I believe:
- that God is a trinity composed of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- the thing that matters most is that we believe that Jesus was sent to earth to die for our sins, rose again, and will return someday.
- that love and forgiveness are the keys to happiness.
- that we as Christians have lost sight of the greatest commandment specified by Jesus:
- Matthew 22:37-38: Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."
- that we have also lost sight of the second commandment:
- Matthew 22:39-40: "And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
- that the definition of neighbor is larger than just those who live next door:
- Luke 10:29-37: But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor? In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took our two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The on who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
- those who have to reconcile evidence of dinosaurs, the big bang and evolution with the bible are really going to struggle with a virgin birth, Jesus's miracles and resurrection.
- Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- it takes more than faith and belief in Jesus/God to get into heaven.
- that you can't work your way into heaven.
- Just as works without faith is worthless, Faith without works is also dead.
- that we as Christians have forgotten that we should love and not judge.
- that we as Christians have forgotten that we are still sinners and that the only difference between ourselves and those who don't believe is God's grace.
- that we have forgotten that it is God's job to judge who is/isn't going to hell.
- that our job is to love and share the news of God's love and gift of eternal life.
- that I have never seen an atheist based soup kitchen or food pantry.
- that finding faith in Jesus get's harder as you grow older.
- there is power in prayer.
- we have forgotten how to pray in that we don't approach God/Jesus with faith and knowing that regardless of the answer, it is all according to a higher plan and that God is control.
- that faith can truly move mountains.
- that denominations between churches come down to disagreements between what we think God said. God isn't confused about what we said.
- that denominations are fooling themselves if they think much of what they believe is that important to God. All you need is faith and belief in Jesus and to follow Him. The rest are details.
- That is just takes a small amount of faith for miracle to happen
- Matthew 17:20: He replied: "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
- a mustard seed is very, VERY small.
- if a faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain, then how little faith do we have?
- that we have forgotten that God will judge our words/thoughts as well as our actions
- Matthew 12:34-37: "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
- the older we get, the more we realize just how little we know/understand.
- the divorce rate would be much lower if people followed Jesus.
- that the churches acceptance of divorce for reasons other than sexual immorality is seen by the world as hypocritical. Particularly given how harshly the church judges other sinful behavior within the world:
- Matthew 19:3: Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" "Haven't you read," Jesus replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."
- that we should consider the following verses before casting stones at the sins of others:
- Luke 6:37-38: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
- Luke 6: 41-42: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
- John 8:2-11: At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made here stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let any one of you with is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
- that we make life too complicated.
- that the simplest solutions are generally the best solutions.
- that many people will disagree with some of my beliefs. I'm OK with that.
- that anyone who complains about the preacher should trade places with him/her on Sunday.
- that we can still be friends and brothers/sisters in Christ even though we don't believe on everything 110%.
- that God loves each and every one of us.
- John 3:16-17: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
- Romans 8:37-39: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Ephesians 2:4-5: But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.
- Romans 5;8: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.
- 1 Peter 5:6-7: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
- Psalm 86:15: But you Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
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