I found this work by Ray Stedman and thought it might be helpful
Who Is God?
By Ray C. Stedman
God consists of three persons: Father, Son and Spirit. We cannot experience him in any other way. But though we usually list him as Father, Son and Spirit, the actual experience of God is different. We first meet the Son, by means of the Spirit, and then the Father.
The Father is the source. The Father is unseen, unknown, except as he continually embodies himself (makes himself visible) in the Son. The Son is who we see and hear and know. He is ceaselessly embodying the Father, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. He is perpetually revealing the Father, hitherto invisible.
The Father is logically first, but not chronologically. For the Son exists as long as the Father exists, and is coexistent with the Father. The Father acts through and in the Son. He makes himself visible only in the Son.
It is in the Son that the Father becomes a part of human life, and so is born and lives and dies in human life.
The Spirit, in turn, comes from the Son . He does not embody the Son. On the contrary, God, in issuing from the Son into the Spirit becomes invisible again. The Spirit proceeds silently, endlessly, invisibly from the Son.
But the Son is not the source of the Spirit which proceeds from him. The Father is the source of both the Son and the Spirit. Back of the Son is the Father out of which the Son comes. The Spirit issues and proceeds from the Father, through the Son.
The Son therefore comes out from the invisible Father and perpetually and ever-newly embodies the Father in visible, audible, livable form, and returns again into invisible God in the Spirit.
The Spirit acts invisibly. He continually influences us with regard to the Son. He casts light upon the Son. That is his great function. He helps us to live in the Son which we know, and with reference to the Father whom we expect to see.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
One True God
Thank God we have the Bible to teach us about who God is. It is truly amazing how the revelation of our God comes forth from the pages of His word. From the very first verse in Genesis we find God. "In the beginning God..."
God clearly teaches us that we are not to put any thing in front of Him. God says that our worship and focus should be Him and Him alone. We do not need the thoughts of men and religion but we do need the inspired word of God.
God teaches us the reality of who He is and has placed in everyone of us that knowledge.
Gods word directs us to the truth that Jesus is God. The God of creation is the God who provides our salvation. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of Peter, James and John.
God clearly teaches us that we are not to put any thing in front of Him. God says that our worship and focus should be Him and Him alone. We do not need the thoughts of men and religion but we do need the inspired word of God.
God teaches us the reality of who He is and has placed in everyone of us that knowledge.
Gods word directs us to the truth that Jesus is God. The God of creation is the God who provides our salvation. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of Peter, James and John.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
THE NAMES OF GOD
My next sermon series at Living Springs will be "The Names of God". In this series we will discover the Biblical meanings behind some of the names given to God. I Really believe this will be an important series because I am convinced people need to know there is only one true God.
The Bible clearly teaches monotheism(one God). As the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ we must teach the truth concerning the God of the Bible. To many people have a misconception about religion as it relates to who God is. Religion does not define who God is. Only the Bible, Gods Word, can give us the clear truth about God.
In This series we will look at both the Old and New Testaments. In this series we will be amazed at all that God has revealed about Himself through the scripture.
The Bible clearly teaches monotheism(one God). As the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ we must teach the truth concerning the God of the Bible. To many people have a misconception about religion as it relates to who God is. Religion does not define who God is. Only the Bible, Gods Word, can give us the clear truth about God.
In This series we will look at both the Old and New Testaments. In this series we will be amazed at all that God has revealed about Himself through the scripture.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
10 reasons to invite and not invite people to follows Christ at your church
I found these top 10 lists on Craig Groeschel's blog:
Why you should invite
1. Someone may be at church only once.
2. The Holy Spirit may have been working on them for months or years.
3. Even some churched people don’t understand the gospel.
4. Many trust in the church for salvation instead of trusting Christ.
5. Seeing others saved gives believers another reason to worship and motivation to witness.
6. New Christians can “light a church on fire.”
7. Angels in heaven get to party when one person meets Christ.
8. Hell is a real place.
9. You care deeply about people.
10. Families, workplaces, neighborhoods, cities, and generations could be different when one person meets Christ.
Why you won't invite
1. You are afraid of rejection.
2. You think everyone at church is already a believer.
3. You wouldn’t dream of offending someone.
4. You don’t really believe the gospel changes lives.
5. You are so busy preaching about how to "have a better life” that you don’t have time to present Christ.
6. You would rather tell another joke than spend time explaining the gospel.
7. You don’t want to be criticized for being narrow minded.
8. You care more about everyone feeling welcome than about their eternity.
9. You are embarrassed to talk a lot about Jesus.
10. You don’t really really believe the gospel yourself.
Why you should invite
1. Someone may be at church only once.
2. The Holy Spirit may have been working on them for months or years.
3. Even some churched people don’t understand the gospel.
4. Many trust in the church for salvation instead of trusting Christ.
5. Seeing others saved gives believers another reason to worship and motivation to witness.
6. New Christians can “light a church on fire.”
7. Angels in heaven get to party when one person meets Christ.
8. Hell is a real place.
9. You care deeply about people.
10. Families, workplaces, neighborhoods, cities, and generations could be different when one person meets Christ.
Why you won't invite
1. You are afraid of rejection.
2. You think everyone at church is already a believer.
3. You wouldn’t dream of offending someone.
4. You don’t really believe the gospel changes lives.
5. You are so busy preaching about how to "have a better life” that you don’t have time to present Christ.
6. You would rather tell another joke than spend time explaining the gospel.
7. You don’t want to be criticized for being narrow minded.
8. You care more about everyone feeling welcome than about their eternity.
9. You are embarrassed to talk a lot about Jesus.
10. You don’t really really believe the gospel yourself.
Monday, August 18, 2008
A Time for Everything"
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
the lukewarm church
In Revelations 3:14-22 we find the lukewarm church. They were neither hot or cold. Jesus tells this church to open the door to Him vs. 20.
These Christians had closed the door on Jesus. They were doing things in there way on there terms.This church was deeply distracted. This church had a warped perception of who they were.
They thought they were rich but Jesus says they were poor.
They thought they had vision but Jesus said they were blind.
They thought they looked good but Jesus said they were fooling themselves.
This church needed to let Jesus back into there lives.
They needed repentance
They needed a renewed vision of Christ
They needed to let Christ take control
These Christians had closed the door on Jesus. They were doing things in there way on there terms.This church was deeply distracted. This church had a warped perception of who they were.
They thought they were rich but Jesus says they were poor.
They thought they had vision but Jesus said they were blind.
They thought they looked good but Jesus said they were fooling themselves.
This church needed to let Jesus back into there lives.
They needed repentance
They needed a renewed vision of Christ
They needed to let Christ take control
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Zombie Church
Ray Steadman says of this zombie church "Mild-mannered people, meeting in mild-mannered ways, striving to be more mild-mannered."
Hollywood has given us a name for people like that: it calls them "Zombies" -- corpses that are alive, that walk about as though they are living but they are really dead. As we read this letter, we are looking at the First Zombie Church of Sardis! That word has been updated a bit recently.
Calvin Miller wrote "The Singer." He says:
Many Christians are really Christaholics and not disciples at all. Disciples are cross-bearers; they seek Christ. Christaholics seek happiness. Disciples dare to discipline themselves, and the demands they place on themselves leave them enjoying the happiness of their growth. Christaholics are escapists looking for a shortcut to Nirvana. Like drug addicts, they are trying to "bomb out" of their depressing world.
The church at Sardis, says our Lord, is a church that has a reputation to live, but is really dead. It is a church of Christaholics! But there was a time, apparently, when this church was alive, when it was filled with people who knew the Lord. Because they knew him, they served the homeless and the needy of the city. That is the way they won a reputation. They appeared to be a people committed to good works, but now there was no life there. Remember that Paul warns us of that condition in his great 13th chapter of First Corinthians. He says, "Though I speak in tongues, have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and knowledge, and have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal," (1 Corinthians 13:1-2 NIV). Here was a church that once had a great ministry but it had slipped away from them. It once had much impact in the city of Sardis, but now nothing is happening.
Dr. William Barclay has said: "A church is in danger of death when it begins to worship its own past; when it is more concerned with forms than with life; when it loves systems more than it loves Jesus; when it is more concerned with material than it is with spiritual things." This church in Sardis was so devoid of life that it actually had no struggles going on within it. Notice the difference between it and the other churches. There are no Jewish accusers of this church even though there was a large colony of Jews in the city of Sardis. They ignored the church, or perhaps did not even know of its existence. There were no false apostles here. There were no domineering Nicolaitans who needed to be guarded against. There were no female seducers, as at Thyatira. There was nothing! Zip -- that was the ministry of the church at Sardis!
Hollywood has given us a name for people like that: it calls them "Zombies" -- corpses that are alive, that walk about as though they are living but they are really dead. As we read this letter, we are looking at the First Zombie Church of Sardis! That word has been updated a bit recently.
Calvin Miller wrote "The Singer." He says:
Many Christians are really Christaholics and not disciples at all. Disciples are cross-bearers; they seek Christ. Christaholics seek happiness. Disciples dare to discipline themselves, and the demands they place on themselves leave them enjoying the happiness of their growth. Christaholics are escapists looking for a shortcut to Nirvana. Like drug addicts, they are trying to "bomb out" of their depressing world.
The church at Sardis, says our Lord, is a church that has a reputation to live, but is really dead. It is a church of Christaholics! But there was a time, apparently, when this church was alive, when it was filled with people who knew the Lord. Because they knew him, they served the homeless and the needy of the city. That is the way they won a reputation. They appeared to be a people committed to good works, but now there was no life there. Remember that Paul warns us of that condition in his great 13th chapter of First Corinthians. He says, "Though I speak in tongues, have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and knowledge, and have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal," (1 Corinthians 13:1-2 NIV). Here was a church that once had a great ministry but it had slipped away from them. It once had much impact in the city of Sardis, but now nothing is happening.
Dr. William Barclay has said: "A church is in danger of death when it begins to worship its own past; when it is more concerned with forms than with life; when it loves systems more than it loves Jesus; when it is more concerned with material than it is with spiritual things." This church in Sardis was so devoid of life that it actually had no struggles going on within it. Notice the difference between it and the other churches. There are no Jewish accusers of this church even though there was a large colony of Jews in the city of Sardis. They ignored the church, or perhaps did not even know of its existence. There were no false apostles here. There were no domineering Nicolaitans who needed to be guarded against. There were no female seducers, as at Thyatira. There was nothing! Zip -- that was the ministry of the church at Sardis!
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