All week long I’ve been thinking about the phrase “Father Almighty” and trying to decide what it really means. It’s […]
Text: Isaiah 40:28-31This sermon gives the history of how the Apostles’ Creed came about and explains the importance it has in the Christian church throughout history as well as in our individual lives. The Apostles’ Creed is a declaration of faith recognized by all branches of true Christianity. For 2,000 years the Apostles’ Creed has served as a succinct statement of the irreducible minimum of the Christian faith. It is the common heritage of the true Christian church. It offers a broad survey of Christian doctrine, that focuses all on God as the object of the faith, and what he has done for believers. In this declaration of beliefs, the God of the Christian church is sharply distinguished from the gods of other religions by what he has done for his believers. The authority of these statements of belief embodied in the Apostles’ Creed lies entirely on the Word, that is the Bible, and not on any personal or private interpretations. It follows then that a person who professes to be a Christian must therefore subscribe or believe in everything stated in this creed, at the very least, as a start of what the Christian must believe. The Creed reminds us that truth is not optional. There are boundaries to the Christian faith. Not everything is negotiable. Some things must be believed if you are to call yourself a Christian. You can choose to live outside those boundaries, but if you do, you aren’t a Christian and you shouldn’t call yourself one.
Text: Romans 1:16“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And […]
Text: Luke 2:8-14The third purpose is discipleship. We become more like Christ when trouble teaches us to trust Him; when temptation teaches us to obey; and when trespasses teach us to forgive.
Text: Romans 8:29Three things—apparently unrelated—have come together in my mind as I have prepared this message. First, in just a few […]
Text: 2 Timothy 4:9-22One of the best ways to keep a clean conscience is by practicing the art of forgiveness, even when we can’t forget what’s been done to us. Asking for forgiveness and granting grace to others are keys to listening to God’s monitor system.
Text: Genesis 45:1-15; 50:15-21Loving your enemies is the final step in forgiveness. When Jesus walks with us, we will find the strength to love our enemies and to bless those who curse us.
Text: Luke 6:27-36Without forgiveness, there is no future, no freedom, and no healing. But where there is forgiveness, there is grace and mercy and a future as bright as the promises of God.
Text: Ephesians 4:29-32“We have no time to hate, no time to condemn, no time to live in bitterness. We need the help of God to do a supernatural work in our hearts.”
Text: Matthew 7:1-5“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12 KJV). The fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer seems […]
Text: Matthew 6:12