Brews with Andrewes brewswithandrewes

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Advent II 2022
"Withstanding the Times by Standing Upon the Eternals"
Preached at St Michael the Archangel Anglican Church in Matthews, NC on December 4, 2022
 
Jesus’ descriptions of life on earth after His heavenly enthronement are strikingly accurate: distress, perplexity, failing hearts, and the whole world order being shaken. But what is even more striking is that He says these things, not as an observer as though He was simply recounting the evening news, but as the instigator – as the Word who shakes the earth when He speaks. Remember Hebrews 12:26-27: 26 [At Mt. Sinai] His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 [To remove] those things which can be shaken, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
    Yes, once again, we find ourselves living in a time of great shaking, but our Scriptures call us to remember that it is only the gates of hell that will not prevail (cf.Matt.16:17-19), the Church has the unshakable Cornerstone and the solid foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph.2:20). Sure, it might look like all the wheels are falling off of Pharaoh’s chariots, as everything in our culture seems to be falling apart, but we are the New Israel of God, and we are already standing on the opposite shore.
    Yet, the only way a person would know this, and can know this, is by making a way to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures, which Yahweh has caused to be written for our learning in times like these. For they alone equip us to embrace and hold fast to Him, His kingdom, and the life He offers through Jesus.
    Thus, as we watch our culture being rattled by fatherlessness in homes, assisted murders and suicides in hospitals, incompetence in the places of education, and the insanity of transgenderism everywhere from children’s entertainment to sports, we do not fear, but rest assured that God is shaking our society to its core just as He did to the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Instead of fearing, we take our stand upon the Solid Rock and begin living our lives by Its Truth (which lasts far longer than the 20-30 seconds of a TikTok video, but instead “endureth from generation to generation,” Ps.100:5).
    Yes, while our culture reads, marks and inwardly digests the latest news snippets on YouTube or the science of the doctors who agree with them, we turn to the Holy Scriptures to find out: who God is; who we are; what we are to be doing; and what makes us worth knowing and/or loving. For if we want to withstand the times, we must stand upon the eternals, and in so doing we will find the grace and consolation known by the countless generations who have gone before us (from Moses to the Founding Fathers of our Nation to today).
    Now, I know. I can hear you thinking, “Do I have to read the whole thing?” The answer is, “YES” (Even those weird books in the Apocrypha and those referenced by St. Peter and Jude) the Scriptures are there for our learning, to break free from the downward spiral of insanity all around us. They now only show us what a woman is, they show us what a man is as well - someone who protects their household, commits himself to one woman (not one at a time, but one), raises children in the paideia (or culture) of God, and who is not ruled by their passions or feelings. The Scriptures show us that all life from the womb to the tomb is sacred and worth protecting and loving.
    And what’s more, is that it shows us the Church – not the motivational, money hungry organizations we are all familiar with – but the family of God brought together in the Body of Jesus where men and women learn to live life together, loving and looking out for one another, practicing the mind of

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Trinity XXI 2022 celebrating The Feast of All Saints
"Numbered with the Saints"
Preached at St Michael the Archangel Anglican Church in Matthews, NC on November 6, 2022
 
I don’t know about you, but I grew up singing: “Oh, when the saints go marchin' in, Oh, when the saints go marchin' in, Lord, I want to be in that number When the saints go marchin' in.”
     So, who are the Saints, where have the saints who have died gone, and how do we make sure we are in that final number spoken of in our Epistle Reading? According to the New Testament, saints are those who believe in Christ, name Jesus as their Lord, are sanctified, serve as faithful and true witnesses for Jesus on earth, and then dwell with Him in paradise upon their death awaiting the resurrection into the New Heavens and Earth.
Thus, if we want to be numbered with them when we die, we ought to be numbered with them while we live: following their faithful examples, dealingwith the problematic sins that effect our witness in the world, refusing to compromise on the demands which the gospel places upon us just to be socially acceptable, and persevering in faith and good works until the end. If we follow their examples of living in the Lord, we can rest assured we will die in the Lord and never be forsaken of his presence (not in this life, life after death, or in life after life after death).
      But why does this matter? Because if a person does not make sure they are running in the direction of the Saints who have gone before, their finish line will not heaven. Those who have chosen the way of the Saints will be welcomed into Paradise, while those who reject their way of life will be sentenced to torment. These are the two destinations awaiting humanity when they, like Fred Sanford say, “This is the big one! I’m coming to see you, Elizabeth”?
     At the first death, when our souls abandon the body, those running the race of Saints, will enter the place now called Paradise, (since Christ did not abandon the souls of His O.T. people in Sheol/Hades, but brought them out of Abraham’s Bosom to Himself). Just as Jesus told the thief on the Cross, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk.23:43), so those who die in the Lord will be able to enjoy their Lord’s Presence (although not fully until the resurrection). It is here that Paul longed to be in Philippians 1:21-23, as it is a sublime and blissful experience of refreshment, even though we will still have a sense of incompleteness since our souls will be separated from our bodies, like the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-10.
     Now, those who refuse to run the race of the Saints opting instead for the rat-race of this world, they’ll enter the place commonly called Hades, which the Bible reveals as a place of isolation and torment. It is the place of banishment from the Presence of God and the life people were made to live, where unbelievers will await their final judgement. It’ll be like waking up every day on death row with no chance of a stay of execution.
     This temporary place of punishment is where the rich man makes his plea from in Luke 16, and where Jesus warns the Pharisees that they are headed because of their greed and love of money. Anyone whose whole life and love is of money and not God, like the rich man, will end up in that place, waiting for a resurrection into the lake of fire.
     Now, you say, “What about heaven and hell?” Well, they’re still coming, for they are the final destinations to be experienced bodily after the resurrection. As Jesus said, “Jhn.5:28-29Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out— those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Or as D

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Trinity XV 2022
"Living Today in Faithfulness not Fearfulness"
Preached at our sister-parish All Souls in Asheboro, NC on September 25, 2022
 
The future has a way of preventing us from seeing the present accurately and thus being able to act appropriately. It can both prevent us from seeing the truth, as well as keep us from living the truth. Some try to use an overly positive view of the future to mask the present (“He will be better tomorrow; even though he beat me today.” “Tomorrow, I will stop drinking; today isn’t who I really am”). Growing up watching cartoons, I distinctly remember one character who would say, “I will gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today.” He wasn’t going to pay; he wasn’t going to become the kind of person who would pay, even if he could.
Similarly, an overly negative view of the future can likewise prevent us from doing what needs to be done today. Simply by hearing news about the future, we can be stopped in our tracks by the fear and worry it can induce, and it will prevent us from becoming the kind of people we both want to be, and need to be. This is what Jesus is getting at in our Gospel Reading. He calls us to realize how an inappropriate perspective of the future can, and will, ruin the present and prevent us from taking care of what needs to be taken care of today. The necessities of today require action – actions that are necessary for forming the character we will need to able to take care of the future when it arrives.
The future fears which we imagine can cause us to shirk our responsibilities in the present and if we shirk the responsibilities in the present, it’s guaranteed that we will not be the people we need to be when the future arrives. This is why Jesus concludes this sermon of His with the parable of the Two Builders (7:24-27): He expects us put His instructions into practice today. Faithfulness today, not fearfulness, is the way to prepare for an uncertain future.
In this part of His sermon, however, He is shining His light of truth of just how inappropriate-views of the future cloud our judgment in the present. We know that we are called presently to love God and neighbor, but worry about being enough and having enough in the future can quickly lead us to start making excuses to both God and neighbor for withholding the acts of love we owe them today.
Throughout this sermon, Jesus teaches: we have to deal with our anger and resentment today, if we do not want to find ourselves in hell tomorrow. We have to address our wandering eye today, so we’re not faced with an affair and divorce tomorrow. We must address our discontentment today – which we try to numb by spending the majority of our income on things, experiences, and medications – so we are not faced with irreparable consequences tomorrow. We need to commit to Biblical generosity today if we are going to be able to be a part of the spread of Jesus’ Kingdom tomorrow.
Essentially, Jesus calls us to keep the main thing the main thing in the present (loving God and loving our neighbor), and if we do that today, the future we all long for will be ours: “it will be added unto you.” Negative views of the future can become self-fulfilling prophecies if they prevent us from doing what Christ calls us to do today. What does he call us to do? Our Prayer Books says it best on page 291, when it asks, “What is the bounden duty of a member of the Church?”: “Our bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in His Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of His kingdom.”
If we are too busy today to work for this; if we are too unmotivated to pray for this; and if we are too anxious about the future to give to this, then we need to repent and believe afresh the Gospel which Jesus preaches here in His Sermon on the Mo

Who is this that cometh from Edom in Isaiah 63:1-3
Andrewes on the victorious return of Jesus, the blood-stained warrior, from His conquest against demons, death, and Hell on Resurrection Sunday.
July 19, 2022
 
Sermon XVII of Lancelot Andrewes’ Sermons on The Resurrection Preached upon Easter-Day before King James at Whitehall on April 13, 1623.
 
Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works, Sermons, Volume Three, or on The Project Canterbury Website.
 
Summary:
      Andrewes uses the imagery of winepresses in Isaiah 63:1-3 to, first, speak about Christ’s victory over the kingdom of demons and death (Edom), along with its capital city, Hell (Bozrah), by His Passion and Resurrection, and, then, to emphasize the benefits that Christ offers to His people who accept the great exchange He won – namely that of “God becoming man so man can be able to become god,” or in theological terms: man’s deification (qewsiV, theosis) by grace.
 
Introductory Remarks about Isaiah 63:1-3
Philip could have just as easily used this passage to teach the Ethiopian Eunuch about Christ
Isaiah 53:7-8 teaches about Jesus’ Passion (cf.Act.8:26-40)
Isaiah 63:1-3 teaches about Jesus’ Resurrection

This passage is about Christ for two reasons
Immediately before it, in Isa.62:11, we are told “Behold, here comes your savior,” and our passage says, “Who is this who comes?”
The one coming says that He has accomplished this saving work alone.

This passage was fulfilled by Christ by his Resurrection from death and hell
He was not left in hell (Ps.16:10) – in Bozrah
He was brought back from the deep of the earth (Ps.71:20) – from Edom

This passage is therefore a conversation between the prophet Isaiah and the Christ.
The Prophet asks, “Who is this?” And Christ answers:
The one who “speaks righteousness”
The one “Mighty to save”

The Prophet asks, “Why are you covered in red?”
The winepress of redemption: “I have trodden alone”
The winepress of vengeance: “I will tread them down”

The prophet asks these questions because of the stranger’s appearance (his habit) and the way he is walking (his gait)
The person responds that He had a conquest in Edom and a victory in Bozrah
This was good news for Isaiah since Edom was one of the worst enemies of God’s people.



A Spiritual Edom and Bozrah
As Jesus was never in Bozrah physically, we must look to the spiritual meaning and fulfilment (compare spiritual Sodom and Egypt where Jesus was crucified, Rev.11:8)
Edom symbolizes the kingdom of darkness and death because of their wickedness, envy, rancor, and insulting over men in misery.
Historically, it was known for its notoriously wicked people who the LORD always had anger toward (cf.Mal.1:4)
The Edomits were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s older brother, and were the nearest of kin to the Jews. Yet out of their envy of Israel, they turned into rancorous enemies of God’s people.
They gloated in Israel’s misfortunes and desired to see God’s people suffer.
Historical Edomites of note were Doeg, antagonist to David (1Sam.21-22), and Herod the Great, antagonist to Christ.

Bozrah symbolizes hell itself, the seat of the Prince of Darkness
As the strongest hold and city of the Kingdom of Edom
As a great walled-in seat of power

Edom and Bozrah Conquered
Geographically David conquered historical Edom and Bozrah
Symbolically David’s Son conquered spiritual Edom/death and Bozrah/hell
He did this in His Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection
It was a shocking victory and no one recognized Him at first when He came walking back (for example: Mary at the grave and the disciples on the Road to Emmaus)



Two Titles to answer “Who is this?”
Both titles are fulfilled by Christ as the one who subdues and treads down death, hell, and all the powers of Satan.
The One “speaking righteousness”
His Word is truth
He is known by His Word
He is the Word who was “in the beginning” (Jhn.1:1)
He is a Priest

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Trinity IV 2022

Episode Ten: Remembering Lot’s Wife in Luke 17:32
 
Andrewes on the requisite intentions for spiritual growth
and the lifelong perseverance that marks
the lives of true believers.
 
May 30, 2022
 
Sermon IV of Lancelot Andrewes’ Sermons Preached in Lent
Preached before Queen Elizabeth on March 6, 1594.
 
Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works,
Sermons, Volume Two, or on The Project Canterbury Website.
 
Summary:
      Andrewes teaches on the sobering example of Lot’s wife, which Jesus commanded His followers to remember in Luke 17:32.
 
Introductory Remarks
This verse is short so there is no excuse for not memorizing and learning its lesson.
The context of this verse is applied to future events, so it still applies to us

Two Moments of God’s Judgment
The lake of Sodom – a punishment for resolute sin
For sins of commission – a judgment against those in a state of sin
We ought to learn the dangers of living in open sin

Lot’s wife’s pillar – punishment for faint virtue [Christ’s emphasis is on this one]
For sins of omission – a judgement against those in a state of grace
We ought to learn the dangers of not continuing to grow/progress in faith – “We sprinkle ourselves with the salt of her pillar that we turn not again to follow, or fall away from our steadfastness.
If we stop growing, then we stop going.


Two Necessary Reminders
In regards to religion
Her story is for old-timers, not new converts
She motivates us take serious progression in religious life

In regards to nature
As breasts complete the work of the womb, or a healthy regiment completes the work of the physician, so remembering her story completes our first faith
She motivates us to take serious the proneness-to-wander-astray of our nature
Like Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt
Like the Romans turning their backs on Paul
Like the declining morality of our time: “The wavering and amaze of others that stand in the plain with Lot’s wife, looking about, and cannot tell whether to go forward to little Zoar or back again to the ease of Sodom, show plainly that Lot’s wife is forgotten.”



Point One: Christ uses such stories and calls us to remember these stories of the past
By the office of preaching reminding us of the fragility of life and dark days to come
By the preservation of the Scriptures for us to remember the days of old
We are to hold our actions up in comparison to the actions seen in these stories
We are to read stories past so that we do not become the stories of the future


Point Two: What to remember about Lot’s wife particularly
Two kinds of “remembering”
Remembering examples to follow
Remembering examples to flee from

Two things to be remembered: “what they did” and “what their outcome was”
What Lot’s wife did – “she drew back, or looked back
She did not head the angel’s warning (Gen.19:17) as if there was no peril
She did all that she was forbidden and despised the counsel of God

What was her outcome – she was turned into a salt stone

The Degrees of Her Disobedience
A wavering Mind with the Sin of Unbelief – She did not keep the Angel’s charge but believed her sons-in-law knew better.
This sin produced a weariness and slow steps – She lost the intent to follow drawing back
For the love of Sodom remained in her heart causing the convulsion of her neck – She cast her eyes for where she longed.
She did not want to give up Sodom’s ease – She had been moving all her life, Sodom gave her a sense of stability and security; she did not want to enter an uncertain future.

The Doubly-heinous nature of her sin
She fell away and looked back after 30 long years of hard faithfulness
She was punished the instant she looked back out of willful defection from God’s mercies
Judged for forgetting all of God’s past mercies to her
After God so warmly remembered her all the times past, she coldly forgot Him here
She chose bodily pleasures of Sodom instead of safety of