Transfiguration
The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes a picture can simply remove the need for words. In some ways, words can carry more than a picture can. A picture cannot describe the emotion as well as words can. With a movie, you are an onlooker, however, in a book, it pulls you into the pages, and you use your imagination to be in the story. However, even with words and pictures, some things cannot be
And from the Son
The Filioque clause, comes from the Latin phrase which means “and from the Son” was added in the 6th century. This was not in the original creed as written in 325 in Nicaea or 381 in Constantinople. This was officially incorporated into the liturgical practice of the Latin speaking churches in the West (Centered around Rome) in 1014. Although this was not the sole reason for the East and the West to separate, it was a piece of the puzzle.
Suffer Many Things
Peter has made the glorious confession that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8:29). However, now comes the teaching about what the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, had come to do. Many people believed he would be a military leader who would come and establish the kingdom of Israel as David had done. They would be set free from the oppression of the Roman Empire, they would have their own land again, and their own King. They saw the promises of God
Who proceedeth from the Father
The line of the Nicene creed comes straight from John 15:26, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” Just as we discussed regarding the Son, the second person of the Trinity is eternally begotten (not made) Son of God. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son (more on
Who do you Say that I Am?
We come now to a passage that is known as the hinge of the gospel. A point in which everything changes direction. You might have had 'hinge moments' in your life. If you look back on your life, you notice that many things would be very different if that event did not happen. For me, my life would look drastically different if I had never met Sarah. That day in December 2010 was a hinge moment in my life. We
Lord and Giver of Life
The Holy Spirit, you could say, is the most misunderstood person in the Godhead. Although not perfectly we have the concept God as our creator and redeemer. Much of theological discussion has centered around Christology or Theology, many systematic volumes spend little time on the Holy Spirit, in one chapter (this I believe is because the work of the Holy Spirit is the tread which ties many of the chapters together, as we will mention below with inseparable operations). Jesus explains
Seeing and Believing
Seeing is believing, as the proverb says. As the proverb says, the only way that one can truly believe is to see. However, we know this to be false. The eye can play tricks on your brain, such as optical illusions. Just because I see a man pull a bunny out of an empty hat does not mean I am a 'believer.' All things require faith in something. The proverb seeing is believing requires faith in your eyesight to reflect
Holy Spirit in the Westminster Confession of Faith
Below is a summary of the Holy Spirit as found in the Westminster Confession of Faith. You could also expand this post to include the larger and shorter catechisms, but for the sake of time, we will limit ourselves to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son (1 John 5:7; Matt 3:16-17; 2 Cor 13:14 cf. WCF 2.3). The nature of continuing revelation has ceased after
Feeding of the Four Thousand
Feeding of the Four Thousand (Mark 8:1-9) In my short time as being a pastor, I have had a few moments of absolute shock and fear as I begin the scripture reading and a sense of Déjà vu comes sweeping across my mind. I think to myself, have I preached or taught this text already. Have I pulled up the wrong sermon notes? Did I print out last week’s bulletin? These moments are often short-lived. When we read the Bible as
And in the Holy Ghost
First, let us begin with an understanding of the word Ghost or Spirit. This is a difference in the English language and shows the progression of words. The Holy Ghost was used in the 1611 King James Version of the Bible. The Holy Ghost is translated 90 times in the KJV, and Holy Spirit is only translated seven times. Ghost today has taken on a broader semantic range than in 1611; ghost used to mean "an immaterial being"; however, today,
