The Saint Andrew s & Saint David s Epistle

Transcription

1 The Saint Andrew s & Saint David s Epistle The weekly e-newsletter from Saint Andrew s and Saint David s Anglican Church, parish churches in the Anglican Diocese of the South (ADOTS) led by The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). st andrews hsv.com April 26, 2017 ************************************************************************************************************** Second Sunday of Easter at Saint Andrew s Church ~ Morning Prayer service at 10 am ~ Fellowship Potluck Lunch at Saint David s Church ~ Sacrament of Holy Communion, Wednesday at 6:15 pm **************************************************************************************************************

2 Kelly Hatley and Trun Dam will be putting on a series of NoPlaceLeft training at St. Andrews. We are planning to kickoff the series on Wednesday nights at 6:00 pm starting the 26th of April at St. Andrew s Church. We will try and keep each session to an hour. Session Breakdown 1) No Place Left mission and objectives and your map to no place left 2) 15 second opener and a method to start the Gospel conversation 3) Person of Peace search and what Jesus taught about spreading the Gospel 4) Stop light responses to the Gospel and how to proceed 5) Disciplining and 3/3s technique 6) Application exercise and review Child care will NOT be provided so if you bring your children please have something for them to do that will not be too distracting for an hour. Don't let having children discourage you from coming however. We are a kid family church. Please feel free to invite whomever you'd like to attend. The prayer team is meeting from 6:30 to 7:15 pm on Thursday at Saint Andrew s Church. The Saint Andrew s intercessory prayer team meets at 9:15 am each Sunday upstairs before church. Everyone invited to join. Contact Kelly Hatley for information or prayer requests. Each month there will be a different focus or theme for the prayers. Prayer is not preparation for the battle prayer is the battle. ~ Oswald Chambers ~ Thursday from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm. At Cafe 153, Bridge Street City Centre shopping mall. Studying the book of Hebrews. Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years. ~ Charles Spurgeon Fellowship Potluck Lunch - April 30 th This Sunday Sign-up list on wall by the side entry door. Because of food allergies to peanuts and tree nuts (almond, walnut, pecan, etc.), please do not use these items. Also, label spicy foods for delicate appetites. Drinks & Ice - Sides - Main Dish - Leake Dessert - C Hatley

3 Church Flowers April May 7 - Stout 14 - Hatley 21 - Sign-up list on wall by the side entry door. Flowers are a good way to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, remember a departed family member or friend, or to give thanks for special blessings in your life. Flowers can be supplied by the church for $20. April May Sign-up list on wall by the side entry door. Involves making coffee before church and providing some kind of snack (store bought or homemade) or church supplied for $25. St. Andrew Volunteers Worship Team Schedule A spirit of service, a gift to the church To volunteer, contact Dixie Hawkinson. Paper copies of the Worship Team Schedule are available on the information table located at the back of the church. Date LEM Acolyte Intercessor Reader April 30 None None Sutton Sutton May 7 Sutton E Edington None Edington 14 David Counts Stout None Fletcher 21 Stout J Edington None Hawkinson 28 None None Counts Counts Date Usher/Greeter Lord s Table Nursery A/V Booth April 30 Latham, Whitt L O Donnell Hatley Jesionowski, Dam May 7 Biamon, Leake Leake Uptagraff Counts, Jesionowski 14 Eno, Stout Hawkinson Perkins Latham, Jesionowski 21 Fletcher, Counts P O Donnell Sutton Counts, Dam 28 Jesionowski, Latham Jesionowski Hatley Mack, Jesionowski

4 This week pray for the people and clergy of: Old North Abbey Knoxville, TN asking you Lord to bless and strengthen their ministry and fellowship to be good witnesses for Jesus Christ. Amen. Pints and Pixels at 6 pm will be the location of this Thursday night Churchmen's meeting. There will be chili, drinks, and classic arcade games. Pints and Pixels is located in downtown Huntsville (115 E Clinton Ave, 3rd floor)and is great fun for all ages. As always please send me an RSVP so I can reserve the table for our group. Hope to see you out there. Cheers, Trung Dam Seen on a roadside church readerboard There is more. There is Jesus. Life: your chance to spurn God s love. Eternity: living with the consequences. A rich man without compassion is just a poor man with money.

5 The Apparent Project takes your cereal boxes to give to their artisans in Haiti to turn into beautiful beads. The artists keep the money from selling the beads to care for their families. To contribute your colorful cereal boxes, flatten them and place them in the plastic container in the back of the church. The church as a multi-racial, multi-cultural community is like a beautiful tapestry. Its members come from a wide range of colorful backgrounds. No other human community resembles it. Its diversity and harmony are unique. It is God's new society. And the many-coloured fellowship of the church is a reflection of the many-coloured (or 'many-splendored', to use Francis Thompson's word) wisdom of God. ~John R.W. Stott An authentic Christian worldview does not ignore evangelism, nor does it push it to the periphery of the Christian life. Instead, evangelism is at the heart of how we see the world. Our world is broken, and people are without Jesus. Not a day goes by when we don't pass people who need Jesus, who need a listening ear or a helping hand. ~ Ed Stetzer We must wrestle earnestly in prayer, like men contending with a deadly enemy for life. ~ J. C. Ryle You don t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. ~ C.S. Lewis FYI: A new low power FM radio station (WHMZ, 95.5 FM) that only plays the great hymns of the church that most people know by heart has started broadcasting full time to an area located within about 5 miles of its transmitter on Rainbow Mountain in Madison, AL. Give it a listen. It won t be long before you are singing or humming along. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people, bear your Name. Daniel 9:19 Saint Andrew's friends, I hope many of you will participate, hope to see you there! Suzanne Matthews The 66th National Day of Prayer observance in Huntsville will be Thursday, May 4 on the east side steps of the Madison County Courthouse, 12:00 noon- 1 pm. Following the prayer gathering, a Bible Reading Marathon will begin at 1:30 pm to read continuously through the entire Word of God out loud over our city. Sunday, May 7, 5:00 pm The grand finale event will be a gathering to read the final chapter, Revelation 22, and to worship the Lord of our City, Jesus Christ, and to receive communion. Big Spring Park, at the fountain by the rock cliff

6 What Did Jesus Mean? Dr. J. Carl Laney Certainly the young man meant well. And although the medical staff in the emergency room questioned his sanity, his commitment and sacrifice were undeniable. He arrived at the hospital with a bloody stump where his hand had been. In response to questions he explained that he was following the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off,... (Matt. 5:30). The man with the severed hand knew the words of Jesus. But did he know their meaning? Sincere Christians may be at risk today because they want to follow the teachings of Jesus but are confused about their intended meaning. What did Jesus mean when He said, Take up your cross and follow me (Matt. 10:38)? What is the lesson behind His words, Do not throw your pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6)? Was Jesus offering Christians instant gratification when He said, Ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you (John 15:7). Some of Jesus words and teachings seem puzzling, at best, and nearly impossible for us to obey. Yet he came to reveal the truth (John 8:32). And we know that He wanted to be understood and followed. God gave us the Bible so that we would understand spiritual truth and apply it to our lives (Psalm 119:130, 1 Timothy 3:15). The biblical writers clearly assumed that their readers would understand what they had written. This is the basis for the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture. Christians believe that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who will read it seeking God s help and willing to follow it. Yet Peter himself acknowledged that there are some things in Scripture that are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). So how can we go about making those hard sayings more readily understandable? Here are some practical suggestions: 1. Identify the problem. Is it textual, theological, ethical or practical? It is sometimes helpful to put the problem in the form of a question. For example, Did Jesus endorse an attitude of self-depreciation when He announced, Many who are first will be last (Matthew 19:30). Should we denigrate ourselves on earth to gain honor in heaven? 2. Carefully examine the text. Sometimes a problem can be resolved by a closer reading of the text, as in the case of the supposed execution of Achan s children (Joshua 7:22-26). The Hebrew text indicates that they stoned Achan ( him ) and then apparently burned the stolen goods ( them ). 3. Compare Scripture with Scripture. Many difficulties can be resolved when we consider the clearer and more direct teachings of other biblical texts. Does God punish children for the sins of their parents? Reading Exodus 20:5 may lead to this conclusion unless you compare the statement in Jeremiah 31:29-30 where such a viewpoint is strongly refuted. Comparing the two texts suggests that Exodus 20:5 refers to the natural consequences of a parent s sinful actions rather than divine punishment falling on children. 4. Consult the authorities. Often a commentary can assist in clarifying the problem and offering and reasonable solution. My book, Answers to Tough Questions is an example of the kind of resources available to help interpret the

7 difficult teachings of Scripture. 5. Rely upon the Spirit. As believers, we rely upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the text (John 16:13, 1 John 2:27). Our reliance upon the Spirit is expressed through an attitude of love, obedience and submission. God s Spirit will clarify God s truth to those who are ready and willing to obey (John 14:23). 6. Select a solution. The best solutions are those that reflect a straightforward interpretation of the text. But don t close your mind to further study. You never know when you will discover an additional insight that will shed new light on the hard saying. The Word on Wednesday I am the Resurrection John Mason The final volume of JRR Tolkien's, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, is dominated by scenes of despair. Yet as the two hobbits from the Shire, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, unlikely heroes of the saga, wearily pursue a cause that is seemingly hopeless, we encounter Sam s reflection when he pauses and looks up: There, peeping among the clouds above a dark mountain peak, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach. Without hope for the future life becomes meaningless. Indeed anxiety, fear and hopelessness about the future seem to have been the cause of the recent suicide of a successful Wall Street man. Where do we find hope for the future that is a true hope? In John s gospel we see that life had been heating up for Jesus in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders had attempted to stone him (John 10:31) for his apparent blasphemy. So Jesus left the city for the region east of the Jordan River. There he learned that his friend Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, was dying in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. When he heard that Lazarus had died, and against the advice of his disciples who feared the Jewish leaders, Jesus returned to Bethany where he was met by Martha. In the course of their conversation he made the amazing assertion: I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Significantly, he didn t say, I promise resurrection and life or I procure or I bring. He said, I am the resurrection and the life. The witness of the New Testament, the evidence of history, the existence of the Christian church all point to the fact that Jesus words are the truth. In his poem, Dover Beach, Matthew Arnold identifies the fear and hopelessness that lies in many a human heart: The world which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy nor love, nor light nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; And we are here as on a darkling plain, swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where

8 ignorant armies clash by night. Where in the world do we look for meaning and hope? In our abilities, our resources, our success? In political solutions? The events of the first Good Friday and Easter Day tell us that there is no real answer apart from Jesus Christ. Because he has come; because he has given his life in our place; because he has been raised from the dead, we can have the assurance of hope. John 11:26-27 tells us that Jesus challenged Martha about his claim to be the resurrection and the life with the question, Do you believe this? To which she replied: Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world. Jesus asks you and me the same question today: Do you believe this? If you do believe this to be true, what does it mean for your life now and for your future? Will you be praying for opportunities to tell your story of faith to family and friends, inviting them to come with you to church? The Apostle Peter writes in his First Letter: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,.. (1 Peter 1:3-4). Prayer: Almighty God, you have conquered death through your dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ and have opened to us the gate of everlasting life: grant us by your grace to set our mind on things above, so that by your continual help our whole life may be transformed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit in everlasting glory. Amen. To submit articles or announcements for The Epistle newsletter, contact or them to Barry Leake. Saint Andrew s Anglican Church Sunday Worship 10am st andrews hsv.com Here Endeth The Epistle.