Light of Christ Podcast

Finding Peace in Anxious Times

Obtaining God’s heart for others.

So, how do we develop an open heart like our Father who makes the sun rise and the rainfall on both the evil and the good?

Welcome to the Light of Christ Weekly Podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.

Our sermon soundbite today is based on Matthew 5 beginning at verse 43. "And you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father, who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

So how do we develop an open heart like our Father who makes the sun rise and the rain fall on both evil and the good. Well, just like the sunlight falls and the rain falls and brings life to the barren ground, we are invited by God to let his love, flowing from his open heart, fall on us. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit. And when God's love falls on our hearts, our hearts are opened up and flow out with love for enemy. And where do we find this love that flows to even the enemy? We find it here at the cross.

This is where God loved his enemy. Where he turns the other cheek, to be beaten by us. Where he goes the second mile to carry his cross. Where, through giving his body, he gives eternal life to the robber and all other sinners who ask him. Do you want to have an open heart like God, a heart that's in sync with the Triune Love? The only way is to be snatched up into his loving embrace at the foot of the cross, where he declares, "Father forgive them for they don't know what they do."

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ Weekly Podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. This prayer is found on page 24.

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the Cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

A holy heart is a heart the sees people as God sees people.

You have been called to be holy for a special purpose.

Holiness is being set apart. It’s being set apart for something.

Welcome to the Light of Christ Weekly Podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at LightofChristGeorgetown.org.

Our sermon soundbite today is based on John 17:19, where Christ prays to the Father, "And for their sake, I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth."

So he prays for our security. He prays for our oneness, and finally, he prays that we be set apart, set apart. The Bible words for this are words like, holy. This is the same word. And, you'll see it throughout John 17. Holy, consecrated, sanctified. All these words mean the same thing, meaning to be set apart for a special purpose.

Sometimes when we think about being holy what's the first thing that you think about? For me, I think about, "Oh, holiness is not doing bad stuff." I think of the 10 Commandments, "Thou shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shall honor your father and mother." And, then "Thou shalt not." It's a lot of thou shalt nots, but being set apart is much more. Obviously part of it is not doing certain things for sure. But, holiness, being set apart, is actually being set apart for something. You see, every yes we say is a no to something else. Every no we say is a yes to something else. They are two sides of the same coin. Yesterday, when I said yes to painting the front of my house, I said no to grilling a T-bone steak on my grill.

Had I said yes to grilling a T-bone steak, I would have had to say no to painting. But I needed to paint because they're saying it's going to rain for two months. Well, not two months, but for a week and a half starting sometime today. So, I had to paint, right? Every yes is a no to something else and every no is a yes. And, we've been called to a huge and beautiful, yes. We have been set apart for a higher purpose.

I remember being at a party once and this guy was there who was just ripped and shredded. He was a huge, big guy. And, I think we were going to drink some margaritas or something. And, I said, "Hey, do you want one?" He's like, "No." It was a perfect time for a margarita. “You don't want a margarita?” And he pulls out of his backpack some plastic bottle and pours some weird looking powder in there and puts water in there, shakes it up and drinks it. I was thinking, "Oh, that's a poor substitute." Why did he say no to the margarita? Well, he had a bodybuilding championship coming up. He had to be in perfect shape. He said no to the margarita because he had a higher yes. And likewise you have been set apart to a higher yes.

And, this is what Christ is praying for us. This is God's deep desire. This is the Holy Spirit's work. This is what He will most certainly accomplish. We have been set apart for the purpose of loving. We have been set apart for the sake of others, to use your unique gifts, to bless those around you. And, as we are called to that set-apart-ness, to be like Christ, who was so different and weird than the people around Him. We have been called to be set apart and weird, to be that guy, when everyone else is “drinking a margarita”, who drinks some powder in a bottle. People don't understand, but we have a higher purpose.

And so, we say no to lying. We say no to sexual immorality. We say no to greed and selfishness, because we are saying yes to a greater purpose. We have been set apart and this is Jesus' desire. This is the Holy Spirit's work. And, this is what He most certainly will accomplish.

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ Weekly Podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. This prayer by John Wesley can be found on page 673.

I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Walking the path of lament with God.

Grief is that feeling that you have, that emotional state that we experience when we lose someone or something important to us.

Welcome to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.

In this sermon soundbite, we talk about the difficult process of healing through grief. Paul writes in Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."

Let's talk a little bit about grief. Grief is that feeling that you have, that emotional state deep inside of us that we experience when we lose someone or something important to us. This pain that we feel inside of ourselves called grief is as real a thing as the pain that happens to you if you were to chop off the tip of your index finger. In fact, grief and shame are the two most painful of human emotions, and humans will do almost anything to not feel grief and to not feel shame.

Now, as I have been working through the process of all of this in my own heart, I've noticed something, and perhaps it's in your heart as well? I've noticed that these feelings of grief I'm having difficulty recognizing, but instead what I'm seeing come up in my heart is anger. Anger. So I ask you, are you angry?

Anger is one of the emotions we would rather go to than deal with our grief. And I'd like to pose the question, perhaps your anger, like mine, may be actually grief that has not been dealt with. We're all grieving. We've all lost a tremendous amount. Certainly I'm not comparing my loss to the loss of someone who's lost their job and their livelihood or someone who's lost someone to COVID. But certainly we've all experienced incredible loss during this time.

One thing I learned as a hospice chaplain in dealing and working and loving people through their grief is that there's only one way to heal, and that is to let yourself feel. There is really only one way to heal and that's to let yourself feel. Grief, it's kind of like waves at a beach. I remember growing up, we went to the East coast and they have really good waves there. And as a kid, if you saw a wave coming, I first would try to run from that wave. And what happens when you run from a wave? Man, it just wallops you and you come up with a face full of sand and salt coming out your nose, especially when you're a little kid like I was. I quickly learned that the best way to deal with a wave that was coming towards me was to dive into it, dive right into it.

And so it is with grief. Unpredictable, like the waves as they're coming, we see them and we're tempted because of the pain of grief to run away, to shut down the tears, to push it inside, to clamp it in. But this is not the way to heal. No, the way to heal in grief is to embrace it, to dive in.

The Bible calls this lamentation, to lament, and the Bible is full of lamentation. Psalms 77, I'd like to read that to you. Did you know that one third of the Psalms are lamentation. In other words, one third of the Psalms are a Psalmist voicing their grief to God in prayer. And I encourage you, whether it's Psalm 77 or some other Psalm to join in lament at this time.

Listen to the Psalmist. He says,

1    I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4    You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10    Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11    I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16    When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (ESV)

The Psalmist cries out bearing his soul to the Lord, his true self, his grief, his pain. And so I encourage you. I encourage you to cry, to grieve, to lament, to write down the pain of your heart, if it's helpful, in a form of a prayer to God. To sing, to read, to pray a Psalm of lament before the Lord. And for those who were in that class earlier, using the Jesus Prayer as well in and a prayer Chaplet can be helpful. Grief, bring your lament with me before the Lord.

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. This prayer is found on page 254.

"Grant to all who mourn, a sure confidence in your Fatherly care, that casting their grief on you they may know the consolation of your love. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.”

The beautiful and divine mystery of woman.

Who was the first temple of Christ?

Welcome to The Light of Christ weekly podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and I am thankful for mothers. On today's podcast, we have the sermon from Evening Prayer on what motherhood teaches us about being temples of God.

Temples, that's the theme of the Gospel that we read this morning and is the theme that we see here in First Peter chapter two. Peter the apostle tells us that we are living stones being built together to be a house for God. We know from what Paul says that this does not only include us corporately but this idea of temple includes us personally. Our bodies are temples of the image of God. Our bodies are temples of Christ. This is an appropriate topic for Mother's Day. Who was the first temple of Christ? Was it not the blessed Virgin Mary, a young lady who in that moment when the angel came to her with the message of the Lord, of God's love for her, "Blessed are you among women." She said yes to God's love.

And in her, Christ was conceived. Christ dwelt in her. She was the first temple. She was the first Christian. You see, women can do something men cannot. And it's a beautiful, beautiful mystery that they join in the very act of creation, the act of creating, not just anything, but creating a person within them. Think about that. An image of God, a little tiny itsy bitsy, little image of God inside of the woman is created and she co-works with God in this creation of an image of God within her. And in this, in her body, she is a temple of the image of God, bringing a life into the world and each and every one of us. (Whether our biological mothers were involved in our life or not is one question) but we all do owe our life to a mom. We owe our lives to this incredible mystery of the female body.

Now, not all women have physical children, but all women are called to be mothers. Let me explain. Some women are called to celibacy as their vocation, called to live out their life single for the purposes of God. Mother Theresa is an example of this. Some women are past the age of childbearing. Others never find a husband and others have the great struggle and heavy burden of infertility. Yet motherhood is a much larger thing than just having physical kids. Mother Theresa reminds us that spiritual motherhood is no less real and no less powerful than physical motherhood. All women are called to this beauty that we see in Mary, called to be a temple. And I encourage you mothers out there, spiritual mothers and physical mothers, women who are growing into their spiritual or physical motherhood, to embrace this, that your body is a temple of Christ, a sacred space, and God has called you and invites you to say yes to his love, to let Christ reside in you so that you can bring life to those around you, to your world. Let us thank God for our physical and spiritual mothers.

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from The Book of Common Prayer.

"Oh God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate son. Grant that we who have been redeemed by his blood may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. One God now and forever. Amen."

God enters into our conversation, journey, and sorrow.

Grace is about God's love always initiating, always moving forward first.

Welcome to the Light of Christ Weekly Podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.

Our sermon soundbite for today comes from Luke chapter 24 where we get a vignette of the resurrected Christ. We meet Cleopas and his friend, disciples of Jesus who are walking on the road to Emmaus, and they are sad because of what they've seen about Christ dying and what they've heard about this empty tomb and the inability to find the body of Jesus. Suddenly, this mysterious character joins them. They don't recognize him, but he is the risen Christ.

Notice that Jesus engages them in their journey. He enters into their conversation, their sadness. So, they aren't looking for Jesus, Jesus is looking for them, and this is what grace is. This is the good news, not that we love, but that God first loved us. John tells us in his first epistle, it's God. Grace is about God's love always initiating, always moving forward first. We don't. We are blind. We run away from God, but he seeks us out.

And notice how Jesus engages them in the conversation and invites a response through a series of questions, which are really funny because it's Jesus there that they don't recognize and he knows, right? Jesus knows what's happening. Who would know more about the resurrection than Jesus? No one, but yet he asked them verse 17, “What's this conversation that you're holding with each other as you walk?” And then they say, “Well, what haven't you heard what's happened? Have you been living under a rock stranger?” And then he says, “What thing?”

What does this response remind you of? I think Luke wants us to remember something in our past. Think for a moment through Genesis one, two and three, what happens when Adam and Eve's eyes are open to sin, when their eyes are closed to the loving presence of God, what do they do? They run and they hide from God. And what does God do? He seeks after them. And what does he ask? Where are you Adam? Where are you Eve? Who told you that you were naked? God was asking these questions not because he didn't know, but because he was seeking them out, inviting them, calling them to a response out of their fear, shame, sadness, and in to the recognition of his loving presence for them.

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ Weekly Podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. You can find the prayer for the third Sunday of Easter on page 612.

Almighty God, you gave your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living: Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits, and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Following God through the valley of shadows.

“Let him show you his wounds and remind you that he died for you and was resurrected.”

Welcome to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.

Hello everyone. The Lord is risen! Our sermon soundbite today comes from John chapter 20, "Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your fingers here and see my hands, and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Last Sunday we had the privilege of Jamie Tanner, the founder and president of Simple Sparrow, a care farm ministry. Come and deliver us the message of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. God is using her powerfully to bring healing to those who have significant trauma. You can find out more at simplesparrow.farm.

Jamie Tanner:

Indeed, the entirety of scripture is story after story of the juxtapositions of trusting and following God versus trusting and following not God. Following not God lends itself to darkness, to death, to fear, to unbelief. Whereas following God leads to light, life, peace, belief. We cannot serve God and not Gods at the same time. Just like fear cannot dwell where there is peace. In this moment, do you have peace? Who or what are you following? What are you believing?

As we move forward as a church into the unknown, while it is still dark, we must lean into our good shepherd. He may not give us the eyes to see the distance or the severity of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but we choose to trust that he is with us. We choose to follow where he leads our next step. We choose to lean into him instead of ourselves. His leading is into peace. Peace, despite our circumstances. That doesn't mean we instantly transform, but rather he is transforming us more and more into the image of the sun.

We are a work in progress. We will still feel fearful, anxious, depressed, and panicked these days and beyond these days, and it's in these moments that we can learn to pause and take every thought captive. We can measure it against who Christ is and what he said. We ask the Holy Spirit for help and guidance. Is our thought peace? Is our thought belief? If it's not, I would encourage you to let Jesus work on you. Let him show you his wounds and remind you that he died for you and was resurrected because he indeed is the Christ, our good shepherd, a light of the world, prince of peace. Peace be with you.

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ weekly podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the book of common prayer. You can find this prayer for a person in trouble or bereavement, on page 663.

O merciful Father, you have taught us in your holy Word that you do not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men: Look with pity on the sorrows of your servant. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy; nourish their soul with patience; comfort them with a sense of your goodness; lift up your countenance upon them; and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Liberation Through the Passover Lamb

The true passover lamb has come.

Jesus is the perfect Passover lamb that liberates us from slavery into freedom.

Welcome to the Light of Christ Weekly podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas, at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.

Our sermon soundbite today comes from our Maundy Thursday service, where we remember Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist as He celebrates the Passover meal with His disciples. As Jesus is there eating with His disciples and celebrating the Passover meal, He knows that He is the true Passover lamb who will be sacrificed for us, to liberate us from our bondage to death and bring us back to Himself, to God.

He's the perfect Passover lamb that liberates us, liberates God's people from slavery. Through the blood of the lamb, the Egyptians were defeated, the Hebrews were free to go, liberated from their slavery to worship God, and they celebrated this yearly in the Passover meal. Verse 14, "This day will become a memorial for you and you will celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance." See, through His death, Jesus knows that He is going to encounter directly the darkest forces of evil that enslave humanity, and He knows that through this mighty battle, He will liberate us from slavery of sin so that we can be His again. See, true freedom is to be able to love God and to love each other.

Christ crucified body is the only medicine potent enough to heal us from the addiction to sin, and His blood, the only drink strong enough to overcome the inebriation of our lust.

Jesus is the perfect Passover lamb that liberates us from slavery into freedom. Tonight, Jesus understands, as He celebrates the Passover feast, that victory will be won through Him, through serving us as the Passover lamb.

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ Weekly podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. You can find the collect for Maundy Thursday on page 608.

Almighty Father, whose most dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it in thankful remembrance of Jesus Christ our Savior, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We are spiritually dead apart from God, but God makes alive.

Welcome to the Light of Christ Weekly podcast. Light of Christ Anglican Church is located in Georgetown, Texas at MLK and University Avenue. We are a modern expression of the ancient faith. You can learn more about us at lightofchristgeorgetown.org.

Our sermon soundbite today comes from Romans Chapter 6, Verse 17. "But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.”

Notice our collect, the prayer that we prayed together at the beginning after the collect for purity, the collect of the day, we prayed, "Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners."

That's our dead hearts, right? Dead to God, but very much alive the sin. "Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise." Now notice this next part, "That among this swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely be fixed where true joys are to be found." I think that statement very much applies and describes very well our pattern of life in the last two or three weeks, hasn't it? Swift and varied change?

Yeah, I'd say so. As I look around this mostly empty place, as I look towards this camera to speak to you, "Swift and very changes of the world."

What does this breath of God give us during this time? It gives us a new heart so that in this moment of chaos and change, we know what we're here for. We know that we are forgiven. We know that we are loved of God, and we know that we are here to seek the good of the other for their own sake. The world may be wondering, "What do we do during this time?" But we're not because the crucified Word of God has given us His Spirit, a new heart, and we have direction. We have joy. Yes. Even in the weeping of this time.

"Through Jesus Christ, our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen."

We're spiritually dead apart from God, but God makes alive.

Thank you for listening to the Light of Christ Weekly podcast. Let us end our time together with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. You can find the collect for the fifth Sunday of Lent on page 606.

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.