Hell
October 31, 2008
Did you know that some of the things we value most aren’t in Hell, but there are good things in Hell?
Although There Is No Escape FROM Hell …
There is a way to escape hell altogether. His name is Jesus Christ.
10. Good People
I’m talking about good, moral people. Like those who invest their lives working with volunteer services, or people who would literally give you the shirt off their back … yet they have never made the decision to follow Jesus.
Do you know good people who are headed for Hell?
How Former Witches Want You to Celebrate Halloween
October 31, 2008
In the article, How Former Witches Want You to Celebrate Halloween, Rebekah Montgomery writes:
If you are looking for lurid tales of infant sacrifice or ritual rapes of 13-year-old virgins, you won’t find them recounted here. Those horrors may have happened somewhere on October 31st, but the tragedy remembered by some former witches is that Halloween traditions and symbols often can provide too handy of a gateway to the occult. And some children are simply spiritually unprotected because no one ever prays for them.
This piece makes a compelling argument for a Christian response to the holiday. Our job is to be Salt and Light to the World around us, so let’s proclaim Jesus’ lordship over Halloween!
Ephesians 6:11-13 (Amplified Bible)
Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
Romans 8:37-39 (King James Version)
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Colossians 2:13-17 (New American Standard Bible)
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day–things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
Blessings in Him Who Rose and Lives Forever,
Chip+
Undeserved Love by Jahn Kroeger
October 28, 2008
Lord, I don’t always understand why things happen in life,
I constantly want to be in control, but I under-
estimate your might,
Though pain and heartaches come, I will not give in,
I serve the King of all Kings who died for my sin.
Sweet Jesus there are not words formed to express
the love and thanks you deserve.
But every day and every way I promise to wholly serve,
To touch you one day and kiss your feet,
forgive me Lord if I can’t speak.
How you can look at us with love, I’ll never understand,
But we thank you, how precious it is to hold your hand!
Liturgy Lesson for SS. Simon & Jude, Apostles: Contending for the Faith
October 25, 2008
This Sunday we commemorate St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostlesand pray for the unity of the Church. Some ancient sources say that Simon and Jude were missionaries together to Persia and were martyred there, hence we remember them on the same day. The Lord set the tone for their service after the Last Supper, when he said to St. Jude, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:22f). Clearly St. Jude took these words to heart, writing later in his epistle, to “…earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” We contend in the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church, when we ask that God grant “all those who do confess Thy holy Name, may agree in the truth of Thy holy Word and live in unity and godly love.” This doesn’t mean we never disagree, but simply keep the Lord’s Word and purpose for His Body central to our lives–unifying us in effort and focus. This unity is so important that a rubric following the Holy Communion service instructs the minister to restrict communicants with unresolved differences from communion. This is a conscious decision—contending for the Faith of our fathers by prayer—loving the Lord, keeping His Word—to His unity and purpose in His Church. May we, like SS. Simon and Jude, be sold out to God’s Kingdom!
Fall Festival Is Almost Here
October 23, 2008
A safe place for kids
A fun place for families
A great place for bargains
The All Saints Fall Festival
Friday, October 31, 2008
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
- Dunk the Rector, Associate Rector, and Vestry
- Buy gently used DVDs, CDs, and books
- Enjoy good things to eat
- Entertain the kids with face painting and lots of fun activities
- Bid on great items at the silent auction
- And lots, lots more!
What Day Does Your Week Start On?
October 20, 2008
Bible Reading: 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. — Hebrews 10:21-25 (New American Standard Bible)
Bonus Readings: Ex 20:8-10; Deut 5:13-15; Ps 84:9-11; St.Matt 11:28-29
How many of us think of Monday as the beginning of our week—instead of Sunday? If you’re like a lot of us who do (or have done) that, we may be giving the secular place over the sacred.
Test: do we dread Monday? If we answer “yes,” we may be giving the secular pre-eminence over the sacred. Not God’s plan for us. After all, “sacred” derives from the Latin “sanctus,” meaning, “holy” or “set aside, reserved.” If Sunday’s sacred work (remember, the word “liturgy” means “people’s work”) is optional—or limited—punctuating the weekend, at best, instead of setting the tone for the coming week, it’s not really sacred at all, is it?
How, then, could we expect to have victory Monday morning?
And, remember—when Jesus told us we were to be holy as He was, that doesn’t mean we put Him or His Kingdom in second place or treat it casually. He’s gotta have our front seat, behind the wheel, or He’s not Lord of our lives—we’re just asking Him along for the ride, just in case we need Him for something. No, beloved, He intends to be first to overcome the secular—the World around us—in those lives where He is Lord. Not that it will always be easy. Jesus said it plainly: “In this life you will have tribulation, but—BE OF GOOD CHEER, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD [emphasis mine].”
So, how is that whole “overcoming” thing going for us, His people? Think about this: why not make Sunday the beginning of our “work week” by treating worship, ministry, learning, and fellowship as our job for that day. That’s the first step to putting the secular in the back seat—plus, it would take all the sting out of Mondays—since we’d have already begun our week.
This begs the question, then—does the Lord’s Day fill us with His joy—our strength? If we approach it casually (or not at all)—by blowing off His commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy, then it should be no surprise when we have to drag ourselves through Monday morning. Our joy is not full, because we are not doing what He told us!
God intended we begin our week—and, in fact, everything we do—focused on Him—our Source of every good and perfect gift. He commanded (not suggested) that we “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,” because, as our Designer, He understands we need to assemble in worship and teaching, reinforcing our confession of hope and stimulating each other to loving lives that testify to His work—all with a demonstrated perspective that Christ is coming back. This other-worldly focus trumpets we are utterly, completely in love with our Savior, and depend on Him to fuel our attitudes through His Spirit, as grow in Him through Word and Sacrament. Scripture is clear: God intends no productive labor that day, even though the One commanding we cease labor is He who created us to produce. Contrary to popular misconceptions, the command for man to produce and to reproduce comes prior to man’s fall in the Garden, not after. That being said, then, work—productive labor—is not a curse. Dreading it can be, however, and maybe it shows us a place the Holy Ghost has work to free us up and empower us with joy.
We all know God created man in His own image. That being said, then, man works, just as God worked. Yet, God doesn’t depend upon His produce, as documented in Acts 17:25: “And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else”.
In contrast, we depend upon our produce for our livelihoods—as any economist will tell you, and as St Paul conveyed to us in 2 Thessalonians 3:10. So, to keep us from being too dependent upon our own work, God commands us to stop producing for a 24-hour period each week; partly, I think, to prove our dependence upon Him and not upon that which our hands can produce and partly to keep us from killing ourselves. Cemeteries are filled (prematurely) with CEOs, managers, sales professionals, housewives and yes, ministers who ignored His Sabbath imperative.
Honoring Monday by moving it to the first day of the week—at least in our minds and attitudes—indicates the priority we place on our own labor. What does it say about our relationship with our Lord that Monday is more important to us than Sunday? After all, the sniffles that keep us out of the pew on Sunday would never keep us out of the office on Monday!
What difference would it make to our week if we began looking at Sunday as the first day of the week rather than the last, and Monday as the second day of the week rather than the first? Rather than viewing Sunday as the finish line—a goal to be worked toward all week—we would do well to view Sunday as God intended: as the starting line, with everything that follows in the secular rat race that begins on Monday following from, and being shaped by, the way in which we honor God by remembering to keep His Sabbath holy.
And how much more productive will we be in the coming week if, in dependence upon our Abba, we made His Day our first work day, turning our productive energies to the task of expanding our relationship with our Lord and His people in worship and teaching as a way to synergize our total dependence on God to sustain us, not only then—but every day?
Ah, Monday! Where is thy sting?
Contemplative Prayer: Holy Spirit, engage my heart and show me how to shift the Sacred to the front seat of my life!
All love in the Beloved,
Chip+
Liturgy Lesson for St. Luke the Evangelist: Holy Oils
October 17, 2008
Today we commemorate St. Luke the Evangelist, who is also a physician and associated with hospitals and even the Order of St. Luke, a successful ecumenical healing ministry, which uses Faith, prayer, and the Scripture to heal—a clearly Scriptural practice. However, St. Luke was also an evangelist, tasked with carrying the good news to the World and making disciples. Inside our parish, we have a church furnishing that parallels his ministry—the aumbry. Variously written ambry, or aumbrye, the term is derived from the French armarium, meaning cupboard, applied originally to the sacristy where the holy vessels were stored. In All Saints, it is a small wooden cupboard, mounted on the wall, between the credence table and altar used to store holy oils—symbolic of the Spirit—intended to sweeten, to strengthen, to render supple. Cited in Hebrews 1:9 and St. James 5:14, we employ these for ancient ministerial and liturgical purposes: Sancta Chrisma, or Oil of Chrism—for baptisms (sweetening), Olea Sancta—Oil of Catechumens, used for confirmation (strengthening), and Oleum Infirmatum, or Oil of the Sick, used for Holy Unction (making supple). The Church employs them, then, in parallel to St. Luke’s skills, to save, bring into communion, and minister healing—the roles of the evangelist and the physician. The triple ministry of the oils also reflects our Lord’s instructions to us—to go, make disciples, and baptize them, bringing them to eternal life and the communion of the Church—under the anointing of the Holy Ghost!
Parish Photo Shoot
October 16, 2008
Parish Directory Photo Shoot
Sunday, November 2
10:30 AM-1:30 PM
Elisha House
Emily Pratt will be taking individual and/or family pictures for a Web site directory of our parish members. Reprints will be available for order at a special church rate. Proceeds (less expenses) will be donated to All Saints. Sign up on the sheet in Ballard Hall.
Thanks to Our Clergy
October 14, 2008
October is Clergy Appreciation Month, a time to honor pastors and their families for their service.
All Saints is blessed with dedicated clergy who love and serve the Lord. We appreciate Father Chip Harper and his wife Christie and Father Ed Morgan and his wife Julie. Thank you for serving God and His people here at All Saints.
Liturgy Lesson for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity: Developing Spiritual Skills
October 10, 2008
Church Fathers, keeping with ancient Jewish tradition, included the Offices of Instruction in our prayerbook to provide a basic framework for teaching candidates for Baptism and Confirmation Christian essentials. But that’s not their only purpose. The entire congregation needs to revisit their principles regularly. Called catechism—this instruction—questioning and answering—is Scriptural, found in St. Luke 1:4: ” …so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” In Acts 28:25, Apollo is “instructed [katechemenos] in the way of the Lord”. St. Paul uses the word twice: first, in 1 Corinthians 14:19, “I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may instruct [katecheso] others also,” and then, in Galatians 6:6, “Let him that is instructed [ho katechoumenos] in the word, communicate to him that instructeth [to katechounti] him, in all good things.” Clearly, we must be trained—actively involved, validating that training by queries. But this doesn’t meet our need for Christian training but only the barest rudiments. St. Paul instructed St. Timothy to “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” This means, to be effective, we must develop our spiritual skills—in real, structured Christian training, beyond simple catechism, not “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,” but in the company of God’s people and Spirit, learning His Word and what it means to our lives. We need Sunday School and Bible study—now!
