Confederate soldier once asked General Robert E. Lee “How often must a man fast?” Lee responded, “If a man would fast from his sins, he may eat what he pleases.”
Monday, March 24, 2025
OUR DEFENSE AGAINST ALL ENEMIES; Sermon Summary for 3rd Sunday in Lent, 23 March 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Ephesians 5:14
The Collect.
WE beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
There is no greater weapon fashioned than those two arms of Light and Love. We have the Light of the world in our Lord Jesus Christ. The are both defensive in sheltering from the storms of life, and offensive in propagating the Gospel. Our collect for the 3rd Sunday in Lent emphasizes our dependence upon the Lord in our righteous desires and petitions, while the Epistle sets forth the means of gaining the favor of Heaven in all our ways; and that way is one of righteousness conceived in Love (“ . . . walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour),and illumined by the Light of Christ to show us the way.
When the heart is possessed of the sweet-smelling fragrance of the Love of Christ, and guided by the Light to direct our paths and the Lamp of the Holy Spirit to light our steps, we need not consider sinful temptations for the believer is no longer under the burden of sin. He acts out of love for Christ and his fellows, and love covers all sin (Proverbs 10:12). His desire is to do the will of God and not that of the Serpent of the Garden. “ . . . arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
We find in our Gospel the Lord Jesus Christ casting out devils. I hope we do not believe that the last devil has been cast out from among us, for the minions of the Devil inhabit the very air about us. “2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” 2:1 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” The world has yet to shed itself of the unbecoming yoke of the devil and sin – and it cannot, in any wise, do so without the power of the Holy Spirit guiding and directing in the lives of His people. There are many among us today (perhaps more than at the time of Christ) of demon-possessed men, women and children who walk among us. One great demon-possession is related to perversions of sex.
There are no pleasant words that come from the mouths of those made dumb with sin; but when the Holy Spirit has drawn the possessed one to the Throne of Mercy and Grace, the righteous tongue is loosed and the one that was possessed speaks with conviction and authority in proclaiming the beauty and wonder of God.
The world refuses to acknowledge the work of the Lord in the lives of His Elect. They denounce every good fruit and prefer the cankered fruits that have lain too long in contact with the earth. The world ascribes false motives to good works. Satan will never cast out himself, but these buggers of the Jews claim that Christ casts out devils by the power of Beelzebub – Prince of the flies and Air. When the fly lands on putrid meats, there will arise maggots that the Pharisees claim is the life that Christ offers. Beelzebub is a demon, and the demon will not cast out his progenitor. No works of the devil have ever resulted in a good and righteous outcome.
The people of the time of Christ were little different from the multitudes of our day who demand a ‘sign.’ There are churches that claim to possess the power to work great signs and wonders; and these seem far more popular to the common mind that those who preach Christ alone, and Him crucified. Signs and wonders are not the fulcrum of faith. “38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:39-40. What did these words of our Lord mean? It meant that in spite of witnesses many signs, wonders and miracles (even resurrecting from the dead) most still refused to believe. It was not god that these sought, but to have their imaginations pricked by signs and wonders. Most of the mega-churches (maybe all) of our day, tickle the ears of men and women to believe a lie. Our Lord points to the essentials of the matter. Jonah was buried for three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, and the third day, the Lord delivered him from death. The same will be true of Christ. He will be crucified, dead and buried for three days and three nights, and God will raise Him up on the third Day! That is enough to know that He is the Con of God – the Messiah!
Is the rock of Faith enough for us? It must be and certainly will be. We do not need to see a smiling jackal pouncing about demanding things of God and even calling down the Holy Ghost as if He has nothing better to do than to entertain with signs and wonders. My friends, the Church needs to get serious about the deep matters of faith and grace. Our days on earth are too few to waste them on false expectations from the ninety-day wonders of the pulpit.
Jesus did cast out devils by the finger of God – the same Finger that inscribed the Ten Commandments on Tables of Stone, and wrote upon the ground twice when confronted with the woman taken in adultery. It is still our Lord Jesus Christ who must expunge our hearts of sinful desires and behaviors. We cannot do so in the least. We may seek our personal righteousness by believing we can ‘clean up our act,’ But our weakness and failure is borne out in future lapses – time after time. We end with greater sins that ever before we began the attempt. We are already dead in trespasses and sin. A dead man can do nothing to revive his dead soul and body. But the Holy Spirit must proclaim our quickening in making us alive in Christ in the same sense as Christ called forth Lazarus from the tomb at Bethany.
Rather than praise the company attending churches and doing good deeds to be seen of men, it is much more critically important to hear the Word of god and to keep it. “And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” And so must we do likewise.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy ghost. AMEN
Monday, March 17, 2025
Zacchaeus Meets the Master (click on URL)
Gospel of St. Luke 19:1-10
19 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Sermon Summary for 2nd Sunday in Lent, 16 March 2025 Anno domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
Sermon Summary for 2nd Sunday in Lent, 16 March 2025 Anno domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
WE beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. Gospel. St. Matthew xv. 21
The Collect.
ALMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle. 1 Thessalonians iv. 1.
WE beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
The Gospel. St. Matthew xv. 21.
JESUS went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
The opening line of the Collect for today expresses the Reformation doctrine of the depravity of man
without Christ – we can do nothing to save ourselves, it is an act of the Sovereignty of God. The purpose of
the Commandments of God is not to our peril, but for our good. God’s cleanses the believer first in soul and
inward grace, and then in the outward living example. “Purge me with hyssop (a herbal laxative), and I
shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (outward conduct).” Psalms 51:7 We suffer as a
result of sin and disobedience, but knowing, loving and seeking the Lord and His Word brings joy and
gladness: “Make me to hear joy and gladness; That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.” Psalms
51:8
The Epistle sets forth our present duties and future hope. How shall we then live? Two distinct properties must characterize the Christian: 1. Abstinence from sin and lusts of the flesh; and 2. Setting an example in both conduct and righteous living. Not only do we abstain from sins of commission, but also those of omission as the General Confession so aptly states. How may we accomplish such a high mark being weak in the flesh? By being strong in the Spirit.
Remember, we have perfect liberty in Christ. Our wills are changed so that we no longer desire the old sins of the flesh, but we will to do righteousness by the power of the Holy Spirit. Being possessed of the Spirit, our liberty is without limit: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Gospel of St. John 3:8 It is the Word and Spirit that motivates every action of the believer in Christ. Not the truth alone, nor the Spirit alone – “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24
The sinner lives in sin because he does not know God. We, on the other hand, have the blessing of both knowing and loving God. “ . . . the Gentiles which know not God.” 1 Thess 4:5 So, we know the ‘how’ of living righteously by His Word by abstinence and good works; and we are told the ‘why’ in the Epistle:
1. By knowing the will of god shared in His Word and reinforced by His Holy spirit.
2. Because it is God’s Will for us.
3. Because to intentional disobey the Law of Gods brings judgment.
4. Because God has given us Commandments to that end.
5. Because God has not left nor forsaken us. He has given us the gift of the Holy spirit to fortify our faith and obedience.
In our Gospel text, we learn the power of “prevailing prayer.” Just as blind Bartimaeus could not be discharged or discouraged by attempts to hush his pleading, neither does the Canaanite woman from the coast of Tyre and Sidon. This entire event in the ministry of our Lord, I believe, is to teach us the value of persistence in prayer. It was never the Lord’s practice to treat sinners harshly, but in love and courtesy; however, He seems to ignore this woman’s pleading for her daughter. Why? He heard the woman’s plea (and actually knew her need long before He came into that region). Those around Jesus tried to hush the woman and send her away empty.
Even in that distant region, the woman knew something of Christ. She called Him Lord and the Son of David which was a precise title for the Messiah. Even a little knowledge of God will go far in bringing near the Throne of Mercy and Grace.
When the disciples proposed to send her away, Christ responded with a very telling remark: “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” There is profound meaning in this remark. This woman was a gentile woman of Canaan, yet, Christ is seeking her as one of His lost sheep. All who have believed the promise of a Redeemer made to Abraham are, in fact, the children of Abraham and Israel, indeed, spiuritually. (see Romans 4:16)
But this woman will have an answer to her prayer. She came and worshipped Christ. This act was far more telling than the actions of many of national Israel. The Lord continues to allow a strong lesson to be witnessed by the disciples. The woman will not be put off even with a gentle rebuff. She pronounces the same simple and brief prayer of Peter when he began to sink in the Galilean Sea: “Lord, help me!” This little three-worded prayer can accomplish far more than the meaningless and verbose prayers of the proud and mighty.
Jesus continues to bring out the virtues of faith in the woman’s plea – not to offend her, but to reveal a mighty principle to the disciples round about. “It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs (puppies).” In a large household, it is the love of the children who secretly hand down food from the table to the puppy below. The bread the puppy receives is of the same quality and character of those at the table. To this woman, it was the Bread of Life. “And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.” Profound need generates profound faith for it may be the last tool in the box for the petitioner. This revealed the whole purpose of Christ in demonstrating that faith to His disciples. “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” Her faith was greater than her need, and our Lord granted her prayer of faith and persistence.
We live in perilous times of persecution, martyrdom, and ridicule of things Holy. Even in our churches, there may be those who would send us away empty, but not our Lord Jesus Christ. He already knows our need, but He seeks our faithful persistence in prayer for resolution of that need. Never give up!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
O PERFECT LOVE, a Hymn Devotion for week following 1st Lent Sunday, 11 March 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Gospel of St. John 3:16
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8
Just as there are none perfectly righteous beside the Lord Jesus Christ, there is likewise no perfect love apart from His great love signed and sealed by the nail and lance wounds inflicted on the cross for us. This hymn is the composition of Dorothy F. Gurney (1858-1932), daughter of an Anglican clergyman, in 1883, to the tune, O Perfect Love, by Barnby. It has appropriately been sung as a wedding anthem, and rightly so, since it was that Perfect Love of Christ in drinking that bitter cup at Calvary’s Mount to seal His betrothal; to His Bride, the Church. Under Hebrew betrothal customs, the prospective Bridegroom attended the home of his prospective Bride with parents present as witnesses. After discussion before a table furnished only with a cup of wine, if the Bridegroom was receptive to the betrothal, he drank from that Cup; then, if agreeable to the betrothal; as well, the prospective bride would drink from that same Cup sealing the betrothal. This custom reflects the meaning of the counsel of Christ in Matthew 20:22 – “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.” Mrs. Gurney wrote the hymn for her sister’s wedding after retiring to the study for only fifteen minutes.
O PERFECT LOVE
1 O perfect Love, all human thought transcending,
lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne,
that theirs may be the love which knows no ending,
whom thou in sacred vow dost join in one.
2 O perfect Life, be thou their full assurance
of tender charity and steadfast faith,
of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance,
with childlike trust that fears no pain or death.
3 Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow;
grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife;
grant them the vision of the glorious morrow
that will reveal eternal love and life.
1 O perfect Love, all human thought transcending, lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne, that theirs may be the love which knows no ending, whom thou in sacred vow dost join in one. This stanza points out the transcending love of God that surpasses all human comprehension. His love is pure and undiluted. Though we may love Christ with all our hearts, that love can never reflect in completeness the torrential beams of love coming down to us from the Father of Lights and of our Lord Jesus Christ. We kneel before His throne in reverential worship and not the man-centered worship that has become ‘fashionable’ in the modern church. It is our fixed love of God that unites the Body of Christ (the Church) into one just as illustrated by the one Bread of which we partake at Holy Communion.
2 O perfect Life, be thou their full assurance of tender charity and steadfast faith, of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance, with childlike trust that fears no pain or death. Truly, we are saved by faith through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; however, that grace of God is not dispensed through a false or misguided faith. True faith results in good works as evidence of its presence. Love commands hope, patience and long suffering. It is not a passing whim of the lukewarm heart. The loving faith of a child exceeds the faith of the aged elect when it is nurtured and tenderly expressed by the parent.
3 Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow; grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife;
grant them the vision of the glorious morrow that will reveal eternal love and life. Stephen, though under the duress of stoning, looked with joy into Heaven and saw his Lord. So does every professor of faith pass from life to LIFE with joyous expectation of seeing the same Lord that blind Fanny Crosby saw so clearly in her hymns. We, too, may taste that eternal love and life even in our mortal bodies if we have placed our trust in the Lord.
A NATIONAL BAPTISM, Sermon Notes for 1st Sunday in Lent, 9 March 2025 Anno
Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
1 “Moreover... all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. — "
1 Corinthians 10:1
The plan of God for His elect has not changed since Eden. Aware of man’s depravity, the Lord has given stark lessons to prove to us that we can, in no wise, earn our own salvation, but are in need of a Redeemer/Savior in Christ. God did not have one plan for the Old Testament saints, and a new, revised version for the New. From the promise made to Eve, confirmed in Abraham, and proclaimed in Job 19:23-27 –
23
Oh that my words were now written!
Oh that they were printed in a book!
24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead
In the rock for ever!
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth,
And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body,
Yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
Though my reins be consumed within me.
The same Redeemer of which Job made referenc is the same as that mentioned in the covenant promise stated in Psalms “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.” Psalms 111:9 This Redeemer and covenant is the same fulfilled in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Abraham was saved by faith in the same Redeemer in whom we have placed our trust in these latter days. He was saved by faith in his trust of the coming Redeemer just as we are saved in the sure knowledge of the accomplished fulfillment in Christ, our Redeemer, Savior, and Lord.
Please consider a little recognized relationship between our Gospel Text today from the Gospel of St Matthew, chapter 4, and the Red Sea crossing recorded in Exodus and further explained in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4,
“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
There is an amazing symbolic comparison between our Lord’s baptism and time spent in the Wilderness being tempted of the Devil, and the Children of Israel and their Dead Sea and Wilderness experience. It is a point I had not considered until delivering my sermon this morning.
We are told in the Gospel text that our Lord Jesus Christ was first baptized in the presence of the full Trinity of God – that is, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Afterward, He was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. Though His temptation was great, He never succumbed to the wiles of the Devil but always answered each temptation with “it is written” – or, the Word of God – a principle that would save us likewise from many dangers of temptation.
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: 20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. . . . And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians Exodus 19-20, 24-25
Please note a couple of salient points in the text from Exodus:
1. The entire nation was baptized in the Sea (1 Cor 10:2)
2. The children of Israel were under the protective Eye of the Lord in the Cloudy Pillar by day and Fire by night – but not only in leading, but also in following to protect there rear echelon. “and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:”
3. The Lord Himself was in the Pillar: “And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud.” It is a joy to know that God not only leads us, but has a following protection for His people then and now.
4. After destroying the armies of Pharaoh, the children wandered forty years in the wilderness being face with, and often succumbing to temptations.
What lesson was the Lord teaching us in the Gospel account from the Gospel of Matthew and that of Exodus? The entire experience was to prove that we are not able to overcome the devil by our own strength and can, in no wise, EARN our salvation. Just as the Children of Israel failed in so many ways in the Wilderness to keep God’s Laws and Commandments, so can we not keep them today without a Redeemer and His imputed righteousness.
Though we failed in the Wilderness, for forty years after baptism in the Sea, Christ prevailed against Satan in the Wilderness for forty days after baptism. He thereby proved His calling as Redeemer, Savior, Lord, and King.
God fed us with that temporary bread from Heaven (Manna) in the Wilderness, but in our present wilderness of worldly passions and wickedness, He feeds us with the Living Bread that came down from Heaven – Himself!
The notion that God changes in periods of dispensation is false. His plan is constant and unchanging, though we may be blessed with dispensations of greater understanding and revelation of His Word.
There is so much more to these truths than that which can be related by my frail penmanship and sermon, but the full answers are available in the Golden Book of Heaven – the Holy Bible.
In the Name of the Father ,and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. See less
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