I Believe – Week 4The 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 Spiritand born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heavenand is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there, he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.
Preaching Text:
Matthew 1:18–25 - The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.“
Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary”
*In 2005, a pastor and author by the name of Rob Bell (Emergent/Postmodern Christian movement), wrote a book called “Velvit Elvis” in which he asked the question as to whether it is important for Christians to believe in the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. Bell proposes the question:
"What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry?"
Why is the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth so Important:
1. It affirms the fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy (Is. 7:14).
2. It affirms the authority and trustworthiness of the Scriptures.
3. It affirms that Jesus was indeed fully God, and fully man.
4. It affirms that Jesus did not inherit “Original Sin”.
Ligon Duncan –
"The virgin birth explains how Jesus could be divine and human and sinless all at the same time. And that is what we have to have to be saved. We need a divine Savior, a human Savior, and a sinless Savior, to be saved."
Suffered Under Pontius Pilate”Michael Bird – “Crucifixion meant degradation, death, shame, and cruelty. Crucifixion was the Roman way of saying, ‘If you dare to mess with us, there is no limit and no restraint on the violence that we will do to you.”1 Peter 3:18 - For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit
Incarnation – Christ came close to us so that we might come close to God