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All Souls Anglican, Cherry Hill, NJ

November 2018 Prayer Letter

We greet you in Jesus’ name. Every month or so we will send this prayer email to you, letting you know the most effective way you might pray for us. We do hope you will consider All Souls Anglican for your personal prayers that this new mission for the gospel may continue faithful to the gospel.

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Bible study

This Coming Sunday: the Next Before Advent

Join us this Sunday for Evensong at 4:00 PM when we continue in our sermon series on Luke’s Gospel, Luke 16.1-15, the parable of the Dishonest Steward.

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For Your Prayers

Prayer 7

We do so need and thank you for your prayers. Here is our latest update.

Please use the buttons at the bottom of our newsletter to share with your network(s) among the saints of God to increase our prayer support.

Join us this month as we raise our voices in THANKSGIVING and in PRAYER to our heavenly Father:

   •    THANKSGIVING that many believers joined together to give thanks for the Reformation in our joint Reformation Day service with other reformed churches.

   •    THANKSGIVING that our plant marked the FIFTH birthday of its incorporation on All Souls Day, 2 November. We are five!

   •    PRAY for the financial provision of our church plant as we gather to consider prayerfully our needs and budget for 2019 in early December.

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The Eclectic Society, Part 10

This year we’re reading selections from the discussions and the spiritual insights of the evangelical ministers who regularly met in London as “The Eclectic Society.” I hope you will find the time to read further around the section, so I have found the original volume for you in Google Books/Google Play. You can find the text by clicking this link.

When the ministers gathered on June 9, 1800, the topic for discussion proposed by the Society’s secretary Josiah Pratt was the question of a minister success. Were there recognized evidential “seals” that indicated the Lord’s favor on the work, and if so, how should a minister understand them?

In every age, the burden of gospel ministry has always tempted Protestant ministers to seek signs of health in the congregation. We have a trust in the efficacy in the Word of God preached and should rightly be concerned if the character of members remains unchanged or slides into further moral declension. The parish ministers who gathered in 1800 were the heirs of the Evangelical Revival, so it was fascinating to read the minutes of their discussion on the topic.

The consensus gathered around two points. The first was that evidence is not necessary. They noted how the Apostle Paul in writing to Timothy and Titus nowhere spoke of visible fruits of their ministries. Instead, all his emphasis is on the character of the gospel minister. Remain committed to the congregation to whom God has called you. The second point was all lack of evidence should push the minister to their own personal "health check":

1. Is there any obstacle in the execution of my regular duties as a minister?
2. Is God’s gracious remedy in Christ the ground or the assumption that I make in my ordinary conversation or is it something/someone else, if so what is it?
3. What of my preaching? Do I still preach the gospel clearly and accurately or have I allowed distraction to creep in?
4. Is there a resistance or legalism that has crept into my thinking?


The balance of the discussion after these points was assumed by the more senior men present who had served for many years. Two stand out in their comments, John Newton and John Venn. Newton pointed out two biblical examples - how Christ’s charge to Peter was to feeding not gathering and how the ministries of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had little visible success if any. He then gave more recent examples, pointing out how God's effectual calling may work across several generations before the discernable conversion occurs. Many die before the fruit is evidenced. They sowed the seed that another generation gathers in the harvest. Therefore, one should consider not a single effective sermon, but the effect of preaching delivered faithfully over many years. John Venn took a slightly different trajectory in his comments. He pointed out that there was a risk in diminishing God's glory if we think too often of significant signs of success. It is much more important to give God the glory and commit in prayer that he will place men as his instruments in their proper places as he pleases. Ministers are pipes – they convey water. This is their purpose. It does not matter whether they are wooden or lead. We also forget our union in Christ. A faithful minister, even if unsuccessful in human terms, remains accepted by our heavenly Father yet as our Savior is received. Should we not pursue Him. God's kingdom comes unseen that faithful eyes may wisely disagree saying, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done what our duty was."

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Latest Sermon Podcast

Our sermon this month is the sixty-fourth sermon for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity. The text is Luke 15.11-32, He Took Your Shame.

Here is the link to the sermon podcast. Share it by forwarding this link or email it to your friends.

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A Parish of the Diocese of CANA East

Worshiping Sundays at 4:00 PM at: 520 Kings Hwy South | Cherry Hill NJ 08034

Contact us:

Telephone: 856.671.1183 | E-Mail: church@allsoulsnj.org

Find us on the web: www.allsoulsnj.org

Follow us on Twitter: @allsoulsnj

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