Hear the messages that Father Jeremiah delivers each week
to the congregation of Grace Anglican.
One of the greatest hymns for Christmas is Hark the Herald Angels Sing. In this hymn, Charles Wesley reminds us of the heavenly reality of where Jesus comes from, that he is God incarnate for us and that through him, our sin nature can be overcome. This beautiful hymn is the basis of Father Jeremiah’s sermon for the First Sunday of Christmas.
Image: See page for author, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
On the First Sunday of Christmas, Father Jeremiah read a sermon by St. Gregory of Nazianzus to explain the importance of the Incarnation of Jesus.
Image: Unknown sourceUnknown source, Copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons
Why are St. John’s words, “He became flesh and dwelt among us,” so important to us Christians? Father Jeremiah looks at this verse and how St. John leads us to this beautiful moment in John 1.
Image: Nativity, Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At our Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols, we heard of the promises of God to his people throughout the Old Testament. Father Jeremiah explains that Jesus is the fulfillment of God the Father’s desire to make a people for himself and that he does so through forgiveness of sins.
Image: Nativity, Giotto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
John the Baptist is questioned in John 1:19-28 about who he is. He denies being the Christ, the Prophet, and even Elijah! But he points the priests and Levites to one who stands among them who is the great one to come. What kind of person is John to have his ministry overshadowed by another and to want it to be so? Father Jeremiah tells us about John’s humility and how it becomes his greatness because of the great one, Jesus.
Image: Interrogation of John the Baptist, Jacob de Weert, Public Domain Dedication (CC0 1.0). No changes made. Image location: https://www.lookandlearn.com/history-images/YR0194173/Interrogation-of-John-the-Baptist.
Why does John the Baptist delight in pointing his own disciples to Jesus? What does John understand about Jesus that others had not grasped yet? And just why does the Holy Spirit come to rest upon Jesus at his baptism? Father Jeremiah considers these things in his sermon for the Second Sunday of Epiphany.
Image: San Giovanni che indica il Cristo a Sant'Andrea, by Ottavio Vannini (1585-c. 1643), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ottavio_vannini,_san_giovanni_che_indica_il_Cristo_a_Sant%27Andrea.jpg
St. John tells in the first chapter of his Gospel that the Word was with God, the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. God has become man he declares. And out of that, humanity receives three gifts that John brings forward. Father Jeremiah preaches about these gifts and their importance to our salvation in this Christmas Day sermon.
image: See page for author, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0> no changes made, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_birth_of_Christ;_outside_the_crumbling_cave,_an_angel_an_Wellcome_V0034608.jpg
For many of us, finding Jesus is crucial to our understanding of our faith. But in our text from John 1, we are reminded that it all starts with God knowing and calling us to “Come and see” through his people. It is Jesus who finds us and brings us to himself as the one who unites heaven and earth.
Image: Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Copyright 1984. CC BY-SA 3.0. No changes made. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gospel_of_John_Chapter_1-10_(Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media).jpg
When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he called him the Lamb of God. What did he mean by this statement? Why did it draw his disciples from himself and to Jesus? How can this strange statement affect us today? Listen now to hear what Father Jeremiah teaches us from this passage.
Image: Behold the Lamb of God, by Lawrence OP (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). No changes made. Statue of John the Baptist pointing to the Lamb of God is located in Fribourg. Image Location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/12028234743
Father Jeremiah’s friend, Thomas Haviland-Pabst, preached on this first Sunday after Christmas. He considers the incarnation and birth of Jesus from John 1 and Galatians 3. The incarnation results in beautiful things for us! We are able to be adopted as children and can receive the Holy Spirit within.
Grace Anglican Church, Sundays @ 10:30 AM, 800 Robinson Rd, Gastonia, NC
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 551081, Gastonia, NC 28054
