Blogging/Preaching Experiment part 5: The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the Prophets.

Having looked at our belief in God the Father and in Jesus the Christ, we now turn our attention to the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

- In the Old Testament, God is called “Lord”, and we profess Jesus Christ as Lord. How do you envision the Holy Spirit as our Lord? What does that mean?
- The Holy Spirit is “the giver of Life”. How is this different from the Father being the creator and the Son being the one “through whom all things were made”?
- What do you think it means for the Spirit to “proceed” from both the Father and the Son?
- With the father and the Son, the Spirit is to be worshipped and glorified. Do you think the Holy Spirit is given enough attention in the worship and activities of most churches today? How about in ours?
- How do you see the Holy Spirit at work in our Church? Does it continue to “speak through the prophets” at Faith UMC? How so?

This sermon will be preached on July 12th !

I am also the guest musician for that Sunday - so if you can think of any song suggestions, please let me know!
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

REMINDER: If you do not have a blogger or gmail or aol username - you can use the username "faithaccokeek" and the password "faithumc" -

Scriptures
Genesis 2:1-7 Ezekiel 37:1-10 John 15:26-27 John 20:19-23
2 Corinthians 3:17-18

The picture above is a tatoo depicting the Holy Spirit. I thought it was interesting for several reasons. It is a a picture that represents the Holy Spirit that resides not on a wall or in a stained glass window, but on a human being. Isn't that where the Spirit truly resides? In us? Also I like how the dove seems relaxed and at ease. Often we focus on the Holy Spirit as a "consuming fire"; an entity that is so incredibly active it baffles the mind. Here we may be catching a glace of the Holy Spirit as our counselor, even as God's presence with us in the midst of turmoil. I don't think I'd ever get a tatoo like this (too big), but I really like this art.

Blogging/Preaching Experiment IV: The Work of Christ

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the HolySpirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended 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.

Last week we took a look at the person of Christ (who he is). Now we turn to the work of Christ (what he has done for us). The Nicene Creed gives a very short summary of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and puts it all under the heading of “for us and for our salvation”. When we speak of the work of Christ we’re speaking of how he has saved us. Whatever you believe about what Jesus has done for you is called your theory of atonement.

I’ve taken the part of the Nicene Creed that deals with the atoning work of Jesus Christ and I’ve underlined the five major statements it makes about what Jesus did.
- Do all of these events play a role in how Jesus saves us? If so, how?
- What does the creed say about Jesus’ life and ministry? Does anything seem to be missing?

How do you believe that Jesus has saved (atoned, redeemed, justified, etc.) you?

This sermon will be preached on July 5th !
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog, email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

Scriptures
Matthew 20:20-28 John 1:29 Romans 5:6-11 Romans 6: 1-11

Hebrews 2:7-15 Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-10 1 Peter 2:20-25

REMINDER: If you do not have a blogger or gmail or aol username - you can use the username "faithaccokeek" and the password "faithumc" -

the image above is what many archeologists and historians believe to be the earliest depiction of the crucifiction of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Preaching/ Blogging Experiment, part III:

“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, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made…
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and became truly human.”

The second part of the creed speaks of Jesus Christ. There are two major important facets of our understanding of Jesus Christ who he is (the person of Christ) and what he has done (the work of Christ).

For now, let’s focus on the person of Christ. Who is Jesus, what is his nature? Is he God, or just another dude? This is what the ancient church had to figure out – in fact they argued about it so much that they had to form a creed about it…

1- Take a look at what the creed says about who Jesus is. What does it tell us? Can you restate it in your own words?
2- What the heck is the difference between “begotten” and “made”?
3- We just got over talking about how God the Father is the creator…how is it then that it is through the Son that all things are made?
4- What does it mean for Jesus to be truly human?
5- Why is it significant that Jesus be both fully human and fully God?

This sermon will be preached on June 28th !
Remember to comment and discuss either by blog (link is on church website – see cover of bulletin) email (beib185@verizon.net) or by paper (“Q&A box” in narthex)

Feel free to comment/discuss on the questions and scriptures posted for the sermon next week. That information is still online and posted on the Narthex bulletin board.

Scriptures
John 1:1-5, 14-18 Philippians 2:1-11 Isaiah 9:1-7
Colossians 2:6-10 Hebrews 1:1-8

Blogging / Preaching Experiment part II - God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth

Okay, so maybe not as much input as I had hoped so far...
But I know you all can do it! I BELIEVE IN YOU (no pun intended).

So here is our next topic that will be preached on June 21st!

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”

The first part of the creed talks about God the Father who is the creator of everything.

Now there’s a lot I could say about the Father in regards to the Trinity. I’m going to skip that for now. Rather I’d like to focus on two basic questions…

1- Theologically and personally, what does it mean for us to call God “Father”?
a. If there is a special relationship between Jesus and the Father, does this have any
significance for us who also call God Father?
b. Personally, do you refer to God as Father in prayer and your devotional life? Does calling
God Father touch your heart in any special way; does it have special meaning for you?
or does the idea of God as Father disturb or upset you in anyway? Is it hard for you to
call God Father?

2- What is the significance of God being the creator of “all that is seen and unseen”?
a. Orthodox Christian belief states that God created “ex nihilo” which means “out of
nothing”. This means that God created the entire universe out of nothing. God didn’t have
all the parts necessary for the planets and stars and everything else and assembled them,
God made everything out of nothing. How is this significant?
b. The creed states that God is creator of both earth and heaven. Typically when we think
of creation, we think of the ocean, the sky and mountains, maybe even ourselves, but
what about the things we don’t see? What about the angels and heaven?
c. When we think about creation, we tend to think about the first two chapters of Genesis
(“In the beginning…”), but God is still creating. God is constantly bringing new things into
existence. Does this challenge or expand your thinking of God as creator in any way?

Another thing to consider…
- Is God necessarily male? Many well-meaning and faithful Christians have wanted to change the way we refer to God from “Father” to ‘Father/Mother God” or “Mother God” (interchangeable with “Father God”) or simply wish to remove any reference to gender in respects to God. What do you think of this?

Scriptures to ponder...
Genesis 1 – 2
Psalm 8
Isaiah 63: 7-16
Isaiah 64: 1-9
Matthew 5:43- 6:15
Luke 11:9-13
Ephesians 4:4-6
1st John 3:1-3