AOC Two

  B EHOLD , 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 ."  21  " 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 ."  22  " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ."   (Revelation 3:20-33)               This might be considered a wake-up call to the modern church – in fact, all churches of the centuries past. It is the composition of William Walsham How in 1867. The tune,  KNECHT , is an arrangement by James Heinrich Knecht which combines two other tunes into on –  St. Hilda  (1799), and  Hullé  (1793). This is an important hymn for its revelation of the abandonment of Christ that persists in ever increasing manner in the churches of America and around...

    Happy Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity! The AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded  RIGHT HERE ! Today we have sermons from our usual contributors Bishops Jerry, Roy and Jack as well as Rev Bryan. In addition, we have a sermon from Bishop Dennis, which actually two sermons in one as it is a two-part sermon delivered last week and this week so it is a little longer than customary. It is very well written. And if you know the speed at which Bishop Dennis speaks, you will understand why it is two parts. It's not that long a read and very good.   Bishop Jack brings the propers together today.  His sermon can be viewed on video  HERE  ->   https://youtu.be/F8GsTwo-gTo   In the Collect, we ask God to pardon our sins so we might serve Him with peace of mind and do His Work without having to worry about our fate.  It is good to have a clear mind when you go into battle, to be free of worry that you might do your best.  I...

  P EACE  I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid .    (John 14:27)   Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity   The Collect. G   RANT , we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen .   The Collect The Collect today makes one salient point concerning true peace  –  it cannot be had without the pardon extended to the believers of Christ. True peace, too, cannot be measured by the external physical self, but by that peace that abides in the inner soul. The heart is the Sovereign of the soul and, if it knows the peace of God, nothing else matters. A pretended peace only exists in the outward form of our conduct. Such peace cannot be purchased at any cost except that enormous cost paid by our ...

  Bishop Jack brings the propers together today.  His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video  HERE  ->   https://youtu.be/F8GsTwo-gTo   In the Collect, we ask God to pardon our sins so we might serve Him with peace of mind and do His Work without having to worry about our fate.  It is good to have a clear mind when you go into battle, to be free of worry that you might do your best.  In his letter tpo the people of Ephesus, Paul gives his clearest definition of the spiritual war between the forces of Satan and those who would follow God. It not only assures us that there is a spiritual war, but it warns us that apart from utilizing the weapons which God has provided for us, we are hopelessly underpowered.  The Gospel talks about the need for persistence; a very important part of the Christian life, it helps build our character in bad times, and also in good as well.  It all comes together,...

    Y E  are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it .   (John 8:44)   Chapter Three of the Book of Genesis is the beginning of the spiritual dimension of the Church and the Elect of God, but also of the doomed and damned who reject the Truth and the Promise of God. The first words out of the Serpents mouth were not a lie but, being the father of lies, it established the basis for the first lie. There is no gray area in the Providence of God – all is either black or white; darkness or Light; truth or False: or up or down.    Most heresies and rejection of truth begins with a question, much like that asked by the Serpent of Eve in Eden. “ Hath God said ?” That same question is being asked by pseudo- theologians and pulpit dandies today – ...

A S  the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance . Psalms 42:1-5               A plaintive and confessional hymn written by Joseph Dacre Carlyle in 1902. It follows in the wake of Psalm 42 (above). There are two hymns under which the title falls in the 1940 Hymnal  -  Burford  (by Purcell) and  Martyrdom  (by Hugh W...

  Happy Twentieth Sunday after Trinity! The  AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded RIGHT HERE ! We have excellent sermons for this morning from Bishops Jerry, Roy and Hap, as well as Rev Bryan.  Hap brings the propers together today.  His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video  HERE  ->   https://youtu.be/jFg9UZBIlbE .  Like what seems to be the majority of the Collects, today’s asks God to keep us from wanting things that are bad for us and make our hearts ready so we can want to do the things that are actually good for us and in line with His purpose; this ties perfectly with the Epistle and Gospel as it always does.     The message of the Collect, the Epistle and the Gospel can be summarized by   Stay away from things that will harm your spiritual and physical health and do things good for your health and be spiritually aware of what is going on .     It all comes together, read or listen and find ...