Doxology:Worship Pastor Justin TaylorR.C. Sproul said, "Theology must always end in doxology: the joyful praise of our Creator; otherwise we have not truly studied the things of God." Doxology is an admission of God's glory. We don't cause His glory. We confess it!
Doxologies Ascribe Glory to God
Doxologies are words of praise that are formulated for use in a worship service. It's an expression of praise to God, and we find them primarily in the letters of the New Testament

• Doxologies are designed for use in community. Most of the letters in the New Testament were written to communities, house churches, city churches. They were meant to be read aloud to a congregation. (Hebrews 10:25)
• Doxologies are designed for use in personal prayer.
• Doxologies are worth committing to memory. (Acts 2:42)

Doxologies often begin with "To Him", and they are typically formal in tone, poetic, and very doctrinally dense. (Rom 11:36; Rom 16:25-27; Eph 3:20-21; 1 Peter 4:11; Jude 1:25; Heb 13:20-21, etc.)
Doxologies Train Our Grammar for Worship
The doxologies written by Paul in the New Testament were actually inspired by the Holy Spirit. God has not only given us every reason to praise Him, but in the doxologies He gives us the words with which to praise Him.
The words and phrasing are not typical for how we speak today, but don't be tempted to "fix them", or improve them because we need to assume the Author got it right the first time! We adapt our speech to His very words. In time, your heart will begin to match those prayers and you will begin to naturally pray that way.
Doxology Completes Theology
We move from the explanation of theology to the experience of doxology. The subject is still the same, but we are making a decided turn from the examination of the things of God to an encounter with the Living God Himself! Doxology is not a response to what you read in your theology - it is a response to Him. (John 5:39)
Doxology Always Happens in RelationshipThe New Testament doxology writers never talk about the bigness or greatness of God off by Himself, aloof, uninvolved, or in isolation. It is always about the glory of His love and mercy in dealing with us. We realize how much He loves us and what He did for us in relationship that causes us to sing out to Him! The glory of God is completely irrelevant to us until it touches us in Jesus Christ.
It is Jesus who perfectly ascribes glory to God. It is Jesus who perfectly trains our grammar for worship. It is Jesus who completes our theology. It is in Jesus' relationship with His Father that we now share in that intimate relationship. This is why Jesus is the subject of every doxology by which we ascribe glory to God.
The place where God's glorytouches us is in Jesus.What a reason to sing!

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A Theology of SufferingSenior Pastor Alex KennedyThere are many different faces of suffering:The Suffering of BetrayalThe Suffering of LossThe Suffering of Physical Pain and/or SicknessThe Suffering of Persecution for our Faith
The Bible has a lot to say about suffering.
Plan on It. Expect It.1 Peter 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:12; Phil 1:29-30
Phil 2:7-8 and Is 53:3 reminds us that Jesus was abandoned, denied, and betrayed by all the people He had poured His life into, and on the cross He was forsaken even by His Father. The suffering of Jesus and the victory of Jesus always go together. Jesus' victory came through His suffering. The glory of the resurrection came through the shame of His cross. We should not thing suffering is strange. It will happen.
Our Suffering Has Purpose1 Peter 4:13-16; Heb 12:2; Matt 5:11
Jesus is coming back, and Peter says that if we rejoice in our suffering now, then on that future day, when we see Jesus, we will "rejoice and be glad," which means there will be more joy. It's our future with Jesus that makes the difference, and that's what our present suffering points to. The trials we experience today verifies to us that we are on the path to sharing in His glory.
Part of our purpose in suffering is to comfort others with the comfort we have been comforted with. Once we have experienced suffering, we can come alongside others that are experiencing a similar journey.
Our Suffering is Temporary1 Peter 1:6; 1 Peter 5:10
Our life is like a breath in eternity. Although it seems like an eternity when we are in the middle of our suffering, it is good to be reminded that it will pass, either in this life or when we pass from this life. He will "restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
Run to Him not Away From Him1 Peter 4:19; Psalm 34:18
God is always great and He is always good. Sometimes, in the middle of suffering, we can forget His goodness and His greatness. Suffering can distort our perspective, but that doesn't mean that He has changed. God is still good and great.
Questions to Consider:

1. When is a time in your life that you have experienced suffering?
2. How have you seen God at work in your life through seasons of suffering?
3. When have you been able to come alongside someone else because of a suffering experience that you have had?
4. How can you prepare to run to God instead of away from Him the next time you go through a season of suffering?

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Eschatology: The End TimesStudent Teaching Pastor Jason Salyer"If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” CS Lewis 
Jesus Will Return In GloryReferences: Acts 1:6-11, Revelation 19:11-16
Jesus will return physically, visibly, suddenly, and personally.God will judge sin. The penalty for sin will be faced by all who stand before God in their own sin and works.Hell is…

• justice and judgment for sin
• the destination of the unrepentant
• avoidable through a Savior 

Jesus completed a mission to redeem and restore us to Himself. We have a new relationship through union with Christ. We live in the Already/Not Yet tension of the Kingdom. Because of that, we can give thanks that we are not where we have been while longing for what is still to come. 
Living in the Already/Not Yet

• Be ready and discerning
• Share the good news

-with a lost world-with each other and often!

• Set your hope in Christ

-He is the First Fruits in His return, and we follow in a new body as all of creation is transformed 
Jesus Will Reign For EternityReferences: Revelation 22:1-5, 1 John 3:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
The goal from before creation was Jesus ruling from a throne. He is worthy for who He is and what He has done. 
Life in the new creation will be lived under the rule of Jesus. This is incredible news because He is faithful and true. We will experience His glory and goodness.

• We will worship (Rev 5:11-14, 7:9-10)
• We will rule with Christ (Gen 1:28; Matt 25:21; Rev 3:21, 5:10, 22:4-5)
• We will joyfully work & rest (Eph 2:10, Rev 14:13, 21:23-27, 22:3)
• We will live in a redeemed community in perfect fellowship (Heb 12:22-23)

Looking to the return of Christ and the mission before us, Martin Luther once said, “I have two days on my calendar: this day and that Day.”
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
No matter what you are going through, because Jesus rose from the dead, it is going to be ok.
Questions:What kind of difference would it make if you were to spend 10 minutes in God’s presence in heaven? How can we be about “setting our hearts on things above” (Col 3:2)?
What are you pursuing in your life now that only makes sense in light of eternity?
If you have a relationship with Jesus, what do you look forward to most about the new heavens and new earth?

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Missiology: The Mission of the ChurchSenior Pastor Alex KennedyMissiology is the study of Christian missions. At Carmel, we define missions as accomplishing the Great Commission in partnership with the global church through the stewarding of resources entrusted to us by God. We believe that the Scripture makes it clear that God's heart is for the nations to know Him (1 Tim 2:4). As a result, Jesus gave His church a mandate (the Great Commission Matt 28:18-20) to spread the message of the Gospel to all nations. Carmel defines a disciple as "a follower of Christ in learning and living."To read more and for questions to consider, go to: https://carmelbaptist.org/carmel-sermon/the-ology-missiology-the-mission-of-the-church/

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Ecclessiology: The ChurchStudent Pastor Jason SalyerToo often we define the church by what we do, but it is so important to recognize and understand who we are. The word translated church means "called out" and "assembled together". In Ephesians 3:9-11, we see that we are connected to Jesus and we are connected to others. The church is being brought forth into the light as we are being revealed as being united to Jesus.
To read more and for questions to consider, go to: https://carmelbaptist.org/carmel-sermon/the-ology-ecclesiology-the-church/

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Soteriology: SalvationPastor Alex KennedyIn the Old Testament, sin entered the human race through Adam and Eve's disobedience to God (Gen 3). Sin brought with it a curse on creation, death, and a depraved nature in all of Adam's offspring. A system of substitutionary sacrifices for sin was developed because God's people were not able to keep God's law perfectly. The promise of a Redeemer was given by the Old Testament prophets, and then the New Testament declares Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Savior and Redeemer of mankind.
To Read more and for questions to consider, go to: https://carmelbaptist.org/carmel-sermon/The-Ology:soteriology-salvation

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Hamartiology: SinPastor Alex KennedyGenesis 1:31 ends with "God finished creating and everything was very good!" Unfortunately; soon after, sin entered the world through Satan, where it existed before the disobedience of Adam and Eve (Ezekiel 28:15-17). Sin then entered humanity through their decisions.
Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in action, attitude, or nature. In the Old Testament, the primary word used for sin is "Chata" which is an archery term that means "missing the mark". The same meaning is used in the New Testament with the word "Harmatia".
So when Adam and Eve ate from the tree (Gen 3:6), they directly contradicted God's command. Neither God nor Satan forced them to eat from the tree; they did so willingly, and so willingly sinned against God. As a result, Adam's nature became sinful.
Sin became something Adam naturally did. Adam's sin also caused us to inherit a sinful nature, one that is naturally opposed to God and His moral laws, which we call Original Sin (Psalm 51).
We received not only Adam's sinful nature, but also his sin-produced guilt. Adam's action resulted not only in his own guilt, but also in the guilt of every other human (Romans 5:12-19).
How Does Sin Affect Us?

• Sin breaks shalom with God - While sin does not affect our status or standing with God, it does affect our fellowship with God because it grieves Him when we sin. God is eternally good in His character and all that He is conforms perfectly to His moral law. So, anything contrary to His moral law is contrary to His character, which means God Himself. God hates sin because it directly contradicts everything He is.

• Sin affects our relationships with others - Sinful words or actions can result in a broken relationship, even between Christians. Even though all Christians still sin, they should not participate in a long-term pattern of greater and greater disobedience to God's moral law, for "no one born of God makes a practice of sinning." (1 John 3:9)

• Sin destroys shalom in ourselves - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom 3:23) "If we say we have no sin, we decieve ourselves, and the truth in not in us". (1 John 1:8) Paul also tells us that we have earned death because of our sin - "The wages of sin is death". (Rom 6:23)

We sin because it feels good...for a season. (Hebrews 11:24-25) (James 1:13-15) We deceive ourselves and believe that there will not be consequences, but we will ALWAYS taste the consequences of our sin.
"We are more sinful and flawedthan we ever dared believe,yet at the same timewe are more loved andaccepted in Jesus Christthan we ever dared hope."-Tim Keller
We must fully understand the darkness of our sin before we can fully understand the beautiful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. The level of understanding of our sin is directly proportionate to the level of joy we can understand of God's forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus.

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Anthropology: ManTheological anthropology is theological because it seeks to understand the nature of the human person in light of scripture, and discerning what it means to be made in the image of God has huge consequences for how we think about every other aspect of our humanity.
Genesis 1:26-31 shows us that we are made in the image of God; in other words, we are the Imago Dei. We are the pinnacle of all of God's creation, and we are unique in that way. Although we are "like" God, we are not God.
Realities of this biblical worldview:

• Man is created - not made by random chance or evolving. We are made with distinct and good genders - male and female, to reflect God.

• Man has purpose - God did not create us because he was lacking or needing anything. He wasn't lonely. He chose to create us to bring Him glory. As creatures made in God's image, we were also made to be His representatives on the earth. Since "the earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof (Ps 24:1), we fill the earth (multiply) and are involved in every place where God rules and reigns.

• Man has value and dignity - The Maker assigns the value, and He loves you because He created you. Every person has equal value in the eyes of the Creator.

• We see and value others because God has assigned value - The fall and curse of humanity distorts the image of God in man but does not remove it from him. After the fall, the image of God remains the basis for human dignity and biblical ethics. C.S. Lewis said, "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal."

How do we live in light of this Truth:

1. Every ethnicity is equal in value and dignity
2. The pre-born are created humans and deserve value and worth
3. The elderly are created humans and deserve value and worth
4. Those with disabilities are created humans and deserve value and worth
5. The orphan and widow are created humans and deserve value and worth
6. Our political opponents are created humans and deserve value and worth

YOU are created with value and dignityYOU are created with purposeYOU are fiercely loved by your Creator
You can't fully love others until you understand how loved you are...
Questions to consider

1. Why do we treat people differently?
2. Where do you struggle with loving people? (What really gets under your "skin" and makes you feel anger or disgust towards a person or group affiliation, or people group?)
3. Where do you need to confess sin and ask for forgiveness?
4. What can you do to have a reminder that every person has equal value? How do you show all people the dignity they inherently have and deserve as God's pinnacle of creation?

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Angelology: Angels and DemonsAngels are spiritual beings who were created by God to act as messengers to "serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation." (Neh 9:6; Heb 1:14) They are innumerable (Rev 5:11) and have great power (Psalm 103:20). They long to have what followers of Christ have...to be united with the Father through the saving work of Jesus (1 Peter 1:12; Luke 15:10). We do not worship angels, pray to them, or seek them out. We don't become angels when we die. On the contrary, in Christ, we become greater than the angels (Col 2:18; Rev 19:10; 1 Tim 2:5).To Read more and for questions to consider, go to https://carmelbaptist.org/carmel-sermon/the-ology-angelology-angels-demons/

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The Trinity: Father, Son & Holy SpiritEven though the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible, we see evidence of a Triune God throughout the old and new testaments. This begins in Genesis 1:1 when it says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." The word God in this instance is "Elohim" which is a plural noun. God is in an intimate relationship, a fellowship, and a community of love. There is one God (Deut 6:1), but He has never been alone. Father, Son, and Spirit are eternally related AND subsist in one divine essense.
Out of this perfect community of love, God the Father sent His Son to be born to humanity through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The mystery of the Trinity has been explained in many ways, but all of them fall short. For example, the early church fathers described "The Dance of the Trinity", called Perichoresis, which tried to explain how the three divine Person made up one essence in God. Others try to explain with science, citing water in it's three forms of liquid, vapor, and solid. That doesn't work either because those three forms are not all existing at the same time.
Timothy Keller describes the Trinity like this: " Each of the divine persons centers upon the others. None demands that the others revolve around Him. Each voluntarily circles the other two, pouring love, delight, and adoration into them. Each person of the Trinity loves, adores, defers to, and rejoices in the others. That creates a dynamic, pulsating dance of joy and love."
Jesus speaks to the Trinity through the great commission (Matt 28:19-20) when He says, "go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." He perfectly understands the union of Himself, and teaches us to search deeply to understand how to love one another by pointing each other to Him.
In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he writes to us to understand the love of the Triune God to us in Eph 3:14-20. Paul's desire is that we experience the fullness of life in and with the Triune God "so that":
We might be strengthened with power in the inner person through the Spirit.

1. Power to endure difficult situations - we can't in our own strength
2. Power to be patient in everyday situations
3. Power to trust God's plan - not the plan we would always choose...
4. Power to forgive
5. Power to love

We have Christ dwell in our heart, His permanent residence, and know the extent of His love.

1. To comprehend His love for us
2. To overcome any resistance, fear, or doubt of His love

We are filled up with the fullness of God.

1. This does NOT make us God, but it does make us godly
2. Experiencing the Trinity is a lifetime of allowing us to grow into all God longs for us to be.
3. We can find satisfaction and fulfillment in Him.

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