MAC KIRK

 Does it hurt God if we keep sinning ?     I have been looking at a series of questions that many ask . The last one was about, " why do all these things happen in the world that are not good"?  We answered that in the mackirk.blogspot.com link for Sept . 11 that talked about God working all things for our good and His glory despite what we see ( Romans 8:28 is the key verse for this). Loss is not in our plan, but God does have a plan. When we sin we hurt ourselves.  We also hurt God , and that should be an incentive to live and better godly lives in the power of His strength.  I had never thought of it that way before. We should first redefine what sin is.  Some see it as not hitting the mark as the arrow that misses the bullseye. Sin keeps us apart from God .  Psalm 66:18 , " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." One of the best Confessions of Faith says"  sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of t...

  What about the events that happen that we cannot explain? Perhaps this issue is at the heart of our faith as these kind of things seem to happen with regularity.  Someone we know dies, and either they are very young , and also generally good people in the spiritual realm.  We cannot fathom why this happens.   We usually go through the stages of grief in our loss. Our first reaction is shock.  I was returning from a visit to a local restaurant in another town near us when I heard the news.  My first reaction was disbelief.  How could this happen?  At some point in our feelings and thinking the other stages also appear... We feel anger , disappointment, bargaining and finally acceptance.  Yet most of us, being quite human, go through these stages again and again.   I thought of a book I have that began to help--- All Things for Good   by Thomas Watson.  Do all things happen for our good ?  That is the real q...

  Memorial Service Jenny Cross Scripture-Psalm 23; 2 Corinthians 5; John 14:1-6 "I Know My Master" illustrates our Lord is on the other side. "A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side." Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know." "You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?" The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death...

  Transfiguration and Us The Gospel for Calendar August 6 St. Luke ix. 28. "AND it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, say...

 A Meditation from a Hymn and the Scriptures-7th Sunday after Trinity   Perhaps many of us have found comfort in singing good hymns.  The 1940 Hymnal is a good place to start ( Prot. Episopal Church).  For the 6th Sunday of Trinity hymns a hymn originally titled , O Conqueror" with a first line " O North...." is appointed, no. 541.  I have used these hymns in my daily prayers .  This one is quite meaninful. The hymn was written by W. Cullen Bryant, 1794-1878 .  He was a lawyer in Massachusetts. He wrote over 20 hymns.  He wrote for the " New York Post" as well. The tune to this hymn, " O North.." is catchy and easy to sing.   1. The first verse is much about nature ;however in the second verse he talks about the coming of the Son of Man, " Lo, in the clouds of heaven appears God's well-beloved Son; He brings a train of brighter years; His kingdom is begun.  He comes a guilty world to bless, with mercy, truth and righteousness." Have...

  Matthew 5:23 -24   "Reconciliation- The sin of anger.."  Trinity VI    God is "slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy" Psalm 103:8; Micah 7:18 reminds us as well that " He retaineth not His anger forever, but delighteth in mercy.."  We too are commanded to be " slow to anger, slow to wrath.." James 1:19 .  We also are to " let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger.... and evil speaking be put away ..and be ye kind one to another,... forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32     In today's Gospel we are reminded that we should " first be reconciled to our brother/sister then come and offer our gift at the altar."  Matthew 5:24  Dr. Tasker, an anglican Greek teacher said it this way in his thoughts on this passage, " Conduct is more important than formal worship." The greek word in the NT reconcile is "change thoroughly".       General McArthur said ,    ...

  Thomas Brooks , Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices-  No. 2 Thoughts from this delightful Biblical series written by an English puritan . We begin with an illustration of our confusion .   "Some years ago, The Archbishop of Canterbury was rushing to catch a train in London. In his haste, he accidentally jumped on the wrong passenger car and found himself on a car full of inmates from a mental hospital. They were all dressed in mental hospital clothing. Just as the train pulled out of the station, an orderly came in and began to count the inmates, “1-2-3-4…” when suddenly he saw this distinguished looking gentleman there wearing a business suit and a clerical collar and he said: “Who are you?” The answer came back: “I am the Archbishop of Canterbury!” And the orderly said: “5-6-7-8.” The point of that story is this: It is so important to know who we are and who other people are. If we know what makes us tick and what makes other people tick, we get along bette...

  Are we Ignorant of Satan's Devices?  2 Corinthians 2:11   Many years ago in the 17th century Christians were taught by learned and reformed ministers. This question was asked by the Apostle and Brooks does a whole series of messages on this....discussing Satan's devices ( attacks), and the Biblical remedies for Christians to know and practice.  A lot of these books and his as well have been re-published by The Banner of Truth Trust .  This series of sermons is meaty and Biblical and can help us in our Christian way of love and holiness.  Thomas Brooks ( first published 1652) in his book Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices  has some good thoughts from the Scriptures about how Christians should not be ignorant of Satan's tricks to get them to sin. Brooks goes back to the Apostle Paul's thought in 2 Corinthians 2. " Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." vs 11.Satan is not even thought of by most Christi...

  12 Steps to Living Without Fear-  Lloyd Ogilivie ----When I lived in North Dakota and served the Reformed Presbyterian Church there in a small town,  I remember seeing him on the television in his sermon and Church broadcast.   He had a wonderful way of connecting with people , and preached with no notes! I have taught some of the below in various churches to help understand how fear can cripple us, and make us unable to do what we should be doing for God and His Kingdom. No, they are not perfect, and each point in his book listed above has a chapter dedicated to it.  They are worth reading about in the actual book still available. I will say that no. 12 has been one of the most helpful to me personally....but the others too are quite helpful especially no. 7 in dealing with people and how they affect us. Blessings to you as you meditate on them , and the Scripture for each one. They are worth looking at and seeing how they fit the thought that is introduced....

  Trinity II,   " Luke 14:16-24"  The Feast     In the middle of talking about inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to a feast or supper, someone hears our Lord talk about this, and feels the wonder of that kind of action.  In this life it is rare that one would invite those who cannot reply in kind to such a feast. " Now when one of those who sat at table with Him heard these things, he said to our Lord,' Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God' ".     Our Lord directs this story /parable to this individual to show the hope of heaven and that we also must claim that too without excuse.  " When the critical time came, would he really accept God's invitation?  Or would he be too busy about some activity affecting his more immediate interests?" The Gospel of Luke, Leon Morris.  Too busy.  I did not know that the Captain of the Titanic received six warnings about ice bergs on that night in ...

  The Rich Man and Lazarus-“ Two Men, Two Roads, Two Results” Luke 16:19-31 We could look through the Gospel of Luke , and we could discuss such things as Discipleship (“ Strive to enter through the narrow gate” 13:24), Counting the Cost as a Disciple and bearing our Cross (14:27), the Lost sheep, lost coin from Luke 15 and last Sunday the Parable of the Unjust Steward Luke 16 where we heard “ You cannot serve God and riches” 16:13 These have not been easy lessons . Today  we are focused on a story from Luke. I would think we should be careful if we call this a parable since it is more than that I believe. Parables are stories but in this story we have characters who are named. Be careful not to dismiss stories of Jesus either because in them we have the Word of the Gospel. I subtitled this message years ago when I talked about it ----“ Taking a wrong turn in life” Today we are looking at two ways of living. I am not trying to identify anyone here as I talk about this. I am si...

  Grace in the Holy Trinity GRACE and Trinity Sunday ( Before I talk about this subject, I want to share with you something that was written by a Christian I who knew; It touched me deeply because this is also somewhat my own experience....) "Good article. I was raised by atheists, but was baptized (in the Presbyterian church!) when I was four. I speculate it was done because my grandmother probably wouldn't stop nagging until they said, O all right, if it will get her off our backs. But I don't know why they did it with any certainty. Anyway, they did. There was no follow up. My Father refused to go to church even for my sister's or my wedding, simply because they were in church. I never knew what a church was through my childhood. It was not until my late teens that I found my own way to church, with no guidance, let alone encouragement, from anyone. As a result, my theology of baptism has been clear: I can trust the Father who works effectively his will through wate...

  Whitsunday (Pentecost) First Lesson Wisdom 1:1-7 1 LOVE righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth: think of the Lord with a good (heart,) and in simplicity of heart seek him. 2 For he will be found of them that tempt him not; and sheweth himself unto such as do not distrust him. 3 For froward thoughts separate from God: and his power, when it is tried, reproveth the unwise. 4 For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin. 5 For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without understanding, and will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in. 6 For wisdom is a loving spirit; and will not acquit a blasphemer of his words: for God is witness of his reins, and a true beholder of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. 7 For the Spirit of the Lord filleth the world: and that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice. 1st Lesson Questions - Do froward thoughts (V. 3) ever separat...

  Sunday after the Ascension June 1. Hebrews 4:14-5:10 ( Ev.Prayer 1928 BCP) Fit in between the end of Easter celebration and  Pentecost June 8 is the dramatic festival of the Ascension of our Lord into heaven after His Resurrection , seen by many for 40 days.  ( last Thursday May 29) " Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16 1.  All of the Jewish sacraments and ordinances are now fulfilled in Christ, our High Priest.  His High Priesthood is eternal as shown in Heb 5, after Melchizedek, the high Priest in Genesis.  In other words there is no need for any other sacrifices ....

John 16:33  "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: ; I have overcome the world."     I suppose if we were truthful and we were asked what is one thing we desire in this life more than anything else it would be " peace."    I think this is something we really need. On Friday mornings my schedule is to prepare the Sunday sermon , and this is one I wish I could study all day ,as I have meditated on it all week ---it does not seem to fill my cup yet totally.   When I was in the service I tried to bring a little peace to the married couples and single Soldiers in our units.  I would bring them to various places to give them a break from the hum drum of the routine of military life.  We traveled to various places such as the redwoods of California, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin area, and to the Carmel beach near Monterey , CA.  The Koreans had a retreat ...

  Easter 5/ Easter 4 ( traditional readings mostly -Job 19:21-27a; Revelation 19:1-9; Gospel John 16:5-15)  Sermon- " The Comforter according to Jesus" "A junior high music teacher had just organized a band in her school. The principal was so proud of the music teacher's efforts that without consulting her he decided that the band should give a concert for the entire school. The music teacher wasn't so sure her young musicians were ready to give a concert, so she tried to talk the principal out of holding the concert, to no avail. Just before the concert was ready to begin, as the music teacher stood on the podium, she leaned forward and whispered to her nervous musicians, "If you're not sure of your part, just pretend to play." And with that, she stepped back, lifted her baton and with a great flourish brought it down. Lo and behold, nothing happened! The band brought forth a resounding silence. Sometimes we in the church are like that junior high ...