GOSPEL
July 30, 2010
God’s
Only
Son
Purchased
Eternal
Life
from Message in a Word: Inspired Succinct Sermons Uniquely Expressed by Margaret A. Blincoe
Liturgy Lesson for St. James the Apostle: Called by the Lord
July 25, 2010
Today we commemorate St. James, a fisherman, the son of Zebedee, who with his brother of John, being called in their hearts by the Lord, left their family business to follow Jesus—after Jesus miraculously filled their previously empty nets with fish, in a place where the seasoned fishermen most likely doubted fish were. In fact, the successive calls were: (1) to friendly acquaintance (John 1:37); (2) to intimacy (Matt 4:18); (3) to permanent discipleship (Luke 5:11); (4) [toward the close of the first year of our Lord's ministry] to apostleship (Matt 10:1); (5) to renewed self dedication, even unto death (John 21:15-22). This gives us a powerful lesson from our liturgical calendar. St. James, who was a pragmatic “man’s man,” allowed the Lord to so transform his life that he became a man of faith so fiery the Lord called him and his brother, St. John, the “Sons of Thunder.” It was not a precipitous change, however; the men allowed the Lord to gradually change their hearts from a shallow, soulish interest, to being drawn close to the Lord to a point where they wanted to change their habits and attitudes in learning and training to giving up their lives for Jesus. Like the Church year, and the Mass itself, their lives are a model of our lives in the Lord—being drawn to Him at first by our emotions, allowing Him to be close to us in our hearts, becoming more willing to be changed elementally by Him, and finally giving up our lives—saving them in the end because we have lost them for Him!
Photos from Fourth of July Picnic
July 22, 2010
CAM Offering Report from Bill Wimp
July 20, 2010
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. All Saints raised a total gift of $268 for Christian Assistance Ministry (CAM) from our dedicated offering on Sunday, July 11. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this gift.
We are currently supporting this ministry by making financial contributions so that they can buy supplies to supplement donations. We are donating food, clothing, and household items, and we are praying for this ministry.
God’s Word commands us to be compassionate, generous servants to those who need our support. As Christians, we have been richly blessed by God. We, in turn, are called to share our gifts, our possessions, our testimonies, and our talents to others to spread His Kingdom.
For more information about how you can help, contact Bill Wimp, cam@allsaintsanglican.net.
Vacation Bible School Photos
July 19, 2010
Liturgy Lesson for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity: Bells
July 18, 2010
Sanctus bells are chimes rung during the Sanctus [Holy, Holy, Holy] and have been part of worship in the Holy Eucharist for over 800 years. At All Saints, we ring them just before the consecration, signaling we’re about to enter the holiest portions of the service—tasking us to devotion to the Lord’s Presence as the priest elevates the consecrated host and chalice. It’s also a joyful noise to the Lord, obedient to Scripture, and heralds the supernatural at the Holy Table, when we call the Holy Spirit down into the elements at the Epiclesis, transforming them from mere wine and bread to containing the Real Presence of the Lord! Bells are mentioned in the Old Testament—notably in Exodus 28:33-35, describing Aaron’s vestments to enter the Holy of Holies: “On its skirts you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet stuff, around its skirts, with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, round about on the skirts of the robe.” They were likely used for two reasons. First, worshipping with a joyful noise to God, (Psalm 98:4) and, secondly, apotropaic—warding off unclean spirits—to protect Aaron as he entered God’s Presence. They also signified adoration to God during early times, according to Zechariah 14:20. Ancient cymbals in Psalm 150:5-6 resembled modern bells and led to using bells in the Church as early as the fifth century, when Saint Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, rang them to call monks to worship. Sounding bells during Communion derives from the tintinnabula (tiny bells) in ancient Judaic worship and were brought indoors by English churches, who originated our custom here. They are, then, both joyful and reverent, tasking us to devotion and attention to an act of our supernatural God—granting us His Presence in the Communion, so we can have His life in us by partaking. Consequently, we are very orthodox (rightly glorifying) when we join the psalmist in saying, “Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
Special Presentation: Amistad Mission – This Sunday
July 15, 2010
This Sunday, July 18th, Amy Thompson, Executive Director of Amistad Mission, will make a brief presentation at each service. She will be sharing the stories of Christ’s work in the lives of the families and children Amistad Mission serves in Bolivia, the poorest country in South America.
Amy Thompson Biography
Amy Thompson is Executive Director of Amistad Mission, a mission based in Bolivia that is dedicated to transforming the lives of some of the most vulnerable families and children in the world Christ’s name. Amy first visited Amistad in 2004 where she witnessed firsthand the devastating poverty and hopelessness of the families living on less than $1 a day with no access to food, health care, or clean water as well as the devastation of seeing young children abandoned on the streets with nowhere to turn. During that visit, the Holy Spirit moved in her heart, reminding her of Christ’s words in Mathew 25:40—“Whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers of mine you did it for me.” In response, Amy joined the Board of Directors of the organization in 2004 and became the Executive Director in 2008, dedicating her time to working to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world.
Prior to being called to serve Amistad, Amy spent ten years as an executive with Accenture, a leading business consulting firm, and four years as an executive with Texas Children’s Hospital, leading a project to build the country’s largest pediatric research institute for neurological disorders. She and her husband Mike are dedicated to serving children in need and are active in mentoring inner-city children in Houston where they reside. Amy has also been an active volunteer with a number of organizations that are dedicated to serving the poor, including World Vision and the Junior League of Houston.
Amistad Mission
Amistad Mission was founded in 1982 by Father William Wilson after he was called to live amongst the poor in Bolivia. Today, Father William remains involved in the mission and is currently the Rector of Christ Anglican Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
God Uses Imperfect People
July 12, 2010
“God uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect work. Ever wonder why God works through flawed human beings? It’s because they’re the only kind.” ~ Rich Dixon, Set Free Today’s Weblog
Liturgy Lesson for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity: Recharged by the Holy Ghost
July 11, 2010
We approach the Holy Table—after hearing the Word proclaimed, asking for mercy in the Kyrie, declaring our Faith in the Creed and even confessing/being absolved—with the Prayer of Humble Access, our admission of unworthiness of the privilege God affords us by His Sacrament—where we partake of His life-giving nature in the Real Presence. Since it prepares us to receive that infusion of life He promised us in it, our prayerbook very appropriately makes this the last thing we do before actually receiving the Lord’s Presence in the consecrated elements. It calls us to examen—asking God the Holy Ghost to show us the places in our lives where we need His help to change, in order to avoid eating or drinking unworthily at the Lord’s Table. This is an important concept, because Scripture teaches if we have unresolved sin (or its attendant attitudes, such as bitterness or unforgiveness) in our hearts, we are more liable to incur God’s judgment from Communion than His blessings—not a pleasant prospect. After this last spiritual “attitude check” then, we rightly approach by reverently and humbly kneeling (making ourselves small before God), taking the bread in palms open and lifted high to His ministry and grace, and not manipulated with closed fingers. Likewise, we take the cup firmly, with both hands, embracing Christ’s nature to replace our own, praying silently the devotion St. John Baptist gave us, “More of Him…Less of me.” No wonder we usually follow with the ancient Gloria in Excelsis (High Gloria)—we’ve received our magnificent Lord entirely by His Grace and not by our own merits—joining in the ancient angelic praise—“Glory be to God on high”— recharged by the Holy Ghost via the Sacrament!
Beth Moore Bible Study Resumes July 17
July 10, 2010
The Beth Moore Bible Study Fruit of the Spirit will resume Saturday, July 17th. The class will meet every Saturday except the first Saturday of each month from 9 AM to 11 AM in the children’s Sunday School room.
For more information, contact the class facilitator, Anita Forbes, at biblestudy@allsaintsanglican.net.
