Book: John

Secular culture espouses many useless sayings which may make us feel good but are devoid of meaning because they deny the power and reality of the Triune God. The expectation of Christians is not to merely be nice or say nice things – it is to be kind, persist in prayer, and to boldly speak about our faith. What good is our faith if we don’t tell anyone about it?

Every sinful instinct we have tells us we can do it all on our own. We are beholden to our pride. We are so held captive by our pride, that we have a whole month to celebrate it! The bread of man is this: you can define who you are; you can define your identity; you can do whatever you want and expect the world to affirm you; you can define your own meaning of life; you get to define your meaning of love, your meaning of truth, your meaning of justice. All the answers, and ultimately your salvation, are found deep inside yourself. The Holy Eucharist is a repudiation of all of this, everything our culture stands for.

To paraphrase the late Dr. RC Sproul, we do not truly know who we are until we know who God truly is. Sproul’s greatest theological work as a minister of the Universal Church came in his clear explanation of the holiness of God, summarizing the fundamental difference between God and man with these words: “God is holy, and I am not.” We do not know ourselves because we do not know who God truly is. And if we do not know who God is, then how can we properly worship Him? Listen as the Rector examines our response to the God who is holy, holy, holy.

The Day of Pentecost is one of the most widely misconstrued events in Church history. Contrary to popular belief, the Day of Pentecost is about far more than the gift of speaking in tongues – it is about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church, empowering Christians as God’s chosen people to go forth and renew the face of the earth.

We who enjoy the luxuries of 21st century America are the unmatched champions of vain things! Our lives are so dedicated to vain things, trivial things, pointless things, that we go out of our way to celebrate vanity itself! The Gospel calls us away from vain things just as it did the pagans at Lystra. But are we willing to turn away from vain things?

Jesus told his disciples, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34). The Rev. Galloway challenges us to examine how far we fall short of this commandment and reminds us that love does not mean saying things people want to hear – it means telling the truth.

Decades of spiritual apathy have given over Western Civilization to the evils of abortion, lured in by the false promises offered by politicians and celebrities – and the modern Church bears much of the blame. The Rev. Galloway exhorts Christians to defend the dignity of life regardless of the fate of Roe v. Wade.

The epilogue to John’s Gospel – chapter 21 – reveals much about Jesus, the Apostles, and the early Church. In particular, we learn much about the unparalleled strength and character of the Apostle Peter. Listen as the Rev. Galloway explains what we can learn from John’s epilogue, and how the boldness of the Apostle Peter helped establish the infant Church.

Our lives are littered with difficulties and differences which seem irreconcilable. The will of the nations are brought to naught, and so the nations go to war. Our own plans for life and ministry are thwarted, and we go to war with ourselves to find the answers. Looking to the Apostles Peter and Paul, let us remember that God’s plan for our lives is dramatically different from what we want in our sin – and that is a good thing.