CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, please be the shepherd of our lives.
Amen
(Order of Worship)
Pastors Prayer
Master, may the words I write convey your story to those who see or hear them. Amen
Fundamental Christian Belief's
The Apostle's Creed has traditionally been attributed to the 12 apostles. It contains three paragraphs, one for each person of the Trinity, each corresponding to the three questions addressed to candidates for baptism in the early church.
It is now known that the creed is not of apostolic origin, and each clause can be traced to New Testament references. It is used in many Western churches, however Orthodox churches prefer to use the later Nicene Creed.
As your pastor, my personal preference is the simplest one and it is offered here as your guide.
THE APOSTLES CREED
(Your prayer)
I believe in God the
Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and
earth:
And in Jesus Christ
his only Son,
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 sitteth at the
right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from which he shall
come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Ghost;
the holy catholic
church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of
sins;
the resurrection of
the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen
THE MESSAGE
I looked long and hard for the text of my first message to you, and I was drawn to the conclusion that Psalms 23 was possibly the most straight forward statement that contained the things we can expect from our God.
It is brief, direct and simple, and this is what I hope will become my ministries format as we progress.
The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for
thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with
oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the
house of the LORD for ever.
The very first sentence of this Psalm, to my way of thinking, says it all, "The Lord is my shepherd". I have said it before, and I feel it appropriate that I repeat it, "I'm not a preacher, I'm a guide". The words that I share with you will be simple, and I expect criticism for this, so be it!
I believe most strongly that religious bells and whistles in many pastor's messages belong on the editorial page of the newspaper, not the pulpit, and I hope that you share this same belief.
Please let me hear from you.
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, please be the shepherd of our lives.
Amen