AOC Two

    T  HEN  began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:  21  Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes .  22  But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you .  23  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day .     (Matthew 11:20-23)               The term ‘WOE’ occurs forty times in the New Testament thirty-one of which were proclaimed by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a term expressing grief and revulsion. It is not a term by which I would like to be addressed by the Lord.                Our Lord Jesus Christ had performed many miracles and taught often in Chorazin and Bethsai

Happy Quinquagesima Sunday! The AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded  RIGHT HERE . There are great sermons from Bishops Jerry and Roy, as well as Revs Jack and Bryan.  Rev Jack's can be viewed on video  RIGHT HERE . There are always a lot of people who need your prayer, today is no different, please take a little time.  Start with Tricia, Shamu, Jim, Laurie and Lori and work out from there. There is an epic week ahead, this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday in addition to its normal function as Hump Day, there will be more on that later.  You might think about your relationship with God.  Have you truly opened your heart and let the Holy Ghost in?  It can be a hard thing until you get used to the idea. Have superb week! Hap Church of the Faithful Centurion Descanso, California United States of America

You can view Rev Jack's sermon on video  RIGHT HERE ! Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action Church of the Faithful Centurion Descanso, California Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.  Consider these words from the Collect:   … that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity …   In the Collect, we acknowledge to God that if we have not charity, nothing we do is worth anything; we then ask Him to send the Holy Ghost into our hearts with the precious gift of charity.  Webster tells us that Charity  is love; universal benevolence; good will; the word which properly denotes love . What it really means is  Love in Action ! Like many areas of our Christian development, we will never fully get there. But if we never try to put Love into action, we will never even get close to getting there. The key words are  in action

      N  EVERTHELESS  the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.  20   But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.  21   If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work .   (2 Tim 2:19-21)               My father shared a story with me when I was a young man concerning an event involving a college professor and his students. It is a simple event with a lesson of lifelong benefit.               The professor invited his small class of students to his home for tea. His quarters which were on campus were modest but very properly furnished with a cozy living room heated by a fireplace and lined with leather bound books that added some sophistication to the reside

  The Sunday called Quinquagesima, or the Sunday next before before Lent. The Collect.   O  LORD  who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake.  Amen.   The love mentioned in this COLLECT is not just charity that gives `things' to others, but that gives more than things – it gives self.  This is divine love and it comes from God, not as a demand, but as a grant to all who love Him. It is impossible to love God and not love others – and we love Him because He first loved us. How can it be that our love comes from God?    Have you ever taken a walk on a clear summer night on the beach? Did you walk in the moon light? No, technically, you did not, even if the moon was very bright with its soft glow. You actually walked in th

There is an explanation of Lent and Mite Boxes at the bottom of this entry. The Propers for today are found on Page 122-124, with the Collect first:   The Sunday called Quinquagesima, or the Sunday next before before Lent. The Collect.   O  LORD  who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake.  Amen.   The Epistle for today came from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the Thirteenth Chapter, beginning at the First Verse.  Paul talks of charity [1] , “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountai

M INE   eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.  12  The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.  14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;   15  To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him .  (Psalm 92:11-15)               The Bible often refers to trees in various metaphoric ways. For example, in Eden, there were two designated trees that represented obedience to God (the Tree of Life), or sinful disobedience (the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil). Trees also are represented as revealing the moral proclivities of peoples and nations as when Jotham rebuked Abimelech before the people of Shechem in Judges 9:7-21. The palm tree, also, alludes to fruitfulness even in a wilderness plac

  A ND   thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.  7  And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.     (Exodus 40:6-7)               At the very entrance of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was the Altar of Burnt Offerings whereby all who sought to have their sins forgiven must first bring an offering to be sacrificed on that Brazen Altar. None –can, today, approach the Holy Place of God – the Mercy Seat - without a sacrifice. It was at the very Door and entrance of the Tabernacle. So what sacrifice can we offer today, and where is our Tabernacle?               The entire Tabernacle represents our Lord Jesus Christ. It was furnished within with beautiful accommodations, but without it was covered with goat’s hair (not at all appealing to the eye of the beholder from without). This is the very beauty of Christ – not appealing to the eye of the strange