The Trinity in one scripture
When Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16–17)
Jesus was baptized
The Holy Spirit like a Dove came down
The Father spoke from Heaven
The definition…
The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Simply stated, God is one in essence and three in person.
The definition…
The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When we break this definition down we get three crucial truths: (1) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God.
THREE DISTINCT PERSONS YET ONE GOD
The Father as GOD (Philippians 1:2),
The SON as GOD (Colossians 1:16; Titus 2:13)
The HOLY SPIRIT as GOD (Acts 5:3-4).
Yet the Bible is clear in Deuteronomy 6:4 when it says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one…”
The Apple/Trinity Illustration
- An apple has three parts: the seeds, the flesh, and the skin. When you cut an apple in half, you can see that each of these three parts are different.
- The skin is like God the Father because He protects us.
- The flesh is like God the Son because Jesus Christ took on human flesh.
- The seeds are like God the Holy Spirit because through His power, we grow in faith.
- Each of the parts of an apple are different, but they are ALL apple.
- So are the persons of God all different (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), yet they are ALL God.
- A tri – unity
Loving you with the love Christ gives! .. Pastor Mike
The Birth of the Church
- On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church.
The Holy Spirit Falls on the Church
2. The story of Pentecost is found in the Acts of the Apostles, today’s first reading.
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost Acts 2:1-4
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
The Holy Spirit Breathed On the Apostles
3. John 20:19-23 also recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. We know that after his death, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send to his disciples a helper, an Advocate, who would enable them to be his witnesses throughout the world.
John 20:19-23 NIV
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and sends them to continue his work of reconciliation through the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ act of breathing the Holy Spirit upon the apostles mirrors God’s act of breathing life into Adam. In fact, both the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” can also be translated as “breath.” This Gospel reminds us that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence in the world.
The Holy Spirit Fills Every Believer
4. We repent and believe and receive
Acts 2:38 NIV
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
“Loving you always, with the love that Christ gives” – Pastor Mike
I. We celebrate our mission.
A. Matthew 28:18 NIV
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Therefore go…
(The Great Commission)
B. … and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
(Baptize and Teach)
II. We understand that we do not exist for ourselves. We were not called to care only for ourselves.
Matthew 6:34 NIV
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own
Matthew 6:34 NIV
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own
II. We were not even called to protect ourselves; that’s God’s job, according to Jesus’ prayer. We were called and are called to go into the world.
Matthew 10:16 NIV
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Conclusion: Sent by Jesus, we move out of our comfort zones to engage a hurting and broken world.
Loving you with the love Christ gives !
Loving God, we know your love because we have mothers.We thank you for the mothers who carried us in their wombs, nourishing, protecting, and bringing us into the world.
We thank you for the mothers who did not give birth to us, yet loved us just the same.With gratitude we remember their words of encouragement when we have felt unsure or afraid;we thank you for their kindness when the world has treated us unkindly;we thank you for their soft, comforting arms and the gentle way they kissed away our tears;we thank you that they protected us with the fierceness of a lioness protecting her cubs;we thank you for the times when they corrected us rather than letting us continue down wrong paths.Help us to live so that their investment in us might not be in vain.We honor our mothers with lives of service to you in the name of the Risen Christ, for it is in his Name we pray.
Amen. (UMC Discipleship)
I. Mothers Comfort Us
Isaiah 66:13: “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.”
II. Mothers Love Us
Isaiah 49:15: “Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?”
III. Mothers are Strong for Us
Proverbs 31:25: “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Conclusion:
Praise God For Mothers
Loving you with the love Christ gives !
In the analogy of the storm, it’s important to note, it’s doesn’t thunder all night. Often we need to study stillness.
I. Silence is a good practice.
Psalm 46:10 NIV
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Silence shouldn’t be an occasional and unusual event in our worship practice; it should become a habit.
Lord prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and holy
Tried and true
And with thanksgiving
I’ll be a living
Sanctuary, for You
This worship chorus has enriched our personal preparation to worship.
Silence is a space where God takes control, where we surrender ourselves to the working of the Spirit and the voice of God.
Romans 8:14, NIV
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Mark 4:9, NIV:
“Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.
Conclusion:
We need to carve out some time for silence.
Like 21:41 NIV
He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
Loving you with the love Christ gives !