"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."
St. John 8:51
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This past Sunday St. Peter's welcomed the Rev. Canon Robert Hawkins for Holy Communion services. Canon Bob was previously the Vicar General for the APA Diocese of the West but has recently moved to Knoxville and attends Holy Cross in Farragut. He has agreed to periodically lead Holy Communion services at St. Peters.
Canon Bob's sermon focused on the Gospel lesson from St. John for this Passion Sunday. He reminded us Passion Sunday prepares us for Holy Week and that Jesus's suffering on the cross revealed God's passion for the souls of men. He reviewed the last words of Christ given in each of the four gospels and the powerful "I Am" statements in the Gospel of John. In the original Greek, the "I Am" statements, including the one in the Gospel lesson, are in an emphatic and solemn verb tense form. This verb tense was used as a way to get people's attention, and was used by Jesus to emphasize his claim to be God. In today's Gospel, Jesus claimed to be both older than Abraham and to be God - no wonder the Pharisees tried to stone him. In closing, Canon Bob advised that a man claiming to be God is either a lunatic, a liar, or truly God. As Christians we know the right answer in this case!
Please find Canon Bob's complete and thoughtful sermon at the following link:
Thank you Canon Bob for coming to St. Peter's and for the beautiful Holy Communion service.
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After services, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch downstairs.
We so much enjoyed talking with and getting to know Canon Bob and his lovely wife Chris. Thank you to everyone who brought food!
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Next Sunday, Fr. Dennis will continue his Confirmation classes. Everyone is invited to attend these classes! Thank you Fr. Dennis for these very informative lessons!
On the Sundays Fr. Dennis is not with us, Sue will lead a short Prayer Meeting downstairs starting at 10:30.
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This Saturday, April 1 at 10 am the Altar Guild is meeting to prepare the church for Palm Sunday. They will be making palm crosses, decorating the church with palms, and covering the crosses with palms. If possible, please come help them prepare the church for this beautiful service!
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For Easter we will be decorating our altar with Easter Lilies. Please let Earl or Rose Marie know if you would like to purchase an Easter Lily in memory of a loved one. Please provide the number of lilies you wish to purchase along with the names of your loved ones. The lilies are $10 a piece.
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The schedule for Holy Week is as follows:
Palm Sunday, April 2, 11 am, Fr. Dennis
Good Friday, April 7, noon
Br. Scott
Quiet meditation and prayer time
Sat., April 8, 1-3 pm
Earl will open the church
Easter Sunday, April 9, 11 am,
Fr. Dennis
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Our next Women's Bible Study meeting is at the church on Wednesday, March 22 at 11 am . Please remember to bring the book, your bible, and a lunch!
At last week's meeting we chose "The First 24" for our next study guide. This is an in depth study of Mark 1:21-45 - the first 24 hours of Jesus' public ministry. The guide is available on Amazon.
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Sue continues to lead our weekly online prayer group on Discord every Thursday at 2 pm. Thank you so much Sue for taking the time each week to lead our prayers! If you have a special prayer request but cannot join us, please send your request to Sue. Please contact me if you would like to join us on Discord.
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The Lenten Devotional created by our Deanery is now available at the following link:.
Our own Br. Scott is one of the contributors!
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Bp. Jones sent out the following letter concerning this year's Lenten Appeal. Please consider supporting this generous and important program this Lent.
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