Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 27th, 2023

 Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 27th, 2023

In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, we hear:  ". . . . not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;" (II Corinthians 3:5)  God is the one who makes all things possible.  God is the one who gives us the tools we need to create, develop and produce the amazing things we enjoy in life.  He provides man with the talent and the ability to create amazing things.  We do our part by using the skills and talents we have been blessed with but God makes all things possible.  St. Paul recognized this fact.  "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain . . . " (I Corinthians 15:10)   As faithful, devout Christians we are called to use the skills and talents each one of us possess.  For some, they are good with their hands.  These people can fix things and build things.  While someone else may have the gift of teaching and making things understandable.  Others are gifted with the talent to make beautiful works of art enjoyed by others.  All of us have gifts and talents that only we possess.  We are all called to use the talents that the Good Lord has bestowed upon each one of us.  But first, we need to acknowledge the gift that God has given to us in these varied gifts and talents.  Like St. Paul, we should always remember that our talent, our skill, our ability .. . .  none of these would exist without God.  We depend totally upon God for the blessings we enjoy. 

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.  

 Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 20th, 2023

St. Paul begins the Fifteenth Chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians as follows:  "I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand" (I Corinthians 15:1)  Where do we stand?  Do we always stand for God?  Sometimes?  Rarely?   I hear a lot of folks these days speaking about standing up for this belief or standing up for that belief.  I hear a whole lot of folks speaking about standing up for rights.  I hear a whole lot of folks talking about standing up against hatred and taking a stand for freedom.  We hear about a whole bunch of folks these days standing up and taking stands but how often do you hear people saying that they're standing up for God?  That they're standing up for the Gospel?  Each one of us is called as Christians to do what God has called us to do.  He is our Rock and our Foundation upon which we stand firm.  So many people nowadays seem to stand up for whatever the passing fad happens to be.  But we Christians are called to stand firm in our faith.  And in order to do this it takes a long time.  In fact it takes a lifetime of practice.  We people of faith need to stand firm in our beliefs and stand firm in God. 

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.   

Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 13th, 2023

 Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 13th, 2023

St. Luke tells us of Our Lord's triumphal entry to Jerusalem in the Nineteenth chapter of his gospel.  Now, keep in mind that all four of the evangelists tell about this event in their respective gospels but in St. Luke's Gospel, we hear something that is not found in the other three.  ". . . he beheld the city, and wept over it " (St. Luke 19:41)  In other words, St. Luke is describing the fact that as Our Lord beheld the great city of Jerusalem, as He saw it, He began to weep, . . .  . He began to cry.  Now we cry for a multitude of reasons, don't we?  We can cry out of sadness.  We can cry out of frustration.  We can cry even when we are happy . . .  they are called "tears of joy."  Our Lord was crying for all of the above reasons, it seems to me.  He was crying because He was sad.  Sad at the fact that the people wasted so much time and energy on useless pursuits instead of pursuing a relationship with God.  He cried too out of frustration because He knew that despite all of the best efforts of the prophets, despite the efforts of St. John the Baptist and all the holy men and women of God, and, now, despite the best efforts of the Son of God Himself, despite all these efforts and energies, people still turned their back on God!  And, finally, Our Lord was crying with some joy in His heart because He knew that there is hope for all those that He saw.  Our Lord is the hope of the world!  Our Blessed Saviour is the remedy for all the illnesses of the world.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!  

As parents, we want the absolute best for our children.  In particular, we want them to have the best "future" that they possibly can with the best job, with the best home, with the best spouse, etc.  We want them to be happy but we don't want them to settle for the "second best."  But, as parents, we still need to let our children live their own life when they grow up.  As babies, as children, we have to make decisions on their behalf but when they grow up, they have to live their own life.  And, sometimes, as parents, we are disappointed in the choices that our children make.  It grieves us and frustrates us as parents because we don't want our children to settle for "second best."  This is why Our Lord was crying for the children of Jerusalem because He knew that they could have so much more by following God but instead they settled for "second best."  And Our Lord certainly knew that despite the fact that He died on the Cross many souls would still choose to turn their back on God.  Let us never turn our back on God.  Let us never settle for "second best."  Let us always choose the "best" way of life . .  . and that is a personal relationship with Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

Transfiguration of Our Lord, August 6th, 2023

 Transfiguration of Our Lord, August 6th, 2023

We read in the Ninth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke the story of the Transfiguration of Our Blessed Saviour.  In this Ninth Chapter, we hear that St Peter; St John; and St James accompanied Our Lord to pray.  Now, bear in mind as we read of this account that a marvelous event is about to unfold:  Our Lord will not only be transfigured as "His countenance was altered," (v. 29) but also that Moses and Elias will appear alongside Our Lord.   Now, imagine if you will, all of this happening in front of YOUR eyes.  How would you react?  What would you do?  What would be your reaction to all of this have been?  Well, in Verse 32, we hear what happened to St Peter, St James and St John:  "But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with Him." (St. Luke 9:32)  " .  . .  THEY WERE HEAVY WITH SLEEP  . . . ."  Really?  Heavy with sleep?  Seriously?  I mean, come on, how can this be?  Here you are, you find yourself with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.  You are in His Presence where not only He is transfigured:  His "countenance was altered" and "His raiment was white and glistening."  If this wasn't enough, Moses and Elias appear alongside of Him.  And St Peter and the boys fall asleep?  Seriously?!?!?!   It wasn't until they awoke from their sleep that, as St. Luke tells us:  " . . . . and when they were awake, they saw his glory .  . . . ."   You know, it is so easy to be a "back-seat driver," isn't it?  It is really easy to make "commentary" about others when it is not us walking in their shoes.  As St. Luke tells us it was not UNTIL they awoke that they were able to see the glory of the Lord.  That's really how it is with us as well, quite frankly.  Have you ever told someone or has anyone ever told you in the course of a conversation:  "Wake up!"  "Why don't you wake up?!?"  "Wake up and smell the coffee!"  When someone says something along these lines, what they're really saying is "Wake up to reality."  "Come back to reality."  Well, for Peter, James and John, it wasn't until they woke up that they were able to truly see the glory of the Lord.  We, too, like them need to "wake up" out of our sleep in order to see the glory of the Lord.  So many of us are lost in a deep sleep as well.  We are sleeping and dreaming about the things of the world:  money, and nice clothes, and food, and drink, and power, and possessions.   We day-dream about these things and more and focus our lives around them.  But until we wake up from our sleep . .. . Until we wake up from our dreams of worldly things we lust after . . . . until we awaken, it will be then that we will be able to fully appreciate the majesty of Our Blessed Saviour and see Him in His full glory.  We can not see His Glory because we are so busy looking at the things of the world.  Have you ever seen something in the corner of your eye but you didn't see it fully because you really looking at something else?   Quite frankly, that is how it is for us when it comes to things of God.  We have good intentions.  We want to be good.  We want to listen to God.  We want to do what God would have us do.  But we get sidetracked.  Our attention gets diverted.  We end up focusing on something else.  Let us be like St Peter and St James and St John.  Let us wake out of our sleep so that we can see the glory of the Lord.  Let us always focus on Our Blessed Saviour so that we can appreciate His glory and His majesty.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.