Good Samaritan Anglican Church

2020-03-08 - Year A - Lent 2 - Agape Year

Agape Year is a 9-month program (September to May) for recent high school graduates who seek to grow in their love and knowledge of Jesus Christ while engaging in His mission for the lost, the poor, and the uninvited both locally and globally. On March 8, Nathan Twichell, co-Director of Agape Year, visited Good Samaritan Anglican Church with two Agape Year Fellows to share about what God has been doing in their lives, both in Pittsburgh as well as in Thailand.

For more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: www.goodsamaritananglican.org.

2020-02-23 - Year A - Last Sunday of Epiphany (Transfiguration) - The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas

Epiphany “a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something” or “an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being.” The Transfiguration reveals, yet again the fullness of who Jesus really is, and it points the way towards what he came to do. The readings this morning show us two very different but connected encounters with God on mountain tops and they show us what these two things mean for our lives.

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/a-tale-of-two-mountains/

2020-02-16 - Year A - World Mission Sunday - The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas

God is a missionary God. All mission is first and foremost God’s mission (or Missio Dei in Latin). We see this in Matthew 9:35 where Jesus, God himself, goes on mission. God invites us to participate in his mission reconcile the world to himself through prayer, sending, and going.

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/participating-in-the-mission-of-god/

2020-02-07 - Year A - Epiphany 5 - The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas

In the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus explains to his followers how he wants them (and now us) to behave in the world by using two metaphors: salt and light. He is indicating that we should be people who do good in the world. Many of us have taken this to heart and try to do good things as we are able to, but have you ever considered why we do good things? The whys (motives) behind our good deeds are just as important as the whats (our actual good actions). I can think of four basic motives, some good, some not.

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/why-do-good/

2020-02-02 - Year A - Presentation - The Rev. Carrie Klukas

The Presentation of the Lord or Candlemas is meant to be a time for us to present ourselves to the Lord. As the month of January has ended I am sure many of your New Year’s resolutions may have ended as well. Perhaps that is okay and perhaps God has a different plan for you this year.

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/the-feast-of-the-presentation/

2020-01-26 - Year A - Epiphany 3 - The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas

It can be widely assumed that most everything we do online can be tracked. You will know this if you have ever searched for something in a search engine and then you begin to see advertisements for the same kinds of products. Companies can track your purchases, location, and your digital history if you let them. Some think that they will track you even if you don’t let them! If that feels creepy to you, you can take comfort in the fact that there are some things that cannot be tracked: like your thoughts. On the other hand, there is someone who can even track your thoughts: God.

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/exposed/

2020-01-19 - Year A - Epiphany 2 - The Rev. Steven Edwards Exodus 12:21-28; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42

Our Lord, Jesus, has so much love for us, and hope for our lives, that He offered His own, to save ours. He who created us, who called us into being, is Himself the greatest respecter and investor for the sacredness of human life. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He suffered and gave life so that no other substitutional sacrifice would need to be offered to sustain us in life before God. We are called to take joy in the gift and blessing of life in Him. We are called to defend and protect the sanctity of life of others. Those living in our midst, and for the unborn, and for all those dependent or defenseless, upon grace for the hope and fullness of life. We are to extend hope and mercy to each one. Let us take courage in the word of God through the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 1: 4-8: "Let us give thanks for one another to the Lord, because of the grace given in Jesus Christ, that in every way you are enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/life-in-the-lamb/

2020-01-12 - Year A - Epiphany 1 - The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas

When Jesus comes to be baptized by John, John is confused (Matthew 3:14). Perhaps this passage confuses you as well. John’s job was to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah, and now Jesus was standing right there in front of him. Shouldn't Jesus have baptized John? Also, John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance (Matthew 3:11-12). Jesus was without sin, so why would Jesus need to be Baptized? Listen to hear more about what Jesus' Baptism was all about.

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/jesus-baptized-for-us/

2020-01-05 - Year A - Christmas 2 - The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas

It is possible that the Magi may have heard of a Jewish prophesy about a king whose birth was to be marked by a star (see Numbers 24:17). But how would a normal sign in the sky come to rest over the place where the child was. Jerusalem is only about 5 miles from Bethlehem. They could have walked there in about an hour and 45 minutes. It would be hard to tell the difference from an astronomer’s POV. I like to think that this sign was something that God specifically created to celebrate the birth of his Son! Kind of like the “it’s a boy” signs you sometimes see in a front yard! A special sign for a special birth.

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/a-special-star-for-a-special-birth/

2019-12-29 - Year A - Christmas 1 - The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas

For those of you who are married, can you remember what you wore on your wedding day? If you are not married, think about another significant event in your life. We tend to wear special clothes for special occasions. In Isaiah 61:10, the speaker seems to be the servant of the Lord, the Messiah (see 61:1). Earlier in the chapter, God’s people were given “garments of praise” (61:3). Now the Servant himself is given special garments for a special purpose, Salvation and Righteousness. He is getting prepared to save his people. He is getting ready to visit us!

For sermon notes and more information about Good Samaritan Anglican Church, please visit our website: https://www.goodsamaritananglican.org/sermons/dressed-for-salvation/