231029 AOC Sunday Report

Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide Communion

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity Sunday Report

Today was the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity Sunday as the Endless Green Season marches on!

On Point

Someone asked, where do the quotes come from? The answer is from the people who uttered them. But, how did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, many from Rev Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, but overall mostly from Bryan. He always has some great ones to share. On to the On Point quotes –

You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.

Ayn Rand

What happens when you erase history and ignore facts and thus refuse to learn from same? You get to do it again, quite-probably with disastrous consequence.

Karl Denninger

20^th and 21^st century American entrepreneur and author

He who controls the past, controls the future; and he who controls the present, controls the past.

George Orwell

1984

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of the assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

Isaiah 1:13

When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name…

Luke 11:2

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1

All of God’s plans have the mark of the cross on them, and all his plans have death to self in them. All of God’s plans have crucifixion to the world in them. But men’s plans either ignore the offense of the cross or despise it. Men’s plans have no profound, stern, or sacrificial denial in them. Their gain is of the world. How many of these destructive elements does the Devil bring into the church, until all the holy aims and heavenly purposes of the church are retired and forgotten?

EM Bounds

19^th and 20^th century American Christian pastor and author

Guide to Spiritual Warfare, p. 52

Propers

Each Sunday there are Propers: special prayers and readings from the Bible. There is a Collect for the Day; that is a single thought prayer, most written either before the re-founding of the Church of England in the 1540s or written by Bishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of Canterbury after the re-founding.

The Anglican Church, being founded on the principal of one nation, one church, holds patriotism and true love of country in great regard. It is quite interesting the majority of the Founding Fathers were members of the Church of England and transferred their national church identity to what became the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. Like Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer, they saw the need for a national church. Not a captive arm of the government, but a link to God for the people of the nation.

The Collect for the Day is to be read on Sunday and during Morning and Evening Prayer until the next Sunday. The Epistle is normally a reading from one of the various Epistles, or letters, in the New Testament. The Gospel is a reading from one of the Holy Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Collect is said by the minister as a prayer, the Epistle can be read by either a designated reader (as we do in our church) or by one of the ministers and the Holy Gospel, which during the service in our church is read by the minister or in the case of Morning or Evening Prayer without a minister by the senior member present.

The propers are the same each year, except if a Red Letter Feast, that is one with propers in the prayerbook, falls on a Sunday, then those propers are to be read instead, except in a White Season, where it is put off. Red Letter Feasts, so called because in the Altar Prayerbooks the titles are in red, are special days. Most of the Red Letter Feasts are dedicated to early saints instrumental in the development of the church, others to special events. Some days are particularly special and the Collect for that day is to be used for an octave (eight days) or an entire season, like Advent or Lent.

The Propers for today are found on Page 218-220, with the Collect first:

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

The Collect.

RANT, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle for this morning came from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, the Sixth Chapter, beginning at the Tenth Verse. In these passages, Paul gives his clearest definition of the spiritual war between the forces of Satan and those who would follow God. It not only assures us that there is a spiritual war, but it warns us that apart from utilizing the weapons which God has provided for us, we are hopelessly underpowered. This passage tells us what our divine weapons are. Beyond this, these weapons imply the nature of the struggle which we are in. The weapons which God has provided for us are those weapons which best repel the attacks of Satan, and thus we can learn a great deal about the nature of Satan’s opposition from simply considering each of the weapons at our disposal.

After a consideration of the war in general, we will then proceed to examine in more detail each of the weapons Paul mentions, and the offensive strategy of Satan which they imply. May God give us open hearts and minds to understand the spiritual war, and the means which He has provided for our defense.

Y brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

The Holy Gospel came from the Fourth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. John beginning at the Forty-Sixth Verse. This is a telling of the story of the healing of a Jewish nobleman’s son Capernaum through the faith of his father. When the man came to him asking for help, he responded as he often did to Jews, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” The man persisted and because Jesus saw faith in him, he said, focusing his attention on faith in God, “Go thy way; thy son liveth” or “Be on your way. Your son is alive.” In other words: “Do not worry. My Word can heal your son at a distance.” The boy was healed in the very instant when Jesus spoke the Word. The father believed this Word. So did his household, wife, children and servants. More than one person was healed on that occasion.

This miracle shares characteristics with the previous healing of the Centurion’s son:

Jesus has just come back to Galilee.
Someone comes to him with a request.
Indirectly Jesus seems to refuse at first.
The person persists.
Jesus grants the request.
This leads another group of people (his disciples, the nobleman’s household) to believe in him.

Note the necessity of trusting in Jesus as the giver of life. Of the text, Luther wrote: “Although the Lord performed miracles and signs to make Himself known and to lead people to faith in Him, the underlying purpose was to focus their attention on the Word rather than on the signs which served merely to attest the truth of His testimony. Faith must rest on the Word of God.” Another Lutheran theologian wrote: “In affliction faith is practiced and chastened. If a person does not see, taste and experience the help and grace of the Lord, then that person learns to trust the Word and nothing but the Word. That is the true faith, trusting the Lord for its own sake. Such faith comes not from flesh and blood. It’s the Lord to which faith clings. That almighty Word works faith.”

Jesus led this nobleman from a “miracle” faith to a true faith in His Word. He does this to us also.

“Be on your way. Your son lives.” This Word of Jesus was not only a prophecy. It had the power to heal the sick boy. And this Word took the nobleman’s worries away.

HERE was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judæa into Galilee.

Bishop Ogles’ Sermon

We are oft fortunate to get copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes. Today is one of those Sundays. Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always, it will give you a lot to consider in your heart.

Sermon Notes

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

Offense, Defense and Trust

Anglican Orthodox Communion of Churches Worldwide

29 October 2023, Anno Domini

EACE I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

The Collect.

The Collect

The Collect today makes one salient point concerning true peace – it cannot be had without the pardon extended to the believers of Christ. True peace, too, cannot be measured by the external physical self, but by that peace that abides in the inner soul. The heart is the Sovereign of the soul and, if it knows the peace of God, nothing else matters. A pretended peace only exists in the outward form of our conduct. Such peace cannot be purchased at any cost except that enormous cost paid by our Lord at Golgotha’s brow. It is a gift of grace conveyed by faith in God.

This Collect is the last to be taken from the Sacramentary of Gelasius to be used by Cranmer in the Book of Common Prayer. The Archbishop made only one notable change in substituting the word ‘pardon’ in the place of ‘indulgence.’ Being a man mindful of those ‘acquired’ meanings which words can take upon themselves that differ from the original through practical use. Indulgence was too closely related to a repugnant and erroneous means Rome used to squeeze money from her adherents.

The Epistle

Ephesians vi. 10.

Y brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

In the Epistle, Paul claims the office of an ambassador though it be one in bonds. We are all ambassadors of Christ in the bonds of love to Him and to our fellows. In the Epistle, Paul postulates the perimeters of assured peace in three categories:

Power

Paul counsels us to … , be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. All power comes from on High. But being soldiers of the cross, we must carry on with the commissions granted to us by our Lord. That whole armor of God is not a passive defense, but both a defense and an offense necessary to prosecute the war that must exist between His people and those of the Serpent until the sky be rolled back as a scroll. That war is not a killing field, but one of salvation. Though we suffer injuries and even death, we must prevail on the field of strife until the truth is trumpeted in all four quarters of the earth.

Protection

Firstly, protection of the Camp of the Saints requires that we STAND watch on the ramparts ever ready for the enemies onslaught. Secondly, we must WITHSTAND the assaults and counter-attacks of the enemy to drive that old Serpent from the misappropriated lands he has falsely claimed. This part of our battle is offensive. We must never surrender a single plot of real estate to that hateful usurper. We are protected by our spiritual armor, but the battle belongs to the Lord. God is a Man of War and our Lord is the Captain of the Host of Israel – that is, all who have believed in that promise made to Abraham of a Redeemer regardless of race or tongue.

Prayer

The last of the three components of PEACE is PRAYER. Prayer is the logistical support that, even though unnoticed in the rear echelon of the army, provides the sustenance for our field army to maneuver and prosecute the battle. Our support must be constant therefore, our prayers must be habitual and regular. It also constitutes our communications to Higher Headquarters. We must forever be willing to abide by the marching orders of our Commander and never launch out on our own volition in this war.

The Holy Gospel

John 4:46-54

O Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine; And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. 54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

There is a salient lesson on love and faith in this text. First, we should observe the power of God is not limited by space or distance. Love is one force which grows even stronger at a distance – the only such force of which I am aware that does.

The Nobleman makes a journey of sorrow at the near death of his beloved son. Though he travels in sorrow, his steps are tempered with a great faith. He knows that Christ can heal his son, but there are some variables involved. His journey was one of a couple of days journey from Capernaum. His weary mind must have been tortured with the consideration that his son might die before the Lord has time to return with him to heal the boy. But when all possibilities of man fail, the only resource is prayer and faith – so the nobleman continues his journey. The more we love, the more possibilities we have to lose the object of our love. The greater love marks a greater sorrow in the loss.

The nobleman seems to have gained his measure of faith by word of mouth concerning the divine character of our Lord. He presumes that Jesus must come to the place where the son lies dying in order to heal him. But, like Elisha and Naaman of 2 Kings 5, the power of God to heal knows no geographical limitations. Quite often, we may feel deserted by God when, in actuality, He is more closely beside us than at times of ease and joy. We may, as Mary Magdalene, mistake Him for some other, but it is He that can only call our name in a way that no other can do.

Jesus knows the faith of the nobleman’s heart, but desires to reveal that faith to all around Him. So, he says to the nobleman, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. Jesus said that to expose the false notions of false professors that faith can only be realized through ‘signs and wonders.’ The latter Has been responsible for the deception of millions in megachurches where signs and wonders are promised to those with itching ears. In the end, the only faith that matters in that of the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of our Redeemer on our own behalf. 29 This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. 30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30) If you are under the misconception that our present generation is not an evil and adulterous generation, consider what is happening with great regularity on the streets and in the dark chambers of America today, or the ruthless and inhumane excursion of Hamas into southern Israel.

The nobleman did not completely understand the response of Christ, so he pressed his petition: The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. When Jesus assured the man that his son would live, there were no further questions from the nobleman. He accepted the Lord’s assurance at the face level of faith: Go thy way; thy son liveth.

No longer was his journey home a journey of sorrow, but one of expectant hope. His faith was enhanced by the assurance of Christ. That journey would end in one of peace when the servant of the nobleman met him some distance on the journey to assure him that the son was recovered. To reinforce his faith, the nobleman inquired of the exact time of the recovery. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

Every prayer that originates in true faith is answered by the Lord – either yes or no, depending on what the Lord considers best for us. The great lesson of this Gospel Text is that God is just as near us in Heaven today as He was in the company of the nobleman on the way. The communications of the petitioner to God are never severed except by the absence of faith, or the regard for iniquity in the heart of the petitioner. There is no distance with God who is wholly present in all His Creation – even at our very sides as we worship at this moment.

Sermon – Bishop Jack Arnold

Anglican Orthodox Church of the United States

Diocese of the West

Church of the Faithful Centurion – Descanso, California

Bp Jack brings the Propers together today and can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/STLJ3NI7128

Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply diction.

Consider these words from the Collect:

… Grant … thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind …

We ask God to pardon our sins so we might serve Him with peace of mind and do His Work without having to worry about our fate. It is good to have a clear mind when you go into battle, to be free of worry that you might do your best. You do not want a foggy mind while performing an action that requires your best concentration, so that is what we are asking from Him. To give us clarity of mind that we might do what is right.

We need His pardon and peace to cleanse us from our sins, to enable us to have a mind that is quiet and focused on doing His will. With all the horrible things that go on this world daily, we are in need of a quiet mind. In order to serve Him well during all of these trials and tribulations that occur during our lives, it is a requirement that we have a quiet and focused mind. In order to have the quiet and focused mind, we need to ask Him to send the Holy Ghost into our hearts, souls and minds that we might have the quietness and focus we need instilled in our minds to do the tasks that He gives us.

When we mention peace, it is a very different concept from what people in this world think of it. The world’s idea of peace seems to ebb and flow with the ages and their concept of peace differs radically from what God’s peace is. They do not have the constant, unyielding, unchanging standard of God to follow so they are all over the place. The peace God gives us is the calmness and stability in our soul when the world is crumbling around or even on us. While the world is flailing about every which way we are secure in the knowledge we are following the ultimate form of goodness, God Himself. It is the surety that no matter what happens this life, as long as we do what God asks, our souls will be safe in the next life. This will give us a calm of mind that the world is incapable of giving as they do not know the peace of God and the Holy Spirit.

It is that peace of mind and soul that comes from knowing when we die, we will be with God and Jesus and enjoying eternity with them. It helps us to know this is only a transitory phase. This is only temporary way point on our way to heaven. And if we let it, this peace will take the place of worry. This can be easier said than done, but if we let the Holy Ghost into our hearts, we will find our worries will disappear quickly. The peace gives you the confidence to perform actions, even in difficult and very trying circumstances. Once again, action, not diction, is paramount.

Not everyone will accept it though, even though all should accept the offered gift, it does not mean they will. And those that do accept may not accept right away. It may take time for the seed of the Holy Ghost to germinate and bear fruit in the hearts of some of the more worldly people. As our fallen nature attests, we are not instantly transformed into a different person overnight, but rather thorough many days, weeks and years of practicing Christian beliefs, through reading Scripture and being around other believers. The transformation happens in a gradual process, that continues all of our lives. With some of the non-believers we encounter in our live this might occur, the seed we plant may germinate in time to bring them to Christ.

Paul gives his clearest definition of the spiritual war between the forces of Satan and those who would follow God. It not only assures us that there is a spiritual war, but it warns us that apart from utilizing the weapons which God has provided for us, we are hopelessly underpowered. He also clearly identifies that our enemies will not just be acting within the spiritual realm , they will be also acting in this world in high positions and places and poised to make our lives difficult. This passage tells us what our divine weapons are. Now that we know our weapons and the nature of this spiritual battle, what are we to do? We are clearly commanded to take an offensive role, to go where the battle is. We are not called to be at the rear, but on the front lines, in this spiritual battle. With the help of the Holy Ghost, we should be using our tongues boldly as St. Paul says, to spread the Gospel. Being bold does not mean we are to be rude or cruelly shouting down the opposition in preaching the Gospel, but it does not mean we are to be timid about it. We must preach it with the great conviction that the Holy Ghost will provide us if we will let Him In.

In order to boldly preach the truth of the Gospel throughout the world, we must not worry ourselves with what the world will think. For what the world will think is not as important as what God thinks. We will do our actions and say the truth with clarity and confidence. That is what it means to preach the Word boldly.

The Word spreads “by word of mouth” and by action. It does not spread by mouth alone! There needs to be work backing up those good words. Your mouth, your actions!

Speaking of actions, Winston Churchill said, “Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”[1]

Churchill was not the first. God wants us to persist. Consider the case of the nobleman of Capernaum. The man asked Jesus for help for his son. Jesus did not immediately grant the request as He needed the man to persist to make a point for those around him. He responded as he often did to Jews, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The man persisted and because Jesus saw faith in him, he said, focusing his attention on faith in God, Go thy way; thy son liveth or “Be on your way. Your son is alive.” In other words: “Do not worry. My Word will heal your son no matter the distance.” The boy was healed in the very instant when Jesus spoke the Word. The father believed this Word. So did his household, wife, children and servants. More than one person was healed on that occasion.

This miracle shares characteristics with the previous healing of the Centurion’s son:

Jesus has just come back to Galilee.
Someone comes to him with a request.
Indirectly Jesus seems to refuse at first.
The person persists.
Jesus grants the request.
This leads another group of people (his disciples, the nobleman’s household) to believe in him.

Note the necessity of trusting in Jesus as the giver of life. Jesus led this nobleman from a “miracle” faith to a true faith in His Word. He does this to us also, but only if we will let Him into our hearts and guide us there.

“Be on your way. Your son lives.” This Word of Jesus was not only a prophecy. It had the power to heal the sick boy. And this Word took the nobleman’s worries away. As it will take ours away if we will let it.

As we see in the Gospel, persistence is a very important part of the Christian life, it helps build our character in bad times, and also in good as well. Persistence is what fuels us in our day to day physical and spiritual lives. Persistence is a very important character trait to have as a Christian. Persistence is what fuels us through times of trial and tribulation and helps give us the strength to carry on when all seems lost here on Earth. For we know not all is lost for in the end we know God wins. With this knowledge we can persist and do our part to improve our corner of the world. The more we open ourselves up to Him, the more persistent we will become as we embody more and more of His characteristics. Persistence will help us greatly in our character development and will help strengthen us spiritually.

Consider also that God, through our Lord, offers forgiveness. Forgiveness lets you restart your life, regain your foothold, strengthen your soul. If you accept the forgiveness and go forward you can do great things. If you will not, and likewise you will not forgive, you will be bound by the prince of this world and doomed to failure. You will never attain the greatness of which you are capable with God’s grace and help.

Do what is right, I would say no matter if there is no one looking; but He is always looking. It is not that hard. Believe, take His help, act on the belief you profess, never ever give up.

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail. The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?

The time to act is NOW. Will you act? For whom will you act? Will you count the cost before you act?

Action, not diction, is what counts. It is by your actions you are known.

Be of God – Live of God – Act of God

Roy Morales-Kuhn, Bishop and Pastor – St. Paul’s Anglican Church – Anglican Orthodox Church

Bishop Roy is pastor of the biggest AOC parish West of the Mississippi and is in charge of the Diocese of the Midwest and the Epiphany, as well as Spain, Central and South America. He is also the Suffragan Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide.

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

A Quiet Mind

29 October 2023, AD

Psalm 91 • 2 Kings 6:8-23 • Romans 4:1-8

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

The Collect.

Have you noticed the prevailing theme running through the Old and New Testament?

That theme being peace/calm/refuge/quiet. We even read of the “quiet mind” in the collect for today. Yes, we read of at least four themes in our scripture for today, but they are really about the same concept.

That is the lack of chaos, the lack of fear, the lack of peace.

In each concept we can connect it back to the broad theme of peace. Time and again, we are reminded of the “peace that passes understanding”.

We are reminded this is God’s peace, it cannot be purchased, manufactured, or invented; it is God’s alone to dispense. He alone has the power to create that peace within us, which He does in many different ways.

We are to pray for that peace. We are to seek that peace by feeding upon the Word of God daily.

If we look at Psalm 91 we can find these concepts illustrated in a number of verses there. (1-2)

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Great security is promised to believers in the midst of danger. Wisdom shall keep them from being afraid without cause, and faith shall keep them from being unduly afraid.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

In verses 3 and 4 of this psalm we read God will protect us from the fowler (Satan) and from the poisonous influences of sin. This deliverance is compared to what a mother hen does for her chicks when they are in danger. She hides them under her wings. And most importantly the truth of the Lord will be the defense and protection against these dangers.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

So how does this all depict peace/security/calm/refuge/quiet?

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Notice several things here in these three verses.

The Lord, who is most High, is my refuge.

No evil shall befall thee nor plague come close to your dwelling. He gives his angels charge over you, to keep you safe in the ways of the Lord.

But now an important caveat: There must be a careful balance here, that is to not go “medieval” and begin to ascribe certain behaviors and circumstances to activity of angels.

There was a fairly large belief system, some still around today, that angels were to be invoked for protection. To the belief that angels are to be prayed to for said protection.

This is the farthest from the truth as we read the Word.

Every time there was an encounter with an angel the specific job was made clear. An angel was to bring a message of hope, a warning of danger, or a promise of Godly retribution.

The angel would never require subservience. Several instances where a prophet or apostle would report on the appearance of an angel, they would fall down on their knees at that appearance. The angel would immediately tell them to get up, “I am created as you are…”. In other words, we are not to worship angels. They are created by God, for specific tasks, but never to be worshiped.

Now that being said, we also will find in the scripture, reports of angels who protect. In this particular psalm, in the case of the Syrian army surrounding the prophet Elisha, as well as other places in the Bible, we can find instances of angelic presence for the specific task of protection.

In other words, “Guardian Angels”. That is their task, they are to protect God’s own, to make sure we are able to do what the Lord wants us to do before we are finished with that mission here on earth. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befall, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the meantime be with him in trouble. The Lord will manage all his worldly concerns, and preserve his life on earth, so long as it shall be good for him. For encouragement in this he looks unto Jesus. He shall live long enough; till he has done the work he was sent into this world for, and is ready for heaven. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him? A man may die young, yet be satisfied with living. But a wicked man is not satisfied even with long life. At length the believer’s conflict ends; he has done for ever with trouble, sin, and temptation.

And so today let us look forward to what God has promised us in the Word. He will protect us, He will shield us from spiritual harm, He will take care of us here until our job is complete. Then He will gather us to His heaven where we will be in perfect peace. What a promise to be given. May God richly bless you and keep you in this week to come.

Let us pray:

N THEE, O Lord, have I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion; deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me: make haste to deliver me. And be thou my strong rock, and house of defence: that thou mayest save me. For thou art my strong rock, and my castle: be thou also my guide, and lead me for thy Name’s sake. Draw me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. Into thy hands I commend my spirit: for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. Amen.

IVE us light in the night season, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and grant that our rest may be without sin, and our waking to Thy service; that we may come in peace and safety to the waking of the great day; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

✟

Rev Bryan Dabney of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon

The Steel Minister is back from his quadruple bypass surgery on 6 July 2023!

We are fortunate to have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, espouse the truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I commend it to your careful reading.

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

Arguably, one of the greatest achievements of Western Civilization was the development of the printing press. That invention made it possible to produce books and other documents in a much shorter time and at a much lower cost. Principally, the printing press increased the availability of the Holy Bible as it was the book that most people wanted to read for themselves. When the people— both small and great— gained access to the written word of God in their native tongues, both the people as individuals as well as the whole of western society was transformed. It was one thing to hear a selected Bible text presented by a minister in a foreign tongue, but it was something else again for a person to actually read the words of God in one’s own language.

So when people began reading the Bible for themselves in their own language, and came to understand its truths, many were distressed to find that the doctrines which they had been taught by the Medieval Church were in many cases different from those found within the pages of Holy Scripture. It was, therefore, not uncommon for them to question their ministers about the things they had read much to the disapproval of the church’s hierarchy. But instead of coming to terms with the word of God and reordering and reforming the church to conform to the Bible, the clergy-leadership sought to punish all who questioned its teachings and its handling of God’s word written. And so the Protestant Reformation came about as people across Europe sought the liberty to worship the Godhead as the saw fit, as well as the security to believe what they had discovered in God’s word written.

Bishop John Charles Ryle once observed, “There were three great doctrines, or principles, which won the battle of the Protestant Reformation… the sufficiency of the Holy Scripture, the right of private judgment and justification by faith …” Look again at the words of our epistle lesson, wherein we read, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

As a child, I was taught the value of the Scriptures. Part of that teaching included an understanding of the Bible as, a quick, and powerful two-edge sword because it is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Throughout the Bible, God used the sword for the purposes of deterrence and judgment as well as to divide people either into groups or individually. In Genesis 3:24, we are told that the LORD placed Cherubims and a flaming sword in the Garden of Eden to keep the way of the tree of life. God did not want mortal man eating of its fruit and becoming as it were, “immoral immortals.” In Exodus 32, Moses directed the faithful of the Levites to slay with the sword the wicked out of the people who had worshiped the Golden Calf. God thus used the sword as a tool to punish offenders and to remind those who were not as inclined toward evil to avoid it and live.

In Jeremiah 14:11-12, the LORD said to the prophet, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. In this passage, the use of the sword was one of three means that God would employ to punish the refuseniks of his people. In an earlier chapter, the prophet was given the following admonition: Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD… And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you (Jeremiah 11:8, 12). God has always been deadly serious about sin and after a time of chastening, should that fail, then he will employ such means to remove the sinful if they would not turn unto him and be cleansed.

Another use of the sword is described by our Lord Jesus Christ when he warned his disciples to, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother… (Matthew 10:34-35). In this context, our Lord spoke of the sword as an instrument of division that separated mankind into those who would believe on him and be saved via the presentation of the gospel, as well as those who would not. God’s enduring purpose since the fall of man in Garden has been to separate mankind from their sins. Jesus Christ came to fulfill that purpose through his one offering of himself as a sacrifice for sin. But if a man will not be separated from his sins by accepting Christ as his Saviour, then the sword of judgment will come and separate him from eternal life in God’s kingdom.

In Ephesians 6:10-18, the apostle Paul lists for us the weapon and armour which every Christian ought to have on and keep in good condition inclusive of which is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (v.17). With this weapon we have the power to strike against our adversaries. Combine this passage with that of Hebrews 4:12 and we see its power and capacity. It is more powerful, more swift, more able to accomplish the purposes of God because it bears the very words of God which the inspired penmen recorded for the edification and well being of all who truly believe and accept the Lord Jesus as God’s Messiah.

Unfortunately, many Christians fail to understand that as true servants of Christ we possess a weapon of great power when we take up his word written. That is what makes Bible study so important. A good Sunday school program is like Basic Combat Training for young and old alike. But such training must be conducted by a person who is strong in the faith— a veteran— and not a novice or a doubter. The same applies to men in the ministry.

We should also understand that those who reject our witness may respond with sarcasm or even violence. Consider the reaction of the men who murdered St. Stephen. They stoned him because he told them the truth via a brief but succinct overview of the Scriptures, which, When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart… (Acts 7:54). Being a faithful servant of the Lord can be at times disheartening; but persevere we must (Jude 21-23).

Throughout the Book of Acts, the apostles labored to present the word of God to those who were trapped in a sin-darkened state. Any who accepted their witness received the light of Christ into their hearts. They were born-again of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures tell us that, They were pricked in their heart (Acts 2:37) and sought God’s remedy. Were we not pricked in our hearts by the word of God? Did not his sharp two-edged sword divide us from our sins and separate us to become sanctified and justified believers? Has not God’s word brought us to our knees in humble acceptance that we were unable to save ourselves from his righteous anger?

On the other hand, if we had rejected his offer of forgiveness, we would have been made castaway by the Devil. The choice was ours then as it is now for the unregenerate. Will they be like the Pharisee in the temple— extolling themselves before God— or will they choose be like the publican— who did not lift his face to heaven but smote his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:10-14)? The word of God informs us of our unworthiness while at the same time it tells us of him who is worthy. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created (Revelation 4:11). And, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing (Revelation 5:12).

Scripture also tells us that the Sword of Christ will slay the wicked on the last day of human history for as it is written, And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations (Revelation 19:15). At his second coming, our Lord will deal justly and harshly with those who sided with evil rather than receive his balm of forgiveness and blessing by embracing him as their Saviour and Lord. Contrary to the new agers and modernists, the “good man” of the future is not a fabled “man of steel” or other superheroes crafted from their jaded imaginations, but the King of kings and Lord of lords who is the only begotten Son of God. How do I know this? My answer is found in the refrain of a children’s song from long ago: “Yes, Jesus loves me, The Bible tells me so.” And indeed he does.

Let us pray,

GRACIOUS God, who condescended to step into your creation to save us from sin and eternal damnation; fill us with thy most holy Spirit so that our witness will bear fruit in thy service; and this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have a blessed week,

Bryan+

Bishop Dennis Campbell’s Sermon

Bishop Dennis is a brilliant speaker. He is able to take biblical precepts and make them perfectly understandable, even to me. When he provides the text of his sermons I take the utmost pleasure in passing them on:

Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

29 October 2023

Doctrine and Practice

Ephesians 5:15-21

If I were to give this sermon a title I would call it, “Doctrine and Practice.” That is probably not a very enticing title. If the lights on Broadway were to say, “Today, Bishop Campbell Preaches on Doctrine and Practice,” you can imagine the crowds it would not draw. It would, however, express the heart of the message in this passage of Ephesians. I was overwhelmed by the passage as I tried to prepare this sermon. Most of the Bible does that to me. As I have frequently said, every time I try to seriously look into the Bible, I feel like an infant setting out to explore the universe in a cradle. The universe is too big: I am too small: and my equipment is inadequate. Rather than lightly brushing over the passage, today’s sermon will be more of an introduction to it, with hope of expounding it further in another sermon, or two. Even then I will have only begun to look into the meaning and application of these verses.

Like many of Paul’s letters, Ephesians is organized around two important issues; Christian faith and Christian living. Theologians sometimes speak of these as Christian doctrine, and Christian practice. To most people, doctrine refers to what Christians believe. Likewise, practice means what Christians do. But, doctrine means more than ideas or what we think. It includes what we think about, and how we think about it. Doctrine, in this sense, includes our outlook on life. It includes the way we understand things, like God, creation, and ourselves in our relationship with them. It includes what has come to be known as our world view. Practice, likewise, means more than what we do. It includes what we are, and, who we are. It includes what has come to be known as our way of life, or, in more contemporary language, our life-style.

The first three chapters of Ephesians primarily address doctrine. That is about half of the letter. Practice is primarily addressed in the last three chapters; again, that is about half of the letter to the Ephesians. From this, we may conclude Paul believed doctrine is as important as practice. Paul believed what you think is as important is what you do. And, what you think influences what you do; and, what you do influences what you think. The Bible itself tells us, as a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). We sometimes have a tendency to dismiss doctrine. Those who want to merge the denominations into one big Church always tell us to lay doctrine aside because, they believe, the organizational unity of the Church is more important than doctrine. Since most denominations were formed because of doctrine, they cannot join together again into one Church, without significant doctrinal compromise. I have heard preachers warn others not to preach about doctrine. They say people aren’t interested in doctrines. Doctrines are dry, boring, and irrelevant to everyday life. People need exciting, practical sermons about social issues, and keeping the faith at work, and in that place where many seem to lose their religion, the highway. In other words, tell them about Christian practice. The aversion to doctrine is one of the reasons some people don’t like the Book of Common Prayer. It is doctrinal. It expresses the great doctrines of the Bible in ways that express both our worship of God and His truth revealed to us in Scripture. That is why I keep saying, the more you know the Bible, the more you love the Prayer Book.

Paul lays great emphasis on doctrine. Romans is a doctrinal treatise. It is a theology textbook. Hebrews is also a doctrinal treatise and theology textbook. Large parts of Paul’s epistles are devoted to doctrine. The preacher who will not preach doctrine cannot preach from Romans or Hebrews, or Ephesians 1-3, for doctrine is the primary subject in these parts of the Bible. In fact, those preachers cannot preach at all. They cannot even say the word “God,” for, without doctrine we have no way to understand what “God” means.

Why was Paul so concerned about doctrine? Because what you do is based on what you think. If you believe Jesus of Nazareth was just a man, even a very good man, even a man who was more in touch with God than the rest of us, whose real message was peace and justice, that doctrine affects everything you do. It makes the message and mission of the Church one of encouraging peace on earth and good will to men, rather than “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Should Christians encourage peace on earth and good will toward men? Yes. Should we be concerned about the poor and confront injustice? Yes. Jesus did, so, if we are going to be Christ-like, we will, also. But our primary message to the world is that message found in John 3:16. And, after all, that message is the real key to peace on earth and good will toward men, because those who truly know the love of God, will love Him in return, and will love others also.

To those who believe our primary message is social justice, I ask these questions. Why do we need the Church to tell us to make a world of equity and peace? Couldn’t public education spread that message much more efficiently? Couldn’t public agencies do more for the poor than the Church, and at less cost by saving all that money invested in church buildings and ministers’ salaries?

Why do Paul, and the entire Bible, continually address the topics of doctrine and practice? Why do they hold them both continually before our eyes? Perhaps it is partly because of our human tendency to be one-sided in religion. The idea of a spectrum has often been used to describe ideas and points of view. On most issues, people range from strongly committed, to generally favorable or opposed, to strongly opposed. Using the spectrum to describe political views, we say liberals are on the left, and conservatives are on the right. If we use the same idea to describe Christians, and, here I am talking about anyone who claims to be a Christian, we can say the spectrum represents the two extremes of sterile, unfeeling intellectualism on one end, and sterile, uninformed feelings/actions on the other. Notice that I am equating feelings and actions in this sense. I equate them because both negate doctrine in favour of feeling and action. Thus, both have the same general effect on life. One says, “don’t worry about doctrines, just feel God’s love in your heart.” The other says, “don’t worry about doctrines, just do good things.”

Think of what we seem to know about planet earth; that it rotates on a more or less twenty four hour cycle, and the north and south poles are the central points of its axis. The equator is the median, the middle, which, in theory, is equidistant from both poles. Think of one pole as complete intellectualism; the other as complete feelings/actions, and the equator as the right balance of the two. Note also, that the two poles are, historically, frozen ice caps.

The continental drift of most religions, and people, is toward the feelings/action pole. Eastern religions seek enlightenment which generally means finding inner peace through unity with the cosmos or divine energy. This unity is often expressed in ecstatic experiences, such as trances, visions, or altered states of consciousness. These religious ideas and practices were imported into the early Church by Gentile converts, who did not know the Old Testament, or have the benefit of a Jewish heritage. The Corinthian Church in the New Testament is an example of this, but theological/practical importation still continues today. There is a movement today that was once known as the Church Growth movement. Its foundational maxim was that we must lure people to church and convince them to become Christians. How do we lure the people? Offer feelings and experiences. When I was in seminary, I was told we must “let the world tell the Church how to be the Church.” Ask the people outside of the Church, “what would it take to get you to come to Church? What would the Church be like if you were in charge of it?” Their answer is almost always, “make the church fun. Make it as exciting as a professional sports event, as emotional as a good movie, as moving as a rock concert.” In short, “make it entertaining. Make worship an event, not a doctrine.” I remember a conversation with a minister friend who said he doesn’t read theology books any more. He just reads church growth books. I believe that is a big mistake for a preacher.

Action oriented people also drift toward this pole. They don’t care much for doctrine either. They rarely read a book deeper than the “Christian self-help books” on the shelves of the average Christian book store. But they are eager to build houses for the poor with Habitat for Humanity. They, also, usually want church to be entertaining, and sermons to make them feel good about being Christians.

At the other pole are those who are primarily concerned about knowing all the fine details of doctrine, all the details of middle eastern geography, and history times lines. They want to spend their lives in the ivory tower, instead of building houses. A seminary class is their ideal model for the church and worship. Neither extreme is real Christianity. Neither pole really understands the Bible’s emphasis on doctrine, or the Bible’s emphasis on Christian living. We could say neither extreme understands the Biblical teachings about God, or Godliness.

There is, therefore, a need in the Church to know what Bible says about God, Church, worship, ethics, morality, happiness, justice, and aesthetics, and apply that knowledge, that doctrine, to the practice of being Christians in our world and our time. Church and worship, personal faith and life, like all things, must be ruled and judged by the Bible rather than human whims and desires. A moment ago I said that, when I was in seminary, I was told we must “let the world tell the Church how to be the Church.” But, does the world really know how to be the Church? Does the world really know about repentance from sin and Godliness of life? If the world has the answers to our problems, why do the problems persist? If the world has all the answers, it doesn’t need the Church. But, and I say this kindly, people outside of Christ, rarely know what they need from God, or what the Church should be and do. Therefore, I disagree with the idea that we must let the world tell us how to be the Church. I say, with faithful people from the very beginning, let the Church, through the Bible, tell the world how to be the world. Let God, through the Bible, tell the Church how to be the Church. And let God, through the Bible, tell the Church what to believe and how to conduct ourselves in worship and in everyday life.

I realize I have spoken in generalizations today, but I hope they are fairly accurate, generally speaking. I hope they have been helpful in showing that doctrine and practice are so interwoven as to be inseparable. They are like a Celtic knot. They are like a spiritual ecosystem, in which a reduction or loss in one, results in an equal reduction or loss in the whole. The Christian life is not a choice between doctrine or practice. Is is a whole-hearted embrace, through faith, of both doctrine and practice.

Paul, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the human author of the book of Ephesians, being moved, inspired, and carried along by the Holy Spirit of God, is writing about how Christians live. This represents a change in the focus of Ephesians, for the first part of it, approximately one half of it, was primarily focused on teaching doctrine. As said last Sunday, doctrine means more than ideas or what we think. It includes what we think about, and how we think about it. It includes our outlook on life. It includes the way we understand things, like God, creation, and ourselves in our relationship with them. It includes what has come to be known as our world view. Every philosophy has doctrine. Every political movement or party has doctrine which defines it, which its adherents believe, and which it attempts to teach to others. Many organisations have handbooks which state and teach their doctrines, and outline how those doctrines are to be expressed in the thoughts and actions of their people.

Christianity also has doctrine. Our doctrine is that which is taught in the Bible, because we believe the Bible is God’s word to humanity. The Bible also teaches us how to live in harmony with its doctrine. We could say the Bible is like our handbook, it defines who we are, and guides what we do. Doctrine has been the primary focus in the first three chapters of Ephesians. The last three chapters of Ephesians deal primarily with how Christians live, based on those doctrines. Reading through Ephesians, we notice that the way we are to live constantly keeps appearing in the doctrinal chapters, and Christian doctrine keeps re-appearing in the chapters on Christian living. Why? Because what we believe and how we live are so closely linked and intertwined they are inseparable. Both are as essential to Christianity, as inhaling and exhaling are to breathing. So, Ephesians, as part of our handbook for Christians, is teaching us what to believe and how those beliefs relate to our daily lives.

Chapter five, verses fifteen through twenty-one, are in the second half of Ephesians, the part where Christian living is the primary point. Paul uses several words to illustrate the Christian life. One, found in Ephesians 4:1, is the word, “walk.” I like that word. It means something like a way of life, following a code and set of beliefs. I am sure the dictionaries can give a better definition that that, but I think the meaning is better illustrated than defined, and I think the best illustration of it is putting a picture in our minds of walking with Jesus. Walk with Jesus. That’s what Paul means here. Another word, in the same verse, is “vocation.” Your vocation is your life-work, which is not necessarily your occupation. Your occupation may be anything from cleaning gutters to leading nations, both of which can be honorable work. Your occupation may change according to opportunities and circumstances. But your life-work, your vocation, is constant. It is to be a Christian, with everything that word expresses and implies.

Paul also uses the word, “calling.” Your calling is to faithfully execute the duties and exhibit the attitudes that belong to your vocation. Paul puts all of these words together in Ephesians 4:1, saying, “I, therefore,… beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” This verse is the turning point in Ephesians. It is the point where Paul’s main focus turns from Christian doctrine to Christin living. “Therefore,” he says, because these doctrines are true, because you believe them, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy the vocation wherewith ye are called.” It does not matter whether you are a new Christian or a Methuselah in the faith: a bishop or a church janitor, your calling is to walk worthy of your vocation, and, in Christ, that vocation is the same for every person; love God, love people, and live a Godly, righteous, and sober life to the glory of God. In a sense, everything that follows Ephesians 4:1 is an explanation of, and encouragement to walk worthy of your Christian vocation.

In our text for this morning, Paul uses another word. “See then that ye walk circumspectly.” In this word, we finally come to the point of this sermon, which is a major point in this passage, walk circumspectly. The rest of the passage, the admonitions to redeem the time, be filled with the Spirit, and speak to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and submit to one another, all teach us how to walk circumspectly.

Be careful how you walk. That would be a good paraphrase of “walk circumspectly.” In these autumn days, many people are hiking the Smoky Mountains and the Appalachian Trail. They need to be careful how they walk, for trails are often steep and slippery, and bears and snakes live among the trees and rocks. The Gadsen flag motto, “Don’t Tread on Me,” applies well to hikers Satan, that old serpent, still lives among the rocks and trees of life. Be careful how you walk.

Still talking about the Christian life, still using the metaphor of walking, Paul repeats his point. He says it a little differently, but he is making the same point, because it is important. Here he uses the word, “wise.” Putting the two phrases together, we see his point more readily, ‘walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.” Be wise about life. Or, more succinctly, live like wise people.

Not content to tell us to live wisely, he counsels us in practical wisdom. People who walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeem the time, understand the will of the Lord, are not drunk with wine, are filled with the Spirit, speak to one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, give thanks always for all things unto God, and submit themselves one to another in the fear of God.

Let us think, for a moment, about “redeeming the time.” God, through Paul, is telling us to put our time to good use. A popular phrase, used to express many values, is, “So many____, so little time.” People put their own things in the blank. So many roads, so many video games, so many toys. A similar saying is, “life is short;” followed by a phrase encouraging us to do something, or which expresses what the person wants to do with his time. “Life is short, eat dessert first, or, visit the museum.” I might suggest, life is short, pray much, study the Bible, come to Church, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness. That is the conclusion Solomon reaches in Ecclesiastes 12:13. After telling how he tried to make life meaningful and worth living through wealth, power, knowledge, and pleasure, he says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” This is what life is all about. This is the whole meaning of life. This is what gives life meaning and hope. It is as though Solomon is telling us, life is short: redeem the time.

Through the ages, Christians have noted that the word redeem means to pay the price, or, purchase. They did not mean we can buy time. Rather, they meant we must spend it wisely, make the most of your opportunities. But even more, don’t wait for opportunities to fall into your lap, look for them, and, in a sense, create them. For example, if you are waiting for an opportunity to arise which will give you time to read the Bible, or make it convenient for you to come to church, you are not redeeming the time. You, I, all of us need to create opportunities to do these things. We need to create opportunities to work, rest, be mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Otherwise, we will give them the stale, cold left-overs of our time and ourselves.

Redeeming the time is the opposite of spending our time in the pursuit of things unprofitable to our relationship with Christ. We chase worldly treasures and amusements to the neglect of God and Christian duties, thus we make the days evil rather than good. There is, of course, good in rest and amusements, and we all certainly have the right to enjoy the fruits of our labors. We do not want, nor does God call us to be like the hermits, who go to deserts or monasteries to spend their time in poverty, extreme fasting, vows of silence, and sleeping in the snow. I have read of otherwise Godly men who wrecked their health doing such things, and I believe they commited a great sin against God. God created the Sabbath for man. Rest is God’s idea. Beauty is God’s idea. Creativity is part of being made in the image of God, and creating for enjoyment is very good in its place. Some of the world’s most faithful Christians have been hymn writers and skilled musicians. Reasonable hobbies and recreation are good in their place. But, when they steal time and resources from God, family, and work, they become problems.

The opposite of profaning time is hallowing time. Think of time as holy, a holy gift from the Holy Father in Heaven. It is to be used “holily.” It is to be used in a way that glorifies God in all that we do. When we are doing that, we are redeeming the time.

People in our Prayers – http://faithfulcenturionprayerteam.blogspot.com/

Why? Prayer is an extremely important activity.

It is not that God knows not our needs, for He surely does. Yet, Jesus commanded us to ask God for those same needs. In addition to the obvious of asking God for help, offering thanksgiving and the like, prayer helps us focus our thoughts on how we might do God’s work.

The Prayer Team of the Anglican Orthodox Church was established to help our members and fellow Christians pray for those in need and to give thanks as well for the blessings we have been granted.

Who can be on the list? Do I have to be a member of the Anglican Orthodox Church to be prayed for?

No! The only qualification to be on the list is that you want our prayer team to pray for you. We are Christians and are happy to pray for you, no matter who you are. If you want help from God, you are our kind of people.

What is the commitment from the prayer team?

Each member of the team will pray for the desired outcome at last once per day.

How do I get myself or someone else on the prayer list?

You can email one of the prayer team leaders: Jack – jack@faithfulcenturion.org or Dru – dru@ faithfulcenturion.org, or call the office at (619) 659-3608 or fill out a prayer card at your church.

What should I ask for?

Depends on what you want. Some people merely want God to be asked to heal their ills and be mentioned by their first name, others want a specific outcome and / or have more of their personal information known to the team. Ask for what you want. It is your desire and need for prayer the team is attempting to meet. For typical examples, see the list below.

Updating the Team

If you are on our prayer list, or if you have submitted a person that you have asked us to pray for, please update one of the team members or Hap in person, by telephone or email. It helps to be able to pray specifically for these individuals including their specific needs; plus if they get better, it is our happy duty to give thanks!

Please note that on the yellow (maybe green or orange if you get an old one) cards at church, you can ask that those to be prayed for have their names disseminated to the prayer team. Those names will be said in church and appear here. Or, you can ask that their names and purpose be kept confidential, then only Hap will know to pray for them.

Prayer List Notice – If you have someone on the prayer list and their needs have changed, please let us know. We’d like to update our prayers to reflect the need and most important to give thanks!

Corona Virus

Laurie, daughter of Jim and Mary Lou Flanagan has post-Covid lung damage, dizziness, falling, blacking out and loss of time relation. Please pray that they find a cure for these problems for Laurie.

Sandra (63) and her two grandchildren. Sandra and her daughter live in New York and recently got Covid requiring hospitalization and ventilators in ICU. Sandra’s daughter died in ICU and Sandra pulled through and is now home. She is coping with traumatic grief, as she did not get to see or get to be near her daughter in her time of need, confusion on how to proceed on providing for and protecting her and her grandchildren who are teenagers. Please pray for the Lord’s comfort in

Bishop David Pressy from St. George’s Anglican Church of Ventura is recovering from Covid. Please pray for his complete and rapid recovery, as well as to know what treatment he needs.

Bill Hall is still having difficulty breathing and with his ability to move about.

Donald and his family. Donald has Covid, is medically sedated, and has been on a ventilator for a number of days. He makes a little progress and then experiences a setback. This had been a rollercoaster pattern now for a while. Please pray that our Heavenly Father will restore him to health and that He will meet the emotional and financial needs of the family at this time. Donald has a wife and four children.

Travel

No known travel this week.

Birthdays

Jerry Ogles celebrated his 80^th birthday on 3 June 2023.

Anniversary

Dru and Hap Arnold celebrated their 36^th wedding anniversary on 21 February 2023.

Departed

Elizabeth Pressey, of St. George’s. passed away on 15 October 2023. Elizabeth was an amazing and good Christian woman. Please pray for her husband of 68 years, Bishop David Pressey and their son, Edward Pressey. The family thanks you for your prayers over the years.

Debbie of Mooresville, NC, passed away on 9 August 2023, after a long hard fought battle with breast cancer and a short hospital stay. Please give thanks for her time here on earth. Pray for comfort and strength for her husband Charles and daughters Mackenzie and Macrae as they adjust to her temporary separation. May they allow God to carry their sorrow until they meet again.

Immediate Prayer Please

Myanmar (Burma) We solicit your prayers for the Church and people of Myanmar (Burma). The Rev. Titus has sent this note:

We face a big flood in Bago where I am living now. It has been 2 days and many people in my area moved to another area where the water cannot reach. We are safe by grace` but some houses of my members are going to sink very soon if the rain is not stopped. In the pictures` the houses are in the midst of water damage and there is a house of my member in this place. They cannot go to anywhere to purchase their foods. So dear Bishop and friends` you all are kindly requested to pray for me and my Church members in Myanmar. Thank you all

Billie Broome a stroke survivor who has had femur, knee and hip surgery, spent a month in the hospital, now she has blood clots and severe swelling in her foot which became infected. She is improving slightly and asks that you give thanks for the improvement and pray for complete recovery. Please pray for peace of mind for Billie, her husband Richard and family. They are all strong Christians, but somewhat prone to worry.

Mr. Kim, father of Minki, one of Bishop Jerry’s congregation members, has been diagnosed with Colorectal cancer. He is i beginning radiation/chemo treatment prior to surgery. Please pray for peace of mind for him and his family and for guidance for the medical team treating him.

Mark George has been diagnosed with cancer of the throat and will be at Kirkland Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, to determine further treatment on 27 July 2023.

Viera Djurcik, mother of Bishop Igor Djurcik from Serbia, had her left leg amputated above the knee as the result of gangrene. The surgery was successful, but she has a long road ahead for recovery. Please give thank for successful surgery and pray for complete and rapid recovery for Viera and for peace of mind for her and her family.

Tricia Marie underwent abdominal surgery on 28 June 2023; she gives thanks it was apparently successful and asks you to pray with here for a full and rapid recovery, for peace of mind for her and her family. She gives thanks for an apparently successful coil surgery to seal off an aneurysm at the base of her skull on 12 January 2023. She has seemingly recovered from the stroke of December 2021. She still headaches which had been bothering her for months since she got the Moderna vaccine. She has had almost no real sleep or rest for months. She fell on stairs and while apparently broke nothing, is very sore and scared herself. She has gotten some relief from the headache from a Botox injection series, may that continue. Please give thanks for the successful surgery and pray for relief from the headache, nausea and pain and rest for her, for guidance for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her and a full and rapid recovery, for peace of mind for her and her family.

Bryan Dabney, AOC Minister, had quadruple bypass surgery on 6 July 2023. He is home and seems to be doing well. He is beginning physical therapy and cardiac rehabilitation. Please give thanks for the apparently successful surgery and pray for a full and complete recovery. Continue to comfort Brian, his wife Lisa, and son Thomas as they deal with his recovery.

Natalie Oslin Lohrenz is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, she is about 1/3 of the way through the regimen. She is tolerating the poison pretty well, but asks your prayers for it to work and the toleration to continue.

Josh Morley, son of Bishop Charles Morley, has had another grand mal seizure and is back in the hospital. Joshua and Bishop Morley are distraught, as they cannot determine the cause for his seizure. They are hoping to change doctors and find a cause and cure for Joshua. Bishop Morley says Joshua is healthy in every way but for having these seizures.

John May had a heart attack on 13 May 2023, he received a single stent. After three days he was released from the hospital to recover at home. Please pray for peace of mind for John, his wife Jenny and children Joshua and Cayenne, as well as the rest of her family. Pray also for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him that they might pay attention and do their very best; and for a good outcome.

David McMillan recently suffered a stroke. Please pray for guidance for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him and for peace of mind for David and his family.

Alicia, her husband, Andrew, and their two young daughters. Alicia has Susac’s Disease and narcolepsy. She has not been able to work and is having a difficult time even functioning. Please pray for her, her family, and those that attend her. May heavenly wisdom fill the doctors that they may treat Alicia and serve as God’s instruments to restore her to health.

Harry Brooks, Major USMC – GA ANG Retired – just finished a round of chemotherapy, which he barely survived and had his cancerous bladder in March 2023. Please pray for guidance for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him and for peace of mind for Harry and his family and for a good result.

Major Tom Connell, a good friend of Hap Arnold, had surgery on 25 February 2022, for abdominal cancer to remove a tumor. Spots have now appeared on his liver and he is restarting chemotherapy in January 2023. Tom asks you join him in praying for him to tolerate the treatment. Tom is a good guy and a faithful Christian; he is grateful for weathering this storm to date and the comfort God provided to him and his family.

Bob Apple just found out he has cancer and is beginning treatment. Please pray for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him that they might pay attention, do their very best and be open to God’s guidance; pray also for peace of mind for Bob.

Deanna Sampson started to treat for cataracts and found she had an irregular heartbeat, then breast cancer with precluded the operation. She had apparently successful surgery for the cancer and has undergone radiation treatment, she is waiting to see what comes next. A strong Christian with an incredible attitude, she could nonetheless use your prayers.

Henry Johnson (age 3) suffers from a rare form of epilepsy. Please join his parents in praying a treatment regimen can be found to treat his condition.

Tricia Marie gives thanks for an apparently successful coil surgery to seal off an aneurysm at the base of her skull on 12 January 2023. She has seemingly recovered from the stroke of December 2021. She still headaches which had been bothering her for months since she got the Moderna vaccine. She has had almost no real sleep or rest for months. She fell on stairs and while apparently broke nothing, is very sore and scared herself. She has gotten some relief from the headache from a Botox injection series, may that continue. Please give thanks for the successful surgery and pray for relief from the headache, nausea and pain and rest for her, for guidance for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her and a full and rapid recovery, for peace of mind for her and her family.

Shamu is totally exhausted, but in relatively good spirits. Shamu has a terrible headache, is in a lot of pain; feels like she has been stabbed, totally exhausted and weak, but her faith is incredibly strong. They have found a mass in her upper abdomen which must be investigated. She asks you pray for guidance for the medical people helping her. After 36 surgeries, she is quite very weak, but strong in her trust in our Lord as she goes through this difficult time. She needs your prayer. Please.

Tommy Cook is beset by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Congestive Heart failure. It seems there is little that can be done except fight a delaying action against the aggressive pair. At present it seems like the only avenue open is a heart lung transplant and little chance of that. He asks you pray for guidance for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him and the miracle of a full and rapid recovery, for peace of mind for him and his family. He is a very strong Christian and has no concern for himself, but for his wife, children and mother.

Johnie Ratcliff is having breathing issues.

Brady on the way to enter the armed forces in Virginia Beach, got in a horrible tragic car accident that required surgery to restructure his foot, and back surgery to relieve pressure on his spine and repair the breaks. Please pray for his parents, and that he, unsure of what his future will hold, will understand the Lord Jesus Christ holds his future and He will not fail nor forsake him.

David Connis has Stage Four colon cancer, he can no longer do chemotherapy and has switched to immunotherapy in the hope of surviving to participate in an experimental program in December. Please pray for strength and guidance for him and his nine year old daughter, as well as what we consider a good outcome.

John Crawford, of Tennessee, is in ICU for treatment of pancreatitis. Please pray for guidance for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him and for peace of mind for John and his family and for a good result.

Lori Barnett had a large mass in her abdomen surgically removed which turned out to be cancerous. She has begun chemotherapy. Please pray for the cessation of pain and discomfort for her and for her to tolerate the chemotherapy.

George Johnson, MD, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma[2]. From Dr. George Hardin Johnson, I need all my friends and prayer warriors to pray for me, that the new chemo pill (meds) that the doctor ordered will be use mightily by the Lord Jesus to heal my body. Pray that there will be no side effects and my body can handle the meds. Thanks and God bless you all for your prayers in the mighty name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. We know God is in full control and we are trusting in Him to give George a complete healing!

Margie Johnson (wife of Dr. George Johnson) is very ill and need of healing. Please pray for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her that they might pay attention, do their very best and be open to God’s guidance. Pray also for comfort and strength for her and her husband George.

Greg was in an explosive work accident leading to burns over 65% of his body. He is in the hospital and will be for months. Also pray for his mother, who recently lost her husband and now is overseeing her son’s care; she is disabled and in a wheel chair.

Lauralee Meade has tested positive for Covid 19; she is only moderately concerned as she has no symptoms. She asks you pray she stay that way and test negative so she can visit her mother. Please pray also for a complete remission of her cancer. Pray also Lauralee will maintain her great attitude and trust in God.

Inga, the wife of Tore, requests prayer for her husband in Norway. He is awaiting surgery for a heart valve and kidney transplants. He is nearing surgery. Please pray for trust in the Lord for her, her husband and family and friends who are so very worried about him. Pray also for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him that they might be open to God’s guidance for treatment, pay attention and do their very best to help him. Pray for a good outcome.

Angela Walker has Covid and has been hospitalized and currently is in the ICU doing poorly. Please pray for trust in the Lord for her, her husband, two young children and family and friends who are so very worried about her. Pray also for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her that they might be open to God’s guidance for treatment, pay attention and do their very best to help her. Pray for a good outcome.

Rhonda, a close friend of Angie Colgrove, has Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer[3]. Please pray for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her that they might be open to God’s guidance, pay attention and do their very be Please pray for peace of mind and trust in God for Rhonda and her family.

Elizabeth Pressey, wife of AOC Bishop Dave Pressey, is seriously ill. Please pray for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her that they might be open to God’s guidance, pay attention and do their very be Please pray for peace of mind and trust in God for Elisabeth, Dave, their son Eddie and family.

Zephaniah Leguman – the Iron Bishop of the Pacific – has been diagnosed with a serious eye affliction that could lead to blindness. It presently stop deteriorating and seems to be improving. Please give thanks for this positive movement and pray the condition will continue to abate.

Gary Anderson of Enterprise has been hospitalized with unknown illness. He requests prayer for diagnosis and healing.

Corrie Marsh, daughter of Ida Benson, is facing serious medical procedures in coming days. Please pray for trust in God for Corrie and her family and for the doctors, nurses and technicians to pay attention and do their very best, as well as to be open to God’s guidance.

Cyrus has blood cancer and is very very ill. Please pray the doctors treating him will pay attention and do their very best. Pray also for comfort and peace for Cyrus and his family; pray that if it not be that he will recover that he past restfully to home.

Jill was on life support; her family members traveled a great distance to see her and returned home safely. Jill’s condition improved to critical, but needs your prayers to continue her recovery.

Samson Hendrik has prostate cancer and his kidneys are not working. Pray our Lord Jesus Christ will be close to him and his family of friends during this illness.

In need of a miracle or understanding of God’s Plan

Sandy has be diagnosed with malignant lung cancer. She has COPD and therefore not a candidate for surgery. Her only medical option is for Chemo and Radiation according to her Drs.: Sandy is a Christian who believes in the healing power of prayer. Sandy has been a friend of Mary Lou Flanagan since high school as well as going to college together.

John Thomas, of Malaysia, a long time friend of Bishop Jerry, a persevering servant of the Lord for many years. His health has begun to fade in his present age of 79. Please pray the Lord will extend a merciful hand to John, and his devoted wife Gina, in working out His perfect will for both.

Joey Angelica is a recovering addict with liver cancer and diabetes, he lost his job during the plandemic, then found out he has liver cancer. He is a very strong Christian, he and his friend Vicki ask that you pray for his recovery and continued trust in God.

Michael Baran – End stage congestive heart failure. 20 March 20 at 10:56 AM To all my friends and family I had to go to the hospital in Rochester NY where I had my implant mechanical heart assist pump placed in my abdomen. I have end stage heart failure. On Wednesday I had to go to the hospital I was in need of a wheelchair I was very weak and I needed to have someone push me because I got short of breath, and I was so weak, I needed assistance to get up out of the wheelchair. I had to do a walk test and I had to have help to stand up my blood pressure was so low. I fell back In to the wheel chair. I tried to walk after they got me up and was able to use the hand rail and walk about a hundred feet there were two aids behind me I had to stop and nearly collapsed. They kept me from going down. After all the tests were done the Nurse practitioner reviewed over the results. I had one valve replaced about 6 months ago. But now the other 3 are leaking, there is not much they can do for me.

Yesterday I prayed that if God didn’t need me here. to take me home. I long to be free of this old body and to see my Lord, my family and friends that have gone on to their rewards, to be with them evermore. I told the Lord if he needs me here then he needs to renew my strength so that I can walk.

I woke up this morning and felt good. I got up to go to the bathroom and to my surprise I did not struggle to stand up!!! I actually walked to the bathroom without a walker. I am back in bed crying as I write this to you as the Holy Spirit brought to my mind Isaiah 40:31 ..Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength and shall soar on wings like eagles they will run and not grow weary they shall walk and not faint.

I have been unable to walk more than 100 ft or so, for the last six months in the last two weeks my oxygen saturation was as low as 74 and unable to walk without a walker. have a lift chair-recliner in the TV room. I am now able to get up without it.!!!

My God is an awesome God he has heard my prayers and has indeed strengthened me.!!!

Janine Alvarado’s daughter has what appears to be terminal cancer, she is in much pain, in and out of the hospital. She asks that you pray for a miraculous recovery for her daughter and if that not be God’s will, a safe passing home. She asks you pray also for peace of mind and strength for both of them.

Neal has heart problems and is very weak, he also has COPD, kidney problems, his potassium is too high, he came back from the point of death. He is now home and permanently on oxygen. He is doing well, for that he and his family are grateful and ask your thanksgiving prayers. More importantly, please pray Neal will accept salvation through our Lord and Savior.

Paul is in hospice and ready to meet His Lord. Please pray for Paul as he prepares to go home to be with his family who have gone before him. Pray for the faith of his family to build and the transition to be good.

Dot is an elderly woman with liver cancer. Please pray for Dot as she prepares to go home to be with her family who have gone before her. Pray for the faith of her family to build and the transition to be good.

Mrs. Tiffany (90) has chosen to refuse extraordinary care as it will not gain much earthly time. The Tiffanys have been together for a long, long, long time. Pray for Mrs. Tiffany and her husband as together they begin this Journey to be with their Lord.

Saundra is in ICU with congestive heart failure after a heart operation. She is aged and frail. Saundra is near the end of her time here on earth. Please pray for comfort, understanding, strength and guidance for Saundra and her family who will of necessity remain behind. Pray for the love of God to stay foremost in their hearts.

Polly is in hospice care with dementia and spinal stenosis. Please pray for her as she prepares to go home to be with her family who have gone before her. Pray for the faith of her family to build and the transition to be good.

Ron had a Heart Attack, at the hospital he found out he also has Kidney Cancer. He is a man of faith and is in need of prayer for his health and that the Lord will provide strength for his family.

Krysti is off life support and able to talk, please give thanks for the good news. She is still unable to feel her legs. When that comes back she will go to a rehabilitation facility. Krysti has used drugs, has high blood pressure, is diabetic and has organ failure. Her families are with her and will appreciate your prayers.

Pat has metastatic osteosarcoma; there is little that can be done. Please pray for a miraculous remission; that Pat’s remaining time here on earth might be good. Help Pat and family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their sadness, fear, worry and terror.

Amy has been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma and has cancer all over her body, and in one of her kidneys which are no longer functioning. Amy and her family have asked for prayer to stop the growth and to aid the family financially with the medical bills. At present she has to have surgery every two months to place stents. Pray Jesus will be close to all.

Gemma Dillinger has been treating for breast cancer for over a year now, after surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy, she is reaching the limit of her tolerance with no end in sight. Please pray for her to gain strength and ground on the cancer. Help her to continue with her faith in our Lord, she is not afraid to go home, but wants to make sure it is time. Pray she will be encouraged to not give up until it is her time to go and that her time here on earth with her family will be good.

Janet has had a blood borne cancer for several years. Her faith in the Lord is great and she is ready to be with Him. Pray she will be encouraged to not give up until it is her time to go.

Holly has had Colon Cancer, Breast Cancer and now it is in her spine. Please pray for guidance for the medical personnel treating Holly, for a miraculous remission; that Holly’s remaining time here on earth might be good. Help Holly and her family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their sadness, fear, worry and terror. Pray for strength and courage for Holly.

Tim was on a kidney transplant list and started dialysis and was taken off the transplant list for a heart problem that required stents, while putting in stents a leaking valve was found. A port was put in and something happened and it has to be redone. In several days he will have a valve replaced, after heart surgery and recover he will go back on the transplant li Please remember him in prayer in the days and weeks ahead. Pray he will put his worry on God’s shoulders so he might be at peace and re Pray for those treating him that they might pay attention and do their best.

Marilyn has been diagnosed with non-operable pancreatic cancer. Please pray for a miraculous remission; that Marilyn’s remaining time here on earth might be good. Help Marilyn and her family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their sadness, fear, worry and terror.

June found she has a recurrence of colon cancer, which is now Stage Four, that is it has spread. Please pray for a miraculous remission; that June’s remaining time here hon earth might be good. Help June and her family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their sadness, fear, worry and terror.

Leon McKay suffered a stroke a few weeks back that has left him unable to speak and while undergoing evaluation the doctors also found he has a very aggressive cancer. Please pray for a miraculous remission; that Leon’s remaining time here on earth might be good. Help Leon and his family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their worry.

Rev. Thomas Brooks is not improving and being kept alive by artificial machines. Please pray for a miraculous recovery and if that not be God’s Will, a rapid passing to home. Help Thomas’ family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their worry.

Ronnie has kidney cancer that has spread and the surgeons are very concerned. Please pray the medical team to formulate a successful treatment plan and for a miraculous remission; that Ronnie’s remaining time here on earth might be good. Help Ronnie and family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their worry.

Levi was cancer free for 4 years and just discovered he has kidney cancer. Levi has a great deal of faith and said whether he is healed or God takes him home he will be fine. Please pray for the medical team to pay attention and to their best and for a good outcome. Pray also that Levi and family will be able to put their worry on God’s shoulders. In particular, please pray for pain relief; Levi is 22 years old.

Ray Daley is a member of the Royal Canadian Legion and served his country during the Korean War era. Ray is taking chemotherapy treatments for cancer. Meanwhile his son Trevor is in the hospital in a coma and seems to have lost the will to live.

Pat has been under treatment for colon cancer for some time. He has had major complications the last few days and your prayers will be appreciated by family and friends.

Dorothy had pneumonia, on checking her lungs they found tumors which permeated the lung area. Further investigation found a primary site in the colon, with the lung being secondary. It would appear there is no viable treatment at this time. Please pray for a miraculous remission; that her remaining time here on earth might be good. Help Dorothy and her family put their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their worry.

Becky has fourth stage metastasized lung cancer and is not doing well with chemotherapy treatments. Please pray for Becky and her husband as they are together during this difficult time in their lives.

Colleen has been battling pancreatic cancer over the last year and it has now spread to one of her lungs. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Christine has cancer of the colon, which spread to her liver; she is receiving chemotherapy and is having difficulty eating. Please pray for the medical team treating her to pay attention and do their very best; pray also for confidence in our Lord for Christine and her family.

Homebound or Infirm

Jim and Pam Lanno – After Jim was recovering from a heart attack, he noticed something was off. Soon came the diagnosis of ALS along with dementia. He is in his early 60s. Pam is learning the role of care taker and overwhelmed and fearful at times. Both are good Christians and love the Lord with all their hearts. Pray for God’s Comfort and Guidance for both and all caretakers who assist.

John has Alzheimer’s pray he will call on God to help him as he deals with this.

Steve, brother in law of Paul Martin, appears to have early onset dementia. Steve had teenage children and is very concerned for them. Please pray for the disease to stall or abate and for peace of mind for Steve and his family.

Joan has had serious medical problems that have kept her confined. Please pray her health will remain stable.

Surgery

Edware is having his fourth back surgery (in the last four years) Please pray for the medical team to pay attention and to their best and for a good outcome. Pray also that Edware and his family will be able to put their worry on God’s shoulders.

Jeff has been undergoing surgery, chemo and radiation since October for pancreatitis and Pancreatic cancer. Please pray for the medical team to pay attention and to their best and for a good outcome. Pray also that Jeff, his wife and family will be able to put their worry on God’s shoulders.

Albert had a pacemaker installed recently. He will require surgery soon for a leaking heart valve and has just been told he has esophageal cancer. Pray he will turn to God and come to know Him on a more personal basis as the days go by.

Mario has early-diagnosed prostate cancer and had surgery. Pray for complete remission and that Mario and his family will be able to put their worry on God’s shoulders.

Testing and Treatment

Melissa Morgan, a young woman in her thirties just found out she has ovarian cancer. Pray with Melissa, her family and friends the physicians treating her will be guided in their assessment and treatment plan, for a full and speedy recovery to good health and for continued trust in the Lord for Melissa, her family and friends in this worrisome time.

April and her husband ask you prayers for the Lord to guide them and lead them both to the correct medical care; and that the family may receive comfort in the process.

Josh has two little children and just discovered he has a rare form of Cancer. Please keep him and his family in your prayers in the days ahead.

Ross an elderly gentleman has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Ross has had good health until now, your prayers at this time will be appreciated by his family and friends.

Carman was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Pray for her family as they continue to help her get the proper care. Pray with Carman, her family and friends that the physicians treating her will be guided in their assessment and treatment plan, for a full and speedy recovery to good health and for continued trust in the Lord for Carman, her family and friends in this worrisome time.

Tina just found out she has cancer on her left kidney. Please pray for guidance for the people treating her and for trust in our Lord for Tina and her family.

Martha is now home after testing and she does not have cancer, but she does have bad kidneys and is adjusting and getting ideas to work with that. Please pray for guidance for the people treating her and for trust in our Lord for her.

Spencer has been diagnosed with Autism. Please pray for guidance for the people treating him and for trust in our Lord for him and his mother Lorna.

Michael has cancer of the blood and is starting chemotherapy. Please pray for the physicians treating him to be guided in their assessment and treatment plan, for a full and speedy recovery to good health and for trust in the Lord for Michael.

Jim Sevier has been in the hospital for heart related troubles. Please pray with Jim and his family the physicians treating him will be guided in their assessment and treatment plan, for a full and speedy recovery to good health and for trust in the Lord for Jim and his family in this worrisome time.

Claude has been falling and he does not know why. Pray doctors will discover what the problem is and he can continue without any more difficulties.

Gretchen has been diagnosed with severe osteoporosis and is now being treated with exercise, nutrition and vitamins. Please pray with Gretchen and her family the physicians treating her will be guided in their assessment and treatment plan, for a full and speedy recovery to good health and for trust in the Lord for Gretchen and her family in this worrisome time.

Pete has not been well and is back in the hospital with another stroke. Please pray for the physicians treating him to be guided in their assessment and treatment plan, for a full and speedy recovery to good health and for trust in the Lord for Pete and his family in this worrisome time.

Mary Lee has bleeding into her stomach and they cannot find the sources. Mary Lee is in CCU and her husband Maurice is not eating until she returns home for is so upset. Please pray for the physicians treating her to be guided in their assessment and treatment plan, for a full and speedy recovery to good health and for trust in the Lord for her, Maurice, as well as the rest of the family in this worrisome time.

Glenn Porter, MAJ USMC Retired, has Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis, which causes him to be unable to get enough oxygen into his system without supplemental oxygen all the time. The only real treatment is a lung transplant, without a transplant he has between two to five years here on earth. Please pray for him to continue in his faith and for a set of lungs to become available.

Pat has an aneurism of the brain, pray she will make the right decision on how to treat this problem and it will be healed.

Dan is very sick with cancer and is starting an experimental treatment. This treatment will take Dan away from their family business and put even more stress on him and his family. Please pray for Dan’s wife who is meeting with Steve who plans to keep the family business going while Dan is ill. Pray for Steve as he has many new responsibilities.

Timothy has brain cancer. He had surgery and is waiting for the pathology report to find out what kind of chemo he will need. Please pray for continued guidance for the medical team treating Timothy and patience and trust in God for Timothy and his family. Pray also for a full recovery for Timothy.

Elma has been suffering with headaches for a long time. Doctors have not been able to discover the reason for them. Pray for strength, courage and understanding for Elma and her family; as well as for God’s guidance for the medical people caring for her that they might find the best treatment method to banish the headaches completely.

Deborah has had a stroke, she is doing much better and out of the hospital. She has a problem with anemia and is taking supplements for that. Pray our Lord will be close to her and her family. Pray for strength, courage and understanding for Deborah and her family; as well as for God’s guidance for the medical people caring for her that they might find the best treatment method to allow her to heal completely.

Rev. Steve Boardman has been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Pray that Jesus will be close and comfort his family and members of his congregation.

Hang So Ryu has cancer. Please pray for medical team contemplating and evaluating the treatment that they might be guided to the correct choice and do their very be Pray also for peace of mind and trust in God for him and his family, as well as physical strength.

Olivia, age 7, has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Lymphoma. The prognosis is good at this time, please pray for medical team contemplating and evaluating the treatment that they might be guided to the correct choice and do their very be Pray also for peace of mind and trust in God for Olivia and her family, as well as physical strength.

Paul has been hospitalized recently several times because of persistent high fevers. He is being tested and checked by physicians and seems to have a slight scoliosis, a node and Schuermann’s disease. Please pray it will be discovered how to treat these problems and healing will begin so he will be inspired to continue his education.

Rick has heart problems. Please pray for guidance for the medical people treating him that they might pay attention, do their very best and make the right recommendations regarding treatment. Pray for help for Rick and his wife Wanda to keep their trust in the Lord and let Him carry their worry.

Stacy has Multiple Sclerosis and was hospitalized for what turned out to be food poisoning. Pray for trust in God for Stacy and Chris as they deal with Stacy’s illness.

Faye is in the hospital because she is weak has been receiving blood transfusions. Pray for strength, courage and understanding for Faye and her family; as well as for God’s guidance for the medical people treating her that they might find the best course of treatment and allow Faye to heal completely.

Tom has heart and kidney problems. Pray for strength, courage and understanding for Tom and his family; as well as for God’s guidance for the medical people treating him that they might find the best course of treatment and allow Tom to heal completely.

Joe has had a preliminary ALS diagnosis. Pray the final diagnosis will something that will allow him to continue taking care of his devoted young family. Pray for strength, courage and understanding for Joe and his family; as well as for God’s guidance for the medical people treating him that they might find the best course of treatment.

Preston is reacting poorly to recent neck surgery and now has problems with his liver count; Physicians feel that dialysis will help. There may be a blockage in the bowel and an operation might be necessary. Please pray for the medical team to pay attention and to their best to determine how to help Preston and for a good outcome. Pray also that Preston and family will be able to put their worry on God’s shoulders while Preston does his best to facilitate a return to good health.

Brenda is in the hospital because of bleeding on her brain. Please pray for peace of mind and trust in the Lord for Brenda, as well as for her family, and for God’s guidance for the medical people treating her that they might find the best course of treatment.

Mackenzie is a young girl with leukemia. Please pray for peace of mind and trust in the Lord for Mackenzie, as well as for her family, and for God’s guidance for the medical people treating her that they might find the best course of treatment.

Mack has had diabetes most of his adult life. Circulation in his legs is very bad and doctors are considering amputation. Please pray his medication will help and he will not face amputation. Please pray for peace of mind and trust in the Lord for Mack and for God’s guidance for the medical people treating him that they might find the best course of treatment.

Michael has been diagnosed with lung cancer recently after making it through gastro intestinal cancer last year. Please pray for peace of mind and trust in the Lord for Michael and his wife Gayle; as well as for God’s guidance for the medical people treating him that they might find the best course of treatment.

Adriano is in the hospital due to high sugar and high blood pressure. He is very weak and will appreciate your prayers.

Heather recently found out she has cancer. Please pray for peace of mind for her and for the medical team treating her will be guided to the right solution.

Jim has had an aneurism and blood clots. Pray that healing will come.

Georgia has liver and pancreatic cancer. The doctors are evaluating whether to do surgery and how to tackle the disease. Georgia is a faithful Christian and appreciates your prayers. Pray for God’s guidance for the medical people treating her that they might find out the source of the problem and best course of treatment. Pray also for peace of mind and trust in God for Georgia and her family.

Lana’s doctor found something on her lymph nodes and ovaries. Pray for God’s guidance for the medical people treating her that they might find out the source of the problem and best course of treatment. Pray also for peace of mind and trust in God for Lana and her family.

Healing

Sandra Zimmerman was diagnosed with triple positive Stage 2 breast cancer. She had a mammogram done last year at 40 years old and it was clear. This July they found two suspicious lumps, there was follow up with another mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy, bloodwork, MRI, more bloodwork, and PET scan. Sandra’s most pressing concern is how she will take care of her baby Sophie as she goes through chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation along with a cocktail of pills. It’s going to be a year long journey, she asks your prayer to stay strong and fight this battle!

Madisun Hanks (20) has Tourette’s Syndrome and suffers from horrible migraine headaches. There are various very high risk treatments which provide some relief. None of them are close and none are easy. Madisun is truly one of the most inspiring young ladies we have ever come across, her attitude and actions are almost unbelievable. No one should have to go through what she does, but she makes it through and performs incredibly when others just get by. Please pray for Madisun, her mom Hilda who guides her through all this and those treating her.

Hilda Hanks has developed diabetes, which resulted in the need for eye surgery and has difficulty with the added stress in her life. Pray for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her to pay attention, to be open to God’s guidance and do their very best. Pray for trust in our Lord and peace of mind for Hilda and Madisun.

Linda recently had a basal cell carcinoma removed and she is doing well, 15 years with Multiple Myeloma is doing great. She is continuing bimonthly chemo and this keeps her going strong, she is grateful for all prayers.

Chris Hill (close friend of Jon Weston) suffered a brain aneurysm and needs your prayers. He came out of a coma he had been in since the week before Christmas 2016. He is now in a stepdown facility. Every day is a new day to him; his memory seems to have been damaged to a point where it is not recovering so far. Pray for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating him to pay attention, to be open to God’s guidance and do their very be Pray for trust in our Lord and peace of mind for Chris and his family.

Rev Bill had a stroke. Pray he will stay comfortable and Jesus will be close by, please pray for a full and rapid recovery.

Vickie has been bothered with Migraines and all that go with the headaches. Please pray for relief from the pain for Vickie.

Jon has Stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma. There is good news in that he is in remission; however the chemotherapy is producing neuropathy in his legs so it is a challenge for him to get around. Please pray that he will be as comfortable as possible; he has been a Marathon runner so this is especially difficult.

Amy has melanoma in her lungs, liver and kidneys; they have found a treatment for her that has a high success rate however the side effects are debilitating. Please pray she will be able to tolerate the side effects and the treatment is successful. Amy has full trust in the Lord, but would still appreciate your prayers.

Liz had a massive stroke at age thirty-seven. The prognosis is good but she has a long road ahead. Please pray for guidance for those treating her, for trust in our Lord for Liz and her family, for healing.

Ebick is suffering from a severe ulcer but the Doctors cannot give her the proper dosage of the medicine due to her six month pregnancy. Please pray doctors will find an alternative avenue for treatment or that God will provide.

Stan is going through chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer. He is elderly and the treatments are tiring him. Please pray for his wife Marvelene as they do this together.

David has many concussions and unable to go to school, read books, watch TV and has headaches and migraines. He has trouble sleeping and his family will appreciate your prayers for this 10 year old young man.

Gladys has breast cancer and has had a lumpectomy. She needs to take a year off of her work to have chemo treatments.

Alwin Jack has had a stroke and recently has had a relapse. Please pray for those who treat Alwin that they might choose the best possible treatment and pray for peace of mind for Alwin during the recovery phase.

Carolyn has Multiple Sclerosis with complications. Pray Carolyn and her children will be close to our Lord Jesus Christ as they and family members help to ease the problems.

Bill had malignant growth removed from a lip last month and seems to be experiencing a re-growth of the cancer. He asks your prayer for the medical team treating him and for peace of mind for himself.

Hank has osteoporosis, which has caused him a great deal of pain and inconvenience in the past few years. Pray for his healing and that his medical bills will be met.

Evelyn has lost her site completely, broke her tibia and has returned home for family care following hospitalization and rehab. Please pray that the family learn how to care for her at home as with blindness she is too frightened being in a Long term care facility. Evelyn is 96 years old.

Joanne has begun kidney dialysis as a result of kidney failure due to extensive chemotherapy. Additionally she cares for an adopted drug addicted baby who is now nine years old. Please pray for her to keep her faith, to let the Lord carry her worry and concern and to give her strength. Pray also for those treating her that they might pay attention and do their best.

Bud and his wife for their continued welfare and enthusiasm. Bud has been advised of an aneurism in his heart of a size not mandating immediate surgery. This comes at a time when he has sole care of his wife who recently broke two vertebrae and thereafter sustained pneumonia.

Dester is suffering from unknown skin and diseases. Please guide the medical team treating him to find out what the problem is and cure it. Pray also for Dester to trust in the Lord.

Lee has Arterial Fibrillation, she is doing much better and she and her family thank you for your prayers. Her pain level is high and some medications have bad side effects. Please continue her in Prayer in the weeks ahead as she heals.

Nell recently adopted two children and has just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Mary Lou has been suffering with seizures. She was in the hospital with a 24 hour monitor and is being sent home from the hospital with two medications and orders to return in 2 months for another MRI to review whatever is going on in her brain. Please pray for guidance for the medical people treating her, as well as peace of mind and trust in God for her and her family.

Kathleen has spent the last two weeks in the hospital. She has been diagnosed with colitis, shingles and possibly colon cancer. Pray she will be comfortable and begin to heal.

Rachel has Mitochondrial Myopathy. This is a hereditary disease of the muscles and they do not have a cure for it. Part of her pain is her family does not believe she is indeed ill, as she appears to be just fine. Please pray her family will learn the truth and be supportive of her; pray also the medical people treating her will find the right measures to minimize the disease. Most particularly pray for Rachel’s trust in God.

Nicolas is in the hospital with serious symptoms of a heart disorder. Please pray for peace of mind for him and guidance for the medical team looking for the cause and cure.

Juanita is a young girl who was in a coma because of a blood disease. She has not come out and is gaining strength. They are awaiting results from blood samples. Her family thanks you for your prayers and asks that you continue.

Healing and Patience

Angie Colgrove has various problems and challenges, physical, mental, and spiritual. She asks you pray for guidance for her and those treating her, as well as for her family.

Kym (43) has various hip problems which seems to be related to osteoarthritis. And, her mother Ruth is in the early stages of dementia. Pray for guidance for those treating both of them, as well as patience and trust in the Lord for both of them.

Christopher has had problems with his leg for some time. Now he has to have it casted and it will stay that way for what to him seems an interminable time. Pray for patience and peace of mind for this young man who has much he wants to do.

Thanksgiving and Continued Healing

Jennifer, wife of Bishop Jose Antonio Rios, had surgery 27 May 2023 and appears to be recovering well. Please give thank and pray for a full return to health.

Don Fultz fell in response to a house on fire across the street and broke his hip. He is had surgery and spent time in the Cardiac Care Unit in response to a heart arrythmia apparently due to the anesthesia. That was resolved and Don returned home to complete his recovery and is doing well. He and his family thank you for your prayers. Please continue praying for a complete recovery.

Barbara (Paulette Ratcliff’s) sister, has battled stomach cancer through removal of tumor and chemotherapy but the tumor returned at 7 centimeters. She had apparently successful surgery on Friday 24 June 2022. Please give thanks for the successful surgery and for a full and rapid recovery and for full remission of the cancer. Pray also for peace of mind for Barbara, her children, her sisters and brothers.

Deborah Drucilla, sister of Bishop Jerry, was hospitalized with a number of issues including blood clot in her liver. She is now home. Please give thanks for a good result so far and a full and rapid recovery, for peace of mind for her and her family.

Wendy Hinman, one of Hap Arnold’s backseaters from the Air Force and a great Christian of much faith, had successful double bypass surgery on 14 March 2022 to replace two stents which failed. He ended up with a lung blood clot and back in the hospital. He is back home again. Please give thanks for the successful surgery and for continued healing and for peace of mind. He is depressed and beset by thoughts he does not want to confront.

Bill had surgery November 2016 for a kidney tumor; he is one kidney short, but recovering very well for the present. It appears the cancer has spread to another spot. Please pray for Bill as he undergoes chemotherapy and perhaps other treatment. Pray Bill and his family will stay strong in their faith and draw the strength they need from our Lord.

Cindy (81) had an operation to remove a cancerous growth in her stomach which was successful. She is now home, but in a bit of pain. Please give thanks for the good result, pray for full and complete healing and remission of the cancer, as well as cessation of the pain; pray also for continued faith for Cindy and her husband Les (91).

Terry was undergoing radiation treatment for cancer, which he had to stop to amputate his leg below the knee due to diabetes. The surgery was successful, he has been fitted with a prosthetic leg and foot. He is in good spirits and positive about the remainder of his treatment. Please join Terry and his family in giving thanks for the successful surgery and continue to pray for his return to radiation treatment and then to chemotherapy, ask God to give Terry, his wife and seven year old son trust in him for peace of mind and heart, as well.

Janet Jessup had a stroke and heart problems were causing huge issues for her. They seem to have gotten her stabilized and she is home. Please pray for those treating her to find the appropriate treatment and for trust in God and peace of mind for Janet and her family, in particular her husband of 45 years, Rev Roger Jessup, retired minister of Saint Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Orthodox Church.

Sam had surgery on his entire large intestine that had become infected. At the time of the operation he was just hours away from a complete organ shutdown. He had had turmoil in his life over the years. Sam is now in the ICU and his Minister visited him and explained to him God had given him another chance for him to make things right with his Lord. Pray for his good health and his spiritual life with Jesus.

Mike is a veteran who has served his country when she called. Please pray he will open his heart to God so He can make Mike’s crooked road straight and pull him towards the summit rather than to the pit.

Financial Guidance and Employment

Kona is applying for a job in the hospital. Pray our Lord will find the right position for her and she will glorify Him in the work.

Doug recently became unemployed from his job of 18 years. He has been applying for jobs, but unable to get one at this time. His wife is working; this is not enough for the family. Please pray he will find employment with a firm that will be able to use his considerable skill and hard work to benefit both the firm and the family.

Lori is considering a potential change in her employment. Please pray for God’s guidance in considering all aspects of her potential work.

Financial Guidance and Healing

Clark is in need of salvation; for God’s Will to be done in his life. Pray his family will be blessed with the financial miracles that come from doing His Will.

Guidance

Zachary is seems to be on his way away from the darkside; please pray he will continue towards our Lord and good citizenship.

Linda is slowly converting her children through her great loving attitude and Love of the Lord.

Judy seemingly does not want to allow the Holy Ghost into her heart so she might come to know our Lord and Savior, despite the efforts of her family. Please pray for her to open her heart and for her family to be at peace with their efforts.

Barbara has been recovering from cancer for the last three years. Pray for her husband Bill who has come down with a mental illness that may have been caused by much stress the last few years. Barbara and Bill will appreciate your prayers.

Larry is very weak and has periods of confusion and depression. Larry has been in the hospital and recently moved to a rehab. Please keep him in prayer as he begins to gain strength in the days ahead.

Thomas recently learned as the result of a parole violation he will not be allowed to return to society for the remainder of his life. He is despairing and fearful of his inability to cope with this new news and God’s plan for his life. Please pray he will be able to work with God to live with the choices he has made and go forward.

Cam has gotten into some of the issues being with the wrong crowds, too much dinking and making the wrong decisions. Pray he will ask God to send the Holy Ghost in to straighten things out and he will listen when He speaks to him.

Paul recently had his large toe amputated due to diabetes and is having a difficult recovery filled with fear about dying. He recently accepted Jesus as his savior and his family Rosie and Brenda are very grateful. Pray for strength for both Rosie and Brenda who are staying by his side through it all encouraging him on.

Steve is addicted to alcohol, pain pills and gambling. Pray for wisdom, courage and strength to stick with treatment and follow God’s plan for his life.

Eli has some mental issues and has lost his way. He has yet to come to grips with the demons chasing him. He has returned to his family living in a cottage on his parents’ property in Hawaii so that they can keep him on his meds. He is doing much better, but he still needs prayer to follow his medication schedule. His parents are so thankful for all of the prayers as they have felt the Holy Spirit’s power in handling Eli during his dark periods.

Michael and his Family ask your prayers for wisdom as they are under trial and affliction to follow the law of the land and yet honor God in so doing.

Flora is in remission with cancer, but has high blood pressure and fatigue. Flora’s Mother recently died and this has caused added stress. Please pray she will be able to let God carry her worry and sorrow so she can do the things she must do.

Mitten has a Christian talking to him about Christ. Mitten does not believe and does not seem to care. Please pray Mitten will see the light.

Kristen, Rickey and their two children ask you to pray for grace, wisdom and understanding as they attempt to cope with infidelity, separation and possibly divorce as a result of backsliding from the Lord into the World.

Helene and her family ask your prayers for them as they deal with the loss of Alan, husband and father.

Caitlin is in the grip of the Prince of Darkness; she thinks there is escape from reality in drugs. The saddest part is that reality is not as she sees it. Her family is despairing as they can do nothing to help her and ask that you pray for the Holy Ghost to enter into heart and show her the need for change before it is too late.

Nathaniel is in spiritual turmoil. His family and friends will appreciate it if you will keep him in your prayers for him to find the root of his trouble and accept God’s help.

Sam and her two children have been living in a shelter and are to lose their place there. Please pray a place will be found they can stay in and recover.

Norrie is facing daily exams in the weeks ahead. Pray for calmness and concentration and to do the best possible.

Jonathan is addicted to drugs. He is now in jail awaiting trial. His parents and friends will appreciate it if you will keep him in your prayers for him to find the root of his trouble and accept God’s help to heal addiction.

Beth is suffering from ungodly treatment in her marriage. Please pray God will guide her in her behavior, actions and thoughts that she might be able to lead her husband to God so her marriage might prosper to the benefit of them.

Jeanette has had many members of her family die from diabetes and several are near death now. Jeanette does not know the Lord and is despondent and perplexed about her family and herself. Please pray she can open her heart to allow the Holy Ghost in to bring her knowledge and understanding.

Sara asks that you pray for guidance for her as she deals with the stresses of life. Pray she can separate those things which she can affect from those things which she cannot and give her grace to accept that she cannot do everything and can only change those things within her control. She asks for God’s help to keep up with the needs of her husband and healing her own problems.

Jacquie to open her heart to God and accept His Love and Grace.

School Challenges

Destiny, Blake and Janet

Anglican Orthodox Church

Solomon Islands

Please pray for Bishop Zephaniah, the AOC and all the peoples of the Solomon Islands who are experiencing civil unrest as a result of the government switching their alliance from Taiwan to Communist China.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/solomon-islands-leader-blames-foreign-powers-unrest-australian-forces-arrive-n1284619

Diocese of Central and South America

Rev Miguel Madera was received into the Anglican Orthodox Church on 13 August 2018, with the AOC mission of San Augustin de Canterbury, La Plata, Argentina.

Indonesia

Please pray for the Lord’s will regarding the establishment of an AOC church in Indonesia.

Pakistan

Rev Asif Pervaiz Gill, was ordained as a minister by the Bishop Ernest Jacob of Pakistan on 1 March 2023. It takes great courage and commitment to be an identified representative of Jesus Christ in Pakistan. Think about that.

General and Ongoing – The forces of evil are strong in Pakistan. The force of God stronger. Pray for our Christian family there.

Ernest Jacob

Presiding Bishop Pakistan

Congo

Jimmy is a missionary in the Congo. There has been violent unrest in this country and also a water shortage. Please pray people will find water to drink and Jimmy will be a means of helping others to find the Lord.

Philippines

We are generally doing good, except that all boundary checkpoint out were tightened again due to the DELTA VARIANT entered the city. On the other side, our members in Tulodan are now experiencing famine due to the effect of the recent continues heavy rains during the month of July to early August which completely destroyed their vegetable plantation.

Bishop Anthony Pangsiw

Diocese of the Epiphany

Saint Paul’s Moberly, Missouri would like your prayers that the Holy Ghost might enter more fully into their hearts so that they might be more effective in spreading the Word of God.

Diocese of Virginia

Saint Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Orthodox Church is under a lot of stress. We all are, but they need even more prayer. Rev Roger Jessup, their wonderful minister, had to retire as he was so pressed by the duties of a primary care giver, in addition to all the worries of this world. Pray for trust in God for each member of the parish and for them to find economic relief.

Columbiq

I am writing to request your prayers for Colombia, my country. At this moment frightful things are happening, a great diabolical shadow is cast over this nation.

The Constitutional Court in a tyrannical way has decriminalized the crime of abortion in Colombia, even up to six months. This is an illegitimate process, the court is legislating, something that is not within the competence of the judges, on the other hand the issue of abortion was a cause judged in 2006, which is why it should not be judged again in 2022. But socialist groups, international elites, social engineers and feminist groups have not given up on the issue. They want to traffic in death.

The candidate of the extreme left Gustavo Petro is close to become the president of Colombia, this is a man who in his youth was a guerrilla criminal, a vile and despicable man who has always served the interests of drug trafficking, he was an advisor to Chavez who implanted Communism in Venezuela, his second home is Communist Cuba.

The same court approved the movement of Gustavo Petro called: la Colombia Humana, it gave him the status of a political party, with this, he has the possibility of getting to introduce at least 15 congressmen, basically he is close to kidnapping all the powers, he already has the judicial power in his pocket, he only lacks the executive and the legislative. We are close to the precipice, we trust in a miracle of God.

We hope you support us with your prayers, I will ask the brothers to pray unceasingly so that in his mercy we will be saved from these perverse men. God bless you and keep you in all things.

Your servant in Christ,

Bishop José Antonio Rios

Armed Forces & Contractors

Dustin (USAF – Stateside), SGT Donny Patton (USAF – Hulbert Field, Florida), Jordan Brown (USMC – Recruiter – Iowa City, Iowa), Trevor Jennings (USAF – KC-10 Boom Operator – McGuire AFB, NJ), Trevor Di Marco (USN – Whidbey Island, EF-18 Pilot), Kurt Thomas (USN – Headquarters, Virginia), Ethan (US Army Airborne – Southwest Asia) Sarah Schumacher (US Army Kuwait), Lourie DeBoer (NTPS Patuxent River, Maryland)

For Our Country

Our country has lost its way. Over half the people that vote, voted for a government that promises them things it cannot deliver in return for their souls which it can, will and does take. Our foreign policy backs the rise of Islam, we turn our backs on those who would follow God and arm those who murder them. Pray God will raise up a leader from among the people who can turn the country’s course 180° and attempt to come back to God. Pray the people will recognize that they are headed down a smooth wide road into the pit, a road that will get smoother and smoother, steeper and steeper until the only possible way is down. Down, into the depths of the pit. Pray people will recognize there is:

One True and Triune God who is goodness in and of Himself;
All religions are not equal;
All ways of life are not equal;
The Bible holds the Key to Life;
All rights come from God, not the State;
Good;
Bad;
Evil;
Right;
Wrong;
Allah is the Devil;
Abortion is no more than sacrifice of children to Baal.

Pray this recognition will not come too late. Pray we will, each of us, do our duty to God, Country and Family, putting His Honor above all.

Persecuted

Around the world, Christians are under attack, not only in the Muslim world, but from Hindus and others in India. Also, they are under continual attack in the name of Separation of Church and State in the western world, as it becomes actively atheist or pro-devil buddy. Please pray for God’s guidance and protection for all persecuted Christians and those around them.

Thanksgiving

David Barnes, husband of our headquarters church accountant (Joyce) had successful heart ablation surgery Wednesday, 18 October 2023. Please give thanks for the good result and pray for a full and rapid recovery.

Those members of the AOC who made the Biennial Convention in Statesville, North Carolina, either in person or via Zoom, give thanks for safe travels and a wonderful meeting.

Mary, 94, gives thanks for a successful repair to her hip replacement of last year and her heart issue being resolved. She has returned to her living facility and her son Mark is much relieved. They both ask that you give thanks for the great result.

Kai Mandella gives thanks for his recovery from Covid.

Hap gives thanks for his recovery from Covid.

Tricia gives thanks for her recovery from Covid.

Shamu gives thanks for recovery from Covid.

Rev Yves Mera and his wife give thanks for recovery from Covid.

Eddie Pressey from St. George’s Anglican Church of Ventura gives thanks for recovery from Covid.

Lynn and Katie Hall give thanks for recovery from Covid.

Amy Jamieson gives thanks for recovery from Covid.

Hope and Ralph DeLong give thanks for recovery from Covid.

Coming Up – The near future, as well as Next Sunday

5 November 2023 – END OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME IN THE UNITED STATES! – Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday – Morning Prayer – Service start time 1000 (10:00 am); welcome or gathering songs before the service at 0945 (9:45 am); Time 1000 (10:00 am); Location – 10603 Burrell Way, Descanso, CA

12 November 2023 – Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity Sunday – Morning Prayer – Service start time 1000 (10:00 am); welcome or gathering songs before the service at 0945 (9:45 am); Time 1000 (10:00 am); Location – 10603 Burrell Way, Descanso, CA

19 November 2023 – Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday – Morning Prayer – Service start time 1000 (10:00 am); welcome or gathering songs before the service at 0945 (9:45 am); Time 1000 (10:00 am); Location – 10603 Burrell Way, Descanso, CA

26 November 2023 – Sunday Next Before Advent – Morning Prayer – Service start time 1000 (10:00 am); welcome or gathering songs before the service at 0945 (9:45 am); Time 1000 (10:00 am); Location – 10603 Burrell Way, Descanso, CA

3 December 2023 – First Sunday in Advent– Morning Prayer – Service start time 1000 (10:00 am); welcome or gathering songs before the service at 0945 (9:45 am); Time 1000 (10:00 am); Location – 10603 Burrell Way, Descanso, CA

[1] Sir Winston Churchill, Speech, 1941, Harrow School

[2] Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. Healthy plasma cells help you fight infections by making antibodies that recognize and attack germs. In multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells. While there is no cure for multiple myeloma, the cancer can be managed successfully in many patients for years; the average life expectancy is 4 years. However, some people beat the odds and live 10 to 20 years or more. The most common cause of death related to multiple myeloma is infection, with pneumonia being the most common fatal infection. Other common causes of death are bleeding (from low platelet counts), complications of bone fractures, kidney failure, and blood clots in the lungs.

[3] The average 5-year survival rate for women with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer is 91%. The average 10-year survival rate for women with invasive breast cancer is 84%. If the invasive cancer is located only in the breast, the 5-year survival rate of women with breast cancer is 99%

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