From Discipleship Weekly

(a publication of the Presbyterian Church of Islip)

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A Word from Our Sponsor "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." -- Matthew 6:19-21 The Heidelberg Catechism: Part 1- Of Man's Redemption Week 8 24. Q. How are these articles [in the Apostles' Creed] divided? A. Into three parts: The first concerns God the Father and our creation; the second, God the Son and our redemption; and the third, God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. 25. Q. Since there is only one Divine Being why do you speak of three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? A. Because God has thus revealed himself in his Word, that these three distinct persons are the one, true, eternal God. [Gen. 1:2-3; Deut. 6:4; Is. 44:6; 45:5; 61:1; 63:8-10; Matt. 3:16-17; 28:18-19; Luke 4:18; John 14:26; 15:26; II Cor. 13:14; Gal. 4:6; Titus 3:5, 6] Suggestions for discussion and review: 1. What do the following have in common? UFOs ESP "Bermuda Triangle" Aspirin the Trinity 2. How do the following help explain the Trinity? How do they fail? a triangle a family the 3 states of water * * * * * * * * * * Mystery is not a category only for the spiritually elite, secret knowledge reserved for the members of the 'deeper life club.' The mysteries of faith in Christ are for everyone who claims to be in relationship with Him. The basic truths of Christianity are mysteries, not understandable, not 'our ways': the virgin birth of Jesus, the Trinity, grace, prayer, the union of the believer with Christ, the Cross, and perhaps most mysterious, and key to them all, the Incarnation. . . . We are not irrationalists, we are believers. Only by believing do we 'know.' We do not claim to fully understand the mystery. Not in the least, or else it would be no mystery. It is because of the mystery, and not in spite of it, that we know. The mystery calls forth faith, giving us the ability to 'know' with the heart as well as the mind. Even the knowing is a mystery. -- Michael Card, Immanuel: Reflections on the Life of Christ