Creeds and confessions are statements of what we believe as Christians. They cannot state all that we believe—there isn’t nearly enough space—but they are based upon the Bible, which is our ultimate authority. Often produced at times of crisis in the church’s life, a creed is shorter, a confession longer, and if a confession is in question-and-answer format, it is called a catechism.
Our denomination has a Book of Confessions that consists of the following:
1. The Nicene Creed
2. The Apostles’ Creed
3. The Scots Confession
4. The Heidelberg Catechism
5. The Second Helvetic Confession
6. The Westminster Confession of Faith
7. The Westminster Larger Catechism
8. The Westminster Shorter Catechism
9. The Theological Declaration of Barmen
10. The Confession of 1967
11. A Brief Statement of Faith – Presbyterian Church (USA)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Pastor's Column April 18, 2010
Two concerns:
The first is that eight out of ten car wrecks involve drivers who are drowsy, chatting on a cell phone, applying makeup, or otherwise distracted from the road ahead, according to a government study that videotaped people behind the wheel.
And, duh, are we surprised? No. We even know that the other two of ten crashes involve people who drive the speed limit between here and St. Louis and get run over by drivers going 120 mph.
Distraction is a problem, certainly in the Christian life. Think about the following. The Holy Spirit is God at work in our lives, “the Renewer and Perfecter of God’s people, the one who makes real in us what God has done for us.” (So says A Declaration of Faith, my favorite modern-language statement of faith.) But how can the Holy Spirit renew and perfect us if we’re distracted, if we don’t pay attention to what God has done and is doing and will be doing in our lives?
We have to be alert to the Holy Spirit in our lives. “The Spirit makes us aware of our sinfulness and need, moves us to abandon our old way of life, persuades us to trust in Christ and adopt his way.” Are we paying attention or distracted? “We believe the Holy Spirit works today whenever believes grow toward maturity in Christ.” Are we struggling toward maturity or distracted by pettiness? The Holy Spirit gives “a diversity of abilities and functions.” Are we open to receiving such gifts and using them for the common good, or are we distracted by a life of leisure and being entertained?
The Holy Spirit renews and perfects us as individuals and as a church. And one thing I think the Spirit is saying to Grace involves the need for increased Christian education opportunities in an increasingly secular world. The session has recently approved our doing two things in the fall to address this need:
1) Go to a workshop rotational model for Children’s Sunday School.
2) Add the Alpha Program for adults, members and non-members, on a yet to be determined weeknight.
More info will be coming your way about these exciting and inspirational programs as we work between now and the fall.
The second concern has to do with how we exclude areas of our life from the guidance of the Spirit. We are no different from the soldiers of a European king who converted to Christianity. Not only did he become a Christian, but he decreed that all his soldiers become Christians also. How they were to follow the lifestyle of Jesus was explained to them prior to their baptism, and so when they went down to the river to be baptized, each one of them made sure that his sword hand didn’t go beneath the water. Why? So he could swing a sword apart from any claims of the Spirit. Jesus would have no relevance to waging war so long as their sword hands didn’t go beneath the water.
Modern people exclude financial giving from the guidance of the Spirit by holding our wallets above the water of baptism. We act as though Jesus has no claim over our finances, and thus lose out on spiritual maturity. – DJ
The first is that eight out of ten car wrecks involve drivers who are drowsy, chatting on a cell phone, applying makeup, or otherwise distracted from the road ahead, according to a government study that videotaped people behind the wheel.
And, duh, are we surprised? No. We even know that the other two of ten crashes involve people who drive the speed limit between here and St. Louis and get run over by drivers going 120 mph.
Distraction is a problem, certainly in the Christian life. Think about the following. The Holy Spirit is God at work in our lives, “the Renewer and Perfecter of God’s people, the one who makes real in us what God has done for us.” (So says A Declaration of Faith, my favorite modern-language statement of faith.) But how can the Holy Spirit renew and perfect us if we’re distracted, if we don’t pay attention to what God has done and is doing and will be doing in our lives?
We have to be alert to the Holy Spirit in our lives. “The Spirit makes us aware of our sinfulness and need, moves us to abandon our old way of life, persuades us to trust in Christ and adopt his way.” Are we paying attention or distracted? “We believe the Holy Spirit works today whenever believes grow toward maturity in Christ.” Are we struggling toward maturity or distracted by pettiness? The Holy Spirit gives “a diversity of abilities and functions.” Are we open to receiving such gifts and using them for the common good, or are we distracted by a life of leisure and being entertained?
The Holy Spirit renews and perfects us as individuals and as a church. And one thing I think the Spirit is saying to Grace involves the need for increased Christian education opportunities in an increasingly secular world. The session has recently approved our doing two things in the fall to address this need:
1) Go to a workshop rotational model for Children’s Sunday School.
2) Add the Alpha Program for adults, members and non-members, on a yet to be determined weeknight.
More info will be coming your way about these exciting and inspirational programs as we work between now and the fall.
The second concern has to do with how we exclude areas of our life from the guidance of the Spirit. We are no different from the soldiers of a European king who converted to Christianity. Not only did he become a Christian, but he decreed that all his soldiers become Christians also. How they were to follow the lifestyle of Jesus was explained to them prior to their baptism, and so when they went down to the river to be baptized, each one of them made sure that his sword hand didn’t go beneath the water. Why? So he could swing a sword apart from any claims of the Spirit. Jesus would have no relevance to waging war so long as their sword hands didn’t go beneath the water.
Modern people exclude financial giving from the guidance of the Spirit by holding our wallets above the water of baptism. We act as though Jesus has no claim over our finances, and thus lose out on spiritual maturity. – DJ
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Pastor's Column April 11, 2010
Two things.
The first is a caution. People often misuse scripture. For ex., Jesus’ saying, “He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me,” has often been misunderstood and used to justify un-Christian actions.
William Sloane Coffin says, “(This saying) is not really cruel. Loving Christ more than our fathers and mothers simply saves the love we have for our parents from idolatry. You remember the poem of Lovelace that goes,
I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Loved I not honor more.
“Substitute ‘Jesus’ for ‘honor’ and you have the formula for saving God-given mercies, our loved ones, from becoming a Satanic temptation: to think there’s nothing more. I don’t hear Christ asking us to pull the house down on the heads of our mothers and fathers, husbands, wives, and children. I hear him only reminding us that God, as the source of love, is the proper head of every loving household.”
Let’s be sure to do our homework regarding scripture.
The second thing is a reminder. “Fear kills a mind and soul by slowly obliterating the visions we hold for our lives. That we should not fall prey to fear is a constant theme in the scriptures. God does not want us to succumb to the chilling and killing aspects of fear; God encourages people not to be afraid of the circumstances in which they find themselves. It seems that one of God’s favorite themes is ‘Do not be afraid’ or ‘Do not fear.’ Perhaps God repeats this theme so often because we so often fear circumstances that confront us in our lives and ministries.
“God is not suggesting that we will not confront fearful realities in our lives. God is simply promising not to abandon us to fearful circumstance. God will go with us through the dark night of fear, danger, and uncertainty.
“Fear, left to eat away at us, finally brings us to a ‘little-death.’ We must not deny our fear or avoid dealing with the fearful moment. In scripture God never suggests an escapist attitude as an antidote for fear. The many ‘do not be afraid’ promises in scripture do not suggest that we shun the fearful prospects in which we find ourselves, but God consistently promises to be with us in the dark and ominous moment.”. – Norman Shawchuck.
The first is a caution. People often misuse scripture. For ex., Jesus’ saying, “He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me,” has often been misunderstood and used to justify un-Christian actions.
William Sloane Coffin says, “(This saying) is not really cruel. Loving Christ more than our fathers and mothers simply saves the love we have for our parents from idolatry. You remember the poem of Lovelace that goes,
I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Loved I not honor more.
“Substitute ‘Jesus’ for ‘honor’ and you have the formula for saving God-given mercies, our loved ones, from becoming a Satanic temptation: to think there’s nothing more. I don’t hear Christ asking us to pull the house down on the heads of our mothers and fathers, husbands, wives, and children. I hear him only reminding us that God, as the source of love, is the proper head of every loving household.”
Let’s be sure to do our homework regarding scripture.
The second thing is a reminder. “Fear kills a mind and soul by slowly obliterating the visions we hold for our lives. That we should not fall prey to fear is a constant theme in the scriptures. God does not want us to succumb to the chilling and killing aspects of fear; God encourages people not to be afraid of the circumstances in which they find themselves. It seems that one of God’s favorite themes is ‘Do not be afraid’ or ‘Do not fear.’ Perhaps God repeats this theme so often because we so often fear circumstances that confront us in our lives and ministries.
“God is not suggesting that we will not confront fearful realities in our lives. God is simply promising not to abandon us to fearful circumstance. God will go with us through the dark night of fear, danger, and uncertainty.
“Fear, left to eat away at us, finally brings us to a ‘little-death.’ We must not deny our fear or avoid dealing with the fearful moment. In scripture God never suggests an escapist attitude as an antidote for fear. The many ‘do not be afraid’ promises in scripture do not suggest that we shun the fearful prospects in which we find ourselves, but God consistently promises to be with us in the dark and ominous moment.”. – Norman Shawchuck.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Pastor's Column April 4 Easter
Presbyterians take a special collection called One Great Hour of Sharing at Easter. Funds collected go to support three programs.
One-third of the monies goes to support the Presbyterian Hunger Program, which helps feed people around the world, including displaced persons living in refugee camps.
Another third goes to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program, which is still at work helping those affected by the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. More recently funds from PDA have gone to help Haiti.
The final third of monies collected goes to the Presbyterian Self-Development of People Program, which helps people do for themselves, be it creating jobs or digging water wells. Digging wells will be the focus for a long time in that an estimated 1.1 billion of the world's people lack access to safe drinking water.
The One Great Hour of Sharing offering is in addition to our regular giving. Special envelopes are available in the pew racks, If you didn't bring your offering today, you can turn it in anytime soon. Just mark it OGHS Offering.
One-third of the monies goes to support the Presbyterian Hunger Program, which helps feed people around the world, including displaced persons living in refugee camps.
Another third goes to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program, which is still at work helping those affected by the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. More recently funds from PDA have gone to help Haiti.
The final third of monies collected goes to the Presbyterian Self-Development of People Program, which helps people do for themselves, be it creating jobs or digging water wells. Digging wells will be the focus for a long time in that an estimated 1.1 billion of the world's people lack access to safe drinking water.
The One Great Hour of Sharing offering is in addition to our regular giving. Special envelopes are available in the pew racks, If you didn't bring your offering today, you can turn it in anytime soon. Just mark it OGHS Offering.
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