9:00am Worship - CCA Savannah (2/15/2026)

Praise

God.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

You are

just

magnify the Lord our God

and fall down

for he is holy.

Moses and all of his priests and

those who call on his name.

They call the Lord and heaven

for

you.

Heat.

God is holy.

Our second reading is a reading from

Philippians chapter 3 beginning with

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

verse 7.

But whatever gain I had, I count it as

loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I

count everything as loss because of the

surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus

my Lord. For his sake I have suffered

the loss of all things and count them as

rubbish in order that I may gain Christ

and be found in him. Not having a

righteousness of my own that comes from

the law, but that which comes through

faith in Christ, the righteousness from

God that deepens on faith, that I may

know him and the power of his

resurrection, and may share his

sufferings, becoming like him in his

death, that by any means possible I may

obtain the resurrection from the head

now that I have already obtained this or

I am already perfect, but I press on to

make it my own because Christ Jesus has

made me his own.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have

made it my own. But one thing I do,

forgetting what lies behind and

straining forward to what lies ahead, I

press on toward the goal for the prize

of the upward call of God in Jesus

Christ. The word of the Lord. Thanks be

to God.

At this time, our children are invited

to come forward and to follow the

crucifer downstairs to little church.

And as they gather, let us pray God's

blessing upon them.

Watch over your children, O Lord, as

their days increase. Bless and guide

them wherever they may be. Strengthen

them where they stand. Comfort them when

discouraged or sorrowful. Raise them up

when they fall. And in their hearts, may

your peace which passes understanding

abide all the days of their life.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Please stand for our gospel hymn.

Take my heart and guide me.

to me.

Take my

Let

me see.

Take my

morning.

Heat.

Oh

my

go

my

Heat. Heat. Heat.

My

Heat. Heat. Heat.

our eyes.

>> The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

according to Matthew.

>> Glory.

>> Glory to you, Christ.

And after six days, Jesus took with him

Peter and James and John his brother,

led them up on a high mountain by

themselves.

And he was transfigured before them. And

his face shone like the sun, and his

clothes became white as light.

And behold, there appeared to them Moses

and Elijah talking with him. And Peter

said to Jesus,"Lord,

it is good that we are here. If you

wish, I will make three tents here, one

for you and one for Moses and one for

Elijah."

He was still speaking when, "Behold,

a bright cloud overshadowed them. And a

voice from the cloud said, "This is my

beloved son with whom I am well pleased.

listen to him.

When the disciples heard this, they fell

on their faces and were terrified.

But Jesus came and touched them, saying,

"Rise and have no fear."

But when they lifted up their eyes, they

saw no one but Jesus only.

And as they were coming down the

mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no

one the vision until the Son of Man is

raised from the dead."

The Gospel of the Lord.

>> Praise to you, Lord Christ.

>> Let's pray.

Father, we pray that you answer the

prayer of the hymn that we just sang.

Lord God, take our lives, consecrate

them to you, and answer all the details

of that hymn in the preaching, hearing,

and application of your gospel of grace

this morning. It's through Jesus and by

the Holy Spirit that we pray. Amen.

>> Please be seated.

Earlier in my career when I was in sales

and this is like a couple decades ago,

um, one of the the persons I looked up

to and read his books, listened to his

motivational speeches was Zigg Ziggler.

Some of you may remember that name. He

since passed away. Who's a Christian,

very strong Christian, very genuine and

sincere in his faith, but also a

wonderful motivational speaker and

storyteller. wrote really good books and

so I looked to him as a model and mentor

and I was living in Charleston. Another

thing that I really looked toward in

Charleston but had never visited was the

ocean course, the golf course at Kioa

where they've had I think it was the PGA

open. They've had the RDER Cup golf

tournaments. Beautiful, wonderful course

behind like five gates along the ocean.

And when I was in a sales job working

full-time, I got a call from my stepdad

who happened to be really good friends

with Zig Ziggler and said, "Hey, Zig

Ziggler and I are going to play the

ocean course today. Do you want to go?"

And I thought, "I'm going.

How do I do I tell my boss and ask

permission or do I just go?" Because I

had made up my mind that I was going. I

wasn't going to miss that golf with this

wonderful man and mentor golf at the

ocean course. So there was no way I was

going to miss that. And thankfully my

boss shared my the same enthusiasm for

both Zigg and the golf course. So I was

able to go. But it was one of those

things that I was willing to give up a

lot to go and do this thing with this

person. And that is what the

transfiguration story is inviting us

into. It is presenting us with the

thing, the event, the person that is

worth letting go of everything else to

go and do this, to go and be a part of

this story. Paul writes about this in

his letter to the Philippians that was

read. He writes in chapter 3 beginning

in verse 7, "Whatever gain I had, I

counted as a loss for the sake of

Christ." It's like, whatever I gained

over here, I'm going to let go of it

because this is what I want. And he

says, "Indeed, I count everything a loss

because of the surpassing worth of

knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his

sake, I have suffered the loss of all

things and count them as rubbish in

order that I may gain Christ." And you

may have those things, the dreams that

you want to do or places you want to

see, events on your bucket list that you

would be willing to give up a lot to go

and do this thing.

That's what Paul is presenting Christ

as. He is the utmost highest of what we

could pursue and should pursue. And

that's what the transfiguration

demonstrates that Christ is God. That he

is full of glory. That he is the one who

gives all life and the one whom we

should seek.

The contrast of that is rubbish. All the

things in the world that Paul wants to

give up. We live in Wilmington Park out

on Wilmington Island and there's a HOA.

Uh Susan Chai Chester knows a lot about

that. She was on the board. But you

know, they provide the landscaping and

so there's a crew that comes out there

regularly mowing everything, landscaping

everything, removing all the debris,

picking up the trash. They do a really

good job. But as we walk the dogs each

day, I've noticed for the last months,

there's been a used dog poop bag that

has been in the median among the bushes

for like months. Nobody wants to touch

it.

It is rubbish beyond rubbish.

That's what Paul is comparing everything

to compared to Christ. It It's not just

trash. It's not just debris. We can deal

with that. It's rubbish. Nobody wants to

touch it. I'm not going near it. I got

enough trouble dealing with my own dog

stuff. I know that's rubbish. Paul is

saying, "I consider all things rubbish

that I may gain Christ." The

transfiguration shows us why that is

true. It shows us why that that is the

call of God. That is the life that we

are called to pursue. To consider all

things rubbish. to consider Christ as

the utmost person

being with him, the utmost event

wherever he is, the utmost place that we

can pursue that we would be willing to

let anything go to sacrifice it to

pursue and have that

the transfiguration is such an event

that when we read it and it's in all

three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke,

this event it is demonstrating ating the

glory of God. It is demonstrating who

Christ is and the call and the command

of God.

And our gospel text today is from

Matthew

Matthew 7:1

7:1. It's in Luke chapter 9 and Mark

Luke 9 · chapter mention Mark 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9 as well. And it is this event

that both all three gospel writers tell

us that Jesus took with him Peter,

James, and John and led them up a

mountain by themselves. Luke alone tells

us that he took them up a mountain to

pray.

This was a prayer event for Jesus and

the three.

When we think of

what we could pursue that would be best

of all, the number one thing on our

bucket list, our dream, what we would

do anything to participate in prayer

with Jesus may not be at the top. The

gospels are showing us that this is the

utmost of our life experience is being

in the presence of Jesus. Being the

presence of the one who created us, who

sustains us, the one who holds our

eternity in his hands.

This is what compared to to this

everything else is rubbish. That Paul

says, I count all of that a loss that I

may gain this. I leave it all behind

that I might pursue this. Everything

that has passed I let go of. This is my

goal to attain the resurrection from the

dead to be with Jesus forever.

And the transfiguration shows us that we

can participate with him. Now so he

takes them up on a mountain to pray.

I believe that this

figuratively

is perhaps the most important

initiatives that we can take in our

lives at this time is to go up that

figurative mountain to pray with Jesus.

to leave the valley and the darkness

behind,

to leave everything that is overwhelming

us in this world behind, the anxieties

of life, and to go up the mountain, to

go into that secret place with Jesus to

pray. Think about, if you're like me at

all, you can understand what I mean by

saying, "Are you overwhelmed with the

news of the day? Are you weighed down

with the burdens of the world right now

and your life and the life of your

family in this world?

Jesus is demonstrating that we need to

leave that behind and to go into that

place with God and pray. That's what he

does. That's what he demonstrates.

And he was transfigured before them and

his face shone like the sun and his

clothes became white as light. The glory

that was with Moses on the mountain for

those days in Exodus that were read,

that glory is not only with Jesus. It is

emanating from Jesus. His face is

shining like the sun. He's becoming

dazzling white.

It It's the image that John sees in

Revelation chapter 1 when he hears

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

Jesus's voice and turns and sees him and

describes his face being like the sun.

And this is John who was on the mountain

with Jesus.

Jesus's glory overwhelms those who see

it.

And behold, there appeared to him Moses

and Elijah talking with him. There's a

lot of mystery there.

What are Moses and Elijah doing speaking

with him? Luke in his gospel tells us

they're speaking to him about his exodus

or about his departure that he's about

to accomplish in Jerusalem. Not that

it's going to happen to him, but that he

is going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

They're talking about him going to the

cross and dying for the sins of the

world and being raised to life.

They're talking about the will of God,

the fulfillment of the scriptures.

And then Peter says, "Lord, it's good

that we're here. If you wish, I will

make three tents here. One for you and

one for Moses and one for Elijah."

And it's both Mark and Luke that

describe Peter in parentheses in your

Bibles. And it says Peter didn't know

what he was talking about.

It It's a humbling statement and I'm

sure Peter was comfortable with them

saying that. But it's also important to

recognize that when it comes to the

mysteries of the glory of God and

eternal life and the kingdom of heaven,

no matter how advanced and mature we

become, there comes a place where we, if

we talk about anything, we don't know

what we're talking about.

And our annual meeting is later and we

talk about all the things of the church.

But there's a reality when it comes to

being in the body of Christ where Christ

is the head, the good shepherd over us,

the sustainer, the living word, the

presence of God among us. Where we have

to admit beyond what we're saying here,

I don't know what I'm talking about. And

that's where Peter, James, and John

were. They were seeing the glory of God

in Christ. And then it's all around them

as there's a bright cloud that

overshadows them. They're entering into

the glory of the kingdom of heaven that

was in Christ and with Christ always but

not always apparent and visible.

And then they hear a voice from the

cloud

say, "This is my beloved son with whom I

am well pleased. Listen to him." They

hear the voice of God audibly. And I

don't know this is a mystery where again

I don't know why this is or when we talk

about the voice of God what we're

talking about. Why does he limit his

audible voice to so few times that we

know of in history maybe some of you

have heard the audible voice of God once

or twice in your life. He speaks but not

often audibly. But here he does like he

does at the baptism of Jesus. This is my

beloved son with whom I'm well pleased.

Listen to him.

And then the disciples hear that. They

see that glory and they fall on their

faces and are terrified just like John

does later when he's on the island of

Patmos and sees Jesus. He falls down as

though he were dead. Same here.

And Jesus came and touched them and

said, "Rise and have no fear." Such an

encouraging scripture about Jesus. those

who are fearful at the presence of God

and his glory and his holiness and the

thunder of his words and they fall down

dead. Jesus comes and touches them and

raises them up and says, "Do not fear."

When they open their eyes and look up,

they see no one but Jesus only. It's a

glorious historical event that

demonstrates in many different ways,

visibly, audibly, who Jesus is, the son

of God, God himself, who shares the

glory of God the father in heaven.

And he's here on the earth.

How does this speak to us today? If we

were to ask, what is the Holy Spirit

sharing with us today? Well, one is this

is always an invitation to worship Jesus

as the son of God, as God himself.

It is an invitation to enter into his

presence through prayer, through

worship, to recognize that though we

don't see the glory of his kingdom

visibly displayed like it is on this

mountain, the glory of God is present.

When I read in scriptures the few times

where it is prophesied and promised that

the glory of God will fill the earth as

the waters cover the sea. I w I I wonder

if I pray thank you God that your glory

is filling the earth that it has filled

the earth or do I pray God make your

glory fill the earth because while we

don't see it is it here is his glory all

around us as his kingdom is present as

his spirit is present even living in us

that's what we see this is an invitation

to say come up this mountain to pray

join me keep watch

and Having known the the rest of the

story, we know that this God, this

father of Jesus is our God and father

too.

And as Jesus prays in John 17 that the

love that the father has for the son

would also be in us that we are his

sons. We are his daughters invited into

that holy presence to speak to him and

to hear him.

The call to pray

is we treat it almost like a secret

tool,

like it's a

special alarm that when we can't do

anything else to find help, we pull this

alarm and we say our prayers quickly and

specifically.

But prayer is much more than that.

Prayer is an invitation to come into the

presence of God Almighty who reigns and

is supreme over all things.

The one who created the earth and all

that is in it and gives it to anyone he

pleases. Who can intervene anywhere in

the earth with anyone at any time. We

have access to him. And Jesus promises

that what we ask of him in his name he

will give to us.

This is the way to deal with the

overwhelming anxieties and distress of

the world or the deep desires that you

have.

The approach to dealing with those is to

go to the secret place and pray to God

on behalf of yourself or on behalf of

those who are in need. When you read the

news and you see a victim or you see

someone who is threatened,

we can argue. We can get distressed and

frustrated. We can develop a lot of

angst.

But we can also take that distress and

go to the father and pray for the sake

of the world, for the sake of God's

purposes, for the sake of those in need.

That's what this shows us is that God is

hearing. He's right there to hear and to

speak.

In all three gospel passages, after the

transfiguration the next day, it shows

Jesus, James, Peter, and John going down

into the valley. And the synthesis of

all three of those gospel passages shows

that they go down into the valley. And

there's a huge argument. There's a lot

of conflict. There's a manifestation of

the horrible work of the devil in a

child's life whom the devil is

possessed. who's try the devil has tried

to kill since this young boy was born.

Throwing him into the fire, into the

water, making him convulse. The fathers

brought him to the disciples. The

disciples couldn't do anything about it.

So, they just ended up all arguing while

the devil is throwing it in their face.

Not like unlike the world that we live

in today, be it online or in person.

Everyone arguing, the devil throwing his

work in the church's face, saying,

"You're impotent to deal with what I'm

doing."

That's why Jesus has gone up the

mountain to pray so that he can walk

into that midst and bring peace and

order, bring deliverance and healing,

>> and cast out and destroy the work of the

devil.

That's why the transfiguration isn't

just a event and a display. It's an

invitation to be a part of this life of

the kingdom of heaven and the light of

God that overcomes the darkness.

The other religious people of the day

were spending the time in the valley

arguing with each other.

But those who are following the spirit

of God, and it was by invitation only at

this time, so you know, we can't blame

the other disciples. But those who are

with Jesus are leaving that behind and

going to the father. The one who can

make a difference. The one from whom

power comes to trample on snakes and

scorpions. So question is where are we

going to be? Are we going to be a church

that goes to the mountain or that stays

in the valley?

Powerful through the holy spirit are

impotent in ourselves.

There's the message that the father

gives. This is my beloved son with whom

I'm well pleased. Listen to him.

I I love how the congruence of scripture

appears in surprising ways. John doesn't

share the story of the transfiguration

in his gospel. But he gives a similar

message not from the father but from

Jesus's mom at the wedding in Kaa. They

didn't know what to do. They're running

out of wine. Major crisis. Someone pull

the alarm bell. We're out of wine.

Mary says, "Listen to him. Do what he

tells you." There's a message there.

Jesus's mom and his heavenly father.

Listen to him.

His words are life and power.

Are we people who are listening to Jesus

in the midst of the conflicts? In the

midst of the crisis, in the midst of us

trying to figure out these things that

we don't know what to do in the midst

of, are we listening to Jesus?

Are we going to his word, saying,

"Jesus, speak to me. Holy Spirit, what

are you saying to me?

And are we surrendering and submitting

to his word above all?" even our own

expert opinion and preferences and

assurance of the way that it should be.

Are we listening to God and

subordinating subordinating all of that

to him to the one who knows all things?

He knows what's happening tomorrow, 10

years from now. He knows what we need.

Are we going to him and listening to

him?

He desires our good. He desires our life

and the fullness of life. we can trust

him.

There's also, I think, another

instructive element and and that is

perhaps the most mysterious. What are

Elijah and Moses doing there?

Does anyone know?

All right, we'll move on.

But I do take something away from this.

Jesus, the son of God, whom the father

is saying, "Listen to him," is

listening, it seems like, to Moses and

Elijah. And they're talking to him about

his upcoming suffering and death.

We need to listen to those

who are rooted in the kingdom of heaven.

We need to listen to the other saints of

God whom he has brought around us. And

I'm not just talking about the experts

who have the favorite podcast or who we

can watch on YouTube and and get their

expert opinion. I'm talking about the

people who like Moses and Elijah are

with us like they're with Jesus. They're

rubbing shoulders with him. They're

having a conversation. They're hearing

from Jesus and responding with with

whatever counsel they have.

We need to gain the counsel of those who

are walking with us in the presence of

God. Those who know us, those who know

our hearts, who hear our desires, who

hear our distress. We need to hear what

they are saying from their relationship

with God and with scripture.

We have to put ourselves sometimes

sub rendered, humble and vulnerable and

transparent with other Christians. Jesus

is talking to them about what is the

height of suffering for a human. The

physical pain of the cross, the

spiritual and emotional toll of the son

of God giving himself into the hands of

wickedness and evil

and being

sin

before a holy God. That's what they're

talking to Jesus about. And sometimes we

hesitate to share our foibless, our

fears, our anxieties with other

Christians that they might counsel us,

encourage us, and pray for us. I think

the transfiguration shows us that we

need to align ourselves and make

ourselves vulnerable to other believers.

Even those who are very mature and in

the kingdom of God need each other. We

need to be the kind of person who's been

on the mountain, who's been in prayer,

who's been in the presence of the Lord,

who's been in the word so that we can

share the counsel of God with others.

Listen, I know this world is

overwhelming. I know that your situation

seems impossible, but go Jesus is going

to go down in this valley and when he's

confronted by the man and his

demon-possessed boy, he is going to say

all things are possible for him who

believes.

We need to be people who believe

sometimes for those who are in the

impossible situations. And that takes

considering a lot of other things in

this world rubbish and considering the

reward and the prize of gaining Christ

and an intimate relationship with him

above all things.

And this is spoken not just to us as

individuals, not just to me as a priest

because it's my job, but to us as the

church

because

we're not just here for each other,

we're here for the world. We can't

expect those who don't even believe to

go up this mountain for us.

We have to go up this mountain for them.

And when we're on that mountain, when

we're in the presence of the Lord, there

is nothing that God cannot do in

response to our prayers. When you think

about a person suffering pain, when you

think about the children being abused

somewhere in the world or trafficked,

when you think about the pregnant mother

in distress cuz she the baby's father is

nowhere and she's considering abortion,

God knows them. When you go to God and

you pray, Lord, save children from

abuse. save mothers from aborting their

babies. Those who are suffering loss

because they did such things or those

who have lost a loved one. God comfort

them. God intervene in these areas of

violence.

You know of many places when you go to

prayer and you ask God intervene and

bring peace to these places, God is able

to do it.

There's nothing impossible for the one

who believes and that's what he calls us

to.

So I want to close with the closing from

2 Corinthians by the Apostle Paul.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and

the love of God and the fellowship of

the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Please stand.

Let us confess our faith in the words of

the ny scene creed.

We believe in one God, the father, the

almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of

all that is visible and invisible.

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the

only begotten son of God, eternally

begotten of the Father, God from God,

light from light, true God from true

God, begotten not made, of one being

with the Father. Through him all things

were made. for us and for our salvation.

He came down from heaven, was incarnate

from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary

and was made man for our sake. He was

crucified under Pontious Pilot. He

suffered death and was buried. On the

third day, he rose again in accordance

with the scriptures.

>> He ascended into heaven and is seated at

the right hand of the father. He will

come again for judge the living and the

dead and will have no end. We believe in

the holy spirit

giver of life who proceeds from the

father and son with the father and son

is worship and glorified

spoken through the prophets. We believe

in one holy catholic apostolic church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the

forgiveness of s. We look for the

resurrection of the dead and the life of

the world to come. Amen.

Let us pray for the church and for the

world saying here our prayer

for the peace of the whole world and for

the well-being and unity of the people

of God.

>> Lord in your mercy here.

>> For Steve our archbishop, Julian our

provincial dean, Alex our bishop, and

for all the clergy and people of our

dasis and congregation, especially St.

Peter's Mission Merid Meridian,

Mississippi and Holy Spirit Lutheran

Church, Savannah, Georgia.

Lord in your mercy here our pray

>> for all those who proclaim the gospel at

home and abroad and for all who teach

and disciple others especially

Archbishop Abraham Nile and St. Mary's

and St. Joseph schools South Sudan and

Thrive Pregnancy Resource Center

Lord in your mercy here our pray

>> for all members of your holy church that

in their vocation and ministry they may

truly and devoutly serve you especially

all those working in health care

including doctors and nurses.

Father, we thank you for those who

devoted themselves to helping others get

well. We lift up this morning Jason's

mom.

Pray for successful hip surgery recovery

for her

speed.

We also lift up to you

Claudia's friends.

Lord we pray for this comfort and peace

and that your presence will be upon.

>> Lord in your mercy our pray

>> for our brothers and sisters in Christ

who are persecuted for their faith

especially in the country of Cameroon.

Lord in your mercy here our pray

>> for our nation for those in authority

and for all in public service.

>> Lord in your mercy here

>> for all those who are in trouble,

sorrow, need, sickness or any other

adversity.

Lord in your mercy here

>> for all those who have departed this

life in certain hope of the resurrection

in thanksgiving. Let us pray.

Lord in your mercy here our pray.

>> Your additional prayers are invited at

this time.

folks for

their courage and

taking this task. Thank you for their

humility and willingness to serve your

church.

Lord, we pray for uh this upcoming week

as we have many guests coming to town.

We're part of the Sams and New Wineskins

and Anglican Partners boards. And we

also ask your blessing on the Rehydrate

Conference. We pray that uh this would

be a week that renews both our church,

our parish, and also the broader church.

all

right now.

What a perfect time we

leave all behind on that mountain with

you come before you. So Lord we do we

come before you now we are here with you

here to hear you to speak to us and

minister to us. So Lord we ask you would

lead us

We make our we make our plans. We know

that it's you who guide our steps. We

thank you for that. Give us the courage

and the boldness and the humility and

the love to walk with you here in

everywhere you

saidall.

Father, we desire that we truly want to

be amongst all your people and we will

see the fulfillment and fullness of your

spirit that we can do what you call us

to do and be the light.

We pray that you consecrate us this

week, Lord, during Ash Wednesday going

into Lent that we might watch, that we

might pray, that we might decrease in

this body so that you increase. Holy

Spirit, have your way with this body,

Lord. Set her apart for your purposes in

this hour, Lord, that we might be salt

and light to Savannah by the power of

your Holy Spirit, by the authority of

the name of Jesus.

And Lord, as we begin Lent, we do ask

for your wisdom and discernment for this

body and for each one of us in our

hearts to know what rubbish we need to

throw out so that we can spend time with

you doing what matters. Give us the

grace to pray and to fast and to

discipline ourselves to choose the one

thing that matters.

Heavenly Father, grant these our prayers

for Jesus Christ's sake, our only

mediator and advocate, who lives and

reigns with you in the unity of the Holy

Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Now, let us humbly confess our sins to

Almighty God, kneeling as you are able.

Most merciful God, we confess that we

have sinned against you in thought,

word, and deed. By what we have done and

by what we have left undone. We have not

loved you with our whole heart. We have

not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We

are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your son Jesus Christ,

have mercy on us and forgive us that we

may delight in your will and walk in

your ways to the glory of your name.

>> Amen.

>> Almighty God, our heavenly father, who

in his great mercy has promised

forgiveness of sins to all those who

sincerely repent and with true faith

turn unto him, have mercy upon you.

pardon and deliver you from all your

sins, confirm and strengthen you in all

goodness, and bring you to everlasting

life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. Hear the word of God to all who

truly turn to him. Come to me all who

labor and are heavy laden, and I will

give you rest. God so loved the world

that he gave his only begotten son that

whoever believes in him should not

perish but have eternal life. This

saying is trustworthy and deserving of

full acceptance that Christ Jesus came

into the world to save sinners. And if

anyone sins, we have an advocate with

the father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

He is the propitiation for our sins and

not for ours only, but also for the sins

of the whole world. Please stand.

The peace of the Lord be always with

you.

share Christ's peace with one another.

I'll just

All right. Good morning again.

Want to welcome all of our guests and

visitors. And normally after our

service, we have refreshments and coffee

and a time of fellowship. But today

we're not doing that because we're going

to take about a 5m minute break and then

kick off our annual meeting. And then

following it, we'll have time for

refreshments and fellowship.

And if you look on page 22 of your order

of worship, you'll see some of the

events that we have upcoming. As Father

Brian prayed, we have a really

significant and momentous week here at

our church because we have the Rehydrate

Conference, which is a conference where

we're going to have three Anglican

bishops as speakers, two Anglican

priests as speakers, and some breakout

sessions with other Anglican priests.

and all geared toward life in the spirit

and being equipped and empowered to live

life in the spirit both for your own

sake and also as a minister to others.

And then preceding and following that

we'll have gatherings of mission groups

who will be having their board and

annual meetings here before and after.

So a lot of focus on mission. Uh we'll

be welcoming I think probably about 120

guests this week. So that will influence

some of the events that we have. Um

those that you're a regular part of just

make sure you touch base with whoever's

leading that about um your schedule. It

does affect Ash Wednesday too this year.

Um last year we added the 7:30 a.m.

service. We'll continue with that. 7:30

a.m. on Wednesday here. And then we'll

have a noon service here as well. We

moved back the evening service from 6:00

p.m. to 700 p.m. for the sake of those

gathering that day um for the Anglican

uh new wines skkins missionary partners.

So 7:30 noon and 7:00 ash Wednesday

services. We will also plan on having

stations of the cross on Fridays during

Lent at 5:30. that will start on Friday

the 28th because Friday, this Friday,

we'll have a uh that rehydrate

conference will be here. So, Stations of

the Cross will start a week later.

And we do have a big event a week from

today in the evening at 6:00 p.m. here.

Our former summer intern and current

curate and deacon, Drew Ibach, will be

ordained to the priesthood.

Yeah. Go ahead and stand up, Drew.

Yeah. So, that'll be really exciting.

Everyone is welcome to come at 6:00 p.m.

It's following. Uh reception will be

following. And so, a week from today, we

will not have a Complan service because

of the ordination. Um so, come to

Complin tonight, but next week we will

not have Complain. I also want to make

another announcement that a new baby

Eugene David Robinson was born on

Wednesday to Scott Robinson and Meredith

Hoffines Robinson. So yeah,

if you're watching, great job. 10 lbs

plus. So yeah, way to go Meredith. So

hopefully we'll meet him today. And

while I'm thinking about it, let's say a

prayer for Millie Hoover because she's

scheduled to be induced today for her

and Mitch's baby. So, let's lift her up

in prayer. Father, we lift up Millie as

she gives birth today to their fourth

child. God, we pray that you bless her

and her baby with health and strength.

And I pray that your grace will abound

to her and ease the burden of

childbirth. and bless her and Mitch and

Sarah, Joy, Mitchell, and Monty as they

welcome a new sibling. We bless them in

Jesus name. Amen.

>> All right.

As we have the offering and as you

approach the Lord's table, walk in love,

knowing that it is him who gives us the

power and ability to create wealth, him

who loves us so much. So with all that

he's given to you, be a cheerful giver

by his grace and goodness. Amen.

Jesus

Christ.

Oh my heart.

All of the Singer

God

you

grant us gracious

Lord

Jesus,

gentle

Lift our souls in gladness

gra

for our sales.

when death is near

and

peace

when We embrace

you.

Praise us with sweet gra.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the

power and the glory and the victory and

the majesty. For everything in heaven

and on earth is yours. Yours is the

kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as

head above all. All things come from

you, O Lord, and of your own have we

given you.

>> The Lord be with you.

>> And with your spirit.

>> Lift up your hearts.

>> We lift them up to the Lord.

>> Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

>> It is right to give thanks and praise.

>> It is right, our duty, and our joy

always and everywhere to give thanks to

you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven

and earth. Because in the mystery of the

word made flesh, you have caused a new

light to shine in our hearts to give the

knowledge of your glory in the face of

your son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Therefore, we praise you joining our

voices with angels and archangels and

with all the company of heaven who

forever sing this hymn to proclaim the

glory of your name.

Holy, holy, holy

Lord God.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of

the name of the

Please kneel as we continue in prayer.

Holy and gracious Father, in your

infinite love, you made us for yourself.

And when we had sinned against you and

become subject to evil and death, you in

your mercy, sent your only son, Jesus

Christ, into the world for our

salvation. By the Holy Spirit and the

Virgin Mary, he became flesh and dwelt

among us. In obedience to your will, he

stretched out his arms upon the cross

and offered himself once for all that by

his suffering and death we might be

saved. By his resurrection, he broke the

bonds of death, trampling hell and Satan

under his feet. As our great high

priest, he ascended to your right hand

in glory that we might come with

confidence before the throne of grace.

On the night he was betrayed, our Lord

Jesus Christ took bread. And when he

given thanks, he broke it and gave it to

his disciples, saying, "Take, eat. This

is my body which is given for you. Do

this in remembrance of me."

Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the

cup, and when he had given thanks, he

gave it to them, saying, "Drink this all

of you, for this is my blood of the new

covenant, which is shed for you and for

many, for the forgiveness of sins.

Whenever you drink it, do this in

remembrance of me.

Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of

faith.

Heat.

We celebrate the memorial of our

redemption, O Father, in the sacrifice

of praise and thanksgiving. And we offer

you these gifts. Sanctify them by your

word and holy spirit to be for your

people the body

and blood of your son Jesus Christ.

sanctify us also that we may worthily

receive this holy sacrament and be made

one body with him that he may dwell in

us and we in him in the fullness of

time. Put all things in subjection under

your Christ and bring us with all your

saints into the joy of your heavenly

kingdom where we shall see our Lord face

to face. All this we ask through your

son Jesus Christ. By him and with him

and in him in the unity of the Holy

Spirit, all honor and glory is yours,

almighty father, now and forever.

>> Amen.

>> And now, as our savior Christ has taught

us, we are bold to pray.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed

be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will

be done on earth as it is in heaven.

>> Give us this day our daily bread, and

forgive us our trespasses as we forgive

those who trespass against us, and lead

us into

us.

Thom.

Amen.

Heat. Heat.

sacrifice.

>> Could you not presume to come to this

your table?

Trusting in our own

son Jesus Christ and to drink his blood

that our sinful

by his body and our souls Oh, precious

blood

and us. Amen.

Jesus

lamb of God.

Jesus.

Mercy

Jesus redeemer of the world.

Grant

us

your name.

Behold the lamb of God. Behold him who

takes away the sins of the world.

Blessed are those who are invited to the

marriage supper of the Lamb.

Christmas.

When I turn my heart to heaven, I can

feel my spirit

as the wings of an eagle. As he flies

from shore to shore

when I reach to touch a rainbow

beauty there I see.

I know how he keeps his promise when I

know his love keeps me.

When I turn my heart to heaven,

my heart

see the sun. I know that I

love

when I reach to touch a rainbow. For the

beauty there, I see.

I know God always keeps his promise,

always keeps his pros.

And I know his love keeps me.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Yes.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

See Jesus

Christ.

came through

Christ

for the master

of Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat.

The world

is

ever

glory. Yeah.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Hello.

I

love you.

Heat. Heat.

Heat

up

here.

Heat

up

here.

Yeah.

Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Hey,

Yeah.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Let us pray.

Father,

>> we thank you for feeding us with the

spiritual food of the most precious body

and blood of your son, our savior Jesus

Christ, and for assuring us in these

holy mystery that we are living members

of the body of your son and hes of your

eternal kingdom. And now, Father, send

us out to do the work you have given us

to do, to love and serve you. Jesus

Christ our Lord and to you to the Holy

Spirit the honor and glory now and

forever. Amen.

>> As a reminder, there are no uh

refreshments after the service. Instead,

you'll get a 5-minute bio break. We will

distribute the annual meeting report and

we will start promptly. So, please

reather after you've collected yourself.

Receive the blessing. The peace of God

which passes all understanding keep your

hearts and minds in the knowledge and

love of God. And of his son, our savior

Jesus Christ, and the blessing of God

almighty, the father, the son, and the

holy spirit be among you and remain with

you always. Amen.

Yeah.

Heat.

Heat

up

here.

Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Oh,

heat, heat.

Heat. Heat.

Oh,

heat,

heat.

Yeah. Heat.

Yeah.

Heat.

Oh,

heat,

heat.

Yeah. Heat.

Let us go forth in the name of Christ.

Allelujah. Allelujah. Allelujah.

>> Thanks be to God. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah.