August 2024
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
August 2024 from Father Tim
The long hot days of August have arrived! In addition to the four Trinity Sundays this month contains two BCP Days of Obligation, the Transfiguration of Christ (6th) and S. Bartholomew, AP.M. (24th). Also of significance is the Assumption, B.V.M. and the Anglican Worthy, Bl. John Mason Neale, Confessor (8th). Needless to say there is a lot to overcome in the world. The list of temptations, evils, and atrocities could not be contained on this page. Yet Christ has asked each of us, His disciples, to do exactly that — to overcome the world. We are bound by our baptism to be soldiers of Christ and fight battle after battle against sin, the world, and the devil. If we fail to do so we break our baptismal vow. A true Christian is a victorious soldier. He (or she) is provided with the armor described by Saint Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians (vi. 13-17), and does not just profess to fight in Christ’s army, but actually does so in daily action, and overcomes. Victory is the satisfactory evidence, not of the lost, but of the saved. We must be victorious or be lost. There is no middle ground. The daily battles we fight are hard, sometimes terribly so, and yet we must fight the good fight. Heaven, by the way of the cross, is our goal. We are not alone in our quest, and we have mighty examples of those who fought before us, and who ‘overcame’. Moses refused the sinful pleasures of Egypt, chose affliction with his own people, and overcame the love of pleasure. Micaiah refused to prophesy a favorable outcome to Ahab the king, opting to prophesy the truth, knowing he would be persecuted as a result, and overcame the love of ease. Daniel refused to stop his prayers to God, knowing hungry lions awaited, and he overcame the fear of death. Matthew discarded his tax collectors post the moment Jesus called to him, left everything to become His disciple, and overcame the love of money. John and Peter stood courageously before the Sanhedrin, saying, “certainly we cannot give up speaking of what we have seen and heard!”, and overcame the fear of man. Saul the Pharisee gave up a prominent position in the Jewish religious community, and preached the very Christ whom he once persecuted, and overcame the love of worldly praise. These are just a few. The list of those who ‘overcome’ is long and noble. They fought, they battled, and so must we. Our faith in Jesus, the Captain of our Salvation, will give us the strength for victory. ~ Father Tim
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Do you know someone losing their battle with worldliness? Do they struggle to recognize the enemies in their midst? Invite them to church in August. The person who has the nerve to face his Creator will not fear anything the world can throw at them. ~ Father Tim
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Believing that further delay would be sinful, some of God’s insignificants and nobodies in particular, but trusting in our Omnipotent God, have decided on certain simple lines, according to the Book of God, to make a definite attempt to render the evangelization of the world an accomplished fact… Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time for waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! In God’s holy name let us arise and build! We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us. Should such men as we fear? Before the whole world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, nambypamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ. ~ C.T. Studd, 1860-1931, Anglican Missionary
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Do you know?
Do you know Saint John’s made a charitable donation to Holly Hill Child & Family Solutions in July? Do you know our Book of Life Club will be reading and discussing the book Theologia Germanica in August? Do you know the Usual Suspects Bible Study will continue discussing the Lamentations of Jeremiah in August? Do you know we recently had the original 1898 blueprints of Saint John’s digitized? Do you know that Bishop Patrick Fodor will make his first official visit to Saint John’s on the 11th of August?
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Saint John August Ordo Kalendar
Sunday, the 4th of August, at 10:30 AM, Trinity X Mass
Tuesday, the 6th of August, at 6:30 PM, Transfiguration of Christ Mass
Wednesday, the 7th of August, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Saturday, the 10th of August, at 7:30 AM, Rule of Faith Meeting
Sunday, the 11th of August, at 10:30 AM, Trinity XI Mass, Bishop Fodor
Wed., the 14th of August, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer, Vigil of the Assumption
Sat., the 17th of August, at 9:00 AM, Morning Prayer & Litany for Missions
Sat., the 17th of August, at 9:30 AM, The Usual Suspects Club, Bible Study Lineup
Sat., the 17th of August, at 10:45AM, The Book of Life Club, Theologia Germanica
Sunday, the 18th of August, at 10:30 AM, Trinity XII Mass, Vestry Meeting
Wednesday, the 21st of August, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Saturday, the 24th of August, at 7:30 AM, Rule of Faith Meeting
Sunday, the 25th of August, at 10:30 AM, Trinity XIII Mass
Wednesday, the 28th of August, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer, Lay Readers
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After the respite, the Christians again came under persecution, this time from Marcus Aurelius, in A.D. 61. One of those who suffered this time was Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna… As he entered the stadium with his guards, a voice from heaven was heard to say, “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.” No one nearby saw anyone speaking but many people heard the voice. Brought before the tribunal and the crowd, Polycarp refused to deny Christ, although the proconsul begged him to “consider yourself and have pity on your great age. Reproach Christ and I will release you.” Polycarp replied, “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King, who saved me?” Threatened with wild beasts and fire, Polycarp stood his ground. ~ John Foxe, 1516-1587, English Clergyman, Theologian, & Historian
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It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough, in the face of opposition, to stand up for it. ~ A. A. Hodge, 1823-1886, Principal of Princeton Theological Seminary
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August Birthdays & Anniversaries
John Fischer – Birthday – August 1
Matthew Davis – Birthday – August 17
Kevin and Donna Davis – Anniversary – August 21
Sally Thomson – Birthday – August 23
Janet Butler – Birthday – August 28
Savannah Barkdoll – Birthday – August 29
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Why should we want to worship Jesus well?
[Jesus] saves His people from their sins. This is His special office. He saves them from the guilt of sin, by washing them in His own atoning blood. He saves them from the dominion of sin, by putting in their hearts the sanctifying Spirit. He saves them from the presence of sin, when He takes them out of this world to rest with Him. He will save them from all the consequences of sin, when He shall give them a glorious body at the last day. Blessed and holy are Christ’s people! From sorrow, cross, and conflict they are not saved. But they are saved from sin for evermore. ~ J.C. Ryle, 1816-1900, Anglican Bishop of Liverpool
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No one makes us afraid or leads us into captivity as we have set our faith on Jesus. For though we are beheaded, and crucified, and exposed to beasts and chains and fire and all other forms of torture, it is plain that we do not forsake the confession of our faith, but the more things of this kind which happen to us the more are there others who become believers…through the name of Jesus. ~ Justin Martyr, 100-165 AD, Christian Apologist & Philosopher
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The seeking of Jesus Christ and the quest for chivalry combined lead directly to one place only: Anglican-Catholicism. Courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help and defend the weak and the poor. Welcome to the Anglican Catholic Church. ~ Father Timothy Butler