MAC KIRK

  Luke 1:26-56; Isaiah 55.  Advent II ( Readings are from 1928 Book of Common Prayer- Morning Prayer )  Mary and Elizabeth   C. S. Lewis said, "  There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." Mary and the Angels Luke 1:26-38 What a Gospel for today! It is full of great news and Divine Announcements and the appearance of the Angel Gabriel. To all who are struggling with the life here in so many ways we are all surrounded by such love and mystery that it is overwhelming wonderful! It saddens me at some level, but gives me hope that people who normally do not have any spiritual interest at most times of the year, come to this account in Luke with angels and have interest and wonder. First, What is this " Gabriel"? A man in Daniel who comes to Daniel touching him, perhaps flying to assure him that God would give him understanding. Daniel 9:21 The Angel Gabriel, lit. Geber el = man of God. He is called an angel in Luke 1. This is angelos in Greek....

  Advent I.  Dec 1. How Do We Begin Again? Jeremiah 33:14-16;1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 I saw this the other day and I have been thinking about it...." Forgiveness is re-gifting the grace that God gave you."  Some how we are stuck.  If the truth be told, we are locked into where we are and what we are doing without hope of getting any light.  We should take advantage of the new season we are in today to ask, " How do we start?"   When I use the lawnmower, I check the oil religiously, and try and see how the air filter is doing by taking it out. I may even turn the lawnmower slightly on its side to see what is going beneath it.  Any grass from last time still in there?  Does the blade turn?  On another way of looking I have a fitbit watch and I wondered why it was not charging.---  Seems the back is magnetic.  It had a paper clip stuck there, and when I plugged the charger in I could not figure out why it was not char...

  Matthew 25:31-46 Stir up Sunday.   This is the Sunday before Advent.  This is Thanksgiving week Sunday. It is also called Christ the King Sunday "  STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." ( 1928 Book of Common Prayer, Sunday next before Advent) from A Calendar of Saints by Bentley " The strong must make sure that they care for weak.  The rich must be certain to give enough to supply all the needs of the poor .  The poor must thank God for supplying their needs.... We all need each other: the great need the small, the small need the great. In our body, the head is useless without the feet and the feet without the head. The tiniest limbs of the body are useful and necessary to the whole." Clement  This sums up today's message quite well.  All week what has struck me about the Scriptur...

  Parables in Matthew 13.  Wheat and the Darnel ( Weeds-Tares) We see the parable of the wheat and the chaff/darnel interposed between some more familiar parables...the parable of the sower for example. The parable we wish to discuss today begins in v. 24.  In v 36 the parable is explained by Jesus after the disciples ask him what it means.  The wheat is worth something but apparently the darnel, or tare is not," zizanion: zizanium (a kind of darnel resembling wheat) Original Word: ζιζάνιον, ου, τό Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: zizanion Phonetic Spelling: (dziz-an'-ee-on) Definition: zizanium (a kind of darnel resembling wheat) Usage: spurious wheat, darnel; a plant that grows in Palestine which resembles wheat in many ways but is worthless. HELPS Word-studies 2215 zizánion (plural, tares/zizania) – a tare (darnel); (figuratively) a pseudo-believer (false Christian); a fruitless person living without faith from God and therefore is "all show and no go...

  Celebrating Faith in others and in ourselves   All Saints Sunday Nov 3 "It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."  Isaiah 25:9 " A Christian knows that death shall be the funeral of all his sins, his sorrows, his afflictions, his temptations, his vexations, his oppressions, his persecutions. He knows that death shall be the resurrection of all his hopes, his joys, his delights, his comforts ,his contentments." Thomas Brooks . He (1608–1680) was an English non-conformist Puritan preacher and author. “Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul  And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all.” EMILY DICKINSON The Christian life has waiting and hope.  It has many other things in Isaiah, Revelation and John . The Hebrew word for waiting is Transliteration: qavah Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-vaw'...

  New American Standard Bible. " He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD." Ps. 112:7 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers Him out of them all." Ps. 34:19 " The Navy on Monday identified the two aviators who died when their EA-18G Growler jet crashed into the Washington state wilderness last week.  Lt Cmdr. Lyndsay Miley Evans , a naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena Dug Wileman, a naval aviator, both 31 years old and from California died on Oct 15 when their aircraft crashed near Mt. Rainer, setting off a days-long , search- and- rescue mission. The service described the two women as "trailblazing" aviators in a press release on Monday, and the cause of the deadly crash remained under investigation. They were decorated combat veterans who distinguished themselves during their squadron's recent deployment to the Red Sea aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower." military.com/daily-new...