Matthew 16:11-21

INTRO
“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”

• Why does Jesus say this?
• The warning against false teaching is followed by the revealing of Christ by God to Peter under the shadow of pagan worship at the mouth of Hades.
  

JESUS & DISCIPLES AT CAESARIA-PHILIPPI

Location of the Temple of Pan and the “Gates of Hades” which is a large rock.

• Being surprised by Pan in the dark created panic
• Peter = rock
  

1. Who do people say that I am (”the Son of man”)?

• John the Baptist – a great preacher
• Elijah – a great miracle worker
• Jeremiah – a great prophet
  

2. But who do you say that I am?

This is the most important question that we must answer:

• To God
• For ourselves
• To others
  

Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you . . . [1 Peter 3:14b-15]

3. The right answer/person:

• Is revealed by God
• Brings blessing
• Provides . . .
  
• Jesus as the architect – “I will build”
• Safety and power – “the gates of hades shall not prevail”
• Access to God’s kingdom – “the keys of the kingdom”
• Our commissioning to act on His behalf – “whatever you bind/loose”
  

CONCLUSION
“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things . . .”

Sandwiched between “false” teaching and the Cross is a question:
1. Beware of false teaching
“But who do you say that I am?” [See Isaiah 51:1]
2. The Cross

Fifteenth Day after Pentecost

August 24, 2008 - Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:00AM

Lessons - Proper 16

Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

Sunday, August 24th – Holy Eucharist at 9:00AM

• Loose Plate offering: Family Outreach Fund
• Next Bishop’s Committee Meeting: 9-21-08
• Bible Study Thursdays at 10AM (Hebrews)
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 17
Jeremiah 15:15-21
Psalm 26:1-8
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:21-27

Fourteenth Day after Pentecost

Sunday - August 17, 2008

Lessons -Proper 15A

Isaiah 56:1(2-5)6-7
Psalm 67
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Announcements for Sunday - August 17, 2008

• Instructed Eucharist
• Bishop’s Committee Meeting
• Bible Study Thursdays at 10AM (Hebrews)
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 16
Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20

Scriptural Foundations for the Nicene Creed

Note: Some of the Scripture passages copied below are only excerpts of the complete text listed.

GOD THE FATHER

Genesis 1:26a
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Deuteronomy 5:6-7
" 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. " 'You shall have no other gods before me.

Deuteronomy 6:4
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Deuteronomy 32:6
Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

GOD THE SON

John 1:1-18 [excerpt]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. . . . From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. [see also 1 John 1:1-5]

Philippians 2:6-11 [excerpt]
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers--all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Hebrews 1:1-13 [excerpt]
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. [Reference: Deut 32:43a; Psalm 45:6-7; Psalm 102:25-27]

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Psalm 2:7
I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

2 Samuel 7:14
I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalm 104:29-30
When you hide your face, they [creatures] are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The passages listed above are just a small sampling of the many more texts that could be listed in defense of the Creeds and the Trinity -- Van+

Saint Athanasius and Nicene Creed

Saint Athanasius and the Arian Heresies

BEFORE THE COUNCIL

• Athanasius AD 293-373; Greek parents of Alexandria, Northern Africa
• Constantine AD 306-337
• Edict of Milan AD 313, authorizing Christianity
• AD 321 the Patriarch Alexander called a Synod to deal with the teachings of the presbyter Arius of Antioch
• Athanasius in his mid-20s was a deacon serving Bishop Alexander during the synod.
  

ARIUS TAUGHT

1. “There was a time when he [the Son] was not”
2. The Son is not begotten of the same essence of the Father
3. The Son is a creature
4. The Son is the first and most exalted creature
5. The Son may only be called “God” as an extension of God (modalism)
6. His will is created and fallible. Therefore, the Son could commit sin.*
   

COUNCIL OF NICEA – AD 325

• 318 bishops at the council (“318” in Greek = TIH symbolizing “the Cross & Jesus”)
• Emperor Constantine presided (voice without vote)
• Bishop Ossius of Cordoba was the advisor to the emperor
• Nicene Creed adopted after much debate
  

AFTER THE COUNCIL

• Arius exiled – AD 326
• Alexander, the Patriarch died AD 328
• Athanasius became bishop Alexandria AD 328
• Arius returned from exile AD 334
• Athanasius exiled AD 335
• Definition of Chalcedon AD 451 affirmed and further clarified the Son’s full humanity and full divinity
  

*Regarding impeccability & immutability of Christ: Jn 8:29; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 Jn 3:5; 2 Cor 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26; 13:8. Also: Constantinople II, AD 553

SOURCES
The Greek Fathers – Adrian Fortescue
The First Seven Ecumenical Councils – Leo D Davis
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma – Ludwig Ott
Ye Are the Body – Bonnel Spencer

The 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:00AM

Lessons - Proper 14A

Jonah 2:1-9
Psalm 29
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Announcements

• Loose Plate offering: Uganda Missionary Support
• Instructed Eucharist: Today & August 17th
• Bible Study Thursdays at 10AM (Hebrews)
• Next Bishop’s Committee Meeting: August 17, 2008
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 15A
Isaiah 56:1-7
Psalm 67
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

Kyrie Eleison - Orthodox Chant

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday - August 3rd, 2008

Proper 13 - Year A

Nehemiah 9:16-20
Psalm 78:1-29 or 78:14-20, 23-2
Romans 8:35-39
Matthew 14:13-21

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS for Sunday - August 3rd, 2008

• Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9AM
• This morning we begin a teaching series on the liturgy of Holy Eucharist
• Bible Study: the Letter to the Hebrews - Thursday mornings at 10:00
• Teaching notes for sermons, instructed Eucharist and Bible study are available by request. Most sermons are also available as mp3 audio files. You may e-mail requests to van[at]sjoaquin.net
  

Next Sunday’s lessons: Proper 14
Jonah 2:1-9
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33
Psalm 29