News and Announcements

Foundations For Our Future (Special 1 - 9)

Foundations for Our Future (Special #1)

by: The Reverened Dr. Jon Shuler

Sorrow In My Heart

Those of you who have listened to me, or read me, for the last few months know something of my mind and my heart. It beats for the Lord Jesus Christ, his people, and his plan for the world. As a husband and father the well being of my family comes just after the Lord Jesus Christ. Then my love for and duty to you as the current Pastor.

But I am an American, and a proud one. Tuesday January 6th, 2021, has left me, as I suspect most, if not all, of you with a great sorrow in my heart. I never dreamed I would live to see such a day. I am saddened and ashamed.

Yet I belong to Christ Jesus, above all the things of this earth, and my response to these events must please him if I am to be faithful. What then can I do?

First, I can continue to pray for the well being of this nation, its leaders, and its people.

Second, I can be a reconciler, and not a divider.

Third, I can ask God to make me a “peacemaker.” (Matthew 5:9)

Those of us at Christ the King/Grace who love our Lord and our Country can make a difference. Will all of you join me?

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #2)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler 

Peace, Perfect Peace

The Leader of the House has taken to using the phrase from the Constitution, “to make a more perfect union,” and so far as she is sincere I agree with that goal. But I am sure that when half of the nation seek to dictate to the other half there will be no true union, nor any true peace.

Conflict is inevitable among people, because of the Fall. Only believing people share that perspective, however. To see that I have a fallen and sinful heart, as well as the other person, is only possible by God’s grace. Without that knowledge, the outcome of conflict is always to win. But when I see my own sinfulness, I must moderate my passionate and instinctual desire to crush my opponent. Christ Jesus demands it.

Political passions are running high right now, and unless they are moderated by all people of good will, the future of the nation is in jeopardy. Christians uniquely can make a difference to the outcome.

According to the pollsters only 63% of our nation claim to be Christian. Down from 93% in 1960. Yet 88% of the members of congress claim to be Christian. Down from 95% in 1960. If those who claim to belong to Christ conduct themselves in the light of Christ, the future can be much better. We who believe must demand it from others. We must demand it from ourselves.

There is a peace that passes all human understanding, and it is to be known and shared by the Lord’s people. Peace, perfect peace.

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #3)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

The Past Five Days

All of you who have read the Old Testament carefully will know that leaders rise and fall. Sometimes ignominiously. Ancient Israel had leaders of great wickedness as well as great godliness. We in America have been blessed for several centuries by leaders who - though flawed - have governed our country honorably.

The events of the last five days have been tragic. Much that was good about the past four years has been irrevocably damaged. Much that was predicted has come to pass. Any sincere patriot, of either party or none, is grieved over the scenes we have been seeing. This is not who we in America think ourselves to be. This is not what our godly ancestors expected of us.

When Israel was in dire straights, believers confessed their own sins. (see Nehemiah 1:1-11) This is not the first instinct of most people, who are inclined to rush to blame others, but it is the most faithful thing we can possibly do in these next days.

We at Christ the King/Grace have been hearing, for some time, that the Lord Jesus is calling for a time of gospel reformation in his church. It is easier to hear that message than to believe it. And easier to hear it than to begin to obey it. It starts when we face the truth about our own shortcomings, and resolve humbly to seek the Lord’s face.

Please, please hear me: We must pray and resolve to walk in a new, more faithful, and living way in 2021. All of us, whatever our politics. Together.

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #4)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

What Can the Righteous Do?

I have rarely preached or taught from this Psalm, but it comes to my heart and mind in these days. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)

The Daily Devotions I am writing have as their overarching theme; “Foundations for Our Future,” by which is meant the future of our parish. But what of our nation? Our State? Our County? Our home town? "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12)

As a child, I was taught this was true of my country. For much of my life I believed that to be so, but some years ago I began to realize it was fast becoming untrue. For me that dawning realization began to come in 1988, when I realized that the church family of my youth was determined to go astray. Soon I was convinced it was true of other church families also, and then I realized it was true of many of my fellow countrymen.

Still I had hope. If the leaders of the church were determined to be faithful, we could turn the tide. How foolish I was. God alone controls the tides! We are under judgement.

If you will turn up Psalm 11, and pray over it carefully, you will see three things. 1) “The Lord is in his holy temple.” Nations may fall but he is God. 2) God “tests the righteous.” We are being tested by God. And 3) “The Lord loves righteous deeds, and the upright shall behold his face.”

We can trust and obey.

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #5)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Leaning on the Psalms

Sometimes Christians sing an old gospel hymn: “Leaning On the Everlasting Arms.” It is filled with this truth, that God is trustworthy and always true.

I want to share a secret with all of you that I have learned from my walk over these last fifty-three years. The Psalms of David can take you through the most difficult of times. You can lean on the Psalms when you are troubled, afraid, lonely, confused, or just hungering for God to speak.

The clergy of the church are expected to pray the Psalms daily, and in the old days were to do that in a rhythm that saw a priest go through all one hundred fifty of them each month. Twelve times a year we were to pray them. That was eased in the 1970s to all of them every seven weeks, but it is still a lot of Psalms!

What I want you to know is this: I am constantly helped by reading the Psalms slowly and prayerfully. I think I have underlined or written in the margin more in the Psalms than almost any other book of the bible. I frequently date the notes, so whenever I come to them again I am reminded of earlier times God has comforted me, or corrected me, or guided me.

Can I suggest to you that you begin to read at least a Psalm or two a day? Reading one in the morning and one at night will take you through them in two and a half months. God will speak to you.

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #6)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

If Two Walk Together

 

To follow Jesus Christ for a lifetime requires great fortitude, and perseverance. It is always a gift of grace, but it is hard won. The scriptures tell us that God is at work in believers, to will and to work his good pleasure, but we are also told we must work out our own salvation. There is the paradox.

Scriptures also paint a clear picture of our need for one another if we are to be faithful. We all need someone beside us who wants only God’s will for their life and for ours. There is a reason the Lord Jesus sent out his first disciples “two by two,” and why it was good for Adam to “have a helpmate.” We are stronger when someone walks with us.

God’s primary plan for that to be true is what the church calls Holy Matrimony. God desires a faithful man and woman, united in lifelong marriage, to be the foundation of his church and his world. They are to be a discipling cell from which the life of Christ can flourish and multiply.

But it is not always so. When, for whatever reason, we are not united in a marriage built on common faith, prayer, and worship, we must find that spiritual partner or partners. Men must find another man or two, woman must find female companions. They must discover together a way to walk in partnership and obedience to Jesus.

Never has the church, nor the world, needed this more.

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #7)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Devoted?

 

When the work of our Lord Jesus was done on earth, he gave to his disciples the assignment he had received from the Father. They were to manifest his love to the world. This would require that the Holy Spirit fall upon them, and that they would then be obedient witnesses to the ends of the earth. And it began in Jerusalem. There, on the Day of Pentecost, the preaching of the gospel by Peter resulted in over three thousand converts in one day. How did the early disciples cope?

Luke tells us that the new believers “devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42) They immediately kept the pattern that Jesus had taught them: they met in one another’s homes, and they went up to the Temple to pray. With this simple organization the church began to grow and grow. Today there are almost two and a half billion of us. Almost one in three people alive today profess to be Christians. But are we devoted?

What does it mean to be "devoted…to the apostle’s teaching?” Most certainly it means to be devoted to the teaching of Jesus as he gave it to his apostles. And where do we find it? We find it in the New Testament.

The rebuilding that must occur in our country must begin with the rebuilding of the church of Jesus. It must begin with a renewed commitment to the teaching of Jesus.

Who will be devoted to that call?

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #8)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Covid and Chaos

None of us saw it coming. The pandemic of 2020 swept through the world, and much of the way we have all lived has been significantly altered. Perhaps, in some ways, for good. Nations have been rocked, some institutions and organizations have been shattered, and many businesses have been destroyed. More people lost there jobs in the USA last year than in any year since 1939, and things are much worse in many parts of the world. Those who can protect themselves have done so, but often by condemning millions of others to hardship.

Now, in our own country, there is political and societal chaos, and the divisions among us are at a fever pitch. It is still not clear what will come in the next few weeks and months. Believers must continue to watch and pray. Families must do the same. The church must be strong.

I have put before you, in a special eight day interruption to our daily progress through Matthew’s Gospel, what I believe to be true for these days. We all need to repent, renew our faith commitment, and seek Gods face. We must renew our devotion in worship and prayer. We must submit ourselves to the Holy Scriptures afresh, and band together in a small living fellowship obedient to Jesus. It will require reorganization of our lives.

Will you, who are Christ the King/Grace, follow me as I seek to follow Christ this year?

 

 

Foundations for Our Future (Special #9)

by: The Rev. Dr. Jon Shuler

Resuming Our Daily Rhythms

Cynthia and I were in Arkansas from the 6th to the 16th of this month. We traveled on the day of the chaos in the Capitol, and - like the rest of you - our lives were quite disrupted by events in our country. We pressed on, however, as I am sure all of you have.

We were in Arkansas, because of a commitment that I made long before I was to become Interim Rector. I help lead a type of “graduate program” for Church Planters based in Little Rock, and I need to be there at least ten days a quarter. I stayed in contact with the Sr. Warden and the Staff, as you would expect. It was not a  vacation or a normal visit!

Now we are back, and the regular patterns resume. Let me ask your special prayers for the following:

             The selection of the new vestry and wardens;

             A fruitful and encouraging Annual Meeting (Jan 31);

             A growing participation on Sunday (as the vaccine rolls out)

             The reorganization of our ministry patterns for greater gospel effectiveness                                   this year and beyond (more at the AM);

             A growing number of parishioners keeping a daily time of prayer and scripture                              reading each morning.

Tomorrow we will resume our journey through the season of Epiphany, and  consideration of the call to mission that belongs to all of us. You might want to reread Acts 1:1-8 to prepare.