Apostolic Creed Part 4 Sermon Dec 22, 2013

Continuing the series on THE APOSTLES' CREED...

Sunday, Dec 22, 2013

A QUICK RECAP

•HISTORY OF THE APOSTLES CREED

•WHY IT WAS NECESSARY TO HAVE SUCH

A STATEMENT OF FAITH

•VARYING VERSIONS EXIST

•MOST COMMON & ACCEPTABLE VERSION

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's 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;

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into

heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and 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 the life everlasting.

AMEN

• not WRITTEN by the apostles themselves

• a brief summary of their teachings

• their doctrine "in sublime simplicity,

• in unsurpassable brevity,

• in beautiful order,

• and with liturgical solemnity.

• In its present form it is dated no later than 4th century.

• may justly be called an ecumenical symbol of faith.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's 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;

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into

heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and 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 the life everlasting.

AMEN

1918 - 2013

1918 - 2013

the forgiveness of sins,

"SIN" = TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW OF GOD

ORIGINAL SIN

In him we have redemption through his blood,


in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

Eph 1:7


we need more than FORGIVENESS

WE NEED ACCEPTANCE

JUSTIFICATION - where do we stand before God?

effects of sin reversed --relationship restored

WHY DO WE NEED FORGIVENESS ?

WHAT HOPE DO WE HAVE OF FORGIVENESS ?

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ARE FORGIVEN ?

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness,

so that we can, with reverence, serve you Psalm 130: 3-4

He is eager to forgive. He is ready to forgive. He wants to forgive you.

The only way to deal with Satan’s accusations is

go back to the character of God....

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the

transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. Micah 7:18

God blots out our sins as a thick cloud (Isaiah 44:22).

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ARE FORGIVEN ?

God forgets our sins and remembers them no more (Jeremiah 31:34)

God puts our sins behind his back (Isaiah 38:17)

God buries our sins in the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19)

God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west

(Psalm 103:12).

the resurrection of the body, 1 Cor 15:35-58 35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of

body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come

to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that

will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But

God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he

gives its own body.

39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals

have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also

heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the

heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is

another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and

the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown

is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is

raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is

sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural

body, there is also a spiritual body.

45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the

last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but

the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust

of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man,

so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also

are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image

of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot

inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the

imperishable.

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be

changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and

we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the

imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable

has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with

immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has

been swallowed up in victory.”

57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord

Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing

move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,

because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

1. The Number: “We will all be changed” 2. The Result: “We will all be changed”

3. The Time: “At the last trump”

4. The Speed: “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye” 5. The Chronology / Sequence:

A. Trumpet sounds

B. Dead raised

C. Living transformed

the resurrection of the body,


1) The resurrection of Jesus Christ -- foundational truth of Christianity. NON-NEGOTIABLE ! 2) Our resurrection depends entirely on His. 3) Our resurrection bodies will be radically different from our present bodies yet intimately related to them.


4) When Christ returns, both living and dead Christians will receive their resurrection bodies 5) These truths ought to encourage us to stand firm and serve God joyfully, knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord.

the life everlasting, AMEN

"Life everlasting" is a present possession

and a future possession

"Life everlasting" is a present possession

and a progressive possession

This is the land of the dying, but we are going to the

land of the living where ...

"death shall be no more, neither sorrow nor crying,

neither shall there be any more pain. For the former

things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

"life everlasting" - make every moment count

(Psa 91:12)

"resurrection of the body" - stand firm,

labour not in vain, keep your eye on the prize

"forgiveness of sins"- God has forgiven you.

Do you harbour bitterness / unforgiveness in

your heart ?

Spiritual

Apostolic Creed Part 4 Sermon Dec 22, 2013