Lenten Journey, We Want to Spend Time Reflecting on the Scripture and in Prayer
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Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018
Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 Conforming to General Convention 2018 1 Preface Christians have since ancient times honored men and women whose lives represent heroic commitment to Christ and who have borne witness to their faith even at the cost of their lives. Such witnesses, by the grace of God, live in every age. The criteria used in the selection of those to be commemorated in the Episcopal Church are set out below and represent a growing consensus among provinces of the Anglican Communion also engaged in enriching their calendars. What we celebrate in the lives of the saints is the presence of Christ expressing itself in and through particular lives lived in the midst of specific historical circumstances. In the saints we are not dealing primarily with absolutes of perfection but human lives, in all their diversity, open to the motions of the Holy Spirit. Many a holy life, when carefully examined, will reveal flaws or the bias of a particular moment in history or ecclesial perspective. It should encourage us to realize that the saints, like us, are first and foremost redeemed sinners in whom the risen Christ’s words to St. Paul come to fulfillment, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The “lesser feasts” provide opportunities for optional observance. They are not intended to replace the fundamental celebration of Sunday and major Holy Days. As the Standing Liturgical Commission and the General Convention add or delete names from the calendar, successive editions of this volume will be published, each edition bearing in the title the date of the General Convention to which it is a response. -
SERMON NOTES from in Touch with Dr
SERMON NOTES From In Touch With Dr. Charles Stanley The Believer’s War Room KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 6:5-6 | SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES: Proverbs 3:5-6 | Isaiah 54:17 | Ephesians 6:10-18 SUMMARY Satan is our enemy, and he’s a murderer, liar, deceiver, schemer, tempter, and destroyer. But as believers, we do What are we to do with our trials, heartaches, and not have to become his victims. God has given us the burdens? key to living in a manner that pleases and honors Him. And that key is prayer. In the war room of prayer, we fight Although many people try to bear them on their own, Jesus our battles on our knees, coming confidently and boldly has given us the solution in a passage from His Sermon on to our heavenly Father, sharing the innermost thoughts the Mount. He says to go into an inner room, close the door, of our hearts, knowing that He hears and intervenes on and pray to our Father in heaven. All of us need to learn our behalf. how to talk to the Lord in private about whatever concerns us. And sometimes that inner room becomes our war room Jesus spoke of a place of prayer. as we fight our battles with sin, conflicts, decisions, and difficulties until we fully surrender in obedience to our God. Because He lived an itinerant lifestyle, Christ’s place of prayer changed as He traveled, but prayer was always a SERMON POINTS priority in His life and should be in ours as well. According to Ephesians 6:10-13, believers are in a struggle— It’s a private place. -
30 Days Together “Immanuel – God with Us” #30Daystogether Devotion: Karen Mccarty
30 Days Together “Immanuel – God With Us” #30daystogether Day #14 – Dec. 9 Text: Isaiah 52:5-11 “And now what do I have here?” declares the LORD. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the LORD. “And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore My people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.” How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the LORD’s house. Devotion: Karen McCarty Who thinks feet are beautiful? Especially the tired and dirty feet of the people in biblical times, who traveled dusty roads and deserts in sandals or no shoes. Who looks at someone's feet anyway? Well, in today's verse, maybe a stranger's feet is the FIRST thing a downcast person sees. -
LWF Council Worship
Liturgy and Worship “Freely you have received, freely give.” – Matthew 10:8 (NIV) 2018 Council Meeting Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, Switzerland 27 June – 2 July, 2018 Morning Prayer, Wednesday 27 June This week in the ecumenical prayer cycle, we pray for Kenya and Tanzania We open with the sound of a gong We sing (1st verse in Swahili) Liturgist: Ms Desri Sumbayak, The Indonesian Christian Church Psalm 18: God my friend, You give me strength. God, my shield, my help, You watch over me. You bring me out into a broad place Because you delight in me. It is you who light my lamp. You light up my darkness. By you, God, I can leap over a wall. For this I will extol you in the morning and in the evening, now and always. Amen. Scripture reading: Mark 4:35-41 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on 2 the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Meditation Prayers The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind. -
Sample Email and Voicemail Messages
Sample email and voicemail messages Page 2 Recruitment email Page 3 Fundraising email Page 4 Bank Day email Page 5 Event info email Page 6 Thank-you email, goal met Page 7 Thank-you email, goal not met Page 8 CEO Voicemail messages Page 9 CEO Letter to recruit co-captains Page 10 CEO Challenge letter Page 11 CEO Vendor letter 1 Recruitment email Subject: Walking together for stronger, healthier babies It’s March for Babies® season, and [COMPANY] would like you to join our team in support of the March of Dimes. Need a reason to walk with us? How about nearly half a million reasons: that’s how many babies are born too soon every year in the United States — [NUMBER FROM peristats.org] of them right here in [STATE]. With you on our team, we can give families hope by raising money to fund lifesaving research and programs that help moms and babies. Our goal is to raise $[AMOUNT]. To reach that goal, we need at least [20 PERCENT OF STAFF] people to sign up to raise money and walk. Can we count you in? Getting started is easy. Just go to marchforbabies.org/TEAMNAME and click “join this team.” And check out our fundraising here. [NAME] March for Babies Team Captain [EMAIL] P.S. Save the date: our event takes place on [DATE] at [LOCATION]. 2 Fundraising email Subject: March for Babies 2017 — Join us Team, it’s time to kick it into high gear! Walking in March for Babies® is a great way to raise awareness about the hundreds of thousands of babies born prematurely or with birth defects. -
The Physics of a Miracle the Post-‐Resurrection Body of Jesus from the Pers
The Physics of a Miracle The Post-Resurrection Body of Jesus from the Perspective of Quantum Theory Pablo Bandera It has often been noted that Christianity is more orthodox than orthoprax, being concerned primarily with a doctrine of faith, and secondarily with the practice of rituals. This might seem to generally emphasize the spiritual over the physical, but Christianity does nonetheless place a clear importance on the concept of the physical body. The most obvious example, of course, is the historical existence of Jesus and the death and resurrection of His body. In this essay I wish to focus on one particular aspect of the Resurrection. More specifically, I wish to investigate the fact that Jesus was not recognized even by His own disciples only a few days after His crucifixion. There are at least three passages that refer to this lack of recognition explicitly. The first is Luke 24:13-32, which recounts the two disciples’ encounter on the road to Emmaus… “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him” The second passage is John 20:11-18, which describes Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus in the tomb… “When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.” The third passage is John 21:1-14, which describes the encounter of seven disciples with Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias… “Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.” For the sake of brevity, I will refer to this difference in the appearance of Jesus, and the resulting lack of recognition by Mary and the disciples, as the “post-resurrection transfiguration” of Jesus. -
The Resurrection As Christ's Entry Into His Glory (Lk. 24:26)
Pieter G.R. de Villiers THE RESURRECTION AS CHRIST’S ENTRY INTO HIS GLORY (LK. 24:26) ABSTRACT This essay discusses some apocalyptic perspectives on Luke’s portrayal of the resurrection as Christ’s entry into his glory (Lk. 24:26) in order to point out its mystical nature. After a discussion of some recent developments in research on Luke’s Christology and apocalyptic literature, the importance of glory in Early Jewish and Christian apocalypses is discussed. This is followed by an explanation of the glory motif in Luke 24:26, its place in Luke’s resurrection account in general and in the story of the disciples of Emmaus in particular. The essay then compares the mystical use of the glory motif in Luke 24:26 with Luke’s use of glory elsewhere in his writings. It concludes with general remarks about the mystical nature of the resurrection in Luke’s writings. 1. INTRODUCTION In the episode of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35), the resurrected Jesus, unrecognized by two of his disciples, joins them and questions them about their discussion of the empty grave (Lk. 24:17). The two, surprised at his lack of knowledge of events (Lk. 24:18), inform him about the earthly ministry of Jesus. At the end of their explanation of Jesus’ ministry and death they mention the discovery of the empty grave and the news that Jesus was alive (Lk. 24:22-24). Jesus, having reprimanded them for their unbelief, then interprets the resurrection events to them with the words, “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”(οὐχὶ ταῦτα ἔδει παθεῖν τὸν χριστὸν καὶ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ; Lk. -
The Mission of the Immaculata Issue 53 March 2021
March 2021 ISSUE 53 The Mission of the IE-Publicationmmaculata of the Militia of the Immaculata, USA On Forgiveness - PAGE 3 "He Didn't Suffer Death but Gave His Life" - PAGE 6 Focus on the Family - PAGE 10 St. Maximilian Writes... - PAGE 11 Embracing the Cross with Love By John W. Galten, MI National President Dear Knights of the Immaculata, Maria! As I write this piece for the March newsletter, the Holy Season of Lent is just beginning. I was struck this morn- ing by a Gospel statement that I had heard many times before but now heard with a startling freshness: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Let us note that here we find a choice, a matter of the will. Jesus is not forced to take His Cross, He wills it. All of His life He was moved by the sacrifice of Himself, always living in the shadow of that Cross—a “sign” of contradiction to “Through Mary Immaculate to be rejected as was prophesied at His Presentation in the Temple. Each day He willingly started with the premise, “not my will, but yours [the Father’s] will be Jesus: that is our watchword. done.” The Immaculata herself, each day, out of her immaculateness gave herself The more you spread veneration over to the Father’s will. We, ourselves, must take up, and each day will to accept the cross in what- and love for the Immaculata ever form it presents itself. Some of these ways include the great limitation of sickness, aging weakness or some physical setback. -
Through the Bible Study Isaiah 52:13-54:17
THROUGH THE BIBLE STUDY ISAIAH 52:13-54:17 It was Martin Luther who rightly wrote, “If you want to understand the Christian message you must start with the wounds of Christ.” The cross of Jesus is the crux of Christianity. In fact, the term crux is from crucifixion. And outside of the four Christian Gospels there is no clearer account of Messiah’s crucifixion than Isaiah 53. Realize the Hebrew prophet Isaiah was writing 700 years in advance of Calvary - 200 years before crucifixion was invented by the Persians - and 500 years before it was employed by Rome. Yet Isaiah paints an amazingly vivid and detailed prophetic account of all that Jesus endured to take away our sin. !1 To read this chapter with a dry eye is an indication of a cold heart. Isaiah 53 is some emotional footage. In fact, this passage from the Jewish Scriptures is so obviously and authoritatively Christian in its message, later Jews conspired to eliminate it from their Bibles. Ashkenazi, or European Jews, omitted Chapter 53 from their editions of Isaiah. Sephardic, or Oriental Jews, retained it, but tried to explain it away by relating it to the nation Israel rather than a personal Messiah. Yet God refuses to let His people ignore Isaiah’s testimony. Today, in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem - at the heart of the city and the modern state - across the street from the Israeli Knesset - there is a unique building known as The Shrine of the Book. !2 It stands as part of the Israeli Museum. -
Vlt the Jesus Myth
1 2 Prometheus Books, 59 John Olenn Drive Amherst, NewYork 14228-2197 Content Content ................................................................................................. 3 Preface: The skeptic versus the believer ...................................................... 4 VI: The appeal to mysticism ...................................................................... 7 Vlt The Jesus myth ................................................................................ 18 VIE: Moses and the chosen people ........................................................... 62 DC: Mohammed: The prophet of Islam ...................................................... 93 X: Sundry prophets: Greater and lesser ................................................... 114 Conclusion: The argument from revelation reappraised ............................... 154 ONE: SKEPTICISM AND THE MEANING OF LIFE Meaning and transcendence The value of life: Things left unsaid Why has secular humanism failed to take hold? The quest for transcendence Skepticism Skepticism as unlimited doubt Skepticism as selective doubt The scientific method What is science? Subjectivistic methodology Testing truth-claims in science Evidence Logycal coherence Pragmatic consequences V indication of the scientific method n'. Critical intelligence ; is critical intelligence? \ catalogue of intellectual skills The role of education The justification of belief Deferring to custom Tbe appeal to emotion The appeal to authority Subjectivism and intuition Faith as justification for belief -
Abstract Friday 10:03
ABSTRACT FRIDAY 10:03 (TWO-THIRDS OF A NOVEL) The following thesis represents two-thirds of a yet-to-be completed novel. During September, 1966, California is preparing to execute Eusebio Viramontes, condemned under a “Little Lindberg” law for kidnap, robbery, and sexual assault. He has authored two books and become a cause célèbre during eleven years on Death Row. His sister Felicia, a film student at UCLA and weekend participant in the Delano Grape Pickers’ Strike, hopes to gain public sympathy for a reprieve, but she is hampered by pregnancy and a strained relationship with her boyfriend, Albert Brofield. In a separate thread, Philip Tseng was prosecutor at Eusebio’s trial. Now he is a superior court judge and husband of a candidate for state superintendent of schools. French-born and half-Chinese, he is facing mid-life self doubt. In his spiritual questioning, he is drawn to Tom Garcia, pacifist and a leader of the capital punishment abolition movement. Just as Felicia sets in motion a UFW-style march from San Quentin to Sacramento, both Felicia and Judge Tseng are visited by Anna Sorenson, once Eusebio’s kindergarten-aged victim. Though emotionally fragile, she claims forgiveness for Eusebio. The novel contains a cameo appearance by Episcopal Bishop James Pike and historical references to Cesar Chavez, Chinese expatriates in France, Charles De Gaulle, and Capital Punishment as it was practiced in mid-20 th -century America. Brian T. Carroll May 2009 FRIDAY 10:03 (TWO-THIRDS OF A NOVEL) by Brian T. Carroll A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in the College of Arts and Humanities California State University, Fresno May 2009 APPROVED For the Department of English: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree. -
The Significance of the Biblical Dead Sea Scrolls
Journal of Theology of Journal Southwestern dead sea scrolls sea dead SWJT dead sea scrolls Vol. 53 No. 1 • Fall 2010 Southwestern Journal of Theology • Volume 53 • Number 1 • Fall 2010 The Significance of the Biblical Dead Sea Scrolls Peter W. Flint Trinity Western University Langley, British Columbia [email protected] Brief Comments on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Their Importance On 11 April 1948, the Dead Sea Scrolls were announced to the world by Millar Burrows, one of America’s leading biblical scholars. Soon after- wards, famed archaeologist William Albright made the extraordinary claim that the scrolls found in the Judean Desert were “the greatest archaeological find of the Twentieth Century.” A brief introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls and what follows will provide clear indications why Albright’s claim is in- deed valid. Details on the discovery of the scrolls are readily accessible and known to most scholars,1 so only the barest comments are necessary. The discovery begins with scrolls found by Bedouin shepherds in one cave in late 1946 or early 1947 in the region of Khirbet Qumran, about one mile inland from the western shore of the Dead Sea and some eight miles south of Jericho. By 1956, a total of eleven caves had been discovered at Qumran. The caves yielded various artifacts, especially pottery. The most impor- tant find was scrolls (i.e. rolled manuscripts) written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the three languages of the Bible. Almost 900 were found in the Qumran caves in about 25,000–50,000 pieces,2 with many no bigger than a postage stamp.