Introduction
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning!
Welcome to church this morning! Second week of 2024 - what are you looking forward to this year?
Most of you know I grew up in Edmonton. My parent still live in the house I grew up in - a one story bungalow with a finished basement, big back yard, garage, and plenty of outside room. They’ve done a lot of work to that house. It was built in 1958. A nice house at the time I’m sure, but when my parents bought it in 2003, it had fallen into the classification of “fixer-upper.” My Dad spent many long days and nights down in the basement, taking in from close to uninhabitable to really nice. The electrical needed work, the ceiling and walls needed work, the flooring needed work… it was a genuine mess. It took them about 10 years before the basement was finally done.
It wasn’t long after that though Dad started noticing things. Some of it was existing: Every time it rained, water started pooling in the basement under the stairs. But mold also showed up in the laundry room. The one that really stands out for me was when Dad had to tear apart most of a wall on the north side, in my sister’s bedroom, because a massive crack had formed and was leaking badly. Actually, the foundation in that house has many cracks in it. I guess that’s what happens in old houses. It’s taken a lot of time, but most of the cracks have now been sealed. The house doesn’t leak (as far as we know haha). But it took time, effort, and a lot of sealant to get that basement back up to spec.
Haha, I wonder how many of you - if you have an old house - can relate! But why do I bring this up?
Because as I have prayed and sought God, talked with leadership, and thought about our body here, I believe God is leading us as a congregation to put work into our foundation too. The foundation of what we believe, why we believe it, and who God is shaping us into as part of Christ’s church.
This new series is going to focus on the foundations of our faith. We’re going to be going through our Statement of Essential Truths. As part of the PAOC we hold certain position, as we understand them from Scripture. These positions are laid out in this SOET. Together we’re going to explore these core beliefs through the lens of Scripture, and understand why we believe what we believe.
But we’re going to do that in story. Jeremy Martini - president of our college and seminary in Saskatoon - has a good reminder: “Our beliefs are a story that shapes who we are and how we see the world.” We process things in story! So today, as we start off this series on the foundations of what we believe, I’d like to tell you a story.
A story:
A story:
The Triune God
The Triune God
There is one God: who exists eternally in unity as three equal persons: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Often Christians can get accused of worshipping three gods. But this is not the case. He is One God, in three equal persons. Each person is fully God, and fully one with each other. The person of the Father, the person of the Son - Jesus Christ - and the person of the Holy Spirit. He is One God, connected and united, and yet also three distinct and equal persons. Anyone confused yet? Haha. This is a super confusing idea, one that seems and perhaps is, impossible for us to totally understand, but we will be taking a look at this for our first topic.
God has written for us His Word - the Bible - His love letter for us. Given to us through the Spirit- inspired work of many different human authors, we have the infallible Word of God.
The Bible
The Bible
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
The whole Bible is the revelation of God to His people. It tells us about:
Creation
Creation
God’s creating work in seven days. Everything was made by Him, He sustains everything.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
God made man in His image.
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
The creation account details the fall of man. which means that we need a saviour. - Gen 2
Salvation
Salvation
Jesus Christ bought us out of slavery to sin. Salvation is available to all. It is the redemptive act of the triune God
The life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ provides the way of salvation for all people.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
This is the Redemptive act of TRIUNE God - that he saved us when we could not save ourselves.
Salvation also means we receive the Holy Spirit
For forgiveness
For reconciliation
For born again - sanctification
For liberation from sin and darkness
For empowerment for Christ-like living
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Which leads us to:
Spirit Baptism
Spirit Baptism
We first see this occur at Pentecost
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Spirit Baptism provides Specific empowerment for witness
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The sign of speaking in tongues indicates that believers have been baptized with the Holy Spirit36 and signifies the nature of Spirit baptism as empowering our communication, to be his witnesses with speech and action as we continue to pray in the Spirit.37
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
Empowerment for witness leads us to the part of the story where our fellowship and body fit in -
The Church
The Church
Jesus is the Head
The Spirit joins us together and to Him
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
Different denominations or fellowships have different focuses and strengths, but
We all have the same mission - Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The church worships, prays, proclaims, disciples, and fellowships together
The Spirit gives different gifts to the believers so that we may bear witness and build the church
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
The Spirit also empowers leaders (male and female) to lead the church under the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Restoration
Restoration
We live in the already, not yet. As the church, we wait eagerly for the return of our Lord, and for eternity.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
God is the ultimate Judge. He always judges rightly.
but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
One powerful witness to the world is through our marriages and families.
Marriage & Family
Marriage & Family
God has given us the gift of marriage, the holy union between one man and one woman. It is more than a physical relationship, but a life-long, permanent commitment. It establishes emotional and spiritual oneness.
So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
A picture of Christ and the church
only broken by Porneia - marital unfaithfulness
Divorce & Remarriage
Divorce & Remarriage
Divorce is not God’s intention. It is a concession because of the hardness of people’s hearts.
He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
As a church and fellowship, we discourage divorce by all lawful means and teaching. Where all attempts at reconciliation have failed and divorce is finalized, we extend love and compassion.
Remarriage is the marriage of a man and woman who were previously married. Scripture regards this as acceptable when a former spouse has passed away, or in the event of sexual immorality on the part of the former partner, or if the former partner has remarried.
Does this seem harsh to you? Sometimes the different ways we are called to live compared to the world around us can be hard to live up to. Another difference from how the world views things and the Bible is a very hot topic today:
Gender
Gender
We believe there are two genders, and only two genders, as explicitly stated in the creation account (Gen 1:27
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
This is fundamental to Biblical anthropology
We do not affirm the resolution of tension between one’s birth sex and experience of gender by adopting the gender contrary to birth sex.
Another area that people ask questions about in regards to biblical perspective is:
Tithing
Tithing
A divine institution of God under the old covenant - it was compulsory
under the new covenant we are not bound by laws in the same way. HOWEVER, regular, systematic giving is taught in the NT. The rules of right and wrong are expressed through grace in the believer’s life. Giving is a part of this.
Tithing helps to further God’s work. It is also an expression of faith and thanksgiving for God’s provision.
Conclusion
Conclusion
God began a work in Leask long before I think most of us here were born. Street meetings in Leask started by believers in Parkside eventually merged with the Hungarian Pentecostal church not far from here. Our assembly was born. In 1952 this church had an official home here at 141 Railway Ave. In 1977 God blessed this church with the means to built a new, bigger, better building. Many of you here have seen a lot of change over the years. Some of you even remember that old building. At one point this church closed down. I’m glad we’re up and running again!
The identity we have always had is Pentecostal. We are blessed to be a part of a national fellowship - the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, PAOC - that holds to the same core doctrines that we do. They give us oversight, accountability, and support for this congregation and for me as your pastor. I believe we need to do work on the foundations of this identity God has given us, and what - as Christians and not just Pentecostals - it really is that we believe in.
As a church, we have accepted our fellowship’s SOET - Statement of Essential Truths. What does it mean to have a Statement of Essential Truths? Who’s read it recently? Is it actually sound doctrine? Let me ask you this: what does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be a Pentecostal church? Why is this part of the identity that we have and have continued to choose? I think this is part of our foundation. But, as the Bible tells us, the whole church is built upon the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. Our foundation as followers of Jesus is important. It takes time, effort, sweat, and a lot of material to build a good foundation. We can thank those who have gone before us for making the effort. Now I think it is time for us to seal up this foundation - maybe even do more extensive repairs, so that the work God is doing here is grounded on a clear understanding of Scripture and who and what we believe as a distinct part of global church here in Leask.
What we are going to do in this next season is work on understanding what we believe, why we believe it, and the identity God has given our church. We’re not here to knock those who differ in belief, in fact even within the PAOC there can be a fair difference in theological thought. What we are doing here is understanding who this church is and what we have been called to be by God. We’re going to spend our time talking theology, working through Scripture and this document - the Statement of Essential Truth, positions and practices that our assembly adheres to. A couple notes:
The SOET has seven parts that deal with basic theology. These statements are based on Scripture. As such, we need to understand that there is no claim that the SOET is inspired. Only the Word of God is such. Instead, these statements summarize basic Biblical teachings found in Scripture, and our understanding of certain doctrines found in Scripture. Throughout this series, we’re going to be pulling apart Scripture, and explore why our SOET says what it says.
We will also explore 5 positions and practices. Marriage & divorce, remarriage, gender, and tithing. We’re using this extended document so that we also understand how we see marriage and family, how we respond to thoughts on gender, and even how we are called to steward our resources and the church.
My encouragement as we work through this series is to really wrestle through what we look at each Sunday, and get a good handle for yourself on what you believe and why. Want to talk with me? Awesome! I’d welcome the conversation. Talk together. Whatever. So long as you take the time to work to know why you believe what you believe, and engage with this body in doing the same.
Today was really just to give you a brief look at the topics we’ll be covering in the next while, a hint of the Scriptures that we’ll be studying. I hope that you will recognize how foundational and important this story of what we believe is and join with me on this journey of understanding the beliefs we stand on. Maybe as we’ve briefly looked at these things today you’ve noticed some cracks in your own foundation, I know I have, and that can be really uncomfortable. However, I encourage you to join with me and intentionally look at what the Bible has to say before we get too upset about what we thought things were supposed to be compared to how they might actually be. This can be hard, but I believe with God’s grace, it will be so worth it. Will you join with me in a word of prayer?
But theology - as the president of Horizon college once put it, is really just a story. A story that shapes who we are and how we see the world. So to start this morning, let’s work through the story of our theology.
how we as believers are committed to:
The historic creeds of the church
Evangelical convictions of faith
Full gospel of Jesus as:
Saviour
Healer
Spirit-baptizer
Soon-coming King