Hear the messages that Father Jeremiah delivers each week
to the congregation of Grace Anglican.
Father Clay Thompson is our guest preaching for this Sunday. In this sermon, he leads us through the Armor of God as presented to us in Ephesians 6. He reminds us that the purpose of this armor is to enable us to fight the good fight of faith through our prayers and confession of the Gospel. May we all take to heart the calling to fight through prayer!
Image: Eric Enstrom, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Image: J'aimelart, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
www.gracegastonia.com/sermon-blog/2021/8/22/walking-wisely-in-vocation-ephesians-515-69
St. Paul reminds the Ephesians about the fruitless works of darkness that they were once a part of. But what has changed? They became light because Jesus is the light of the world and in him is no darkness. The same is true of us today. We are called light and by being light, we are called to walk in the way of the children of light, reflecting who Jesus is and what he has done in us through his death and resurrection.
Image: Public Domain. Location: https://www.maxpixel.net/Sky-Night-Sky-Star-Milky-Way-Night-Starry-Sky-5295153
www.gracegastonia.com/sermon-blog/2021/8/15/light-not-darkness-ephesians-53-14
St Paul speaks to the Ephesians about not walking in the ways of the Gentiles who’s hearts are hardened. This reminds us of the reality that what the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies. Our hearts are the driving force of our wills which actually shape our thoughts. As believers, we must continually turn our hearts and affections toward Jesus himself so that our wills and minds are also turned toward Christ.
Image: Undergrowth with Two Figures, Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
www.gracegastonia.com/sermon-blog/2021/8/8/walking-with-your-heart-will-and-mind-ephesians-417-52
In Ephesians 4:1-16, St. Paul tells the Ephesians to walk in a way that is worthy of the calling they have in Christ. In doing this, he reminds them of the work of that has been accomplished for them by the Holy Trinity and the gifts that they have been given that enables them to walk worthy and to make Jesus known. These same gifts are ours today and we have the same calling! So St. Paul is calling for us to receive these gifts that will build up our calling in the Lord.
Image: Phillip Medhurst, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. No changes made.
www.gracegastonia.com/sermon-blog/2021/8/1/receiving-gifts-for-the-calling-ephesians-41-16
St. Paul speaks of the mystery of Christ and his work in today’s passage. That mystery is Christ himself and his work is to include the Gentiles alongside the Jews as the people of God and inheritors of the promises to Abraham. With this is the reality that it is through the Church that the mystery of Christ is revealed and the wisdom of God is made known. And so, even today, the Church gathered in worship is revealing the work of Christ to bring to us the promises of God in Christ for us!
Image: Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven by Fra Angelica. Public Domain. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beato_angelico,_predella_della_pala_di_fiesole_01.jpg
www.gracegastonia.com/sermon-blog/2021/7/25/the-mystery-of-christ-and-the-church-ephesians-3
In the first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul lays down the foundation of all that he is going to discuss through the epistle. In this chapter we hear of the great blessings that have come to us from God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the work of the Spirit in us. And so, this chapter reveals to us a story of salvation that involves blessings, inheritance, and renewal all because of who Jesus Christ is.
Image: Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The wise men came searching for the King of the Jews by following a star. That star led them to the Christ child and they worshiped him recognizing something more to this little one than many others who would encounter him in the future. What does all of this mean? How are we led to Christ? What are the means by which God draws us to himself through Jesus?
Image: St Mary Major; 13th century mosaic: Adoration of the Magi, by Franciscan, Jacopo Torriti.
Grace Anglican Church, Sundays @ 10 AM, 800 Robinson Rd, Gastonia, NC
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 551081, Gastonia, NC 28054
