Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide Communion
The week before Easter, commonly called Holy Week and Easter Sunday Sunday Report
Easter, 2024, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord) Bishop’s Letter
FOR even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
According to Juliet in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo & Juliet,What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. (Act 2, Scene 2)
I disagree with Shakespeare at least insofar as Easter is concerned. Names are important in their allusions to things of great import. Christ is the Lamb of God sacrificed from before the foundation of the world. As such, He became our Passover by means of His sacrifice at Calvary. The Scriptures clearly point to that sacrifice as our Passover, and I prefer that term to any made-up term we find in Bible translations – even the King James Version.
The word ‘Easter’ only occurs once in the King James Bible (Acts 12:4). The Greek term from which the word is translated is clearly Passover (Pesach) and is so translated in every other place it appears in Scripture.. The Geneva Bible does translate the word properly as Passover. The symbolic meaning is profound and should not be muddled with any substitute term. When we learn that Jesus was our Passover, and the Lamb of God sacrificed for us, we know that His title as our Passover is a sacred title. It clearly defines His death and resurrection as our Passover which was typified in Goshen of Egypt by the Passover lamb whose blood was smeared on the door posts and lintels of the houses of the Israelites. When the Angel of Death saw the blood of those lambs, he passed over that home. It is true today that when the Angel of death sees that we are covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, we will not taste spiritual death. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)
I am not insisting that we should avoid the use of the substitute term that has come to mean the Passover for the Christian Church, but I hope that we will all recognize its full meaning of that observance called the Lord’s Passover from the days of the bondage of Israel in Egypt. We must guard against any dilution of meanings in our days of Biblical observance. Christmas is not Xmas, or winter break. We should insist on original terms that are biblically proved. In every classical commentary I consulted, including Matthew Henry, John Gill, Barnes, Clark, JFB, Abbott, Robertson, and even Schofield, each insists that the proper term is not Easter, but Passover. So does the underlying Textus Receptus so state.
In our day, there is a frontal assault on our faith. Political correctness is attempting to change our vocabulary which undermines our accuracy of speech and feeling. Easter has come to mean the traditional celebration of that one Passover of Christ – and that is precisely what we celebrate in the recurring Communion Service. As long as we realize what the day is really all about, we shall be on good ground, whether we call it Easter or the Passover of the Lord.
By raising this issue, I do not intend to cause anyone to feel uncomfortable using the term, Easter, but I do hope we will know the special meaning it represents in Scripture.
Our best wishes for all our brothers and sisters in Christ this coming celebration of Easter, or Passover. God bless you and may you be courageous in the faith.
A Blessed Passover and Happy Easter!
Jerry L. Ogles
Presiding Bishop
Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
Holy Week
The week starting on Palm Sunday and continuing through the Saturday before Easter is commonly called Holy Week and the week in which the passion of our Savior is commemorated. The week starts with the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and ends with the death of the Savior on the Cross and the burial of His body in the tomb. It is a week of ups and downs without parallel and precedes the most joyous day of the year, the Day of the Resurrection or Easter Sunday.
Jesus has a triumphant entry into the city on the First Day of the Week (Sunday); on Thursday night he celebrates the Passover with his disciples in the Upper Room, he prays and agonizes over what he knows is coming in the garden of Gethsemane; Judas betrays him early Friday morning, his most trusted disciple denies him; the Jews condemn him to Pilate who in turn orders him to be beaten and humiliated; that does not satisfy the Jews and at their request, Pilate condemns a man he knows to be innocent to a horrible death to pacify the crowd of Jews assembled by the priests; Jesus is crucified, asks John to take care of his mother and gives up the ghost; his body is taken down and buried; the disciples are dispersed and discouraged; they have listened to their Lord, but not understood.
Think of this week from the disciples’ perspective, on the first day they enter with their leader into Jerusalem in triumph; mid-week they celebrate the joyous feast of the Passover, then their leader is betrayed, defends himself not and is killed. At the time they surely could not think of this as a Holy Week and certainly not a Good Friday. Yet on the first day of the week that follows, our Lord is Risen, Risen indeed and delivers the promise of salvation in person.
What a week!
Monday
On Monday, Jesus preached in the Temple and further distanced Himself from the people’s vision and demonstrated God’s vision. He went in to the temple and through out the vendors selling “sacrificial” birds and animals at exorbitant cost, as well as the moneychangers, changing Roman money for Temple money dishonestly. Far from announcing Himself head of the temple, He announced they had made His Father’s house a den of thieves. Rather than working within the Jewish establishment, He over turned it!
Tuesday
Jesus and the Pharisees dispute in the Temple. He left for the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. There he delivers the “Mount of Olives Discourse”. Judas agrees to betray him to the Jewish priests for 30 pieces of silver.
Wednesday
The Sanhedrin was gathered together and decided to kill Jesus, even before Pesach if possible. In the meantime, Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. Here he was anointed on his head by Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, with very expensive ointment of spikenard. Some of the disciples, particularly Judas Iscariot, keeper of the purse, were indignant about this; the oil could have been sold to support the poor. “This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” In this case, Judas recalls to mind many politicians. Jesus reminded them of the importance of first things first and the futility of giving, rather than helping, when He said in Matthew 26.11 “For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.” Judas went to the Sanhedrin and offered them his support in exchange for silver. From this moment on Judas was looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. Judas spied on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane where he came on his plan.
Maundy Thursday
At the Passover Feast, Jesus and his disciples share the “Last Supper” and He washes their feet. Jesus blesses his bread and wine as his flesh and blood and shares it with his disciples, the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. As Paul tells us in his First Letter to the Corinthians, “…the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
At this same dinner, the disciples manage to quarrel over who should be the boss of who. Jesus tells them he came in the role of a servant, as He is their master, their role is likewise that of servants. In a move designed to reveal both His knowledge aforehand and our frailty, He tells Peter that Peter will deny Him thrice fore the cock croweth, or dawn breaks. Peter, a loyal follower, denies what will be shown as clear fact. Remember the further you let yourself get from the Lord, the weaker you are. Weakness grows with the cube of the distance. Stay close.
As the dinner goes on, Jesus tells them one of them will betray Him. Not able to grasp that any of them would literally betray Him, each asks, “Is it I?” Judas knows.
Jesus tells the disciples things are heating up, counsels them to arm themselves and goes out to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. Disciples come with Him, despite their best efforts, they fall asleep. Night has long fallen, the end of the day is near by our reckoning. The end is near for Jesus here on earth. Even nearer for Judas.
Good Friday
Good Friday was the day in which Jesus was tried by the Jews, tried by Pilate, condemned, crucified, died and was buried[1]. Except in hindsight, this was not a Good Friday at all.
In the early hours before sunup, Jesus is betrayed by the “Judas Kiss” and arrested. At sunrise, he is disowned by Peter thrice before the cock croweth. When brought before Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest, and his Council, he is condemned. He says that he will rise from death after three days.
They hand him over to the Roman authority, Pontius Pilate, who sends him to Herod (Antipas, the son of Herod the Great). Then Pilate asks the crowd who he is to pardon: a murderer, or Jesus? The crowd chooses Barabas and Jesus is sentenced to death. Pilate’s actions made famous the line, “I wash my hands of this.” While he might have attempted to wash the guilt for the murder of the world’s one truly innocent man on to the Jews, he remains the one who condemned him to death. Pilate was nothing if not a politician and bureaucrat. The condemnation was to him the simplest solution to the problem of a Jewish hierarchy’s manufactured crowd’s anger. What was the death of one Jew to him? Yet he was worried enough to attempt to wash his hands of the guilt.
Jesus is brought to Calvary, where on the “third hour” (9 am) he is crucified. He is mocked as he hangs between the Bad Thief and the Good Thief, whom he blesses. On the “sixth hour” (noon), darkness covers the land. Jesus cries out “My God, My God, hast Thou forsaken Me? ”
After drinking wine, he commits his spirit to his Father and dies. Matthew reports an earthquake that destroys the Temple. Many understand now that Jesus was the Son of God. His body is taken down and anointed. He is buried in a new tomb donated by Joseph of Arimethea. This is the first day of death.
The Collect for Good Friday
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MERCIFUL God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made, nor desirest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; Have mercy upon all who know thee not as thou art re- vealed in the Gospel of thy Son. Take from them all ig- norance, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy fold, that they may be made one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle for Good Friday comes from the Tenth Chapter of Saint Paul’s letter to the Hebrews beginning at the First Verse.
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HE law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt-offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God: he taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from hence-forth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; then saith he, And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Much like the Gospel for Palm Sunday, if you imagine yourself there it will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up at points. The Gospel came from the Nineteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John beginning at the First Verse:
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ILATE therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; and went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Cæsar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment-seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midAnd Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every sol-dier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirNow there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghoThe Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
Sermon – Time and Action
Good Friday’s sermon is contained in the BC strip below. It pretty much covers the meaning of Good Friday. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3.16
Holy Saturday
The Jewish Council remembers his vow to return and has the tomb guarded and sealed with a heavy stone. Second day of death. From the time Jesus left his body on the cross until the resurrection, little is known. It is said in the Apostle’s Creed that “He descended into hell”, where he did battle with the Devil for our souls, a battle the Devil was destined to lose.
Easter Sunday
On the third day of death, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary find the tomb empty, but for an angel who tells them Jesus is already resurrected and is on His way to Galilee. On their way to tell the others, Jesus appears to them. Death is conquered, the Promise delivered. Our lives from this day forward are eternal!
Think about the Week that was!
The reason Jesus came to Jerusalem at the Passover was to take the place of the yearly sacrifice by one perfect sacrifice, one time, for all time and for all mankind. His was the blood marking our door that the destroyer might pass over. The week started on a triumphant note and ended up trying to do between there were windows into the future, glimpses of the past, moments of despair, moments of terror, moments of confusion; but in the end joy and the ultimate triumph.
Easter Sunday
Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, “Christ the Lord IS Risen today!”
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 –
Theory
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.
Albert Einstein
The idol which divides your convictions with Jehovah, is not, indeed a pagan image. Tis that universal object of the worship of unconverted men, this world with its pleasures, riches, [and] honors. For that to which you look for your prime happiness, which you seek with supreme devotion, and in which you rely as your chief good, is practically your God… If this world is a sufficient god, if it can satisfy the instincts of a rational soul, and confer solid happiness… then follow the world… decisively, and exclusively. Halt no longer between it and God. But if it is manifestly insufficient for these ends, then turn at once from it, and follow God.
Rev. Robert Lewis Dabney
19th century minister, scholar, and officer in the Confederate Army
The Immediate Decision
If there were any word of God beside the Scripture, we could never be certain of God’s Word; and if we be uncertain of God’s Word, the devil might bring in among us a new word, a new doctrine, a new faith, a new church, a new god, yea himself to be a god. If the Church and the Christian faith did not stay itself upon the Word of God certain, as upon a sure and strong foundation, no man could know whether he had a right faith, and whether he were in the true Church of Christ, or a synagogue of Satan.
Thomas Cranmer
16th century Anglican Bishop and Theologian
author of the first Book of Common Prayer and martyr for the faith
A far larger question that explores the relationship between God and evil is… ‘Do you mean to tell me God is going to send some poor person in Africa [etc. to hell] for simply not believing in a Christ he never heard of?… I don’t believe God is going to send people to hell for their ignorance. Notice I didn’t say, ‘No I don’t believe they are going to hell.’ The Bible makes it clear that, when it comes to God, no one is ignorant… God has revealed by his creation that a divine Person created this world… [He] also has revealed Himself in the light of conscience… Everyone has been given a moral monitor that tells [them] that some things are right and some… are wrong… As a result, no one can claim ignorance… I have asked people from all over the world… this question: Have you ever done anything you believed was wrong? Every person has responded exactly the same way …’Of course, everybody has’… They know they have done things that were wrong. If, therefore, they condemn themselves, why should they be surprised if God condemns them.
James Kennedy
20th and 21st century American pastor, teacher and author
Skeptics Answered, pp. 118-120
We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us.
Charles H. Spurgeon
19th century English pastor and author
Morning and Evening, p. 381
Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.
Matthew 19:4
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 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 an ordained minister.
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 163-164, with the Collect first:
Easter Sunday.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said daily throughout Easter Week.
The Epistle came from Saint Paul’s letter to the Colossians, the Third Chapter, beginning at the First Verse:
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F ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
As usual, Paul is exhorting us to be the New Man, to put away the trappings of the old and go forward. He asks us to do what anyone who is successful does, hang around with those you want to be like in the end and to emulate their actions. In this case rather that earthly success, Paul is helping prepare us for eternal success through salvation.
The Holy Gospel came from the Gospel of Saint John, Twentieth Chapter, beginning at the First Verse. It is the straightforward accounting of the discovery by Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and John that the Lord was risen indeed.
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HE first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
Jerry Ogles
Presiding Bishop
Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
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.
Also, from time to time, Bishop Jerry records short devotionals and passes them on, in this one he talks about the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus and also explains just what is a Parable.
Easter Sunday
But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee
Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide
31 March 2024, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)
Easter Sunday.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said daily throughout Easter Week.
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ND when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. 9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. (Mark 16:1-13)
It is pitiful to observe how afraid and fearful were the women who found an empty Tomb. It is absolutely the most beautiful thing that has ever happened for the benefit of man – that the Tomb of Jesus was empty! How often do we observe the wonder of the God’s work and mistake it for a thing fearful and sad. Fear locks our mouth and stops our testimony. Is it not a wonderful thing to find an empty Tomb and a Risen Lord in lieu of a dead and lifeless body? Perhaps it was their fear and momentary loss of faith that prevented Christ from immediately appearing to them. But can we fault these courageous ladies very much? They lingered at the foot of the cross with John when many others of the disciples were in hiding. They were the ones who followed the body to the Garden Tomb (on loan from Joseph of Arimathaea) and watched there until the Tomb was made sure. 61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. (Matt 27:61) Perhaps it was AMAZEMENT more than anything else that caused their reaction. How can we proclaim such an overwhelmingly marvelous thing?
It is true we often disregard even the counsel of angels in our fears. The great Angel spoke to them and, as usual, prefaced his words with “Be not affrighted.” There was no cause for fear, but there WAS great cause for joy. Sometimes we tend to mix our emotions in the wrong way. When God’s Hand moves to the healing of His people, should our hearts not brim with love and joy! But the circumstances simply overwhelmed the women. As my mother used to say, “They were beside themselves.” NEVER did they expect to see what they found:
First
The Stone was rolled back. It would take many strong men to perform that task. Fortunately, there were guards there to insure no man’s hand broke the Roman seal. But the great Angel rolled away the Stone with little effort.
Second
The women entered a Tomb not yet completely empty – there was an Angel there to greet their fears.
Third
The Angel spoke kind words to allay their foreboding fear. Fourthly, the Angel told them that Christ was risen. Should we not believe an Angel when all evidence supports his claim? He even showed them the place where Christ had laid.
Fourth
The Angel told them something that demonstrated the sweet graces of the Balm of Gilead. You will recall that Peter has suffered for these three days the awful pain of having renounced the Lord his God before the court of the Sanhedrin. 56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. 57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. 58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. 60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:56-62) The look of Christ was not one of reproach, but of deep disappointment – that disappointment one feels when his best friend has ruthlessly betrayed him. How this look had plagued poor Peter. How he despised himself, and ached in the depths of his heart. If he could only take his words back! The Angel told the women: But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee. Did you catch the grace-laden meaning of this comment, friends? …tell his disciples and Peter… Though His hands of mercy were driven through with iron spikes, His feet nailed to the cross, a crown of thorns for a crown, and the ridicule of the multitudes to welcome His gaze, the Lord knew the agony of Peter, and addressed it with love and forgiveness. The angel did not send news to the disciples ONLY, but specifically to Peter – the only name mentioned for the sake of emphasis.
Though we should be pained by our sins, Christ addressed our failings on the cross in the same way that He sent word to the suffering Peter – “you have not been renounced by ME, though I was renounced by you. My heart is too great to harbor vengeance against one who loves me and hurts me out of fear.” Though we know and love Christ, our sinful nature may often cause us to renounce Him through our weakened flesh. We carelessly may recite the Lord’s Prayer and not mean a word of it. We may enter church as a social feast rather than as an occasion to worship in reverence for the One who bled and died for us.
Our Roman friends have come to the Tomb in the same way the women came. They seek and worship a dead body on the cross. But He is not there. He is risen! They erroneously believe that Christ must be sacrificed anew at every Mass they celebrate.. But the Lord’s Table is not an altar, but the Table of the Lord whereby we are fed in the glorious elements of Bread and Wine to signify His spiritual presence in His Body and Blood. The great truth that may escape our understanding is that we, too, are a portion of His Body broken for the Kingdom. Both the Old, and New, Testament Church are the Body of Christ nourished by that Blood shed for us more than two thousand years ago. Abraham knew it, Isaac illustrated it, and all others who looked forward to the promise (as we look back to the accomplished fact) constitute the Body of Christ.
The Gospel ends today a bit awkwardly leaving the women fearful on Easter morning, the. But, thanks be to God, the narrative continues in the next several verses:
9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:9-20)
I added these verses for a purpose. First, because these verses alleviate our fears and give us hope in the sure knowledge of the resurrection of Christ; and, secondly, because, if you are using one of the phony new translations such as the NIV, those last nine verses are enclosed in parentheses. The authors of these errant bibles then stipulate, falsely, in the footnote that these verses do not appear in the more ancient and reliable manuscripts. They refer, of course, to the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus which do not even agree in many points with each other and which leave entire passages blank on the manuscript page. These constitute only 5% of manuscript evidence while the Textus Receptus of the Reformation agree in all points and constitute 95% of all manuscript evidence. The Thirty-Nine Articles require the commonly received text upon which the KJV, the Geneva Bible, and all Reformed Bibles are based. Let us use the Bible with a true history and testimony in lieu of the watered down, politically correct Bible of our day.
Jack Arnold
Bishop of the Diocese of the West – AOC USA
Education and Training
Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide
Bp Jack brings the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together because as is always the case there is a unifying message in the Scripture for this Sunday. Bp Jack’s sermon can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/aZmK8kjCpPc
Good morning! I hope you are all doing well. In today’s sermon we will be looking at the unifying message of the Collect, Epistle and Gospel and examine how they share a common message of action as we celebrate Jesus’ delivery of the promise of life eternal with Him in our life to come. This Day of the Resurrection is when the promise of eternal life is delivered. Those who condemned him on the Friday morning now left on the ash heap of history.
Today is Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The central event of not only the Christian Year; but of Christianity and the entire world. Witness the terms AD and BC. Anno Domini (the year of our Lord) and Before Christ. Even the politically correct BCE – CE (that is to say, Before Common Era and Common Era) divides time at the birth of our Lord. Even those who fall in that trap must recognize Him!
When you google images for the term Easter, you find 95 percent of the images are eggs, bunnies and chocolates. That is NOT our celebration. That is NOT what Easter is about. Easter is not about finding goodies inside plastic shells. It is not about the end of Winter and the coming of Spring. What it is about is the beginning of a new life for those who will accept it.
The Christian Year has four main celebrations:
- Christmas celebrates the incarnation or human birth of Jesus, the Christ of God.
- Epiphany celebrates His revealing to the Gentiles, that would be us!
- Good Friday observes or remembers, the word celebrate hardly fits here, the one time sacrifice for all mankind for all time by our Lord and Savior (that is where the word savior comes in) that we might be accounted as perfect when we stand before Him at the final judgment day.
- Today, Easter is, in Spanish La Resurreccion, in English The Resurrection, The Return to Life of Jesus, Christ of God, who returned from death, from Hell, to deliver His promise of eternal life in person!
Let us start by reading today’s Collect:
Easter Sunday.
The Collect.
A |
LMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said daily throughout Easter Week.
Consider these words from the Collect:
… who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect…
In the Collect, we acknowledge by the sacrifice made on Good Friday by the One and Only Perfect Man, a single sacrifice, made one time, for all mankind, for all time by our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ of God, we have eternal life. We no longer our bound to the rules of the Old Covenant whereby animal sacrifices were required. These sacrifices have never worked, as they could not provide what Christ provided in His Sacrifice. He provided a body free and unblemished from the tarnishes of sin. He was truly the perfect Lamb without blemish or spot. This would allow Him to stand in our place. He truly took our place upon the cross of sin literally and figuratively. By Jesus Christ overcoming death, we through Him, are no longer under the threat of death of our eternal soul in the Pit. No longer can anyone condemn us to death, they may destroy our bodies, but we live on in Him and through Him in Heaven. This is truly worth celebrating, With an acknowledgement of the fact God sent His Son to be our Savior giving us eternal life, we go on to ask His Help so our hearts might desire good and with that Help put those desires into action so that we might accept that eternal life offered us by that same Jesus Christ. That is what that preventing is all about. Today we think of the word as meaning stopping something, but it also means going before one, as in this case God’s special or particular grace preparing the way for us by changing our hearts to desire what is good for us rather than things we often want that are bad for us in the end. Because if we are to follow that narrow uphill path towards heaven, we need God’s grace to go before us and prepare the way if we are to make it.
When God sent His Son to be our Savior, the Creator, Lord and Master of the Universe sent His only Son to not only live amongst us and minister and guide us, but to give His earthly life as a one time sacrifice for our sin that we might be accounted as perfect in our final accounting, the resurrection. Today is the day of His Resurrection, where we celebrate His triumphant return from his descent into Hell after he died on the Cross and battled Satan for our souls. Not a lot of people think about the suffering Christ endured on our behalf after His painful death upon the cross. When HE died His sufferings had only just begun as He descended into darkness itself, Satan’s dominion, to do battle with Satan for our souls. We will never know about the particular details of that battle, but it is good enough for us to know that He triumphed and won our eternal freedom. He freed us from the shackles of Death. God valued His Son exceedingly, but consider then how much He loves us in turn to allow His Precious Only Begotten Son to die a painful death and to do battle with the Devil for our eternity.
Jesus set an example of humility and patience, both exceedingly rare qualities in us. He has set for us the ultimate example to follow in regards to both qualities. That example is extremely difficult for us to follow without God’s help. However it is our duty as Christians to do our best and not just say it to follow Jesus’s example. This is the reason God sent the Holy Ghost to be here with us. With Jesus’ sacrifice and the help of the Holy Ghost to follow Him, turning our backs on this world, we can renew our minds and transform ourselves into the New Man 2.0. The resurrection itself sets a pattern that we should follow. We must first die, that is to stop our sinning, then rise again, that is to live, with humility and patience like the example Jesus set for us. Jesus set the ultimate standard for action and we must do our very best to follow that standard. His whole ministry consisted of actions. He didn’t just speak very kind words, He lived and breathed those words through His Actions. It is clear that we must do likewise if we truly profess to be Christians.
There was a reason God set Easter, as well as the Passover, in the springtime. Not only was the time of His death and rising again, but it came at a time where the flowers bloomed anew, having been dead in winter, as Christ had been dead, and rose again, just as those flowers bloom again. This is truly symbolic of His Death and Resurrection and it is no coincidence Easter happened during this time.
If you think doing our best to following Jesus’s standard is too hard to accomplish, stop and think about what Jesus went through, is it as hard as His Trials and Death and Battling Satan? No matter who you are, the answer is never going to be yes. In the end, the path we must follow will still be easier than if we refuse to follow Him and try and forge our own path. We have to remind ourselves that we will be far happier if we follow His example and lead a righteous and steadfast life, full of grace and humility, as well as patience.
In our lives, it is important to think about Jesus’ example before we do what we want to do. Is what you are wanting in line with Jesus’ message? Think about the answer. Think about what He would do in a given situation. Don’t let your natural inclinations dictate your decisions but stop and let the Holy Ghost into your heart to help decide. If you let the Holy Ghost in to your heart you will know the answer; you will know what you are supposed to do. You may not like it, but you will know it. Which is more comforting than the World’s way, which seems to go off in every which direction, and they are never certain about anything. However, we can be certain about what we know, what believe and we can translate that certainty into our actions. This is because we follow the ultimate unwavering source of truth, God Himself.
Jesus knew what was coming, how much it would hurt both His Body and Soul as He went through with the crucifixion and subsequent descent in to Hell and the battle that awaited Him for our souls. Yet, He also knew this was God’s Will that we might live. If He did this for you, how can you not follow Him wherever His Will takes you? If He was willing to do that for all of us, then how can we not repay Him? His Sacrifice demands that we repay Him to the best of our ability, by the sheer nature of it; his perfection being offered in place of our imperfection. He set the ultimate standard for following God’s Will even if it leads to bodily injury/pain and or death. We must strive to emulate that standard as much as we are able to.
These days people have forgotten how special Jesus’s Death and Resurrection is to us. It is a sign of the times, perhaps maybe even close to the end times that Churches have fallen into apostasy and are even actively denying His Ministry, His Death and His Resurrection. We must not follow those Churches into the Pit, but follow the Holy Ghost on the narrow uphill path towards heaven. Jesus commanded us to always remember His Death and Passion, that we might be partakers of His Heavenly Kingdom. We do not yet know if this is the End Times but we would be wise to treat it as if it is and live as if every day could be our last day here on Earth.
If we do not remember His Death and Passion, can we truly be partakers of His Heavenly Kingdom?
How can we?
He is asking us to act and if we do not choose to act for Him then we cannot be truly on His Side. It is not enough just to ‘have’ faith, we need to back our faith up with actions and choose to act For Him, to remember His Ministry, Death and Resurrection and do our best with the help of the Holy Ghost to follow the standard He set.
Jesus set an example difficult to follow even with the help of the Holy Ghost, but impossible to follow without the help of the Holy Ghost. Our eternal life does not come to us for free. It was paid with the blood of God’s only begotten Son. We have a debt to Him we cannot even close to repaying, but we can start by choosing to follow Him each and every day. Where we fall short, we get back up the next day and do better than the previous day.
We must remember His Example when times get harder and more difficult as it becomes closer to the end of this world and the beginning of our eternity with God. Let us act for Him and make it known that we reject mammon and embrace the example of Jesus Christ. We may lose friends and even family as a result of standing with God; the consequences for not standing with God are far worse than losing shallow people in your life.
By the way, did you notice when John and Simon Peter came to the empty tomb they saw the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself? Why were the linen clothes simply discarded, but the napkin that had been around His head neatly folded? Like a guest getting up from the table for a bit, He folded His napkin because He would return.
When the time comes, how will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God – Live of God – Act of God
Roy Morales-Kuhn, Bishop and Pastor
Saint Paul’s Anglican Church
Diocese of the Midwest Anglican Orthodox Church
Bishop Roy is pastor of the biggest AOC parish West of the Mississippi. He wears many hats; he is the Bishop of the Master Diocese of the Midwest, the Diocese of the Epiphany as well as the Administrative Director of Central and South America. He is also the Suffragan Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church of the United States of America.
Easter Sunday
The Gate of Everlasting Life
31 March 2024, AD
Colossians 3:1-4 • John 20.1-10
Easter Sunday.
The Collect.
O |
GOD, who for our redemption dist give thine only-begotten Son to the death of the Cross, and by his glorious resurrection hast delivered us from the power of our enemy; Grant us so to die daily from sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through the same thy Son Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said daily throughout Easter Week.
Anthems
C |
HRIST our Passover is sacrificed for us*therefore let us keep the feast, Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, * but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
C |
HRIST being raised from the dead dieth no more * death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once * but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin * but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:9-11)
C |
HRIST is risen from the dead * and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death * by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die * even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
G |
LORY be to the Father, and to the Son * and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be * world without end. Amen.
T |
HE first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together. in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. (John 20: 1-10)
The simple lesson of the Resurrection is just that, simple. Many sceptics over the centuries have tried very hard to find a way to prove that Christ did not rise again from the dead.
On that first Easter morning all the prophecies foreshadowed in the Old Testament were fulfilled about the coming Messiah. This included the promise of he who would conquer Death. These prophecies that pertained to the Perfect Living Sacrifice, the Lamb of God, who would be slain for the sins of the world, had been fulfilled.
And yet he would not see corruption, he would not molder in the grave. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Ps 16:10)
He would rise again, as he said, after three days. We can see this depicted in the story of the prophet Jonah.
The story of Jonah, a foreshadow of Christ death, burial and resurrection, three days in the belly of the great fish, comes back from what would have been certain death. The difference of course, Christ did die.
The evidence of his death was the blood and water that flowed from his side when the soldier pierced his side with the spear.
Again, an indication of death, the heart being stopped, the blood separated from the serum. A sure sign that the body had expired. Christ had not fainted. He did not swoon as some have later posited. He was dead. And yet from this death he arose.
He was and is victorious over death and the grave. He overcame it and so will we who are his believers. Each and every Sunday is a celebration of this triumph; in a sense, a mini-Easter, to remind us of the great sacrifice on the Cross. In the early church it was this Sunday, Easter, that new converts were baptized into the church. It was this that the great promise of life over death was clearly taught.
I’d like us to look at a curious detail in this account of that First Easter Day.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
A custom of dining and hospitality that was practiced throughout much of the Mid-East is quietly inserted here. If a diner was not finished with their meal OR they were going to return to the supper table after being away for a while, they would fold their napkin and place it where it could be seen. This would indicate to the host or serving staff, the diner/guest would return.
Jesus told his disciples he would return after his crucifixion, he would be back after a short while. And he did come back. He rose from the grave. Death could not hold him, he conquered Death and by example showed us that we too will do the same…some wonderful day.
Now after the disciples discovered Jesus was not in the tomb, they went back to their homes that Easter morning, amazed, confused, maybe even scared. They did not know what to do next.
Jesus will soon answer their questions, amazement, and fear; He will reveal himself to them, in a physical form. Make a note of his recorded activities during this post resurrection – pre-ascension period. He eats food, and yet he does not drink any wine. He said he would not drink of the vine until he returned to gather his own. Small and yet important details in the Gospel message.
We will see over the next 40 days, with Christ Jesus revealing himself to his followers and some 500 others a clear message will be forth coming. Christ filled in the details that the disciples had forgotten about his first Advent. He will explain what was to come. And most importantly there will be this witness to his resurrected body, a fact that will cause people to willing die when they are forced to make a choice between the risen Christ and a pagan god/government or any other adversary.
Let us reflect on the passage from Paul’s letter to the church at Colossi.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
If we turn our eyes upon Jesus, if we meditate, read, search the Word of God, the Bible for the meaning of this wonderful Day, then the things of earth will grow strangely dim. Let us be dead to the cares and worries of this life, let us be hid in Christ.
Because Christ is our life and in him shall we appear in glory.
What a wonderful promise found in these four verses. Here Paul comforts and encourages those believers at Colossi, that God is on His throne, that Jesus Christ is at His side and all things here on earth have no value. We must look up, for our redemption draweth nigh.
Let us pray:
A |
LMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ has overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
G |
LORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
G |
OD the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Spirit, bless you and keep you; the Lord make his Face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his Countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen
T |
HE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
✟
Yves M. Méra
Presiding Bishop – AOC France
Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide
We are fortunate to have a sermon from the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church of France. As you will read, he is an excellent writer. The sermon is easy to read and provides much insight.
Jesus Risen
Easter Sunday
24 March 2024
The Gospel of the resurrection is the most extraordinary of all God’s inspired writings. This is not, however, a fairy tale, but a historical reality attested to by many authors, both Christian and pagan. Contemporaries, even Jesus’ enemies, confirm that Jesus did exist and that he died crucified. Whether Jews or pagans, contemporaries never denied the existence of Jesus, nor His death on a cross: Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars: The Jews did not cease to agitate at the instigation of Chrestus. Tacitus, Annals: Christus, who, in the reign of Tiberius, was condemned to death by the procurator Pontius Pilate. Flavius Josephus, Judaic Antiquities: He mentions the martyrdom of James brother of Jesus surnamed Christ.
The Jews were first to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. They made up a story of the removal of the body by His disciples, but they did not even search for His body, which would have provided them with a definite proof of their claims, for they knew that Jesus was risen indeed, what they did not want YOU to know (Matthew 28:12-15): And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Everything has to be paid for, even lies.
Even today, the world into which God sends us is up to doing all it can to erase the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ from memory. Recent versions of the Bible, as well as New Testament manuscripts discovered in the 19th century, at a time when forgeries of ancient texts were possible, omit most of the mention of Christ’s resurrection, especially in Paul’s Epistles. In this way, the crowds are being prepared to embrace the new unique world religion that is compatible with Islam. Knowing that Muslims will never compromise, Christians are being asked to renounce their faith in Christ’s resurrection.
Similarly, the French law requiring one free morning per week for the teaching of catechism in elementary schools is no longer applied. It is as if the National Education Department is run by Rabbis!
And how will young people believe if they are not taught the historical facts about Christ? In apostolic times, Christians sent their children to pagan schools, and Bible teaching was given to them by their parents, in the family, at home. There is an urgent need to revive this ancient practice, otherwise the very name of Jesus will be forgotten by the following generations. It is therefore necessary and vital that parents read the Bible as a family, and hear the preaching of the Word of God during the Bible readings and the Sunday Sermon in church. provided, however, that the preaching is true, and that it expounds the Word of God without amending or watering it down: the Bible, the whole Bible, nothing but the Holy Bible.
This is what Paul exhorts us to do in Colossians 3:1b-2: … seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth for When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:4). Yes, Christ will return in glory, and so will we! His resurrection life, which he communicates to us, is an eternal life, in a world without end. He will not ride a donkey again, as on the eve of His Passion, but He will come in the clouds, escorted by armies of faithful Angels to the Truth of the living God, Creator and Merciful. And again, this won’t be a fairy tale but reality. The unbelievers will be terrified and will hide in caves (Luke 23:30): Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. And in Revelation 6:16b-17, they will say, … Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
But for you who are risen with Christ (Colossians 3:1), … ye also appear with him in glory (v. 4b). And in order to rise again with Christ, one must first die: For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God (v.3). Yes, like Christ and in imitation of Paul, we are dead to the world and to Satan, to his deeds and works which are aimed at the destruction of the Creation, God’s perfect work. We resist temptation and covetousness as opposed to any disobedience to the Ten Commandments as it is written in Ephesians 5:3-11: But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Yes, as you have heard it, Paul is asking us to denounce evil works, not to judge sinners (they are already judged), but to warn them of the wrath of God that will come upon them, as if by surprise. They will then have a good time begging one more moment, Mr. Executioner, asking for one last cigarette, or one last glass of whisky… but it will not even occur to them to say a last prayer, because for them it will already be TOO LATE.
Unlike us who died with Christ on the cross, through faith in His atoning sacrifice for our sins, and through the baptism we received, we will go the other way: as Christ came out of the hill of Calvary in which His tomb was dug, we will come out of our hiding places in the mountains to meet the Lord on the clouds, in Heaven. (Matthew 26:64b): Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then we will walk to our Savior like the wise virgins in the parable (Matthew 25:6): And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.; Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17). And those who have fallen asleep in faith will rise again at the voice of the Lord: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16), For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
Let everyone be reassured and know it: Unrepentant sinners will not escape judgment, while we who believe will not escape the grace that God gives us in Jesus Christ, Who redeemed us by His sacrifice on the cross (John 10:27-29): My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
My friends, let us not be unbelieving disciples, but believers. The holy women who followed Jesus, and even the Apostles—starting with the first of them, Peter the Triple Renegade—followed Jesus in affection and feeling, but they did NOT yet KNOW that Christ was risen and alive. However, it was not for lack of warning them many times (Matthew 16:21-23): From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men (Mark 9:10): And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
They didn’t want Christ to die, because they didn’t know it was thus He would save us. Yet they had seen Lazarus come out of his tomb alive at the voice of the Lord (John 11:43): He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth But Lazarus no longer lives on earth. Like all of us, he awaits the general resurrection at the end of this world. Jesus’ disciples then had no clue about eternity, and of life beyond time and duration.
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre (John 20:1-3). Here, the natural collides head-on with the supernatural. Mary Magdalene dares giving a carnal explanation for a miracle, and Peter does not believe her, because her words seem incoherent to him… and to good human reason!
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. (John 20:6-7). Rising from the dead, Jesus does not leave everything in the lurch. God is a God of order, not disorder. Christ fulfills His word, the whole Word of God, even in the smallest details: Let all things be done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:40), For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (1 Corinthians 14:33). Let’s think about that while cleaning up! Let’s tidy up!
And it was because before Pentecost their human minds were still down-to-earth, at the daisies’ level, that they didn’t understand what had happened: For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. (John 20:9). They were like the companions of Emmaus to whom risen Jesus appeared, they were lacking of Bible knowledge: And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27).
But as Peter still did not understand anything, For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home (John 20:9-10). And it was there that the risen Christ came to seek them (John 20:19): Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. – Shalom!
In the same way, the risen Christ comes to seek the elect of the Eternal Father (Revelation 3:20): Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. The risen Christ entered into our hearts, as He entered into the place where the disciples were assembled. Not by breaking in, but by persuasion and conviction. And this is what He promises us – and which remains true forever – (Revelation 3:21-22): To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.; Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts … For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end (Hebrews 3:7-8a, 14).
United with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we do have the victory and the assurance of our eternal salvation yet. And we know it! Amen.
Rev Bryan Dabney of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon
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.
Easter Sunday
In today’s Epistle lesson Paul wrote, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. This world and all that is in it will one day perish so it is important for us as regenerated souls in Christ to seek those things which our Lord has encouraged us with for our eternal good and his greater glory. With that in mind we learned from Scripture that prior to his betrayal and arrest by the temple authorities, our Lord spoke to the disciples of his coming crucifixion and death as well as his resurrection from the dead with these words: Verily, verily I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy (John 16:20). His disciples did not fully grasp what was about to happen to him. While they had followed our Lord throughout his earthly ministry and had witnessed his miraculous works; they were to experience another— his resurrection from the dead.
The importance of the resurrection is clear. It is the chief tenet of biblical Christianity as it binds the others together into one complete package. Both the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds— which we recite in our liturgies of Communion and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer— affirm this important principle as integral to the Christian faith. For, after all, it is through this tenet that God will one day bring to fruition his work of redemption and deliverance for all who believe on his only begotten Son. Let us now consider what the Scriptures have to say about the resurrection to life.
Job spoke of the resurrection of the body when he said, For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me (Job 19:25-27). Job was a man beat down and oppressed by Satan. The devil turned all he had into ruin and even had his wife and friends joining in to pounce upon his character. In spite of all they leveled at him, Job was given by inspiration to proclaim the coming of God upon the earth and that he would see him in a new body— a resurrected body.
King David was also given of the Holy Ghost to write, I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalm 16:8-11). David tells us that there is life everlasting, and that it will be pleasurable. He spoke not only of our Lord being raised from death to life, but that he too would experience the same and so enjoy the fulness of God’s presence as one who was raised from death to life. Jesus said that he came into the world so that all who would believe on him might have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10). This passage refers to more than just a mortal life, but a new life of an everlasting nature.
The prophet Isaiah was inspired to pen the following message to the children of Israel regarding their national resurrection as well as the coming resurrection of all who are of the true faith in Christ: Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead (Isaiah 26:19). As national Israel would be resurrected, so too will the Messiah also arise from death to life eternal.
And our Lord affirmed this when he said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:24-29).
The apostle Paul also informs us our Lord not only arose from the grave, but he did not leave the lower world alone, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men (Ephesians 4:8). This is the foretaste of the blessed hope which all faithful Christians are praying for and which helps us walk in spiritual comfort even in the worst of conditions.
Daniel was given to prophesy in like manner to Isaiah when he wrote: And at that time [the great tribulation] shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:1-2). Daniel spoke of that very same resurrection which our Lord spoke of in John 5.
The two-fold nature of those aforementioned Old Testament passages concerning the resurrection were meant to provide comfort to the children of Israel during the dark times of their captivity and dispersion. They were also meant to point them to the coming of the Messiah. Consider St. Peter’s message to the people at Pentecost when he proclaimed that the Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses… Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:32, 36).
But the apostle was not done. After he had pricked their hearts, the people asked what they should do, to which the apostle responded, Repent, and be baptized every of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:37-39). God’s intention from the beginning has been to save those who will respond to his calling. Even as he intends to one day save a remnant out of national Israel, so too does he intend to save his elect out of every nation for as the apostle Peter also preached, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him (Acts 10:34-35).
Every human being throughout history even unto today must come to terms with the fact that they will face death. It is not a case of IF but WHEN. Sadly, there are a host of folks today who are not at all comfortable with their coming demise. As St. Paul noted in his first epistle to the Thessalonians, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope (4:13). Those which have no hope are people who die without Christ. The Christian HAS hope because he or she has been saved via our Lord’s sacrificial act. That is why God’s plan of redemption included the resurrection. Jesus Christ had to suffer and die in our place— to take our punishment and bear our iniquities on that rude cross— in order to serve as our redeemer-kinsman. He died so that we might live. His resurrection then is proof positive that we too will one day be resurrected in a body that will be like his resurrection body. We will live again, and not simply exist as disembodied spirits.
In Chapter 15 of First Corinthians, the apostle Paul supplied believers with an explanation of the resurrection. Consider these verses: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept (v.20). The Christian’s body sleeps in the earth while his or her soul is present with the Lord just as our Lord’s body slept in the tomb before his resurrection.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming (vv.21-23). The reference to Adam as the first man is clear enough in that on his account we were dead to God before we came to Christ. We were by nature children of wrath and not fit for the means of his grace (Ephesians 2:3). We had to be made right with God first and that could not be accomplished by our own meager efforts. Therefore, what men are unable to do for themselves, Christ Jesus has done for us in his propitiatory work on the cross. Now, all a person need do is come to him in repentance and accept him as their Saviour and Lord. Such a one need bring only their sins and not their works, because there are no works of justification on the part of mortals that could atone for their sins.
So, it stands to reason all who would come to Christ must believe on him as the Messiah, the Prince of Peace and the Author and Finisher of their faith, whose single work of redemption paid our sin debt forever. That is why we ought to come humbly seeking his pardon. For only after we have received his free gift of grace will our works then be acceptable in his sight.
The resurrection of our Lord distinguishes biblical Christianity from all other religions so-called. It is a promise which has been fulfilled in part and whose completion will mark the end of the story of this ordeal we call human history apart from God. It reveals the love that God has for his own, and that love is predicated on our acceptance of the sacrifice of his only begotten Son. Therefore, let all regenerated souls turn away from sin and degradation, and look forward to a new life in God’s coming kingdom. While it is true, We shall not all sleep, we shall all be changed (I Corinthians 15:51). Still, for those of us who do pass from this life, we too shall experience the joy of the resurrection on that day when our Lord returns. May it please our good and gracious God to bless you with that resurrection unto everlasting life and joy in his coming kingdom.
Let us pray,
F |
ATHER, deliver us from the anxious cares of this life, and assist us as we prepare ourselves for the joys that are before us in your coming kingdom; and this we ask in the name of him whose resurrection from the dead opened to us the way of life everlasting, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed week,
Bryan+
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
Alan Ridenour’s father was hospitalized on a ventilator with Covid. After almost two months in the hospital, he has recovered to the point he has been released to home. Please join the family in a prayer of thanksgiving and for a full recovery.
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.
Bill Hall is still having difficulty breathing and with his ability to move about.
Travel
No known travel this week.
Birthdays
Paul Martin celebrated his 73rd birthday on 24 February 2024.
Greg Harper celebrated his 68th birthday on 24 February 2024.
Dru Arnold celebrated her 69th birthday on 2 February 2024, she did not see her shadow, so there will be six more weeks of winter. That is not so bad in Descanso, California.
Anniversary
Dru and Hap Arnold celebrated their 37th anniversary on 21 February 2024.
Departed
Ditte left for home to join those who have gone before her on 25 March 2024. Please give thanks for her time here on earth and pray for her family and friends who of necessity remain behind. In particular please pray for her husband Bob and son David as they adjust to life here without her.
Marko Peršić. stepfather of Bishop Igor Djurcik, passed away on 11 February 2024, at the age of 66. He was an example of a true father, who accepted Igor as his own child. Marko was baptized as a child and Bishop Jerry confirmed him in 2014. He was a strong pillar of the congregation in Stara Pazova. Pray Igor, his family, friends and church members believe in their hearts even while they mourn now, they will meet again when time and pain will be as nothing.
Immediate Prayer Please
Rachel Richards and her daughter, Lydia, were just in a very bad car accident. They are the wife and daughter of Rev Joshua Richards. Rachel is in intensive care in one hospital and Lydia is in stable condition in another hospital. Please pray for peace of mind and soul for the Richards, and for the medical team treating them that they might pay attention, do their very best and be open to God’s guidance. Pray also for what we desire as a good result.
0600 31 March 2024 Update
I was told that depending on how she responds/doesn’t respond to commands, that she could very likely have some type of aphasia. Please pray God would deliver her from that possibility; especially after the encouraging news this morning about her brain. And thank you all again for…everything
Rachael is still fighting. The urgent specific prayer for her would be responding to commands from doctors and nurses and cooperating. That way she can get off oxygen and try to talk. The doctor still thinks there is a good chance she will recover acceptably. That is all for now.
0118 30 March 2024 Update
Update on Rachael. And it is a praise item! The nurse woke me at 2am to update me that Rachael has more bodily movement and can respond with her head in a nod, can turn her head side to side, and she has been moving her left arm! Up until today she had only been able to move her right arm and right leg. Praise God!
Here are specific requests for Rachael as of now:
- Pray that Rachael could respond to commands (wiggle your toes, give me thumbs up etc)
- Pray that if she responds to the above, that she could come off oxygen. Her lungs are okay!
- She is able to see and hear. To what extent I am unsure so pray that she can hear, see, talk, etc as much as before
- Pray she can move her left leg. Her left foot does have a small hairline fracture.
- Pray when the nurses do her regular tests that Rachael would cooperate. She always was a little stubborn
Requests for our kids:
- Pray for family and friends watching and caring for them over the days, weeks, and months ahead. Isaiah is 5, Lydia is 3, and Hannah is 1. Because of their ages, they of course have specific needs. Pray specifically not only for their physical needs being met, but especially for their spiritual needs.
- Praise God for good health, especially for Lydia as she had been in two car accidents over the last few months and has shown no signs of injury either time. Because she has autistic tendencies, there is no way for her to talk and communicate what she needs, how she feels, and now her mother is in the same condition.
Requests for me:
- Pray I would get my wife and closest friend back the way she was. And if not, that God would prepare me emotionally, Spritually, and physically for what changes to expect.
- Pray I could see my kids soon. I miss them dearly, but I cannot leave Rachael.
- Pray that I would have the joy of Jesus during moments of condemnation.
- Pray that God would give me confidence in Him during Spiritual attacks; particularly as it relates to how I treated Rachael prior to accident. That God would give me discernment with triggers that cause attacks, because I need to be strong for Rachael!
- Pray for my personal walk with God; prayer life, time in the Word etc.
- Pray for wisdom related to finances, bills etc.
- Pray for patience and peace with God’s will and timing.
- Praise God for all the visitors and pray God would send more! Visiting hours are 8am-8pm at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, OH. PM or text me for room info.
Most importantly,
- Pray that God would reveal how He wishes to be glorified by this ordeal,
- He would be preparing me for opportunities to share the Gospel and empathize with nurses, other patients, visitors etc now and perhaps friends or family in the future.
Of course, praise God for all the prayer warriors all over the WORLD and for all the answered prayers and (from my viewpoint) “unanswered” prayers. For so many churches and church leaders praying, for so many hugs, calls, cards, words of wisdom, encouragement etc. I love you all!!!
0430 29 March 2024 Update – Good Friday
Thank you so much to everyone who has prayed, offered to help, and visited me at the hospital. Some people drove many, many hours just to be here and pray. I have no words for my gratitude. I just want to say I am humbled and overwhelmed with joy for the support shown during this difficult chapter in our family thus far. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you. As far as updates, the situation is fluid, but Lydia was released from the hospital. She is fine. Our other children are being watched by my parents, bless their hearts, and are also doing well.
For those of you who were unaware of exactly what happened, you have my permission to share this: Rachael walked across the street to get the mail at our house, and Lydia was with her. Apparently she ran a little too far ahead of Rachael and somehow a truck struck Rachael causing her to fall and hit her head. By God’s grace, Lydia’s life was saved I suspect Rachael protected her from the truck. Rachael, however was not so lucky. She has a major laceration to the back of her head and had to be life-flighted to ICU. She is in stable condition (as of this post). She had to have part of her skull removed and plastic surgery was performed successfully. The team at the hospital has done an outstanding job of caring for her.
Needless to say, life is about to change significantly for us. I have no idea if the woman who said “I do” over 7 years ago will ever be the same again. I do not know how our three children will be able to handle mommy not being around indefinitely. There are many more questions. One thing is for sure, God is in control and all things work together for good to those who love God.
If anyone wants any additional info or has any questions, please send me a PM or text me if you have my number.
Love in Christ,
+Joshua
Candelaria (Candy) has problems with her legs. Her daughter Silvia and her granddaughter Luhana would appreciate you joining them in prayer for the problems to be resolved.
Howard ‘Blue’ Bodenhamer underwent tumor removal surgery on his nose which involved major facial cutting to make things right. It seems the surgery went well and he is recovering, he has a couple more surgeries to get things correct. Please give thanks for the apparent good result and pray things continue will. Give Blue and his lovely wife SueEllen peace of mind and patience during the recovery.
John, has multiple medical issues, diabetes, stomach problems, needs his gall bladder removed and now after two deep biopsies have found he has prostate cancer. They will be treating him with a new procedure not requiring radiation or chemotherapy. Pray that the doctor will be able to schedule this soon, to enable the Gall bladder removal.
Sonnie, 87, John’s mother with whom he lives, has been on oxygen for some time due to severe COPD and is experiencing breathing difficulties despite the oxygen 24/7.
Jim is experiencing two bacterial sinus infections so severe that it landed him in the ER and with an ENT doctor, who has prescribed a serious antibiotic regimen with severe side effects. He must take these antibiotics for two months. It is affecting his stomach, energy levels, concentration and vision. Please pray the Lord may use this time of healing medicine for Jim’s healing and the Lord’s glory. Pray Jim may stay the course with a complete recovery.
Christine Savarese had a seizure just after Christmas 2023. Testing found a brain tumor which upon removal was found to be malignant. She and her husband Gennaro are truly terrified of the near future. Please pray for peace of mind and soul for them and their two daughters, and for the medical team treating her that they might pay attention, do their very best and be open to God’s guidance. Pray also for what we desire as a good result.
Rev. Dr. Robert Weldy is a retired priest, long time friend of AOC Minister Jim Cavanaugh, has several health issues. On 19 December 2023, he was admitted to the hospital for a very serious infection in his lower left leg and foot. He is diabetic and is greatly concerned about this infection. He is afraid if the antibiotic treatments do not overcome the infection, he may be facing the loss of part of his leg. Please pray our Heavenly Father will give knowledge, wisdom, and skill to the doctors and medical staff that attend him. May they be instruments of healing. May the LORD our God restore Robert to health and recovery from all sickness.
Sunghyun Mun, accidentally broke bones in his hand while operating a piece of equipment at his father’s business. He will undergo surgery 18 December 2023.
Debi Romano Gunther had a mammary biopsy on 27 November 2023. The results were mixed, there was a mass, it has to come out, but it was not cancerous. She is understandably concerned. Please pray for peace of mind for her as she waits the procedure and results, for the doctors, nurses and technicians treating her to pay attention and do their very best and for a good result.
Suzie Nogales has been treating for breast cancer, she recently underwent surgery, she is a strong and active Christian, she really has no fear, but does have concern for her children and husband. Please keep Suzie, her family and treating medical team in your prayer.
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
Myeongsu 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.
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 as they deal with her recovery and the loss of her husband Marko.
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 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 continuing to strengthen, he completed Phase 2 cardiac rehab last and begins Phase 3 now. Phase 3 will be more a maintenance program he will do for the next few months. Please give thanks for the 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.
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.
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Harry Brooks, Major USMC – GA ANG Retired – just finished a round of chemotherapy, which he barely survived and had his cancerous bladder removed 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.
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. has gotten some relief from the headache from a Botox injection series, may that continue. Please 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 38 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.
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.
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.
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
Lee, late 60’s, has attended church all of his life, but has fallen afar from Jesus. He is in a nursing home with late stages ALS. Bishop Dennis is meeting with him weekly to help him back. Lee has run out of the ability to bear pain and would like to leave. Please pray Dennis will be able to help him home, not somewhere else.
Sandy has been 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.
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.
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
Bobby Bretz is having a kidney removed on 18 December 2023.
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 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 best. 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!
Ronnie Bretz is recovering from brain surgery.
Madisun Hanks (21) 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.
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
Dave Carroll, husband of Cinder, the AOC Office Manager, had what seems to be a very successful second knee replacement the morning of Tuesday, 21 November 2023. Please give thanks for the good result and pray for a full and rapid recovery.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 the Holy Ghost might enter more fully into their hearts so 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), Lourie DeBoer (NTPS Patuxent River, Maryland) Nyah Thomas (USAF-Keesler AFB, Louisiana)
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
Bishops Jerry, Jack, Igor, Yves, Laurence give thanks for safe travel to Madrid.
Zetta’s second surgery biopsy was benign and the other worrisome suspected lesion responded to “freezing” and fell off a few days ago (she call it a miracle) She will begin 6-month follow-up visits to keep watch.Thanks for all the prayers
Coming Up – The near future, as well as Next Sunday
7 April 2024 – First Sunday after Easter– 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] The tomb was a new one which had been hewn for Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph, a native of Arimathea, was apparently a man of wealth, and probably a member of the Sanhedrin an “honourable counsellor, who waited (or “was searching”) for the kingdom of God”, according to John, he was secretly a disciple of Jesus. As soon as he heard the news of Jesus’ death, he “went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.” Pilate, reassured by a centurion that the death had really taken place, allowed Joseph’s requeJoseph immediately purchased fine linen and went to Golgotha to take the body down from the cross. There, assisted by Nicodemus, he took the body and wrapped it in the fine linen, sprinkling it with the myrrh and aloes that Nicodemus had brought. The body was then conveyed to the new tomb in rock in his garden nearby. There they laid it, in the presence of Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other women, and rolled a great stone to the entrance, and departed. This was done speedily, “for the Sabbath was drawing on”. Joseph of Arimathea appears in some early New Testament apocrypha.
Although there are no written records until the fifth century, tradition holds Joseph of Arimethea, who provided the tomb for the burial of Jesus Christ, brought Christianity and the Holy Grail to England in 37 AD and built a church in Glastonbury in Somerset.
[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.