The authors of the creed include as one of the essentials of faith a belief in the meaning of baptism. For them, the sacraments were not simply helpful illustrations of Christian truth; they were essential to how the Church is for the world what she...

Included under the article of the Holy Spirit in the Nicene Creed is the statement on the Church. This is because the Church is an accomplishment of the Spirit, the one who unites us, sanctifies us, is present in all the many rooms of the vast...

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. We only know that because of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit takes the things that are Christ's and makes them known to us. The Spirit is the One Who opens our eyes and the light by which We...

We begin the third and final article of the Creed: the article on the Holy Spirit. It is the burden of the Creed to affirm that the Spirit is as much God as the Son and the Father, though he plays a different role in salvation. Throughout the...

The news of the Gospel is the news of a regime change: the kingdoms of earth give way to the kingdom of heaven. As we heard last week, Christ has been enthroned in heaven, and a change in the ruler inevitably means a lot of other things are about to...

Jesus' work is completed by his ascension into heaven where he is said to sit at the right hand of God, sharing his rule and authority. Christ reigns presently to superintend the ending of human history. The ascension to heaven is the moment he...

The resurrection is the center of the Christian faith. Jesus calls the resurrection a sign, but a sign of what? What do we know now because of the resurrection that we didn’t know before? We know now that Jesus is Messiah. We know that God has new...

Over and over again, the Gospel of John invites us to see. So what is it that John means for us to see? Jesus? Yes, but who exactly are we seeing and how? John warns that it is possible to see without seeing. Many do. If we are going to see him as he...

Christ comes to us by way of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. The virgin birth is another reminder that Christ did not begin at his birth, nor was he begotten from Mary, but she is pregnant with the Divine and will go on to mother God Himself...

Here the Creed begins to recite the work of Christ. Christ came down from heaven. The glory that would be appropriate for him he leaves behind to share in the suffering of his people, coming with no majesty, accepting humiliation and want. And the...