St. Jude's Mission

Longing. We have a longing for community, proximity, peace, blessedness and righteousness. And our experience in this world, on account the evil in her that flows from our own hearts also, reminds us that if we do have it here, it is in small portions and temporal. Zechariah's prophecy speaks to this longing. And Jesus Christ satisfies it. This sermon was preached on the 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany at St Jude's Anglican Church in Huntersville.

This is an audio recording of my article in the first newsletter of the year, concerning the Epiphany of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world. This feast is held yearly on Jan 6th according to western Christian tradition.

This recording concludes our lectures and discussion on the Book of Revelation. Join us for reading of the final chapters followed by a brief lecture and some Q&A (which always seem to come back to the relationship between faith and works :).

Seasons such as Advent are pedagogical, they teach us by relating our liturgical life and language to the longings of our hearts. Having begun the story afresh we begin with preparation; making ready for the coming of the Lord.

In accordance with our teaching and preaching over the last few months, we encounter readings from Daniel and Revelation that conclude the Church's liturgical retelling of the Christian story with Christ the King Sunday. Here we exalt the King of kings and Lord of lord's. We dream of his reign and fan into flame a longing for his appearing in our hearts.

We are quickly approaching the end of our lectures from Dr Nerness on the book of Revelation. Listen in as we dive deeper in the imagery found not only in these chapters of Revelation but in other apocalyptic works in the Word of God.

The lectionary for Nov 14th encouraged me to speed up the process a bit. That and the eve of the Advent season compel me to conclude our series on Daniel. While Daniel chapter 12 would be a series in itself we are able to glean timeless truths upon which to hang our hope.

This week we took a brief pause to cement the foundations of God as creator, and creation as inherently good, in accordance with the nature assigned to all things and beings at creation.. This is important because the work of evil, as seen in the beasts of the book of Revelation, is to, by way of deception, claim God's power for themselves. This quickly leads to violence and ruin as it did in Genesis 6 and 11. And the way the beasts in Revelation do this is by blurring the creator / creature distinction. Therefore a return to the foundations laid at creation, in accordance with the creation account in Genesis, is rather helpful as we come to the home stretch of John's Apocalypse in the weeks to come.

I've been eager to get to this chapter. We would do well to dwell long in it. My imagination has Daniel, living still in Babylon, turning to face the East, to Jerusalem. There he would picture the former glory of the Temple of God in the city of Jerusalem. And he would pray as Solomon foretold, as Moses prescribed. For Israel was suffering the curses that came with breaking their covenant with God Almighty. And now that history was unfolding before Daniel's eyes in accordance with the word of the prophets, he was all the more eager to fast, pray, read and yearn for the fulfillment of God's promises, a return of the remnant and therefore the favor of God. Hear what happens when the people of God humble themselves, repent and seek the Lord!

Today we read and discuss Revelation chapters twelve through fourteen. Join Dr John Nerness and the Rev Clay W Thompson for thoughtful reading and discussion of these vivid chapters from St John's Apocalypse.

Growing up in the Church and experiencing ministry outside of the Church (Young Life, College ministries like Reformed University Fellowship, Summer camps, etc) I have heard many people pray. Hearing powerful and beautiful prayers has left a deep impression on me. Thanks to the Apostles, we are able to hear Jesus pray! The 17th chapter of John's Gospel records Jesus' high priestly prayer. In it we catch a glimpse of what is eternally brought before the Father on behalf of the people of God in the world. This sermon was preached by Clay Thompson for the people of God at St Jude's Anglican Church on Sunday, May 24th.

In this recording, John Nerness teaches questions 36 through 41 from the Catechism of the Anglican Church.

To abide is to remain. My 7 year old neighbor asked me yesterday, "How long do you think we will be in quarantine"? He wants to know how long these restrictions will remain. How long will he have to clean handles, switches and counter tops? How long will social distancing measures remain. How long will the fear of contamination remain, which is really the fear and suspicion of our neighbor? In the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is a safe place to abide; we are invited to remain in the love eternally shared between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Today, where do you abide? This sermon was preached by Clay Thompson for sake of the Lord's Church at St Jude's in Huntersville, NC.

Live long enough and you will see a pattern in the choices you have made throughout your life; you acted in accordance with your beliefs. Not only do we all have beliefs, but at some level and usually more deeply that we would like to admit, we believe into those beliefs. Hypocrisy is when we say we believe something but our history proves otherwise. Hypocrites still believe into something, its just different than what they told you. The great struggle seems to be the object of belief, the search for truth. Jesus came to testify to the truth. He is the light shining in the darkness, calling us from darkness into light. To be a Christian is more than believing that God exists, it is living life in the light of the love of God. Jesus lived in the light of the Father's love. Accordingly, he did the work of the Father. Jesus encouraged the disciples not to be troubled, but to believe in God and in himself (John 14:1). The disciples would realize over time that to believe in this way would be to love, trust and follow Jesus as they had now shared in the eternal love made manifest between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And as they followed Jesus they would indeed do 'greater works' than what they had seen and witnessed in Jesus thus far. What are those greater works? Listen to this sermon on John 14:1-14 to find out!

In place of the regular Zoom meeting at 10am, John as prerecorded a session here. We will return to normal routine next week.

Few images provoke such tenderness and care as that of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. But the best way to understand the early portion of John 10 (vs1-10) is in light of Jesus' resurrection and appearance. Prior to the resurrection the disciples struggled to understand the significance of Jesus as our Shepherd and as the door of the sheep pen. But as the resurrected Lord now appearing to his disciples, the way has been made clear. Jesus has gone before us triumphant over death. Accordingly, he can rightly speak of everlasting life. And so he calls his sheep by name and they know his voice because they are his, and he goes before them in a triumphant procession of everlasting life. Joyfully restored by the person and work of the resurrected Jesus, the Good Shepherd of the sheep, let us rest and rejoice in the fullness of life that is and is to come. This sermon was preached by Clay Thompson in isolation for the benefit of the saints at St Jude's Anglican Church in Huntersville, NC on Sunday, May 3rd.

"You are precious in my eyes and I love you" - God (Isaiah 43:4) That is one of the most tender verses in all of Scripture. Yet this assurance was spoken to Israel in one of the most severe trials of her national life, or lack thereof, as exiles in Babylon. And God's assurance of love and favor to disgraced Israel goes deeper still; Fear not...I love you...and you shall be my witnesses. In the appearance of the resurrected Christ we behold the love of God that drives out all fear. And all who bask in the light, joy and freedom of the love of God, will testify that there is no God like our God! This sermon was preached by Clay Thompson for the scattered saints of St Jude's Anglican Church in Huntersville, NC.

Let the world give thanks for the record of Jesus' appearing to Thomas! For when Jesus appears to Thomas, answering each protest with the evidence of his suffering and love, he appears to you also. Many of us wish that Jesus would appear to us as he did Thomas. The point is that he did! He appeared to Thomas for our sake, that we may believe. In fact this is the purpose of John's writing of the Gospel, that world may know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and have life in his name. This sermon was preached from the isolation of my home, in union with the body of Christ around the world join in Spirit and Truth on Sunday, April 19th, 2020.

Today the world is secluded in isolation and plagued by uncertainty. Likewise the disciples were scattered in fear and the women were gathered in grief. It was the end of the Sabbath day. They had to wait until the first day of the week before they could run to the tomb to mourn the death of Jesus. They made haste in their grief only to discover that "He is not here...He is risen"! Rejoice with us in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! It is Easter Sunday. Christ is risen, let the people rejoice! Hope has been unleashed in the world. This sermon was preached from my coronavirus closet on Easter Sunday, April 11th, 2020, for the saints at St Jude's Anglican Church in Huntersville, NC.

Today is Good Friday. Good Friday is God's answer to separation and suffering. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed that those who were distant and far off may be brought near to God. Every longing that we are experiencing is a gift from God to each us of the greater longing that groans in the hearts of all peoples; to be reconciled to God. This sermon was preached in isolation...from my closet, for the sake of the saints at St Jude's Anglican Church, with whom I hope to be reunited soon.