Set Apart In Christ

1       Introduction One day Jesus and his disciples were entering Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asks his disciples a question; “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  They answer “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” The variety and uncertainty (“some say”) may suggest that it is the disciples themselves who are still unsure of how to answer, not so much what the people are saying. The first question sets the scene, though, for the next, more personal and very direct question. In fact, this is arguably the most important question of all time. “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter jumps in with confidence; “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” As we read this passage we too are confronted with this same question, and it is the topic for our discussion today. “Who do you say I am?”

1       Introduction The Trinity is one of the most difficult aspects of Christian theology yet at the same time arguably the most important. What we understand God to be like impacts how we understand what God does. Robert Letham has suggested that “In the West, the Trinity has in practice been relegated to such an extent that most Christians are little more than practical modalists.” [1] In other words, in practical terms, the Trinity really  has no impact on the way most Christians live and move within their faith.  How can this be? Clearly, if theologians suggest that this a “fundamental aspect of the Christian vision of God” [2] then surely this must have an impact on the way we worship, the way we engage in mission as well as our understanding of what it means to be a people of the Triune God. These are the things we will be focusing upon today. So, whilst we will make an attempt to describe the Trinity in ways that are understandabl...

I've started a new series of bible studies at church this year called "Questions?". Here I  choose a particular question of interest, present some material on it, and then the group discusses it. The first of these questions was "How do you read it?"; a question that Jesus asked of the "expert in the law" in Luke 10:26. Whilst not addressing the passage directly, I find this particular question to be one of the most important for Christians to consider. Here's the material I presented for discussion below. ________________________