The Bible in Time...

Dear Friends, Grace and peace from our loving God. Let us pray … O God, the giver to us of all things, I thank you today for home, family, air, health, less pain, reasonable weather,  the love between people, and siblings bound together by your love. Be with those today who have lost a loved one or business colleague through suicide. Be in their presence as they weep and mourn. May they find comfort in you and move to joy in living … For all these things and the things you know we need, we thank you, Eternal Giver of Life. Amen dwe Today’s Parable - The Two Debtors / Luke 7:41-43 [See Snodgrass, pp. 77 - 92 and Kendall, pp. 113- 121.] Thoughts - As one who is blessed to carry too much debt,  these parables on debtors strike home for me. The context of Luke 7 where Jesus shares the story teaching is - Jesus ran into a Roman military officer who’s faith stuns Jesus  Jesus raises a son from the dead John sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the One? Jesus point...

https://www.dreamstime.com/ancient-celtic-cross-overlooking-achill-sound-mountain-background-situated-old-church-st-image126979165 Saint Patrick's Breastplate I bind unto myself today The strong name of the Trinity, The invocation of the same, The three in one and the one in three. I bind this day to me forever, By the power of Faith, Christ's Incarnation; His baptism in the Jordan River; His death on the cross for my salvation;  His bursting from the spiced tomb; His writing up the Heavenly way  His coming at the day of doom; I bind unto myself today. I bind them to myself the power The great love of the Cherubim; The sweet ‘well done’ in the judgment hour;  The sweet service of the Serafin, Confessors' Faith, Apostles’ word, The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets’ scrolls. All good deeds done unto the Lord,  And the purity of virgin souls. I bind unto myself today The virtues of the starlit Heaven, The glorious sun’s life-giving rays, The whiteness of the moon at ev...

Dear Friends, Grace and peace from our loving God. Let us pray … Kindle in our hearts, O God, the flame of love that never ceases, that it may burn in us, giving light to others. May we shine forever in your temple, raging set on fire with your eternal light, even your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. Amen A Celtic Liturgy - Morning Prayer, p. 21;  Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2008, ed. Today’s Parable - Wineskins / Luke 5:37 Jesus in this scene is having a party with known sinners after the conversion of a tax collector. Some religious people are critical of this action. They point to the disciples of John the Baptist and whose piety is fasting and prayer and why is Jesus not doing it their way. Kendall points to this parable of Jesus as a calling of established and mature religious people to create themselves as new wineskins for new wine. (If you put new wine in old wineskins, it will explode because of fermentation.) The Holy Spirit constantly inspires...

Dear Friends, Grace and peace from our loving God. Let us pray … Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer - Proper 23-Year C - Lectionarypage.net I would ask you to read the parable about this parable in Matthew 13:51-52 Jesus is teaching his disciples about the study of the Scriptures and the great treasure that it yields in its prayer and study. The study of the Bible will deepen faith and relationship with God. One of my favorite prayers comes from Proper 28 in the Book of Common Prayer: Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns...

  Dear Friends, Grace and peace from our loving God. Let us pray … May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my defender. Psalm 19:4 - God’s Word Translation - Biblegateway.com I would ask you to read the parable about the Net from Matthew 13:47-50   (Refer to Snodgrass and Kendall).  I am always troubled by Jesus' sayings about the end times, the second coming, or the rapture. I don’t like the exclusivity of some being “in” and some being “out.” This got me thinking about what Jesus says in this parable. Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a net of fish and there is a separation of good ones from the bad. Yes, there are bad and evil people in the world. A friend of mine has asked me to read a book about the rapture, tribulation, and rule of Christ, etc., it was exhaustive.  Will Christ come again? Of, course! I am fortunate to be a person of faith for most of my life. I was caught in the net. Through ...

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 Great Sermons I have heard recently ... About Prayer  Sermon by the Rev. Canon Leonard Hamlin, Sr. Washington National Cathedral, District of Columbia, USA Sunday, July 24, 2022 Sermon By the Rev. Canon Linda Potter Trinity Cathedral, Portland, Oregon, USA Sunday, August 14, 2022 Podcast Sermon by the Very Rev. Randy Hollerith Washington National Cathedral, District of Columbia, USA Sunday, August 14, 2022 Sermon by the Rev. Alfredo Feregrim, Associate Rector and Director of Congregational Development and Welcome All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena, California, USA Sunday, August 14, 2022     The sermon begins at 18:20 in worship and ends at 36:56 Let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you,  O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen

Parables - The Pearl   Dear Friends, Grace and peace from our loving God. Let us pray … O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer -  Lectionary Page I would ask you to read the Pearl parable from Matthew 13:45-46 (Refer to Snodgrass and Kendall).  I am always fascinated by how Jesus uses so few words to describe a concept about faith. In the God’s Word translation, Jesus uses 31 words to describe what the Kingdom of God is like and how we could respond. We have a jeweler who finds the most perfect pearl, did not react to anyone but went and sold all that he had and bought the pearl. The Kingdom of God is: The most perfect thing ...