St. Aidan's Anglican Church, Kansas City - weekly talks

A series on worship from a heavenly perspective

During the summer, we’ve explored how to transition from the I-Life to the We-life, what life together in Christ looks like. Last week we emphasized what holds young and old together in the Body of Christ.

Last week’s Psalm 145

v.4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

v.12-13 The people of God shall “make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations (from generation to generation).

How does his dominion endure from generation to generation?

What links us together, young and old?

Today’s Psalm 100 provides another insight.

V. 5 The Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness endures throughout all generations. Other versions translate… HIS TRUTH ENDURES FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION

What links us together is not affinities, gender, race, class, or any form of identity politics. His truth links us together … from generation to generation. Last week we heard Jesus say, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

The forces of darkness aim not only to disfigure the truth about God but also about the nature of the human person. The Church throughout space and time is called to pass on the Truth in the formation of the next generation. Let’s think about this.

Right before our very eyes, the meaning of words is being altered. I quote from Christopher West, Eclipse of the Body.

The origin of gender shares the same root as words like generation, generate, generous, genesis, genealogy, genetics, and so forth.

The Greek root gen means TO PRODUCE or give birth to.

Gender means the way you generate new life. Gender is determined by another gen word, genitals, which is to say that your genitals determine your gender. Yes, there are …% of people born with ambiguous genitalia.

Yes, there are people with gender dysphoria, a deeply troubling state in which one feels like they are trapped in the wrong body. But now extremely young children are taught to doubt their biological gender.

All this is important to maintain the unaltered reality that his Truth endures from generation to generation.

When a culture understands and reverences the meaning of our genitals, the call to generate the next generation, that culture will understand and reverence the meaning of gender. Attack the meaning of our genitals and an attack on the meaning of gender is inevitable.

Rather than Gender being based in biology it is now become ruled by Decarete’s “I think, therefore, I am.” This means that I am a disembodied person with an autonomous personhood.

The Church proclaims that the body, the human body, male and female, proclaims the Gospel, the mystery of Christ and his Church, the BRIDE in union with her BRIDEGROOM.

Christ comes to RE-generate the generation. This is what Jesus calls new birth or born from above, born of the Spirit. Until his breath returns, the generations are spiritually dead and blind… they cannot see the Kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:25-33

The Spousal Community of Christ signifies the Gospel, the good news of the marriage supper of the Lamb. Our bodies, male and female, signify the story of redemption and the destiny of creation. A male body alone doesn’t make sense. A female body along doesn’t make sense. It requires husband and wife, united together, to signify the mystery of Christ and his Church. The union of man and woman is an icon of the union of Christ and his Church, his bride.

Our passage today quotes Genesis in 5:31

The Lord has so created our bodies to complement each other unto the generation of life. This speaks of the mystery of our present communion and final destiny, culminating in a heavenly wedding, the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Let us be the Family of God, despite the growing cultural divisions promoted by racism, sexism, classism, ageism, gender ideologies, and all manner of identity politics. In Christ, we are united to be one body, in heaven and on earth. Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.

Living By Faith - Fr. Derek Metcalf - 09.12.21 by St. Aidan's Anglican Church, KC

10. A Healing Community - We-Life Series - Fr. Michael Flowers 09.05.21 by St. Aidan's Anglican Church, KC

The Baptism Of Jesus & Ours - Fr. Derek Metcalf 08.30.21 by St. Aidan's Anglican Church, KC

Stand, Pray, Forgive

Mark 11:12-25 - Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they[b] went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

STAND, PRAY, FORGIVE

24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received[c] it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

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Colossians 3:1-13

HEAVENLY

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

EARTHLY

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:[b] sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.[c] 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self[d] with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,[e] free; but Christ is all, and in all.

HEAVENLY

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

John 6:53-59

Ephesians 4:20-25 - Key Text

Romans 6:1-25

Ephesians 4:17-24

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Mark 4:35-41

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.

38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”

And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another,

“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Ephesians 4:11-32

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.