St. Aidan's Anglican Church, Kansas City - Weekly Talks

Psalm 100 is a call of entry into the heavenly courts of all the company of heaven ... the Holy Trinity, Saints, Angels, Archangels, White-robed Martyrs, holy Prophets and Apostles. Here all glory and honor is pouring forth unto the Lamb who was slain, Our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, this is where we've been invited to enter. In such an atmosphere, many find a deficit of expression. The language of praise is acquired in the Scripture, namely, the Psalms. Rod expressed how to come into his Presence with praise.

The Psalms of Ascent provide a compact Psalter within the Psalter, says Bill Baldwin. Bill takes Psalm 121 and provides the fulfilled, heavenly perspective of the Christian's journey up Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the City of our God. In Christ, we have come to Zion, all the company of heaven, who forever sing Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord. God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! At Christ's final return, this City comes down as a Bride to be eternally united with Jesus Christ, her bridegroom.

Chris Destigter has developed and overseen the Weekly Morning Prayer & Eucharist Team at St. Aidan's. Chris and Hanna are moving to Durham, N.C. on August 17th where Chris will enter theological studies at Duke Seminary. On the Feast of Transfiguration, Chris explores Psalm 27. 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet[b] I will be confident. 4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. 6 And now m

Psalm 46 is a Psalm of Zion, now the completed People of God, the Church, redeemed Jew and Gentile, on earth and in heaven. Verse one inspired Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is our God” and “the 46th” became a code word in his many times of trouble. He would simply say, the 46th. We read of a great apocalypse, perhaps the very end of the age, as earth gives way, mountains tremble, and all is swallowed up into the heart of the sea, and the faithful proclaim, we will not fear. Yam, the ancient Semitic word, meaning sea, is the name of the Canaanite god of rivers and the sea, transferred into the Hebrew Scriptures as a metaphor for chaos and death. He represents the power of the tempestuous sea, untamed and raging. Also called Nahar ("river"), he additionally ruled floods and related disasters. This is the image behind this turn of phrase. In this tempestuous world, we are God’s refugees, finding a very present help in time of trouble. Because God is our refuge and strength, his refugees pray and sing … WE W

We explore the Imprecatory Psalms invoking judgment, curses and calamity upon one's enemies. Psalm 35 is one such psalm and is quoted some seven times in the New Testament. We learn the voice and context of this psalm as Christ in the midst of his passion and death. The voice is Christ and as we pray this psalm, we pray in union with Christ, our redeemer. We discuss the general dis-ease we have with such psalms and the wider stories of violence in the Old Testament.

This is the 4th talk in the series, The Psalter, the Prayer Book of the Bible. This talk focuses on a special type of lament psalm called penitential, a psalm expressing confession of sin and receiving forgiveness. The seven penitential psalms are 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 & 143. Psalm 32 provides core Gospel material for Paul's 4th chapter of Romans 4. Therefore, Romans 4 tells us how to interpret this Psalm. Christians are not justified before God by a correct and meticulous observance of the Mosaic Law, but by receiving, in faith, God’s gracious justification of us for the sake of Christ our Redeemer. Patrick Henry Reardon, in his wonderful work on the Psalter, Christ in the Psalms, says, "Psalm 32 then is the prayer of those standing at the foot of the Cross and forswearing all righteousness of their own, commit their lives and entrust their destinies entirely to God’s forgiving mercy richly and abundantly poured out in the saving, sacrificial blood of His Son, because “God was in Christ reconciling the

Out of our depths, we pray laments, honestly and hopefully. Such prayers express our raw selves to God. Life brings us to a place of our un-sovereignty. Out of growing uncertainty, we express our inner disorientation while holding on to his unchanging nature and promises. A hopeful despair. What's the difference between a lament and grumbling towards God? Why does God accept laments and rejects a grumbling spirit? Herein the nature of our relationship is revealed. Psalm 13 is among the 68 laments in the Psalter. We explore the importance of lament, the raw expression of pain, sorrow, dis-ease, in Christian formation and worship. The structure of lament, a movement from a complaint, to a petition to thanksgiving, provides the way upward. We learn to discern the difference between lament and grumbling against God's covenant faithfulness.

In #2 of the summer series, the Psalter, the Prayer Book of the Bible, we enter with Psalm 1 ... the doorway and interpretive key for reading the Psalter. The structure of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, sit, walk, stand, provides an interpretive key of fulfillment for reading the entire Old Testament. The structure of Ephesians, Sit, Walk, Stand, is taken from the book which bears its title by Watchman Nee. “The Christian life consists of sitting with Christ, walking by him and standing in him. We begin our spiritual life by resting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. That rest is the source of our strength or a consistent and unfaltering walk in the world. And at the end of a grueling warfare with the hosts of darkness we are found standing with him at last in triumphant possession of the field.” (p.78) The Christian life begins not with a big do but with a big done! SIT - seated with Christ “All true spiritual experience begins from rest.” (p.27) “Whereas God worked six days and then enjoyed His

Our summer series explores the Psalter, the Prayer Book of the Bible. We read and pray the Psalter in light of the Apostolic preaching and the gateway into the Psalter, Psalms 1 and 2. King David's greater Son, Jesus Christ, is the the fulfillment and focus of worship on earth and in heaven. Join us as we meet with God and each other with the Psalter.

Bishop Stewart Ruch exhorts our congregation, in ruthless trust, to surrender our powerlessness. I Kings 17:1-19.

We celebrate both the coming of the Holy Spirit on all nations and upon a newly baptized adult member of our community. We contemplate two readings from Year A - Acts 2 and John 20:19-23.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes[a] to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed[b] by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become[c] my disciples." John 15:1-8

A summary of the practice of the Laying on of hands, emphasizing the sacrament of Confirmation, is discussed: Hebrews 6:1-3; Psalm 133;and Acts 8.

I Corinthians 15:50-58 Because the risen Lord Jesus has inaugurated the age to come, uniting heaven and earth within himself, everything we do in the Lord matters, our labor in the Lord is never in vain. His resurrection was not merely for his vindication but for the redemption of creation. Matter Matters.

I Corinthians 15:35-49

Third Sunday of Eastertide: I Corinthians 15:12-28 - Paul is speaking about the consequences of disbelief and belief in the general resurrection of the dead. If the dead are not raised, then Christ is not raised. The Corinthians fail to see the connection between Christ's resurrection and his body, the Church. We explore the undoing of Death, the final enemy.

St. John Chrysostom's Easter Homily, A.D. 349 - 407 , delivered by Christopher Destigter.

A Homily written by St. Theodore the Studite, A.D. 759 - 826. Delivered by Rod McNeall. Icon painted on 9 separate sections by 9 artists of St. Aidan's Anglican Church. Total size: 4' X 5'.

The next four Sundays we are considering St. Paul's most extensive treatment on the Resurrection, of Jesus and of his people, in I Corinthians 15. Some in Corinth have rejected Paul's teaching on the overarching story of redemption, the story of the crucified and risen Messiah; Some have turned away from the apostolic teaching on the resurrection. And the implications of turning away involve one's eternal destiny ... having believed in vain. Paul seeks to lay another firm foundation on this most climatic event in all of human history. The death of Christ means nothing without his resurrection from the dead. Thanks be to God, Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again!

St. John 20:1-18 Jesus appears amid despair, failure, and disillusionment. While we despair, he is glorified; while we fail, he is victor; while we are disillusioned, he is the Light of the world. Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and forever! Alleluia! Christ is risen! Apologies for audio recording ... Fr. Michael's mic was not picking up so there's more room sound than usual.