Sermon:

Jesus and Moses are playing golf and they”re on the tenth hole. Moses hits the ball and it heads straight for a pond. Just before the ball hits the water, the pond parts and the ball rolls up onto the green.

Jesus winds up and hits one about to the same spot. Jesus’ ball hits the water and skips across. All of a sudden, lightning flashes and a ball drops from the sky. A fish swallows it, a bird picks up the fish and drops the ball onto a turtle, that walks over to the hole and drops it in.

Moses turns to Jesus and says, ”I hate it when your dad plays!”[1]

I am preaching a sermon series on beliefs which Christians have always held in common. From the days of the early church Christians have held strong to the belief in the Trinity. We have believed:

1. God is three persons.
2. Each person is fully God.
3. There is one God.[2]
   1. God the Father planned and directed creation and redemption through the Son and the Holy Spirit.
   2. The Father and Son work together like a Father and Son on earth.

Last week we focused on God, the Father.

Today we focus on Jesus.

The Nicene Creed was written in order to codify certain beliefs in the Trinity. This is what they wrote about Jesus:

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
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.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

There is a lot here, but what I want you to know is that Christians have always believed Jesus is one with God the Father. We have always believed in the Trinity. What binds Christians together is greater than what drives us apart. This Nicene Creed was written in AD 325 and we have held firm on the truths since before then and ever since.

We are united with the Lutherans in the belief in Jesus as God. We are united with the Presbyterians, the Methodists, the Christian Church, the Nazarenes, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the Episcopalians, the Assemblies of God, the Southern Baptist and other Baptists groups, the Pentecostals and even the Catholics. We hold this belief in common.

We are united, we believe Jesus is Lord.

My Theme today: Christians believe in Jesus, born fully God and fully man, born of a virgin, crucified for us and resurrected.

Application: Be encouraged by our unity and be encouraged Jesus is our Savior and He is our powerful and mighty God.

Let’s read Hebrews 1:1-4:

 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

1. Our Creator is also our Redeemer (1-4)
   1. God spoke long ago through the prophets. He now speaks through Jesus Christ His Son.
   2. This book was written to Jewish believers.
   3. In Colossians chapter 1 the Bible talks about this as well. Christ is the creator and sustainer of all things. Christ is heir of all things. He is the visible image of the invisible God.
   4. I love this passage, I love the passage in Col. 1 because they talk about how awesome Christ is. Christ is the awesome Lord.
   5. Verse 3 radiance in Greek to emit light or spender. Christ emits light. When Paul saw Him on the Damascus road he saw a bright light. Christ is the radiance of God’s glory. Christ is the exact representation of the Father. The Bible says that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God.
   6. Christ holds everything together by the Word of His Power. Verse 3 the Greek word for power means: the ability. Inherent power. (Dunamis) Christ has the power.
   7. Christ died for our sins and then sat down at the right hand of God.
   8. If we were to keep reading we would see that the author of Hebrews starts making the case that Jesus is greater than angels. The rest of Hebrews the author makes the case that Jesus is greater than Moses. In Hebrews the Author is preaching a sermon in letter form to show that Jesus is our great High Priest, our only Savior.
2. Colossians 1:17 says: He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
   14. If you notice, the Nicene Creed which I read earlier has allussions to several passages. One is Colossians 1:15-20, another is John 1:1-14.
   15. Now, verse 17 even says that all things hold together by Jesus. Think about that for a second. If Jesus stopped being in control, creation would fall apart. I tried to imagine that and the best image that I could get is this:
   16. This is a glass of water [show the water in the glass]. Currently the water is held together by the glass. But if I pour it out, [pour the water into a bowl] the water is no longer held together by the glass. Now, all analogies fail in one way or another and this one does as well because the water may be held together again, in this case by this other container. But you get the point.
   17. Jesus holds all creation together.
   18. Now, look at Colossians 1, verse 18: And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the first born from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
   19. Jesus is the head of the church. This means that we are His church, we are not my church or anyone’s church but Jesus’ church. We must be following His lead. We seek His lead through prayer and correct understanding of His Word.
   20. When we talk about Christian unity, think about this, we all have the same Lord. Every church, every denomination falls under Jesus’ headship. Jesus is our Lord.
   21. Every church worships Jesus. Every church has Jesus’ presence.
3. Now, let’s look at Hebrews 1:8 and see a clear verse about Jesus reigning.

⁸ But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

Beginning of close:

Outside the Bible, there are several secular writers who make mention of the Lord Jesus Christ:

 Tacitus—in Book XV, Ch. 44—writing in A.D. 114, tells us that the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, was put to death by Pontius Pilate in the reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius.

 Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan on the subject of Christ and Christians (Book X—96).

 Josephus, the Jewish historian, in A. D. 90, has a short biographical note on Jesus Who is called Christ in his Antiquities —Book XVIII, Ch. III, Section 3 .

 The Babylonian Talmud makes mention of Jesus Christ.

—A. Naismith^[3]

2683 A Letter To Roman Senate

 The following is a translation of a letter sent by Publius Lentulus to the Roman Senate during the Roman empire period.

 “There appeared in these days a man of great virtue, named Jesus Christ, who is yet among us; of the Gentiles accepted for a prophet of truth; but his disciples call him the Son of God. He raiseth the dead, and cureth all manner of disease. A man of stature somewhat tall and comely, with a very reverend countenance, such as the beholder must both love and fear.

 “His hair the color of a chestnut full ripe, plain to the ears, whence, downward, it is more orient, curling and waving about his shoulders. In the midst of his forehead is a stream or partition of his hair, after the manner of the Nazarites; forehead plain and very delicate; his face without spot or wrinkle, beautiful, with a lovely red; his nose and mouth so forked as nothing can be represented; his beard thick, in color like his hair, not over long; his look innocent and mature; his eyes gray, quick, and clear.

 “In reproving, he is terrible; in admonishing, courteous and fair-spoken; pleasant in conversation, mixed with gravity. It cannot be remembered that any have seen him laugh, but many have seen him weep; in proportion of body most excellent; his hands and arms delectable to behold; in speaking, very temperate, modest and wise; a man of singular beauty, surpassing the children of men.”

—Foster^[4]

Close:

How can you be encouraged today?

We see enough in Scripture to know that Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus is Lord. I like what Charles R. Swindoll said: “The storm will come, and if you haven’t a rock to stand on, you will plunge. Jesus is that rock.”

Let Jesus be your rock this week. You can trust Him as your Savior and protector.

Helen Mallicoat made a real contribution to your life and mine when she wrote: I was regretting the past And fearing the future . . . Suddenly my Lord was speaking: “MY NAME IS I AM.” He paused. I waited. He continued, “WHEN YOU LIVE IN THE PAST, WITH ITS MISTAKES AND REGRETS, IT IS HARD. I AM NOT THERE. MY NAME IS NOT I WAS. “WHEN YOU LIVE IN THE FUTURE, WITH ITS PROBLEMS AND FEARS, IT IS HARD. I AM NOT THERE. MY NAME IS NOT I WILL BE. “WHEN YOU LIVE IN THIS MOMENT, IT IS NOT HARD. I AM HERE. MY NAME IS I AM.” 4″

Start reading it for free: http://a.co/bhrWzln

 

Let Jesus be your Rock, He is with us now.

 

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

 

[1] http://jokes.cc.com/funny-god/b1ej8z/jesus-and-moses-play-golf

[2]  Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 239.

^[3] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.

^[4] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.