The Apostles' Creed - God

I was very fortunate to grow up along the coast in CT.  My grandmother had a house right on Long Island Sound where we lived for 4 years and where I spent as much time as I could.  I grew up seeing the beauty of the ocean, the work of the tides and the power of the waves.  I was able to experience the wonder of nature all around me and the vastness of the universe when I looked up into the dark skies at night.  Looking at the amazing world around me, I never really doubted that there was a God but there are those who look around at the world and question how there can be a God.

There are people who look at the world and see poverty, injustice and the inhuman ways we treat people and ask how there can be any kind of loving and intelligent being behind it all.  When those who claim to believe in God are the ones who participate in the senseless violence and injustice we see, it makes believing in God that much more difficult for many.  According to the Pew Research Center the number of people who do not believe there is a God has almost doubled in recent years and the number of young people who do not believe there is a God continues to grow.

So when the Apostles’ Creed starts by saying, I believe in God… we are already beginning to separate ourselves from many others.  Believing that there is a God is not a given in our world and there is no scientific proof that God exists.  For centuries people have been trying to come up with some kind of evidence for God but we have none.  Some people try to use science to prove God is real while others use science to prove God is not real and the truth is that science will never settle the question for either side.  Adam Hamilton has said, The question of God is unlikely to be resolved by science.  Theists and atheists can look at the same data and reach different conclusions.

Some people have read Darwin’s theory of evolution and seen how science and the natural order can explain the existence and variety of life in this world without the need for God while others have seen in Darwin’s work gaping holes that can not be explained by anything other than God.  Some scientists can explain the beginning of life as the coming together of a variety of forces and elements at just the time and place in some sort of Big Bang while others have said that the probability of elements coming together by chance to create life is about 1 in 10 to the 40,000 power – which astronomer Fred Hoyle said would be similar to the chances of a gale force wind blowing through a junk yard and spontaneously assembling a Boeing 747.  Or as someone else has said; it would be like this cocoa, flour, sugar, eggs and oil assembling itself into a chocolate cake.

While in many ways the created world in which we live is the best evidence we have for God, there will always be those who will find some kind of natural explanation that satisfies their minds.  So believing in God can not be proved which means that believing in God is always a choice of our faith.  We choose to believe in that which we can not see.  Once we make this choice, however, God helps us see and experience more of himself so that our faith is made more certain.

Now the Apostles’ Creed doesn’t just tell us about the existence of God, it points us to the kind of God who exists, I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.  The God we believe in and trust is the God who in wisdom and power created all things but who is also the God who loves and has a relationship with all that he created.  God is our father.  For many of us it is by looking at the created world and our own personal connection with God that we are convinced about the truth of God.

Look at Psalm 19:1-4.  For those who are looking, the created order declares the work of God.  We hear the same thing in Romans 1:20.  God speaks through his creation and proclaims his power, creative spirit and love.  When we look at the glory of a sunset or the intricate beauty of a flower we can see the handiwork of God.  When we see the changing seasons or the moons gravitational effect which creates the tides, we see the amazing way God’s creation fits together so perfectly which reveals to us the intellect and wisdom of God.

Our faith in God can be strengthened and nurtured by how we look at creation, but it can also be formed by how we look at ourselves. Many people believe in God because they believe their entire existence points to something larger than themselves.  When I was a child growing up at the beach we lived far enough away from town and the local nuclear power plant (no joke) that it was very dark,  so I could see a lot of stars and even the faintest hint of the milky way.  I remember thinking how vast the universe was and how small I was and that feeling of insignificance didn’t push me from God it drew me in.  We hear something like this in Psalm 8:3-5.  The God who created the vast world gave birth to me as well.

Our faith and belief in God is also given birth and shaped by the experiences we have of God.  As a father or parent, God does not create and then walk away, God is by our side.  I believe in God because there are countless times when I have felt God’s presence and known beyond any doubt that God was with me.  Feeling loved and accepted and cared for by my home church, the people of God, was evidence of God’s reality.  Having God’s word come alive as I read it was evidence of God’s presence and guidance in my life.  Hearing God’s voice and feeling God’s joy, forgiveness, love and power all helped strength my belief in God the creator of the world and father of me.

Many times it is looking back that I have most clearly see the hand of God at work in my life.  The summer I worked in Yellowstone National Park I was supposed to work in area known as Lake.  When I arrived I was told I was going to work in Grant Village.  I was concerned because my ministry assignment was in the Lake area and I wasn’t sure what I would do.  The ministry team told me to just go work in Grant Village and hook up with the ministry people there - which I did.  Working with the team in Grant Village was one of the most profound experiences of my life.  I know it was God’s hand that worked it out for me to be there.

At the end of the summer I had to write an evaluation of my ministry and the verse that came to life for me was Romans 8:28.  God works for the good in all things for those who love Christ Jesus and are called according to his purpose.  God took the changing circumstance of that summer and put me right where he wanted me.  Some might have just said it was a coincidence or a lucky break but for me it was further proof that there was a God who created me and who loved me.  God knew what I needed and where I need to be and God moved things around to get me there.  All of this has helped me be able to say, I believe in God the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Why do you believe in God?  What have you seen or experienced in life that has helped you come to know and see the reality of God?  What helps you see God at work in your life and in the world and what gives you the assurance and conviction that God is real when you can’t see God?  It is important to identify these things because faith in God isn’t just something we should affirm it needs to be something we share.  Affirming our faith is important but are we willing to pass on this faith and help others see and experience the God who not only created them but loves them deeply.

Affirming our belief in God also needs to shape and direct how we live, all of our words, attitudes and actions.  The Apostles’ Creed is not just a statement of faith it needs to be the set of beliefs that guide what we say and do.  When we believe in God the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth it immediately changes our worldview.  If there is a God who created all things, then our place in the world changes.  No longer are we at the center of the world or even the center of our lives because we are not our own.  We are no longer the creator of our lives we are the creation.  As science and medicine continues to push the limits on creating life and cloning parts of the body, what does it mean to say that God is the maker and creator and that God is the father of all life?  There is a humility that comes when we believe in God and this is important for us to cling to in our world.  It is this humility that helps keep us from getting too proud and arrogant.

Yet as small and insignificant as we are – the God who created the world also created us then revealed himself to us.  In the Old Testament God revealed himself to Moses and shared with Moses his name - I AM.  God is the one who was before all things and created all things.  God is truly I AM.  In the New Testament, Jesus went even further in revealing God to us by telling us to call God, father.  If God is our father, then that makes us God’s children which means that we have value, worth and dignity.  God as our father means that all human beings have value, worth and dignity which shapes how we see people and how we treat people.  When we begin to see the image of God in ourselves and others, in shapes our attitude and actions.  

Because God values all life we are not to demean others or put them down.  If God is our father than all human beings are our brothers and sisters and part of our family.  If we are going to affirm that God is our father then there is no room for insults, bigotry, racism or sexism.  There is no room for placing ourselves above anyone else.  If God is the father of all then we need to learn how to do justice, practice loving kindness and overcome evil with good.  The golden rule of loving others becomes the guiding principle of our relationships because God is our father and we have been created in God’s image.

Believing in God as the creator of the world also gives direction to how we are to care for the world in which we live.  Let’s go back to Psalm 8:5-8.  God calls us to rule over all of creation which means that we are really stewards of creation.  A steward is a person who uses someone else’s resources wisely.  God has called us to care for the world which means we need to take seriously environmental issues and how to care for the world wisely.  Many people see 1970 as the beginning of the modern environmental movement with the formation of the first earth day.  It was around that time in school that we began to talk seriously about the R’s – reduce, reuse and recycle.

No matter what you may think of the Paris accords or man made climate change, being a Christian means taking seriously the call to care for the creation because this is not our world – it is God’s and we have been called to care for faithfully.  While we can hold vastly different views on things like our use of fossil fuels and alternative sources of energy, we all will be called to give an account of how we cared for God’s creation.  God is the creator and told us to rule over the creation with wisdom and to make sure we are using it all according to God’s will and purpose.

If we believe in the God that the Bible reveals to us, then we also know that we are never alone and that we are never without hope and help.  The Bible tells that God is with us, that God knows our lives intimately and that God is present to help us.  This is part of what Jesus tells us in his sermon on the mount.  Matthew 6:25-33.  As our father, God knows what we need and God will provide all that we need so we don’t need to worry.  The more we believe in God and trust God the more confident we become God the almighty is with us.

We can’t prove that God is real – it is a choice we make, it is a step of faith for us to say, I believe in God the father almighty, make of heaven and earth.  The more we affirm this and trust this, the more our eyes and hearts and minds and will be open to experiencing God.  Believing in God changes our lives and our destinies.  It keeps us humble and yet fills us with power.  It shapes our relationships and helps us work for peace and justice.  Believing in God reminds us that this world is not ours and yet we are called to rule over it with respect and care as if it belonged to us.

It is a simple statement that begins the Apostles’ and yet it is a profound statement of our faith that has huge implications on our lives and relationships and our place in this world.  Would you stand and join me as we affirm our faith together with the Apostles’ Creed.

 
Next Steps
Apostles’ Creed – God

1.  Since the existence of God cannot be proved, identify the reasons you choose to believe in God.
• How has the faith of others helped you believe in God?
• How can you help others believe in God?


2.  The Apostles’ Creed identifies God as both parent and creator.  What other ways might you describe God?  How do all of these words add to your understanding of who God is?


3.  Read Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20.   In what ways have you seen and experienced God through the power and wonder of creation?  What parts of creation speak most clearly to you about the existence of God?  How does creation point to God’s purpose and plan?


4.  God is described as our father (parent).
• What does this image tell us about God?
• What does this image tell us about us?
• How does this image shape and direct our relationship with God and others?


5.  If God is the creator of heaven and earth then we are the stewards of God’s creation.  In what ways can you more faithfully and intentionally care for God’s creation?  What specific steps can you take this week to be a better steward of all the earth’s resources?

The Apostles' Creed - I Believe

Today we are beginning a series looking at one of the foundations of our Christian faith – The Apostle’s Creed.  This creed is a statement of our faith that helps to outline what it is we believe about God.   The first word of the Creed in Latin is Credo which means: I Believe.

Now there are many things that we believe; some things are trivial and some things are eternal.  For example, I might say that I believe MSU is going to win the Big Ten Football title this year.  Now that belief is probably more my hope and desire than it is a fact and this belief might not be shared by many of you here.  So sometimes what we say we believe is really just an expression of our preference, but some beliefs go much deeper, like our social and political beliefs.

Political beliefs and passions run deep and people hold many different views.  I might say I believe smaller government is better than a larger bureaucracy or I might say I believe that the government is better equipped to manage more things in our society.  Our political beliefs are varied and they run deep in our lives and they might shape our decisions and actions a little more profoundly than what sports team we like, but they are still just statements of what we think is the best or the right way to live.

Then there are our religious beliefs.  These are the foundational truths we believe about God, ourselves and the world in which we live that cause us to live a certain way.  While we might see our beliefs as eternal truths that shape and guide our lives, the reality is that we cannot prove these beliefs which mean that things like Apostles’ Creed are really just statements of our faith.  The Bible says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen.  And so our religious beliefs are what we are sure and certain of but they cannot be seen or proved.

So when we start the Apostles’ Creed by saying, I believe, it is important for us to think about what we are affirming.  Is this just a statement of our preference or our convictions?  Is this what we think might be a better way to live or is this belief the one true way to know and experience God?  My hope is that the more we study this creed and the God it points to - the more we will be able to say with boldness, courage and certainty that this is what we believe - what we believe to be true and eternal for all the world.  

Before we look at the specifics of the creed, let’s think about where our beliefs actually come from and how they are formed and nurtured in our lives.  Why do you believe in God?  Where did your personal religious beliefs come from?  There is not one answer to this because our beliefs come from many different places but the most important factor in forming our beliefs is our family.

Our family has a huge impact on what we believe about all kinds of things from sports to religion.  Through our families we are exposed to the preferences, values and world views of our parents and their beliefs shape us.  When our parents value and believe in something, we tend to feel the same way.  My parents valued hard work and service and I wasn’t just told that those things were good, I was shown this to be true.  I could see in my parents a love of service that enriched their lives so I have come to believe that serving and loving others is important and an expression of faith.  

The importance of the family on our religious beliefs cannot be understated.  God created us to be in families and this was the place where we would be nurtured, cared for and formed and this was the place where we were to be educated in all things – including religion.  Religion was to be taught first and foremost in the family.  Long before there were churches, faith and trust in God was shared and taught through the family.  Parents were to teach their children about God.  Parents were to instruct their children in the way of faith.  In many ways the worship life of the church was to take place in the home with parents as the leaders.  Right after God gave the 10 Commandments to the people He said this, Deuteronomy 11:18-21.

In Proverbs 22:6 it says Train up a child in the way he should go.  Even when he is old he will not depart from it.  God created families to be the primary place where faith in God was learned
Since the most important people in the faith development of children are parents and grandparents, our faith needs to be talked about and lived out in our homes.  It’s not always easy for us to have spiritual conversations with our children and teens or model prayer and worship, study and service – but if passing on our faith to the next generation is important and if it is going to happen then we need to find ways to share our faith and religious beliefs with our children.

Beyond our families, our beliefs are also influence by friends.  While the foundation of my faith and trust in God came from my parents and family, it was friends and mentors I met along the way that also helped my faith grow.  One friend I met through Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship was very influential in my faith because he was the one who helped show me what it looked like to follow Jesus.  Dave was a mentor and friend who walked with me in so many ways and it was through his life, witness and love that I learned what it meant to trust and walk with Jesus.

It is Jesus who shows us the importance of friendships in sharing and strengthening faith.  The primary ministry of Jesus was not teaching, preaching or performing miracles, the primary ministry of Jesus was to walk with his disciples and help them believe in God and live into that faith and trust.  God did not send Jesus to develop a program to educate people about God or equip them to serve God, Jesus came to walk with people so that they could experience God and grow closer to God through that relationship.  The model of Jesus is still an important model for us to follow.  While programs and activities are important, there is nothing that deepens our faith more than a personal relationship with someone who can genuinely love us and encourage us to follow Jesus.

Think about your personal faith?  Can you name the people who have been influential in your own personal beliefs?  Can you name the people who helped shape who you are?  My guess is that most of us have been influenced more by people than by programs.
 
This is not to say that education through things like Sunday School, Bible Studies, VBS and small groups is not important – they are very important.  Education plays a big part in what we believe.  Many of our social, political, economic and religious beliefs have been shaped by what we have learned in school, church and from others.  Learning about God is important and that is why we are going to take some time these next few weeks to learn what it is we believe about God and Jesus and ourselves.

Families, friends and educational opportunities all shape our beliefs, but so does our experiences.  When we experience the majesty and wonder of God in creation, it deepens our view of God as creator.  When we experience the freedom that comes when we accept God’s forgiveness or when we forgive someone else, it helps us understand the power and importance of grace in our lives.  When we see injustice and feel compelled to do something and then feel the power of God at work in us when we act – we understand more fully the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

Since experiences shape our beliefs we need to put ourselves in places where we can experience God.  We need take part in worship, fellowship, study, prayer and service so that we can experience God and the kingdom of God because it will be those experiences that will strength what it is we believe. While we can learn everything there is to know about the church – it will always be lacking until we actually find ourselves as part of the church.

God uses all these different ways to help us believe.  Family, friends, education and experiences are all important ways we learn and grow and deepen our faith and all of these things need to be part of our journey through this series on the Apostles’ Creed.

So let’s look at the creed.  The earliest mention of this statement of faith is from the fourth century.  In a letter dated in 390 AD we hear about a document called the Symbol of the Apostles or the Old Roman Symbol.  Here is what it said:

I believe in God the Father almighty;
and in Christ Jesus His only Son, our Lord,
Who was born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
Who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended to heaven,
sits at the right hand of the Father,
whence He will come to judge the living and the dead;
and in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Church,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh
the life everlasting.

As you can see, this document contains much of what we call the Apostles’ Creed.  Since this finished statement of faith was included in a letter dated at the end of the fourth century, we know that for decades before this the early Christians had been working to figure out what it is they believed about God.  The life, death, resurrection and teaching of Jesus challenged many of the traditional views of God held by both Jews and Gentiles and so the followers of Jesus worked hard to outline and clarify what it meant to trust and believe in Jesus and this is one of the first documents they produced.

Legend says that each apostle gave one line of this creed, which is why we call it the Apostles’ Creed, but there is no evidence to back this up.  While the Apostles’ themselves may not have given us this creed line by line, it certainly expresses the faith of the Apostles’ and it is this creed that became the foundation on which all other creeds and much of the teaching of the church has been built.  Today the Apostles’ Creed continues to outline for us the foundation of what it is we believe as followers of Jesus.

It is important for us to see that the creed does not try to answer every theological question we have about God, Jesus, ourselves, the world in which we live and our eternal destinies.  The creed was not meant to answer all our questions but provide a foundation and framework for us to think about our faith.  What I find interesting about this creed is that the focus is clearly on God and not us, our future or our world.  The larger purpose of the creed is to draw our attention to the nature, work and glory of God.  It talks very little about us.  The creed does not tell us how to live out our faith or what is required of us as a follower of Jesus – it simply points us to God and assumes that the more we know God in all God’s glory – the more we will be drawn into the life that God has for us.

If we can make the focus of our lives and faith God and not us, then the glory, power and love of God will shape us.  When Jesus called people to have faith in him or to trust in and believe in him what he said was “Follow Me”.  Jesus didn’t give a list of things people had to do in order to believe, he gave them a person to look at.  If our focus can be on the fullness of God, then our lives will change, our faith will grow and our beliefs will become strong.

Look at Hebrews 12:2-3.  It is when we fix our eyes on Jesus and make God our focus that we grow stronger.  In many ways the Apostles’ Creed helps us do just this.  It helps fix our eyes on God.

So each week during this series we will affirm the Apostles’ Creed at some point during worship by saying it together.  While the hope is that we will be growing in our understanding of what we are saying, the other goal of sharing in the Apostles ’ Creed together is to help us keep our focus on the greatness, glory and grace of God.  So I invite you to stand as we affirm together our faith using the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker 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, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick 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.



Next Steps
The Apostles’ Creed ~  I Believe

1. Identify 3 basic believes you hold in life.  (These can be in the field of politics, economics, social or scientific views, even preferences in sports and entertainment.)  How did you come to hold these views?  Who and what helped shape them?

2. How have these factors contributed to your religious beliefs:
• Family
• Friends / Mentors
• Education
• Experiences
Which of these 4 have been most important in shaping your beliefs?

3.  Use the Apostles’ Creed to help you fix your eyes, heart and life on the glory and greatness of God.

Move Forward

Memorial Day is always a great weekend because it is the unofficial start of summer.  As a kid it was from here that we could really begin to count down the days until school was over.  We also got to cook out hamburgers and hotdogs and it was a day off of school.  While all of this is still great stuff, we always need to remember that Memorial Day needs to be a day to remember those who sacrificed for and served our nation.  It is a day to remember people like Lewis Smith and others who made the greatest sacrifice and died while serving our nation and the cause of freedom and justice around the world.

Memorial Day is also a day when we say thank you to those who have served and are still serving in our military.  So to those families who lost loved ones, to those who have served and to those we are still serving, we again say thank you.  With the dangers who see around the world, we know that military service is risky and a hardship for many families so the least we can do as a community is make sure we take every opportunity to say thank you for the service and witness that you and your families provide.

But within this holiday there needs to be something more.  We need to look at those who have served and sacrificed and learn how to make the witness of their lives – the foundation of our lives.  In addition to saying thank you, we need to take some time to readjust our lives so that service and sacrifice can be part of how we live.  After we honor and remember the lives of those who have gone before us we need to learn how to make their values and commitments the guiding force of our lives.  Memorial Day is a day to stop and look back to remember but it also needs to be a day to move forward and make the witness of what we have seen in the past part of what our lives will look like in the future.

The disciples were faced with a similar moment when several weeks after the resurrection of Jesus they stood on a hillside with him.  Luke 24:45-53.  This is the story of Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

The disciples are standing there in a moment of stunned silence and reflection looking up into heaven.  Perhaps they are giving thanks for all Jesus had done for them.  Maybe they were remembering the love and power that guided his life and through him = their lives, but it was not just a Memorial Day for the disciples, it was not just a day to reflect and remember, it was also a day to set a new course and live a new life.  It was a day to move forward.

In Acts 1, we hear that after Jesus ascended into heaven the disciples were standing around looking up and looking back.  They were looking up into heave and they were looking back to history.  They asked Jesus when he was going to restore the kingdom of Israel.  They were looking for a return of the good old days instead of looking forward to the new kingdom of God.  As they were looking up and back, two messengers suddenly appeared and asked them, why are you looking up into sky?  Jesus will return the same way he left.  If Jesus was going to return, then the question the disciples needed to wrestle with was how they were going to live until that day came.

• What will be the vision that guides them?
• What will be the values that shape them?
• What will be the power that moves them forward?

It might be interesting to ask these questions in light of Memorial Day.  Can the vision that guides us as a community and nation be one of service and sacrifice where we are willing to serve a cause greater than ourselves?  Can the values that shape us be the values of our military?  Do you know the core values the army?


Loyalty – Duty – Respect – Service – Honor – Integrity – Courage

These are great values that should shape our thoughts, words and actions.  In fact, if there was just one value here that I would love to see reinstated into our culture today it would be respect.  Respect for authority, leaders, parents, elders but also just a simple respect for one another as children of God and brothers and sisters.  If we could recapture this value as a community, nation and world then honor, courage, service and loyalty may return as well.

And as we reflect on Memorial Day, what will be the power that moves us forward?  The power that moved men and women throughout our history to sacrifice and serve was a love for country, freedom and justice.  It was the love for family and community that moved people to do more and be more than they ever thought possible.

Now what if we ask ourselves these questions in light of the ascension?

• What will be the vision that guides you?
• What will be the values that shape you?
• What will be the power that moves you forward?

The vision that was going to guide the disciples and the church was the vision of Jesus.  This vision was not just a looking back to the Jesus of history it was a vision of what it was going to mean to be the presence of Jesus in the world moving forward.  Today, when people look at us they need to see Jesus.  When they listen to us they need to hear Jesus and through us they need to experience the love and grace and power of Jesus.  Now let’s be clear, our witness to the world will be filled with pitfalls and problems.  We won’t say things the right way or at the right time, our efforts to help may be flawed and we may fall flat on our face at times, but if we are genuinely striving to be the presence of Jesus in the world – people will see Jesus in us

Look at Luke 24:46-48.  Jesus said, you are witnesses of these things.  The disciples actually did see these things but this also means they need to bear witness to them as well.  The disciples needed to move forward and share with others who Jesus was and they needed to be the presence of Jesus in the world.  The ascension tells us that we need to tell people about Jesus but more importantly, we need to be the presence of Jesus.  People need to witness Jesus in us.  This needs to be the vision that guides us.


Jesus also makes clear that one of the values that need to shape our lives is humility and grace.  Jesus said, repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations.  This means that we need to first seek repentance and forgiveness in our own lives which means humbling ourselves before God and confessing that we don’t always get it right and that, in fact, many times we get it wrong.  Humbling ourselves before God – repenting of our sins –shapes us and makes us more patient and gracious and forgiving toward others.  When we humble ourselves, God then fills us with his grace which helps us then offer God’s grace to others.

It is never enough for us to come and be forgiven – this grace needs to be preached to all nations – but we can’t preach it unless we are living it.  Have we received God’s grace and are we forgiving those who have sinned against us?  Are we forgiving those who have hurt us or intentionally or unintentionally?  Once grace shapes our lives and we are extending that grace and forgiveness to others we can then talk about.  If we aren’t forgiving others and if the value of grace is not evident in our lives then we can forget about preaching it.  It is our witness that speaks most powerfully.  The value of grace and mercy needs to shape our thoughts and actions and give light to our words as we move forward.

And then there’s the power – what is the power that moves us forward?  What is the power that motivates us and equips us and enables us to live far beyond what we thought was possible?  This power is not something we stir up in ourselves.  It is not emotion or sentimentality, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that God alone gives.  Jesus said, I am going to send you what my Father has promised: but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.  What Jesus is talking about here is the power of the Holy Spirit and once that power came upon the disciples they started moving forward to be the presence of Jesus in the world, to bear witness to all Jesus said and did and to offer the grace and love of God to all people.  They disciples did move forward and were effective because they moved forward in the power of God.

God still makes the power of His Holy Spirit available to us each and every day.  What moves us forward in life with strength and passion and conviction to live with and for God is the power of God’s spirit and the power of God’s spirit is working within us.  It is the power of God’s spirit that moved us to give generously and sacrificially to help our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone.  It was the movement of God’s spirit that stirred up so many people to not just give, but to give in ways they have never given before.  The spirit that moved us didn’t come from within – it came from God and as God moves in us and among us we need to keep asking God to move us forward.  God is doing something among us that doesn’t end with money given to Sierra Leone – it continues as we give more of ourselves to God.

God is not done with us yet – this is just the beginning and I am not talking about money for an offering, I am talking about God’s spirit moving among us to be the witness of Jesus in our families, community and world.  God’s spirit will shape us so that our lives will reflect more of  the love, grace and power of God.  Like the disciples standing on the hillside after the resurrection, I stand here today knowing that God is calling us to move forward with the power that He is sending so that we can be the fullness of Jesus in our world.  Can we, will we move forward?



Next Steps
Move Forward

Memorial Day
1. Take some time on Monday (and through this week) to reflect on the sacrificial giving of our men and women in the military.  Thank God for their witness and service and reach out to an active duty soldier, military family or veteran and say “THANK YOU.”

2. The Core Values of the U.S. Army are:
Loyalty – Duty – Respect – Service – Honor – Integrity – Courage
Choose one of these values to focus on this week and use it to shape your (and your families) thoughts, words and actions.


The Ascension of Jesus
1. Read about the Ascension of Jesus in Luke 24:45-53 and Acts 1:1-11.

2. The vision of the risen and glorified Jesus now led the disciples into the future – what is the vision of your life?
How can Jesus become the vision of your life and the vision of what people see in your life?

3. The message of repentance was what Jesus said would be preached until he returns.  In what areas of your life is repentance needed?  How can you offer forgiveness and grace to those in your life?

4. The disciples were told to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to come and lead them into the future.  Where do you feel the power of God’s Holy Spirit moving in you?  In what ways is the Holy Spirit leading you forward?  Take time this week to listen for God’s direction for your life and then ask for the power to move forward.

Now What? - FOLLOW

The gospel of John provides three stories that all come after the resurrection of Jesus and in their own way these stories help answer the question – Now What?  What does the resurrection mean for our lives?  Thomas tells us that the first thing we need is to have faith in the risen Jesus.  Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to his disciples but a week later he is able to see Jesus and it is Thomas who shows us what real  FAITH looks like.  Real faith loves God so completely that we are willing to take risks and even lay down our lives for Jesus and the work of Christ in the world.  Real faith is always wanting to learn more about God and real faith let’s go of sin and doubt so that we can believe in Jesus fully and experience the life God has for us.

Last week we learned from the disciples going back to FISH that the risen Jesus calls us back to the C.O.R.E. of our faith which is to Confess our insufficiency and acknowledge how much we need God, Obey what we already know of God, Run to Jesus and Eat at the table God has set for us or take advantage of all the resources God gives to strengthen our faith.

Today John finishes the story by telling us we need to FOLLOW the Risen Jesus.  John 21:15
-19.  John ends his story with a call for Peter to follow him and in some way this is a call for all of us to follow Jesus.  But John doesn’t just tell us to follow Jesus he teaches us what it means to follow.

There are two important things to learn about following Jesus from this story of Peter and Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee.  First, we see here that Peter is being forgiven.  When Jesus asks Peter 3 times, do you love me, Jesus is giving Peter 3 opportunities to seek forgiveness.  If we go back to the night Jesus was arrested, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus 3 times.  3 times Peter had failed to love Jesus and so here Jesus is giving Peter 3 opportunities to reaffirm his love.  Peter needs this to make amends and set things right in his own heart and live.  This time with Jesus gave Peter a chance to say, Lord you know that I love you, and it shows Peter that he is truly loved and forgiven by Jesus.

This experience of forgiveness is something we all need if we are going to follow Jesus.  Following Jesus doesn’t just mean that we affirm his teaching and try to faithfully live it out in our lives.  It doesn’t mean we follow the 10 commandments or live out the greatest commandment which is to love God and to love others.  Following Jesus means loving Jesus and part of loving Jesus means asking him to forgive us when we fail and when we turn away.  We all fail and so we all need to be forgiven.

I grew up in the church and I knew some things about God and who Jesus was and I honestly thought I was a pretty good person, but it was in college that I finally began to realize the depth of my own sin and failures.  I had to confess that I was not living in a good relationship with God and I needed God’s forgiveness.  I had to own up to my mistakes, confess my sin and begin to come to the place in my own life and heart where I was willing to put God first and really love God.  The question that Jesus asked Peter is asked of all of us.  Do we love God?  Do we love Jesus?  How would we truthfully answer that today?  Do we love God more than anyone else?  Do we love God more than ourselves?  Are we expressing that love to God in new and fresh ways every day?

So this story shows us that there is forgiveness that God offers and when we accept that – God’s love brings hope and new life, but this is just the beginning.  Once Peter has expressed his love to Jesus and been forgiven, Jesus says, feed my lambs.  Stepping into the forgiveness and love of God opened a door for Peter, a new life he was called to live.  Feeding others is now part of what it means for Peter to follow Jesus and while physically feeding those who are hungry is important, Jesus is not talking here about supplying people bread and fish, Jesus is talking about extending to people God’s love and grace.  Tending the sheep is a lifestyle marked by leading and guiding others to God so they can find for themselves the power of God’s grace and love.


By calling Peter to feed the lambs and tend the sheep, Jesus is saying that all who follow him are now the shepherds.  We are not the good shepherd, that is Jesus, but as followers of Jesus we are called to be shepherds.  The shepherd has many jobs and one of them is to seek and save the lost sheep.  When sheep wader away, the shepherded is the one who goes and looks for them and guides them back to the safety of green pastures. Part of what it means for us to follow Jesus is going out and seek and save the lost sheep.  We do this by going to those who are hurting, lost and alone and bringing them back to God.  We lift them on our shoulders; we carry them back to God so they can be forgiven, healed, restored and loved.  We bring people to God so they can find life.

This is not a new call for Peter, it is the reaffirmation of his original call.  3 years earlier, along the same shores of Galilee, Jesus called Peter to follow him.  Then Jesus told Peter to drop his nets and become a fisher of men and women.  Jesus was calling Peter to a life where he would bring people into a relationship with the living God.

For Peter, following Jesus was never just about his own personal life, it always included the lives of others.  Jesus came here to call people to follow God so anyone who follows Jesus has to be part of that same mission and purpose.  Peter was to call people to follow Jesus and here Jesus reaffirms that call.  An invitation to feed and tend the people of God means bringing people who are far from the good shepherd close to him.

To follow Jesus means that we also need to help others come close to the good shepherd, Jesus Christ.  Living out our faith is not just something we do personally and privately, it is a life and a lifestyle that invites others to come to God as well.  Jesus spent his life calling people to himself and through him to experience the fullness of God.  Jesus invited people to walk with him and experience God’s love that could change their lives.  If we are going to follow Jesus or if we are going to be a disciple then our lives have to do the same thing.  We may not be teachers and preachers and miracle workers, but our lives need to be an invitation for people to come closer to God.  Jesus was a disciple maker and so if we are going to follow Jesus we cannot just be a disciple we must also be a disciple maker.  We have to be a fisher of men and women and a shepherd of all God’s sheep.

Through the years we have made our faith such a private and personal thing that we have lost a vision of what it means for us to invite others to come to Jesus.  The old saying was that we were not to talk about religion or politics and while politics is wide open for people to share publically and passionately today, we are still  reluctant to do this with religion.  We are told to keep our faith to ourselves.  We hear about people being persecuted more and more for making their faith public whether in school or at work and we are really criticized when we encourage or invite others to check it what we believe and who we trust.

Students from elementary school through college are questioned for reading their bibles before or after classes.  We have grown leery of asking people if we can pray for them at because it might be considered a micro aggression and contribute to a hostile workplace.  We are afraid to let people know that we follow Jesus but can we be a follower of Jesus if we aren’t willing to invite others to follow him?

In many ways, this scene of Jesus and Peter walking along the shore begins to answer the question the disciples have been asking.  What Peter and the disciples are to now do is go forth and continue the work of Jesus.  They are to be the fishermen gathering people to God.  They are to be the shepherds leading people to the good shepherd and caring for the sheep.  They are to feed God’s people by giving them all that they need for a life of faith and they are to tend to the flock – the church, the people of God.

Their mission is also our mission.  The resurrection of Jesus means the same thing for us today as it did for the disciples 2000+ years ago.  We are to follow Jesus and that means being a fisher of men and women and it means being a shepherd of God’s people.  Following Jesus means we strive to a live a life that looks more and more like the life of Jesus and a life that invites the lost and alone, the broken and sinful to come and experience the grace, forgiveness and love of God.  So…  Now What?  Follow Jesus!

 
Next Steps
NOW WHAT? ~ FOLLOW

1.  Reread the three post-resurrection stories in John.
• John 20:24-29 – Thomas and FAITH
• John 21:1-14 – The Disciples and FISH
• John 21:15-19 – Peter and FOLLOW


2.  By asking Peter three times if he loved Him, Jesus was offering Peter forgiveness for his earlier failures.  What failures need to be forgiven in your life?


3.  If you were walking with Jesus along the beach and he asked you, “do you love me”, how might you respond?  In a sentence or two, write out your response to Jesus.


4.  How can you express your love to Jesus this week?


5.  Following Jesus means feeding God’s sheep and taking care of God’s lambs.  In what way is God calling you to fed and care for God’s people?  


6.  How is offering God’s love and grace to others part of this care and feeding?


7.  How can you make inviting people to experience God’s grace and love for themselves a regular part of your life?  How can sharing Jesus with others become a natural part of your life, faith and family?

8.  Take time to pray using the 7x7 prayer campaign.


7x7 Prayer Guide
As part of the 66th Annual National Day of Prayer, held this past week, we are inviting you to participate in this 7x7 personal prayer campaign.  We encourage you to pray for 7 centers of influence daily for 7 days. Simply set aside time in your car, during your coffee break, before bedtime, in you small study group, or whenever may work for you to PRAY.

Daniel 9:19 says, “HEAR US…FORGIVE US…HEAL US FOR THE GLORY OF YOUR GREAT NAME”.   We will see positive change by:

Praying for Families
Praying for the Military
Praying for the Government
Praying for Educators
Praying for the Media
Praying for Businesses
Praying for Churches
(Pray for Christian believers around the world,
the United Methodist Church and Faith Church)

As you pray, consider these words written by Dorothy Norwood and Alvin Darling in the song, “Somebody Prayed for Me.”

Somebody prayed for me,
Had me on their mind,
They took the time and prayed for me.
(Oh Yes they did, I’m so glad)
I’m so glad they prayed.

If you would like to be part of the Faith Church Prayer Chain,
please contact Darla Snyder at wegoustay@aol.com.