Advent 4 and Christmas Eve 2006 fell on a Sunday, so this sermon was delivered at a combined morning service where we were in Advent, all the while knowing it was Christmas Eve. Delivered on the Fourth Sunday in Advent at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, West Virginia, December 24, 2006.
Author: Kent Higgins
Fr. Kent is an Episcopal Priest in the Diocese of West Virginia. He functions primarily as a supply priest, but also serves as Dean of the Kanawha Deanery. He was ordained deacon December 16, 2006 and priest June 16, 2007. He is married and the father of two grown sons. Fr. Kent retired from his "day job" in August, 2014.
Luke 3:7-18 – John the Baptist Foretells Jesus
“One who is more powerful than I is coming.” Delivered on the Third Sunday in Advent at Ascension Episcopal Church, Hinton, WV, December 17, 2006, the day following my ordination as deacon.
Luke 21:25-31 – First Sunday in Advent
“There will be …distress among nations. …People will faint from fear and foreboding.” Delivered at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Mullens, WV, December 3, 2006.
John 18:33-37 – Pilate Questions Jesus
“Are you the King of the Jews?” Delivered on the Feast of Christ the King at Ascension Episcopal Church, Hinton, WV, November 26, 2006
Mark 10:17-31 – The Rich Man
“Sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.” Delivered at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, WV, as a stewardship sermon.
More Letters from Hell – With Apologies to C. S. Lewis
It is probably essential that you have some familiarity with The Screwtape Letters in order to “get” this posting, but in case you don’t have the time, understand that this is one part of a correspondence between two devils who are, in this case, trying to subvert the church.
I wrote this piece as therapy after hearing the Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh, Bob Duncan, say in a radio interview something like “They [referring, I thought, to me] seem to think that revelation is on-going.” Silly me, I didn’t realize that God had told some people that His revelation was over. It left me wondering roughtly when that happened. I was willing to settle for the century if the exact date was not readily available. Was Nicea in or out? It is my belief that “the current unpleasantness” within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion will finally be resolved when we stop judging one another. I think that’s one of the messages of the story of Eden. What a wonderful world if we did the work God wishes us to do and left the judging to Him.