Introducing the Anglican Church: 8. Church Traditions 27July14

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 21 July 2014

Introducing the Anglican Church: 8. Church Traditions

We are looking at some of the key teachings of the Anglican Church as found in the 39 Articles, one of the foundation documents of the Anglican Church of Australia. This is a simple modern English version (the original 16^th and 17^th century version is in the Prayer Book).

Article 34. About the Traditions of the Church

It is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies are the same in every place. They have always been different. They may be changed for different countries, times, and cultures, as long as nothing is ordained against God's Word. Anyone who, because of their private opinion, purposely and openly breaks the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which are not against the Word of God, and are approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly (so that others may fear to do the same). This is an offence against the common order of the Church, which hurts the authority of the government, and wounds the consciences of the weak.
Every national Church has authority to ordain, change, and abolish, ceremonies of the Church which are ordained only by human authority, so that everything results in edifying.

This Article is related to Article 20.  At the time of the Reformation it stated the view of the Church of England over against that of the Roman Catholic Church which claimed to have authority over all churches in every country.

The Article also stated the view of the Church of England over against the individualism of some of the Protestant groups.
The authority of national churches to make decisions about ceremonies is limited by the scriptures and by the principle of what is edifying. This is an important issue in our day as the scriptures are no longer regarded as authoritative by all members of the church.

Dale

Jonah 1 Who fears the Lord?

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Jonah

Created: 20 July 2014

{podcast id=24}

Who Fears the Lord? Jonah 1.1-16

Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 290 July 2014

Bible Readings: Jonah 1.1-16; Psalm 115; Acts 27.13-26; Luke 8.22-25

How are we to understand this story? Does it sound so preposterous in order to hook us into seeing ourselves as like Jonah??

Introducing the Anglican Church: 7. The offering of Christ cannot be repeated 20July14

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 15 July 2014

Introducing the Anglican Church: 7. The offering of Christ cannot be repeated

We are looking at some of the key teachings of the Anglican Church as found in the 39 Articles, one of the foundation documents of the Anglican Church of Australia. This is a simple modern English version (the original 16^th and 17^th century version is in the Prayer Book).

Article 27. About the Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross

The offering of Christ made once is the perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual. And there is no other satisfaction for sin, but only that. Therefore it is a blasphemous fable and a dangerous deceit to say that the priest offers Christ in the sacrifices of the mass so that the living and the dead can have forgiveness of punishment or guilt.

The Anglican teaching about the death of Christ is also referred to in Articles 2,3,15, and 28.
This Article affirms that the sacrifice of Christ was made only once, and that it was a sacrifice for all sins. Therefore no other sacrifices or offerings are necessary, and no other sins need to be atoned for.

Read more: Introducing the Anglican Church: 7. The offering of Christ cannot be repeated 20July14

Introducing the Anglican Church: 6. The Lord's Supper 6 July14

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 30 June 2014

Introducing the Anglican Church: 6. The Lord's Supper

We are looking at some of the key teachings of the Anglican Church as found in the 39 Articles, one of the foundation documents of the Anglican Church of Australia. This is a simple modern English version (the original 16^th and 17^th century version is in the Prayer Book).

Article 28. About the Lord's Supper

Simple English: The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have to one another; it is also a sacrament of our redemption by Christ’s death. If we receive the sacrament with faith and in a worthy manner,  the bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ; and the cup of blessing is a sharing in the blood of Christ.

Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of bread and wine) in the Supper of the Lord cannot be proved by holy scripture but is rejected by the plain words of scripture, contradicts the nature of a sacrament, and has produced many superstitions.

The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the supper only in a spiritual manner. It is received and eaten by faith. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was not ordered by Christ to be reserved, lifted up, carried about or worshipped.

The Book of Common Prayer titled this service “The Order of the Administration of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion.”  The Roman Catholic church calls it the Mass.  Some Anglicans call it the Eucharist (from a Greek word meaning thanksgiving).
This Article, like the one about Baptism, refers to the sign. The Lord’s Supper is a sign of the love Christians have for one another. It is also a sign of our redemption. Another way to say this is that the bread and cup are a means by which we can have a share in the death of Jesus.

Read more: Introducing the Anglican Church: 6. The Lord's Supper 6 July14

Introducing the Anglican Church: 5. Baptism 29Jun14

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 23 June 2014

Introducing the Anglican Church: 5. Baptism

 We are looking at some of the key teachings of the Anglican Church as found in the 39 Articles, one of the foundation documents of the Anglican Church of Australia. This is a simple modern English version (the original 16^th and 17^th century version is in the Prayer Book).

Article 27. About Baptism

Baptism is not only a sign that shows that a person is a Christian, and which distinguishes Christians from those who are not baptised. It is also a sign of regeneration, or new birth. The sign of baptism is like a letter of promise so that those who receive baptism rightly are grafted into the church. The promises of forgiveness of sin and our adoption to be children of God by the Holy Spirit are represented and made sure by the visible sign.  Faith is confirmed. Grace is increased because of prayer to God. The baptism of young children is to continue because it agrees with the sacrament Christ ordained.

The Anglican church baptises both adults and children.

Baptism does not make a person a Christian because of the ceremony. Baptism is a sign of God’s promise of forgiveness and new birth. When it is received by faith it becomes the public means by which a person joins the church. It marks a person as a born again follower of Jesus.

Baptism strengthens our faith because it reminds us of the promises of the gospel. That is, it is about new birth, forgiveness, adoption, and being grafted into the church. God’s grace comes to us through this sacrament because it is like a letter of promise. When we believe what the sign promises (what Baptism represents) we receive the promises. Baptism does not work because of the outward form of the ceremony, or because the grace of God is connected with the water. It works because people believe the promises of the gospel.

The Anglican church teaches that the baptism of infants is consistent with the Bible’s teaching about baptism. The Article does not go so far as to say that children must be baptised, only that if they are, it is true baptism.

The faith exercised in infant baptism can be thought of as the faith of the child expressed through the faith of the parents.

Dale

Introducing the Anglican Church: 4. The Sacraments 22Jun14

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Weekly Reflections

Created: 16 June 2014

Introducing the Anglican Church: 4. The Sacraments

We are looking at some of the key teachings of the Anglican Church as found in the 39 Articles, one of the foundation documents of the Anglican Church of Australia. This is a simple modern English version (the original 16^th and 17^th century version is in the Prayer Book).

25. About the Sacraments

Sacraments ordained by Christ are not only badges or signs that a person claims to be a Christian. They are also reliable witnesses of God’s good will towards us, and signs which bring his grace to us. God works invisibly in us through the sacrament not only to bring life to our faith, but also to strengthen our faith in him.

There are two sacraments Christ our Lord has commanded in the gospel: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

The five which are commonly called sacraments are not to be counted as sacraments of the gospel. These are confirmation, penance, ordination, marriage, and extreme unction [anointing with oil at the time of death]. Some of these have developed because people have corrupted the teaching of the apostles. Some are just states of life allowed in the scriptures. They are not like the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper because they do not have any visible sign or ceremony appointed by God.

The sacraments were not given by Christ to be stared at or to be carried about. They were given so that we should use them. They only have a good effect for those who receive them in a worthy manner. Those who receive them in an unworthy way are buying judgment for themselves, as Paul said.

The term sacrament means something that represents something else. John Chrysostom said it was seeing one thing and believing another. Augustine said one thing is seen and another is understood. The Anglican Catechism says it is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace”. In the Middle Ages many ceremonies were thought of as sacraments. Gradually only seven were considered as sacraments and these became the official sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in 1547. The Article says there are only two sacraments of the gospel, ie sacraments ordained by Christ.

Read more: Introducing the Anglican Church: 4. The Sacraments 22Jun14