Christ Church Jerusalem

23 May 2021 - Pentecost - As we commemorate the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit, Rev. David Pileggi reminds us that the Gospel is not merely about salvation and personal transformation. The Gospel is about healing creation and the relationships between individuals and people groups. Unity is a work of the Holy Spirit, however we must walk in love, repentance, and holiness to maintain unity, especially in these contentious times.

Readings: Isaiah 63:7-14; Ephesians 4

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Music credit: The Train in the Darkness by MusicLFiles

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7240-the-train-in-the-darkness

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Epistles are not documents of mass production, even when in encyclical form. Documents that are encyclicals are meant to be copied and passed around to several communities, though most readers of the encyclical likely heard the document read in public and did not read it themselves. Paul identifies himself as an apostle, literally ‘one who is sent’. The concept of ‘agency’, that is of an agent being sent on behalf of another, is well established in Jewish tradition.

Led by Aaron Eime.

Notes for this study can be found at https://www.christchurchjerusalem.org/sermons/bible-studies/letter-to-the-galatians/ ‎

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16 May 2021 - Seventh Sunday of Easter - How do you become a better you? A whole segment of the publishing industry is devoted to self-help books, but those assume that our problems can be solved by ourselves. All of us are sinful and unclean so that our desires distort into potentially deadly cravings. Matthew Dalling reminds us that God sent Jesus to make us new creations, that his commands are meant for our flourishing, and that the testimony of the Holy Spirit has the power to change us into better versions of ourselves so we can be agents of the live-giving Kingdom of God in our tumultuous world.

Readings: 1 John 5:9-13; Psalm 1; John 17:6-19

Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/

This sermon is also available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/christchurchjerusalem

Listen to this sermon and more on our podcast. Search for Christ Church Jerusalem in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.

Music credit: The Train in the Darkness by MusicLFiles

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7240-the-train-in-the-darkness

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license\

Deacon Aaron Eime begins a new study on Paul's Letter to the Galatians.

Notes for this study can be found at https://www.christchurchjerusalem.org/sermons/bible-studies/letter-to-the-galatians/ ‎

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9 May 2021 - Sixth Sunday of Easter - In this age of anxiety, Rev. David Pileggi says the church worries too much about end-time prophesy and the latest heresy or apostasy. There is an unhealthy focus on wickedness and evil. The Scriptures remind us that God is the faithful king of all the world and that his goal is reconciling the nations back to himself. Our response to God's faithfulness and love should be joyful gratitude and obedience.

Readings: Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17

Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/

This sermon is also available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/christchurchjerusalem

Listen to this sermon and more on our podcast. Search for Christ Church Jerusalem in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.

Music credit: The Train in the Darkness by MusicLFiles

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7240-the-train-in-the-darkness

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

The end of the book of Deuteronomy contains the account of the death of Moses. The Bible in itself does not insist that Moses was the sole author of the Torah. Tradition has it that Joshua penned the final song of Chapter 33 and documented the final moments of Moses’ life. It has been assumed that the whereabouts of the burial place of Moses has been deliberately obscured by God Himself so as to inhibit the possibility of construction of a shrine to Moses. The text of Deuteronomy states that God buried Moses. Later tradition notes that God, who is life, cannot be in the presence of death and thus an intermediary acting on behalf of the Lord undertook the task to actually bury Moses. The tradition that the archangel Michael did the deed is alluded to in the Epistle of Jude.

Led by Aaron Eime.

Notes for this study can be found at http://www.christchurchjerusalem.org/sermons/study-last-words-of-moses-deut/ ‎

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2 May 2021 - Fifth Sunday of Easter - Jesus calls himself the vine, calling on an image recurrent throughout the Scriptures, and places his followers as branches of himself. Jesus tells us that the Father is the vinedresser who meticulously prunes and trims the branches so that they will produce the sweetest fruit. Neville Jones reminds us that we are called to trust the the Vinedresser's discipline as a sign of our sonship and maturing into the likeness of Jesus.

Readings: Isaiah 5:1-7; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8

Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/

This sermon is also available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/christchurchjerusalem

Listen to this sermon and more on our podcast. Search for Christ Church Jerusalem in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.

Following his song the next act of Moses is to bless the people before he himself leaves them and this world. The song of blessing has some similar characteristics to the blessing of Jacob in Genesis 49. One major feature of the blessing from Moses is the absence of the tribe of Simeon. Much of the blessing is in the third person, leading many to conclude that Joshua is recorder of the blessing.

Led by Aaron Eime.

Notes for this study can be found at http://www.christchurchjerusalem.org/sermons/study-last-words-of-moses-deut/ ‎

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25 April 2021 - Fourth Sunday of Easter - As a sheep, the choice of which voice you listen to is a matter of life or death. Ezekiel warned the wayward shepherds of Israel that their selfishness was costing the lives of the sheep. The shepherd psalmist writes about having to trust God to survive in the wilderness. Jesus then, in the midst of the pandemic of death, offers the sheep eternal life both before and after death. He offers us divine fellowship and the opportunity to truly know the living God. Sermon by David Pileggi.

Readings: Ezekiel 34:1-16 & 23-24; Psalm 23; John 10:11-18

Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/

This sermon is also available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/christchurchjerusalem

Listen to this sermon and more on our podcast. Search for Christ Church Jerusalem in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.

Photo by Javad Esmaeili on Unsplash

The final song of Moses foretells a disastrous future for Israel, one of idolatry, violence and dispersion. The song is a national prophetic warning which does not have to come to pass should Israel heed its words. Israel’s behaviour will elicit emotions of jealousy and anger from God. Jealousy and anger are not sins in and of themselves; they are authentic feelings that God Himself can also feel, an interesting thought! The Israelites were expected to memorize this song in an attempt to avoid the calamities that it includes. The song has positive prophetic promises as well as negative ones. Despite God declaring the people to be a ‘perverse nation and a people without sense’ (32:28), He will also have compassion on them in the future and vindicate them against their enemies, delivering them once more.

Led by Aaron Eime.

Notes for this study can be found at http://www.christchurchjerusalem.org/sermons/study-last-words-of-moses-deut/ ‎

Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/