Ancient Anglican

The Lord Himself has pointed out that their punishment lies in themselves—in their extreme agony. Pride, envy, hatred, avarice, covetousness—all are thus punished. Each passion is its own tormentor, and at the same time the executioner of each man possessed with it.

Our unity, therefore, is a reflection of the unity of the Divine, and as we become perfectly united with each other, so too do we become perfectly united with God.    

Paul speaks of the unity of the Body of Christ, echoing Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21 that we all may be one. What are some of the practical means by which unity in the Church is obtained and restored?

‘We are all teachers. We are free to propose ideas which might be wrong or heretical and to consider them and turn them around.  No one will be shocked or frightened. It is a very wonderful time of spiritual relaxation for us.’

As you read through the concluding prayer in Ephesians 3, not only make it your own, but pay close attention to the proper roles and functions of faith, love, and knowledge.

“Paul’s vision was to make his brand of Judaism — with the recognition of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah — a world religion easily accessible to everyone.”

For Paul, membership in God’s covenant family is open to all people who have been chosen, destined, and called by God’s grace, and whose outward sign of justification is faith in Christ.

Think about the role of God’s grace in bringing about the assembly of God’s people, and specifically how the church is not a hotel for saints who are good enough to enter but a hospital for sinners to which Christ has admitted us.

One of the essential attributes of being a Christian is participating and being in the community of other believers both on the grand scale of being part of the universal church and the smaller scale of believers simply sharing a fellowship meal and the apostles’ teachings.

This Week we are going to look at the Psalms of Holy Week – Psalm 22 (Passion (Palm) Sunday), Psalm 78 (Maundy Thursday), Psalm 69 (Good Friday), and Psalm 31 (Holy Saturday).

As you read through and meditate on Psalms 118, think about what are the “gates” and “doors” of which these psalms speak.

Attached are commentaries from St. Methodius and Charles Spurgeon on our psalms for this week. These men provide us with different approaches in our reading and application of these psalms.