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

Revelation 7:1-17

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: (12,000 from the tribe of Reuben… Dan omitted)

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to theLamb!”

11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders (presbyters) and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Earthly Christian Marriage Signifies the Mystery of Christ and his Church.

21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

At the heart of Christian marriage is Christ, a Christocentric merger of two becoming one flesh. God himself joins man and woman together as a unity in diversity. The whole plan of salvation is signified in the consummation of man and woman in holy matrimony. Our bodies preach the gospel, the union of Christ and his Church.

Man and woman mutually submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. At the heart of Christian marriage is mutual reverence for Christ.

Dillion Wadsack speaks to St. Aidan's under the big sky on how to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:11-20

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:1-10

1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Liz Flowers speaks about anger and the human condition in transformation in Christ.

Ephesians 4:25 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.

Due to an audio failture, Eric re-recorded this excellent message. As Paul begins the exhortational section of his letter to the Ephesians, he wants them to remember their baptism and the new life they received therein. The language of put off and put on refer to this exchanged life, from death to life. The Christian lives her life from a new source, the presence of Christ dwelling in the heart through faith. A Christ follower becomes more and more like their Master.

9. Unity and Diversity in the Church: Ephesians 4:1-16

September 13, 2020

Good morning let’s turn in our bibles to Ephesians 4. Chapter four launches out of the second prayer of the letter. What we’re about to consider, Paul’s vision of the Church, requires a serious contemplation and practice of last week’s prayer. The prayer of 3:14 f., sums up the mission of Christ and his Church, whereby through prayer we receive and participate in the glorious grace of God as total gift. Since the Church is a collective Temple of the Spirit, the last request of the prayer is to be filled with all the fulness of God.

Personally, I don’t believe God’s intended outcome is fully received without prayer. Salvation is restored communion with God, therefore, prayer is entering restored communion. This is why chapter four begins with another “therefore”.

Paul is saying, because you have come to know Christ’s objective work of bringing salvation, restored communion, relationship between God and humanity and person to person, we can move into the subjective aspects of our salvation. Chapters 1-3 have focused on what God has DONE in Christ, now chapters 4 – 6 will focus on the intended outcomes of this grace, on how this invisible new life of the indwelling Spirit becomes visible in how we live our lives.

Paul doesn’t consider our salvation to be a matter of mere co-operation between man and God, in the sense that we contribute something to our salvation. According to Paul, our salvation is a total work of grace … a total gift of life and indwelling power … all the fulness of God. We must receive salvation by faith, but this faith is itself God’s gift, communicated in Christ (1:1). Therefore, we now reign in life through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. Being in Christ is a change of being … this is what it means to be born from above. This doesn’t mean merely a set of beliefs, but a change of nature, through faith and grace.

The nature of God is suggested in the opening SIX verses:

Salvation in Christ brings integration of our inner selves.

Divine nature – humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love … these characteristics come from restored communion and the filling of the Holy Spirit. These four characteristics are the fruit or the visible signs of the Spirit in the life of a believer. This passage begins with love and ends with love – the nature of God taking deep roots within the Chruch.

In light of this, we are called to exert all the effort made available by indwelling grace … to MAINTAIN the nature of God within us. Paul uses the phrase … the Unity of the Spirit … God is perfect unity, called the Trinity …

These seven marks of unity are based in the nature of the Trinity:

V. 4 ONE BODY and ONE SPIRIT …

___________

Diversity of gifts and leadership unto

v. 12 - Equipping the saints for works of service … for building up the …

v. 13 UNTIL … the unity of the faith (unity of the Spirit)

Maturity …

v. 15 truthing in love (speaking is inferred at best, but not in the Greek).

Paul has stressed four essential aspects of the Church: charity, the unity of God, diversity of gifts and the process of maturity.

Today we come to the close of chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul leads us into a most holy place, giving us the words of his prayer for the Church. This glimpse of Paul’s prayer for the Church, is to be a guide for us, as we enter His gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.

I want to make a few observations of this prayer and then we’ll spend some time praying it. It is my hope if you’re not accustomed to praying the Scriptures, that you might use the bible as your chief means of prayer. For all New Testament worship is grounded in the life of the Holy Trinity. Thus prayer becomes a participation in this life, a communion of love.

Let’s begin with verse 14: For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

For this reason… Spanning three chapters, Paul is recalling his comprehensive, cosmic vision of salvation in Christ.

I bow my knees before the FATHER (the Spirit, v. 16 & Christ, v.17 – we share in the life, the True reality, of the Holy Trinity).

v. 15—from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named –

Paul is actually condensing everything he’s said about the salvation of the cosmos in this little phrase … God the Father is the Father of all creation, seen and unseen. He has restored his good yet corrupted creation by the sending of his Son, for us and for our salvation.

Paul is affirming that the one new humanity in Christ has become his sons and daughters through adoption in Christ. Therefore, “every family” could be understood to mean the whole family of believers (John Stott Commentary). There is one family of God, whose name is derived from God the Father. The idea of fatherhood and family is rooted in the eternal family, before creation, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

From whom the whole family of God in heaven and on earth is named … the Church militant, on earth, and the Church triumphant, in heaven … One Family, One Body, One Church.

These are the realities that we receive as gifts from the unified nature of God.

This morning we bow our knees BEFORE, in the presence of, the Father from whom the whole family of believers in heaven and on earth is named identified, chosen.

The prayer is asking for the gift of salvation to be realized in the life of His Family. The work of salvation is now being reflected back in prayer, asking for four things:

Strength … Love … Knowledge … Fulness

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This is the work of salvation that we are to more fully apprehend and appropriate in prayer …

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

In an outdoor service, Liz Flowers shares the story of St. Aidan and how our community became affiliated with his life.