The Washington Post commented on President Obama's his new rug.

“The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Towards Justice” – Martin Luther King Jr.;
The American Thinker (tm & @)pointed out that Dr King “borrowed” this phrase from Theodore Parker.

Lincoln is also “quoted”:
“Government of the people, by the people and for the people”

John Wycliffe was actually misquoted by Lincoln
What Wycliffe actually said.
“This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people and for the people”

Fortunately there are no Christian scholars at either place. Probably because they know what happened to Wycliffe and Tyndale.

PT

L. R. Tarsitano-Saint Andrew's Church, Savannah

The Feast of Saint Matthew (Trinity 14)-September 21, 2003
Apostles and Evangelists
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5).
It is good on the Feast of St. Matthew, who was both an Apostle
and an Evangelist, to read these words from St. Paul. The word
"apostle" means "someone sent," and in some way or another, each
of us who is a disciple of Jesus Christ is sent into the world
for some purpose that belongs to Jesus Christ first and only
secondarily to himself. Likewise, the word "evangelist" means
"someone sent to deliver the Good News of the Gospel," and here,
too, we find ourselves involved. By some means or another, each
of us is required by Jesus Christ to spread his Gospel, to
deliver it alive and well to our neighbors and to the world,
whether that delivery is accomplished in words, works of
charity, the example of a godly life, or all of the above.
Thus, we are meant to understand something important this
morning. We are meant to understand that this celebration of the
ministry of St. Matthew is not some remote memorial of a man
long dead. Rather, it is a recognition by his fellow Christians
of one who performed heroically, even at the cost of his life,
his Christian duty before God. We are not, God forbid,
"worshipping" St. Matthew when we honor him. We are really
challenging ourselves to live up to his honorable example.
Furthermore, we are meant to understand something else even more
important, something definitive about the Christian life itself-
we preach Christ Jesus the Lord. Christianity is not about us,
not even when that "us" includes St. Matthew and all the other
Apostles and Evangelists, all the martyrs and all the saints. We
preach, we witness, we confess, and we believe that Jesus Christ
is the Lord, the Son of God made man and the redeemer of the
world. We preach that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God
come to glorify his Father in every way, including our salvation
from our sins.
The teaching of the Scripture is clear-we are obliged to preach
Jesus Christ, and to preach that he is the Lord. This principle
of Scripture is so clear that we know instantly that our message
to the world is wrong, or certainly distorted, if our message
begins with us and not with God. We do, of course, have a place
in the preaching of the Gospel. We are the helpless sinners that
Jesus Christ died to save. We are the redeemed sinners who make
up the imperfect membership of Jesus Christ's Church on the
earth and look forward to our perfection in the general
resurrection of the dead and the kingdom of God. We are the
rescued subjects of the one whom we call "Lord."
To the extent that we enter into what we preach and teach to our
fellow human beings, we preach "ourselves [their] servants for
Jesus' sake." And here "servants" does not mean being "butlers"
or "maids." Nor does it mean being "patsies" and "door mats" for
every demanding sinner in the world. The word "servants" does
mean, however, in the original language of St. Paul, that we are
the laborers that God has conscripted to do a portion of his
work on the earth. We are, one might say, "draftees," forbidden
to desert the army of Christ, but blessedly charged with
offering life in place of death, light in place of darkness.
St. Paul's admonitions this morning are really just the "action
end," the necessary follow-up in loyalty and in labor, to a

Ground Zero – truly amazing - Rev. Paul Taylor

Building a mosque at ground zero has been fast tracked by New York City Standards and is now approved and the mosque will get public funding.
People who don't think that there should be a mosque at Ground Zero are at best insensitive. It is more usual to called them, Fascist, Nazis, Islamophobic, and best of all hate mongers because free speech has been abolished by the Hate Crimes Act where criminal penalties are imposed on what used to be free speech.

However, it should be noted that St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church can't even get a permit to rebuild. It would be, of course, unconstitutional to give public funds to Christians. The other names are not used against the Orthodox but should probably be used against the people with the double standard.

PT

The Sin of Achan Joshua 7 Rev. Paul Taylor, LL.M.

Joshua following the command of the Lord captured Jericho. The Next strategic City was Ai.
Jericho was accursed except for the gold and silver and vessels of brass and iron which belong to the Lord.
Achan, took of the accursed things and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. Achan pillaged an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly religious garment,from Jericho.

This disobedience to the word of God is the sin of Achan. Achan's case illustrates the power of sin. His sin caused a whole nation to suffer because the whole nation was charged with his guilt.

The sin of Achan resulted in the Israelites being collectively punished by God, in that they failed in their first attempt to capture Ai, with 36 Israelite lives lost and the army being routed and demoralized

God told Joshua how to find the guilty party. The search went by tribe, then by family and then by man by man. At each step Achan had the obligation to confess his guilt but did not do so until the end.

When Achan was brought before Joshua who asked him to glorify God and say what he did. Achan knew what would happen and it was just. he admitted his guilt. Sentence was pronounced. Achan and his family and his livestock were stoned and their remains burned and stones pile on top.
Why should Israel and Achan's family suffer for Achaean's sin?
First the accused property was buried in their tent so they had to have to know of the deed.
Second, the Bible teaches us here about corporate guilt. Corporate guilt meant destruction for his family and defeat for Israel. God views sin seriously enough so that some sins are punished down to the third generation.

Sin is an offense against God because it is disobedience to God
Confession without genuine repentance is meaningless
Sometimes confession is too late to prevent earthly punishment.
Sometimes confession is too late to prevent Godly punishment.
Sin always affects others.

The bible speaks in similar terms concerning sin in the church. A little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Cor 5:6)  A small amount of sin accepted and tolerated among believers can infect the whole group. He who does not rebuke his neighbor's sin is guilty of it (Lev 19:17). Sin must be dealt with swiftly to avoid the wrath of God.

God provides opportunities to repent (2 Pet. 3:9); but unless we take advantage of God’s gifts they are meaningless.

There is a deadline for all men after which point, it will be too late (2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27).
In Britain at hangings years ago just before the trap was sprung they would ask are you guilty. It made no difference what he said because the one he would be speaking to was God.

Achan, his family, and all Israel suffered from a sin that Achan thought he had carefully concealed. We should not do likewise.

L. R. Tarsitano—Saint Andrew’s Church,
The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity—September 5, 2004
Do Not Pass By
“And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him [the wounded man], he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side” (Luke 10:31-32).
The true scandal of “legalism” is that it is essentially lawless. Legalism is not a method of knowing and obeying the law, whether it is the law of God or the law of man. Rather, legalism, with its fiddling concern for imaginary complexities, self-serving exceptions, and evasive loopholes, is a denial of the principle of law itself, coupled with a raw assertion of the personal will and power of the one who manipulates the law for his own purposes.
The legalist considers himself above the law, a law unto himself, who judges the law, rationalizing through clever arguments what parts of the law he will obey or disobey, as he chooses. We meet two such legalists this morning in our Lord’s Parable of the Good Samaritan—the priest and the Levite who pass by the wounded man on the road and leave him to die.
It was an unusual stretch of road that joined and . Our Lord was being literal when he described the various characters of the parable traveling “down” the road because in the seventeen miles that separated the ancient cities of Jerusalem and Jericho one had to descend 3300 feet from Mount Sion, where the Temple was located, to the place, 770 feet below sea level, where Jericho stood. The road was notoriously rugged, providing numerous places for robbers to stage an ambush against an unwary traveler.
It was common, too, to find priests and Levites descending and ascending this road since was the home of so many of them, and they had to travel to and from to take their turn serving in the . It is precisely here, however, in the more or less endless parade of priests and Levites to and from the that the matter of legalism enters into the parable.
Why did the priest and Levite pass by, even though our Lord tells us that the Levite, at least, actually stopped to gawk at the injured man before moving on? The first part of the answer is their interpretation of the ritual law under which they operated, which did, indeed, specify that a person who touched blood or a corpse became ritually impure and had to purify himself before taking on any ministerial duties. If the priest and the Levite went to the aid of the wounded man, they would have been ritually inconvenienced.
The second part of the answer lies in the portion of Leviticus that our Lord himself included in the summary of the law, just as the lawyer who asked him the question “who is my neighbor?” had done: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev. 19:18). Many of the commentators on the Old Testament Law in those days had weaseled their way around this clear commandment that would have compelled the priest and the Levite to render assistance.
Reminiscent of recent politicians who have been able to ask with a straight face what the word “is” means, these commentators had played games with the meaning of the word “neighbor.” At the extreme, they excluded from the definition of “neighbor” everyone but personal friends and family members, thus leaving strangers, foreigners, Gentiles, Samaritans, etc. to their own devices. It was on the basis of these commentaries that the lawyer who provoked the Parable of the Good Samaritan had asked our Lord for a definition of “neighbor,” as St. Luke says, “willing to justify himself”—to prove that he was a serious scholar and that our Lord had oversimplified the demands of God in heaven of his people on earth (Luke 10:29).
The priest and the Levite, then, secure in their own self-righteousness, ritual purity, and legalistic religion, went on their way, leaving a man behind them to die. This man was none of their business, they told themselves, and so “Love thy neighbor as thyself” had no meaning in this case. But legalists lie to themselves, just as much as they lie to everyone else, and here the lie was huge. The Word of God had made very clear that this man was their business and that he was their neighbor, no matter how many loopholes they had prepared for themselves in God’s unbending law of love.
In the Proverbs, for example, God had declared: “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13) and “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?” (Proverbs 24:11-12). God not only requires that service be rendered, but he also makes himself the avenger of those who are abandoned, knowing the hearts and the deeds of all men.
Furthermore, God identifies the suffering of all the abandoned and needy with the suffering of his Chosen One, of his very own Son, the Christ who became man for our salvation. These prophetic words are spoken by and on behalf of Christ in the Psalms: “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul” (Psalms 142:4); and “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” (Psalms 69:20).
If nothing else, the priest and the Levite ought to have known that God does not permit even an animal to be abandoned in this way, let alone a fellow human being. In Deuteronomy, God commands, “Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again” (Deuteronomy 22:4). And under God’s rule, even an enemy is a “neighbor” to be loved as ourselves. He orders in the Book of Exodus, “If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him” (Exodus 23:4-5).
These obligations, placed upon us by God, are delivered to us with the same “thou shalt” as all of God’s other commandments. And they are delivered to us, to everyone here, because our Lord’s parable was not a criticism of priests and Levites, but a warning to every human being until the end of the world that outward religion, without a loving heart towards God and man, is worthless. All the trips in the world to the or to some other building for worship are meaningless without a regard for the commandments of God. A life without charity towards others, and especially towards the poor, the weak, and the abandoned, is, as our Prayer Book says, “nothing worth.”
St. John the Apostle and Evangelist sums up the Gospel that he learned from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel that is the absolute opposite of legalism or ritualism, in these words: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18). This passage from John’s first letter is nothing more than an affirmation of what our Lord taught that day in his Parable of the Good Samaritan.
But have we learned this lesson, or learned it as well as we should? Salvation is a gift from God, but the life that God gives is a life of service to God and of compassion towards men, all of whom, like them or not, are our neighbors according to the Living Word of God. That Living Word says that we must not pass by, and by God’s grace, that priest and Levite will be our warnings, and not our models.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity – Rev. Paul Taylor, LL.M.

Trinity 12 Morning Prayer

Ecclesiastes 15:11 Philipians 2:12-18


Apocrypha means 'hidden things' in Greek. The early church fathers, with the exception of St. Jerome, placed the books of the Apocrypha as canonical scripture. These book were in the original Christian bible called the Septuagint. They do not appear in the Jewish canon, nor does the book of Daniel.

When the Latin language became dominant, the Septuagint was translated into Latin as the Vulgate.

When the Bible was translated into English, the 1611 edition contained the Aprocrypha. Protestants in their great reformer wisdom deleted these books from their Bible. America as a Protestant nation does not include these books. They are retained by Anglcians, Catholics, and orthodox.

The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach is called by the name of
Ecclesiasticus or the teacher. It is a Greek translation of Hebrew and is in the Apocrypha. Ecclesiasticus or the teacher is not to be confused with Ecclesiastes,the preacher which is a canonical book of the bible, which usually follows the Proverbs. Ecclesiasticus is a book of ethical sayings very similar to proverbs but is said to be the work of but a single author.

Ecclesiasticus, or teacher, tells us today that we should never blame the Lord when we do the things that he hates. He hates all abominations, and those who love God don't do those things. Man was made in God's image and is expected to keep God's commandments. He knows what you are doing for he beholdeth all things. He has put choices before you and has never commanded a man to do wickedness.

However, since the fall mentioned in Genesis, we offend against his holy laws and “we have left undone those things we ought to have done and have done those things which we ought not to have done and there is no health in us.”

It is in the lesson from Philipians that St. Paul show us that there is a proper way.

St. Paul's appeal to the Philippians and to us is to live in unity and godly love so we can do God's will. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” We know what we should do and we are powerless creatures and yet we have to carry out his commands. We tremble at our weakness. We tremble at our fear of not pleasing the God that we love. We should do God's will without mixed motives and with a pure heart.
Our sacrifice should be without blemish, and in so doing, we will be a light to a fallen world full of sin and corruption.


Here Paul wants you to live and to do God's will. Nothing in the Pauline epistles calls for passive action. You are to live the gospel for God's good pleasure. You are to to do God's will. Half measure will avail you nothing. Your work is to be carried out to completion without murmuring like the the Hebrews did in the wilderness. Our live should be lived so that you are beyond rebuke and blameless in a troubled world.

The one thing that you should note is that when this letter is written to the Philippians, Paul is in jail awaiting execution. He begs the Philippians to be true to the word of God do that he may not have run the race in vain. He shows joy in the knowledge that he will be sacrificed for the glory of God.

Ecclesiaticus tells us the nature of what is ethically required. St. Paul tells us how it should be done. He also tells us of his great joy to be a servant of Chrsit and to carry out his will.

Go and do likewise.

Don't question authority.

They don't have the answer either

The job of a priest is to be invisible and make God visible

“No disaster is greater than underestimating the enemy.”

Chinese philosopher Lao Tse, who wrote: The Ancient Art of War

"Love the sinner, hate the sin" Is not to be found anywhere in the Bible. The Author is Mahatma Gandhi.




 
 

Seventh Sunday after Trinity – Rev'd Paul Taylor, LL.M.

This is a miracle story. Consider this: There were all these people - four thousand -out there in the wilderness. They've been with Jesus, following him around, for about three days.

Jesus said, How many loaves do you
have?" They said, "Seven. But how are you going to feed all these people
with seven loaves?" That wasn't the point. He asked the question, "How
many loaves do you have? You give me what you've got and I'll work a
miracle."

That's the point of the story. "You give me what you've got and I can
transform it. I can change it. I can make it grow. I can make it
beautiful." And that's what he did. From the seven loaves handed over to
him, he fed four thousand.

Throughout Scripture, we read of event after event where God takes a
little bit and creates an abundance. I think one of the most wonderful
stories in all of the Old Testament is the story of Abraham and Sarah.
If you remember the story in the book of Genesis, God sent his angel to
talk to Abraham about being the father of a great nation. "Your
descendants will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore and the
stars in the sky. You're going to have a son within the year."
Abraham and Sarah were in their nineties yet the promise was kept.

In the New Testament, we have another example of God taking something
very little and making a lot. The angel Gabriel appeared to a young girl
named Mary and asked her to be the mother of God.

The most precious thing that you and I have is our will: our ability to
say "yes!" to God.
The surrender of our wills to God. That is the very
essence of our religion. This is what Jesus came into the world to do,
to give us an example. "Not as I will it, Father, but as you will it."
The same prayer is ours. "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in
heaven." The surrender of our wills is at the very core of who we are,
of our religion, of our faith. As we surrender ourselves to God, he can
take that little bit and he can bless it and multiply it. In the
fulfillment of God's will, we can see real growth, experience real joy.
That is the essence of true religion.

Surely, God can work a miracle with seven loaves of bread. But if that
fellow didn't show up with those seven loaves of bread or decided, "I'm
not going to give away these loaves of bread. I'm going to hang onto
them", four thousand people wouldn't have been fed. But that person gave
up that little bit for the sake of a miracle.

It's the same with you and me. What is most precious to us, we surrender
to our God. This morning as we offer the Eucharist, this is what we
offer - ourselves. Our bodies, our souls, our minds, our wills -
everything that we have - we surrender to our God. We ask our God to
multiply his blessings upon us. We know that he will continue to work
his miracle in us if we but surrender to him.

C of E (IMHO)
The C of E is the established church of England, but yet does not receive financing from the government. The government, however, does get to pick the archbishop.

Several years ago WO was proposed and the legal opinion was that it was a change of conditions under British law that would require that anyone that was unhappy to be pensioned off. The cost of a large bailout of clergy would bankrupt the C of E.

Under Lord Carey, then the Archbishop, almost no clergy left. C of E was saved. Some effects are that many building are now mosques, few people attend, and religion is optional.

Now women now demanding to be bishops and what this will mean? My humble opinion is that it will mean nothing. The “unhappy” clergy did not leave before. They will not leave now.

The sad truth is that very few people attend the C of E any more. So what the clergy does is irrelevant. Disestablishment is being debated behind closed doors. C of E is no longer a source of strength for the government but rather a liability.

Many of the clergy are Anglo Catholics spikes. Bishop Cranmer would not know who these people were. Neither would the medieval popes.
There are theological reasons for not converting but Anglo Catholics are not keen on theology. Whenever questioned about anything they just say its catholic. Reason, knowledge, and common sense are excluded from the mix.

The current pope is making a pitch for them to come to Rome. In practice this is unlikely as it was in the States.
They have to be re ordained if qualified
They won't be able to spike.
They will have to use the new catholic liturgy
They will have to submit to catholic order and discipline.

Then there are the other questions that has been a stumbling blocks here in the States.
Their orders are not recognized.
No catholic education
No respect for authority. Everyone does his thing.
Divorces
unacceptable baggage

The fact that they worship the missal and not Jesus Christ would not be a stumbling block, however, the missal is a joke in the Roman Church.

So will the C of E consecrate women bishops? Absolutely. Will there be an exodus? No.

As an aside here in th USA the line in the sand keeps getting moved with every new change in practice and doctrine. The base standard, despite the quasi pious pronouncements, is happy clappy 79 with some some Anglo Catholics. All are brain dead.

In the USA the Robinson consecration had people leave. Almost no one went into the dying continuing churches. Instead the “powers” that be, formed new structures. People ignored what St Paul said about “powers”.

The new ACNA is the Titanic on steroids.
Four different theologies, WO and the 79 bcp and 1982 hymnal. The fact that these people stayed for 30 years shows that these people are brain dead.

Gafcon and Common Cause are in the same category.

It has be pointed out to me with a smile that we may see these people when we get to heaven. After all the Bible says the dead in Christ shall rise first.

PT

“If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.”

Sixth Sunday after Trinity -Rev'd Paul Taylor, LL.M.
Revised 2005
Readings: Romans 6: 3-11 and Matthew 5: 20-26

The language used in the gospel lesson needs to be explained.
In ancient Hebrew raca means 'you blockhead'. It was a term of utter contempt.
A fool is an unbeliever. It was the worst thing you could say to a Jew. It was to trash him and hence in the original the reference to the dump that burned day and night. It is also a slang for hell or hell fire as see saw in todays lesson
The Sanhedren was a ruling body that also had the power to judge.

Jesus bluntly tells us that "Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of God." The scribes and pharisees kept the law literally; no more, no less. Jesus is saying, "there's more to it than that; much more than that." So, He talks about attitudes that you and I might have whereby we offend God and commit sin, not necessarily through an act, but even by the thought or word. This in itself can and should be seen as sinful. ". . .What I say to you is everyone who grows angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment. Any man who uses abusive language toward his brother shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin and he who says thou fool trashes him and holds him in contempt, he risks the fires of hell or in the original gehenna.

Jesus is saying, "This is not the way that a Christian will behave toward another Christian in this new kingdom according to this new law."


Today as we offer this Eucharist and we offer ourselves, souls and
bodies, to God our Father, through and with Christ, let us remember that
one part of our body, that is, our tongue. Let us offer our tongues to
God, that they will be used only in praise of him.

July 4 - Rev. Paul Taylor, LL.M

The bible tells us that righteousness exults a nation and sin destroys it. Alexis de Tocqueville was later to say “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!"

Righteousness is translated as strict adherence to the law of the old Testament. The law is designed to create just society and that is why it exalts the nation.
Deuteronomy points out that obeying the law creates wealth. Few read the bible. So I ask you to look at the Quakers. In a few generation Quakers tend to be wealthy materially because they adhere to the law. A similar analogy can be made with the Amish.
Sin on the other hand is destructive. One generation of sin will destroy several generations of wealth accumulation.
The problem is that we are all sinners. We are made righteous through Jesus Christ.
Through Christ we become the righteous of God. The people who came to America came were aware of this.

The earliest “governments” were based on the covenants of the old testament. These covenants became the foundations for the State constitutions and are copied into the Federal Constitution.

The people who formed this nation were not religious fanatics but they were people who believed in God and the righteousness of the Lord.
The declaration of independence references God.
They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
All of the signers knelt in prayer.

They lost family, friends, and fortune. They retained their honor and and their faith in Almighty God.

President Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist:
“The 1st amendment has created a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall, it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.”

Today we have a war against Christianity and Christian morals. It is illegal to pray in public. Harsh penalties await those who preach the gospel. All the major heresies that the apostolic fathers fought against are now preached in mainline churches. It is illegal to display the 10 commandments. Judges have disconnected from the people they serve. Justice for the people is quaint. Ruling for the special interest groups are common and PC ruling are the norm. Canon law is routinely enforced in the secular courts for PC churches. It is not PC to mention Easter. There is no Easter break in schools. There is spring break. There is a war on Christmas. Mentioning that some of the recent disasters might be punishment or at least a warning from God is truly frowned upon. The truly Godless media pounces like a cat on a hapless mouse.
Mentioning the bible and there is an injunction or fine. The Lord God of Israel that neither slumbers nor sleeps watches and judges. However, bleak things look one should remember that God is not mocked and he punishes the wicked.





Sin is a solvent. Sin dissolves the bonds between God and his people. Sin dissolves the covenant between God and his people.
Sin involves the separation from God. We no longer experience the peace of God that passes all understanding. We see nothing. We feel no spiritual connection with God. The peace of God has been replaced by new age spiritualism. These spirits that these people contact are not from God. It is spiritual heroin and they bring Stephen King characters into your life. What happens to the individual also happens to the nation.

A good America is a great America. This is a biblical truth. Secular humanism tell America that her greatness is her own efforts. The devil calls people to their weaknesses. God calls America to righteousness.

We should pause to remember that this country was founded by Christians to create a place where righteousness would be the guiding principle.

Isaiah said In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.
It is in returning to our religious roots that we will see that this is a nation that was founded by men of faith and deep religious conviction.

America is called to rest and return. This is difficult because of sin. God asks you to return and to rest in him. The Lord will overcome your enemies. A good America is a Great America.

Many Americans can only think in terms of secular solutions. Our political leaders always preach to the weak part of our souls.

God ask that you return to him. Secular humanism is bondage unto the devil. It is the sickness unto death. God asks you to return to him and you will find rest, and the peace of God that passes all understanding.

A good America is a great America


July 4, 2008

Determination is what you have just before you do something stupid

Confidence is what you have when you don't fully understand the situation

Traditional Anglican Church - Clergy Help Wanted

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA: Church of the Redeemer, a 1928 BCP parish founded in 1980, is searching for a Rector. Current membership 25, with several prospective members attending. Stipend/Pension: to be determined." additional income or resources necessary. Fairbanks has a population of 80,000. Two military bases and University of Alaska campus nearby. Temps 50's to 70's in summer, 10 to -30 in winter.
For more on the Church of the Redeemer, please write to:
Mr. Stephen Cooper, PO Box 71585, Fairbanks, AK 99707

Fairbanks general info:
http://www/state.ak.us
http://www/uaf.edu (Univ of Alaska)
Job-related info:
http://www.jobs.state.ak.us (State job service)
http://www.northstar.k12.ak.us/hr/recruit.html (School job listings)
http://www.news-miner.com (Local newspaper listings)
http://FairbanksHelpWanted.com (Commercial listings)
Housing and other area info:
http://www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/CommunityPlanning/CRC/ (download latest quarterly review)
http://www.fairbankschamber.org
http://www.fairnet.org
http://www.explorefairbanks.com
http://fairbanksak.usl.myareaguide.com

"Almighty God, we pray for the guidance of Thy Holy Spirit as we seek a new
minister for our church. Thou knowest our special needs and the task that
lies to our hand. In our search direct us, and give us insight to perceive
the leader Thou wouldst choose for us. And we further pray, O Lord, that in
this time of waiting we may all devote ourselves afresh to Thy service, so
that nothing be lost of the faithful work of the past, but rather that it
may be brought to a rich harvest in the years to come. This we ask in the
Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."



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Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.
Kenneth L. Dodge, Resource, Sept./ Oct., 1992, p. 5.

TRINITY 5 LUKE v.i. - Rev'd - Paul Taylor, LLM

The fifth chapter of Luke referred to a turning point
in the ministry of Jesus.
He is no longer able to preach in the Synagogues. So
he take his message to the great out doors.
John Wesley remarked that he loved comfortable churches to
preach in, but he said field preaching saves souls.

Why, you might ask would someone preach from a boat.
The answer is because the sound carries very well over the
water and the water amplifies the sound so many can hear it. Jesus
saw the crowd and he saw the 2 boats. So he asked the
fishermen to let him preach from the boats. They wanted to
hear God's word. They showed their desire by letting him
use one of their boats.
When he had finished preaching he asked them to set
out into the deep to catch fish. They were experienced
fishermen and knew that in the clear water the fish would
see the boat and the nets. That is why they fished at
night. Not only had they fished all night, they had caught
nothing. What is remarkable they did not tell him no. He
said to go and they did. They did so by faith.

So in impossible fishing conditions they set out and
dropped their nets. When they lifted the nets, they were
full. So full that the nets began to break and the boat
began to sink and the other boat had to come and help with
the catch and it too began to sink. They were astonished!
So much that Peter said Lord I am a sinful man.

There are several messages that one can draw from this:

First: The word of God is to be preached to the people
wherever they gather. In fact the early word that the
Greeks had for church was inglesia, (the gathering of the
faithful). It is a duty of the Christian.

In many cases that means preaching outside the church
building. The best preaching is faithful Christian witness
to the risen Christ in our daily lives.
This is required because you are the church.

A Priest is only a servant who is to serve bread and
wine at the Lord's table, but you are the church.

Second we are to be receptive to the requests of the
Lord. As you see from the holy text they were receptive and
obedient. First they loaned him the use of their boat and
second they went to the deep to drop their nets, knowing it
was not humanly possible to catch fish in the daytime. For
most people, the disaster of life is that they give up just
one effort too soon. If you hear and obey the word of God
that won't happen to you.
Third you should turn and follow him. Look at the example of St.Peter. Peter said depart from me for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord.
Peter did like any man with a conscience, he was terrified to be near the Lord and wanted to flee. Peter by acknowldging his unworthiness became worthy.

In the midst of this great miracle he had forgotten his bible teachings.
The prophet Michah (7:18-19) tells us that God pardoneth iniquity and casts sins into the depths of the sea.
In Isaiah (43:22) ...(God says) I will not remember thy sins."

The Christ turned to him and said fear not. I will make you a fisher of men and and you will enlarge the Kingdom of God.

Fourth, there is a reward for following the commands of
the Lord. That reward is a miracle. A net breaking, boat
sinking miracle. God promises to you, miracles in your
life. So no matter how big your boat is, it is not big
enough to contain God's miracle. You should expect a
miracle. That is God's promise.

2005-07-06