This I Believe: The Trinity & The Cross - Patrosky Anderson

Welcome to Day 1 of our new sermon series, "The Creed!" Join us as we get back to the basics and walk through the Apostle's Creed.

"I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen."

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

The creeds are not special. What makes the creeds powerful is they reference scripture. And by believing in the creed, by confessing the creed, by by the creed being your answer as to why you live differently, is for you to confess that you believe in scripture.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Hey everyone, welcome to the Brick by Brick Podcast from Renovation Church, where faith gets built one truth at a time. In this sermon episode, you'll listen to our most recent Sunday morning message. So whether you're new to faith or have been walking with Jesus for years, there's something here for you. So kick back, hit play, and let's build this thing together.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

So this morning I want us to continue to look at um what I would say is something that continues to focus us as a body of believers, focus us on the things that really matter. I don't know that if if you've been experiencing what I feel like I've been experiencing over the last um few months. I don't know what your algorithm is like, but um uh, you know, I I've been trying to keep my ear attuned to what the capital C Church is doing. And how the Capital C church, when I say the Capital C Church, I mean the church as a whole, right? When like the the lowercase C church would be like us renovation church, individual churches um all throughout the city and the nation. But when people say the capital C church, what they mean is they mean like the the church as a whole. Amen? How many of you know that like we are an individual body and yet we are also tapped into a church where we all submit to Jesus Christ? Amen? And as a collective, no matter where we worship, all across this world, we are the Capital C church. And so, in trying to figure out, like, okay, Lord, what what are you speaking to the Capital C church as we are in this, what I would call a unique moment, but it's not necessarily a special moment in our culture. Um, but but it is unique to us, uh especially depending upon how old you are. I mean, like right now, um we're we're in a war, we've got civil unrest. I mean, the country by and large feels divided. Uh does anybody else feel that way? Don't worry to say that you feel that way as well. We're not gonna digrade into like uh this is not a political rant here, but it does just feel like we're divided, right? There's just tension, and it's like, okay, God, what is the church doing? I think some people would say that this is the moment that the church has been given for the moment to actually shine as believers, to be salt and light, depending upon who you who you talk to or listen to. And then other people they would say, no, this is the moment that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the church now is actually dead and has become irrelevant. And so that's why I say it really does depend upon like your algorithm and what you are, what you're listening to kind of throughout the week. Um, and so I just want to say that uh this I believe that this is our opportunity and this is our moment as believers to truly be salt and light. Light is most important when things are the darkest. Amen? And it really is time for us as believers to stand up. This is not a pep talk, this is truth being spoken to you right now to say that we have been given the light, and when things seem the most darkest, that's when we as believers, because of the hope that we have inside of us, should shine the brightest. Amen? We don't shrink back, we don't cower, we hold strong to the truth. I think it's it's it's like what the early church, and I reference this a lot because I really do want us to believe that, because in in the West, we tend to think that everything starts with us. And and but if there is a capital C church, then we have to be grafted into something that predates us. The truth predates us, amen? And we have just been blessed that we have now found the truth, or the truth found us, and now we've been grafted into something that is way more robust than who we are. And I often find that because of that, there's often language to help us biblically go through the things that we're going through even now in 2026. And so instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I want us to grab a hold of the things that the early church, the truth that the early church had to grab onto as well. Can you imagine that once Jesus rose from the dead, 40 days later, right? He's showing himself that he is actually risen, he's the risen Lord and Savior, he ascends into heaven, and they had to be asking themselves, what next? I know he told us to go. I know that we're doing this and we're going here, and I hear things, I hear Phillips all the way over here. And did somebody told me that he talked to an ether? All these things are happening, but what are we doing? The gospel is spreading like wildfire, and now we just have to trust that when I share the gospel with someone, they go off. And unlike the telephone game, the same gospel that I shared to them is the same gospel that they shared to someone else, and that's the same gospel that they shared to someone else. How many of you know that the telephone game is running rampant through Christianity right now? Right? You talking like I'm at Starbucks and I'm listening to people, and people are like, oh man, my dog is now my guardian angel. And I'm like, don't say nothing. You don't know those people, that is not your place. And it's just like, oh yeah, he's up there right now. And I'm like, do dogs even go to heaven? Do they even Kelly? Do they eat what? And so I'm just like, that's not, you know what I mean? Like, what are we doing? And I'm like, God help us. God help us, but it's not my place, right? To reinvent their will. That had to be what the believers were like as well. And you trust that the Lord has brought you to this place to share the gospel, and you trust that he will do the same for the next person and the next person and the next person. But let's be honest, right? Like the claim that this group of people were believing in, man, that was a tall claim. Right? That was a tall claim that we believe in someone that well, actually, we believe that God uh sent his only son to come and die on the cross. He lived a sinless life, fully God, fully man, die on the cross, and three days later rose again, and all along the way, he told us how to live our lives that were contrary to the ways in which you see the culture living their lives. That's a tall claim. That's a tall claim, right? I'm not one of those pastors who just like you gotta believe. Nah, man, like that. That's a tall claim. And every believer had to live up to the gospel that they were given. Christians in the early uh century, like they were known for the ones who were looking after babies who were discarded by their parents. That was believers, right? Yeah, Christians, believers. They were the ones that were seen as looking at their their wives with respect, giving their wives a place of honor and respect in the household. They were the ones that were looked at as as their children were actually people. I grew up in a household where kids were to be seen and not heard. Anybody else? My mom was quick to tell me, hey, whoa, whoa, I want to see you. I don't want to hear you. And she later came back and said, you know what, I don't, I don't think that's I think that's contrary to what we see. And she was like, and she apologized to me. And said, I hope that I have not, seriously, I hope that I have not like stipled your voice. And she apologized to me. But Christians were the ones that were looked at as their kids were not just work slaves, like their kids were actually contributors. And so when people in the culture asked, man, why do you love your families? Why do you love the enemy, your enemies? Why do you love the sick? They had to be the ones to say that look, it is our belief that compels us to do these things. Really? Yes, we follow the teachings of Jesus. Jesus, who's Jesus? And then the answer of that question would make or break this movement that Jesus started and that he entrusted in these believers to continue. Their answer to that question. And it couldn't be all over the place. It's disheartening when you read the Barna statistics about, you know, 80-some odd percent of evangelical Christians, they they question whether or not Jesus was truly the Son of God in complete fullness. What? How is that possible? It is crazy. It is. Because it's at the very core of what we believe. Even Jesus himself, he he understood this. Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16, starting in verse 1. In Matthew chapter 16, in verse 1 it says this. It says that the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus, and it says, They they tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. In verse 2, it says that he replied, and this was his reply, When the evening comes, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red, right? And in the morning, it says, Today will you say this, today will be stormy, for the sky is red, and there's an overcast, right? An overcast. It says, and you know how to interpret the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the time. He says, You can interpret the things that are right in front of you that you've grown accustomed to, but somehow you cannot interpret the signs of the time. In verse 4, he says, A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given except the sign of what?

unknown 10:32

Jonah.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

What was the sign of Jonah? Not the whale. Not the whale. The sign of Jonah, right, can be broken down in really one long thing. But the the the sign of Jonah, again, not the whale, the sign of Jonah was that you need to repent. Was that not what Jonah was called to do? To preach to a generation that had walked away to say, look, you need to repent and turn from your wicked ways. And if you turn from your wicked ways, then the Lord will spare you. And we see this type in shadow with Jonah and the three and the whale and all those things, knowing that their Savior is going to come, but that's the sign of Jonah. And he says, Look, no sign will be given to this wicked and adulterous generation other than the fact that you need to repent. Jesus says, I'm not coming here to do a song and pony trick and dance show for you. I'm not here to song and dance and make you believe that I'm God because I can do all these things. No, you need to repent. Oof. We don't like that message, do we? We want that Jesus is just gonna, Jesus love me. I want you to take the wheel and I want you to just wrap me in your arms. And Jesus says, Look, I'm not here to tickle your fancy. I'm here to tell you that you need to repent. You need to get your life right. And if you do so, you serve a humble and gracious God that's not a man that he would lie, and he will be there to forgive you. It says, From there, Jesus left them and went away. He didn't even teach on the, he was like, Look, y'all know what it is. And he just left. And then in verse 5, here it says, And he went across the lake, and the disciples forgot to take bread. And he says to his disciples, Be careful, right? Be careful, Jesus said to them, Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And in verse 7 it says, They discussed this, they being the disciples among themselves. And they said things like, uh, they said, Is it because we forgot the bread? They were human. They were human. The disciples were confused. They had no idea what Jesus was talking about. And in verse 8, it says that aware of their discussions, Jesus asked, Uh, You of little faith. He says, Why are you talking amongst yourself about having no bread? You still don't understand? You don't remember the five loaves for the five thousand or how many baskets full you gathered in verse 10, or the seven loaves, right? For the four thousand and how many basketfuls you gathered? He says, How is it you don't understand that I'm not talking about what? Bread. Jesus was like, Come on, guys, you really think I'm out here sweating bread? Really? Like you you guys were there when we fed all of these people and there was leftovers. It started with so little, and there was leftovers, right? You think I'm out here worried about not having enough bread? Jesus is like, I make bread out of nowhere. Guys, come on. He says, But be on your guard against the yeast that the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and then, and then when they took their eyes off of themselves, they took their eyes off of their own perceived failures and shortcomings. Oh, we must have done something. We're confused, and it has to be because of us, all of these things. When they took their eyes off of themselves, it says that they understood that Jesus was not talking. He was not telling them to be a uh He was not telling them to be uh on guard against the yeast used for bread, but against the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Why? Because it's that it's that small yet off teaching that can sometimes get in there and it can take root, and we don't quite understand the way that it gets us off just a little bit, but that little bit is enough, and it leads us into a false belief system, and that false belief system opens the door to another false belief system, and before you know it, our belief systems are just out of whack, and it starts out with yeast that has a tendency to grow and get bigger and bigger and bigger, and before you know the thing that we started with is not the thing that we have at all. That's how it happens. And Jesus says, look, be on guard for that little thing that the Pharisees and the Sadducees that they teach, because it's like yeast that gets in the bread. You walk away and you come back and it's just ballooned beyond measure. And in verse 13, it says that when Jesus that when Jesus came to the region where of Caesarea and Philippi, he asked the disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is? In verse 14, it says that they replied, Some said you're like John the Baptist, Elijah, some said others that you're Jeremiah, you're one of the prophets. And then Jesus in verse 15 says, Okay, despite all of those things, but who do you who do you say that I am? You ever wonder why he started out asking about like what the other people thought, and then immediately brought it to them. He zeals in on what they were thinking. It's like when you look at it, it's almost like that was the question all along, wasn't it? It's like Jesus wanted to know. It's like he was checking their pulse and he was wanting to see if even in them there was a little bit of yeast. Have you ever done that? Have you ever wondered why you believe the things that you believe? You ever wonder that? I remember searching the scriptures to figure out when my kids' sins were on them and not me. I remember like, and I've shared this with some of you comically, I've shared this up here before, but my mother believed that until the age of 12, any sins that I committed, those sins were on her. So I had like a free pass to break windows, start fires, fight people. And then at 12, I got saved on my birthday. Because that was my mom's belief structure. She called some church, she didn't even know. She called some church, some pastor. She was like, My son's 12. I came home September 18th. There was a stranger sitting on my porch. Two chairs, he was sitting in one, and this man told me about Jesus because my mom was like, You're on your own now. And I was like, I don't want to go to hell, dude. I gotta change my ways. And I accepted Christ. What in the world was she thinking? But right, but but you can go back and look at scripture and you can see, like, oh, okay, yeah. Like I can see where someone would get these ideas from. And it's just that small little piece that gets in there, and now all of a sudden, right? If we're not careful, now I'm out here telling my kids you can do whatever you want till you're 12. That's wild. And it's comical, but think about the things that you believe. You ever do that? You ever critically? No, you're like, no, all the things that I believe, why would I believe them unless they're real? That's dangerous. That's a dangerous thought to have. It is okay to look at your life and your belief systems uh critically, church, right? But I think that Jesus was checking the pulse of his disciples because he knew that these were going to be a group of people that he was gonna entrust the most important message, and he wanted it to spread, but he had to make sure that the thing that spread was the thing that should spread. And so Jesus says, But what about you? He asked. Simon Peter in verse 16, Simon Peter answers and says, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. In verse 17, it says that Jesus then replies, Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you, he says, and I tell you, Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Do you believe that the church will not be overcome by the world? I think some believers feel like, man, we gotta we gotta keep this thing going. No, you don't. The Capital C church. Oh, you gotta keep the little C, you gotta keep renovation going. No. But the but the Capital C church, God said, no, no, no, no, that's me. And the gates, those who believe in this, like the gates of hell, will not overcome it. Some believers believe that what Jesus was saying was specifically pertaining to Peter, right? That Peter was the rock that he was referring to. In fact, the Catholic Church believes that. They believe that Peter was the first pope. And you could see where where they believe that. Others believe that that the rock that Jesus is talking about here, that he's talking about one of a few things, right? He's talking about either the statement that Peter made here, right? That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, that that Peter's faith, maybe that's what Jesus was talking about, is the rock that he's gonna build his church, right? The faith that Peter had to allow uh God the Father to speak through him and impart upon him, right? Because Jesus says, look, you didn't get this from flesh and blood. You got like this this came from my father, right? Others believe that Jesus was talking about himself, saying that Jesus was saying that he himself was the rock. And I just want to say this for those of you who grew up Catholic, I don't want no smoke from the Catholic Church. I don't want to upset no one from the Catholic Church. I just tend to believe that, like some of you are like, what are you about to say? Say it at your own risk. No, hear me out. I do tend to believe, like, of the latter thought that that what Jesus is talking about here is Jesus is talking about that statement. And and I'll tell you what, I want to be clear, this is this is solely me. I don't say this as though it is a moral imperative. But when I when I read scripture, right, it to me it's all about those two rocks there. Like you can translate Peter Petro. I know this, my name is from the same derivative, but but Peter there, when you look at it, Peter, Petros, it means rock. And it's individual, it's it means an individual rock, right? It means like an individual rock. He's calling Peter, Peter, you're like a rock. But then the word rock that he says, and on that rock, it's petros, meaning bedrock or foundation, right? And so it's it's like he's saying, Peter, you are a rock, and on this foundation, on this bedrock, I will build my Church and so I tend to be like, Well, what's the bedrock? Are we saying that like Peter's the bedrock? Like, I just feel like God could He just could have been a bit more clear. I think we were kind of past the bread thing. Truly, and so that's why I I believe that. But again, I know that there are a lot of good, good Bible-believing Christians who we will share the new heaven together, who believe that it is the first. So I just want to be clear, okay? But I tend to think that that it's the foundational statement that Peter makes that becomes the central belief that binds them together. And I think it still binds us to this day, right? And and again, I'm not here to reinvent the wheel, right? And so what I want to do over the next four weeks is I want us to look at some of the ways that the church has binded themselves together, right? And they're called the creeds. When I say the creeds, how many of you know what what I mean? Awesome. Are y'all just afraid to raise your hands? Or are you like, that's okay. She's like, absolutely I'm afraid. Well, this is the place. Raise it. So there are really three main creeds, okay? Um, I want to be quick, and so I'll I'll probably butcher this, but but I don't want to spend a lot of time on this. There are really three main creeds. And growing up, you you've probably heard people say this like we are a creedal church. You ever heard that? Like we're a creedal church. And and and I tend to think, aren't all churches creedal churches? I don't really know. But I know what they're saying. They're saying that like they say the creeds like often in church, right? But to me, every church who believes in Jesus Christ should be a creedal church, meaning that they believe in the things that the creed professes. Okay? Make sense? There are three main creeds. You have the apostles' creed, the the apostles' creed, you have the Nicene Creed, and you have the Athanasian or Athanasius Creed. Okay? And so, real quickly, you have the Apostles' Creed. The Apostles' Creed is really the oldest of the three creeds. It's called the Apostles' Creed, not because the Apostles necessarily wrote it, but it's more so because of the time period that it comes from and the time period in which it tend to or it rose to being, you know, to repetition. It's believed that the disciples and those closest to the disciples would often use the apostles' creed um in their discipleship efforts, right? Uh some people would confess the apostles' creed uh when being baptized. It it serves as a statement of faith. You have the Nicene Creed, which is in uh 325 AD. It later gets a little bit recorrected, um, maybe like 60 years later, but by and large, you have the Nicene's Creed, which comes from the Council of Nicaea, and they gathered together because there were a group of people who were struggling with the Trinity of Christ. They were struggling with the Trinity of Christ. In particular, um, they were struggling with this understanding that Jesus was fully God and fully man. They didn't believe that that Jesus was fully God, right? And this council had to decide that, no, no, no, that to be a believer of Jesus, you have to believe that Jesus is not somehow less than um than fully God. And so they deem the fact for people to say that Jesus was not fully God, they deem that to be heresy, right? They took heresy, they took heresy big back then, right? And so they created this statement called the Nicene Creed that people would recite and then actually um commit to, right? They would commit to this. The the Athanasian Creed, it's often called the Forgotten Creed, and I think the reason it's called the Forgotten Creed, because uh who wants to say Athanasius all the time? No. It's no, I'm Athanasius. It sounds so pompous. No. I'm kidding. I want no smoke from the Catholic Church. None. None. Um I I think, honestly, though, I think it's the Forgotten Creed because it really just answers the same questions that the Nicene Creed answers. It was almost like they they put it to bed, and then a new generation came up and started having those same questions about um is Jesus really the son of God? They believed particularly uh the particular form of heresy that was coming up that this that this creed particularly um combats is they believe that yes, Jesus was the son of God, but he was created, right? That he was created by God, making him like a lesser creature than God, higher than you and I, but but not quite high as God. And so he was kind of like in between, and they lumped the Holy Spirit in this in-between state as well. And they were believing that that's how you should view them, both holy, all three holy, all three good, but yet not all three the same. Can you see how that's just a little bit of yeast? Can you see how that's just a little bit off? No, no, no, we're not we're not saying Jesus is not God, he's way better than you and I. But he's just not, and it's just like, oh, okay, yeah. No, no, no, no. That's heresy. That's heresy. And and that's what they gathered together to look at. So again, over the next four weeks, I want us to break down um the Apostles' Creed because it's the, I think it's the oldest creed, it's probably one of the most simplest creeds, and I think it's probably going to be the one that you can easily commit to memory, right? But I want to say this: that the creeds are not special. The creeds are not special. What makes the creeds powerful is they reference scripture. And by believing in the creed, by confessing the creed, by by the creed being your answer as to why you live differently, is for you to confess that you believe in scripture. And scripture is the only powerful thing that that you know that we submit our lives to. Amen? Knowing that in the beginning was the word and the word was God. So, in saying that, I'm saying the totality of scripture, uh, taking in the full breath that we're talking about God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. So let's look at the Apostles' Creed. The Apostles' Creed reads like this, and this is just the first part that we're gonna look at, right? That I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, uh, and was buried. And what? That one gets people. He descended to the dead. So let's look at it. Open your Bibles to Genesis chapter one, verse one. Because again, it's not the creed, it's what the creed is referencing that has power. Why is it that we can read this, say this, mold our lives to this with confidence? Because the Bible says in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, it says that what? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Is that not what it's saying? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In John chapter 1, 1 and 2, it says that in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. That's important, and the word was with God, and the word was God, right? And he was with God in the beginning. Who was with God in the beginning? Jesus. Right? And so that's why it says, I believe in God, the Father Almighty. We're not talking about Jesus, we're talking about God the Father. And we know John chapter 1, 1 and 2 tells us that in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. They were there. There was two. And so the script or the the creed pronounces, I believe in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, I believe in John chapter 1, 1 and 2, that I believe that uh I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Next it says, I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son. Probably the most famous scripture ever, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only what? Whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. In Matthew chapter 3, Jesus is baptized. And when he comes out of the water, in verse 17, we see this. It says, A voice from heaven said, This is my son, whom I love, with him I'm well pleased. And so we confess that we also believe in John 3.16. We also believe in Matthew chapter 17, or we believe in Matthew chapter 3, verse 17. And that's what leads us to say, look, I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son. Why? Because the scripture says so. The scripture says so. Next it says, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. We look at this story every year, don't we? Luke chapter 1. In Luke chapter 1, in verse 6 or 26, it says that in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. To who? To who? To a virgin. To a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. These are not just words that some group of men came together and made up out of thin air. These they looked at the scriptures and they said, These are the things that we've got to hold strong to. The angel went to her, said, Greetings, you're highly blessed and favored. And then if you skip down to verse 35 or 34, Mary says, How is this? Mary, Mary asked the angel, Since I am a virgin. And the angel said, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and the Holy One to be born will be called Son of God. And that's how we can say with confidence that He is our Lord, who is conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. And so we see every point, what we're gonna see over the next four weeks is that every point of the Apostles' Creed, and if you take the Apostles, the Nicene and the other, you I'm joking. Now I'm just trying to be cheeky. But if you put them side by side, they say the same thing. Why? Because they come from the same place. And so when we say, no, no, no, no, we are a creedal church, Renovation Church is a creedal church. We may not be the type of church that says it like often. Maybe we should change that because we don't ever want to veer. But at the same time, we are a church who believes in the truth found in Scripture that this creed brings to the forefront. The words of the creed, they mean nothing if they are not tied to scripture. And over the next four weeks, I want us to see how they are tied to scripture. Why? Because at the end of it all, you might be thinking to yourself, look, why look at the creeds now? Like, like, why look at the creeds now? We have the Bible. I'm like, no, no, no. I get that. But if you have the creed, you still have the Bible. I think that's what number one we have to realize. But let's also be honest. Christianity in our culture seems to be fading. It does to me. It does to me. It seems to be fading. And let's have an honest conversation about that. That old adage that if you believe in nothing, right? Or or if you believe in nothing, you'll fall for anything. Can I just say the reversal is true too? That if you believe in everything, man, you believe in nothing. If you believe in everything, you believe in nothing. Truly. If you don't believe in the fact that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Right? That's true though. Like it is. I don't know about the Hispanic. It's the Holy Ghost. I remember going to my aunt's church, and I was like, wow. I was little. It's like last week. I was little. And I was like, man, what's going on with that lady? And my aunt was like, she caught the Holy Ghost. And I was like, whoa, she better give it back. She better let it go. She's gonna hurt herself. And then I got hit in the head. Pow! I got hit in the head all the time in my aunt's church. Black man hanging on the wall. I'm like, who is that black man? Pow, that's Jesus, boy. Don't you know nothing? You don't look like the Jesus at our church. Same guy, same guy. But if you don't believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the fact that they are equal, then what do you believe in? Right? It's one thing to say, oh, I believe in all these things, but you don't believe in the foundational truth, then what are we building on? And so I think it's important. You know me, I love to go back to the very basics to say that sometimes it's good for us as believers to take a pulse of who we are and what it is we believe. And you can believe in all these things, and you can believe in this large agenda, but if you don't believe in the very simplicity of who we are and what is professed in Scripture, that the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ as being the only Son of our Lord and Savior, right? If you don't believe in that, if you don't believe that he was conceived through the Holy Spirit of a Virgin Mary, and that he suffered under Pontius Pilate, and that he was crucified, and that he wrote, if you don't believe in that, then what are you building on? Amen. So over the next few weeks, let's just go back to the basics and let's just look at the very thing that is a cornerstone of what we believe. Let's pray.

SPEAKER_00 37:59

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