Statement of Faith

I believe there is one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.   The Father is the creator of the heaven and the earth. The Son, Jesus Christ is everlasting and eternal, fully God and fully man. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Son and the Father to guide me and comfort me. The Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one.

I believe that Jesus Christ became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

I understand that Jesus left us with a new commandment which should be a guiding force in our lives; John 13:34 (NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” God is Love 1 John 4:8 (NIV) “Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.”

I believe that we are commissioned by Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit to Go and teach all nations, we must baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: we are required to teach them to observe all things. (Matthew 28: 19-20 NIV)

I believe that just as miracles happened during the time of the New Testament, so they still do today.

I believe that the Bible is the Living Word of God. “All Scripture is God- breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV)

During the development of my creed, I did some real exploration of my life and my faith. This doctrine is based on clear biblical principle and also explains my faith in a way that is easily understood by anyone who should read it.  Not only does it cover what I believe it shows the biblical sources for how I came to these truths. This creed does not end with just a statement of faith it also tells what to do with this faith and how we should live out our faith. 

The acknowledgement of the triune nature of God is recognized along with the importance of all three persons of the Trinity. We should never give more value to any one person of the Trinity as together that are all one God with equal value and power in all three persons.

Holy Spirit

Acts 2:17 (NIV) “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”

            Several years ago when I found my way back to God it was in a very different way than I had experienced before in my life. When I walked with God in my younger days, my journey was shown to me in visions of the futures. The Holy Spirit would show me what I did do next, and I would do it. It was simple, and I knew what God wanted me to do, and I did it.

I left the path God had for me for a very long time and went through many changes in my life. I came to a point in my life where I had to reach a point where I felt that I had lost everything and had nothing to live for. I was in my forties and hardened by the turmoils of life. It was then that I felt God drawing me closer to him again.

As I grew stronger in my faith, the Holy Spirit begin to Give me wisdom and to show me, in my dreams how to help and guide others. It is often said that the Holy Spirit is the most neglected person of the Trinity. I feel that He is the Person of the Trinity that we rely on most in our everyday walk as Christians.

I AM

In John 8:56-58 (NIV), Jesus says “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” This is a reference to Exodus 3:14 when God the father says “I AM WHO I AM.”

We often think of Jesus in the terms of his earthly existence and not his eternal life. It would be easy for us to think of him as just a good man. He was a man born to a mother named Mary and he grew up the son of a carpenter, I am sure that as a young boy he learned the skills taught to him by Joseph, and he may have been one of the brightest young carpenters in his town.

Jesus had friends, brothers, and cousins. He went to weddings and celebrated holidays with his family.  I’m sure he did a lot more stuff that is talked about in the Bible, in John 21:25 it says just that. I can picture him putting his carpenter skills to use helping and old man fix a leak in his roof while he shared the message of salvation and love.  On the merit of his actions alone, it would be fair to say that he was a great man.

When we go beyond the deeds that could have been performed by any ordinary man and begin to look for his wisdom and the miracles he performed that we start to see the divine nature of Jesus. It is this fully God divine nature of Jesus that testifies to his eternal existence.

Theology of Sin

In the Biblical perspective, sin is not only an act of wrong doing but a state of alienation from God. (Elwell, 2001) Because of the original sin of Adam we are born into a state of depravity. In the New International Version of the Bible, the word sin appears in the Gospel twenty times. So what is a sin? Eaton’s Bible Dictionary defines sin as “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (Easton, 1897).

Verses

1.      Matthew

6:14 for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you

12:31 and so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

13:41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil

18:15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over

2.      Mark

7:20-23 “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

3.      Luke

17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come

17:4 even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

4.      John

1:29 the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

8:7 when they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

8:11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

8:21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

8:34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

9:34 to this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out

9:41 to this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out

15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin

15:24 if I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

16:8 when he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment

16:9 about sin, because people do not believe in me;

19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Sin Key Verses

John 1:29 the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. John 18:34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. John 16:8 when he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. John 16:9 about sin, because people do not believe in me;

Luke 17: 1-4 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

Mark 7:20-23 “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Matthew 6:14 for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you

Summary

Because of the original sin of Adam, man is born into sin and depravity Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-24 NIV). We are all slaves to sin the same sin that separates us from God.  It is only through the Good News of the Gospel that we are forgiven of our sins and blessed by the grace of God. Just as we are forgiven of our sins, so we are to forgive others that sin against us. We need to show the love and grace that Jesus provides for us. Life, as we know it is tempory Life with the Lord, is eternal.

The Bridge Builder BY WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE

An old man going a lone highway,

Came, at the evening cold and gray,

To a chasm vast and deep and wide.

Through which was flowing a sullen tide

The old man crossed in the twilight dim,

The sullen stream had no fear for him;

But he turned when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,

“You are wasting your strength with building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day,

You never again will pass this way;

You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,

Why build this bridge at evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head;

“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,

“There followed after me to-day

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been as naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

Source: Father: An Anthology of Verse (EP Dutton & Company, 1931)

Servant Leaders

Life of a Pastor

To quote the famous poet Kermit the Frog “ It’s not easy being green.” In the song Kermit begins to tell about how hard life is in being green. When he reaches the end of the song, he says:

        When green is all there is to be

               It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why

               Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful

               And I think it's what I want to be[1]

This sums up the life of a pastor very well; it is hard, it is beautiful, and there is nothing I would rather be. The job of a pastor does not stop on Sunday. It is a way of life that calls one  to work twenty-four hours a day. The work of God does not stop at the doors of the church.

I grew up in the church because my father was a pastor, my brother is a pastor, and now I am a minister. This is not a job where a person just wakes up one morning and says” I think I will become a pastor.”. It requires a calling from God, Spiritual Gifts from God, and a love for others that comes only through knowing Christ.

The day of a pastor does not start  when he arrives at the office at 7:00 AM ; it starts hours before when he wakes up, grabs a cup of coffee, and walks out to the chair on his back porch to spend some quiet time in conversation with God to prepare himself for the activities of the day. Then it is off to the office. Sometimes it is an office at the church; other times it is just a home office, but either way the work day begins. It begins with checking and answering e-mail messages, posts, and checking out the news for current and local events. The pastor’s office duties may include counseling, board meetings, staff meetings, or staff training.

The pastor’s duties often take him outside the office. Activities range from hospital visitation to city council meetings. These duties can last into an evening at a local sporting event as he gives the invocation or an evening at a family’s home comforting them after a recent loss of a loved one.

The pastor’s job never stops. Because he is  a father and husband, he has to balance his duties as a pastor to include  an all- night  prayer vigiles or the 2:00AM call to the hospital. On Sunday morning at church, one should shake the hand of the pastor and tell him “thank you” for always being there for anyone who needs him.

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[1] "Bein' Green" (also known as "It's Not Easy Bein' Green") is a popular song written by Joe Raposo, originally performed by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog on both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. It was later covered by Frank Sinatra and other performers.