Sermon Tone Analysis

I Believe in God The Father

Deuteronomy 6:4-12 & Hebrews 11:1-3; 32-40

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11:1

Today we begin our Summer Series called “I BELIEVE.”

Our series is based upon the Apostles’ Creed.

Before we turn our reading from Deuteronomy and Hebrews.

Let us say the Apostles’ Creed together.

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary

Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell

The third day he rose again from the dead

He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead

I believe in the Holy Ghost

I believe a holy catholic church; the communion of saints

The forgiveness of sins

The resurrection of the body

And the life everlasting.

Amen.[i]

When I was in Seminary, we had to memorize certain passages from the Bible in the original Hebrew or Greek language.

One of those passages I memorized was Deuteronomy 6:4-5, called the Shema because the first word in Hebrew is “shema” which means “hear or obey.”

For the Hebrew people, to hear was to obey.

“Shema Israel Adoni Elohanu Adoni Hagad Vahata Eight Adoni Elohica Bacoal Lavaca Ufcoal Nofsheca Ufcoal Maodeca.”

These words were given to the people of Israel by Moses.

The Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

They are about to enter into the Promise Land, and they are given these words to encourage them and to help them keep their faith.

The Shema from the Old Testament is equivalent to the Lord’s Prayer in the New Testament.

The Hebrew people would recite this prayer and teach it to their children so they would remember God and place their faith in Him.

Listen to these powerful words.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Shema

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

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.

7 Impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.[ii]

Our New Testament reading for today comes from the book of Hebrews.

Chapter 11 is often called the Hall of Faith.

Our reading will tell us what faith is.

The word “faith” is used 23 times.

I encourage you to take and read Hebrews 11 this week.

By faith Abel, by faith Enoch, by faith Noah, by faith Abraham, by faith Sarah, by faith Isaac, by faith Jacob, by faith Joseph, by faith Rahab, and by faith Moses.

By faith people passed through the Red Sea, by faith walls fell, by faith women received back their dead and by faith they lived.

What more can we say --- by faith?

Hebrews 11:1-3; 32-40

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.[iii]

And what more shall I say?

I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.37

They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.

They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them.

They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.

40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.[iv]

I BELIEVE

The Apostles Creed gets its name from the Apostles who followed Jesus --- Peter, Andrew, James & John, Matthew, Thomas and the rest.

One tradition has it that each disciple was responsible for one line in the Creed, however, most scholars do not believe that.

The earliest reference of the Apostle’s Creed is found around the middle of the 2nd century --- around 140 A.D.--roughly a little over hundred years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The earliest written form of this creed is found in a letter that Marcellus of Ancyra wrote in Greek to Julius, the bishop of Rome, about 341.

Fifty years later, Tyrannius Rufinus wrote a commentary on this creed in Latin.[v]

You have in your hands the writings of a document that is at least 1,879 years old!

Stop and ponder the millions of people who have recited this creed throughout those years.

When we say the Apostles’ Creed, we are not just expressing our own faith or what we believe.

We are joining our voices with the great cloud of witnesses from across the centuries—people from every tribe and nation.

Over the past few years, there has been a catch phrase that is used repeatedly in our political debate, discourse and discussion: “the rule of law.”

For the early church, the Apostles’ Creed was known as “The Rule of Truth” or “The Rule of Faith” --- “rugula fidei” in the Latin or Roman world at the time.

This Rule of Faith was not to replace Scripture or supersede Scripture in any way but was used to corroborate, verify, validate and teach the Scriptures.

Honestly, what would happen in our world today if we went back to teaching “The Rule of Truth or The Rule of Faith?” Like the guy in the movie THE PRINCESS BRIDE, “Inconceivable.”

The Latin word for “creed” is Credo and it literally means “I BELIEVE.”

Our so what question comes early today: So What do you believe?

Who do you believe?

Why do you believe?

How do you believe?

It is my prayer as we go through this series this summer that we will come to know what we believe and why we believe what we believe.

The truth is that we all believe in something.

The Atheist who says there is no God is stating their belief--no god.

The Buddhist believes in Budda, the Hindu believes in Carma, the Muslim believe in Allah.

Every man-made religion has its own beliefs and practices.

The word “believe is used 253 times in the New Testament and another 30 times in the Old Testament.

“Faith” is another word for believe and it is used over 420 times in the Bible.

Just in the Hall of Faith chapter 11 of Hebrews, the word “faith’ is used 23 times.

Faith means assent; faith is believing that certain things are true.

Faith means trust.

When we say that there once was a man called Jesus who lived, died and rose again, we are affirming our belief or our trust in Jesus.

As Christians and followers of Jesus, we don’t just believe in something.

We believe in someone!

Faith is not about believing that God exists, it is anchoring ourselves, our lives, and all that we have in God.

When I turned 40, I left a 20-year career with a nice paying job.

I had two company cars, free insurance, and a fair salary.

We owned a house and our three children didn’t seem to lack much.

Did I mention that I was a self-made man?

For many years, I got by not trusting in anyone or anything but myself.