Prince of Peace Anglican Church

Today we worshiped at Prince of Peace Anglican Church, 1314 Gringo Road, Aliquippa, PA 15001, 724.375.5351, www.pop-church.com, Rev. John M. Heidengren, Rector.

Scripture - NIV

Jeremiah 1:4-10 –

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Psalm 71:1-17 –

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.

Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. They say, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.” Do not be far from me, my God; come quickly, God, to help me. May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.

My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

1 Corinthians 14:12b-20 –

Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.”

Luke 4:21-32 –

He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.

Bob’s thoughts:

A neighbor worshiped in this building some years ago until she could no longer climb the stairs; her church merged with another and moved to a new location. I had been hoping we would get to visit, but God was way ahead of me.

There is a large backlit wooden cross, uplifting banners on all the walls, and dual projection screens. I enjoyed the worship team music and the harmonization of the two female leads. Seeing the enthusiasm and smiles made me happy.

An assistant priest provided the message regarding Jesus’ authority; it was well delivered and supported by Scripture. I was amused that it was the theme God gave me in praying for healing, to pray with Christ’s authority. I believe when I was ordained as a Deacon and Elder that I was touched by hands that were touched by Christ and that the power of Christ is in me, to His glory alone.

I never grow tired of the way God uses us, though I’m often surprised but not overwhelmed that He does so. Recently during my morning devotions I had a vision of praying for a woman’s health. He presented that opportunity this morning, though I was having such a good time exchanging smiles with her granddaughter I almost missed recognizing her. The setting and some of the dialog was right out of my vision and we were able to reassure her of the healing God, to His glory, has already done.

The Scripture quoted in support of Christ’s authority from His reading from Isaiah was part of my morning devotionals. (He really does work that hard for me to hear His message.)

We lose sight of the fact that Christ has that same authority now.

We were able to partake of Communion and the elements were offered aloud.

We were blessed with a good worship experience and the opportunity to pray over someone, so I will be energized all week.

Jan’s thoughts:

After having driven past this church countless times, today was the day to visit.

The signage was excellent, including outdoor signs distinguishing the main entrance from the office entrance, and indoors, both directional and identification signs.

The sanctuary was tastefully decorated with colorful, coordinated banners on most walls.

We were greeted warmly upon entering the sanctuary, and although we ended up sitting in a sort of out-of-the-way corner, more than a few people took the time to stop over and welcome us, including the Rector.

The blended music was presented by a talented contemporary praise band.

The sermon, “Jesus’ Authority,” was presented by the Assistant Priest, Rev. Philip Bottomley, who emphasized the power, weight, and influence of Christ’s words, words that “changed His hearers.” Words that, in the beginning, spoke the very light into existence. The wind ceased at His command, and Lazarus returned to life at His word. The pastor pointed out that He speaks now with the same authority and every knee will bow, willingly or unwillingly.

I was pleased to participate in Communion this day, and we enjoyed the fellowship following worship.

Our prayer for this church:

Father, we pray this congregation will be empowered to act on Christ’s authority as they move forward with Your plan for this, Your church. Amen.