Essentials II - Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is God's son, whom he sent to this earth do die for our sins. He set aside the old law and introduced a new covenant.

This is another easy one, for me. This is the message we have to get to the world. God loved us so much that he sent his own son down from heaven and put him to death on a cross so that we could be saved!

Matthew 3:16,17 states "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." God spoke these words immediately after Christ was baptized.

1 Peter 2:24,25

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you
were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and
Overseer of your souls."

1 John 2:1,2

"...we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the
Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world. "

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 0For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Essentials I - Baptism

Baptism for remission of sins by immersion is required for salvation.

For me, this one is a "no-brainer" and right at the top of the list. The New Testament is full of references to baptisms and tells us that we must be baptized to be saved. There is no getting around it and no getting into heaven without it. (Please, spare me the wild, extreme "what if's" that seem to come after a statement such as this).

Let's start with Mark 16:16

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not
believe will be condemned."

After Peter preached to the multitude at Pentecost in Acts 2, Acts 2:37-39 tells us that the people there asked "what shall we do?" and the answer was clear "Repent and be baptized". Paul went on to say that this was for "...you and your children and for all who are far off..." telling US that this commandment was for us.

Some might use the passage about Paul and Silas in prison in Acts to prove otherwise. Acts 16:29-34 asks the question "what must I do to be saved?" Paul says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved", but what happens next? "...then immediately he and all his family were baptized..." Paul took them at that "late hour" and baptized them, they were baptized as part of their step toward salvation.

Enough said here, this is really basic. God requires us to be baptized, to die to our old self and come up new.

Essentials

A WORK IN PROGRESS... I will be updating this list as I am studying.

OK, so my wife and I are "testing the waters" by visting a Christian Church. Decidedly, this is not the same as looking for a different Church of Christ congregation. When looking for another congregation we can assume some basics about a congregation. Some "common ground" consistent with other Churches of Christ. The other stuff we have looked for were things that (for the most part) were "nice to have".

Looking at a different Church as made us examine this in a whole different way. We have to start from the beginning. We have made a list of the things a that are "essential" and why. This is an "exercise" that we have not had to go through before, but I believe it will be very rewarding. In this series, I will document this list.

Should be interesting...

BTW, these are in NO PARTICULAR ORDER.

Reinvention II

What do you do when you realize you are at a cross road of your life and you know which way you need to go, but it's different than what you would have done before, different than your parents, different than (many of) your friends, different than the teaching of a hundred preachers you have listened to in 10,000 sermons...

...and you finally feel peace...

...you finally feel confident and more sure about your direction than in the hundreds of cross roads before it...

What do you do?

You take the first step and grasp God's hand like a child holding on to daddy's hand while taking those first steps, like you felt when mommy was pushing you on your bike for that first time...

You hang on and take the first step, looking forward, knowing that God is holding right back. You feel his warm, strong, secure hand and you know that he knows EXACTLY where he is going and that he will not let you go the wrong way. Just like your dad, expertly moving through a crowd holding your hand, leading you through what seems to you as utter chaos to the right place. As long as you hold on to his hand.

The questions from friends and family will come later, but you already know the answers...

Reinvention...

Full Circle

So, the other day I'm in the theater and "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" is starting on the screen. The big "Star Wars" comes on the screen and the text is moving up the screen setting up the story...and I get goose bumps...

But, not necessarily for the reason that George Lucas had in mind. You see, it was then that it hit me that 29 years ago, I watched the same opening for the first time as a 13-year-old. It was amazing then and it was amazing now...because sitting next to me was my 9-year-old son and my 16-year-old son. Wow...

As the movie went on and all of these "loose ends" kept on tying themselves up in my head (like, how Leah ended up in the middle of the Rebels and how Anakin ended up in a big, black suit) I kept thinking that the movie and my Star Wars experience has come full circle. I started it alone as a very young and overwhelmed teenager and ended up a 42-year-old father of two boys. The last experience was just as cool (or more so) than the first.

Full Circle.