Month: April 2022

We at Word of Grace affirm both ancient creeds – with a clarification or two.  🙂  Sunday May 1, we are going to address one of the “problems” we have with the Apostles Creed.   Did Christ really descend to hell before the Resurrection?   Miss a Sunday, miss a lot! 

The Nicene Creed (325 A.D.)

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the begotten of God the Father, the Only-begotten, that is of the substance of the Father.

God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten and not made; of the very same nature of the Father, by Whom all things came into being, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.

Who for us humanity and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate, became human, was born perfectly of the holy virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.

By whom He took body, soul, and mind, and everything that is in man, truly and not in semblance.

He suffered, was crucified, was buried, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven with the same body, [and] sat at the right hand of the Father.

He is to come with the same body and with the glory of the Father, to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there is no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the uncreate and the perfect; Who spoke through the Law, the prophets, and the Gospels; Who came down upon the Jordan, preached through the apostles, and lived in the saints.

We believe also in only One, Universal, Apostolic, and [Holy] Church; in one baptism with repentance for the remission and forgiveness of sins; and in the resurrection of the dead, in the everlasting judgment of souls and bodies, in the Kingdom of Heaven and in the everlasting life.

The Apostles’ Creed (5th Century) 

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting.

Amen.

On Sunday April 24, we will be looking a Peter’s instruction to live harmoniously, fifteen minutes after that, then we are looking at Spiritual gifts (“if the whole body was an eye, where would the hearing be?”) in the Theology Class at 11am.  The illustration below serves both passages, hope it blesses your heart and illumines your mind!

Several years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest-ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and, when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had met one another in school when the armless Mr. Kaspryzak had guided the blind Mr. Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books which the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the individual deficiency of each was compensated for by the other. After their graduation, they planned to practice law together.

Gary Inrig, “Life in His Body.”

See you Sunday!

Pastor Scott

… Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

… Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?

… Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

… Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were You There? lyrics © Bluewater Music Corp., BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

I was there (1 Peter 2:24)!  Were you?

~Pastor Scott

I am approaching this Sunday with fear and trembling because we have progressed through Peter’s first epistle to Chapter 3:1-7; aka  “For better or worse.”  

Given that a marriage sermon sorta’ leaves out a segment of the congregation I planned to write this blog about “Singleness.”  I grabbed one of my trusty sermon illustration books looking for inspiration about the topic.  This book is arranged by subject and lists them alphabetically…I got to “sinfulness” and knew I was close, but the illustrations skipped right over “Singleness” and went to “Sovereignty.”   Now I’m not a big signs and wonders guy, but I’d have to be blind and deaf not to see that one! 🙂

R.B. Kuiper once used the following illustration of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility:

I liken them to two ropes going through two holes in the ceiling and over a pulley above.  If I wish to support myself by them, I must cling to them both.  If I cling only to one and not the other, I go down.

I read the many teachings of the Bible regarding God’s election, predestination, his chosen, and so on.  I read also the many teachings regarding “whosoever will may come” and urging people to exercise their responsibility as human beings.  These seeming contradictions cannot be reconciled by the puny human mind.  With childlike faith, I cling to both ropes, fully confident that in eternity I will see that both strands of truth are, after all, of one piece.  

I don’t know if my readers have never married or are widowed; I know many are married and I’m hoping they read this too.  If any of us are saddened or worried by our state, or if any of us have anger or regret rise up because of something that “isn’t,” this is a great reminder.  Even as we pull on our rope (doing all that we can), we hang on to His rope knowing and believing that He knows best!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding; 

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Your Fellow Sojourner,

Pastor Scott 

No fooling!  We really are offering two options starting tomorrow morning at 8am.  The first option is the one you have heard about if you stay awake during the announcements. 🙂  Men’s Alliance is geared toward getting men into an “iron sharpens iron” (Prov. 27:17) fellowship of guys who learn to have each other’s backs (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) as they seek to serve God, their families, and their community.  I love the concept, but there are already two leaders; one of whom I’ve worked with for two decades who knows me well enough to know that a boot camp environment is not what I’m suited for.

Therefore, Pastor’s Bible Study will begin this Saturday as a second option for men to take part.  This desire was also expressed at one of the formational meetings this winter.  So if you aren’t suited to sweat, but still want to fellowship with fellow men, join me in the Fellowship Hall Saturday morning as we start a 30+ week study of Proverbs.  I’ll make sure the coffee is strong!

Hope to see all the men, regardless of age, at 8am tomorrow, whether you drive through the gate to join Men’s Alliance out back or come in through the front doors to join Pastor’s Bible Study in comfortable chairs.

Your Brother in Christ,

Pastor Scott