February 19th, 2023
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February 12th, 2023

Newsletter — February 12, 2023

We have the joy and privilege today of bearing witness to the baptism of one of our convent children, Cohen James Bryant. Baptism is a sign and seal of the promises of Christ to his people. In the sacrament of baptism, Christ claims the one being baptized as His own. As Cohen’s parents bring him to be baptized into Christ, we’ll look at this cute little baby, and we’ll smile, and we’ll laugh, and we’ll overflow with joy. Rightly so for this is the gift God has given to little ones: bringing joy into our lives. And seeing God’s proclamation of peace and His promise upon Cohen’s life is a joy and blessing.

Our privilege now is to watch Cohen grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord as his parents train him up in the faith. And it is both our duty and our privilege to stand alongside the Bryants to encourage them, aid them, offer counsel when needed, and be involved in their lives. Give thanks and rejoice in this gift — for it is a gift, not a burden.

God grows his Church in many ways, and this is one: aithful parents raising (with the aid of the Holy Spirit) faithful children. As Solomon says in Psalm 127, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.” So today, we rejoice with the Bryants. Thanks be to God!

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February 5th, 2023

Newsletter — February 5, 2023

In the midst of our struggles with the powers of darkness, God will offer us victories and sign-posts on the way. When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June of 2022, we were filled with joy at what God had done for us. The push back from the enemies of life at this victory seemed to come in the form of multiple arrests under the guise of enforcing the FACE act.

This past week, God offered us another victory, and, hopefully, good legal precedent in the jury’s acquittal of Mark Houck. Like Paul Vaughn, Mark was arrested by the FBI, in front of his family, guns drawn and pointed at his head. The accusation was that, by shoving someone near an abortion facility, he was in violation of the FACE act by interfering with a volunteer abortion patient escort. He and his family were about 100 feet from the abortion facility and across the street. And Mr. Houck was attempting to stem harassment of his son.

These are, of course, all intimidation tactics to try to silence and stop pro-life protesters. But with Mr. Houck’s acquittal, perhaps we pro-life believers can take heart and all the more courage as we continue to wage this battle. And it’s all certainly good news for Paul who awaits a court date of January 16, 2024.

Of course, our battle isn’t really with flesh and blood, and that is why your prayers continue to be important. Let us continue to wage the war for life, and be encouraged at what the Lord is doing.

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January 29th, 2023

Newsletter — January 29, 2023

Wednesday at the prayer meeting, Pastor Thacker read Psalm 109, which was challenging in an unexpected way. The language used in this Psalm may shock us. But the Psalms should inform our worldview and prayer life. In an era of soft Christianity, the Psalms can do much for our backbone. Here’s David praying against his (and God’s) enemies in Psalm 109:

When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
Let his days be few,
And let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg;
Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places.
Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder his labor.

What is your reaction to these words? Do you recoil against such language? Are similar words readily on your lips regarding God’s enemies; your enemies? As I prayed Wednesday for a situation where Christ’s enemies seek harm, I was searching for words that did not readily come, even after reading Psalm 109. So the challenge before us is this: spend time in the Psalms and be bold to pray the words God has given us. And when we pray as God has demonstrated to us and shape our lives after this pattern, we will find abundant blessing and strength of faith!

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January 22nd, 2023

Newsletter — January 22, 2023

As you will recall, my friend, Paul Vaughn had been scheduled for a hearing on January 10 following his arrest for his pro-life activities at an abortion clinic. As was perhaps expected, the date for the hearing was pushed. Less expected (by me, anyway) is that the hearing was pushed out by a year. The new date is January 16, 2024! So on the legal front, Paul and his family will wait in some sort of limbo for the next 12 months before it is known what reprisal there may be.

We may rightly lament the injustice and Paul’s right to a speedy trial that is not being particularly well observed, but in the providence of God, this may allow for some action in some other places. Paul was contacted by the House Judiciary Committee, asking about his availability for a phone call as they investigate the DOJ’s enforcement of the FACE act.

While Paul was actively looking to stay out of legal trouble, now that it is upon him, Paul has said, “not my will, but yours, Lord.” He asks that we pray for God’s leading and direction regarding this call and further proceedings with the House Committee.

And so, as we rightly celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade, let us continue to pray for the ongoing pro-life battle, and those who are on the front-lines. God has clearly provided the opportunity for Paul to testify for life, and he will surely provide for Paul and his family as they walk through this situation. And may glory be to God whatever the outcome!

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January 15th, 2023

Newsletter — January 15, 2023

Here at St. Mark, we are celebrating the miracle of new life that God brings to our midst with the safe arrival of Cohen James Bryant, and Thea June Carman.

God is so good to our congregation and our mothers and fathers for the gift of these precious little ones. We love little children, and that is why I often say we are pro-life in more ways than one. For while we oppose the taking of unborn life, we also support our mothers, pray for them, encourage them, and love them. To be fully pro-life is to love these precious little lives, to bring them to the waters of baptism, to bring them to the Lord’s table to be nourished with Christ’s body and blood, to instruct them in the ways of the faith, and to pray for them as they grow, that they may one day also be warriors for life.

As we now begin to see the lives of these little ones, and as they grow in the faith, look to them to be instructed in your own faith (even as we already do with all the little ones around us now). Remember Matthew 18: “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.’”

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January 8th, 2023

Newsletter — January 8, 2023

The holidays have come to an end, the decorations are coming down, the diets are… well, maybe not back on track, but many of us feel the urgent need to get back to some, let’s say, simpler foods. Perhaps new resolutions have been made for the year, and it may be that you’re feeling a little down, what with all the fun and excitement in the rear-view mirror.

But be encouraged! Christmastide culminated in Epiphany on January 6th, which we celebrate today. But what is Epiphany? It is the celebration of Christ revealed to the Gentiles in the visit of the Magi. Isaiah makes reference to this in chapter 60:2–3:

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

This is the glory of the coming of Christ. For, from the Jews comes the salvation of all people, Jew and Gentile alike. And, as Paul later expounds in Romans 11 where he uses a tree to illustrate His people, we Gentiles were then grafted into that tree so that there is now neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile), for we are now one in Christ, and Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3). This is what we celebrate today. Praise be to the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ!

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December 25th, 2022

Newsletter — December 25, 2022

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. — John 3:16–17

Verse 16 is speaking first, and most fundamentally, to the love of God, and note that He loved the world in such a way that He gave. A supreme act of the giving love of God was demonstrated in the Incarnation and Crucifixion of His Son. Even as Paul declares in Romans, but God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for (5:8).

Verse 17 parallels verse 16: as God gave, so He sent His Son. Was Jesus given, was He sent for Israel alone? No, the Son was given and sent for the sake of the world, for the sake of all humanity. He was sent to be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should have eternal life (3:14-15). Though deserving of judgment, the world was sent a Savior. Instead of condemnation rendered, love is lavished.

Do you want to see the measure of God’s love? Look first to the manger; see the Child wrapped in swaddling cloths, and there behold the love of God. Then look to the Man stripped of all and lifted up on the cross, and yet again behold the love of God. Behold Him and believe that, for the sake of the world, the cross was the ultimate destination of the manger.

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December 18th, 2022

Newsletter — December 18, 2022

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set they people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

“This prayer directs us both toward the celebration of Christmas, now but a few days off, and toward the end of time, whose distance from us we cannot know; in all of that we pray for the present age, the thin moving edge that connects past to future. For always both the future and past emphases of Advent direct us toward our faith and mission in this world. Eschatology that has no implications for us now is pernicious escapism. History that has no implications for us now is irrelevant romanticism. Neither by escaping current responsibility, nor by retreating into a rosy past that never was, can we serve the God who has come and will come, yet is ever fully woven in the fabric of the present.” – Laurence Hully Stookey, Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church

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December 11th, 2022

Newsletter — December 11, 2022

For the Third Sunday in Advent, we find John the Baptist in prison (Matt. 11:2-15), but the question he poses regarding the ministry of Jesus leads to the declaration of the great works that Christ is doing. These works are foretold by the prophet Isaiah (35:1-10), particularly the giving of sight to the blind (v. 35; Matt. 11:5), a miracle unique to the Messiah. The turning back of the effects of sin and the curse of sin are evidenced in the miracles that Jesus performs and are reason for true joy. The Third Sunday of Advent is sometimes called “Gaudete Sunday,” for the Latin word Gaudete, meaning “Rejoice!” The work of God is reason for rejoicing. Repentance is reason for rejoicing. The Savior has come, bringing freedom and peace. And while we wait upon the Lord, we do so with patience, looking to the example of the prophets who suffered though they spoke in the name of the Lord (James 5:10-11). John the Baptist, the last of the OT prophets, suffered for the message of repentance that he preached. The church today, as it carries the prophetic mantel can also suffer for calling sinners to repentance. Nevertheless, the church is called to remain steadfast, for therein lies the way of blessing from our compassionate and merciful Lord. So let us continue to pursue repentance in our own lives, proclaim it to others, and rejoice in the continuing works of God by His Spirit and through the church.

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December 4th, 2022

Newsletter — December 4, 2022

The emphasis of the First Sunday of Advent is one of watchfulness and God fulfilling His divine purposes, even if it might not be according to our expectations. Matthew’s Gospel took us to the late stages of Jesus’ earthly ministry, which might seem like an odd way to begin Advent, but it helps to remind us of the faithfulness to which we’re called as His servants who do not know when He will return, a helpful perspective to maintain.

This week, for the Second Sunday of Advent, we find ourselves in the third chapter of Matthew’s Gospel where he records the ministry of John the Baptist, who prepares Israel for the coming of the Messiah by preaching a message of repentance. John is clear that religious heritage is not enough nor even to simply profess repentance. Rather, true repentance is seen in the fruit that it bears; in the actions that are taken unto righteousness. According to Isaiah 11, righteousness is central to the Messiah’s ministry. It is a mark of His reign over all the earth, even as He proves to also be the hope of the Gentiles (Is. 11:10; Rom. 15:12).

Some of God’s most challenging and comforting messages came to His people in times of difficulty and distress, so let us heed the Baptist’s cry and pursue lives of repentance and righteousness befitting of those belonging to our Messiah’s kingdom.

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November 27th, 2022

Newsletter — November 27, 2022

Our church year begins today as we usher in the season of Advent. How fitting, now as we turn our attention to that expectant and watchful season, that we do so here in the U.S. on the heels of our season of Thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving is not a church calendar holiday, it is a good and right celebration when we gather with friends and family to give thanks for all our Lord has done for us. And while we are, of course, thankful for all things, especially during Advent we remember and are thankful for the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He took on flesh and blood for us, His people. As we enter Advent, the Book of Common Prayer has these words for us to use in our own prayers:

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

Recall the words of Jesus from John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” And we now walk in the light because of the incarnation of the light of the world.

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