April 16, 2016

“I believe 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, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

“What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.” (Martin Luther’s explanation of the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed – Small Catechism)

“If now you are asked, What do you believe in the Second Article of Jesus Christ? answer briefly: I believe that Jesus Christ, true Son of God, has become my Lord. But what is it to become Lord? It is this, that He has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death, and all evil. For when we had been created by God the Father, and had received from Him all manner of good, the devil came and led us into disobedience, sin, death, and all evil, so that we fell under His wrath and displeasure and were doomed to eternal damnation, as we had merited and deserved. There was no counsel, help, or comfort until this only and eternal Son of God in His unfathomable goodness had compassion upon our misery and wretchedness, and came from heaven to help us.” (Large Catechism)

When we confess that we believe in Jesus Christ, we confess that we trust that Jesus is the Son of    G-d – and was crucified, died and rose again for our redemption. It is through Jesus Christ that we are saved from Sin, Death, and the Devil. G-d created all things. Jesus Christ redeemed all of creation through the events of the cross. It is to the feet of Jesus, as he hangs upon the cross, that we hold all of our hope for redemption. It is no minor thing to profess our hope, our faith, and our future in Jesus Christ.

And it is a mystery for us to believe – from the virgin birth to the many miracles and teachings, to his death on the cross and the resurrection. Through the relationship we have with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we should learn to love G-d more than life itself. And the answers to how we do that are in the details of that relationship. Are you willing to follow Christ our Shepherd no matter where that takes you? Are you ready to feed his sheep and tend his lambs? Are you ready to think of yourself last instead of first? The details are made clear through the mystery of the cross event, and our willingness to be in relationship with Christ our Shepherd. Are you ready to give all you have and all you are and all you will ever be to the Shepherd who gave his life for you? And are you ready for the depth of the mystery of how much this Shepherd loves his sheep?

This is the Jesus that we believe, trust and place our hope for eternal life.

Pastor Dave

April 15, 2016

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.”

“This portrays and sets forth most briefly what is the essence, will, activity, and work of God the Father. For since the Ten Commandments have taught that we are to have not more than one God, the question might be asked, What kind of a person is God? What does He do? How can we praise, or portray and describe Him, that He may be known? Now, that is taught in this and in the following article, so that the Creed is nothing else than the answer and confession of Christians arranged with respect to the First Commandment. As if you were to ask a little child: My dear, what sort of a God have you? What do you know of Him? he could say: This is my God: first, the Father, who has created heaven and earth; besides this only One I regard nothing else as God; for there is no one else who could create heaven and earth.” (Martin Luther’s explanation of the Apostle’s Creed from the Large Catechism)

A creed statement is an “I Believe” statement. To recite a creed is to recite what it is you profess “faith in” or express “loyalty to”. My maternal grandfather was a member of The Order of Red Men, which is a fraternal organization, whose rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed to be used by Native Americans. At one time, in the early 1900’s, they claimed a membership of almost 500,000. Today, there are only approximately 15,000 members. Their creed states in part:

“To connect in indissoluble bands of patriotic friendship citizens of known attachment to the political rights of human nature and the liberties of this country. Red men administer no oaths binding you to any political or religious creed. They bind neither your hands nor your feet. As you enter their wigwams so you depart a free man.” “If a stranger enter your abode welcome him and forget not always to mention the Great Spirit.”

As Martin Luther explains in the Large Catechism, a person may ask “What kind of person is G-d?” and “What does G-d do?” The answer comes in the form of the creed. The opening statement of the Apostle’s Creed says “I believe in G-d, the Father Almighty, creator heaven and earth.” So if we were to say what we know most about our G-d, is that there is only one, and that G-d created. What did G-d create? G-d created heaven and earth. G-d created everything.

Since the Apostle’s Creed is an “I Believe” statement, it seems natural that we begin with stating who we believe our G-d is – as mysterious as G-d remains to us. What we know, we profess – that G-d created us and everything around us.

Pastor Dave