Pastor Jonah Sage preached from 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. He said that creeds tell us what to say as Jesus' witnesses. Lector: Meagan Baker
Pastor Jonah Sage preached from 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. He said that creeds tell us what to say as Jesus' witnesses.
Lector: Meagan Baker
Our words contain the power of life
Since we are made in God's image, our words have a power that is like his
Like God, our words can create and form.
A timely encouragement, a word of affirmation, shape who we are and how we live
A word of confidence can motivate and inspire
But as our lives and relationships get more complicated...do you ever find yourself unsure what to say?
I want to be encouraging...but how? Don't want to fake it...
I want to connect with my spouse or my teenager, but how?
I want to talk to my parents...but how?
And how often, in those tense moments, do you find yourself wanting to talk about Jesus.
Since you're here, there must be something you find attractive about Jesus.
The way he spoke to those on the margins, the discouraged and overwhelmed...
I want to talk like Jesus, I want to talk about Jesus...but I often dont' know what to say
Try to imagine how hard this was for the early church.
Some people were eye witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Some of these people were breathtakingly intelligent, like Paul.
Some had incredible wealth and influence, like Lydia.
Some had almost no education and worked a blue collar job, like Peter.
And they were sent to people just like them...all kinds of people.
To good families and broken ones. To sick people and healthy, poor and wealthy, the home schooled and good schooled and NO schooled...it went everywhere
How did they know WHAT to say?
Creeds form guardrails for thriving relationships, that includes guardrails for our words
Creeds give us the words to say as Jesus' witnesses.
It's really popular these days to argue that Christians didn't really know what to say for a few hundred years.
You'll hear people say "some men got together and just DECIDED what was the Bible"
Bunch of dudes sat in a room and made up Christianity a few hundred years after Jesus' alleged resurrection.
That's simply not true. Pastor Bobby wrote a one page overview about this, you can find it in the app for free.
But you don't need an article by a pastor to tell you this, because we have this beautiful window into what Christian's were saying and believing before the Bible was written.
In the New Testament, just like the Old we saw last week, we find creeds.
Simple, memorable summaries of what Christians believed. Why did they do this?
Because the NT wasn't written yet, and word had to spread.
Why did it have to spread? BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD NEWS FOR THEM!
Not just for us inside the church, but for everyone out there.
Creeds tell us what to say as Jesus' witnesses.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that our culture is so much more complex, either.
The creeds defined what was most important for the early church, and it thus shaped what they talked about.
Do we go and argue with the Romans about slavery and sexuality? Do we talk to the Greeks about politics? Do we talk to the Asians about gender roles? What do we say?
Throughout the NT, we find the answer in the form of creeds.
They tell us what is most important, where to start the conversation
Listen to the intro of this creed:
I passed on to you what was MOST IMPORTANT and what had also been passed on to me.
-1 Corinthians 15:3
Two things you have to see about creeds.
So...let's take a peak into what the first Christian's were talking about:
Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and alter by all the apostles.
-1 Corinthians 15:3-7
Can you feel the rhythm of it? How long would it take you to memorize this?
10 minutes? Try to imagine the power of these words in our relationships.
Often, when someone finds out I'm a pastor, or perhaps when someone finds out you go to church, the dreaded question comes
"What does your church think about such and such issue of the day?"
What does your church think about being transgender? Homosexuality? Pres. Trump or Pres. Biden? The topics change every 20 years or so, but it's always something.
Don't you feel the tension in those questions? Feel the tension in the room now?
Questions like that tend to be about building walls, not bridges. They are tests, not invitations.
Those questions feel like someone slowly un-holstering loaded guns, ready to fight.
What should you say?
Well...a great response is "I'm curious, who do you think Jesus is?"
Do you notice how everything about this early NT Creed is about Jesus?
It is about who he is and what he's done.
Questions of morality and ethics are pointless without answering this first.
Who do you say Jesus of Nazareth is?
"A good moral teacher" is a common response.
"Interesting..." enter the Creed!
"I believe he died for our sins..." maybe you get to say what sin is, what it does, and what it reveals about God's incredible love for us!
"He was buried..." there goes the good moral teacher argument. He was executed!
"And he was raised!" He's more than a carpenter, amen?!
Just as the Scriptures said...in little more than 1 verse, you have the entire fabric of God's gospel.
We have a Bible we can trust, filled with promises made and promises fulfilled.
It tells us we have a God who loves us so much he pursues us.
He died for us to purify us of sin, he rose to prove once and for all who he is
Need more? "He was seen by Peter..." real humans, real eye witnesses.
People you could talk to or question...this is a real event in real human history.
So...who do you say Jesus is?
What we believe is shaped by Jesus who we confess to be LORD
Creeds tell us what to say as Jesus' witnesses!
Not just a good teacher, though certainly that
Not just a moral man, though certainly that!
But God from God, LIGHT FROM LIGHT, True God from True God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made...do you see?
Oh there are so many questions for us out there, Church.
So many stumbling blocks, so much confusion that gives way to chaos.
The Creeds are guardrails not only for thriving relationships, but for clear and powerful communication.
I'll let you in on a little secret. Come close and listen carefully.
I am confused most of the time.
How much screen time should your kids have? When should your kids have a phone? Home school? Montessori? Public? Private?
How much sugar is it OK to eat? What about preservatives? Supplements or prescriptions? What do you do when you're terrified of the economics of the LEFT and horrified by the ethics of the RIGHT?
I don't know you guys. I just don't know. And when I'm confused, oh I'm anxious.
I get scared, and I grasp for control. I over think, over analyze, and I can't act.
Can you see how powerfully clarifying the Creeds are?
They tell us what to say as Jesus' witnesses!
They provide us the answers we most need. Consider the Nicene Creed:
For us, and for our salvation, he came down from heaven.
Is that good news? IS THAT GOOD NEWS? God came near!
When I'm confused and scared, I need to be reminded that I am also loved and safe
Into our chaos and uncertainty, he came near.
Did he come to criticize, condemn, crush?
He was crucified for us under Pontus Pilate; he suffered and was buried
He came near to suffer for us. Why? Because he LOVES US.
Desperately, passionately, unfailingly steadfast in his love for us.
When I am confused and scared, I need the powerful, grounding, clarifying reality of God's love for me in Jesus Christ
On the third day, he rose again...
He is more than a carpenter. His love for us got him killed...but it also got him raised
If you are loved this way by the creator of all that is...whom then shall we fear?
The creeds provide us with powerfully clear words, good news for us and good news for them.
Listen. You don't have to have all the answers. You just have to have Jesus.
You're able to say things like, "that's a great question, and I don't know. I know Jesus loves us, so maybe we could follow him together to try and learn..."
Remember who Jesus says we are:
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere
-Acts 1:7-8
And do you know what the apostles and early church went and did?
They announced what they experienced, what they WITNESSED...that's it!
They experienced something and shared what they experienced.
In every sermon of the book of Acts we find the resurrection.
The only event in every single one. It was eye-witness testimony being shared.
This resurrection changes everything. It means Jesus is who he said he is.
It means he loves us and invites us near. It means we have a place to bring our questions and confusions to find peace.
And it means we have everything we need to say everything we're supposed to
We have good news, church. You have good news.
The Creeds tell us what to say as Jesus' witnesses
Come near to our Lord. Experience the clarifying power of his presence, and then go, be his witness, Christian.
Let's pray.