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Read MorePsalm 119 — The Mount Everest of Bible Memory
Click to Listen Reverend Anthony R. Locke February 12th, 2017 Psalm 119:1-8 (English Standard Version) 1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! 2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, 3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! 4…
Read MoreGod Never Leaves a Job Half Done — 1 Thessalonians 5:24
September 25th, 2016 at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker 1 Thessalonians 5:24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.[1]English Standard Version There are no greater promises in the Bible regarding our salvation than a verse like this. That He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. I…
Read MoreKeep Praying! — Jude 1:20-23 by Rev. Justin Westmoreland
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy…
Read MoreDespise NOT Prophesying — 1 Thessalonians 5:20
August 21st, 2016 at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not despise prophecies.[1][1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. Everybody on this planet hears the voice of God speaking to them about His glory. Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky…
Read MoreIs The Bible History Reliable?
When the early church pieced together the Apostle’s Creed, they were using the baptismal formulas previously in use by the actual Apostles. We don’t know which Apostle coined each phrase of the Apostle’s Creed, but one of the twelve was baptizing converts in the name of Jesus Christ who suffered under Pontius Pilate.
Which begs the question, “why are we confessing anything about a secular Roman governor?” This morning I am going to explain why Pilate’s name is in the creed, and I am going to suggest that it is necessary for a sound faith.
During this time period in Rome there were mystical religions that taught a variety of strange ideas. These false religions didn’t claim their teachings were real in a historic or scientific sense, but their teachings were spiritually real.
Lots of Christians understand their own faith within this context. My sermon will try to convince you otherwise.
Read MoreWhy Does the Apostle's Creed Profess Faith in Pontius Pilate? — Luke 1:1-4
Reverend Anthony R. Locke June 27th, 2010 at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker Luke 1:1-4 Apostle’s Creed Series 10 English Standard Version 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of…
Read MoreWhy a Trinitarian Benediction?
The Trinity is one of those distinctively Christian doctrines that separate us from other faith groups in the world. The early church tried to give a synopsis of this teaching with short Triads of Trinitarian Truth.
I’ll share one of these very early Triads of Trinitarian Truth with you.
- The Father is God, but He is not the Son and is not the Holy Spirit
- The Son is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit.
- The Spirit is God, but He is not the Father or the Son.
The doctrine of Trinity is not explained in Romans or hidden in some secret chapter in Hezekiah, but it is the way the Bible reveals God. The whole Bible teaches Trinity.
The word TRINITY is a theological construct. We invent the word to explain a biblical phenomenon, to encapsulate in a word something unique that the Bible teaches.
There is no doubt that the Bible teaches Trinity.
- The Bible identifies the Father as God.
- in such passages like Ephesians 6:23, Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- This is more than just saying that God is like a father or that He is fatherly. Rather, there is a person who chooses to reveal Himself as THE Father and this person is Deity in the ultimate sense.
- There are many verses like this which identify the Father as God.
- The Bible identifies the Son as God.
- John opened his gospel with a powerful affirmation of Christ’s deity. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- i. The only religious group in the world that describes that verse as anything less than the fullness of deity in the ultimate sense is the Mormon Church.
- ii. Historically they have been labeled a cult for this reason alone.
- The former skeptic Thomas cried out in John 20 when he saw the resurrected Christ, “My Lord and my God! Jesus did not correct Thomas for Jesus Himself had said numerous times that He was equal with the Father.
- Romans 9:5 labels Jesus as God blessed forever.
- Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1 refer to the one person Jesus as our God and Savior.
- The deity of Jesus is further proven by the words of God the Father Himself. God the Father refers to Jesus in Hebrews 1:8 in this way, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
- John opened his gospel with a powerful affirmation of Christ’s deity. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- The Bible identifies the Holy Spirit as God.
- In Acts 5:3 Peter asked Ananias, Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? In the next verse Peter says, You have not lied to men but to God.
The Trinity can be summarized in a simple syllogism: The Bible teaches there is only one God. Yet it calls three persons God. Therefore, the three persons are the one God.
As the Great Shema declares in Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And this one God has revealed Himself as three distinct persons.
Read MoreWhy a Trinitarian Benediction? — 2 Corinthians 13:14
Reverend Anthony R. Locke May 30th, 2010 (Trinity Sunday) at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker 2 Corinthians 13:14 English Standard Version The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The Trinity is one of those distinctively Christian doctrines that…
Read MoreEach According to the Measure — Romans 12:3-8
Reverend Anthony R. Locke September 5th, 2010 www.FirstPresTucker.org at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker. Romans 12:3-8 Spiritual Gifts English Standard Version 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according…
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