Sermon 8-19-07 I believe pt 3, the apostles creed
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,[c] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[d] will not overcome it.[e] 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
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 Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on 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 Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.
Cesarea Philippi was a place of retreat
Here Jesus has a very impt conversation with his disciples
Who do you say that I am? Peter’s confession
Upon this rock I will build my church……..
peters confession strikes at the heart of the purpose of the church
The holy catholic church
the pope’s words about the extended church
lots of catholic leaders secretly wish these words had not been said…..
part 2……..I am going to Jerusalem to die…….get thee behind me satan
-not that peter is Satan
you are asking me to leave God’s purpose and follow human purpose
Jesus was tough on the people that followed him. He was honest and clear and expected them to stay on mission.
The danger of the church today….we get it, and then we forget it
Its about jesus and his purpose, opps no, now its about me and my purpose
When you become a Christian, something changes….
There is something inside of us that wants to give itself away
To look for that purpose outside of ourselves
What is the church
The church is not a building…….what will happen if a tornado destroys our church?
the church is the holder of doctrine, but it that is not it’s primary purpose
the church celebrates the holy scriptures, but that is not its primary purpose
The church exists to worship……….we give ourselves away to God
It is a selfless thing…not about getting, but giving
Gathering of people for a common purpose
Win the world for Jesus Christ
Side bar is that we care about each other along the way
Tough in a larger church
Need every small group to be looking out for its members…….
- to care for them
- to hold them to our mission
The church at its worst
Easier to tear down a good church than to build a good church
The 4 monks at union station
the church is not a country club
In a museum Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96 percent of the power generated was used to move the locomotive and only 4 percent was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that.
the church is not a museum. The church is ellis island
on being fed………
someone was leaving because they were not being fed
the church exists to worship……….we give ourselves away to God
it is an act of giving, not taking
What are we looking for in a church.
A place to be happy, or a place to be faithful?
Did mother teresa ever say, O, I am not being fed
If you want to be fed, it will never be enough
If you want to change the world in the name of Jesus Christ, lets join hands and go to work……
Prayer of st francis
It is a principle of the Christian faith
I lose myself to find myself
I Give, then I receive
The church at its best
Recognizes the identity and the purpose of Jesus
What made the early church tick?
Faith in Christ and a desire to give that away
They did not sit and wait for others to come to them….
They went to the ends of the earth
Is the purpose of the church to call us to be christlike……
Yes, then what did he do………he gave his life for a cause
What are you giving your life to?
What did Jesus mean when he said, come follow me?
In A successful church
The people are Spiritually engaged
People working to keep things good
They know and follow their mission
Conclusion
the church is not a haven for saints, it is a hospital for sinners
who wants to stay in the hospital forever
Jesus did not command the world to go to church. He commanded the church to go to the world
Next 10 years…..10 people into ministry-10 people into mission field
Bishop Bruce Blake noted the difference between the church as a tunnel and as a cave. A cave is an underground area where one goes in and comes out at the same place, the bishop observed. A tunnel, on the other hand, is where one goes in and comes out in a different place.
it is important that the church see itself as a tunnel and not a cave. If we come out of church at the same place we went in, then something is wrong.
We are brokers of the words of life….
We stand with peter who said, you are the Christ, the son of the living god.
Sign above church door. Now entering the mission field
Its about time that we started to think of ourselves as missionaries
Prayer of St. Francis
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[b] the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,[c] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[d] will not overcome it.[e] 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
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 Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on 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 Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.
Cesarea Philippi was a place of retreat
Here Jesus has a very impt conversation with his disciples
Who do you say that I am? Peter’s confession
Upon this rock I will build my church……..
peters confession strikes at the heart of the purpose of the church
The holy catholic church
the pope’s words about the extended church
lots of catholic leaders secretly wish these words had not been said…..
part 2……..I am going to Jerusalem to die…….get thee behind me satan
-not that peter is Satan
you are asking me to leave God’s purpose and follow human purpose
Jesus was tough on the people that followed him. He was honest and clear and expected them to stay on mission.
The danger of the church today….we get it, and then we forget it
Its about jesus and his purpose, opps no, now its about me and my purpose
When you become a Christian, something changes….
There is something inside of us that wants to give itself away
To look for that purpose outside of ourselves
What is the church
The church is not a building…….what will happen if a tornado destroys our church?
the church is the holder of doctrine, but it that is not it’s primary purpose
the church celebrates the holy scriptures, but that is not its primary purpose
The church exists to worship……….we give ourselves away to God
It is a selfless thing…not about getting, but giving
Gathering of people for a common purpose
Win the world for Jesus Christ
Side bar is that we care about each other along the way
Tough in a larger church
Need every small group to be looking out for its members…….
- to care for them
- to hold them to our mission
The church at its worst
Easier to tear down a good church than to build a good church
The 4 monks at union station
the church is not a country club
In a museum Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96 percent of the power generated was used to move the locomotive and only 4 percent was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that.
the church is not a museum. The church is ellis island
on being fed………
someone was leaving because they were not being fed
the church exists to worship……….we give ourselves away to God
it is an act of giving, not taking
What are we looking for in a church.
A place to be happy, or a place to be faithful?
Did mother teresa ever say, O, I am not being fed
If you want to be fed, it will never be enough
If you want to change the world in the name of Jesus Christ, lets join hands and go to work……
Prayer of st francis
It is a principle of the Christian faith
I lose myself to find myself
I Give, then I receive
The church at its best
Recognizes the identity and the purpose of Jesus
What made the early church tick?
Faith in Christ and a desire to give that away
They did not sit and wait for others to come to them….
They went to the ends of the earth
Is the purpose of the church to call us to be christlike……
Yes, then what did he do………he gave his life for a cause
What are you giving your life to?
What did Jesus mean when he said, come follow me?
In A successful church
The people are Spiritually engaged
People working to keep things good
They know and follow their mission
Conclusion
the church is not a haven for saints, it is a hospital for sinners
who wants to stay in the hospital forever
Jesus did not command the world to go to church. He commanded the church to go to the world
Next 10 years…..10 people into ministry-10 people into mission field
Bishop Bruce Blake noted the difference between the church as a tunnel and as a cave. A cave is an underground area where one goes in and comes out at the same place, the bishop observed. A tunnel, on the other hand, is where one goes in and comes out in a different place.
it is important that the church see itself as a tunnel and not a cave. If we come out of church at the same place we went in, then something is wrong.
We are brokers of the words of life….
We stand with peter who said, you are the Christ, the son of the living god.
Sign above church door. Now entering the mission field
Its about time that we started to think of ourselves as missionaries
Prayer of St. Francis
