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One mother wants nothing more than her son to have faith. Yet, he desires fame and fortune. After years of crying and praying, does she get her dream? Listen to “Hope and a Prayer” to discover the journey of one man's struggle against worldly desires. Cast members include Dana Flowers as the Narrator; Theresa Arnette as Monica; Bobby Fetter as Aurelius Augustine; Deacon Michael Orange as Father Anthony; and Lawrence Cuda as Bishop Ambrose.
Church History Part 7 4th & 5th Century - Leading Thinkers and Councils ~ G'day and welcome to Partakers and to our series, HAHA – Heroes and Heretics Abound. Together we will look at the story of the church from its origins to the Age of Reasoning in the 18th century. Last time we looked at the change for Christianity under Constantine – the church changed from being persecuted to being, as some would, compromised with its new found freedom. During this time as well, Christian thinking was being developed and clarified. There were several Councils called over the next 100 years which served that purpose. But let us look firstly at some of the leading Christian thinkers of the time, who helped formulate what we believe as 21st century Christians. Leading Christian thinkers of the 4th & 5th Centuries Athanasius 296-373. Deacon of the church in Alexandria, opposed Arius in the Council of Nicea. Became Bishop of Alexandria in 328. Athanasius was exiled 5 times because of his opposition to Arianism! Athanasius was the champion of orthodox Christian thinking! Hilary of Poitiers 295-368. Bishop of the Church at Poitiers, France. He was the main defender of orthodoxy in the Western Church who opposed Arianism. Ambrose of Milan 339-397. Ambrose became Bishop of Milan in 374 at the age of 34, and was in that role for 23 years. He was the Governor of Milan, the capital of the Empire, before being chosen as bishop by popular vote or choice. He was unbaptized, untrained, and resisted the peoples choice initially. Ambrose was noted for his courage and unbending character, completed the overthrow of Arianism in the Western church. Aurelius Augustine 354-430. Augustine was born of a pagan father and a Christian mother in Africa. He was converted to Christianity at the age of 32 and became Bishop of Hippo in 393. He is certainly one of the greatest theologians and thinkers in the history of the church. Most of mainstream Christianity today draws upon his teachings and thoughts. He was the first to clearly explain and express the doctrine of God's grace - that salvation was a gift of God and could not be earned. He taught that there was no salvation outside of the church. However he did promote a belief in purgatory and the use of relics, which much of the evangelical church today would consider in contrast to Christian teaching. John Chrysostom 347-407. He was known as 'John the Golden Mouth', because he was a great orator, teacher and preacher. He was the Bishop of Antioch & Constantinople in the Eastern Church. Jerome 340-420, was born in Italy, which was part of the Western Church. Jerome translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Latin (the popular language of the day) and the Latin Vulgate which was accepted by the Roman Catholic Church as its official Latin translation for centuries. Jerome lived in Bethlehem as a hermit for 35 years, and strongly promoted the monastic lifestyle as spiritually superior. Leo I (Leo the Great) 390-461. Bishop of Rome 440-461 was born in Tuscany, Italy. He made a major advance in acceptance of the Bishop of Rome as the universal Bishop, arguing as he did from Matthew 16:18. He was referred to as the Pope by many Bishops at the Council of Chalcedon (451), and this was largely accepted in the Western Church. This was strongly supported by the Roman Emperor, who made it an offence against the State to resist the Bishop of Rome, or Pope. As we can see by these people, Christian doctrine and thinking is continually developing. However some incorrect thinking was also invading the church. For example Arianism and the heretical thoughts of Arius were rife! Therefore over the next 100 years, various Church councils were called, not only to combat Arianism but also other heresies – some very subtle ones! Councils of the 4th & 5th Centuries The Council of Nicea 324 AD, called by Constantine to resolve the Arian heresy. Arius, an elder from Alexandria taught that Jesus Christ was merely a created being and denied his deity. Athanasius, a deacon in the Alexandria church, opposed Arius and supported Christ's deity. The debate raged over whether Jesus Christ should be described as 'the same essence as the Father' (homousious), or 'like essence as the Father' (homoiousios). Eventually it was accepted that Jesus Christ was 'the same essence as the Father '. The Nicene creed contains the final statement about Jesus Christ's deity. Council of Constantinople 381 AD, was called to discuss Apollonarianism and Sebellianism. Apollonarianism was a theory proposed by Apollinaris the Younger, Bishop of Laodicea. This theory was that Jesus had a human body and a human sensitive soul but didn't possess a human rational mind but rather a divine mind. There was the theory of Modalism or Unitarianism which proposed that the Heavenly Father, the Resurrected Son and the Holy Spirit were different modes one God, rather than three distinct persons within the Godhead. Sebellianism differed slightly from this in that Sabellius, its proposer, acknowledged that Jesus was fully God. At the Council of Constantinople, these teachings were condemned as unbiblical and therefore were heresies. The Holy Spirit was affirmed to be a person, equal with the Father and the Son. Council of Ephesus 431 AD, was called to discuss Nestorianism, at which it was condemned as a heresy. Nestorius protested, stating that Mary was the mother of the humanity of Jesus Christ, but not of His deity. Nestorian Christians engaged in a great missionary endeavour reaching across Asia to China in the Middle Ages. The council condemned and deposed Nestorius. Eutyches, Nestorius' opponent, was deposed 20 years later with being a heretic, teaching Jesus Christ had only a divine nature and was not fully human. Council of Chalcedon 451 AD 500 bishops met and affirmed that Jesus Christ had 2 natures, both divine and human, unchangeably united in one person. Condemned Eutyches who believed Jesus Christ had only the 1 divine nature. The heretical thoughts of Arianism, Nestorianism, Apollonarianism, Unitarianism, Modalism and Sebellianism are still in some religious thoughts today – particularly in the cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah Witnesses. Tap or click here to save this as an audio mp3 file ~
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessions - Book 2 - Chapters 1 through 10 by St. Augustine of Hippo Subtitle: Confessions Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 11/8/2014 Length: 32 min.
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessions by Saint Augustine of Hippo - Book 2, Chapters 1 through 10 Subtitle: Confessions by St. Augustine Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 7/18/2014 Length: 32 min.
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The City of God by Saint Augustine of Hippo - Book 2, Chapters 18 through 29 Subtitle: City of God - St. Augustine Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 7/18/2014 Length: 46 min.
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The City of God by Saint Augustine of Hippo - Book 2, Chapters 1 through 17 Subtitle: City of God - St. Augustine Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 7/18/2014 Length: 40 min.
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessions - Book 1 - Chapters 11 through 19 by St. Augustine Subtitle: Confessions Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 7/3/2014 Length: 25 min.
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: City of God - Book 1 - Chapters 16 through 36 Subtitle: City of God - St. Augustine Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 7/3/2014 Length: 48 min.
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessions by Saint Augustine of Hippo - Book 1, Chapters 1 through 10 Subtitle: Confessions by St. Augustine Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 6/28/2014 Length: 28 min.
A new MP3 sermon from SermonIndex Audio Sermons is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The City of God by Saint Augustine of Hippo - Book 1, Preface & Chapters 1 through 15 Subtitle: City of God Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: SermonIndex Audio Sermons Event: Audio Book Date: 6/28/2014 Length: 47 min.
The great father of the early Church, Aurelius Augustine, famously called wrote: “The Lord's cross was the devil's mousetrap: the bait which caught him was the death of the Lord.” http://abortionmatrix.com (St. Augustine, Sermons, 261, trans. by Henry Bettenson, ed., The Later Christian Fathers: A Selection From the Writings of the Fathers from St. Cyril of Jerusalem to St. Leo the Great. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1970, 1977. p. 222.) Augustine understood well what Paul had written to the church at Corinth: “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). By inspiring the Jews and Romans to crucify Jesus, Satan cut his own throat. The “law of unintended consequences” went nuclear. Through the cross the once and for all sacrifice for sins was accomplished, setting God's people free from the condemnation and ultimate power of sin and its wages, death. As a perfect keeper of God's law, Jesus didn't deserve death and so was soon vindicated by the Holy Spirit by way of the resurrection. This brought Him forth as the first-born from the dead and enabled us to follow wreaking all manner of disastrous consequences on the kingdom of darkness. It put Jesus as a glorified man on the throne of heaven and earth and granted us sanctuary access – again with all manner of awesome benefits in our battle against the world, the flesh and the devil. We could go on and on … But God's plays fair; His blessings are always mirrored by corresponding curses. If the one who was a murderer from the beginning can, for example, get us to commit murder, then all Satan has to do is get out of the way and watch as God's holiness – and corresponding wrath – begins to burn. Make no mistake about it: the Lord's anger burns against the hands that shed innocent blood. “… the Lord hates … the hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:16,17). “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15). “And they have built the high places … to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire … Therefore … the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth” (Jeremiah 7:31-33). Throughout the rest of his book, Jeremiah issues dreadful warnings about the judgments God was bringing against Israel for its sins – most notably the polluting of the land with innocent blood. “… because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents” (Jeremiah 19:4; see also 7:6; 22:3,17; 26:15). These judgments were fulfilled in 587 BC when the Babylonians sacked and destroyed Jerusalem, taking the wretched people who survived the holocaust into captivity. On September 11th, 2001 AD, America froze in shock and disbelief as two planes took out the World Trade Center and 3000 people died. Cries of anger and vengeance arose that propelled America into wars that continue to this day. Now, how do you think God feels when even more people die every day in America through abortion? And these deaths are not random acts of terror but are instead calmly sanctioned by our courts, protected by our laws and, for the most part, ignored by the church that God has commissioned to be salt and light. How much longer do you think before the devil's mousetrap is fully sprung?
A new MP3 sermon from Still Waters Revival Books is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessions of St. Augustine 13 of 13 Subtitle: Confessions of St. Augustine Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: Still Waters Revival Books Event: Audio Book Date: 7/15/2008 Bible: Isaiah 1:16; 1 Corinthians 12:8 Length: 84 min.
A new MP3 sermon from Still Waters Revival Books is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessions of St. Augustine 12 of 13 Subtitle: Confessions of St. Augustine Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: Still Waters Revival Books Event: Audio Book Date: 7/8/2008 Bible: Genesis 1:1-2; Romans 8:31 Length: 66 min.
A new MP3 sermon from Still Waters Revival Books is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 2 of 2 Subtitle: Augustine's Writings Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: Still Waters Revival Books Event: Audio Book Date: 1/2/2005 Bible: Romans 11:28-29 Length: 65 min.
A new MP3 sermon from Still Waters Revival Books is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: A Treatise On the Predestination of the Saints 1/2, Augustine Subtitle: Augustine's Writings Speaker: Aurelius Augustine Broadcaster: Still Waters Revival Books Event: Audio Book Date: 1/2/2005 Bible: Jeremiah 17:5; Romans 9 Length: 63 min.