On Saturday, December 1st, the men of Church of the Messiah will gather together at the home of Jesse Dent (click HERE for a map) to watch the SEC Championship game. The SEC is on fire this season and the championship game pits #2 ranked University of Alabama against #3 ranked University of Georgia!  To make it even better, we are going to have our own little competition. We will have a Barbeque Grill-Off! For a $5 buy-in we will have a competition over who can create the most incredible culinary creation using that most manly of kitchen contraptions: the Grill! Bring a snap-shot of your delicacy on the grill and our team of crack taste-testers will determine who wins a variety of prizes! Brothers gathering with great food and great football! What could be better?  Kick off is at 4pm so we will start to gather at 3:30.  Feel free to bring friends.  You do not have to bring grilled food in order to attend.

Deacon Tom Abbott’s sermon from the Sunday before Veterans’ Day has now been added to Church of the Messiah’s  Sermon Library.  Of Dcn. Tom’s sermon, John Kirkpatrick wrote, “I heard the BEST sermon on this nation ever done by Dcn. Tom Abbott.  It doesn’t matter whether you voted Democrat, Republican, or anything else. If you missed this talk, you need to get the tape…”  Tapes are hard to come by these days, but you can listen to the entire sermon for free clicking on the “Sermon Library” link on the top left portion of this page or by clicking HERE.  Deacon Tom’s sermon marks the addition of the twentieth sermon to Church of the Messiah’s Sermon Library which now contains teachings from all of Church of the Messiah’s clergy as well as Archbishop Charles Jones, Bishop David Simpson, Bishop David Epps, and more.  Be sure to share this message on your Facebook and Twitter to spread the Good News even further.

This Saturday, November 3, is the conclusion and culmination of Jacksonville’s 40 Days for Life Campaign.  This year’s campaign will end with at March for the Surviving Youth.  We will meet at Powers Avenue at 9:30 Saturday morning.  See the attached flyer for more information.  Remember that this year’s campaign has been dedicated to prayerfully preventing Planned Parenthood from opening a new facility on Powers Avenue (strategically located between two of their target communities Wolfson and Englewood High Schools).  It is estimated that, since 1973, over FIFTY MILLION children have been aborted.  That amounts to one-third of the generation born since that day.  If you were born after 1973, you survived Roe v. Wade.  Make sure that Roe v. Wade does not survive you!

Join with Christians throughout Jacksonville this Saturday morning, September 29, as we pray for an end to abortion in Jacksonville.  We will be leading a Jericho March around the site of the newly purchased Planned Parenthood facility at 5978 Powers Avenue.  This facility is not yet opened and we will march around the building seven times and pray that their doors never open; that not a single child is ever murdered on that spot!

The image in this posting may be copied and reposted.  Share it with your friend on Facebook, create an event, tweet it and re-tweet it.  Invite your real world friends.  Get the message out!  We are accomplishing two things this Saturday.  We are praying and interceding on behalf of the Pre-Born, and we are showing Planned Parenthood that it is not worth the hassle to open a new facility because we will be there telling them to stop the whole time!  The more people we have, the more clearly they will get the message.  Let’s stop Planned Parenthood in their tracks!

Contact Fr. Scott or Lizz Looker for more information.  Click HERE for more information on 40 Days for Life including a map including parking information (Scroll down).

This Sunday, September 23, the bishop of the Diocese of Florida, David Simpson, will make he annual visit to Church of the Messiah.  Though born in Virginia, Bishop Simpson graduated from Florida State University with a degree in psychology.  From there he attended Virginia Theological Seminary and earned his Doctorate in Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary.  In 1976 he was ordained first a deacon and then a priest in the Episcopal Church where he served for the next twenty years in a number of parishes.  In 1996, then Fr. Simpson left the Episcopal Church and joined the Charismatic Episcopal Church and began serving as the Rector of the Church of the Resurrection, where he still pastors today.  In 2007, Bishop Simpson was consecrated the second bishop of the Diocese of Florida.  While in Seminary, Bishop Simpson married his college sweetheart Toni.  They have three grown children and five grand children.  Join us as we welcome our bishop.  He is sure to bring an inspired Word of God.  The service will begin at 10:30 in the Sam R. Marks Chapel at Jacksonville University.

This Saturday, August 25, is Church of the Messiah’s 19th anniversary!  To celebrate all those who worked hard to begin our congregation we host our Founders’ Day Celebration.  This year, once again, we will have a fantastic fish fry at the Arlington Senior Center (Click HERE for a map and directions).  The folks will show up to set up and start cooking at 11:30.  From noon until 2:00, we will celebrate and have lunch.  We will provide all the fish you could eat (as well as non-fish munchies for the kids); you bring a side dish to share!   From 2:00 until 3:30 we will fellowship with one another and celebrate our life together.  Invite your friends and come and celebrate Church of the Messiah’s nineteenth birthday!

This Saturday, July 21st, Church of the Messiah’s Men’s Ministry will attend the final game of the Jacksonville Axemen’s regular season when they take on the Rhode Island Rebellion.  Kick off is at 4pm on Hodges Field at the University of North Florida and we will be seeing COM’s own Carter Pardee get some game time as they close out their regular season and head into the play offs.  After the game, those with time will head into the St. John’s Town Center together for dinner.  To RSVP or get more information, please e-mail, call, or text Greg Looker (904-699-1625) or Fr. Scott Looker (904-424-8597).  Invite your friends!

As you know, the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church is celebrating its Twentieth Anniversary right now in Madrid, Spain.  Over 500 member of the ICCEC have gathered at our Fifth International Convocation to fellowship with one another, hear the Word of God preached by our bishops from around the world, and to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  While most of us cannot participate in the fellowship, we can hear the Word of God preached!  Sermons by Archbishop Loren Hines, the Primate of Southeast Asia, our own Archbishop Charles Jones, Bishop Bernard Njorge, and two messages from our Patriarch Craig Bates are all available for download on CEC Home.  Click the link to hear the sermons from each of these mighty men of God.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances beyond our control, Dcn. Tom Abbott’s excellent sermon from last Sunday was not recorded.  Even though we are not able to post the audio recording on our web-site, Dcn. Tom has agreed to post the notes from his sermon.  You may download the notes by clicking the link below.

Notes from Dcn. Abbott’s Semon “The Culture War” July 1, 2012