240929 AOC Sunday Report
Worldwide Communion
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
Sunday Report
The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 29, 2024
Eighteenth
Sunday after Trinity Propers:
The propers are special prayers and readings from the Bible. There is a Collect for the Day; that is a single thought prayer, most written either before the re-founding of the Church of England in the 1540’s or written by Bishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of Canterbury after the re-founding.
The Collect for the Day is to be read on Sunday and during Morning and Evening Prayer until the next Sunday. The Epistle is normally a reading from one of the various Epistles, or letters, in the New Testament. The Gospel is a reading from one of the Holy Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Collect is said by the minister as a prayer, the Epistle can be read by either a designated reader (as we do in our church) or by one of the ministers and the Holy Gospel, which during the service in our church is read by an ordained minister.
The propers are the same each year, except if a Red-Letter Feast, that is one with propers in the prayerbook, falls on a Sunday, then those propers are to be read instead, except in a White Season, where it is put off. Red Letter Feasts, so called because in the Altar Prayerbooks the titles are in red, are special days. Most of the Red-Letter Feasts are dedicated to early saint’s instrumental in the development of the church, others to special events. Some days are particularly special and the Collect for that day is to be used for an octave (eight days) or an entire season, like Advent or Lent. The Propers for today are found on Page 214-215, with the Collect first:
The Collect for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. The Epistle. 1 Corinthians i. 1.
I THANK my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. The Gospel. St. Matthew xxii. 34.
WHEN the Pharisees had heard that Jesus had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
On Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come from? The answer is from the people who uttered them. But, how did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, others from Rev. Geordie and many from Rev Bryan Dabney and a few from other places.
Rev. Geordie Menzies-Grierson – England (above)
Points to Ponder:
Let no man
deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him
become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And
again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
I
Corinthians 3:18-20
For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works,
lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians
2:8-10
The fear
of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
Proverbs
10:27
All flesh
is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the
grass withereth, the flower fadeth because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon
it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth::
but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Isaiah
40:6-8
The
cardinal error against which the gospel of Christ has to contend is the effect
of the tendency of the human heart to rely on salvation by works.
The Rev.
Charles H. Spurgeon
Do not be
led away from the truth and simplicity of the gospel by pretenders to science
and eloquence by a show of deep learning, or a flourish of words, by [the
learned so-called]. We are in great danger of deceiving ourselves when we have
too high and opinion of human wisdom and arts; plain and pure Christianity will
be likely to be despised by those who can suit their doctrines to the corrupt taste
of their hearers and set them off with fine language, or support them with a show
of deep and strong reasoning...The person who resigns his own understanding
that he may follow the instruction of God is on the way to true and everlasting
wisdom.
The Rev.
Matthew Henry
Let me
speak first of the right, the duty, and necessity of private judgment. When I
say the right of private judgment, I mean that every individual Christian has a
right to judge for himself by the Word of God whether that which is put before
him as religious truth is God’s truth, or is not. When I say the duty of
private judgment, I mean that God requires every Christian man to use the right
of which I have just spoken; to compare man’s words and man’s writings with
God’s revelation, and to make sure that he is not deluded and taken in by false
teaching. And when I say the necessity of private judgment, I mean this, that
it is absolutely needful for every Christian who loves his soul and would not
be deceived to exercise the right, and discharge the duty, to which I have
referred; seeing that experience shows that the neglect of private judgment has
always been the cause of immense evils in the Church of Christ.
The Most
Rev. J. C. Ryle– 19th century Anglican bishop and author (Knots
Untied, p. 46).
Men seldom
pardon without upbraiding. Often they say: “I may forgive, but I cannot
forget”: meaning, not only that the injuries of the which they speak will
remain as involuntary marks upon the tablets of memory: but that they are to be
carefully cherished, and willfully kept rambling in their hearts, while they
only forgo the acts of outward revenge. Not so with God: the generosity with
which he casts our sins behind his back, has just been stated in the words of
inspiration. When earthly authorities remit guilt, they usually do no more that
place the criminal upon a sort of probation... But God, when he pardons, also
adopts. So boundless is his mercy, that the criminal is not only released, by
virtue of a sacrifice
which was provided wholly at God’s expense, and not his own, from all the penal
debt: but he is graciously received into the number of God’s beloved children,
selected as the object of his tender favor, and crowned with all the benefits
of redemption.
The Rev. Robert Lewis Dabney– 19th
century minister, scholar, and officer in the Confederate Army (excerpt taken
from a sermon entitled God’s Eminent Mercy, as published
in Our Comfort in Dying , p. 213 as edited by Jonathan W. Peters, 2021).
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) There are those of the heretical ant-ǐ-no-min-i(e)-ăn party who advance these two commandments as proof that the Ten Commandments of God are ancillary to obedience to God in this first great Commandment, but they are not.
The Ten Commandments facilitate
obedience to these two great Commandments repeated by Christ. Christ does not
institute a new Commandment here, but re-emphasizes those already given: “And
thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) The second part of the great
Commandment is also recorded in Old Testament law: “Thou shalt not avenge,
nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18) Here we have the
purpose and intent of the Law – love! The Law was written on tables of stone at
Sinai, but in the fullness of time, God has written them in the hearts of His
people. “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be
my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33) The Law was never intended as a burden, but
as a blessing to us. We have made the constraints of the Law of God a
burden. We have made perfect obedience a precondition to salvation itself,
and we have erred gravely thereby. There is no sin that is beyond the reach
of God to forgive. It is by grace whereby we are saved, and never by the works
of the Law! “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians
2:8-10) It was through the reading of this passage, and many others that opened
the eyes of the great Reformer, Martin Luther, to the blessed truths of the
Gospel and to the errors of Rome.
Bishop Jerry Ogles – Sermon for the 18th Sunday after Trinity (2018)
Jerry
Ogles
Presiding Bishop
Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
We are fortunate to get copies of Bishop Jerry’s you tube links, devotions on the Prayer of the Collect and sermon notes.
Bishop Jerry creates videos on various subjects, they last just under ten minutes and this week’s videos are listed below:
Bishop Ogles has a You Tube Channel that is free to subscribe: all of his
The Names of Jesus Series: The Rock of Ages - click link below to watch short video devotion:
Bishop Ogles Sermon Summary – St. Michael & All Angels - 18th Sunday after Trinity
click below to watch and listen
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
Sermon – Bishop Jack Arnold -
Time and Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, California
Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply diction.
Consider the words of the Collect, “…grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God …”
When you hear the word GRACE, what do you think of?
·
Help;
·
Heavenly
dispensation;
·
A gift freely
granted;
·
The free and
unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the
bestowal of blessings.
The word can be any of these, it comes from Middle English: via Old French from Latin gratia, from gratus ‘pleasing, thankful’ and is related to grateful.
In this case we are asking God’s help, for which He charges nothing, except our faith and loyalty to Him, to withstand the temptations of this world. It is impossible to resist the temptations of this world on our own. The Collect notes our temptations come from three different enemies:
1.The
world;
2.The
devil;
3.Ourselves.
We are asking for God’s help to help us resist each of those temptations from those sources. They are the three sources that will give us the most trouble through the rest of our lives. It is not easy to hold off temptations from these three different sources. The devil is constantly looking for ways to derail us from walking on that narrow uphill path towards heaven.
The world is also doing the same and of course, our natural inclination as well. We are fighting a three pronged battle. We will find that we are quickly outnumbered in this spiritual campaign but we are not alone. If we will accept the Holy Ghost into our hearts and listen to his counsel, we will find ourselves able to hold off the temptations from these three different sources and prevail. It is truly through the Grace of God that we have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us in our spiritual warfare against the devil and his allies.
So, when Paul writes the people of Corinth, it is not just them, but us, for whom he thanks God we have been the beneficiaries of His Grace, through Jesus we might have salvation, through Jesus our sins would in the end be forgiven. This is true of all Paul’s letters, his messages in them are not just speaking to the people of those churches, but to us, the wider part of the Church in general. The messages are truly timeless and are just as applicable to us now as it was to the readers back in the day.
We are not made perfect by Jesus. That is a common misconception among non-Christians. It would be convenient if we were made perfect. This is something that the Church and Christians in general need to do better at talking about. We are still not perfect, but we are aware of that and working hard to improve every day. There is nowhere in the Bible that states we become magically perfect when we accept the Holy Ghost and follow Christ. We are made more aware of our imperfect nature and flaws and given the tool of the Holy Ghost to help us work on our imperfect natures and flaws. We need to work on having our actions match our diction to show the world that we truly do have faith.
There are too many Christians who do not have their actions match their diction and these are the ones that non believers see and must presume our faith must be false because of it. This could not be further from the truth. We have to be always mindful of our dictions and actions. We also need to have our actions match our dictions in order to show the world that we do have faith in God and Jesus and that even though there are some Christians who have strayed from the path, that does not mean that our faith is a false one.
Paul goes onto mention that if we do follow Christ in both out words and deeds, as the testimony of Christ is confirmed in them, through our actions, we will be “In every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge…” We will be enriched significantly by Jesus if we do our very best to follow Him in both word and deed and so will our fellow Christians around us.
But, not everyone is content to take Jesus at His Word. After the Sadducees lost their round with Jesus, the Pharisees, feeling they were superior to the Sadducees, came together to trip Him up. However, as we know ourselves, one cannot trick God and if you try, you will fail every time. An expert in The Law, of which Pharisees were very fond, asked Him a question, trying to trick Him, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Thus, He provided the Summary of the Law we hear every Holy Communion.
The Pharisees made their earthly living providing guidance on how to get around the 613 Mosaic Laws with as little inconvenience as possible. They were astounded when Jesus boiled the intent of those laws down to two sentences. They were much more comfortable getting around laws than complying with ones which might inconvenience them.
Apparently tiring of the game with the Pharisees and wishing to confound them instead, Jesus asked them, saying, “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is He?” They say unto him, “The son of David.” For the scripture is clear He should be of the House of David. As God, Jesus has been from the beginning, so he queried them, “How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” Not grasping the concept that God was, is and always will be, they could not answer and “from that day forth” no one would “ask him any more questions.” They realized they could not trick him with any more questions and it only made them look bad when He answered them.
There always be people like the Pharisees who strive to look for ways around doing what is right. That is just within our imperfect nature. We must strive not to be like them, and focus on doing what is right regardless of the cost to us. We need to follow Jesus’s example in this. He took action, even when it led to His painful death on the cross and descent into Hell. But still He did it anyway. We need to remember his example the next time we find ourselves reluctant to do what is right.
People are always going to try to avoid doing what God wants us to do, that is in our nature. We can see this today in our country, as it replaces God with the rule of man. We are to be Christians, not “good”, to do what God asks, not Go with the Flow! When you think about being a Christian, consider these quotes from GK Chesterton:
·
Christianity has
not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.
·
The word good has many meanings. For example, if
a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should
call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man.
·
The Bible tells
us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because
generally they are the same people.
·
Tolerance is the
virtue of the man without convictions.
·
A dead thing can
go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.
G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
We are called to a new and different life, we ask the Lord, in His Grace, to lead us and follow us, to keep us always. Our goal is to do the Lord’s will, not to avoid 613 laws or to replace Him altogether. To do what is right, no matter how hard that may be and be humble. This is the summary of what the Christian life should be all about.
Action, not diction, is what counts. It is by your actions you are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
Yves
M. Méra
Presiding Bishop
AOC France Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide
We are fortunate to have a sermon from the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church of France and the Administrative Coordinator of Europe and Africa. As you will read, he is an excellent writer. The sermon is easy to read and provides much insight.
SERMON for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Matthew 22:34-46
WAITING FOR JESUS
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Televised election debates are often an opportunity to confuse the opponent by putting him trick questions, aimed at making him fall or trip, in order to discredit him in the eyes of the public. And beware of those who will have a memory lapse or who, destabilized, will answer next to the question: it is so easy to bias in order to avoid ridicule by changing subject! This is not the case with Our Lord Jesus Christ. He responds appropriately to all the requests, for He is God and therefore He knows everything, and He forgives all to those who repent of all the evil they have done or merely meditated.
But the Pharisees are proud men; they hold on to their authority over the people and do not accept that the people turn away from them and cling to Jesus Christ. Above all, they do everything they legally can in order to trap Jesus and catch Him at fault. The Pharisees do not understand that this is a wasted effort, because Christ knows the Law of Moses much better than they do: He is the author of the Law, He is the Law incarnate in a human body, and He applies it without ever sinning, without ever missing the purpose of the Law, which is to love God and one's neighbor.
The Pharisees' strategy is as follows: they want to push Jesus into blasphemy. If He says He is God – and this is the truth – He is trapped; His fate is sealed and he deserves capital punishment in the eyes of those who do not believe Him or pretend not to believe Him. They multiply identity checks on Him. But Jesus does not directly answer this question of who He is, until His hour of crucified death has come. Not only does Christ still have heavenly truths to teach His disciples (John 21:24-25): “This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” But Christ still intends to die on the day and hour when the Passover lamb is sacrificed in the Temple of Jerusalem, to perform a switch parallel. He leaves nothing to chance because He directs everything and everyone, according to His will, which is also the will of the heavenly Father (John 6:38): “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”
Legalism is the Law without Love. Now Christ teaches not only the love of the Law, but the Law applied with that Love of God and neighbors which is the manifestation of divine grace. But the Pharisees are too proud to remember this. Their class pride leads them to contempt for the common people - in fact for the whole people, since they believe themselves to be superior to the whole world. They take these verses literally and attribute to themselves these verses that are actually aimed at the promised Messiah and not themselves (Psalm 110:1-2): “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” Jesus Christ is perfectly aware of this, but He takes the opposite view of tyranny, without being a democrat since He is King (Mark 10:42-45): “Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” And Paul makes it clear in Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” And the same Paul invites us to practice the Christian virtues (Colossians 3:12-14): “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”
Christ responds to the domineering Pharisees whose hearts are hard as stone and enjoins them to love: Love God and your neighbor, these are the two commandments of God that sum up all the others. When we love God we respect our heavenly Father; His Name; His day of rest; our parents; we do not kill; we do not cheat on our spouse; we do not steal what belongs to our neighbor; we bear no false witness against him; and we envy nothing of what he possesses. All of Moses' commandments flow from this regulative principle of the Kingdom of Heaven: Let us love God, our fellow human beings, and let us dominate all His Creation without abusing it, that is respecting it.
But the Pharisees do not take it that way. That is why they work to silence the Lord and their God, who is visiting them. They have replaced the Word of God with their human tradition; and they think they are subduing the people in this way, without love nor respect for others. Their resemblance to our current leaders is not accidental, alas! However, the Word of God cannot be silenced (Luke 19:39-40): “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
Jesus speaks again and questions the Pharisees in His turn (Matthew 22:41-42): “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.” Here, it must be remembered that the same Hebrew word means "son" and "servant": in antiquity, a son was in the same rank as servants; he is at the service of his biological father, as Jesus Christ is at the service of His Father. So, we can translate these two verses more accurately: “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose servant is he? They say unto him, of David.” Now, one cannot be both the servant and the lord of one's father: “If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” or servant? (Matthew 22:45). Jesus insists on the joke on words and uses it to His own advantage: the Pharisees are checkmated. Jesus definitively silenced them (Matthew 22:46): “And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.” Such is the fate of those who claim to show Christ and know better than He does what is about the Law, the truth, and God. Do not look elsewhere for the cause of the divisions between the Christian churches! There are on one hand those who respect, teach and practice the Word of God, the whole Word of God, nothing but the Word of God; and on the other hand there are many whose specificity is to build their tradition on the basis of human considerations. And all these human traditions are inspired by pride. I don't need to draw you a sketch... These new Pharisees dare to impose their conditions and limits on God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is nothing more or less than a reversal of values, at the cost of a perversion of the Word of God. Naturally, they look for blasphemy in others - this is not new since Jesus Christ was confronted in the same way - without seeing that blasphemy is on their side, because they place themselves squarely above God, the One who created them. We even see the appearance of Bibles amended, modified, expunged, annotated in contradiction with what the inspired text actually says. It is clear that they proceed from the inspiration of God's Adversary: Satan himself.
This leads to a dramatic situation: these new Pharisees become dogmatic and distance themselves from the Word of God. They avoid questioning the Bible “... neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.” (Matthew 22:46b). They then fall back on their dogmas, and some even go so far as to criticize and contradict the Word of God. Don't atheists do the same? Note that Christ does not condemn the Pharisees; He is content to silence them when they say stupid things. And He waits for them to return to Him like Nicodemus (John 3:1-2): “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” So, the Pharisees know that Christ is a teacher sent by God, but they heckle Him like school children heckle their master, rather than listen to Him. Their faith is not adult. They learn formulas by heart and apply them without understanding them, as middle school students tend to do in their mathematics exercises.
The Reformers at the origin of our biblical churches had the courage of humility, conforming strictly to the Word of God, without subtracting nor adding anything to it. This is our ambition as disciples, not of the Reformers, but of Christ, after their example. We can therefore take on board Paul's compliment to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:4-6): “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” And this testimony is the Gospel of Christ - not the dogmas of men who think themselves to be religious!
It is then incumbent upon us to persevere in knowing the Word of God and in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, as we look forward to “waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7b). Yes, we have this hope that the Lord will appear at His return, as He promised His faithful (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17): “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” So, it is never the time to falter in the Hope of eternal life with Christ.
But waiting with a twiddling thumb is not enough. Paul concludes this passage from his Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:7c-8) as follows: “... waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let us not be tense by relying on our own human strength, but let us trust in the Lord who qualifies us by His Grace (1 Corinthians 1/7a): “So that ye come behind in no gift...” Faith is indeed a trust in God who instructs us by His Holy Word and purifies us by the temptations and trials that He allows us to suffer in order to strengthen our faith by teaching us to rely only on our sole Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2). We will then know the glory of the elect in the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Corinthians 2:7): “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory” Is not this glory that is promised to us worth all the gold in the world? Is it not worth the trouble that we take to search the Holy Scriptures and to put them into practice, every day of our lives, like the Christians of Berea? (Acts 17:11): “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
And who else do you think the Reformers took as models? By identifying ourselves with the biblical Christians of Berea, we become like them... We become biblical characters! Let us not be afraid to appropriate the Bible, to read it, to meditate on it, to digest it and to live by it, because it is the unique Word of Eternal Life. Let us not be afraid of the new Pharisees who look down on us by wanting to impose their human traditions on us or to silence us. Luc has warned us! (Acts 17:13): “But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.” Again and everywhere, evangelists have met with opposition, such as Paul (2 Corinthians 11:22-23): “Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.” But God gives us the gift of resilience to resist trials and dissents (2 Corinthians 12:9): “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” And it will be in the complete weakness of death that we will eventually be given the grace and the power of resurrection. Amen.
Rt. Rev. Yves Méra, AOC Bishop of France.
Rev Bryan Dabney of Saint John’s AOC Vicksburg, Mississippi - Sunday Sermon
We are fortunate to have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, espouse the truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I commend it to your careful reading.
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
What sort of message was our Lord communicating in these passages? Was he not calling out his adversaries on a point of faith that they themselves were supposed to have embraced? As the Rev. Matthew Henry once noted, “What these rabbis could not answer, the plainest Christian that is led into understanding of the gospel can now account for: that Christ as God was David’s Lord, and Christ as
man was David’s son.” And their response? They had none. As Dr. Merrill Unger once noted in his bible handbook, the Pharisees were “religious externalists” meaning they only followed the tenets of their faith in an outward show of religion. And on that account we find in the very next chapter of St. Matthew’s gospel our Lord called them out as hypocrites saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not (23:2-3). But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (23:13).
The old expression “ignorance is bliss” nicely dovetails with today’s message. For haven’t we all from time to time sought a convenient out to cover us because we were “questionably unaware” of some thing or other which might have required action on our part? Some years back you may remember a certain politician who feigned ignorance regarding actions that said person had taken by saying, “I don’t recall”. Well, the religious authorities of our Lord’s earthly ministry could just as easily have used that as a reply with equal effect.
The desire to distance oneself from “knowing” certain things varies from avoiding responsibility to merely avoiding culpability, or something in between. The scribes and Pharisees did not want to know the truth about our Lord because if they had acknowledged him as their Messiah, that would have ended their lordship over the people. While their master the Devil hadn’t taken them up on a high
mountain and shown them the world that they might rule over in his name, they nonetheless were his instruments in keeping the bulk of the Jews from embracing our Lord as their Saviour to their eternal dismay and suffering. The power and influence these men possessed came not from God but from the adversary. They were supposed to be teachers and stewards of God’s people, but they were really seducers and charlatans via their twisting of God’s word to serve their own ends and, by extension, the ends of the evil one.
So I ask you: Are you avoiding the true knowledge of the Saviour? Are you resisting his call to learn of him and be freed from your sins and trespasses? To know the Lord Jesus as the Christ is to find freedom from all that would oppress you. When a soul comes to Christ, such a one is freed to live a new life which has present joys on this earth and eternal joys in heaven. The English preacher John Bunyan wrote the classic tale Pilgrim’s Progress which set forth the journey of one “Christian Pilgrim” who sought to reach the “celestial city” where true joys and happiness awaited. He faced many trials but in the end, he made it and was received by the Lord Jesus into the gates of the city and away from the evils that would have diverted him back to the “city of destruction” from whence he came. Still it was not a journey without pitfalls and detours. Christian Pilgrim learned that God’s help is always there and his advice as found in Scripture is the “light unto our path and the lamp unto our feet.” Christian Pilgrim wanted to know about the Lord. He wanted that peace which he offered. He learned to accept his own faults and to confess his shortcomings and sins. He also learned that forgiveness was ever present when he acknowledged them to God in Christ.
The scribes and Pharisees had before them the Messiah who would have gladly accepted their heart-felt confessions and provided them absolution for their sins and trespasses. They had before them the promise which God had made concerning the Redeemer who would fulfil the law of Moses and bring in the coming kingdom of righteousness. They would have had their names written in his book of life. Instead, they treated him with contempt and later sought to have him killed to silence his message and his ministry. They did not want to discuss the particulars of who the Messiah was because they wished to remain ignorant.
I have often heard it said that “ignorance of the law is no excuse” and so it will be for all who do not accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. On that fateful day of judgment before God’s Great White Throne, all who have rejected him via feigned ignorance of him will find that such will be a weak reed to lean upon. They will no doubt protest and question their sentence of eternal damnation
but it will be to no avail as they had rejected God’s offer of salvation and that rejection has consequences of an everlasting nature. Just as the choice of a soul to accept God’s free gift is eternal, so is the choice made to the contrary. Just as acceptance of Christ brings everlasting comfort and joy, the contrary brings eternal suffering and torments. As the 17th century Puritan pastor Thomas Watson once noted, “A great aggravation of the loss of heaven will be to look upon others who have gained the kingdom. The happiness of the godly in heaven, will be an eyesore to the damned in hell. When the wicked shall see those whom they hated and scorned–exalted to the Kingdom, and shine with robes of glory, and they themselves miss the kingdom– it will be a dagger at the heart, and make them gnash their teeth for envy!”
So I beseech each of you to learn about our Lord. I encourage each of you to seek him out and call upon his name. Heaven can be as close as a tearful prayer and a humble heart bowed before his throne of grace. We must fall before him in the knowledge of our sins in confession, and afterward, to be raised up by his most holy Spirit in thankful praise for hearing us. Again, do not be like the scribes and
Pharisees who resisted to the point of eternal death and judgment. Seek to know and love the Godhead who first loved us ever before we loved him. You will not be disappointed.
Let us pray,
O gracious and loving God, give us hearts to seek after thee, and wills bent to thy purposes; for this we ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have a blessed week,
Bryan+
Roy Morales-Kuhn, Bishop and Pastor
Saint Paul's Anglican Church
Diocese of the Midwest Anglican Orthodox Church Suffragan Bishop of the AOC
Sermon on the Gospel Lesson for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
Psalms 48 First Lesson. Proverbs. 2:1-9 Second Lesson. 1 Timothy 3:14-4:16
LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn # 562, 382, 450
“Wisdom and Knowledge”
As we study this Sunday’s scripture we see a common theme; wisdom and knowledge. In these two areas are a gold mine or as expressed in the Old Testament passage, silver. The idea that wisdom is too be mined as one would silver.
A great amount of labor is needed to extract the ore from the ground, then it is processed and refined into a usable element, silver. Wisdom is so important for a believer, whether older or younger, it is a gift that can be applied to all aspects of daily Christian living. Wisdom helps one discern good over evil, it helps one to keep their temper when it would be easier to let go in anger, it helps give patience when things are taking longer than expected to come to fruition. All these situations that a Christian faces are aided by the application of wisdom.
Now let us look at the idea of knowledge. Wisdom can give you the discernment on knowledge.
In other words, if you use your wisdom to understand what knowledge is usable and what is just information, this can help you in your daily walk with the Lord.
Notice what Paul is writing to Timothy about all the things that he (Timothy) will be facing as he continues to pastor the flock. There will be people leaving the church, following doctrines of devils and giving heed to seducing spirits. There will be lies in hypocrisy, lots and lots of legalism, (forbidding marriage, abstain from meats.)
Notice the very strong message to the vegetarian lifestyle: “...commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” It is not so much the eating of meat as it is the overeating or being consumed by the need for meat. If you understand the principle of moderation, (I know, I need to moderate my eating) you understand that it is the overindulgence of meat, alcohol, chocolate, etc. that causes the trouble. Yes, do eat your vegetables, you should have a balanced diet. Paul reinforces the idea in the next two verses:
“For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (Timothy 4:4-5)
Now to the aspect of knowledge. Paul is teaching Timothy (and us) that we are to use our knowledge of things we have learned. “...in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” (1 Timothy 4:6)
Next we seek Paul exhorting Timothy to avoid profane and old wives’ fables and to exercise thyself rather unto godliness....[because] godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of life that is now and of that which is to come. Sound familiar. We have numerous collects and prayers that ask that God helps us now and in the life to come. Notice that as we use the prayer book, you will see time and again that petition to God to help us now and in the life to come. Notice verse nine, “this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation”. Again a familiar phrase from our prayer book. (See 1 Timothy 4:7-9)
Finally we read of several concepts that really confound those who do not follow the Lord.
Notice verse 10 expresses the labor and reproach that comes with sharing the Gospel, but it is all worth it, ‘...because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.’
Paul explains to Timothy, ‘these things command and teach.’(1 Timothy 4:11) And to not worry about people being upset at how young he was, instead he should be an example to the believers, in word, in conversation, in Christian love, in spirit, in faith and in purity.
Paul recommends to him to read the Word, to exhort the believers and to keep to the doctrine. He continues the lesson on knowledge by telling Timothy to meditate upon these things, give himself wholly to them; and in doing so others will see that this is the right thing to do. (See 1 Timothy 4:12-15)
He finishes up the lesson by telling Timothy to take care of himself, take care of the doctrine; continue in them, for in doing so you will save yourself and those that hear them being expounded. (See 1 Timothy 4:16) In other words Paul is telling Timothy that he needs to be faithful to all he has learned in the faith, to tell others of the faith and to live the faith as an example to everyone who observes Timothy’s life.
Wow, talk about life lessons and application of the knowledge we have obtained. In this lesson today Paul is not only teaching Timothy, he is also teaching us, fellow laborers, those who have had the ‘...faith once delivered...’ What an awesome responsibility, we have been given great knowledge, it is up to us to apply wisdom to this and ascertain the time to share this with others, especially those who are perishing.
The Duties of a Shepherd:
Those who tend to Christ’s flock. A double duty. The shepherds of Christ's flock have a double duty: to feed the sheep (by teaching the truth) and to protect them from wolves (by warning of error). As Paul put it to Titus, elders must hold firm the sure word according to apostolic teaching, so that they would be able both 'to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it' (Tit. 1:9). This emphasis is unpopular today. We are frequently told always to be positive in our teaching, and never negative. But those who say this have either not read the New Testament or, having read it, they disagree with it. For the Lord Jesus and his apostles refuted error themselves and urged us to do the same. One wonders if it is the neglect of this obligation which is a major cause of today's theological confusion. If, when false teaching arises, Christian leaders sit idly by and do nothing, or turn tail and flee, they will earn the terrible epithet 'hirelings' who care nothing for Christ's flock (Jn. 10:12ff). Then too it will be said of believers, as it was of Israel, that 'they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ... they became food for all the wild animals' (Ezek. 34:5). --- John R.W. Stott
Let us pray:
O MOST mighty God, and merciful Father, who hast compassion upon all men, and who wouldest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his sin, and be saved; Mercifully forgive us our trespasses; receive and comfort us, who are grieved and wearied with the burden of our sins. Thy property is always to have mercy; to thee only it appertaineth to forgive sins. Spare us therefore, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed; enter not into judgment with thy servants, who are vile earth, and miserable sinners; but so turn thine anger from us who meekly acknowledge our vileness, and truly repent us of our faults, and so make haste to help us in this world, that we may ever live with thee in the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord, we join our unfeigned thanks for all thy mercies; for our being, our reason, and all other endowments and faculties of soul and body; for our health, friends, food, and raiment, and all the other comforts and conveniences of life. Above all, we adore thy mercy in sending thy only Son into the world, to redeem us from sin and eternal death, and in giving us the knowledge and sense of our duty towards thee. We bless thee for thy patience with us, notwithstanding our many and great provocations; for all the directions, assistances, and comforts of thy Holy Spirit; for thy continual care watchful providence over us through the whole course of our lives, and particularly for the mercies and benefits of the past day: beseeching thee to continue these thy blessings to us; and to give us grace to show our thankfulness in a sincere obedience to his laws, through whose merits and intercession we received them all, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Roy Morales-Kuhn
Rev Stephen Cooper Church of the Redeemer Fairbanks, Alaska
From time to time we are fortunate to receive a sermon from Rev Cooper in Fairbanks Alaska. The head of our northernmost church, Stephen is a brilliant and inspiring speaker. I wish we had video of him rather than just audio; but I am confident you will enjoy this. This sermon is for last week. Please take the time to listen to it.
Click below to listen to this wonderful sermon
For the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.
AOC Worldwide Prayer List –
I have received updates from a few and those will be the first added to the list. Please send all prayer requests and updates to aocworldwide@gmail.com for future reports. If you would like to be removed from list just respond with remove in the subject line.
Keep Praying for the following:
Shamu,
Tom, Craig, Jim, Dotty, Jan Jessup, Steve, Josh Morley, Jennifer, AOC USA, AOC Missions,
Zach, Jess, Luke, Jacquie, Harper, Bishop Zephaniah, Jim Kniffen, James C, Linda
Prayer Needed:
Katie Pope – Just beginning treatment for Stage 4 Pulmonary Carcinoma “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14)
Bianca – has lost her father to Leukemia – please pray for comfort
Bobbie & Vicky Breland – loss of daughter
Mauri Turner – Stomach Cancer
Charles Pittman – heart issues
Anne Lee – Lung Cancer – recent diagnosis
Lucy and Chris – Strep Throat – children of Laurie below who is still suffering from Covid related extreme fatigue
Extended Issues need continued prayer;
Laurie with long Covid Symptoms - Extreme exhaustion, heart palpitations, breathing problems and unstable blood pressures are constant worries causing depression to settle in.
Malcom Allred – Cancer Treatment
Dear Prayer
Partners,
Please keep
praying for the stranded people from Hurricane Helene. Search and Rescue are
attempting to locate in all the area in the Mountains of NC, TN, SC, VA and FL
beach area. Please pray for all those who have lost loved ones in this storm
and for those who have lost their homes. Let us thank God for bringing us
through this storm with his Mercy and Grace. Many of the Churches in the Areas
made it through despite their proximity to the rivers. All are Safe at the AOC
National office as the hurricane damage was west of us.
O Merciful God and heavenly Father, Who hast taught us in thy holy Word thatThou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children Of men; Look with pity we beseech thee, upon the sorrows Of these thy servants, survivors of the mighty storm Helene, for Whom our prayers are offered. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy; Endue their souls with patience; comfort them with a sense of thy goodness; Lift up thy countenance upon them and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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