Trinity – The Centre Community Church

Understanding the Trinity

Admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 17:13:48 +0000

How would you explain the Trinity to someone? Some have tried to use an egg as a metaphor — shell, yolk, white — all three different yet all connected. Another popular way is to say the Trinity is like the three states of water — gas (vapour), liquid, solid (ice). Another way has been to say it’s like the same person having three different names — dad, husband, brother. The unfortunate thing is that all of these fall short of describing the God head. Actually, there is no way in creation to explain the Trinity because they are outside of creation. How do you use something that is finite to explain something that is infinite? You can’t.

So why is belief in the Trinity so important for followers of Christ? Why must it be central to our core beliefs if it is something that is hard to explain, and in fact can often be a stumbling block for people to believe in God? I’ll leave you with a hint (so that it’ll entice you to come here the whole answer on Sunday): it has to do with how we’re created, and in who’s image.

To help you prepare for this Sunday you may want to look at some of the following passages: Isaiah 9:1-7; Matthew 3:13-17; Hebrews 9:14; Ephesians 1:3-14, 4:4-7; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. Hope to see you this Sunday!

Pastor Mike

The Trinity: The Holy Spirit

Admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 19:59:47 +0000

Who is the Holy Spirit? What is His role and place in the Trinity? How can we know Him? Why do we address the Holy Spirit as male? Of the three persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is often the most misunderstood. In the recent past a book was written by Francis Chan entitled “The Forgotten God” that talks about how many in the church today have sadly neglected the power and truth of the Holy Spirit, believing that once they are saved through faith in Jesus that that’s about it, they have their ticket into heaven and are free to coast there. For those who live that way not only are they missing out on a rich, wonderful relationship with God, they are actually going against Him! This is a sad and dangerous place to be.

A. W. Tozer says, “We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone . . . . [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favour, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.”

This Sunday as we look at the the third person of the Trinity, my prayer is that we would have a deeper understanding of who He is, and what role He plays in our life as followers of Christ. In order to help you prepare for this Sunday I’d encourage you to read John 14:15-31, 16:5-16, and Romans 8:1-27. You can also look at the New City Catechism questions 36 and 37 (http://www.newcitycatechism.com/q-parent/q36.php) — there are some good videos that go along with these questions that will help you have a better understanding of the Spirit.

Pastor Mike

The Trinity: Jesus, the Son of God

Admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 20:33:54 +0000

This week we continue our look at the Trinity as we focus on Jesus, the son of God. Just like last week when we looked at God the Father we will likely come away with just as many questions as we do answers — these are big topics, and things that we need to continually wrestle with in order for us to grow and mature as followers of Christ. I’d encourage each of you to write down questions that you might have as you read through Scripture or other books, and as you listen to sermons and other teachings. Do not passively take things in. Instead, ask questions and seek out understanding, for the more we know about all three persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) the better prepared for all areas of life we will be.

One question that many have is why did Jesus have to die? It seems cruel — some have even called Jesus’ death cosmic child-abuse. It also seems like if God were really all-powerful then another way could have been found. These are good questions, and good things to wrestle with. My hope and prayer is that as we look at Jesus this coming Sunday that we will understand the motivation behind why He came, lived a perfect life, and chose to die in agreement with and obedience to God the Father. In order to help you prepare for this Sunday please read through John 1, Philippians 2:1-11, and Hebrews 8-10 (all of Hebrews would be best, but that’s a lot of reading! But if you’re up to it, go for it!).

Once again I’ll put the challenge out that if you know of someone who has questions about God, by all means invite them out! We will stick around after the service for as late as we need to continue the conversation, and continue wrestling for answers. Our gathering starts at 6pm.

Pastor Mike