Church at the Beach - Sundays on Cape Cod in the Summer

Church at the Beach - Sundays on Cape Cod in the Summer Welcome to Church at the Beach, a short, sweet and inspiring Cape Cod service! Hope to see you soon!

We meet every Sunday morning at 7:30 during the summer at Breakwater Beach in Brewster, MA.

11/05/2023

Wisdom from C.S.Lewis.

11/05/2023

Truth!

04/02/2022

April 2, 2022

Saturday: God cannot be mocked

Before the allied invasion of Bagdad, Saddam Hussein rebuilt a large part of the ancient city of Babylon. In vast reconstructed city walls, built by forced labor, the name ‘Saddam Hussein’ was carved into every tenth brick. Saddam’s ambition was to be immortalized as the successor to King Nebuchadnezzar of the mighty Babylonian Empire.

With the benefit of a Bible, Nebuchadnezzar is not an historical figure that we might choose to emulate as a political hero. But there are some curious similarities between him and Saddam Hussein. Apart from a great propensity for evil and violence, Nebuchadnezzar was a man whose pride was legend. So proud was Nebuchadnezzar that he had large golden images of himself erected for people to worship. And in the end, it was Nebuchadnezzar’s pride that destroyed him; sending him insane to live like a wild animal in a hole in the ground in the desert. Was Saddam ever made aware of the irony?

The apostle Paul reminds us, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

What does that mean for the people of Ukraine? It means that their suffering, the suffering of the world is not the last word. The last word is that: “[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). It means that no matter how bad things get nothing can separate them from the love of God. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).

By God’s incredible grace we have a gospel big enough to redeem all that sin and evil has touched. And every dimension of that good news is good news only because of the blood of Jesus. All that will be there in the new redeemed creation will be there because of the Cross. And conversely – all that will not be there (suffering, tears, sin, satan, sickness, oppression, brutality, violence, corruption, decay and death) will not be there because they will have been defeated and destroyed by the power of the Cross. The Mission of God remains, “…through Him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His Cross” (Colossians 1: 20).

Paul ends his exhortation, therefore, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). In our prayers and actions for the people of Ukraine and for a suffering world, let us hold firmly to the heart of God and His victory upon the Cross.

In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

04/01/2022

April 1, 2022

Friday: Not prepared for candles…

Our trust in God may be severely tested by the unfolding events in Ukraine. So where might we draw confidence that God is present and active? What a compound catastrophe it would be for those who are suffering so much if, in all the horror, we fell into unbelief. So, what can we know about the heart of God in so much tragedy and brutality? Because, in all our unanswered questions, there are things that we can know. And what we can know about God’s heart will shape and fuel our prayers and loving actions.

Knowing who our God is and His incomparable power that He places at our disposal as His children in prayer, we can pray for the people of Ukraine from a place of faith and expectancy. We can pray from a place of trust in Him, knowing that He is bigger and greater and more than able to answer our prayers.

Because Jesus dwells within us, the very inclination to pray comes from Him alone. We can override it, but amidst all the free-floating debris in our lives, He is praying from within us the desires of His Spirit through our hearts. In prayer, we are literally pulled into God and this is the place from which Jesus prays through us and leads us in prayer. Peter wrote, “…we participate in the divine nature…” (2 Peter 1:4). What does that mean for our prayer lives? Our Father has granted us, as Pascal wrote, “…the dignity of causation.” God is sovereign and yet in His sovereignty, He insists upon relying upon our prayers. We get to co-create with God in prayer. Augustine said, “Without God, we cannot, and without us, He will not.” So, we find ourselves in a universe where prayer plays a crucial role, often the deciding role. Our prayers REALLY matter. We can choose to pray to help bring about change in the world or we can choose not to pray.

How do we actually ask God for help? I like Pete Greig’s down-to-earth and practical advice: keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up.

1. Keep it simple. Don’t get overly complicated in telling God what you desire.
2. Keep it real. Be real with God about your feelings.
3. Keep it up. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7), He was using the present continuous tense. He was not just saying ask as a one-off. Rather, He was saying, ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. Implicit in this is our need for perseverance.

Marcus Laygel grew up in East Germany under communism. As a teenager, he got caught up in prayer meetings in the city of Leipzig to pray against communism and pray for the reunification of Germany. His memories of those days are of large numbers of people crying out to God, praying amongst a vast sea of lighted candles. The night the Berlin wall came down, it is estimated that there were over 300,000 people in Leipzig alone praying for the end of communism and for reunification. The next day, one Communist official said to a journalist in an unguarded moment: “We were prepared for every eventuality. But we were not prepared for prayer and not for candles.”

In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

03/31/2022

March 31, 2022
Thursday: God calls us to join Him
Our trust in God may be severely tested by the unfolding events in Ukraine. So where might we draw confidence that God is present and active? What a compound catastrophe it would be for those who are suffering so much if, in all the horror, we fell into unbelief. So, what can we know about the heart of God in so much tragedy and brutality? Because, in all our unanswered questions, there are things that we can know. And what we can know about God’s heart will shape and fuel our prayers and loving actions.
By His Holy Spirit, we join our hearts with the heart of Jesus, who is with all who grieve and all who are suffering. David wrote, “Even though I walk
through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Do we imagine that this promise is for those who have died? No, this assurance is given to all of us who make our way through the challenges of this life: His presence is with us, His rod will guide us, His staff will make a way for us.
This is our calling as His people: to walk with Jesus and join Him in what He is doing. Paul wrote, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). You may have seen the Archbishop’s relief fund for the people of Ukraine. The Anglican Relief Development Fund (ARDF) has now sent nearly $500,000 to those on the ground helping Ukrainian refugees. They have done an outstanding job of finding partnerships at the local level. These include:
Mission to Ukraine: Working in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, supporting pregnant women, children with special needs, and now Ukrainians in transit to the West.
United World Mission: Working through an extensive network of seminaries and churches across Ukraine, turning basements into shelters for Ukrainians fleeing the violence.
Water Mission: Working along the borders of Poland and Romania to serve refugees by evaluating their most urgent needs, and specializing in clean water deployment.
Christian Training Center for Success: Located in Ternopil, Ukraine, the former training center has outfitted itself as a way station welcoming refugees in transit with hospitality and prayer (the refugees pictured in today's image are helped by this organization.)
Convoy of Hope: Working currently along the border in Poland (although expected to expand to seven other countries), by outfitting a warehouse with supplies for newly arrived refugees.
Operation Blessing: Working along the Polish border to supply relief goods, they also have an outpost in Medyka that offers refugees a space to rest and recover.
Bridge of Faith: Although primarily a ministry offering a fun and educational cultural exchange program for Ukrainian orphans, they are now evacuating Ukrainian children in the adoptive process out of the country so they can be reunited with their adoptive parents.
This is an encouraging beginning, but we know that these early efforts meets just a fraction of the overall need. The ARDF anticipates sending even more funds to more partners in the coming weeks. The destruction is massive, and relief and recovery efforts will last a very long time. If you would like to learn more about these organizations or financially support this work you can give here.
So, let us love louder. Let us pray harder. Let us not allow the evil in this world to overcome our trust in God, and let us serve the people of Ukraine in the power of His love and mercy.
In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

03/30/2022

March 30, 2022

Wednesday: God can be trusted

Our trust in God may be severely tested by the unfolding events in Ukraine. So where might we draw such confidence that God is present and active? What a compound catastrophe it would be for those who are suffering so much if, in all the horror, we fell into unbelief. So, what can we know about the heart of God in so much tragedy and brutality? Because, in all our unanswered questions, there are things that we can know. And what we can know about God’s heart will shape and fuel our prayers and loving actions.

Even in the most difficult times — or better, especially in those times — God would exhort us to trust Him. We have a Savior in Jesus who knows our humanity because He came to us in person. We have a heavenly Father who knows the terrible tragedy of losing His only Son. But the final word is not one of defeat because through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have the promise that the bonds of death have been broken. The victory over evil is assured. The apostle Paul wrote, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross” (Colossians 2:15).

Because of Jesus, because of the Cross, death has been defeated and goodness, mercy, justice, peace and love will prevail. Hear this promise over you: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).

In His great love,

Bishop Andrew

03/21/2022

March 21, 2022

Song of Songs: The Celebration of Intimacy

There is a particular awkwardness around the subject of physical intimacy. Maybe it’s just an English thing – and we do embarrass easily! The Bible, I have discovered, is not very British in this regard. The Bible is actually fully conversant with the facts of life and issues such as physical desire, lust, and adultery – and that is just in the book of Genesis.

In particular, the Song of Songs is filled with the language and actions of physical marital intimacy. If you have read this book, very possibly you may have come across a line or two and wondered if you were reading too much into the text. The answer is that you probably were not! We may be shocked – God is not!

But what is this doing in the Bible? This poem is painting a picture for us of what was always intended to be a very rich blessing. A gift that was intended by Almighty God to thoroughly bless us in marriage. That we should find that surprising – then Plato has a lot to answer to here. His view was that the “spiritual” was a higher and altogether nobler realm of consciousness and therefore the physical should be eliminated. This is in stark contrast to the passionate embrace we find in the Song of Songs.

And as this poem elevates what was always intended as a blessing – so it exposes the counterfeit. It would indeed take an exceptional piece of poetry to do that – and yet it does. But as important as that task is – the Song of Songs has a higher purpose still.

The intimacy that is celebrated in this book is very purposefully inviting us all into an intimacy with God that surpasses anything, any of us, have ever known. The Lord is extending to each of us, an extraordinary tender, passionate, invitation to know Him intimately.

In His great and intimate love,

Bishop Andrew

03/19/2022

March 18, 2022

Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks
Part 5: The worst Psalm in the Bible

Heman the Ezrahite is the named author of the most miserable psalm in the Bible. There is no obvious trace of hope. No last-minute reprieve along the lines of, “And yet Lord, you are good and you are faithful” Instead, he ends his tale of misery and woe with the assertion that, “Darkness is my closest friend.” The implication being that God is no friend of his. So, what is God’s response to this hopeless, passive-aggressive smoldering wick?

Had the Holy Spirit elected, this terrible psalm could have been stricken from the canon of Scripture. It could have been lasered from the Bible like some kind of awkward adolescent tattoo. It could have been remodeled with a more faithful, hopeful ending. And yet here it is, rude, hopeless, and uncensored. The startling truth is that, rather than expunge it from the record, the Holy Spirit very deliberately included it in the Bible. Why? Because He wants us to be that honest with Him. The theologian, Derek Kidner wrote, “The presence of such prayers in scripture is a witness to His understanding. God knows how men speak when they are desperate.”

This is a Psalm that legitimates our pain. It is a prayer that says we can be completely honest with God. Psalm 88 is there because pain and suffering is very real, and God would not deny that. If God had added a more upbeat ending to the Psalm, if God had censored this prayer – then when we encounter this kind of smoldering darkness (and we all have or will at some time in our lives) we would be tempted to think: I have come to a place where God is absent; God cannot be here. But He is! We have a Savior who promises to join us in our suffering. That no matter how bad it gets – nothing can separate us from His love.

In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

03/19/2022

March 17, 2022

Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks
Part 4: A burning stick snatched from the fire

In Isaiah 42:3, the prophet Isaiah writes about a suffering servant of whom he says, “a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not s***f out.” To begin with, this is a portrait of the messianic figure in which we, of course, begin to see the outline of Jesus. But at the same time, this is a picture of the Lord’s heart toward us. This is a picture of how He truly sees and cares for all of us bruised reeds and smoldering wicks.

In the book of Zechariah, we find another reference to a smoldering wick. Here, Joshua the High Priest stands before the Lord. His head is bowed, and he puts up no defense as the enemy accuses him of his sins before the Lord. We read, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:1-2).

The point that is being made here is that there really is nothing the enemy can tell the Lord about Joshua that the Lord does not already know. He knew the worst of this smoldering wick (who is in this instance Joshua) when He chose him and there is nothing that can be said that would cause the Lord to un-choose him!

Jesus knew you first. He knew the very worst of you when He chose you. There can be no inducement to Him to now un-choose you. In His great love and mercy, all of us have been snatched from the fire. We are blackened by smoke, fragile, liable to breakage with the smell of the fire still on us – but we belong to Jesus. David wrote, “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). This has much to do with our weakness in the face of temptation — our propensity toward sin. But in this same psalm, David also writes in praise of God who “...forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's” (Psalm 103:3­5).

In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

03/16/2022

March 16, 2022

Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks
Part 3: Timing

So, how does Jesus care for all of us bruised reeds and smoldering wicks? Yesterday we came to see that reasoning and explanation are seldom God’s first response to our pain! At 1 Kings chapter 19, in the life of the prophet Elijah, the very first thing God does in the renewal of our bruised and smoldering prophet is to very tenderly restore Elijah’s emotional and physical strength. But what about when we are too far into the darkness to notice His touch? What happens if I give up on God? Does this mean He gives up on me?

At 1 Kings 19, verse 7 we read, “The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” A second touch and a second meal. I find this deeply reassuring because we see not only the tenderness of God’s touch also but also the reality that the Lord knew exactly what it would take to get Elijah back on his feet — including the time that he needed.

The Lord knows us so well. He knows of what we are made, and he knows our breaking point. And Elijah’s story would reassure us that His response is immediate, His touch is tender, His timing is perfect, and His heart is to forgive, heal, and restore us.

In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

03/15/2022

March 15, 2022

Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks
Part 2: Touch

In Isaiah 42:3, the prophet Isaiah writes about a suffering servant of whom he says, “a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not s***f out.” To begin with, this is a portrait of the messianic figure in which we, of course, begin to see the outline of Jesus. But at the same time, this is a picture of the Lord’s heart toward us. This is a picture of how He truly sees and cares for all of us bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. How does He do that?

1 Kings 18 sets out Elijah’s extraordinary victory over the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. But by chapter 19 we find our hero is cracking under the pressure of his ministry. Elijah is a great prophet, but he is also very human and there is only so much disappointment, opposition, pain, and conflict that any of us can take. He is one very despondent man — a bruised man! Here is someone whose light is about to go out. And Elijah is not handling his suffering and stress at all well. Elijah is not saying, “I’m just rejoicing in the Lord!” He has actually come to the point where he is ready to quit. He says, “Take my life. I don’t even want to live” (1 Kings 19:4).

So, what is God’s first response to this bruised reed? To begin with, I am struck with the tender way that the Lord puts our broken hero back together again. The Lord’s first and immediate response is to touch him. We are told, “All at once an angel touched him...” (1 Kings 19:5b). Notice that the angel does not give Elijah a good shaking. He does not berate him for his lack of faith or his impatience. Neither does he interrogate him — “What’s the matter with you?” He simply touches him. It is very tender. You could skip right over these six words, and you would miss the astonishing tender truth that reasoning and explanation are seldom God’s first response to our pain! The very first thing God does is restore Elijah’s emotional and physical strength. The angel cooks him a meal and tells him to sleep. The angel does not say: “Repent!” or “Fear not” or “Rejoice, I bring good news!” He cooks him a meal and tells him to sleep.

In the darkness - expect to know His presence revealed in the tenderness of His touch. Even when we can’t see well – we can still feel His touch.

In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

03/14/2022

March 14, 2022

Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks
Part 1: Battered and blown

In Isaiah 42:3, the prophet Isaiah writes about a suffering servant of whom he says, “a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not s***f out.” The Hebrew translation of the word “bruised” denotes a deep contusion — the idea being that while we may not show it on the outside, on the inside we are (or it seems as if we are) dying. How many times have any of us felt like that?

Who is the suffering servant to whom Isaiah refers? To begin with, this is a portrait of the messianic figure in which we, of course, begin to see the outline of Jesus. But at the same time, this is a picture of the Lord’s heart toward us. This is a picture of how He truly sees us and cares for all of us bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. This is the love that chooses to feel our pain, reaches out with compassion, rescues, protects, heals and restores. This is the love, whose promise remains that however battered we feel, He will not permit us to break or to be blown to the wind.

This week we will look at how He truly sees us and cares for all of us bruised reeds and smoldering wicks.

In His great love,
Bishop Andrew

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Breakwater Beach
Brewster, MA
02631

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