a blog for Ashfield Baptist Church
The Bible readings for Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 June are -- Lev 13:18-14:14; Ps 27:1-6; Pro 6:20-22; Mk 4:21-41.
posted by Ps John @ 10:11 AM
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Hi and welcome. Ashfield Baptist Church is a "caring community church sharing God's love". We are very diverse in our nationalities, backgrounds and ages, but united in our desire to grow spiritually and to reach out and help others. Our vision is "to be a body of Christ-like people living out the great commandment and the great commission in the Holy Spirit's power". This blog is mainly for people connected with Ashfield Baptist Church. It has been set up as an "info & chat space" as we start the "THRU IN 2" challenge. This is our program for reading the Bible right through during 2007 & 2008. Many are using the Every Day With Jesus Bible which also has daily devotions from Selwyn Hughes. As we read through the Bible together over these two years, we can use this blog to share insights, stories, reflections, questions etc. The goal is to grow spiritually together. So leave your comments. Together we can help each other grow. Blessings. Ps John. To leave a comment about the readings for a particular day, or to view the comments of others, just click on "comments" at the bottom of the post.
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Thanks to Pastor John for an awesome sermon Sunday defining as clearly as possible the nature of the Trinity. This is an idea difficult to grasp and conceptualising the Godhead as three separate and independent entities is enticing. Digging a little deeper one finds that this is heresy to mainstream Christianity although it is a view held still by some fringe Protestants. Arguably the most divisive and powerful of all doctrinal conflicts, with the exception of the Reformation, was the Arian nontrinitarian conflict with the Church after the legalisation of Christianity by Constantine.
Orthodox trinitarianism can be complex to defend, for example, why does it not appear in the Bible? , was it an invention of the Church founding fathers? is it polytheistic? why did it take 300 odd years after Christ for it to appear in the creeds (First Council of Nicaea circa 325 AD)?
The Athanasian Creed does go to some length to define the Trinity, it does have deep roots in Catholicism, preceding the Reformation by over a millennium and the 1054 schism by several hundred years. Is it formally adopted in the Protestant liturgy?
Pastor John gave some excellent metaphors for the Trinity, I was seeking an explanation some months ago from a church elder and the metaphor he gave was somewhat simplistic, as most of them are, however it was one that stuck: an egg is made up of the shell, yolk and white – three parts, one egg.
A suggestion for the benediction: Jude verse 24-25 is a favourite. Jude is an unusual book, short and enigmatic. Jude must have been an in-your-face type of guy, in 23 combative verses he slams evildoers and warns about their fate then paradoxically ends with one of the most poignant doxologies of the New Testament.
Thanks "Anonymous" for your very thoughtful comments. Glad you were able to be with us Sunday morning.
Some branches of the Protestant Church certainly have adopted the Athanasian Creed into their litugy. Ken mentioned Lutherans and Anglicans as well as others when he introduced it on Sunday morning. It's definitely in my old copy of the CofE Book of Common Prayer.
Traditionally Baptists have been non-creedal in the sense that they do not see creeds as authoritative and have tended not to use them in their services. As "People of the Word", we usually give priority to the reading of Scripture in services rather than the reciting of creeds (though of course both could be done). Apart from any theological reservations about the creeds, Baptists tend not to include them in worship because of our non-liturgical style and because we have no Prayer Book/liturgy book.
Interestingly though, Baptists from very early on have devised "Confessions" or "Statements of Faith" which are akin to Creeds in setting out theological beliefs. And the singing of "creeds" (like Kendrick's "We believe in God the Father", which we had on Sunday) is widespread in Baptist churches with little opposition that I'm aware of.
I think the creeds are helpful to refer to and ponder from time to time, both privately and corporately. They set out the considered opinions of learned Christians who have grappled with theological issues together with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I agree with you about Jude's benediction and often use it. There's a version set to music that we sometimes sing. Clive Way often used to lead us in a rousing rendition of this after prayer meetings. We haven't sung it at the end of our Sunday services for quite a while, so maybe it's time to do it again.
Faith and fear don't mix. The Psalmist testifies to that when he says "The LORD is my light and salvation -- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps 27:1). And Jesus implies it when he says to the disciples "Why are you fearful? Do you have no faith?" (Mk 4:40).
The disciples had already responded to Jesus' call to follow him, and they had seen him do many great miracles. But here they are still asking "Who then is this?" (Mk 4:41). Fear can blind but faith helps us see.
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