SPEAKER_00: Welcome back, my friends, to the Spray UMC Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: This is Hoyt, and I'm so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00: Today we continue our walk through the Apostles' Creed, a confession that has carried the church for nearly 2,000 years.
SPEAKER_00: So far, we've looked at God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Today we move deeper into the mystery of Jesus, his coming into the world, his humanity, his suffering, and his mission.
SPEAKER_00: Today we focus on three lines that move us from Christ's birth to his suffering and his purpose.
SPEAKER_00: Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate.
SPEAKER_00: These lines take us from the cradle to the cross, from divine glory to human pain, and show us a Savior who enters every part of our experience.
SPEAKER_00: Let's walk through them one at a time.
SPEAKER_00: One, conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is fully God.
SPEAKER_00: This line tells us that the story of Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem, it began in eternity.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit overshadows Mary.
SPEAKER_00: The eternal word of God becomes flesh.
SPEAKER_00: The Creator steps into creation.
SPEAKER_00: Think about that for just a moment.
SPEAKER_00: The one who spoke light into existence entered the darkness of this world.
SPEAKER_00: The one who measured the oceans became an infant held in his mother's arms.
SPEAKER_00: The one who created humanity chose to become one of us.
SPEAKER_00: That is not weakness, that is love.
SPEAKER_00: This is not myth, not symbolism, not poetic language.
SPEAKER_00: It is the bold Christian claim that God Himself entered the human story.
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus is not conceived by the Holy Spirit, then he is just another teacher, just another prophet, just another moral voice.
SPEAKER_00: But because he is conceived by the Holy Spirit, he carries the authority, the power, and the very nature of God.
SPEAKER_00: Salvation is possible because Jesus is fully divine.
SPEAKER_00: two, born of the Virgin Mary.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is fully human.
SPEAKER_00: Just as the first line guards his divinity, this one guards his humanity.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus did not float above the world.
SPEAKER_00: He was born into it.
SPEAKER_00: He had a mother, he had a childhood, he knew hunger, thirst, fatigue, joy, and grief, everything we face.
SPEAKER_00: God did not save us from a distance.
SPEAKER_00: He stepped into our skin.
SPEAKER_00: He walked our roads, he felt our pain.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever you've carried, Jesus understands.
SPEAKER_00: If you've wept, he's wept.
SPEAKER_00: If you've been rejected, he was rejected.
SPEAKER_00: If you've been exhausted, he grew weary too.
SPEAKER_00: We never pray to a Savior who cannot understand.
SPEAKER_00: He became like us so that we could become like him.
SPEAKER_00: Because he is born of Mary.
SPEAKER_00: He stands beside us, fully God and fully man.
SPEAKER_00: Suffered number three, suffered under Pontius Pilate.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came with a purpose.
SPEAKER_00: This line anchors the gospel in history.
SPEAKER_00: Pontius Pilate was a real Roman governor with real political power in a real moment of history.
SPEAKER_00: The Creed refuses to let us treat Jesus as legend.
SPEAKER_00: His suffering happened under a real authority in a real courtroom with real consequences.
SPEAKER_00: Why does the creed highlight suffering?
SPEAKER_00: Because the mission of Jesus was not simply to teach or heal, but to save.
SPEAKER_00: The salvation required suffering, not accidental suffering, but intentional suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Suffering he walked toward, suffering he chose.
SPEAKER_00: No one forced Jesus to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: He could have walked away, but love held him there.
SPEAKER_00: Love for his father, love for the world, love for you, and love for me.
SPEAKER_00: Under Pilate, Jesus is rejected by earthly power and accepted by divine purpose.
SPEAKER_00: He suffers not because he is weak, but because his love is strong.
SPEAKER_00: These three lines protect the heart of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is fully God, able to save.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is fully human, able to represent us.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus suffers, able to redeem us.
SPEAKER_00: This is Christianity in one movement.
SPEAKER_00: God lowers Himself to lift us up.
SPEAKER_00: He enters our world to bring us into His.
SPEAKER_00: He suffers injustice to bring us justice.
SPEAKER_00: He bears our sin to give us His righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: The story of Jesus is not simply inspirational, it is transformal.
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, conceived by the Spirit, born of Mary, and faithful even unto suffering, thank you for stepping into our world and taking on our flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for choosing the path of love, not comfort, the path of obedience, not self-protection, the path of the cross, not the path of ease.
SPEAKER_00: Help us follow you with gratitude, with trust, and with courage.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today.
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have a church home, we would love to have you worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving church where we love God and love people, all people.
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, may the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe.
SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.