“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Creed”

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Creed”

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in a big national survey a few years ago–the Pew Survey found that 92% of Americans say they “believe in God or a universal spirit.” 92%! Well, whoop-de-do. Big deal. That doesn’t really say much. Who is this God you believe in? Allah, the false god of the Muslims? Sorry, I bear witness that there is no god called Allah, and Mohammed is his false prophet. Is this “god” you believe in some depersonalized “universal spirit” or “higher power”? That won’t do you any good, either. Is it “God” as you have created him in your own image? A god who winks at sin and suits your personal opinions and is impressed by your “spirituality” and essential goodness? Sorry, Oprah, that is not the God revealed in Holy Scripture.

Just the fact that you believe that one true God exists, that by itself will do you no good. On that point, you are no better than the demons. St. James says as much: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder!” You see, the devil and all the demons know who God is. They even know who Jesus is, “the Holy One of God.” They believe that God exists. But that is not the same as knowing and believing in God in the way that we have just confessed in the Creed.

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Published in: on March 8, 2017 at 10:42 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Forgiveness, Resurrection, and Life: God’s Gifts to Ron” (Apostles’ Creed)

Funeral Service
Wednesday, July 7, 2010

“Forgiveness, Resurrection, and Life: God’s Gifts to Ron” (Apostles’ Creed)

Ron, Doris, John, family and friends of Ron Benear Jr., dear brothers and sisters in Christ: Today we mourn the loss of a son and brother, a friend, and fellow member of this congregation. It hurts to lose someone we know and love. Ron and Doris, you’re not supposed to say goodbye to a son. It’s supposed to be the other way around. John, to lose a brother you’ve known your whole life–that’s like losing an arm, or maybe more closely, to lose a piece of your heart. And for all of us, every time we bid farewell to a friend or relative, we are exposed to the bitter pain of death and we are reminded of our own mortality, our own coming death. This is a time to mourn and to grieve.

But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Indeed, we have the greatest hope there is–really, the only hope there is in the face of death–and that is the hope of glory we have in Christ. Today we find comfort in what we just confessed in the Creed, namely, “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” “Forgiveness, Resurrection, and Life”: These were, are, and will be God’s gifts to Ron Jr., and they are the same good gifts our gracious God bestows on each one of us here today.

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Published in: on July 7, 2010 at 4:30 pm  Leave a Comment  
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