Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 22nd, 2021

 Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 22nd, 2021

Humility is a very good thing.  I have learned that lesson (and re-learned it!) the hard way.  Very often it seems that when my head gets too big  . .  .  and I get full of myself . . .  . without fail, it seems at that point that I do something stupid and I get knocked back down to earth.  Perhaps that has happened to you a time or two.  And at that point, we just stand there and shake our head and say to ourselves:  "why in the world did I do that?"  There is nothing wrong with being confidant in ourselves or in our ability.  There is nothing wrong with even being proud of what we have done or what we have accomplished in life.  But as with everything, even this must be done with moderation, number one, and for the Christian, an understanding where our strength comes from.  St. Paul wrote in the Second Letter to the Corinthians:  "not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves"  And then he goes on to emphasize the point:  " . .. . but our sufficiency is of God. . . ." (II Corinthians 3:4)   St. Paul wanted to remind the Church at Corinth that if we have riches, it is because God provided those riches;  if we have abilities or strengths or skills, it is only because God has provided each one of us with what we are good at; if we have a roof over our head and food on our table every day, it is because God provides.  Our Heavenly Father provides for all of His children.  Those who are practicing, committed Christians acknowledge this fact.  But, quite frankly,  sometimes we forget or over look that fact.  You see, it's difficult sometimes for us to always acknowledge God as we should because, quite frankly, we get all caught up in our busy schedules, our busy life styles.  This is why I always emphasize that relationships take effort.  You have to work at a relationship.  In a relationship, we have to make time for our loved ones.  In a relationship, we have to make time for those we love.  We have to make a point to show love to those whom we love.  This is true of our relationship with God as well.  We have to make a point to acknowledge the gifts that God have bestowed upon us; we have to show God and tell God how much we love Him; and, finally, we have to spend time with God every day.  Many of us have the tendency to only go to God when we need help with something.  Make a point to go to God every day.  Speak to God every day.  Tell God how much you love Him every day.  And, finally, take a lesson from St. Paul and never forget that our sufficiency is of God.  Acknowledge the fact that everything we have:  our life; our knowledge; our strengths; our health; our possessions . . . .  everything we have is made possible by our Heavenly Father.  Give Him thanks and show Him love on a daily basis.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican 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 15th, 2021

 Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 15th, 2021

I recently read a post on social media about a wonderful restaurant that I remember growing up.  And hearing about this restaurant from long ago brought back so many wonderful memories.  And the person wrote that after the original owner died, the restaurant was left to the children and they, in essence, did not want to do anything with the restaurant so they closed it.   Hearing that it was closed down  that way because the kids did not want to deal with the restaurant got me kind of depressed.  But it happens sometimes, doesn't it?  And it's not just restaurants.  Have you ever been given something that you never put to use?  Perhaps you received something as a gift and never made use of it and the item goes to waste sitting up on a shelf gathering dust.  Sometimes we make good use of something that is given to us and sometimes it goes to waste and we don't make use of the item.  In his first epistle which he wrote to the Corinthians, St Paul writes:  "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received" (I Corinthians 15:3)    St. Paul certainly made good use of what he received.  He is telling the church at Corinth that which he received  " .. . . Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures " (vv 3-4)  As Christians, we need to pass along that which was given to us.  We need to pass along the Good News.  We need to tell people about God.  We need to share with folks what Our Blessed Saviour has done for us.  We need to pass along the blessings which we have received and bless others around us.  We need to share our testimony not only through the words which we speak but also through the way in which we live our lives.  So many blessings are bestowed upon us by Our Heavenly Father throughout our lifetime.  First and foremost, the wonderful gift of Salvation, freely bestowed, is offered to each and everyone of us.  And sadly so many people ignore this free gift and do not make use of it.  Don't ignore God's blessings.  Please do not miss out on receiving God's grace because you are too busy chasing after earthly riches and treasures.  The Salvation which God offers is the most wonderful gift we will ever receive.  Make use of it.  Don't let it go to waste.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican 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 8th, 2021

 Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 8th, 2021

"And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, . . . " (St. Luke 19:41)  St. Luke describes for us Our Lord's reaction as He travels towards Jerusalem.    If we continue on in this chapter, St. Luke relates the words of Our Lord concerning Jerusalem:  "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes."  (St. Luke 19:42)  If thou had known . .  . . If thou had only known .  .  . .  I have no doubt that we have each had the occasion to interact with someone and just shake our head because we know, we just know that this person is headed for trouble.  They are on a pathway to destruction in their life.  It's mostly due to the choices they have made in their life, quite frankly.   And sometimes we just shake our head in disbelief because we know exactly where these poor choices will lead to.  And if the person in question is someone you love dearly:  a son, . . . a daughter, . . . a good friend,  . . .  you may have the same reaction as did Our Blessed Lord:  you weep over them.  You weep because you know there is nothing you can do.  You weep because in your heart you see the person you love on a pathway to destruction and you feel helpless to stop them.  I dare say this is why Our Lord wept.  Yes, Our Lord describes the destruction of Jerusalem which was certainly a sad event.  But I think it was more than that.  

When you think about it, St. Luke describes a profound event for us.  The tears of Our Blessed Saviour are indeed the tears of God.  God is crying because He knows that despite His best efforts, there will be many men and women in Jerusalem and beyond those city gates that will persist in going against the will of God.  Our Lord weeps because He sees people more focused on doing their own will than doing the will of our Heavenly Father.  Our Lord weeps because He sees all the needless pain, suffering and agony throughout the generations that human beings will heap upon themselves.  "If thou hadst known . . . .  "   God sent His Son into the world for one ultimate purpose.  This is why we hear Our Lord quoted throughout the gospels when He said:  "My time is not yet come."  He, of course, was referring to when He died that cruel death on the Cross.  When He suffered the pain and the agony of that cruel death, He suffered it for you and me.  He endured that pain and agony for all men and women throughout the ages.  He did it because He knew that you and I could never have the capacity to do what He did.  He bore our sins on His shoulders that fateful day.  And in so doing, Our Lord defeated sin once and for all.  Our Lord died on the Cross to save us from our sins.  And He rose again from the dead to lead the way to new life . . . . eternal life for us spent in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  And yet Our Lord knew that countless souls, despite His best efforts to save us from our sins, would still persist in their foolish ways.  This, I dare say, is why Our Lord wept.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican 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.  

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.

Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 1st, 2021

 Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 1st, 2021

In the story that has come to be best known as the "Prodigal Son," Our Blessed Lord tells the story of the son who wanted to have things his own way and he wanted to enjoy his father's inheritance even before the father had died!  But, to make a long story short, after a while the son realized that "living life in the fast lane" really was not what he thought it would be like and he came to his senses.  St. Luke describes the thoughts of the son when he came to this realization:  "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants."  (St. Luke 15:19)

First and foremost, it is us who have to first realize that we are in need of God and also that we are ready to seek God.  So often in our life, we may very well acknowledge that there is a problem but we may still ignore the problem and refuse to do anything about it.  In that sense, the key is not recognizing that there is a problem.  That is certainly the start.  The real key is to recognize that there is a problem and then do something about it.  This is what the son did.  He recognized that he had made a mistake and he chose to remedy the problem by going back to his father in humility and to ask for forgiveness.  

The most wonderful part of the parable is yet to come, though.  Our Blessed Lord continues the parable by telling what happens next:  "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."  

This is how it is for us when we come to God.  It is God Who reaches out to us.  It is God Who searches for us.  It is God Who goes over and beyond for us.  Recognizing that we have a problem is only part of the solution.  The other half is once we realize that we have a problem, is to seek out the can truly fix the problem.  And without a doubt the One Who can fix every problem is Our Heavenly Father.  Come to your senses, and go to Him.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican 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.  

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.

Feast of Saint James the Apostle, July 25th, 2021

 Feast of Saint James the Apostle, July 25th, 2021

In the Twentieth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we read about the time in which the mother of St. James and St. John approached Our Lord on behalf of her sons.  The thing which she desired was that her sons would sit, one on the left and one on the right, alongside Our Blessed Saviour in Heaven.  She asked:  "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom"  (St. Matthew 20:21)  Our Lord quickly explained that who sits on His right and His left is not determined by Him but by His Heavenly Father.  Unfortunately, simply asking the question stirred up a hornet's nest among the rest of the Apostles.  St. Matthew writes that they were "moved with indignation against the two brethren."  (St. Matthew 20:24)   Now, of course the reason the other Apostles were "moved with indignation" was probably because they most certainly had desires of their own to be at the front of the line, so to speak.     Let's face it, human nature being what it is, all of us want to ultimately rise to the top.  We enjoy being the smartest in our class or getting the best grade on a test.   We enjoy working our way up the corporate ladder, so to speak, and get recognized as leaders where we work.  We enjoy the attention we are given in regards to how we look or how we dress.  We like to stand out or stand above the rest.   We enjoy being recognized for our accomplishments.    As Christians, it should not be our objective to be above other people.  But we always have to keep in mind that Our Blessed Saviour preaches not only in word but in action.  Our Blessed Saviour not only tells us how we should live our life, He shows us how we should live our life.   Our Blessed Saviour came not to be served but He came to serve.  "  . . . the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister  . . . . . " (St. Matthew 20:28)  This is the model which we should follow.  A good way to develop this mindset is to think of others first.  So often we think of ourselves first.  We want our needs and desires satisfied first.  We want our feelings thought of first before anyone else.  We want what we want now!   And everyone else can wait.  As I stated, Our Blessed Saviour not only preaches in words, He preaches through His actions as well.  He not only talks the talk, He walks the walk.  And all we have to do is read throughout the Gospels to read how Our Lord lived His life.  He lived His life serving others.  Our Lord came to serve and not to be served.  Let us never forget this fact.   Do you want to be like Christ?  Then start thinking of other people first.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican 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.  

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.

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 18th, 2021

 Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 18th, 2021

When I speak to the young men that I work with in the juvenile prison where I work as a counselor, I very often emphasize to them to recognize the importance of people who have "unconditional love" for us.  In other words, as I point out to them, most of the people that they would consider their "friends" basically only use them.  Whereas someone who has unconditional love only wants the best for you.  Isn't this true, though, in general?  When we are young don't we gravitate to people who we think are "cool."  We judge our friends based on what clothing they wear.  Do they wear the latest style?  Do they have expensive tennis shoes or cheap ones?  Who do they listen to musically?  Do they throw really great parties?  The list goes on and on.  I try to emphasize to these young men that the people that they are drawn to, the friends that they gravitate to are more than likely not good for them.  These so-called friends do not show unconditional love because they do not want the best for them.  They only want to use them, to abuse them, to drag them down to their level.  And yet so often these young men just keep repeating the same mistake over and over again when it comes to their choice of friends.  In the Sixth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul does his very best to let everyone know how great a gift we have been offered by Our Heavenly Father.  And yet St. Paul wants everyone to understand the importance of what God offers to each one of us:  to be a son or daughter of Our Heavenly Father.   But he realizes that instead of focusing on this great gift, so many people continue to focus on sinful behaviors, sinful temptations, lusts, anger, hatred, jealousy, etc.  St. Paul is frustrated that we keep reverting back to our human nature instead of focusing on the fact that we are the sons and daughters of the Most High!   In other words, we need to remind ourselves on a daily basis that we belong to God and NOT to the world.  "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"   (Romans 6:23)  We need to constantly be aware of the fact that the world does us no favors.  The world . . . .  and those in the world . . .  only use us and abuse us.  They do not want the best for us.  God, Our Heavenly Father wants the best for us.  That is why He sent His Son into the world to save us.  That is why the Son of God died on the Cross so that we could be saved from the punishment that we deserved.  But God offers life!  Eternal life!  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican 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.  

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.

HELP WANTED! YOU CAN HELP!

 For those of you in Indianapolis . . . or in Central Indiana, for that matter . . . .

Are you looking for a church that helps to draw you closer to God?

Are you looking for a church where you can hear the Word of God?

Are you looking for a church where you can worship God in a meaningful way?

Are you looking for a church where you know you are in the company of fellow believers who encourage you, help you, pray with you and travel alongside of you?

Are you looking for a church where you can receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour in Holy Communion?

Are you looking for a church where you are more than a just another person . . . where the members know you . . . where they love you . . . where they care for you?

Are you looking for a church where you will be an important member and one who makes a difference?

Are you looking for a church where God will be speaking to you through: the Bible . . . the Liturgy . . . the Preaching . . . and, yes, even through other members?

Are you looking for a church that combines old fashioned Christian values with love and respect?

Are you looking for a church where you can show love back to the God Who first showed love to us?

Then let me tell you about my church.

St. Margaret of Scotland Church is just such a church. We have traditional liturgy where we listen to the Word of God and hear God speaking to us directly in the preaching. Our liturgy allows us to separate ourselves from the "busy-ness" of our fast-paced world and dedicate that hour to Our Heavenly Father. We step aside from the "ordinary" and step into the "extra-ordinary" of God. We use the King James Version of the Bible. We use prayers from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. And, finally, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time so that He can nourish us . . . sustain us . . . fortify us for the journey called "Life."

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then please make a point to come and visit us. St. Margaret meets every Sunday morning at 10:30 am. We gather together as God’s Family at the beautiful Chapel at Marqutte Manor located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Come join us and let God revitalize you . . . let God encourage you . . . let God speak to your heart. Make a difference in your life and the life of others.

St. Margaret Church: A traditional church for a new generation.