251123 AOC Sunday Report
Anglican Orthodox Church sm
Worldwide Communion
Sunday Next before Advent
Stir-Up Sunday - Happy Thanksgiving
November 23, 2025 – Sunday Report
Sunday Next before Advent 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 in the King James Bible. The Liturgy is found in the Book of Common Prayer page xl.
The Collect for Sunday Next before Advent
STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sunday Next before Advent. Jeremiah iii. 14-18.
14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
The Gospel for the Sunday Next before Advent. St. Matthew xxv. 31-46.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
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.
Points to Ponder:
Stir Up Sunday is an informal term in the Anglican Church for the last Sunday before the season of Advent. The term comes from the opening words of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer:
STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Through an association of ideas, the day subsequently became connected, especially in England, with the preparation of Christmas puddings in readiness for Christmas. Also, though with no real religious significance, Stir Up Sunday is located just the right time of the year to make the fruit cakes, Christmas Puddings and the like to be consumed on Christmas. In many English culture homes, the afternoon of Stir Up Sunday is dedicated to measuring, stirring and cooking the Christmas Pudding!
The Christmas pudding is an important part of the Christmas Day celebrations in the UK. Christmas pudding is a round, rich and heavy pudding made from fruit, eggs, sugar, breadcrumbs, suet, spices, and alcohol such as brandy or rum. Many families have their favorite pudding recipe, which is often passed down through generations of family members.
Stir-up Sunday is traditionally the day for making your Christmas pudding; giving it a month to mature before eating it on Christmas day. Stir-up Sunday is on 23 November this year.
According to tradition, everyone in the family (especially the children) takes a turn to stir the pudding and makes a wish while stirring. Traditionally, the pudding should be stirred from east to west in honour of the three Kings who travelled from the East to see Jesus; and it should also have 13 ingredients to represent Christ and his disciples.
It used to be common for people to put a coin in their Christmas pudding. This was supposed to bring wealth in the coming year to the person who found it.
Christmas puddings are popular in the UK, but many people now buy their puddings from their local supermarket.
Bishop Hap Arnold
Jerry Ogles, Presiding Bishop – Metropolitan AOC 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
Blog:
https://anglicanorthodoxchurch.blogspot.com
Bishop Ogles
You Tube Channel
that is free to subscribe: all of his videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW3bgXBJFomPB5mZ4Oigxg
Tuesday Afternoon Chat: The Prison & The Fortress
Bishop’s Blog: https://anglicanorthodoxchurch.blogspot.com/2025/11/prison-in-shadows.html
You tube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRykUTjVcA&t=5s
Saturday Weekly Chat: Politically Incorrect Lord Jesus Christ
Bishop’s Blog: https://anglicanorthodoxchurch.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-politically-incorrect-lord-jesus.html
You Tube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsXA0eQ48yY
The Anglican Orthodox Church SM
founder: the
most rev. james parker dees, a.b., b.d., d.d.
• founded November
16, 1963
2228 Wilkesboro Hwy. • P. O. Box 128 • Statesville, North
Carolina 28687- 0128
Telephone 704.873.8365
Email: aocworldwide@gmail.com
• Web: www.aocinternational.org
The Most Rev. Jerry L. Ogles - Presiding Bishop
BBishop’s Letter for Thanksgiving 2025
“... proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof ...” (Leviticus. 25:10)
When the Mayflower dropped anchor off the coast of Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, it carried pilgrim passengers weary and worn from cramped conditions, hazardous seas, and the expectation of the unknown conditions of their landing. It is likely that it was by the Providence of God that they landed in Massachusetts rather than their originally intended destination of Virginia. Had they gone to Virginia, they may have not fallen among the same friendly native peoples as they met in Plymouth.
They risked their lives to bring the Christian faith to the New World. It was not a matter of enhanced livelihood, for they faced deprivation of winter cold, starvation, and unknown threats to their existence; however, the Indians were kind in teaching them how to plant and sow in the New World. Above all else, they came to be free to practice their religion as they believed God intended without government or societal persecution. They brought with them the sacrificial impulse to be free and to practice their faith in truth and peace.
We owe a debt of gratitude to these courageous Christian men and women. They planted the seed of Liberty on these North American shores that began with the Mayflower Compact and later resulted in the Declaration of Independence. Should we not cherish these freedoms as much as they?
We observe the occasion of their coming with a specially mandated holiday - Thanksgiving. On this day, we remember that liberty can only be maintained by vigilance, wisdom, and sacrifice. A multitude of freedom loving Americans have died, of faced the dangers of death, in defense of our Liberties. Let us never cheapen their sacrifices by allowing those hard fought battles for Liberty to go forgotten.
The only free people are a Godly people who have valued love and wisdom above the opulence of wealth.
To all, I pray that your Thanksgiving observance is a joyous one, and filled with love and gratitude for the Lord who is the Author of our Liberty.
†Jerry Ogles
Presiding Bishop
Anglican Orthodox Worldwide Communion
Chancellor, Faith Theological Seminary
Sermon Notes for Sunday Next before Advent Season
The Collect
Sunday Next before Advent
STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
5When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip,
Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. (John 6:4-14)
What a wonderful Season of the Church Year is Advent. All good things in the lives of men – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Apostles, and us – begins with the Coming of Christ, both spiritually and physically, to us. Having longed to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Seed of Promise, Abraham hoped in the Gospel of Christ and was blessed to see His Coming. Christ comes to us that we may be enabled to come to Him. We see this truth enacted in today’s Gospel sermon text. Those who hunger for Christ will find Him if even on the mountain heights of the Galilean coasts. Those who hunger for Christ will:
1) discover (through the Word and Spirit) where He may be found;
2) they will leave the place where that are presently (sin and error) and GO to Him;
3) they will not give thought of what the morrow may bring, but trust in Him to provide their every need; and,
4) they shall be fed with the Bread of Heaven.
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him This is most prophetic of that company of souls that will come, over the expanse of centuries and millennia, to Him in faith and trust. They shall come seeking that Bread of Life which will satisfy eternally and not temporarily. They shall, on the day of God’s own choosing – and not that of greedy spiritual speculators – come to meet Him in the air, and not a mountain, on His glorious Second Coming. 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. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Christ often challenges the faith of His chosen vessels just as He tests that of Philip. Knowing the mind of Philip in His spiritual growth, Jesus asks: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? A lesser prophet than Christ once asked the same question of God in the Wilderness: Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. (Num 11:13) It is certain that Christ wants us to know that a greater prophet than Moses stands before us. Without the presence and power of Christ, the world is in constant worry about this matter sustenance. Shall we have bread to eat and raiment to wear? Of course, the world takes the matter a step further: How can we enjoy the most opulent of cuisine and the most fashionable and elegant raiment – delicacies and raiment that will set us apart from the common people and that will exalt us in our pride? The starving child on the backstreets of Calcutta does not wish for delicacies, but only a morsel of bread to appease his gnawing hunger. It is so because the starving child knows not of delicacies or of elegant silken robes, but only his desperate NEED. So the sinner (rich or poor), when he comes face-to-face with his depravity, can recognize no righteousness at all in his feeble works, but starves for the Redemption made available in Christ. Rather than the bread of wheat, he starves for the Bread of Heaven. This Bread cannot be bought with money, so Christ gives Philip a thought to nourish his soul.
Philip’s mind has not progressed to that perfection of understanding, as yet, that might be expected from so close a disciple! Clearly, under the terms of the world, a small fortune would be required to buy sufficient bread to feed so many. There were many more than five thousand present for there were five thousand men alone, plus women and children. Has Philip forgotten that He who provides food and lodging for the sparrows of the field is in his presence? Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. Two hundred pennyworth of bread would cost two hundred days of wages - And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. (Matthew 20:2) And even at such an expense, there would certainly be no leftovers for each would only “take a little.” All of our labors and wages from our birth until now will not purchase a single morsel of that Bread from Heaven. The combined wealth of the world would not do so. It is a gift of pure Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There was one disciple among the lot who accepted that there was a mystery in the Person of Christ that enabled Him to provide plenty from little of nothing. He knew not the manner in which might do it, but he nonetheless believed that the mystery would be realized even in a meager amount. God takes our talents and multiplies them when we are willing to share them. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? What are five barley loaves among a multitude so great, yet, Andrew suspected that Christ would use even a small amount to supply a great need – and He did! Now, we must recognize the innocence of youth in this circumstance. The little lad had labored to bring his two fishes and five loaves over a great distance and even up the slopes of the mountain. Were he a mature man of wisdom, he probably would have refused to share so little claiming that it would not suffice so many hungers and, moreover, he had the foresight to bring them for himself and it would be consumed by him. But the little child has a heart that is closer to the Kingdom of Heaven and has not grown calloused by the world. The child willingly shared his small treat with the Lord. Though we have little, if we share what we have, the Lord will multiply the gift an hundredfold, or more!
And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. The rubrics of the Prayer Book indicate when we are to kneel, stand, or sit, and we must comply with each and every rubric of the Prayer Book if we are able. The Lord expects all things to be done in good order and, here, He is about to feed the multitudes with His Bread. The Bread of the Prayer Book is the Sermon delivered from the Lectionary appointed for the day. So the people sit to hear the Word preached. It is the means by which faith is received and increased. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Contrary to the Romanist approach, preaching takes precedence over every other act of worship including Communion for, without the Word, Communion is meaningless. So Christ asks that the men be seated to receive His blessing of Bread. When men receive from the Lord, they do not stand in their own power as if they contribute to His miracle. “Stop your labors, have a seat, and see the works of the Lord!”
The Lord will always comfort our needs in green pastures - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (Psalms 23:2) Now there was much grass in the place (vv 10), So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Obedience before the Lord comes most surely when men realize their need. These men were hungry and were expectant that Jesus could, indeed, feed them. They obeyed Him.
And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks Here, Jesus gives us the perfect example to follow in returning thanks for the blessings of Heaven. He never failed to thank His Father in Heaven for every blessing of food and drink. Do we do so, Friends? “….he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.” Please observe a stark lesson here for us. We do not serve ourselves at the Communion Rail, but kneel reverently (according to the Prayer Book form of worship – and the Holy Bible) to be served the Cup and the Bread. We do not innovate and do according to what seems right in our own eyes, but serve according to the good order required. The Lord allows His servants to have a hand in assisting in His important work. They serve the bread, but the Bread is given by Christ – it is not their own. We, as ministers, preach the Word, but the Word is His and not OURS! Note also, that each person on the grassy slopes received as much as they wanted of the bread and fish. The cupboard of the Lord has no bottom of blessings. There will always be more than enough to satisfy our hunger. We must return to the Bread Table daily for our “Daily Bread.”
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Notice that all were FILLED! You never come to the Lord hungry and go away hungry. He fills you with the desperate need of your heart. Another important lesson in this verse is the one of stewardship. We are to be good faithful stewards in the economy of resources with which God has blessed us. We are to use His blessings of talents we receive in satisfying the hunger of those God has placed in our hands (parents included) but we are to waste nothing! When we travel field and forest to gather souls for Christ, our efforts do not end at the early confession of faith – we must continue to teach and nourish the soul in the Word so that the convert will grow strong spiritual bones and muscles. We must not lose a single flower from the bouquet….that nothing be lost!
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Let us count the balance sheet of the Lord here: there were a mere five loaves at the start. Now the remnants taken up fill TWELVE BASKETS! Do you believe this is too amazing? Do you believe that the Creation of the stars in the expanse of space too amazing, or the earth with all of its wondrous beauty too amazing, or billions of people – all with different faces and features – amazing? What is so amazing that the Word which created all that has been created could multiply a few morsels of bread into such an immense supply? He is able to likewise multiply the smallest mite of the widow’s heart when given out of her need to Christ! He is able to multiply that love scattered abroad from that heart brimming over with the love of God so that the residue is always of plenty.
What is the result of receiving the blessed Bread of Heaven? How should our hearts respond to so mighty a miracle as salvation, forgiveness, grace, and faith? Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. Faith is confirmed from pillar to post when we have tasted the Bread of Heaven. The multitude recognized that Christ was a prophet of even greater miraculous power and virtue than Moses – their greatest prophet beforehand. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken (Deuteronomy 18:15) Christ is, indeed, that Prophet! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men…… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1:1-4,14) Friend, believest thou this?
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen
† Jerry Ogles
Bishop of Alabama
Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
We are always happy to get the instruction and devotions that Bp Morley is giving to us. We hope you enjoy the following:
BOOT CAMP RECONSIDERED
I have never had the honor of serving in our nation's military but I have spent years in training for another sort of army. I have spent the last forty years in the Lord's service so I believe I may have some insight into the ordained ministry and how anyone preparing for the Gospel ministry might equip themselves to be a worthy servant of the Lord.
It is presumed in most American denominations that some sort of seminary education is required for ordination but this has not always been so. The modern seminaries are a relatively recent invention, historically speaking, and are a very American phenomenon. Seminaries have proven to be a useless disaster for American Churches. They did not accomplish the desired goal of "clergy training" and instead have become hotbeds of liberal theology and radical change. They are generally beyond the purview of the leadership of the denominations with which they are affiliated. Unlike academic graduate schools which have standardized curricula, seminaries produce graduates of vastly differing qualifications. While most award graduates with the expected "M.Div." degree, few can assure the degree of competence or professionalism of their graduates.
Seminaries were established to assure the education level of candidates for the ordained ministry and generally presumed an undergraduate degree of some sort. Young men (and now young women) in their mid to early twenties were ripped from their normal young adult life's progress to enter what was essentially a monastic institution, a process borrowed from Roman Catholicism. Since American universities were not welcoming to Roman Catholic theology, the Roman Church established the seminary system to rival secular graduate school institutions, to assure the academic standing of postulants on a par with collegiate standards. After the secularization of American universities, American Protestant denominations copied the Roman system in order to provide higher learning and "training" for ordinands, on a par with secular graduate academics.
In the Old Country, clergy training was very different and produced a very different "graduate." Candidate for ministry would attend regular university classes and obtain academic degrees from those same institutions, usually Oxford, Cambridge, or Kings. Training for ministry took place under the tutelage of a clergyman mentor, typical of the standard British university system. This system produced some of the greatest minds of the English Church, and some of its most godly pastors, priests and bishops.
The American seminary system is quite different. Young men, fresh out of college are placed in what is basically a monastic setting, living in dormitories like undergrads, eating meals and having required "chapel" services in common, and severely limiting a social life such as others of their age would be experiencing in the same time of life. Seminary curricula changed little for many years until the arrival of Higher Criticism, when these young Christians heard, probably for the first time, that John did not write the Gospel that bears his name, that the Red Sea really didn't part for Moses, and that Paul was probably a misogynistic homosexual. They were required to spend so many academic hours struggling to learn basic Hebrew and Greek, although only a handful of them would ever become proficient enough in these languages to be able to read them on a graduate level or to exegete the Holy Scriptures.
The requirement to learn them was given "because the Bible is only true/authoritative in the original Greek and Hebrew, and to truly be proficient in Bible knowledge one must read the Scriptures in the "original manuscripts." Trouble is, there are no "original manuscripts." Higher Criticism has not only taken over the seminaries, it has necessarily filtered down to the pews, where congregations are told that the Bible contains errors, that authorship of the sixty-six books is questionable, and that the English Bible (the Authorized or King James Version) must be "interpreted" by "scholars" in "historical context."
Proficiency in Scripture takes second place in seminary training to sociology and psychology, and stress is placed on the theology of the "Early Church" over the history of the Reformation and subsequent Protestant ecclesiology. Courses in "fund raising" and "group dynamics" have become requirements, and now race and gender studies are credit electives. Seminarians are not taught how to conduct a funeral or baptize a baby, how to counsel an alcoholic, much less how to conduct a Communion service or how to run a vestry meeting. These things are left to a kind of trial-by-fire experience as a newly ordained "curate" - and the business of how to preach a sermon devolves to the natural talent (or lack of same) of the prospective ordinand.
Apart from "second career" candidates for ordination, these young men have never had to work a day in their sheltered academic lives; they have never buried a loved one, or dealt with a failing marriage. In seminary they were even expected to remain celibate, dating was discouraged, and the normal social life of a young adult was nearly impossible. Then, in the midst of this truncated social development, these young men are ordained and expected to function on the same level as their older counterparts who have learned the ministry over years of parochial experience. They are sent to congregations to minister to people who have married, had children and grandchildren, paid bills, lost jobs, contracted fatal diseases, and lived life.
Little wonder these young men often have great moral failures. We force them to live cloistered lives for three or four years, without contact with the opposite sex. This has not worked well for the Catholic Church with such a great percentage of homosexual men in the priesthood. How can it be expected to be different for Protestants. We then take the newly ordained and make them "youth pastors" in charge of hormonally challenged teens - and then wonder why so many have moral failures, when they are barely into adulthood themselves. Seminaries are known to be hotbeds of moral turpitude - which in turn affects the entire Church.
It would be wise for denominations to consider ordaining only married men, or at least restricting parochial ministry to married clergy only. The Church should also consider re-establishing what was called the "old man's Canon" - originally established after WWI when many older men felt called to the ministry but could not attend theological college or seminary - and trained for the ministry under a seasoned rector in a parish setting, learning IN SITU and gaining practical experience in those things necessary to make an effective pastor - without knowing a single word of Greek or Hebrew!
The most important matter in which we must instruct future clergy of the Gospel is the effective communicating of the Truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, not in money management or conjugating Greek verbs. We must restore Reformation Faith to a Church adrift in modernism, humanism, and secularism - the "faith once delivered" must once again be the focus of our academic pursuits, not ecumenism or socialism, or any other "ism" - but the glory of Protestantism and the tremendous privilege of being a shepherd of souls. Some of the greatest saints of the Church never saw the inside of a "seminary" but the Lord equipped them as able ministers of the Gospel notwithstanding.
"What seminary did you go to?" has become a kind of put-down by which clergy rate each other upon introduction, as though you shared the reputation of your seminary - which were ranked by academic stringency. The great Charles Haddon Spurgeon was often challenged by the question, as his snobby detractors knew he had not attended ANY seminary but was nonetheless so powerful a preacher, attracting crowds of thousands to hear him preach. Even Queen Victoria read his sermons and was deeply moved by them, much to the chagrin of her Established Church clerics. "I attended the finest seminary of all," he would reply, "I was taught by God." We need to reconsider clergy "training" in this day and age, for we are in the midst of a great war and we need sound men to do battle in the conflict that is before us. (Galatians 5:30)
CEM
Sermon -
Bishop Jack Arnold
Anglican Orthodox Church of the United States
Diocese of the West
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California
The Sunday next before Advent
The Collect.
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STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
As is oft the case, today’s propers are all tied together. As is usual, they call for action not just thoughts. In fact, the collect is among the most direct, asking God to stir our hearts that we might ACT in a manner which will result in good things! The collect is asking for God to inspire us to ACT to produce those good works that will please Him. It is asking for God to assist us in our actions here on Earth to produce good fruits. And through those good fruits, God will reward us with gifts that are better than we could possibly imagine.
Jeremiah prophesies the coming of Jesus out of the branch of David that He might unite God’s people as one under a New Covenant. Christ is the key piece to the puzzle of the Old Testament prophecies. He is the answer to all of the prophecies the Old Testament contains about our savior. John tells us Jesus comes to fill both our spiritual and physical hunger. Our spiritual hunger in that by His Coming, we will have the Word as our spiritual bread and drink. And our physical hunger by the fact if we follow what He says and do our best, we should have no problems getting food to eat. The collect is calling us to action, to perform good works to advance the cause of the Gospel.
The collect is asking us to allow God into our hearts so that we can go forth and do good works that the Good News might be spread. Why? Because without God in our hearts, performing good works is not possible, and we need to perform those works if the Good News is to spread across the World. This is what the collect is asking God to do. If we allow God into our hearts to stir up our wills to do those good works, the collect assures us that we will be rewarded very well. Our wills are naturally inclined towards not following Him; we need to have our wills reset towards following Him.
In order to have our wills reset to following him, we have to throw off our old man, to quote Saint Paul and to put on the new armor and helmet of the new man. We have to shed our old like a lizard sheds his skin and grow the new armor and helmet. Then We have to let the Holy Ghost into us and cleanse us of our old sinful selves. Because as long as we are our old sinful selves, we are unable to fully serve Him and to live His Word. This explains why there are so many problems in the World today, people refuse to let Him into their hearts, souls and minds to allow them to change and they remain in their old sinful ways.
Our broken society is a reflection of the missing gigantic God shaped hole. Yet nobody wishes to acknowledge or recognize this hole. That is because our human nature would have us run from God rather than accept God. The church sadly has been complicit in this by allowing the devil to enter into the church. The church has allowed the devil to enter in because they have been blinded by the care and riches of this world and focusing on quantity over quality.
No house divided against itself shall stand and sadly that is what is happening with the modern church. We have found that no art or work of mammon can come even close to the pure satisfaction following God provides. Yet because so many people have been blinded by Satan, they won’t see this. This is the only possible way we can truly be satisfied, everything else is a shadow of true happiness and satisfaction. God is the only way in which we can truly be happy, for everything else is worthless to our wellbeing, except for the joy of following Him.
Events happening in this country today show that we are not truly capable of satisfying ourselves, only Jesus and the Holy Spirit can fill the hole. We cannot replace God with man as some liberal minded folk in this country are so apt to think. This is why we truly need the Holy Ghost acting in our hearts and cleansing us of these impure thoughts. Otherwise we risk becoming like many in this country today, unhappy and angry people that do not understand that true happiness is not found in mammon but serving God and spreading the Good News to all nations.
As we are nearing the beginning of Advent, let us think ahead to the joy of Christmas, the birth of Christ, His entry into this world, the joy of Epiphany, His revealing to the world. Then we must look ahead to the sadness and sorrow of Good Friday. Jesus came into this world knowing exactly how He would leave, but He did it because He loves us. It is important to remember this fact as we enter into the Advent season.
Unlike the World which is constantly changing things to suit its sinful desires,, those of us who follow God do not change from the truth. This is why we will never be fully satisfied with things of this world, but we will be satisfied with what God provides for us. We know and realize that God is the source of all truth and goodness and that the World follows the Devil who is the source of all that is evil and repugnant. The world cannot see that, and they are blinded by the lies of the devil. But because we have the Holy Spirit, we recognize God as our unchanging and unyielding standard to whom we must cling.
He asks of us nothing special; but just to do our very best, not just say it. It is something I am striving to work on more and more every day. As we are not perfect, we will stumble on this but as long as we get back on track and follow the Holy Ghost back to the course we are supposed to be on , then all will be well.
We must keep learning and following His Word. It is a hard concept for many of us to follow, including myself, but we must all strive more and more every day to do our very best. If we study Scriptures diligently and work hard to follow them to the best of our abilities, then we will, with the Holy Spirit’s help, be charted on an excellent course.
Interestingly, He tells the disciples to “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” It seems He is talking about the sheep that He tends to, He wishes to “gather up the fragments that remain”, meaning the people apart from His flock, that “nothing be lost”, meaning that their souls may not be lost for eternity. Think about that and take what it is offered before it is no longer on the menu! And be thankful for All His Blessings in our lives, for our friends and our family that He has placed in our lives.
We are blessed and should be grateful we are in a spiritually rich group (The Anglican Orthodox Church) and in communion with some very good men and women across the Earth in the AOC Worldwide Church, who hold true to the principles of Scripture. God has blessed us all by bringing us together. I am thankful for each and every person in the AOC Church and my family and friends. At Thanksgiving, we should be thankful most of all for God sending His Son to die for us, that we might have eternal life and happiness instead of the eternal misery that comes from the separation from God.
Actions speak louder than words, when we actually use that inspiration of the Holy Ghost and a couple well thought out words with actions, we can do many marvelous things in the lives of people around us, through His Spirit and Word and we will help to fill people’s spiritual hunger, through acting through His Word, in thought, word and deed.
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
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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.
Sunday Next Before Advent
Examine the words of St. Paul’s in his first epistle to the Corinthians wherein he wrote: 23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying: This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. (11:23-25). Our good and gracious God has supplied us with numerous accounts in Scripture regarding his provision for and assistance of his servants. And keep in mind this important point: our Lord does not send his own out into the wilderness without provision. He may use the apparent and the ordinary; as w s will and purpose. So with that in mind, let us focus on the supper of our Lord or as we call it, Holy Communion.
In our liturgy of the Lord’s Supper, we find the following Words of Institution given us by our Lord: do this in remembrance of me. We also find the words, this is my body and this is my blood. Bishop Ryle once noted that, “The conduct of the disciples at the Lord's Supper forbids us to believe that the bread they received was Christ's body and the wine Christ's blood. They were all Jews taught from their infancy that it was sinful to eat flesh with the blood (Deut. 12:23-25). Yet they were not startled by our Lord's words as if they perceived a change in the bread and wine. Our own senses forbid us to believe that there is any change in the bread and the wine. Our own taste tells us that they are really and literally what they appear to be. Things above our reason the Bible requires us to believe, but not what contradicts our senses. Our Lord's true human nature forbids us to believe that his body can be in more than one place at one time. If our Lord's body could sit at table and at the same time be eaten by the disciples it is perfectly clear that it is not a human body like our own. But this we must not allow for one moment. It is the glory of Christianity that our Redeemer is perfect man as well as perfect God. The language in which our Lord spoke made it quite unnecessary to interpret his words literally. The Bible is full of similar expressions. Our Lord spoke of himself as a door and a vine so we know that he used emblems and figures to describe himself. There is therefore no inconsistency in his using figurative language in instituting the Supper.”
What Bishop Ryle has written concerning the Lord’s Supper is based not on a pronouncement of some earthly body or council, but upon the very words of God. We cannot escape the fact that in our eating of the bread and drinking of the cup we are memorializing our Lord’s death and sacrifice— remembering his passion and giving thanks for his free gift of grace to us.
Listen further to what our Lord said about himself, I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (St. John 6:51). Christ came to offer himself up as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He did not come as something foreign to the teachings of the law because he fulfilled the law. We are therefore to partake of him after a spiritual sense not in a physical one. Consider the words of St. Paul in the epistle of Hebrews: 24For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation (9:24-28).
Now a caveat is in order at this point. St. Paul warned the Corinthian church not to take lightly their participation in the Holy Communion when he penned the following admonition, 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (I Corinthians 11:26-27). Nothing done in our worship of the Godhead should be considered mundane or trivial, and such is doubly important in our partaking of this sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
But there is more. When we hear the words of The Invocation (page 81 of the BCP), that we be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us and we in him, we understand that we are joined with our Lord via the Holy Ghost who resides within every born-again believer. And so, in our partaking of the communion elements, we are affirming the very presence of our Saviour within us. Holy Communion then is more than just a memorial feast, it is a spiritual linking of ourselves to our Lord.
The living bread has come into the world and has given us the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Our duty then is to break the bread and to drink from the cup until his coming again when he will both eat and drink with us at that marriage supper of the Lamb prior to his return in glory, for as the Scripture reads, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:7-10).
Our duty as Christians has ever been to proclaim the word of God to others, and to live in obedience to God’s will for us. But in order to do those things we must possess a proper understanding of whom we are worshiping and how we are to worship him. We ought be discerning with regard to our worship, our work and our walk in this life. We who have been regenerated by him believe that he is that living bread; we believe that he is our good Shepherd; we believe that he will come again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end (Nicene Creed).
It is my prayer that you will come to the Lord’s Table today and partake of Jesus Christ as that living bread, and that prior to your coming, you would confess your sins and trespasses to God in his name. We must honor our Lord out of a willing, broken and contrite heart that daily seeks his pardon. God has called us to himself so then let us do all that he has commanded us to do in his service.
Let us pray,
Father, we thank you for giving us that living bread which came down from heaven and was offered for the life of the world; and help us with our witness to those around us that they too might turn and be saved through him who was sacrificed for us and has been resurrected and ascended to thy right hand, even thine only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Have a Blessed Week,
Bryan+
Saint Paul's Anglican Church - Diocese of the Midwest Anglican Orthodox Church
Suffragan Bishop of the AOC
Sunday Next Before Advent
Morning Prayer
Psalm 39; First Lesson: Jeremiah 3:14-18; Second Lesson: Matthew. 25:31-46
STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“Stir up Sunday”
The designation of this Sunday as ‘next before Advent’ says quite a bit, a foreshadowing of things to come and of things to ponder. As we combine the three passages of scripture for today, we see a fairly ominous cloud, some depicting total destruction, some a wiping away of the present, some, a look to the promise of renewal. Good three-point sermon material.
Then when you combine the Collect for the day, which gives the nickname to this Sunday next before Advent, (“Stir up Sunday”) we have a reiteration of the message of hope and promise that comes with the season of Advent. This hope and promise comes at the beginning of the new church year, this being the season of Advent. If you tie in the next four Sundays in Advent to fulfilled and still to be fulfilled prophecy, you gain a whole new respect for the Word of God.
In spite of all the dire warnings surrounding the shift in politics, the impending end of the world as we know it due to human maleficence, we really should not fear or tremble; for we have HOPE. It was 62 years ago yesterday that a sitting president of the United States was assassinated. Many older folks thought at the time that there was going to be immediate conflict with Russia. This was based on the showdown that took place the year before during the Cuban Missile crisis in October of 1962. I wasn’t that old when President Kennedy was killed that day in Dallas, but I do remember the murmurs of the adults as the news unfolded on all three national news networks. But I didn’t really understand the full implications of the event. Folks, in many ways the political issues of today, not including any successful assassinations, seem to be just as dire. We must pull up short and stop and reflect that God does not allow things to happen randomly.
God is on his throne, he sees all that is transpiring, he knows the past and has created the future. We, who are in his hands should not fear. The writer of today’s psalm asks for guidance, especially concerning the future; and yet throughout the psalm, he acknowledges that God is in control. “5Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee.” He knows that God has complete control of his life. And in spite of the obvious difference between the Creator and the created, the psalmist still writes; “…7My hope is in thee. 8Deliver me from my transgressions; make me not the the reproach of the foolish.”
The final passage of this Psalm is written in a future tense and yet a sense of anticipation.
12Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 13O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
The psalmist seems to be looking down the years towards a time that this condition of being a stranger will be no more, he won’t be an alien, his people will be accepted, he will be in the hope of salvation.
As we see the selections of scripture focusing on the anticipation of the first coming, the Advent of Christ as a child, the Immanuel, “God with us”; we can rejoice and be sure of our salvation which, was provided and secured those many centuries ago, when God reached down and sent his Only Son, Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Redeemer.
As we compare two sides of the same coin, the Old Testament reading and the New, we see a study in the contrast that makes up the whole when it comes to our spiritual journey. Repentance is required, if you are to be right with God. You must repent and TURN from your ways and come back to God. He will return you to the right path.
14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. (Jeremiah 3:14-18)
As we study the passage from Jeremiah we find really wonderful warning. ‘Turn, O backsliding children...’ Then the prophet continues with what happens when we do turn back from our backsliding. Good pastors will come and feed the flock with knowledge and understanding, the people will increase and multiply, all nations shall be gathered to Jerusalem, not the physical city, the spiritual city. How do we know that ? “...neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil hearts..” That statement alone indicates that the coming of the promised Kingdom has happened. Verse 16 indicates a final aspect of the foreshadowed ark of the covenant has been revealed. This revelation of course being in the coming of the Savior, both his first coming {Advent} and his anticipated second coming {Advent}. We celebrate both the first and second Advent in this coming season, two Sundays each set aside to reflect on such.
Now we look at the passage from St Matthew. Here is the encapsulation of the whole Advent from start to finish. Why is this included in the Sunday before Advent? I think that we are looking at a foretaste of that which is to peak our interest in the coming time of contemplation and reflection that should mark the Advent season.
This is a call for us to “be still and know that He is Lord”.
Here we read of the Savior, the Messiah, the King of kings as he reveals what has been in place since before time. Look atMatthew 25:34 “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Talk about foreshadowing. Here the kingdom, promised before man, “..from the foundation of the world...” is given to those who did what they were supposed to do as believers. All the acts of kindness, the compassion that was shown to those who were in prison, hungry, thirsty, sick, without clothing.
‘...40Insasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Now we also see what happens to those who do not show compassion on those in need, “...then shall he answer them, saying, …45Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
That is some pretty powerful medicine. I think that Jesus is also referring to those who need to live their lives in a Gospel manner. If you think of the needs that are physical in nature, that is all well and good, but the import of this passage is the eternal. If we are looking at the eternal, then it would also seem to indicate the spiritual nature of need.
As believers we should also make sure those we meet and live among be clothed, fed, nurtured, cared for and guided spiritually as well.
The temporal shall soon pass away, it is only the spiritual that truly matters. So as followers of Christ Jesus, we need to make sure those who are without spiritual guidance at least get warned of this need. The plain and simple message of the Gospel, eternal life brought to earth by the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the central point of this time of the Church Year. The Advent of the Messiah, he who will save the world, by his death on the Cross, he glorious Resurrection from the dead; all being offered to God the Father’s human creations.
Beloved, times my seem dire, world situations seem dismal, but we as believers should have no fear. Christ is come, Christ is Risen, Christ is coming again...to claim His rightful place over this Kingdom that he left for us to grow and expand.
May the Lord richly bless us this coming week as we prepare for the Advent Season.
Let us pray:
Most gracious God, by whose knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew; We yield Thee unfeigned thanks and praise for the return of seed-time and harvest, for the increase of the ground and the gathering in of the fruits thereof, and for all the other blessings of Thy merciful providence bestowed upon this nation and people. And we beseech Thee, give us a just sense of these great mercies; such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before Thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.
O Lord God, to whom belongeth the earth and the fulness thereof; Give us grace to honor Thee with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase; that we may be blessed in the use of Thy gifts, and sanctified to Thy service, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; We commend to Thy continual care the families of Thy people, and the homes in which they dwell. Put far from them, we pray Thee, the desire of vain glory, the pride of life, and every root of bitterness. Endue them with faith, temperance, patience, and godliness. Knit together in constant affection those who have been united in holy wedlock; turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; and so kindle charity among us all, that we may be evermore kindly affectioned with brotherly love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+Roy Morales-Kuhn
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.
Prayer Needed:
Sandy – broken Femur,
Ophelia – crippling arthritis pain
Bobby - Cancer
Effie – recent discharge from hospital following pneumonia and possible CHF
Kamil – pray for successful – Chemotherapy
Paul Meier – throat cancer- radiation treatment successful
Richard Bailey – Brain Cancer
Joyce Barnes – Skin Cancer – Mohls Procedure Surgery to remove December 3
Ollie – 5 years old – lump above ear – consultation with neurosurgeon
Marilee – Mastectomy Update – completed chemo, she has a month break before radiation begins
Roy – Bulging disc – upcoming surgery
Michelle – metasicized lung cancer
Jim – Dec. 11th Heart Ablation
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
Betsey – Lane – Betsy onset of Dementia- Marianne her daughter
South Korea – pray to defeat the communists trying to take over; protection for the South Korean people.
Church of the Redeemer – changes in leadership, mourning loss of a wonderful Minister and Friend
Keep Praying for the following:
Shamu-health issues, Jan Jessup-neuro dementia, AOC USA, AOC Missions, Harper-IBS ,
Jim Sevier- God’s
Peace, Linda –
multiple myeloma, Aftereffects of car accident, Marianne, Betsey - Dementia, Donna-chemotherapy, Alicia-caregiver, Sophie,
Colin and Lori Beall –
cancer, Toni – cancer, Donna - cancer, Malou –
cancer, Archie,
Eloise, Janice, Dakota, Katie, Finley, Mike & Gayle,
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