Jesus, Our King

This sermon was preached at Holy Spirit Anglican Church, San Diego on November 25, 2012.  The audio version can be found on the sermons page of the church's website.  In the audio, the order of things is changed a little, as I felt it flowed better that way, and there is some added material which was not previously written out.

Reflection on a Death

In my first month as a curate at Holy Spirit Anglican Church, I went on a house call with the rector.  We were going to visit a couple with whom was living one of their mothers.  The mother was close to death and had been for some time.  It was explained to me that we were going to be with the couple, in order to care for them as they continue to care for the mother.  When we arrived, the wife informed us that the nurse had just left and that the mother would not last the night.  She told us that she has started the 'death rattle'.  I was not entirely sure what that meant, but I did get the sense that our visit would be very different from what I had originally expected.  

Jesus, The Perfect High Priest

Below is the sermon that I preached this past Sunday (10/21) at Holy Spirit Anglican Church.  This was week 3 of our series through Hebrews, which we have called 'The Complete Jesus.'  As we go through each of the Hebrews readings we are paying particular attention to what it says about Jesus.  This week's reading was Hebrews 4:12-16.  The audio version of the sermon can be found here and is titled with the date, October 21.  Any feedback is welcome.

Healing, Now and in Eternity

This sermon was preached at Holy Spirit Anglican Church on September 20th, 2012. The text was James 5:13-20.  The audio version of the sermon can be found here.  The text below and the audio will be different, as I preach from an outline.

On Preaching in the Context of Worship

Some thoughts on preparing sermons in the context of an Anglican worship service which have been forming in my mind for the past few weeks.

Faith that Works

This sermon was preached on September 9th, 2012 at Holy Spirit Anglican Church.  An audio version of the sermon can be found on the church's website here.  The text below and the audio will be a bit different, as I used an outline rather than reading from the manuscript.

Reflections on our Internship

For six weeks this summer, we were both extraordinarily blessed to spend time with St. George's Church, Holborn, in London, England.  We went into this internship with only a vague idea of what we wanted to learn, more of an attitude of just trying to soak as much up as we could.  Our expectations were completely surpassed, and the Lord not only taught us things through the wonderful people of St. George's, and those of the church in England, but also blessed us tremendously through prophecies, words, prayers, and dreams.  Below are some of our reflections on what we learned and what we received.

Scholars, Harry Potter, and Friends

This past weekend we traveled to two of the most famous universities in the world, Cambridge University and Oxford University.  We were fortunate enough to be taken to both places by students or former students, so we got a bit of an inside scoop.  We have also been able to visit our good friends from Trinity, Jon and Sarah Hall, who are over visiting family in Croxley Green.  We will talk about the ending of our time with St. George's and our reflections in a separate post.  For this one, we'll just stick to the fun touristy stuff.

Sunny Views and Nights Out

Over the past week, we've had a few more days of exploring parts of London, including the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Regent's Park, and Primrose Hill.  We also had some more lunch and dinner meetings, went out on boys nights and girls nights, and took lots of naps in between.  We have also had the opportunity to reflect on our time in England and with St. George's as our internship with the church comes near to a close.

Lunches and Brain Experiments

Since coming back from Focus we have continued to explore London and to connect with the people of St. George's.  We have also been able to enjoy being in the host city for the Olympics while the great games happen, which has been a lot of fun.  Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the last few days has been our participation in brain experiments...

Focus 2012

This past week we were away with St. George's at Holy Trinity Brompton's Focus holiday 2012.  We gathered with 4,300 other Christians for a week-long time of worship, music, talks, and ministry.  It was a fantastic week and we are really glad to have spent it with our good friends of St. George's.  One fantastic and miraculous part of the week was that it was sunny almost the entire time, and never rained.  This is miraculous because it had rained almost non-stop for three months in England prior to this event.  Praise God!  We've included some brief reflections below about the different parts of Focus, but there was far too much to give an in-depth summary of everything.  We're sure that things will come up in conversation once we get back, but if something intrigues you, please be sure to ask more about it.

Focused on Focus and other such George-ian things

Over the past week we have continued to explore exciting sights in London, including one very magical location.  We have also had some great meetings, learned new skills under pressure, and hung out with 20+ rowdy teenagers and pre-teens ready for the summer holiday.

A few BIG days

Since our last post we have continued to experience different parts of life at St. George's, as well as taken the opportunity to see more of London.  We've chatted, visited, prayed, played, waited, walked, eaten, sat, ridden a few buses, and attended more church.

Fairs, Crumpets, Meetings, Oh My!

Over the past few days we have plunged ourselves into the life and activities of St. George's, Holborn.  We've attended a local festival, helped with the children and youth, watched the Wimbledon Championship, attended church services, and been to numerous meetings with groups and individuals.  So far everyone has been so incredibly warm and welcoming, and our experiences are teaching us exactly what we hoped they would.

Getting Oriented in London

After a little less than a year of conversation, ideas, emailing, and one phone call, what was once just a possibility of coming to London to work with a church plant of Holy Trinity, Brompton, has become a reality.  We flew into London on July 4th (I guess that would be our 'Dependence Day') and have spent the last two days trying to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings.  It has been a whirlwind but we have loved our time so far.  In the past three days we have crossed a continent and an ocean, made our way through rush hour on the London Underground, gone grocery shopping (three times), seen ancient artifacts, gone clothes shopping, and walked the whole of Hyde Park.  And this is only the first portion of our nearly seven weeks here.

Home is Where the Burrito Is: Day 9

Yesterday was a late start, and a day of mostly being reintroduced to Southern California traffic.  However, after a crawl through Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego, we made it to our destination.  We saw another mission, a few famous beaches, and experienced a highly anticipated and mouth-watering carne asada burrito.  Now we're at our temporary home, at least for a few days until we head off to London, England.

And to the Edge of the Earth: Day 8

Yesterday we went as far west as we could and then turned south.  We started in Roseville with family, stopped at a Spanish mission, a fisherman's wharf, and wound our way down the California coast on the historic Highway 1.  We had planned to camp at Gaviota State Park outside of Santa Barbara, but the winds were gusting at 45+ mph, which made it impossible for us to set up our tent.  After searching for about an hour for a hotel, we settled into one closer into Santa Barbara for the night.

California or Bust: Day 7

Yesterday was a short scenic drive from Reno to Roseville, and included some stops which brought back nostalgic memories of camp to both of us.  Along our route we took some time to visit Lake Tahoe, Sutter’s Mill, and family in Roseville.  It was refreshing way to spend a Sunday afternoon on a road trip.

Went Through the Desert in a Soul with No Name: Day 6

Yesterday holds the record of the longest distance on a single road, at least so far this trip.  We got on the I-80 West in Salt Lake City and stayed on it for 515 miles until we got to Reno, Nevada.  Along the way we saw the Great Salt Lake, the Utah Desert, the Salt Flats, and the Nevada Desert.  We stopped to play in the salt and at another point to throw the baseball.  We ended the evening in Reno.

Escape to the Western Frontier: Day 5

Yesterday morning we said goodbye to Michael Glor after breakfast and returned to the I-80 heading west.  Our day included a one-man Japanese town, old bars, a small nation with cheap treats, and a near run-in with the Secret Service.  The landscape changed from high plains to a mountainous, semi-desert area, with a sprinkling of the upper Rockies in the middle.  At the end of a long day, we stayed in a hotel in Salt Lake City, UT.

Over the Hills and Through the High Plains: Day 4

Yesterday we were awakened early (5:20AM!) by the sun having already risen and in full-force over Badlands National Park.  We were able to sleep for a little bit longer, but eventually (6:20am) got up and broke down our tent and packed up the car.  We took the scenic route through the Badlands to experience the views throughout the rest of the park.  From then on, our day included large mountainous carvings, shorter and pointer landscapes, and a unique dining experience.

East River West River: Day 3

The third day of our road trip from Ambridge, PA to San Diego, CA started in Fairmont, MN at the Flying Goose Campground.  We drove on one road pretty much all day (I-90), entering South Dakota before lunch.  We stopped in Sioux Falls to view the falls and smell the meat packing plant (think canned cat food), went a little further to the World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, and then had a quick five cent cup of coffee at Al's Oasis.  The scenery was beautiful.  We traveled through farmlands growing corn and transitioned into ranch territory once we crossed over the Missouri River.  Finally, we entered Badlands National Park and set up our tent for the night.

The Farmer in the Dells: Day 2

Yesterday we traveled from Nashotah House, Wisconsin, northwest to Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit the Mall of America, and then southwest back to I-90 to our campground.  We stayed at Flying Goose Campground in Fairmont, Minnesota.  Along the way, we learned the definition of a dell, witnessed how picturesque the state of Wisconsin is, and came to understand (though Wikipedia) how important it is to America (Cheese!).  Our day went from a peaceful monastery setting to an expression of exorbitant consumerism to a placid campground on a lake.

Road Trip to San Diego:Day 1

Today could be called Day One, Toll Day, the Parable of the Seed Growing, the mystery of the Lost Credit Card, and an Emotional Rollercoaster Ride.  We traveled through five states today, beginning in Pennsylvania, and going through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and arriving in Wisconsin.  We are now settling into a home graciously opened to us by a seminarian couple at Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary.

TSM Graduation Address

My remarks as President of the Class of 2012 for Trinity School for Ministry given at Trinity Cathedral, Pittsburgh on May 12th, 2012.

            On behalf of the class of 2012, I would like to welcome all of you to today’s commencement.  I would also like to say thank you to all of you.  Many of you are family and friends, spouses and siblings who have tirelessly supported each of us throughout these years of seminary.  You have put up with our absence due to reading books, or learning Greek or Hebrew, or writing intimidating long papers for Bill Witt or Erika Moore or intimidating short papers for Rod Whitacre or Phil Harold.  You have dealt with us wanting to share new words and concepts with you that we don’t even understand, and have patiently listened for hours on end while we talk about real presence in the Eucharist, or the importance of the Greek participle in the Great Commission, or the often fuzzy and less-than-glorious history of the Church.  And many of you have supported us in very tangible ways, either financially or by feeding us a meal when we have shown up at your door with our best effort to give you puppy-dog eyes.  In short, thank you for all of the patience and love which you have given us.  God has used you to provide for us in so many ways.  Thank you.

            If you turn to the very back of your bulletin, you will see the class verse for the class of 2012.  Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”  On hearing this, one may think that this is a rather pretentious job description that we have given ourselves, or that we have high hopes for our ministry.  However, I would like to take a few moments to look at this verse together, in order to discern what it means and why it came to be our class verse.

Zombie Apocalypse and the Life of Christ

Below is a sermon preached by Brian on May 1st, 2012 at Prince of Peace Anglican Church in Hopewell, PA.  

            A recent trend that has been sweeping the nation for the past few years is an obsession with zombies.  Many of you may have noticed the dramatic increase of movies, books, and television shows relating to these mythical creatures.  If you do not know, zombies are a type of monster, in a similar category to vampires, who are dead but still alive, as seen in The Night of the Living Dead and Michael Jackson's Thriller.  They tend to shuffle around with large groups, and, according to popular consensus, they hunger for brains.  The trend is so popular, and many people are so obsessed with it, they some people have started to rewrite classic books to include zombies.  One example is the novel, Pride and Prejudice, which is a Jane Austen classic of upper class England.  A few years ago, someone rewrote it to make it Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  I have no idea what is it about, but I can imagine that it is dramatically different from Jane Austen’s original vision.  Yet another example is the large books sales for The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide, which gives you tips on how to survive when the great invasion of undead zombies begins.  There has also been a preponderance of these creatures in video games, in which the player must defend themselves against endless hordes of zombies, a trend which I myself have been unable to resist, and currently have a game on my phone where I have to do that very thing.

            Now this is an odd thing, and one might think that it has absolutely nothing to do with Scripture.  On the contrary, I think that in some way, the Bible does tell us about zombies.  The unfortunate fact is that the Bible says that we are zombies, which may be shocking news to many.  However, the Good News from this morning’s reading from John is that, through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are given life again, which is union with God, through the Holy Spirit.