The Jesus Creed

 John 3:16-17 (NIV)

16 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.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.

The Jesus Creed

Mark 12 (NIV)

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.

Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,

“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

   29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this:

‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no commandment greater than these.”

 32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying

that God is one and there is no other but him.

33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding

and with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself

is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him,

“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

 The Jesus Creed    This week we begin a new series on the "Jesus Creed."  How better to begin that conversation than with the celebration of communion - the service in which we are reminded of God's incredible love for us, the extent to which He was willing to go, and the life He invites us to participate in as we respond to His invitation to allow His life to become ours.  And so we take the bread and the cup, and as what they contain literally becomes a part of us, we celebrate that God through His Spirit lives within us as well.  "Christ in us, the hope of glory."

It is an awesome thing to realize that God really is that close, that present, that attentive.  As a community we are called the body of Christ, and we are invited to allow Him to continue to live out His life in us and in our community.  And so, when the person in the scripture passage we noticed today comes to Jesus with the question of what it is that matters most, Jesus responds by telling them what this looks like - He responds with "The Jesus Creed."

What Jesus describes here is a way of living that reflects the reality that Jesus is indeed living within us.  It is symbolized in communion, it is expressed in the way we live  . . ."  And that is how Pastor Jon introduces the series as he invites us to begin to consider just what that looks like.  If you would like to listen to the sermons in this series again, or perhaps for the first time, you can access our sermon library by clicking here.  Study guides for individual or small group use are available by clicking on the links below:

Study Guides that Accompany this Series:         (These will become available as the series progresses)The Jesus Creed, Part 1  October 6, 2011 (Introduction - No Study Guide)The Jesus Creed, Part 2  October 15, 2011   Study Guide 1The Jesus Creed, Part 3  October 29, 2011Study Guide 2The Jesus Creed, Part 4 November 5, 2011  Study Guide 3

The Jesus Creed, Part 5 November 19, 2011 Study Guide 4

The Jesus Creed, Part 6 December 5, 2011  Study Guide 5

LINK BACK TO SERMON LIBRARY

If you would like more information on how to get a copy of Scott McKnight's book, The Jesus Creed, you can click here or visit your favorite source for books.