Excellency of Power . . . . New Years 2018 Message

Brothers and Sisters, As we are about to celebrate the (secular) New Years, it goes without saying that the vast majority of us wish for better things in the coming year.  As a result, many of us make "New Years Resolutions" and promises of things that we will do better  . .  . or do differently . . . in the coming year.  More than likely, most of these resolutions fall by the wayside after days or weeks into the new year.  But the point is still the same . . . . . as human beings we want better things for not only ourselves but for our loved ones as well.   We want to do better.  We want to act better.  We want to be better.   As human beings, though, we are prone to failure on a frequent basis.  We intend to do good but we end up failing.  As a result we get frustrated through our failure and simply quit trying altogether.  Think of the person, for example, who resolves to stop smoking in the coming new year.  Their intention is marvelous.  Their resolve is to be commended.  And yet when the urge is too great and they break their resolution, they become frustrated and convinced that they can not do it and give up altogether.  How many of us wish that we could do things better . .  . not just in the new year, but throughout the year.  How many of us wish that we could change things for the better?  How many of us, quite frankly, work and work and work on better results in our life and are often left feeling depressed and rejected when we fail?  I remember as a teenager growing up working on a school project.  I was making some sort of model or a model building.  I can not really remember what the exact project was but I do remember clearly my repeated frustration in attempting to put together the model and it kept breaking time and time and time again.  You see, I finally discovered after repeated failures that the materials I was using in making the project were not strong enough.  As a result I had to find something to make the materials stronger so that the project would hold up under the weight and strain.  After this, the project came out beautifully.  But prior to that I was pulling my hair out after repeated failure after failure after failure.

We hear in the Fourth Chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians:  "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."  (II Corinthians 4:7)    As human beings we are weak; we fail; we are lacking; in short, human beings are not perfect.  We resolve to do good but we more often than not miss the mark.  As faithful Christians we know that our success comes through Our Heavenly Father.  In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, we also read:  "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."  (I Corinthians 2:5)  Any wisdom that we have comes from the Almighty.  Any power that we have comes to us from up above.  Any skill, any success, any blessing that we possess was given to us by God. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; our sufficiency is of God."  (II Corinthians 3:5)   In this new year, let us acknowledge the fact that our blessings come to us from God.  Let us acknowledge those gifts and continually give thanks to Our Heavenly Father for all the blessings that He bestows upon us.  And let us resolve to use the skills that God gives to each one us to do His will here on earth.

Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24th, 2017

Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24th, 2017

"REJOICE in the Lord always . . . " (Philippians 4:4)

Have you ever tried to do something "non-stop"?  In other words, you kept doing the same thing over and over and over.  It's gets tiring after a while, doesn't it?  And after a while, we get worn out from doing whatever we are doing.  Whether it's going to always working on reports or always working without any days off.  Whether it's always fixing the same thing over and over and over again.  And yet St. Paul is telling the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!"  As human beings, we rejoice when we are happy.  When our favorite sports team scores late in a game and wins, we rejoice.  When we are with good friends that we haven't seen for a while, we rejoice.  We rejoice when we get a raise at work.  We rejoice when a project gets completed.  We rejoice at many times over many things, don't we?  And yet most people don't constantly rejoice, do they?   Sometimes our favorite sports team doesn't win the game or the season, for that matter.  I know . . . I'm a Cubs fan . . . . Sometimes we get overwhelmed at work.  Sometimes we get bad news.  Sometimes we get angry.  Do we rejoice in these situations?  No.  And yet St. Paul reminds the Philippians  . . .  as he does us . . . . to "Rejoice in the Lord always!"  The key is to set our mind to rejoicing no matter what.  The key is to remind ourselves that life is sometimes good . . . . sometimes it's bad.  Sometimes we are healthy, other times we get sick.   Sometimes we get a raise at work.  But some times we get laid off from a job.  Again, life is not one constant, straight path where nothing ever changes and always stays the same.  If it was that way, it seems to me that it would be somewhat boring.  Sometimes things get difficult in life.  But if we remind ourselves that God is always with us, even in the bad times, then we can rejoice.   Even in the times that things seem the darkest, as long as we keep our minds focused on God, we know that we will get through whatever faces us.  God loves us more than we will ever know.   How do I know this, you ask?  I know it because He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins.  He sent His Son into the world to walk among us, to be with us, to eat with us, to talk with us, to witness our good times and our bad times.  God knows that life is not always easy for us.  And yet Our Blessed Lord is always with us . . .  in the good times and the bad.  And we are called to always rejoice in that fact.  As we are on the doorstep of Christmas on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, let us not get overwhelmed by life, but rather let us rejoice that God sent His Son into the world to be with us always.  Let us remember that God is with us when we are on the mountain top but He is also with us when we are far down in the valley.  Let us rejoice that God is always with us.

St. Margaret of Scotland Church worships in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Life Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Come join us for Mass.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible.  

Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, December 24th at 9:30 AM in the Chapel

Mass will also be celebrated Christmas Day, December 25th, at 9:30 AM in the Chapel.

Third Sunday of Advent, December 17th, 2017

Third Sunday of Advent, December 17th, 2017

For the Third Sunday of Advent, we hear Our Blessed Saviour speaking the praises of His cousin St. John the Baptist:  "What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, `See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' " (St. Matthew 11:2 ff)  In this passage, Our Blessed Saviour is quoting Scripture from the Book of Malachi:  "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: And the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple." (Malachi 3:1)   Two things for us to ponder in regards to these Scripture verses:  Number one, in God, we have such a loving Father that He was not just content to create us and then leave us alone.  No, He loved His creation so much that He not only created us, but He became one of us.  He became a Human Being.  " . .  . and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple . . ."  The Lord did come to His temple . . . . He came to the world as a little innocent child, Who was the Saviour of the world.  Elsewhere, we read:  "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people"  (Leviticus 26:12)  Our Blessed Saviour has indeed walked among us . . . He is Our God and we are His people.

The second thing for us to always consider is that Our Blessed Saviour desires our assistance.  Let me emphasize, He does not require our assistance, rather, He welcomes our assistance.  He created the universe and He created each one of us.  Anyone that powerful does not need my help and, yet, He desires my help.  `See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'  Like St. John the Baptist . . . like St. Mary . . . like St. Joseph . . .  each one of us are called to prepare the way of the Lord.  We prepare the way of the Lord for others to find God, but we also prepare the way of the Lord to our own hearts.  This is what the holy season of Advent is all about:  to prepare a place for the Christ Child in our hearts.

Join St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church on Sunday, December 17th, 2017 at 9:30 AM as we come together as God's family and worship Our Blessed Saviour in traditional worship.  Join us as we listen to God's Word found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we spend quality time before Our Blessed Saviour and then receive Him in His Precious Body and Blood.  St. Margaret Parish worships each and every Sunday morning at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Coffee Hour follows Mass where delicious goodies and treats are available.  Please consider taking time out of your busy schedule and join us as we prepare a way  for Our Blessed Saviour.

Second Sunday of Advent, December 10th, 2017

Second Sunday of Advent, December 10th, 2017

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."  (Romans 15)

Did you ever order something or send away for something and the item finally arrived and you open it with great anticipation.  And when you open the package and see what you ordered, the item that arrived does not match up with what you thought it would be.  You were "under-whelmed," so to speak.  "This is it?!?"   "This is what I've been waiting for?!?"   As we have spoken in the past, the faithful Jews were indeed praying for a Messiah to save them.  They were anticipating the arrival of the Messiah.  They knew that God would save them and they were waiting.  But they had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah would look like, I would imagine.  They expected the Messiah to arrive as a great warrior riding in on a powerful horse, surrounded by a mighty army in support with flags waving and banners raised.  They expected this messiah and his army to wipe out their foes and save them from their misery.    And yet we know that, yes, the Messiah did indeed arrive as promised but Our Saviour arrived as an innocent little baby, born to a common family, born in a lowly manger on a cold winter night  because nobody would take them in otherwise.  In fact, the actual arrival itself was so "low-key" that hardly anyone knew about it at all except for the angels and a few shepherds.  I mean let's be honest here.  In regards to anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, I am sure that none of us would picture the Saviour of the world arriving as a small baby, born to an impoverished family, with nowhere else to stay other than in a place for animals.  But, then again, if we look at a dying man hanging on a cross, if we didn't know any better, we wouldn't picture that as "victory," either.  It would seem more like "defeat" than "victory."  And yet we know through our faith that hope was born in that little manger at Bethlehem and we know that victory truly was earned on that Cross at Calvary.  Sometimes, hope is deceiving to our physical eyes.  The important thing for us to always remember as people of faith that we have to look at hope through the eyes of faith if we really want to see how God is working in our lives.  So, use this holy Season of Advent to look at things in a brand new way, the way of faith.

St. Margaret of Scotland  Church worships every Sunday morning at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located on the Northwest side of Indianapolis at 8140 N. Township line Road.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Come join us for traditional worship.  We use the King James Bible along with the Anglican Missal and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We gather together to join as God's family to listen to His Word and worship Him and receive Him in His Precious Body and Blood.  Please join us for Mass and then stay with us afterward for our delicious Coffee Hour. 

First Sunday of Advent, December 3rd, 2017

First Sunday of Advent, December 3rd, 2017

"OWE no man any thing, but to love one another" (Romans 13:8)

If you have ever applied for a loan from a bank, you will soon find out how many "hoops" you have to jump through in order to borrow the money you need.  You have to provide documentation of every sort:  copies of your ID; copies of bills that you currently have; copies of mortgage statements; copies of your latest paychecks.  You have to go though background checks and they need to verify who you are.  This is certainly understandable considering that banks can not go around handing out buckets of cash to anyone and everyone that walks in off the street.  But after a while, it becomes frustrating because you get the feeling that you are jumping through endless hoops.  The same process happens when you purchase a car, a house, apply for a credit card, etc.  That being said, it would be easy for me as a preacher to use the words of St. Paul in Romans 13:8--"OWE no man any thing, but to love one another" and say how simple and easy it is to love one another compared to getting a loan as described above.  But is it really that simple to go out and "love" someone?  How about showing love to our enemies?  How about loving those whom we are not fond of?  Is it ever easy to show love to those who have done wrong to us?  How about family members or even spouses that irritate us from time to time?  Is it that easy to show them love and to love them?  Yes, it's easy to show love to those that are lovable but it is definitely a challenge to love those who are not easy to love.  Now what does all this have to do with the season of Advent?  It is in the season of Advent that we prepare for the coming of the Divine Child born in Bethlehem.  Advent is a time that we prepare for the birth of the Messiah, the personification of pure love.  It was at Bethlehem that He was born to begin His earthly journey towards the hill at Calvary.  He died on the Cross for all . . .. not just for those who liked Him . . .  not just for those who loved Him.  He died on the Cross even for those despised Him . ..  who hated Him.  Our Blessed Saviour came to save all from their sins; a feat we could never achieve by ourselves.  So Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for Our Saviour.   No, it is not always easy to love but it is something as Christians that we are commanded to do.  So, this Advent season, let us prepare our hearts and do our best to show love to all . .. .  even to those that it is not easy to do.  This is something that Our Lord did and it is something that He wants us to do.  Showing love is not always easy but it is necessary if we want to call ourselves Christian.  

St. Margaret Anglican Church meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we worship Our Heavenly Father as His family here on earth.  Come receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time so that you can be nourished and fortified for the week ahead.