Podcasts about son christ

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com Year 2 - 1979 Daily Office LectionaryOpening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 24Domini est terraBCP p. 613 The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, *the world and all who dwell therein. For it is he who founded it upon the seas *and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep. “Who can ascend the hill of the Lord? *and who can stand in his holy place?” “Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,nor sworn by what is a fraud. They shall receive a blessing from the Lord *and a just reward from the God of their salvation.” Such is the generation of those who seek him, *of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, O gates;lift them high, O everlasting doors; *and the King of glory shall come in. “Who is this King of glory?” *“The Lord, strong and mighty,the Lord, mighty in battle.” Lift up your heads, O gates;lift them high, O everlasting doors; *and the King of glory shall come in. “Who is he, this King of glory?” *“The Lord of hosts,he is the King of glory.” Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. LessonsWisdom of Solomon 3:1-9But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Te Deum laudamusYou are God: we praise you;You are the Lord: we acclaim you;You are the eternal Father:All creation worships you.To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,heaven and earth are full of your glory.The glorious company of apostles praise you.The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;Father, of majesty unbounded,your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.When you became man to set us free you did not shun the Virgin's womb. You overcame the sting of deathand opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God's right hand in glory.We believe that you will come and be our judge.Come then, Lord, and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saintsto glory everlasting. Revelation 21:1-6Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus Dominus DeusBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersThe Lord be with you.And also with you.Let us pray.Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Suffrages AV. Show us your mercy, O Lord;R. And grant us your salvation.V. Clothe your ministers with righteousness; R. Let your people sing with joy.V. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;R. For only in you can we live in safety. V. Lord, keep this nation under your care;R. And guide us in the way of justice and truth.V. Let your way be known upon earth;R. Your saving health among all nations.V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;R. And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.   The CollectsAll Saints' CollectAlmighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Pastor Randy continues his Straight Talk. Be Real. Sermon Series in 1 John with the message titled, -Do Right-- from 1 John 3-1-10.--Those Who Do Right Will--1. See the Son-Christ-2. Sin less-3. Stand firm

Pastor Randy continues his Straight Talk. Be Real. Sermon Series in 1 John with the message titled, -Do Right-- from 1 John 3-1-10.--Those Who Do Right Will--1. See the Son-Christ-2. Sin less-3. Stand firm

As God's eternal Son , Christ emptied himself and became a servant for usTime:AfternoonMinister:Rev Joe PoppeTexts:Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 14

As God's eternal Son Christ emptied himself and became a servant for us.We'll consider:- How Christ remained God while giving up his heavenly glory and riches.- How Christ became man in order to serve as our Mediator.- How Christ calls us to humble lives of service.Time:AfternoonMinister:Rev. Joe PoppeTexts:Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 14Luke 1:26–38Philippians 2:1–11Series:The Heidelberg Catechism

By this time it's too late to do much about it, but it is not too late to encourage you in what you have done and to make sure you're ready when your children ask in time to come, “What do these presents mean?” They mean the world. A gift is something handed to another, willingly and without payment. The word used for gift (χάρισμα) in the New Testament connects it with grace (χάρις), with something undeserved, with benefit(s) bestowed by favor. The whole world is a gift; all are yours. None of us have *anything* that we have not received (1 Corinthians 4:7). The first five and a half days of earth were gift creating days, which God presented to Adam for his blessing. Eve was a gift, resulting in lyrical praise. Food was a gift for mankind to share; “Behold I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth.” All is gift: life and new life, breath and bread, sun and moon and stars, the Word made flesh and the Word that richly dwells in our hearts. Through the Logos all things were made, and in the name of the Lord all things can be received with thanks and enjoyed (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Among the false gods of men none matches the Lord God Almighty in magnanimity, in generosity, in freely given good things. Bacchus/Dionysus gave wild parties, but he stole freedom in making men slaves to pleasure. But as we worship the true and living God we see that gifts are good, giving is good. Giving is *godly*. “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11)We come to our final Advent Activity for this advent season. This is it, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. We've been Waiting all this time. While waiting we've feasted and we've sung; we've had a feast of singing and we've sung at our feasts. We've been preparing to remember the Son of God's birth, while also remembering the Son of God's promised return. A King was born, joy to the world. The King comes again, let every heart prepare Him room. And to the advent activities of Waiting, Feasting, and Singing we add Giving. One more reminder for this cycle: there are no verses, let alone biblical laws, that require giving gifts on December 25, or on days leading up to this recognized holiday. We are not required to shop, purchase, bake or make, wrap, or place gifts under a tree to be opened in a coordinated manner on an appointed day, worldwide. But, *giving* is godly. Bearing gifts is true image-bearing, as our heavenly Father gives and gives and gives. Advent season is as good a time as any to exercise ourselves for the purpose of godliness. It is as good a time as any to be *blessed*. God's Word has much to say about giving and receiving, about generosity and gratitude. Scripture also gives us a quote of Jesus that we don't learn about until after Jesus had ascended. It's worth considering the context.In Acts 20 Paul met with the elders of the church in Ephesus for his final time. It's a well known passage, including Paul's claim that he did not shrink from declaring to them the whole counsel of God (verse 27), and his exhortation to the pastors to pay attention to themselves and the flock, the church of God which He obtained with His own blood (verse 28). Paul commended them to God and the word of His grace which builds up and gives an inheritance (verse 32). And then as he finishes, he reminded them of how they knew they could trust him. He didn't come to take from them, he came to give to them. > “I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” (Acts 20:33–35 ESV)It's that last quote that not Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John recorded in their Gospels. Paul leaves no doubt, though; this isn't just consistent with a principle, this is explicit teaching, “the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said.” **It is more blessed to give**. Why? How? Is this just a rhetorical device to manipulate giving? One way we know it's not manipulative is because he's in the middle of telling them that he hadn't tried to get anything from them. *He* was explaining his own blessedness in giving. Another reason why Paul isn't being manipulative is because he knew that there was a way to give, and give big time, that was useless. “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). But the greatest reason is that Paul knew Jesus' teaching accords with how God made the world to work. God, who is the happiest being, with the ineffable felicity, is the Father who gives. The principle here applies: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17 ESV). God gives. Giving is *loving*, it is love manifest, love incorporated. The Father: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16). The Son: “Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us” and this pleased the Father, “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). Husbands are called to imitate this giving, “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). The Spirit: individual spiritual gifts for each member of the body for the whole body's good (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-11).So we receive from God to reflect Him. Jesus told His disciples, “You received without paying; give without pay” (Matthew 10:8). There is wisdom in this worldview. > Once gives freely and grows all the richer; > another withholds what he should give, > and only suffers want.> Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, > and one who waters will himself be watered. > (Proverbs 11:24-25 ESV)Or old school: > The liberal soul shall be made fat: > and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. > (Proverbs 11:25 KJV)It turns out, the blessed giver is getting something in return: *blessing*. That's an act of faith, and it makes our souls *fat*. The one who gives grows *more* considerable. The world works the way it does because God is not stingy. He is not reluctant to give. He gives to those who hate Him, sun and rain and breath and kids. He gives even to the ungrateful, and all their gifts weigh them down in accountability. The world is changed through gift, of course in Jesus Himself, and also as earthly fathers mimic that giving work to their children, even as entrepreneurs give to the market. So give and be blessed. Give and be made fat. Connecting some of this back to Acts 20, pastors are again a big part of the problem. It's fairly easy to identify the ones grabbing at prosperity off the backs of the sheep. But then there are the pietists, discouraging the sheep from feasting and giving feasts, warning them away from a boogeyman materialism which keeps them from the blessing/joy that comes through giving to *others*. Can you spoil giving? Of course! Give to be seen, to get recognition from men (as Jesus warned against in Matthew 6). You can give to make it so that you don't have to give yourself, giving without love, giving to distance. You can give to cover a guilty conscience. You can give without wisdom, too far beyond your means. But if you give by faith, out of love, you are imitating the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. # ConclusionGiving is an advent activity, a Christian practice. It is not the *only* act of stewards; we earn or provide paychecks (from which to have something to give). Ownership of private property (at some level) is the prerequisite for generosity. So also giving isn't primarily about expense, but it is about love. Jesus was “born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth” (“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”). The Wise men brought gifts to Jesus, which is right, Jesus is the King. But now, we can give gifts to fellow servants of the King, in the King's honor, while we wait for His return. Live in alignment with God's invisible law that blesses the world. It is more blessed to give than to be reluctant. Don't hold back. ----------## ChargeThe world is changed through gift, in the gift of Jesus Himself, and also as earthly fathers mimic that giving work to their children. Some of you are trying to break generational sins, others to build generational inheritances. Give blessings by faith and be blessed. Give and may you and your people be made more and more soul fat.## Benediction:> But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18 ESV)

Entrance Hymn #287 For All The Saints (verses 1-4) Sequence Hymn #656 Blest Are The Pure In Heart Offertory Anthem Pie Jesu (Rutter) Lawren Casagrande, Soloist Communion Anthem They Shall Soar Like Eagles (Manzo) Post-Communion Hymn #625 Ye Holy Angels Bright THE COLLECT OF THE DAY Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. FIRST READING Revelation 7:9-17 A Reading from the Revalation to John. After this I, John, looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Reader The Word of the Lord. People Thanks be to God. PSALM Psalm 34:1-10,22 Benedicam Dominum 1 I will bless the LORD at all times; * his praise shall ever be in my mouth. 2 I will glory in the LORD; * let the humble hear and rejoice. 3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD; * let us exalt his Name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me * and delivered me out of all my terror. 5 Look upon him and be radiant, * and let not your faces be ashamed. 6 I called in my affliction and the LORD heard me * and saved me from all my troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encompasses those who fear him, * and he will deliver them. 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; * happy are they who trust in him! 9 Fear the LORD, you that are his saints, * for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, * but those who seek the LORD lack nothing that is good. 22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants, * and none will be punished who trust in him. SECOND READING 1 John 3:1-3 A Reading from the first letter of John. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who...

All Saints: Blessed are… St. Matthew 5:1-12 & Revelation 7:2-27 by William Klock The Feast of All Saints is one of the oldest holy days on the Christian Calendar.  We have evidence of sermons preached on this occasion going all the way back to the Third Century.  It took a while for our different communions to settle on dates.  The Eastern church still celebrate it on the Sunday after Pentecost, while we celebrate it November 1st.  And the purpose of the day has evolved.  In those early centuries, the church observed All Saints' Day as a way to commemorate and honour the martyrs—the men and women who stood firm and who, when the time came, took up their crosses and followed Jesus.  Just as the enemies of God thought they had silenced Jesus when they crucified him, the enemies of God thought that could silence the gospel witness of those first Christian.  But the opposite happened.  The blood of the martyrs fertilised the soil of the empire and through their witness, the gospel put down deep roots, growing and spreading, eventually bringing even mighty Caesar to his knees before the cross, confessing his faith in Jesus the Messiah.  In the words of our Old Testament lesson from the Wisdom of Solomon, “in the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died” and “in the sight of men they were punished”, but the reality is that their hope was not in vain, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will touch them…They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.”  Apocryphal that text may be, but it highlights the truth of God's kingdom and its conflict with the world.  The kingdom of God seems upside-down, but only because the values of fallen humanity were upside-down already.  It's not an easy thing to follow Jesus and to take up your cross, but the Lord will vindicate his people. And this is just what Jesus is getting at in our Gospel today from Matthew 5.  Blessed are, blessed are, blessed are…nine times Jesus says and each time he connects the blessing with people whose values are right-side up in contrast to the upside-down values of the world.  It's language straight from the Lord's covenant with Israel, going all the way back to Abraham.  Remember how the Lord call Abraham and promised to bless him, but the point wasn't just to bless Abraham.  The point was that Abraham would then be a blessing to the world.  Through Abraham, the Lord would reveal himself to a world that had forgotten him, to a world that would, through his people, see his goodness, his grace, his faithfulness, and one day give him glory.  Through Abraham and his family, the Lord would remind the world that he will not leave it as it is, broken and fallen.  One day he would come himself to set humanity and the rest of his creation to rights, one day he will wipe away sin and death, and with them all the tears.  His people were—and still are—the witnesses of his faithfulness to that promise. Israel mostly failed at that mission.  Instead of glorifying the God of Israel, the nations looked at Israel's faithlessness and mocked her God.  But there were always some—like the people the Gospels start with—people like Mary and Joseph, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna.  Faithful people, believing people, people with precious little blessing, but still committed to and still longing to see the Lord set this broken world right-side up.  It was to them that Jesus came and it was in their midst that the gospel started doing its work.  And as people like these gathered around him, Jesus exhorted them.  The Lord would not tolerate the faithlessness of Israel for much longer.  The axe was set to the root of the tree.  Judgement was coming.  The long-awaited age to come, God's great plan to set the world right-side up was about to start unfolding, and here Jesus is saying, “This is how you have a share in it and it starts by forsaking the upside-down ways of the world and following me.  It means being the people who will finally witness the Lord's presence with them.  It means being the people who will lift the veil on the Lord's new creation to show the nations what it looks like.  And so he begins in Matthew 5:3, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”   Before we go any further, we need to understand what it means to be blessed.  It's the Hebrew idea of shalom—something so broad, it's hard to nail down exactly, but it's the sense of completeness, and wellness, of peace with God and in the community.  It's about being set to rights and living in a community or a world set to rights.  That last bit is important.  It's not just an individual thing; it's a community thing—a covenantal thing.  It goes back to Abraham and to the exodus and to God's creation of a people who would know the blessing of living in his presence and then witness that blessing to the world around them—that they would witness it until the knowledge of the Lord's glory covers the whole world as the waters cover the sea.  The very next thing Jesus goes on to preach about after the Beatitudes is being a people who are salt and light to the world.  It's another illustration of what it looks like not just to be God's people in the world, but to be God's people for the world.  To be and to live out God's new creation here and now.  To be the dawn that drives away the darkness of the long night. That's what being blessed is about.  The people Jesus describes in these blessings are people who are already living the life of the kingdom, even if imperfectly.  Their desire is to see the Lord set his people and his world to rights and they're already living that way.  They're prepared for the kingdom—unlike so many others who were still invested in the ways and values of fallen Israel, fallen humanity, and this broken world.  Jesus starts out with the poor in spirit and I can't help but think of Mary.  When she finds out that she's going to bear the Messiah—the one who will set everything to rights—what does she do?  Instead of the news filling her with pride, it humbles her.  She bursts out in song: “My soul doth magnify the Lord…for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.” Most people though that God would usher in his kingdom and set the world to rights by coming like a great warrior-king to the important and the wealthy, to the powerful and politically connected.  Instead, he came to a young girl in a backwater village.  And people like Mary flocked to Jesus and through them the kingdom of God burst into the world.  The humble came in faith and he opened their eyes, healed their diseases, cast out their demons, and forgave their sins.  And all the while the powerful and connected, people like the Sadducees, fumed that Jesus was offering forgiveness apart from the temple.  The Pharisees fumed that he was healing on the Sabbath and welcoming tax collectors and sinners.  But Jesus says that judgement is coming and those who will see the kingdom will not be the powerful or the self-righteous, but those humble enough to recognise the kingdom in Jesus and to follow him. The rest of the Beatitudes go the same way.  Jesus says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:4-9) These don't come out of the blue.  All through these sayings, Jesus is drawing from the prophets and, especially, the psalms.  He began his ministry preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth with the words of Isaiah: “The Lord anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…to comfort all who mourn.”  Isaiah was announcing judgement on Israel and so was Jesus.  But those who mourn the sins of the people, those who mourn their broken fellowship with the Lord, they will be the ones to pass through the fires of the coming judgement to live in that new messianic community of the age to come. In Psalm 37, David declared, “the meek shall inherit the land and shall take delight in the abundance of peace”.  It's ironic, because so many people expected the Messiah to come like mighty David, crashing into Jerusalem to put the enemies of his people to the sword.  They expected the kingdom to come by violence.  But David himself had declared that it's the meek who would inherit the land—the kingdom, life in the presence of God. Jesus draws on Psalm 107 when he says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness or justice will be satisfied.  The people longed for justice, but for far too many people in Israel that justice looked more like vengeance than justice and that's not the way.  Violence begets violence.  It always has and it always will.  But Jesus shows the way of the kingdom as he let violence do its worst and then forgave, breaking the cycle and turning evil back on itself.  Humility, gentleness, mercy, forgiveness—and a desire to see the wicked repent—that's the way of the kingdom.  And, of course, that's why only the merciful can ever truly know God's mercy. And the pure in heart.  Jesus echoes Psalm 24:3-6.  “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart…He will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of his salvation.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”  To see the kingdom, to live before the face of God, means you have to value that kingdom.  You have to want to be part of the world set to rights—not just to receive its benefits, but truly be part of it.  And so outward piety won't do.  The people of the kingdom love it, they long for it, they want to be part and parcel of the world set to rights, to contribute to it, and so they don't go through the motions—they're truly pure of heart. And the peacemakers.  The Messiah came to make peace.  To make peace with God by bearing in himself the sins of his people that they might be forgiven.  And to set us right so that we can be at peace with each other.  The vengeful, the violent, the proud—they'll be the ones swept away in the coming judgement.  Only the peacemakers—following in the footsteps of their peace-making Messiah—will have a place in the kingdom of peace. But Jesus also warns these people.  To see the kingdom, you're going to have live out it's values in the present evil age, and for that you will be hated, mocked, scorned, and even killed.  He goes on in verses 10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” To follow Jesus and to live for the kingdom is costly.  It means taking up your cross—sometimes very literally.  As Jesus would say: The servant is not greater than his master.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth, the people were so angry with him that they tried to throw him off a cliff.  Before too long the religious leaders would be scheming to have him killed.  He knew from the beginning that that was the path he had to take.  And he knew his people would suffer for the sake of his name.  At the cross the present evil age was dealt a death blow.  In rising from the grave Jesus inaugurated the age to come.  The present age is passing away and the age to come is breaking in, but Jesus knew that his people would live in the overlap.  God brought salvation and renewal this way for a reason.  The people of Jesus' day wanted it to come all at once, but God chose to bring it slowly.  People today have the same sort of expectation.  They ask how a good God can allow so much evil in the world.  But in asking that question, in asking why God doesn't come and deal with evil we're showing the same sort of self-righteous mindset that dominated Israel.  We're forgetting that for God to come and deal with evil means that God will not only have to deal with our enemies and the people who cause us grief, but that he'll also have to deal with us.  We're all sinners.  We're all responsible for the mess this world is in—some more, some less—but we've all contributed to it.  And so God sent Jesus to deal with that sin and to inaugurate his kingdom, but he also delays, and in that he gives sinners a chance to repent and turn to him.  It also means that those who, in this in-between time, insist on revealing the kingdom, those who insist on confronting the sinful systems of the old age through their poverty of spirit, through their meekness, through their mercy, through their peace-making will face the same backlash that Jesus faced.  As God's people show the world set to rights, those invested in the way things are will fight back.  When God's people declare that Jesus is the world's true Lord, the Caesars of this age and their supporters will lash out to silence the challenge. The martyrs are a testimony to Jesus' promise.  And when you see your brothers and sisters being carried off to die—whether by the Jewish authorities, or the Romans, or Communists, Islamists, Hindus, Buddhists, or radical secularists in our age, it's easy to fear.  Are we really blessed when we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness?  This was the purpose behind St. John's “revelation”.  The church was on the verge of being plunged into violent persecution—a time of great trial and tribulation.  Would their faith hold?  And what about those who died for the sake of faith in Jesus?  And so God gave John a vision.  Just as Jesus had promised, judgement was coming, first on unbelieving Israel and then on the pagan word of the Greeks and Romans.  The scroll of judgement announcing judgement on Jerusalem and Judah is brought forth.  The redeeming lamb is now the great lion of Judah.  The wrath of God is about to be poured out.  And then everything is paused.  What's to happen to the faithful, to Jesus' people in the midst of the storm.  This is where our Epistle picks up in Revelation 7:2-3. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” The imagery here is drawn from Ezekiel.  The prophet was shown a vision of Israel's idolatry and then a vision of a “man clothed in linen” who was directed by the Lord to “put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it” (Ezekiel 9:3-4).  In the divine judgement to come, no one was to touch those market out for the Lord.  What the Lord did in Ezekiel's day was about to happen again, but the Lord would spare the faithful.  Those who are sealed by the angel are announced in verse 4: And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. The text goes on to list specifically twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes.  This is the remnant of faithful Israel, much like those marked out in Ezekiel's vision centuries before.  This is the Jewish church of Jerusalem and Judea, those Jews who heard the good news and trusted in Jesus.  Those Jews who were appalled by Israel's abominations.  Those who were about to face violent persecution at the hands of their fellow Jews.  The Lord would not abandon them, even though they die.  He places his mark on them and seals them as his own.  And their faithfulness to Jesus the Messiah, is the means by which the nations are brought to the cross.  They are persecuted for righteousness' sake, and they know blessing as a result, because it is through their faithfulness to Jesus that they fulfil the Abrahamic covenant's call to be a blessing to the nations. John hears the announcement of the sealing of the Jewish church, and then he sees a vision of a multitude that could not be numbered, drawn from the nations: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10) And jumping down to verse 13: Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”… And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  (Revelation 7:13-14) John's vision now draws on the imagery of the prophet Daniel, who wrote of another time of great distress through which the Lord saw a faithful remnant of his people.  The wise amongst them were refined through persecution that they might “shine like the brightness of the sky above” (12:3) so that they would “turn many to righteousness”.  Faithful Israel, through her unwavering allegiance to Jesus in this time of trial would serve as the witnesses that will bring the nations to faith in the Lord.  The faithfulness of the 144,000, of the Jewish martyrs, their robes soaked in their own blood, brings that multi-ethnic multitude to Jesus that he might wash their robes in his blood and make them part of his people.  As Zechariah had prophesied, ten men from the nations, of every tongue, will take hold of the robe of a Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!” (8:23) Brothers and Sisters, because of the faithful witness of the martyrs, you and I are here today in the house of the Lord.  Our lessons today remind us their faithfulness to the Lord Jesus, their faithfulness to his kingdom, even in the midst of persecution, was the means by which God brought the nations to himself.  It's also a witness to the faithfulness of God, who fulfils his promises.  He gives his own Spirit to his people that they—that even we—might face persecution in faith.  Today we see him embracing his people and wiping away their tears.  Revelation tells us the story of our brothers and sisters who lived in the First Century—of those Jewish believers who faced persecution and martyrdom at the hands of unbelieving Israel and of that multitude drawn pagan Greco-Roman world because of their witness.  They, too would face persecution at the hands of an empire that would, because of their witness, eventually be brought in submission to the lordship of Jesus.  And yet there's obviously more to the story of Jesus' people.  What we see in John's vision is intermediate and temporary.  The martyrs held close by God as saints on earth and in heaven await the consummation of history, that day when the faithful will follow Jesus in his resurrection, when all things are made new, when heaven and earth are rejoined, and when men and women once again dwell in the presence of the Lord. Brothers and Sisters, we don't know what will happen between now and then.  We may face our own time of great tribulation one day, but even if we don't, we continue in the ordinary fight of Christians in every generation against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  We face the ordinary troubles of life in an imperfect world and the difficulties of being faithful witnesses of Jesus in a culture that worships its own versions of Caesar and Mammon, Mars and Aphrodite.  Let us, like the saints who have gone before, stand firm in faith as stewards of the good news of Jesus and his kingdom, knowing that our God is faithful to his promises.  Let us be the people blessed to be a blessing, living out the life and values of Jesus' kingdom.  Let us confront the upside-down values of the world in poverty of spirit, with mourning and meekness, and mercy; let us hunger and thirst for justice as we serve the Lord with pure hearts—lifting the veil on God's future, showing the people around us what a right-side up world looks like.  And no matter the trials and tribulations that come, remember that Jesus has promised to hold us close, even in death, until that day when he makes all things new. Let's pray:  Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen.

Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 34Benedicam Dominum1I will bless the Lord at all times; *his praise shall ever be in my mouth.2I will glory in the Lord; *let the humble hear and rejoice.3Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord; *let us exalt his Name together.4I sought the Lord, and he answered me *and delivered me out of all my terror.5Look upon him and be radiant, *and let not your faces be ashamed.6I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me *and saved me from all my troubles.7The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him, *and he will deliver them.8Taste and see that the Lord is good; *happy are they who trust in him!9Fear the Lord, you that are his saints, *for those who fear him lack nothing.10The young lions lack and suffer hunger, *but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good.22The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, *and none will be punished who trust in him. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. LessonsRevelation 7:9-17English Standard Version9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,    and serve him day and night in his temple;    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;    the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat.17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,    and he will guide them to springs of living water,and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”1 John 3:1-3English Standard Version3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.Matthew 5:1-12English Standard Version5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsAll Saints' DayAlmighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

It's All Saints' Day, Wednesday, in the Church Calendar, November 1, 2023 Our general order and lectionary comes from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office. We'll sing “O Lord You're Beautiful” by Keith Green. We'll then offer a Prayer of Confession. We'll read Psalms 111 and 112 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Scripture Lesson is Luke 6:20-31 . We'll say the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We'll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it here. Sign up here for the email list. Morning Prayer and Worship is a production of Steady Stream Ministries, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Thank you for giving to support this ministry. You can go here to find out more. Would you like to be a guest reader on a future podcast episode? Go to benwardmusic.com/readers and find out more! Join our Facebook group here! Art: All Saints Day l, 1911, Kandinsky All Saints' Day - Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

It's All Saints' Day, Wednesday, in the Church Calendar, November 1, 2023 Our general order and lectionary comes from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office. We'll sing “O Lord You're Beautiful” by Keith Green. We'll then offer a Prayer of Confession. We'll read Psalms 111 and 112 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Scripture Lesson is Luke 6:20-31 . We'll say the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We'll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it here. Sign up here for the email list. Morning Prayer and Worship is a production of Steady Stream Ministries, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Thank you for giving to support this ministry. You can go here to find out more. Would you like to be a guest reader on a future podcast episode? Go to benwardmusic.com/readers and find out more! Join our Facebook group here! Art: All Saints Day l, 1911, Kandinsky All Saints' Day – Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/prayerandworship/message

Colossians 3:1-4 The post Kingdom of the Son: Christ Down Living appeared first on Faith Community Church Lakeside.

Colossians 2:9-15 The post Kingdom of the Son: Christ Is All You Need appeared first on Faith Community Church Lakeside.

It was an important day today in the life of the church in Troup. Oh God who does not misplace the stars, don't misplace us as we seek your Son Christ and obey your Will! Church Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1460114247414951/?ref=share

All Saints' Day, Tuesday, in the Church Calendar This week we are following the Daily Office lectionary with an episode Monday through Friday. Our general order and lectionary comes from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office. We'll sing “O Lord You're Beautiful” by Keith Green. We'll then offer a Prayer of Confession. We'll read Psalms 111 and 112 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Scripture Lesson is Luke 6:20-31 . We'll say the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We'll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it here. Sign up here for the email list. Visit Patreon to give and support Morning Prayer monthly. Go to PayPal to give a one-time gift. Art: All Saints Day l, 1911, Kandinsky Collect of the Day All Saints' Day, Rite Two Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/prayerandworship/message

All Saints' Day, Tuesday, in the Church Calendar This week we are following the Daily Office lectionary with an episode Monday through Friday. Our general order and lectionary comes from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office. We'll sing “O Lord You're Beautiful” by Keith Green. We'll then offer a Prayer of Confession. We'll read Psalms 111 and 112 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Scripture Lesson is Luke 6:20-31 . We'll say the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We'll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it here. Sign up here for the email list. Visit Patreon to give and support Morning Prayer monthly. Go to PayPal to give a one-time gift. Art: All Saints Day l, 1911, Kandinsky Collect of the Day All Saints' Day, Rite Two Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Bart Byl on Genesis 22:1-19. The story of the binding of Isaac is one of the most evocative stories in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah had received Isaac in their old age. He was the child of promise: the one through whom the whole world would be blessed. And now God had commanded Abraham to take his son, his only son, the son he loved, and sacrifice him on the mountain God would show him. Amazingly, Abraham set out in faith to obliterate his own future, confident that somehow God would provide. --- Tbilisi International Christian Fellowship is a Christ-centred family of believers in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Greetings and welcome- This is our online service for July 24, 2022. Today we continue our series on the Names of God the Son with The Christ. Thanks for joining us-

A Sermon for All Saints' Sunday St. Matthew 5:1-12, Revelation 7:2-17, and Wisdom 3:1-9 by William Klock The Feast of All Saints is one of oldest feasts on the Church's calendar.  We have evidence of sermons preached on this occasion as far back as the Third Century.  Those early Christians observed it to commemorate the many martyrs of those early centuries—brothers and sisters who gave up their lives, rather than deny their faith in Jesus.  As the empire eventually converted and martyrdom became less common, the feast gradually came to encompass all the saints, all our brothers and sisters who have gone before us, not just those who were martyred.  But the theme of martyrdom—and of the Christian hope held so tightly by those martyrs—lies at the heart of our lessons today.  Jesus has inaugurated the age to come, but it has not yet fully displaced the old evil age—and that old evil age continues sometimes to grind down the faithful.  The world shouts, “Good riddance.”  In the words of our Old Testament lesson from the Wisdom of Solomon, “In the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died” and “in the sight of men they were punished”, but the reality is that their hope was not in vain, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will touch them…They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.”  Apocryphal that text may be, but it highlights the truth of God's kingdom and its conflict with the world.  The kingdom of God seems upside-down—but only because the values of fallen humanity were upside-down already. This is what lies behind our Gospel lesson, the Beatitudes, the first part of Jesus' “Sermon on the Mount”.  Jesus begins his famous sermon with a list of people who are “blessed”.  That's language straight from the Lord's covenant with Abraham.  Remember, the Lord called him and promised not only that he would bless Abraham, but that through him he would bless the nations.  To be “blessed” isn't so much about being happy or prosperous, but about being the people God had called his people to be, about being the people who live with God in their midst—it's about being kingdom people.  Israel had mostly failed at this, but there was always a faithful few who really did have a sense of what God had called them to do.  We see them in people like John's father, Zechariah, in Mary and in Joseph, in Simeon and in Anna.  But the thing was that none of these people were the sort most people expected to be exemplifying the kingdom of God.  Sure, they were faithful in their simple ways, but they weren't important, they weren't rich, they weren't powerful—they were nobodies.  They were the people being ground up in the gears turned by the bigshots, whether that was the Romans or the Herodians or the corrupt Sadducees who controlled the temple and the priesthood.  And yet it says something that it's with these people that the good news begins.  And it's with these people—and the people like them to whom Jesus had been ministering in Galilee—that he begins his most important sermon on the kingdom.  Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) I think we have a tendency to read this and think that what Jesus is saying is that if we behave a certain way—in this case, if we're poor in spirit—then we will somehow earn or be worthy of God's blessing.  But that's not it at all.  Again, think of Abraham.  In Genesis 12 God calls Abraham and he says to him, “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great.”  The Lord reiterated and renewed this promise to the generations that came after Abraham.  This was his promise to Israel, “I will bless you” and this was at the core of Jewish identity.  To be blessed was to be part of the covenant people of God.  When Jesus talks about people who are blessed, he's answering the question of who belongs to the people of God.  But here's where he turns things upside-down—at least that's how it seemed to so many of the people who heard him.  Most people just assumed that because they were descendants of Abraham, were circumcised, ate the right food, observed the Sabbath, and stayed away from Gentiles that they were “blessed” because they were God's people.  But here's the thing: the Lord's blessing wasn't blessing for the sake of blessing.  There was more to the promise.  He said to Abraham, “I will bless you…so that you will be a blessing.”  A blessing to whom?  The Lord says to all the families of the earth.  Israel was to be like salt, preserving the earth.  Israel was to be a light, shining in the darkness and leading the nations back to the knowledge of God.  In fact, after these Beatitudes, that's the next thing Jesus goes on to preach about: salt and light.  If you're not being salt and light, you're not blessing and are not blessed—you're not part of the kingdom. This is what blessing is about.  The people Jesus describes here are the people through whom God makes his kingdom known.  They're the people who already understand and are already living the life of the kingdom.  He starts with the poor in spirit.  I can't help but think of Mary.  When she finds out that she's going to be the mother of the Lord's Messiah she doesn't get full of herself.  There were plenty of people who would have.  No, she bursts out into a song of praise and the first things she sings is, “My soul doth magnify the Lord…for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.” Most people expected God to usher in his kingdom by coming to the important people, the wealthy people, the powerful and politically connected people.  Most people expected the Messiah to ride into Jerusalem like King David in a chariot with a sword and with an army.  Instead he came to a poor young girl.  And it was people like Mary, people who were poor in spirit who came flocking to Jesus and in and through them the kingdom of God burst into the world.  The humble came to Jesus in faith and he opened their blind eyes, he healed their paralysed legs, he healed their diseases, he cast out their demons, he even raised their children from death.  Meanwhile many of the powerful people, like the Sadducees, fumed that Jesus was offering forgiveness of sins without sending these people to the temple to offer sacrifices.  Meanwhile, many of the Pharisees, people who thought of themselves as righteous, were fuming because Jesus was welcoming the unclean and the sinful.  But Jesus says that the kingdom won't be found with the powerful or the self-righteous, but with those humble enough to follow the king born in a stable. The rest of the Beatitudes go the same way.  Jesus says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:4-9) Israel was in a sort of exile and the people longed for consolation, but most wanted that consolation to come in the form of a Messiah who would put their enemies to the sword.  Jesus says that, no, those who will be comforted, those who will show the kingdom, are those who mourn the sins of Israel and who are ready to repent and turn back to God.  Israel wanted to inherit the earth, but Jesus reminds them that their inheritance will come not through those who are full of pride, not through those who think they're better than everyone else because of their descent from Abraham or their circumcision or their diet, but it will instead come through those who are meek.  Israel longed for justice—which is probably a better translation than “righteousness” in this case, but the justice Israel wanted had more to do with vengeance on her enemies and Jesus is saying, again: No.  Your hunger for justice will only be satisfied when you are willing acknowledge your sins and to set aside your rights in favour of humility and gentleness.  Israel longed for mercy.  She longed for deliverance.  But Jesus warns that mercy is only for the merciful, not the vengeful.  Israel longed to see God, but Jesus warns: You will never see God so long as your outward acts of piety are a cover for sin.  The kingdom is manifest by those who aren't just outwardly pure, but who are pure of heart.  And, of course, Israel saw herself as God's son.  The people longed for God to vindicate them by establishing them once again as a nation over their enemies, but Jesus warns: If you want to be God's sons you need to show the peacemaking character of your Father.  You're out for vengeance, you're calling for the blood of your enemies, if you had the chance you'd kill them in their beds and then tell the world that you were acting out the justice of God on the enemies of his people.  But people like that will never be sons of the God who seeks not vengeance on his enemies, but offers them mercy and forgiveness and reconciliation.  The violent will never be sons of the God who seeks to make peace, even offering his own Son as an atonement for their treason. Everything Jesus describes here was aimed at Israel's failure to be God's people, to be salt and light, as he says in the verses that follow.  God had blessed Israel to be a blessing, but they wanted to keep his blessing to themselves, which is why he'd taken it away and sent them into exile.  And most still hadn't learned.  But there was this remnant: again, people like Mary and Zechariah and Simeon who were already showing the world what the kingdom was like, people who were already living out the character of God.  People like rough-and-tumble Peter the Fisherman, tax collectors like Matthew and Zacchaeus whom everyone hated, even a Roman centurion or two.  People whom the world saw as nobodies—or worse as undeserving a place in the kingdom—but who were in reality already sharing the Lord's blessing to the world.  This is what John the Baptist had been about: calling the people of Israel to repentance, calling them to turn aside from their sin, their folly, from their false views of the kingdom so that they would be prepared for the Messiah. But, Jesus warns, if you are faithful in being the sorts of people who carry God's blessing to the word, be prepared for trouble.  In verses 10-12 he goes on: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”   I expect Jesus was anticipating where his own ministry was headed when he preached these words.  He'd already experienced the anger of his own people.  When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth the people tried to throw him off a cliff.  He knew that most people were not going to receive what he's saying here and he knew that he was going to be rejected and that he would suffer and be killed.  And he knew, too, that the people who chose to follow him would be persecuted and many would die.  At the Cross the present evil age was dealt a death blow.  In rising from the grave Jesus inaugurated the age to come.  The present age is passing away and the age to come is breaking in, but Jesus knew that his people would live in the overlap.  God brought salvation and renewal this way for a reason.  The people of Jesus' day wanted it to come all at once, but God chose to bring it slowly.  People today have the same sort of expectation.  They ask how a good God can allow so much evil in the world.  But in asking that question, in asking why God doesn't come and deal with evil we're showing the same sort of self-righteous mindset that dominated Israel.  We're forgetting that for God to come and deal with evil means that God will not only have to deal with our enemies and the people who cause us grief, but that he'll also have to deal with us.  We're all sinners.  We're all responsible for the mess this world is in—some more, some less—but we've all contributed to it.  And so God sent Jesus to deal with that sin and to inaugurate his kingdom, but he also delays, and in that he gives sinners a chance to repent and turn to him.  It also means that those who, in this in-between time, insist on revealing the kingdom, those who insist on confronting the sinful systems of the old age through their poverty of spirit, through their meekness, through their mercy, through their peacemaking will face the same backlash that Jesus faced.  As God's people pull his future into the present and lift the veil on Creation set to rights, those invested in the way things are will fight back.  When God's people declare that Jesus is the world's true Lord, the Caesars of this age and their supporters will lash out to silence the challenge. The martyrs are a testimony to Jesus' promise.  And when you see your brothers and sisters being carted off to die—whether by the Jewish authorities, or the Roman, by Communists or Fascists, by Islamic or Hindu terrorists or pagan tribesmen, it's easy to fear.  Are we really blessed when we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness?  This was the purpose behind St. John's “revelation”.  The church was on the verge of being plunged into violent persecution—a time of trial and tribulation.  Would their faith hold?  And what about those who died for the sake of faith in Jesus?  And so God gave John a vision.  Just as Jesus had promised, judgement was coming, first on unbelieving Israel and then on the pagan word of the Greeks and Romans.  The scroll of judgement is brought forth—this in the fifth and sixth chapters of Revelation—sealed with seven seals, which only the lamb—now come as the lion of Judah—can open.  As the judgement is unleashed on Jerusalem, the saints are reminded that God is in control.  The judgement plays out here just as Jesus had said it would.  And, too, the Lord marks out his own.  That's where our lesson today from Revelation picks up.  The winds of judgement are poised to bring destruction to Jerusalem.  This is the great day of the wrath of God and of the lamb.  But what of the faithful?  The opening of the scroll is stopped for their sake.  Look at Revelation 7:2-3. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”   The imagery here is drawn from Ezekiel.  The prophet was shown a vision of Israel's idolatry and then a vision of a “man clothed in linen” who was directed by the Lord to “put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it” (Ezekiel 9:3-4).  Immediately after, the Lord sent six other men through Jerusalem, beginning at the temple, to slay men and women, young and old, but they were to “touch no one on whom is the mark” (9:2, 5-6).  What the Lord did in Ezekiel's day is about to happen again, but the Lord will spare the faithful.  Those who are sealed by the angel are announced in verse 4: And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. The text goes on to list specifically twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes.  This is the remnant of faithful Israel, much like those marked out in Ezekiel's vision centuries before.  This is the Jewish church of Jerusalem and Judea, those Jews who heard the good news and embraced Jesus the Messiah.  Those Jews who were appalled by Israel's abominations.  Those who were about to face violent persecution at the hands of their fellow Jews.  The Lord will not abandon them, even though they die.  He places his mark on them and seals them as his own.  And their faithfulness to Jesus the Messiah is the means by which the nations are brought to the cross.  They are persecuted for righteousness' sake, and they know blessing as a result, because it is through their faithfulness to Jesus that they fulfil the Abrahamic covenant's call to be a blessing to the nations. John hears the announcement of the sealing of the Jewish church, and then he sees a vision of a multitude that could not be numbered, drawn from the nations: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10) And jumping down to verse 13: Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”… And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  (Revelation 7:13-14) John's vision now draws on the imagery of the prophet Daniel, who wrote of another time of great distress through which the Lord saw a faithful remnant of his people.  The wise amongst them were refined through persecution that they might “shine like the brightness of the sky above” (12:3) so that they would “turn many to righteousness”.  Faithful Israel, through her unwavering allegiance to Jesus in this time of trial would serve as the witnesses—witnesses to the faithfulness of God revealed in Jesus—witnesses that will bring the nations to faith in the Lord.  The faithfulness of the 144,000, of the Jewish martyrs, their robes soaked in their own blood, brings that multi-ethnic multitude to Jesus that he might wash their robes in his blood and make them part of his people.  As Zechariah had prophesied, ten men from the nations, of every tongue, will take hold of the robe of a Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!” (8:23) Jeremiah says something very similar.  Jeremiah 31:7 cries out for the Lord to save the remnant of Israel and in response, the Lord will bring a great multitude from the farthest parts of the earth.  John's vision here draws on Jeremiah's imagery.  There the Lord will keep Israel “as a shepherd keeps his flock.  They shall “come and sing on the height of Zion”.  They “shall hunger no more” and God will “turn their mourning into joy”.  He will “comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow”.  And here John sees this new, multi-ethnic Israel, gathered from the nations, “before the throne of God” where they “serve him day and night in his temple.”  He will “shelter them with his presence.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17). Brothers and Sisters, as they remind us of the witness of those Christians who have gone before us, today's lessons call you and I to faith and to hope.  We're reminded today of the way in which the faithfulness of the people of God, their faithfulness to Jesus as Lord, their faithfulness to his kingdom, even in the midst of persecution, was the means by which God brought the nations to Jesus.  It's also a witness to the faithfulness of God, who gathers his people to himself.  He gives his own Spirit to his people that they—that even we—might face persecution in faith.  Today we see him embracing his people and wiping away their tears.  Revelation tells us the story of our brothers and sisters who lived in the First Century—of those Jewish believers who faced persecution and martyrdom at the hands of unbelieving Israel and of that multitude drawn because of their witness from the pagan Greco-Roman world.  They, too would face persecution at the hands of an empire that would, because of their witness, eventually be brought in submission to the lordship of Jesus.  And yet there's obviously more to the story of Jesus' people.  What we see in John's vision is intermediate and temporary.  The martyrs held close by God as saints on earth and in heaven await the consummation of history, that day when the faithful will follow Jesus in his resurrection, when all things are made new, when heaven and earth are rejoined, and when men and women once again dwell in the presence of the Lord. Brothers and Sisters, we don't know what will happen between now and then.  We may face our own time of great tribulation one day, but even if we don't, we continue in the ordinary fight of Christians in every generation against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  We face the ordinary troubles of life in an imperfect world and the difficulties of being faithful witnesses of Jesus in a culture that worships its own versions of Caesar and Mammon, Mars and Aphrodite.  Let us, like the saints who have gone before, stand firm in faith as stewards of the good news of Jesus and his kingdom, knowing that our God is faithful to his promises.  Let us be the people blessed to be a blessing, living out the life and values of Jesus' kingdom, pulling God's future into the present and lifting the veil on Creation set to rights, even though it may mean opposition and persecution.  Jesus has promised to hold us close, even in death, until that day when he makes all things—including us—new. Let's pray:  Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen.

MARK 12:28-34 The collect for All Saints Day: Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. www.aplainaccount.org

Rev. John Lukomski, co-host of “Wrestling with the Basics” joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Hebrews 10. Jesus has done it all.  You have been sanctified, made holy, by the final, once and for all sacrifice of Christ and He remembers our sins no more.  The author repeats himself with this message throughout the book because we forget it!  “Lord Jesus Christ, by Your final sacrifice I am holy and accepted by God the Father, fill us with this grace so that we may rest in Your unending peace each day.  In Your name, Amen”

Deacon Dan Diesel proclaims the Gospel (Luke 1:39-56) and Father Thomas Naval breaks open the word on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Words for your Way from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California.

7.5.20 (Sabbath Evening) - Brother Kyle

All Saints' Day Sunday, November 01, 2020 Year (cycle): A   The Collect: Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. First Lesson:  Revelation 7:9-17 9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!' 11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, 12singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.' 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?' 14I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.' Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,    and worship him day and night within his temple,    and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. 16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;    the sun will not strike them,    nor any scorching heat; 17 for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd,    and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.' Psalm:  Psalm 34:1-10,22 1 I will bless the Lord at all times; *        his praise shall ever be in my mouth. 2 I will glory in the Lord; *        let the humble hear and rejoice. 3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;        let us exalt his Name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me *        and delivered me out of all my terror. 5 Look upon him and be radiant, *        and let not your faces be ashamed. 6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me *        and saved me from all my troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him, *        and he will deliver them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; *        happy are they who trust in him! 9 Fear the Lord, you that are his saints, *        for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, *        but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good. 22 The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, *        and none will be punished who trust in him. Epistle:  1 John 3:1-3 1See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Gospel:  Matthew 5:1-12 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Blessed are… St. Matthew 5:1-12 & Revelation 7:2-17 by William Klock  The Feast of All Saints is one of oldest feasts on the Church’s calendar.  We have evidence of sermons preached on this occasion as far back as the Third Century.  In those early centuries it was sometimes celebrated during Eastertide.  The Eastern Church celebrates this feast on the Sunday after Pentecost.  The Western Church has celebrated it on November 1 since the Eighth Century—apparently an ancient Irish tradition that gradually made its way from Ireland, to England, to Gaul, and eventually to Rome. The purpose of All Saints’ Day has evolved since those earliest days.  The first Christians to observe it did so with the intent to commemorate the many martyrs of those early centuries—brothers and sisters who gave up their lives, rather than deny their faith in Jesus.  As the empire eventually converted and martyrdom became less common, the feast gradually came to encompass all the saints, all our brothers and sisters who have gone before us, not just those who were martyred.  But the theme of martyrdom—and of the Christian hope held so tightly by those martyrs—lies at the heart of our lessons today.  The faithful are often ground up in the gears of this evil age.  The world shouts, “Good riddance.”  In the words of our Old Testament lesson from the Wisdom of Solomon, “In the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died” and “in the sight of men they were punished”, but the reality is that their hope was not in vain, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will touch them…They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.”  Apocryphal that text may be, but it highlights the truth of God’s kingdom and its conflict with the world.  The kingdom of God seems upside-down—but only because the values of fallen humanity were upside-down already. This is what lies behind our Gospel lesson, the Beatitudes, the first part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”.  Jesus begins his famous sermon with a list of people who are “blessed”.  That’s language straight from the Lord’s covenant with Abraham.  Remember, the Lord called him and promised not only that he would bless Abraham, but that through him he would bless the nations.  To be “blessed” isn’t so much about being happy or prosperous, but about being the people God had called his people to be, about being the people who live with God in their midst—it’s about being kingdom people.  Israel had mostly failed at this, but there was always a faithful few who really did have a sense of what God had called them to do.  We see them in people like John’s father, Zechariah, in Mary and in Joseph, in Simeon and in Anna.  But the thing was that none of these people were the sort most people expected to be exemplifying the kingdom of God.  Sure, they were faithful in their simple ways, but they weren’t important, they weren’t rich, they weren’t powerful—they were nobodies.  They were the people being ground up in the gears turned by the bigshots, whether that was the Romans or the Herodians or the corrupt Sadducees who controlled the temple and the priesthood.  And yet it says something that it’s with these people that the Good News begins.  And it’s with these people—and the people like them to whom Jesus had been ministering in Galilee—that he begins his most important sermon on the kingdom.  Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) I think we have a tendency to read this and think that what Jesus is saying is that if we behave a certain way—in this case, if we’re poor in spirit—then we will somehow earn or be worthy of God’s blessing.  But that’s not it.  Again, think of Abraham.  In Genesis 12 God calls Abraham and he says to him, “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great.”  The Lord reiterated and renewed this promise to the generations that came after Abraham.  This was his promise to Israel, “I will bless you” and this was at the core of Jewish identity.  To be blessed was to be part of the covenant people of God.  When Jesus talks about people who are blessed, he’s answering the question of who belongs to the people of God.  But here’s where he turns things upside-down—at least that’s how it seemed to so many of the people who heard him.  Most people just assumed that because they were descendants of Abraham, were circumcised, ate the right food, observed the Sabbath, and stayed away from Gentiles that they were “blessed” because they were God’s people.  But here’s the thing: the Lord’s blessing wasn’t blessing for the sake of blessing.  There was more to the promise.  He said to Abraham, “I will bless you…so that you will be a blessing.”  A blessing to whom?  The Lord says to all the families of the earth.  Israel was to be like salt, preserving the earth.  Israel was to be a light, shining in the darkness and leading the nations back to the knowledge of God.  In fact, after these Beatitudes, that’s the next thing Jesus goes on to preach about: salt and light.  If you’re not being salt and light, you’re not blessing and are not blessed—you’re not part of the kingdom. This is what blessing is about.  The people Jesus describes here are the people through whom God makes his kingdom known.  They’re the people who already understand and are already living the life of the kingdom.  He starts with the poor in spirit.  I can’t help but think of Mary.  When she finds out that she’s going to be pregnant with the Lord’s Messiah she doesn’t get full of herself.  There were plenty of people who would have.  No, she bursts out into a song of praise and the first things she sings is, “My soul doth magnify the Lord…for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.” Most people expected God to usher in his kingdom by coming to the important people, the wealthy people, the powerful and politically connected people.  Most people expected the Messiah to ride into Jerusalem like King David in a chariot with a sword and with an army.  Instead he came to a poor young girl.  And it was people like Mary, people who were poor in spirit who came flocking to Jesus and in and through them the kingdom of God burst into the world.  The humble came to Jesus in faith and he opened their blind eyes, he healed their paralysed legs, he healed their diseases, he cast out their demons, he even raised their children from death.  Meanwhile the powerful people, like the Sadducees, fumed that Jesus was offering forgiveness of sins without sending these people to the temple to offer sacrifices.  Meanwhile the Pharisees, people who thought of themselves as righteous, were fuming because Jesus was welcoming the unclean and the sinful.  But Jesus says that the kingdom won’t be found with the powerful or the self-righteous, but with those humble enough to follow the king born in a stable. The rest of the Beatitudes go the same way.  Jesus says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:4-9) Israel was in a sort of exile and the people longed for consolation, but most wanted that consolation to come in the form of a Messiah who would put their enemies to the sword.  Jesus says that, no, those who will be comforted, those who will show the kingdom, are those who mourn the sins of Israel and who are ready to repent and turn back to God.  Israel wanted to inherit the earth, but Jesus reminds them that their inheritance will come not through those who are full of pride, not through those who think they’re better than everyone else because of their descent from Abraham or their circumcision or their diet, but it will instead come through those who are meek.  Israel longed for justice—which is probably a better translation than “righteousness” in this case, but the justice Israel wanted had more to do with vengeance on her enemies and Jesus is saying, again: No.  Your hunger for justice will only be satisfied when you are willing to set aside your rights in favour of humility and gentleness.  Israel longed for mercy.  She longed for deliverance.  But Jesus warns that mercy is only for the merciful, not the vengeful.  Israel longed to see God, but Jesus warns: You will never see God so long as your outward acts of piety are a cover for oppressing the poor, the widow, and the orphan.  The kingdom is manifest by those who aren’t just outwardly pure, but who are pure of heart.  And, of course, Israel saw herself as God’s son.  The people longed for God to vindicate them by establishing them once again as a nation over their enemies, but Jesus warns: If you want to be God’s sons you need to show the peacemaking character of your Father.  You’re out for vengeance, you’re calling for the blood of your enemies, if you had the chance you’d kill them in their beds and then tell the world that you were acting out the justice of God on the enemies of his people.  But people like that will never be sons of the God who seeks not vengeance on his enemies, but offers them mercy and forgiveness and reconciliation.  The violent will never be sons of the God who seeks to make peace, even offering his own as an atonement for their treason. Everything Jesus describes here was aimed at Israel’s failure to be God’s people, to be salt and light, as he says in the verses that follow.  God had blessed Israel to be a blessing, but they wanted to keep his blessing to themselves, which is why he’d taken it away and sent them into exile.  And most still hadn’t learned.  But there was this remnant: again, people like Mary and Zechariah and Simeon who were already showing the world what the kingdom was like, people who were already living out the character of God.  People whom the world saw as nobodies, but who were in reality already sharing the Lord’s blessing to the world.  This is what John the Baptist had been about: calling the people of Israel to repentance, calling them to turn aside from their sin, their folly, from their false views of the kingdom so that they would be prepared for the Messiah. But, Jesus warns, if you are faithful in being the sorts of people who carry God’s blessing to the word, be prepared for trouble.  In verses 10-12 he goes on: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”   I expect Jesus was anticipating where his own ministry was headed when he preached these words.  He’d already experienced the anger of his own people.  When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth the people tried to throw him off a cliff.  He knew that most people were not going to receive what he’s saying here and he knew that he was going to be rejected and that he would suffer and be killed.  And he knew, too, that the people who chose to follow him would be persecuted and many would die.  At the Cross the present evil age was dealt a death blow.  In rising from the grave Jesus inaugurated the age to come.  The present age is passing away and the age to come is breaking in, but Jesus knew that his people would live in the overlap.  God brought salvation and renewal this way for a reason.  The people of Jesus’ day wanted it to come all at once, but God chose to bring it slowly.  People today have the same sort of expectation.  They ask how a good God can allow so much evil in the world.  But in asking that question, in asking why God doesn’t come and deal with evil we’re showing the same sort of self-righteous mindset that dominated Israel.  We’re forgetting that for God to come and deal with evil means that God will not only have to deal with our enemies and the people who cause us grief, but that he’ll also have to deal with us.  We’re all sinners.  We’re all responsible for the mess this world is in—some more, some less—but we’ve all contributed to it.  And so God sent Jesus to deal with that sin and to inaugurate his kingdom, but he also delays, and in that he gives sinners a chance to repent and turn to him.  It also means that those who, in this in-between time, insist on revealing the kingdom, those who insist on confronting the sinful systems of the old age through their poverty of spirit, through their meekness, through their mercy, through their peacemaking will face the same backlash that Jesus faced.  As God’s people show the world set to rights, those invested in the way things are will fight back.  When God’s people declare that Jesus is the world’s true Lord, the Caesars of this age and their supporters will lash out to silence the challenge. The martyrs are a testimony to Jesus’ promise.  And when you see your brothers and sisters being carted off to die—whether by the Jewish authorities, or the Roman, or radical atheists, Islamists, Hindus, or Buddhist in our age, it’s easy to fear.  Are we really blessed when we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness?  This was the purpose behind St. John’s “revelation”.  The church was on the verge of being plunged into violent persecution—a time of trial or tribulation.  Would their faith hold?  And what about those who died for the sake of faith in Jesus?  And so God gave John a vision.  Just as Jesus had promised, judgement was coming, first on unbelieving Israel and then on the pagan word of the Greeks and Romans.  The scroll of judgement is brought forth—this in the fifth and sixth chapters of Revelation—sealed with seven seals, which only the lamb—now come as the lion of Judah—can open.  As the judgement is unleashed on Jerusalem, the saints are reminded that God is in control.  The judgement plays out here just as had said it would.  And, too, the Lord marks out his own.  That’s where our lesson today from Revelation picks up.  The winds of judgement are poised to bring destruction to Jerusalem.  This is the great day of the wrath of God and of the lamb.  But what of the faithful?  The opening of the scroll is stopped for their sake.  Look at Revelation 7:2-3. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”   The imagery here is drawn from Ezekiel.  The prophet was shown a vision of Israel’s idolatry and then a vision of a “man clothed in linen” who was directed by the Lord to “put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it” (Ezekiel 9:3-4).  Immediately after, the Lord sent six other men through Jerusalem, beginning at the temple, to slay men and women, young and old, but they were to “touch no one on whom is the mark” (9:2, 5-6).  What the Lord did in Ezekiel’s day is about to happen again, but the Lord will spare the faithful.  Those who are sealed by the angel are announced in verse 4: And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. The text goes on to list specifically twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes.  This is the remnant of faithful Israel, much like those marked out in Ezekiel’s vision centuries before.  This is the Jewish church of Jerusalem and Judea, those Jews who heard the good news and trusted in Jesus.  Those Jews who were appalled by Israel’s abominations.  Those who were about to face violent persecution at the hands of their fellow Jews.  The Lord will not abandon them, even though they die.  He places his mark on them and seals them as his own.  And their faithfulness to Jesus the Messiah, is the means by which the nations are brought to the cross.  They are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and they know blessing as a result, because it is through their faithfulness to Jesus that they fulfil the Abrahamic covenant’s call to be a blessing to the nations. John hears the announcement of the sealing of the Jewish church, and then he sees a vision of a multitude that could not be numbered, drawn from the nations: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10) And jumping down to verse 13: Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”… And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  (Revelation 7:13-14) John’s vision now draws on the imagery of the prophet Daniel, who wrote of another time of great distress through which the Lord saw a faithful remnant of his people.  The wise amongst them were refined through persecution that they might “shine like the brightness of the sky above” (12:3) so that they would “turn many to righteousness”.  Faithful Israel, through her unwavering allegiance to Jesus in this time of trial would serve as the witnesses that will bring the nations to faith in the Lord.  The faithfulness of the 144,000, of the Jewish martyrs, their robes soaked in their own blood, brings that multi-ethnic multitude to Jesus that he might wash their robes in his blood and make them part of his people.  As Zechariah had prophesied, ten men from the nations, of every tongue, will take hold of the robe of a Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!” (8:23) Jeremiah says something very similar.  Jeremiah 31:7 cries out for the Lord to save the remnant of Israel and in response, the Lord will bring a great multitude from the farthest parts of the earth.  John’s vision here draws on Jeremiah’s imagery.  There the Lord will keep Israel “as a shepherd keeps his flock.  They shall “come and sing on the height of Zion”.  They “shall hunger no more” and God will “turn their mourning into joy”.  He will “comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow”.  And here John sees this new, multi-ethnic Israel, gathered from the nations, “before the throne of God” where they “serve him day and night in his temple.”  He will “shelter them with his presence.  They shall hunger no more, neither third anymore.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17). Brothers and Sisters, as they remind us of the witness of those Christians who have gone before us, today’s lessons call us to faith and to hope.  We’re reminded today of the way in which the faithfulness of the people of God, their faithfulness to Jesus as Lord, their faithfulness to his kingdom, even in the midst of persecution, was the means by which God brought the nations to Jesus.  It’s also a witness to the faithfulness of God, who gathers his people to himself.  He gives his own Spirit to his people that they—that even we—might face persecution in faith.  Today we see him embracing his people and wiping away their tears.  Revelation tells us the story of our brothers and sisters who lived in the First Century—of those Jewish believers who faced persecution and martyrdom at the hands of unbelieving Israel and of that multitude drawn because of their witness from the pagan Greco-Roman world.  They, too would face persecution at the hands of an empire that would, because of their witness, eventually be brought in submission to the lordship of Jesus.  And yet there’s obviously more to the story of Jesus’ people.  What we see in John’s vision is intermediate and temporary.  The martyrs held close by God as saints on earth and in heaven await the consummation of history, that day when the faithful will follow Jesus in his resurrection, when all things are made new, when heaven and earth are rejoined, and when men and women once again dwell in the presence of the Lord. Brothers and Sisters, we don’t know what will happen between now and then.  We may face our own time of great tribulation one day, but even if we don’t, we continue in the ordinary fight of Christians in every generation against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  We face the ordinary troubles of life in an imperfect world and the difficulties of being faithful witnesses of Jesus in a culture that worships its own version of Caesar and Mammon, Mars and Aphrodite.  Let us, like the saints who have gone before, stand firm in faith as stewards of the good news of Jesus and his kingdom, knowing that our God is faithful to his promises.  Let us be the people blessed to be a blessing, living out the life and values of Jesus’ kingdom, even though it may mean opposition and persecution.  Jesus has promised hold us close, even in death, until that day when he makes all things—including us—new. Let’s pray:  Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen.

It's All Saints (& All Hallows Eve and All Souls) and we take a minute to wonder at the amazing web of relationships that takes us all back to Jesus' side. READINGThe collect assigned for the Feast of All Saints.Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. MUSICSt Patrick’s Breastplate, Jean WatsonBi Thusa Mo Shuile, Maire BrennanSlane, Bobby HortonThe King of Love My Shepherd Is, IKOS

Collect: Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly […] The post All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1 appeared first on Sunday's Lectionary.

"He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." -Mark 12:27 "Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen."

Think Spot – 31st August 2020 God has made us able ministers of the new Covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6. The "letter" is the whole law of Moses, or the doctrine of the ten commandments, which teach how we should obey God, honour parents, love our neighbours, and the like— the very best doctrine to be found in all books, sermons and schools. There is another message, which Paul terms the "ministration of a new covenant or of the Spirit." This doctrine does not teach what works are required of man; but it makes known to him what God would do for him and bestow upon him, indeed what he has already done ; he has given his Son Christ for us ; because, for our disobedience to the law, which no man fulfils, we were under God's wrath and condemnation. Christ made satisfaction for our sins, effected a reconciliation with God and gave to us his own righteousness. This doctrine is revealed through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of them who hear and accept the doctrine. Therefore this ministration is termed the ministration "of the Spirit." It is of design that the apostle does not term the two dispensations "law" and "gospel," but names them according to the respective effects produced. For it is impossible to keep the law without Christ, though man may, for the sake of honour or property, or from fear of punishment, feign outward holiness. The heart which does not discern God's grace in Christ cannot turn to God, nor trust in him ; it cannot love his commandments and delight in them, but rather resists them. Therefore, God would have his gospel message unceasingly urged as the means of awakening man's heart to discern his state and recall the grace and lovingkindness of God, with the result that the power of the Holy Spirit is increased constantly. No influence of the law, no work of man is present here. The force is a new and heavenly one — the power of the Holy Spirit. He impresses upon the heart Christ and his works, making it a true book which does not consist in tracing mere letters and words, but in true life and action. (An excerpt taken from "Devotional Readings From Luther's Works For Every Day Of The Year" By Rev. John Sander, L.H.D.) in the Public Domain. Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file ~ You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site! Click or tap on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!

Assorted Scripture The Bible is very clear that Christ's coming was not a "chance" event; not a "fortunate" happening (happenstance, coincidence); not an independent action taken by the SON (Christ).  Rather, the incarnation was a willful, intentional action/event that occurred as (pre)determined by GOD (the Trinity).  Moreso, CHRIST was sent by GOD (the Father) on a mission! If this is so/true (and I think it is!), then DO I KNOW what Jesus' mission was/is? Do I know what GOD'S PURPOSE was/is in sending Christ?

What appears to be simple chronology is actually deep theology. Explore Matthew 1:12–17 with Todd in this third message of four designed to trace the gift of God’s Son—Christ, his singular purpose.

This Sunday, we celebrate All Saints Day (which was yesterday). We commemorate those Christians who have gone before, often called "The Church Triumphant." We stand in the beautiful reality that we are part of a larger Story than just our own. This is also an important time for us to reflect on Christ’s prayer in John 17, that his followers may be one as He and the Father are one. We pray together, Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

Scripture ReadingsThe Collect Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.The Old Testament: Isaiah 25:6-9 The Response: Psalm 24The Epistle: Revelation 21:1-6a The Gospel: John 11:32-44Sermon Fr. Delmer Chilton

Pastor Mike continues his series through the Apostles Creed and preaches on what it means to call Jesus the only begotten Son as well as Christ and Lord.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/O37wMoO0A-E Over the past week, we discussed the Biblical Question of the Week: Do you believe in interracial dating and marriage? Many people don't have a problem with it, although they understand it complicates life especially for the children. Some do see something wrong with it but have trouble admitting or expressing it, and others say it should not be done. A number of people are shocked that it's even a question. The culture has brainwashed many to believe that it's "racist" to oppose interracial marriage. At one time in America, people had a problem with interracial dating and marriage. It was a disappointment to parents — taken as a rejection of one's own father and mother. Often the young people doing it were rebelling and angry. Jesse explains that he is not for interracial dating and marriage. It's a sign of human beings being in the fallen state — a son or daughter would naturally want to be with someone who is like his or her parents, and not deviate from that. But today more than in the past, fathers and mothers are not raising their children in the right way, and young people are growing up angry and alienated. Some trauma happened along the way to cause a person to be attracted outside what they'd naturally want to be with. Now, we don't judge people who do it — Jesse has even married interracial couples as a pastor. But it's not the normal state of being. You should not take Jesse's word for anything, but see and know for yourself. Some people in church and watching online had difficulty and disagreed with Jesse. Continue in the way you are going, but pray, and observe yourself. There is a cause and effect to everything — but most people don't question why they do what they do. One man admitted that he resented his mother growing up, but couldn't imagine that that was why he married a black woman as a Mexican man. Another young man, Joel, and KT watching online, felt that the color should not matter — and it's not about the color. It's about the spirit. Unfortunately, people rely on the intellect rather than knowing themselves, and blindly justify their actions with nice-sounding words. One person watching online asked about dealing with thoughts — he felt like Satan is trying to feed him thoughts that keep arising. Jesse gave advice about observing and not judging. The Bible says we should take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Lastly, Jesse asked his new biblical question for this week: Do you see yourself as joint heirs with the Son? Christ is our brother. Many people don't see Christ as our brother, nor do they see themselves as joint heirs with him. They see Christ as God, and they don't truly believe what the Bible says. http://rebuildingtheman.com/church

Scripture ReadingsThe CollectAlmighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.The First Lesson:Revelation 7:9-17The Response:Psalm 34:1-10, 22The Epistle:1 John 3:1-3The Gospel:Matthew 5:1-12Sermon Fr. Bill Breedlove

The mystery has been revealed, it's Christ in us the hope of glory. And when God moves through us in love, his glory is revealed for the world to see. The miraculous points to Jesus!

The evangelical Internet is abuzz with discussion about ad intra relations within the Trinity. Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem have been recognized as presenting forms of Eternal Functional Subordination (EFS) of the Son to the Father in their respective books, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance (Crossway) and Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Zondervan). Owen Strachan and his co-author Gavin Peacock hold to what they term Eternal Relations of Authority and Submission (ERAS) in their book, The Grand Design (Crossway). In this episode, we address the current controversy by looking at the eternal relationship among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons are one God. They are related by an irreversible taxis: the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Theologians often call this the immanent or ontological Trinity. These three persons are equal in power and glory, yet their essential relationship entails no relationship of authority, subordination, or submission. Nonetheless, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit freely will to create, and eventually to redeem, a people unto himself. This free, yet still eternal agreement, is known as the pactum salutis or Covenant of Redemption. After listening to this discussion, please consider two previous episodes of Christ the Center that deal with similar issues: Christ the Center episode 245, Eternal Generation of the Son Christ the Center episode 295, The Aseity of the Son  

We rest in the Lord.