Grace Anglican Church Gastonia, NC

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Faith for Prayer, Obedience, and Thanksgiving, Luke 17.11-19 Download Jesus’ healing of the 10 lepers is an amazing moment that leads us to reflect on sickness of soul that we have and how he calls forth trust in his work for us. When we pray in faith, he calls us forward into the world to do his will, leading us to turn back and give thanks for his healing hand upon us. Imag...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran The Beam of Light of Faith, Luke 17.5-10 Download As Jesus is teaching his apostles, they cry out for an increase in faith. What causes such a prayer to come from their lips? How does one actually find an increase of faith? How does humility and love of God undergird this increase? Father Jeremiah considers all of this as he turns our eyes from analyzing what our faith looks...

The Rich, the Poor, and Baptism for All, Luke 16.19-31 Download Jesus tells the unique parable about Lazarus and the rich man and this life and the afterlife are full of contrasts. The contrasts that exist are founded upon faith and trust in God’s promises to us through Jesus Christ. We encounter these promises in baptism and receive the through faith in Jesus Christ. Image: Lazarus at the Rich Ma...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran A Blessed Future Begins with Trust Now, Luke 16.1-13 Download The parable of the Unjust Steward in Luke 16 has given many people trouble over the years. It has the appearance of approving of the unrighteous actions of the steward. Yet, what is the shrewdness he is praised for? Father Jeremiah directs us to see that shrewdness is betting everything on the Master’s generosity a...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Burden of Lostness Lifted, Luke 15.1-10 Download The parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin in the Gospel of Luke are of great importance. Not only do they introduce the parable of the Prodigal Son, but they remind us that they Pharisees had lost the people of God by adding layers of law to God’s word. Jesus cuts through the man-made laws of the Pharisees and comes to s...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Impossible Discipleship, Luke 14.25-33 Download It is easy for us to reduce Jesus’ call to discipleship to a mere way of following him. The reality is that the discipleship that Jesus demands of us is one that will lead to our deaths! His call is one that is utterly beyond our abilities. He wants to us realize our complete need for his grace and his death so that we can be en...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Receiving Honor through Humility, Luke 14.1, 7-14 Download Jesus taught a group of people about honor and shame and humility in today’s Gospel lesson from Luke 14. He saw guests vying for better seats of honor and told them a parable about what happens when you claim honor that you do not have. Instead, one should pursue humility and the lowest place that you can be exalted i...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran For Freedom Jesus Went to Jerusalem, Galatians 5.1, 13-25 Download St. Paul tells us that it is for freedom Christ has set us free. What does this mean for us? What did it mean for the people of Galatia? Is it true that Jesus went to Jerusalem to enable us to know true freedom? Image: Jean-Léon Gérôme, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons .

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran From Law to Baptism and Faith, Galatians 3.23-29 Download In writing to the Galatians, St. Paul reminds the that the law itself is a harsh prison and disciplinarian. To live by that way is to find only death and condemnation. However, to recognize that the law is meant to reveal sin means that they can cling to Christ by faith through baptism. Baptism becomes that foundation...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Salvation in the Trinity, John 16.5-15 Download The Trinity is one of the most important doctrines in our understanding of God. The purpose of the doctrine is to enable us to better understand the relation between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The nature of God revealed to us reminds us that salvation is dependent upon all three persons being truly God, but being...

Harrison Northey The Gift of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2.1-21, 1 Corinthians 12.4-13 Download On the first day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit swept down upon the Apostles, empowering them to share the good news of Jesus Christ raised from the dead for the forgiveness of sins. Who is this Spirit? What is he doing? And why does he come down upon the Apostles and all those who believe in Jesus? Harrison N...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Love Begetting Love, John 13.31-35 Download On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he told his disciples that he was going to be glorified, that they could not go where he was going, and that they were to love one another just as he had loved them, all in quick succession. What does he mean by all of this? How does this help us walk in the faith he has betwoed upon us? Are we...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Shepherd from Heaven, Shepherd on Earth Download Jesus is the shepherd who calls his sheep by name. He is the one who has come down from heaven to find these sheep and make them his. Image: Photo taken by Myriams-Fotos , free to use by Pixabay. Image location found here: https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-the-good-shepherd-1167493/

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Made Worthy by the Worthy One, John 21.1-14, Revelation 5 Download When some of the disciples went out fishing, they didn’t expect to make such a great catch after toiling all night. And in that great catch, they meet Jesus once more, finding that he calls them back to other moments in their lives with him that they might discover the restoration that he brings to them. Image...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran The Surprise of Jesus, John 20.19-31 Download When Jesus appears to the disciples on the evening of his resurrection they are shocked and surprised, but Jesus quickly brings them peace and calling. However, Thomas was not there and he refuses to believe until he can see and touch Jesus himself. These events are shocking to us when we consider the unexpectedness of Jesus’ resu...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran The Hinge Upon which the World Turns, Luke 24.1-12 Download What is so important about Jesus’ resurrection? Why do we talk about it constantly and set aside one day a year in which to have a grand celebration? Father Jeremiah looks into these questions and helps all to see that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is now the hinge upon which all the world turns. Image: Internet...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran No More Offering Necessary, Isaiah 53, Hebrews 10, John 18-19 Download Jesus’ death is the final sacrifice. No others are needed because his is a truly perfect one. He embraces death that we might know life for eternity. Image: Drawn by Gustave Doré, engraved by J. Gauchard Brunier. Scanned by Michael Gäbler with Epson Perfection 4490 Photo., Public domain, via Wikimedia Comm...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Behold the Lamb of God, Exodus 12, 1 Corinthians 11, John 13 Download At the Last Supper our Lord, Jesus established the Eucharist and washed his disciples’ feet. In the process of this, we are reminded that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. How does this connect to the establishing of the Passover so long ago? Father Jeremiah explores this and ex...

Sin Undone by God Becoming Man, Philippians 2.5-11 Download What is so unique about Jesus’ death upon the cross? What makes this man’s death so important to all of history? St. Paul gives us a glimpse of this reality when he speaks of Jesus being in the form of God and yet taking on the likeness of man. We come to realize that Jesus is no ordinary man dying upon the cross, but God in the flesh dea...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Undoing Our Unruliness, Luke 20.9-19 Download When Jesus tells the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, he is confronting the wicked leaders of the Jewish people with the reality that they had neglected how they came to be in the vineyard in the first place. The tenants were chosen and brought into the vineyard by the owner that they might care for it while he was away, but they re...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Sin and Shame Taken Away, Luke 15.11-32 Download When the younger son returns from his shameful life and the older son refuses to come to the party for his brother, the father chooses not to reject his sons, but instead bears their shameful actions upon himself so that they can be reconciled to him. The father in this parable is a picture of what Jesus does for us through the...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Protection from Presumption, Luke 13.1-9, 1 Corinthians 10.1-13 Download When Jesus is questioned about terrible events that happened to others, he turned the question back on the questioners. He saw the heart of their question came out of presumption that they were not as bad as the others that these terrible things had happened to. How do his words lead us to know a path aw...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran The Narrow Gate and Faith, Luke 13.22-35 Download Jesus tells us that salvation is a narrow gate that we must strive through at the right time. To ignore the gate can be disastrous. Father Jeremiah leads us through this parable and Jesus’ words about Jerusalem and his desire to gather the people to himself in Luke 13. Image: Public Domain. Image location: https://pxhere.com/e...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Unable to Overcome but in Jesus, Romans 10.4-13, Luke 3.1-13 Download St. Paul speaks of the word being near to our hearts that we might not have to bring it down from Heaven or raise it up from the abyss. This word is Jesus himself and he is revealed as the one who resists temptation and sin for us that we might follow in his steps and receive him. Image: The Temptation of C...

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Transfigured Toward Our Glory, Luke 9.26-38 Download An important part of Jesus’ Transfiguration is that his divine glory is revealed to his disciples. Another aspect of that event is that in our union with Christ, we become partakers of that glory in the resurrection. We too will shine with the light of the glory of God through the grace of Christ to us. Image: The Transfigu...