Questions?

Several years ago when I was an Associate Pastor, the Senior Pastor and I shared a sermon series based on questions the "worshipers...were asked to submit...concerning God, faith, or prayer that they would like someone to address." I had four of the questions, which were sometimes a conglomerate of questions on a particular topic. I don't remember how many questions were submitted, but there were about 500 in worship during the series, so there seemed to be an interest in the subjects of the series. In four different posts, I will enter my sermons. I have them today only because all the sermons in the series were put in a booklet otherwise I probably wouldn't have them. In those days I wrote out my sermons word for word and read them. Sermons are meant to be "heard" so writing them out in this kind of format doesn't quite work for me. I'd rather hear a sermon. I want to put them here in my "Thoughts on Discipleship" though, in case someone who comes here and reads will be touched by the Spirit who breathes life into words and stirs something inside us. When sermons are "delivered" sometimes people hear things that weren't said, sometimes they think of other things that could have been said, and sometimes they scratch their head and say "what was that?" Any of those reactions or others might be yours if you make it through the reading of what follows. God bless you.

I preached this the second sermon in the nine-part series and it follows:

Text: John 1:1-5, 14 Sermon Title: Questions About the Trinity
Of the questions submitted for this sermon series, there were several questions that are foundational to the Christian faith. The one Charlie addressed last Sunday was about the existence of God. Another foundational question was the one we are addressing today. The question was really in the form of two statements: "I would like to better understand the Trinity" and "An explanation of how Jesus is God's son but yet Jesus is God."
Wouldn't we all like to better understand the Trinity? Accepting that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, three in One is foundational to the understanding we have of God. It helps us understand God's activity in God's creation and it helps us understand our relationship to God. i will first address accepting that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God and then will address the how part of the question.
1. Understanding God as three in One--as Trinity--helps us understand God's activity in God's creation. The term Trinity, though not in the Bible is a way to refer to the nature of God. There are many references in teh Bible that allude to God being a unity of Gather, Son, Holy Spirit. Some (a very few actually) of those are listed in today's bulletin. Just as the exstence of God is assumed in scripture (there is no attempt in scripture to prove God exists...it just starts out with "In the beginning God..."), so the nature of God as three persons in One is, also, assumed. Jesus himself tells his disciples in Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." We get the teaching of God as Trinity from early Christians as the church wrote statements of belief about God as they understood scripture and God's activity in God's creation. These statements of belief, called creeds, were written to state what was believed by Christians. They were, also, written to refute what was not accepted as Christian belief. In the New Testament there are several statements of belief about God that could be considered creeds of the early church. One example is I Corinthians 15:3b-6a, which states that "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third da in accordance with the scriptures, and they he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time." According to Bible scholars the "earliest universally acceptied Christin creed is the Apostles Creed. It wa formulated by Christian leaders in the first centruy of the faith," and we are still using that one nearly 2000 years later. The Apostle's Creed was followed in the year 325 by the Nicene Creed, which affirmed the doctrine of the Trinitarian nature of God. In part, the Apostle's Creed states: I believe in God, the Father almighty, cretor of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. The Nicene creed: "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, both seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
God's activity in God's creation is one of redemption. That is, getting back what once was perfect and whole. In God's plan of redemption, Christ Jesus, "...though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross." (from a creedal statement in Philippians 2:6-8 NRSV). This creed affirms that Jesus, though God the Son, and rightly at home in glory "emptied himself" by entering into "human likeness" through human birth to be as it were "a slave." Jesu gave up, for a time, his rights as God to do the work of redemption. He did what was necessary to get what once was perfect and whole back again! Jesus, God the Son, came to earth and lived among humans. Further, the Apostle's Creed says, He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the Third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The Nicene Creed--through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became a man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; He asecended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
2. Our relationship to God is more understandable in light of the relationship within the Trinity. We understand God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In our relationships we understand how one person can be a father, a son, and a husband and a few other relationships all at one time. We can be mother, daughter, and wife, etc. and still be one person. This is one way to look at the relationship Jesus refers to in his prayer to "the Father" in John 17 reading from verse 4 "I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glorythat I had in your presence before the world existed." In the final statement of the prayer Jesus says, "I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them" Jesus alludes to a very personal, intimate oneness with the Father and with his followers.
The Apostles Creed--I believe in the Holy Spirit
The Nicene Creed--We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
In John 14, Jesus had said to his disciples, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate (Helper) to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned. I wam coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."
The unity of the Trinity, the relationship/oneness of Father, Son, Holy Spirit is based on love according to Jesus. The relationship between God and those who are believers in Christ is based on love. The presence of Christ in the believer is the Holy Spirit who sustains the believer in God's love, who guides the believer to loving worship and work, who stays with the believer until all creation is once again perfect and whole. We are speaking here of a very personal, intimate relationship between God and the believer which is exemplified in the Trinity.
How was Jesus God's Son and yet God? Good question. That is the second part to this question for today. John Welsey in his sermon on the Trinity back in the 1700's quoted the Gospel of John saying, "The Word was made flesh (speaking of Jesus)...". Wesley said, "I believe this fact (that the Word was made flesh)...". There is no mystery in it, but as to the manner how he was made flesh..." "...that is where the mystery lies." Wesley did not claim to know anything about the mystery of believe anything about the mystery of the manner how. His faith was not based on knowing how God became flesh in Jesus. His faith was in the fact that Jesus is God's son but yet Jesus is God (as the questioner wrote regarding the Trinity).
There are a lot of things in this world that I do not understand the manner how something works or exists. Some examples I will admit to are electricity, TV, telephones, computers...I don't know how they work and though some engineer or specialist might be able to explain the technicalities of their working to me, I still would as, but how does that work? The point is, I believe the fact of their existence and usefulness. I have not waited to use these items until I completely understand the manner how they work. I use electricity daily...without even thinking about it.
The caution for us this morning lies in not waiting to believe the fact until we understand the manner how. I am in agreement with John Wesley. I believe the fact but know nothing of the manner how. To not believe the fact is to keep us from understanding how we have relationship with God and what that relationship should be. The thought of what one would be missing by not believing that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; three in One, is overwhelming to me. I urge everyone: don't miss out on anything God has for you. Don't miss out on the close personal, intimate relationship God wants to have with you. Believe. Believe the fact that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; Three in One...even if you cannot understand the manner how!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lay Witness Mission

A group of people came from various Mid-Western states to give testimony and leadership to a weekend of renewal at the First United Methodist church in Madisonville this past weekend. How precious! Thank you, Lord.

Jeremiah 2:19 NASV

"Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter
For you to forsake the LORD your God,
And the dread of Me is not
in you," declares the Lord GOD of hosts. Jer. 2:19

I've heard people say and I've noticed myself that lightening doesn't strike when we/I sin. Consequences don't come right away, so we think we got by with something...or it wasn't so bad that we did such and such. Eventually, however, the truth of this passage hits and indeed there are consequences when we miss the mark. Eventually our own wickedness and turning from God corrects and reproves us just as it did with Israel.

It is for a nation to hear this and it is for us as individuals to hear this. We must fear God, which is to reverence him. We must obey God's commands recognizing they are good for us.

LORD, may we respect and revere your laws...your will...your way.

Reading Jeremiah

Been reading Jeremiah the last week or so...taking my time. I'm not going to rush through it, because I want to soak up what I can as the Spirit leads me into the word. I'm reading the Complete Jewish Bible and the New American Standard Bible.

Jeremiah had a long tenure as a prophet. He started young apparently (1:6). It was during the years leading up to the Babylonian captivity. There is much to take in from this book, of course, which usually seems to be the case with scripture. One of the little nuggets I "starred" in the CJB was a line from 2:30, "They would not recieve correction."

"They" are the Israelites. The "correction" was the word of God through the prophets. The behavior of the Israelites was missing the mark. They turned from God to idolatry. They rejected the One who loved them and provided for them. How silly! How stupid and short-sighted! How easy it is to condemn the Israelites from this distance!

It is a rare person, a rare community of persons that is able to "receive correction." Most of the time we bristle when someone corrects us. Not only did the Israelites bristle when they were being corrected...they killed and persecuted the ones who were bringing God's word of correction. The job of prophet was a dangerous one.

I have known one person through the years who "receives correction" and who also receives instruction well. I have appreciated these qualities in her because I have observed how they have served to help her grow. Many times I wished I had been more that way myself. Her example has helped me become more able to receive correction and instruction...sometimes, anyway. I still have a ways to go. I can see when a person or a community of persons has these qualities it is humility. It takes humility to let God be God and not reject him and his ways. It takes humility to receive correction. It takes humility to receive instruction.

Our loving heavenly Father has much to teach us and we need much correction. We need humility. This can be applied to us individually and to the Church. When we miss the mark...when we, like the Israelites turn to anything or anyone other than God with our love and devotion we need to hear the prophets' reminders that our love and devotion belong to God and to God alone.

The Israelites strayed so far, they ended up in captivity in Babylon. When we stray from God, we end up in places we don't want to be either.

Lord, may we not be silly, stupid, or short-sighted...rejecting the One who loves us and provides for us. May we, in the Church, learn humility so we can take correction and instruction. May there be those in the Church who will, like Jeremiah, receive the role of prophet to proclaim those words of correction and instruction. Lord, there is none like you!!!