I just want to remind you that this is part two of the sixth Assembly of God statements of faith. I broke it into two parts for ease of posting.
Official Assembly of God Statement of Faith #6(second half)-The Lord's supper, consisting of the elements-bread and the fruit of the vine-is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial of His suffering and death, and a prophecy of His second coming, and is enjoined on all believers "until He come!"
As I explained yesterday, the belief of the Assembly of God church is that Holy Communion, or the Lord's supper, is considered to us to be an ordinance. That is, a command that has been given to us through the Word, that as Christians, we are expected to obey. It is not a requirement of our Christianity or something that makes us more Holy but is a simple act of obedience that we wish to do.
Communion is a symbol of our sharing in the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. God created us in His image and in 2 Peter 1:4(NIVC) it states, "Through His glory and goodness...you can share in being like God."
It is a memorial of His suffering and death. The bread reminds of His bodily sacrifice on the cross while the wine/juice helps us to remember His shed blood. 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 16 states, "The cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks is a participation in the blood of Christ. The bread that we break (is) a participation in the body of Christ." Some denominations believe that the bread and wine actually become His body and blood through transubstantiation. We simply believe that the bread and wine represent those two things, that they serve as a reminder to us of His body and blood, shed for us on the cross.
It is a prophecy of His second coming by reminding us that Jesus promised we would be with Him in glory. (Matthew 26:26-29)
And finally it is asked of all believers until He comes. This refers to the fact that this is a command, an order of Jesus to partake in if we want to walk in obedience. It is a visible representation of invisible realities. Communion reminds us that Jesus will come to take us home with Him to heaven.
"Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." -1 Corinthians 11:26
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Statement of Faith #6 Part 1-Water Baptism
Just to clarify, I am dividing the 6th Statement of Faith into two separate posts so I can cover the two parts-Water Baptism and Holy Communion-in more detail.
Official Assembly of God Statement of Faith #6(Part 1)-
*The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life.
In our church we believe that participation in water baptism and holy communion does not make us a Christian but rather they are symbols of what Christianity means to us. Let me explain, we believe that the two acts are ordinances while some denominations believe that baptism and communion are sacraments. An ordinance is an outward sign of an inward grace. It is a ceremony commanded by Christ and in the church as a part our public worship and prayer lives. The Assembly of God though believes that participation in the two ordinances is an act of obedience and that we do not become more holy or receive more grace by doing them.
In regards to water baptism, we believe that total immersion is scriptural. The root word of baptism is baptizo which means "to immerse." When being immersed, the water does not actually wash away our sin but it represents the washing away of sin and removal of our old selves. Coming up out of the water represents rising into our new Christian lives. The bible states in Romans 6:4, "We were buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
Because of the meaning of baptism to us, we do not feel it is a choice we can make for someone. This is why in our church, we wait to baptize until the person reaches the age of accountability and is able to make the choice of Christianity for himself. Often one will see older children or teens baptized but more commonly as an adult. Just this past Sunday in our church there were 19 baptisms. Only about 4 of them were children/teens.
When an infant or young child joins our church family at birth or through adoption we perform a child dedication ceremony. This is a time during which the child is welcomed into the family and the parents and church membership dedicate the child to God and pledge to raise the child in a Christian environment in hopes that the child will one day choose Christianity for herself. In Luke 2 Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple to be dedicated to the Lord.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." -Matthew 28:19
Official Assembly of God Statement of Faith #6(Part 1)-
*The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life.
In our church we believe that participation in water baptism and holy communion does not make us a Christian but rather they are symbols of what Christianity means to us. Let me explain, we believe that the two acts are ordinances while some denominations believe that baptism and communion are sacraments. An ordinance is an outward sign of an inward grace. It is a ceremony commanded by Christ and in the church as a part our public worship and prayer lives. The Assembly of God though believes that participation in the two ordinances is an act of obedience and that we do not become more holy or receive more grace by doing them.
In regards to water baptism, we believe that total immersion is scriptural. The root word of baptism is baptizo which means "to immerse." When being immersed, the water does not actually wash away our sin but it represents the washing away of sin and removal of our old selves. Coming up out of the water represents rising into our new Christian lives. The bible states in Romans 6:4, "We were buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
Because of the meaning of baptism to us, we do not feel it is a choice we can make for someone. This is why in our church, we wait to baptize until the person reaches the age of accountability and is able to make the choice of Christianity for himself. Often one will see older children or teens baptized but more commonly as an adult. Just this past Sunday in our church there were 19 baptisms. Only about 4 of them were children/teens.
When an infant or young child joins our church family at birth or through adoption we perform a child dedication ceremony. This is a time during which the child is welcomed into the family and the parents and church membership dedicate the child to God and pledge to raise the child in a Christian environment in hopes that the child will one day choose Christianity for herself. In Luke 2 Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple to be dedicated to the Lord.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." -Matthew 28:19
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Worless Wednesday
Here is the picture, promised awhile back, of Molly with her first quilt. The pattern is called Grandmother's Inspiration and the fabrics that Molly used came completely out of her Grandma Sharon's fabric stash. She cut the pieces with Grandma Sharon before the retreat weekend then pieced the quilt together that weekend. Then it was brought home pinned to the batting and backing where she quilted it, by herself and put the binding around the edge, including the hand stitching.
She is excited to be attending the next quilt retreat coming up in the end of March. She is going to be giving the quilt she makes then to a little girl we know whose house burned to the ground.
Good job, Molly!(And she's only 11)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Statement of Faith #5-The Salvation of Mankind
Official Assembly of God Statement of Faith #5-Mankind's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Conditions of salvation:Salvation is received through the repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost(Spirit), being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life. Evidence of Salvation:The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit. The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.
We learned in the last lesson that all have sinned and that the wages of sin is death.(Romans 6:23)In other words, death must be paid for our sin. God provided a way for our ransom to be paid so that we could continue to have spiritual life after our physical deaths by sending His son, the physical form of Himself and sinless because God is unable to sin. The sacrifice of Jesus is how we receive redemption.
However, there are conditions to receiving this salvation. Just believing in Jesus Christ is not enough. Even Satan believes in Jesus Christ and the demons know His name but they certainly are not able to receive salvation. We receive salvation by recognizing that we are a sinner and that we have a need for redemption and admitting that Jesus Christ is the answer to that.(Romans 10:9) In other words we Admit we are a sinner, we Believe that Jesus Christ is the answer and we Confess that.
Finally, our salvation will be evidenced by a personal knowledge, given to us through the Holy Spirit(Romans 8:16) and will also be shown on the outside by a changed and righteous life(Eph 4:22-24). Does this mean that all Christians never sin again? No. We are all sinners, saved by grace, who still struggle with temptation. We often make bad choices but it is important that we recognize those and repent of our wrongs.
Becoming saved then means that we have become a child of God, adopted into His family. We are now brought into a family relationship with God which gives us all of the rights and privileges of a natural child.(Titus 3:5-7)
This is the Good News!
"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:5-7
We learned in the last lesson that all have sinned and that the wages of sin is death.(Romans 6:23)In other words, death must be paid for our sin. God provided a way for our ransom to be paid so that we could continue to have spiritual life after our physical deaths by sending His son, the physical form of Himself and sinless because God is unable to sin. The sacrifice of Jesus is how we receive redemption.
However, there are conditions to receiving this salvation. Just believing in Jesus Christ is not enough. Even Satan believes in Jesus Christ and the demons know His name but they certainly are not able to receive salvation. We receive salvation by recognizing that we are a sinner and that we have a need for redemption and admitting that Jesus Christ is the answer to that.(Romans 10:9) In other words we Admit we are a sinner, we Believe that Jesus Christ is the answer and we Confess that.
Finally, our salvation will be evidenced by a personal knowledge, given to us through the Holy Spirit(Romans 8:16) and will also be shown on the outside by a changed and righteous life(Eph 4:22-24). Does this mean that all Christians never sin again? No. We are all sinners, saved by grace, who still struggle with temptation. We often make bad choices but it is important that we recognize those and repent of our wrongs.
Becoming saved then means that we have become a child of God, adopted into His family. We are now brought into a family relationship with God which gives us all of the rights and privileges of a natural child.(Titus 3:5-7)
This is the Good News!
"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:5-7
Monday, February 25, 2008
Statement of Faith #4-The Creation and Fall of Mankind
Official Assembly of God Statement of Faith #4-Man was created good and upright; for God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness." However, mankind, by voluntary transgression, fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
This is probably one of the saddest and hardest lessons that we have covered in class so far. In fact it is the saddest lesson we will learn. In Genesis 1:27 the bible tells us that God created mankind in His own image. Something interesting is that after each day of creation, God said, "It is good." However, after He created Adam and Eve, God said, "It is very good." God was very pleased with what He had created. When He breathed life into Adam, He placed inside of mankind an inner self that shares some of God's characteristics- intelligence, will(the power of choice), morality(the knowledge of right and wrong) and sensitivity(the ability to love and be loved. Everything was good.
Then Adam and Eve chose to sin by breaking a rule God had given them in the garden. Gen 3:6 tells of how they took fruit from the one tree He had asked them not to eat from. This was what brought sin into the world, causing all of mankind to be forever affected by that choice. Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Since then man has experienced hard work, sorrow, sickness and physical death. In addition to that man has experienced spiritual death and a separation from God. Physical death refers to the death of the body while spiritual death refers to the death and separation from God of the spirit. It is the part of us that connects and communicates with God.
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." Romans 5:12
But, there is hope! We will learn about that in Lesson #5!
This is probably one of the saddest and hardest lessons that we have covered in class so far. In fact it is the saddest lesson we will learn. In Genesis 1:27 the bible tells us that God created mankind in His own image. Something interesting is that after each day of creation, God said, "It is good." However, after He created Adam and Eve, God said, "It is very good." God was very pleased with what He had created. When He breathed life into Adam, He placed inside of mankind an inner self that shares some of God's characteristics- intelligence, will(the power of choice), morality(the knowledge of right and wrong) and sensitivity(the ability to love and be loved. Everything was good.
Then Adam and Eve chose to sin by breaking a rule God had given them in the garden. Gen 3:6 tells of how they took fruit from the one tree He had asked them not to eat from. This was what brought sin into the world, causing all of mankind to be forever affected by that choice. Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Since then man has experienced hard work, sorrow, sickness and physical death. In addition to that man has experienced spiritual death and a separation from God. Physical death refers to the death of the body while spiritual death refers to the death and separation from God of the spirit. It is the part of us that connects and communicates with God.
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." Romans 5:12
But, there is hope! We will learn about that in Lesson #5!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Statement of Faith #3-The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
Official Assembly of God Statement of Faith #3-The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare:His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His substitutionary work on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His exaltation to the right hand of God.
The deity, or kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ is another important belief to all Christian religions. According to the Bible, Jesus was born of a virgin(Matt. 1:23 and Luke 1:31-35), lived a sinless life (1Peter 2:22), and performed miracles (Acts 2:22 as well as many specific instances in the gospels). Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He came to the earth to show us not just who He is but to provide a bridge for the gap that man has created between himself and God through sin. It is because of His sinless life that He was able to do his work on the cross(2 Cor. 5:21)and after He died he was physically resurrected(Matt. 28:6 and Luke 24:39). After appearing to many He was then exalted or raised to the right hand of God(Acts 2:32, 33, Phil. 2:9-10 and Hebrews 1:3)
There are many who do not believe that Jesus is God or that He was only a good man or a prophet at best. When one reads the Old Testament there are dozens of prophecies about the coming Messiah. The prophecies include the circumstances surrounding His birth, where He would be from, the family line He would be from and even how He would die. It is possible for a person to fulfill one or two of these specific prophecies through coincidence but the possibilities of fulfilling more drop dramatically. Here is one site that explains it more thoroughly. According to many experts, the odds of Jesus fulfilling only eight of these prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000! There were over 300 prophecies about the Messiah that Jesus Christ fulfilled. How can one even compute the odds of that!
Lord-this word indicates His position as King and supreme authority in our lives
Jesus-His name, we are acknowledging that He was fully man
Christ-this indicates His function as savior of mankind, we are acknowledging that He is fully God
2 Peter 3:18 "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
The deity, or kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ is another important belief to all Christian religions. According to the Bible, Jesus was born of a virgin(Matt. 1:23 and Luke 1:31-35), lived a sinless life (1Peter 2:22), and performed miracles (Acts 2:22 as well as many specific instances in the gospels). Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He came to the earth to show us not just who He is but to provide a bridge for the gap that man has created between himself and God through sin. It is because of His sinless life that He was able to do his work on the cross(2 Cor. 5:21)and after He died he was physically resurrected(Matt. 28:6 and Luke 24:39). After appearing to many He was then exalted or raised to the right hand of God(Acts 2:32, 33, Phil. 2:9-10 and Hebrews 1:3)
There are many who do not believe that Jesus is God or that He was only a good man or a prophet at best. When one reads the Old Testament there are dozens of prophecies about the coming Messiah. The prophecies include the circumstances surrounding His birth, where He would be from, the family line He would be from and even how He would die. It is possible for a person to fulfill one or two of these specific prophecies through coincidence but the possibilities of fulfilling more drop dramatically. Here is one site that explains it more thoroughly. According to many experts, the odds of Jesus fulfilling only eight of these prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000! There were over 300 prophecies about the Messiah that Jesus Christ fulfilled. How can one even compute the odds of that!
Lord-this word indicates His position as King and supreme authority in our lives
Jesus-His name, we are acknowledging that He was fully man
Christ-this indicates His function as savior of mankind, we are acknowledging that He is fully God
2 Peter 3:18 "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Statement of Faith #2-One True God-Three in One
Official Assembly of God Statement of Faith #2-One True God-Three in One-The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
This doctrine is the basis of Christianity. God the Father, Jesus the man and the Holy Ghost/Spirit are all the same. This is also one of the most difficult for humans to truly understand. How can three things be one? Or for that matter, how can one thing, be three?
Think of water-it can come in three different forms-water(liquid), ice(solid) and steam(gas). How about people? We each have three different parts-our physical body, our mind or soul(what we think with) and our spirit(the part that lives eternally). Each of us as an individual serves many diferent roles. For example I am a mom, a daughter and a wife(as well as many others). Each of those parts of me make me who I am and each of those parts of me communicate with each other to best serve my purpose for the moment. Looking at it this way helps me to better understand the Holy Trinity.
Genesis 1:1 and 2 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Then in John 1:1-4 it states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men." These verses tell me that God/the Word and the Holy Spirit are the same entity.
Next we can read in Matthew 1:14a, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." So if God is the Spirit (Gen 1:1-2) and the Word (John 1:1-4) and the Word became flesh (John 1:14) then that tells me that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all one in the same. Just as I fulfill more than one role for different tasks so does God.
God is the all-powerful, Creator who took on the form of man as Jesus to fulfill the role of redeemer to mankind by dying on a cross to pay for our sins. Then after leaving the earth in bodily form He comes to us as the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) to guide us and speak to us through our spirits. Three different purposes, three different forms but all of the same entity.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14
This doctrine is the basis of Christianity. God the Father, Jesus the man and the Holy Ghost/Spirit are all the same. This is also one of the most difficult for humans to truly understand. How can three things be one? Or for that matter, how can one thing, be three?
Think of water-it can come in three different forms-water(liquid), ice(solid) and steam(gas). How about people? We each have three different parts-our physical body, our mind or soul(what we think with) and our spirit(the part that lives eternally). Each of us as an individual serves many diferent roles. For example I am a mom, a daughter and a wife(as well as many others). Each of those parts of me make me who I am and each of those parts of me communicate with each other to best serve my purpose for the moment. Looking at it this way helps me to better understand the Holy Trinity.
Genesis 1:1 and 2 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Then in John 1:1-4 it states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men." These verses tell me that God/the Word and the Holy Spirit are the same entity.
Next we can read in Matthew 1:14a, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." So if God is the Spirit (Gen 1:1-2) and the Word (John 1:1-4) and the Word became flesh (John 1:14) then that tells me that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all one in the same. Just as I fulfill more than one role for different tasks so does God.
God is the all-powerful, Creator who took on the form of man as Jesus to fulfill the role of redeemer to mankind by dying on a cross to pay for our sins. Then after leaving the earth in bodily form He comes to us as the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) to guide us and speak to us through our spirits. Three different purposes, three different forms but all of the same entity.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14
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