As political spin, the "Old Roman Creed" was given the name of ---

"The Apostles' Creed".

To hammer the Gnostic's, a MYTH was generated that the Apostles,
on the day of Pentecost, while still under the direct inspiration
of the Holy Spirit composed the creed with each of the Apostles
contributing one of the twelve articles.

From page 323, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The Apostles' Creed was formulated as a refutation of Gnosticism.
It developed from the "Old Roman Creed", an earlier and shorter
version of the Apostles' Creed.

Gnosticism is from the Greek word --- gnosis ---, or knowledge.
It held that the physical universe is evil; and that God did
not make it.

Per the Gnostic's, Jesus was never a man at all, but only the
appearance of a man. The Spirit descended upon him at his
baptism; and that the Spirit left him before his crucifixion,
so that the Spirit had only a brief and tenuous association
with matter and humanity.

The Gnostic's considered that what man needed was not forgiveness,
but enlightenment. Ignorance, not sin, was the problem. Only a
few (their group) were able, through knowledge, to become free
forever from the taint of matter and the shackles of the body;
and to return to the heavenly real as Pure Spirits. They totally
rejected any idea of the resurrection of the body.

From page 322, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

In the second portion of our text, Paul takes the phrase ---

"He was raised on the third day ---"

and amplifies it. Paul list three individuals (Peter, James,and
himself), and two groups (the other Apostles and more than
500 brothers at the same time) as eye-witnesses to the
resurrected Jesus. In Jewish and Roman Law, a minimum of two
witnesses were needed to substantiate or confirm a charge.
Therefore, Paul gives his readers overwhelming evidence the
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ did, in fact, occur!!!

From page 321, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The placing of this basic Creed at Pentecost allows biblical
scholars to hold that it happened far too quickly for a myth
to develop about the historical record of The Resurrection.
Recent scholarship in manuscript reliability and textual
criticism, and using the historical records of Paul and his
early travels to Damascus and Jerusalem, place this portion
of scripture at about 35 AD. Having a brief 2 year gap
between "the creed" and "the written scripture" supports
the concept that initial scriptures were "an oral tradition".

From page 321, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

I submit that Paul received this "brief creed" from Peter, who used
it when those three thousand were added to the Faith at Pentecost.

In an earlier lesson, the overwhelming evidence is that the first
Good Friday, the crucifixion of Jesus, occurred on ---

Friday, April 3, 33 AD; and thus,
Easter on Sunday, April 5, 33 AD.

Since Pentecost is celebrated seven Sundays after Easter, this means
that the conversion and baptism of the three thousand occurred on ---

Sunday, May 24, 33 AD.

THEREFORE, the "brief creed" recorded by Paul in --- 1st Corinthians
15:3-4, becomes ---

"The Very First Creed of the Church"!!!

WOW!

From pages 320-321, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Both men (Peter and Paul) attended the "Council of Jerusalem",
the first known meeting of the leaders of the church, including
Apostles and Elders. It occurred about 50 AD.

During these meetings, it is reasonable to construct that Peter
and Paul had several "one-on-one" sessions.

Probably, Peter shared with Paul, in detail, his experience at
Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the gathered. Then Peter
got up and gave "a fiery sermon". om which three thousands repented;
and were baptized.

And, Paul shared with Peter, in detail, his Damascus Road experience;
and his first Missionary Journey in 47 AD.

From page 320, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The Very First Creed of the Church

The very early church used a "brief creed" or "confession" as
"a statement of religious belief" in the Baptism Ceremony of
new converts. Paul writes is 1st Corinthians 15:3-8, N.I.V.:

"For what I received I passed on to you as of
first importance that ---

'Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures,' ---

From page 319, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amaxon.com.

NOW, we have a large group of members who support the church
quietly and generously. They are very prompt in their giving.
to these faithful souls, we should applaud; and say ---

THANK YOU!!!

From page 317, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

I want to say a few words about integrity and honesty when we think
about the Methodist Church. In my judgment, our clergy, staff, and
lay leaders exhibit a very high degree of integrity or honesty.
Knowing the corporate scandals in America, the sad problems within
the American Cathodic priests, and the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakkers of
this world, the Methodist Church does a very good job of policing
itself to guard against such tragedies from darkening our community
of believers.

From page 316, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

When you "Tithe", your life style will change.
It is like getting married. You settle down.
Things that seemed IMPORTANT to you then,
seem LESS IMPORTANT now. YOU must determine
what is important to you and what is not
important. Once you do that, then tithing
becomes easier.

Page 315, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Third, at some point in time you may want to consider "Tithing".

The best advice I can give about "Tithing" is that ---

"It is LARGE enough to be scary,
and SMALL enough to be doable!!!"

From pages 314-315, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Second, INCREASE your giving 1/2 to 1% each year, until YOU
get to the level where YOU would like to be. The old saying
is true:

"A man convinced AGAINST his will is of the SAME opinion STILL!"

Since "God loves a cheerful giver", we want you to remain
"Cheerful" along your giving path.

From page 314, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

In that growing process, there are some guidelines we,
as church leaders, can offer:

First, realize where you are in your giving TODAY.
When the collection plate is passed; you may only have
a dollar or two to put in. THAT IS A BEGINNING!
The national average of church giving is about 2.4%
You need to know your starting point.

From page 314, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

God Loves a Cheerful Giver

My text this morning is one sentence from the New Testament,
2nd Corinthians 9:7, N.I.V., which reds ---

"Each man should give what he has decided
in his heart to give,
NOT RELUCTANTLY OR UNDER COMPULSION,
for God loves a cheerful giver."

From page 313, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon,com.

In closing, I am reminded of the words of John Wesley who
encouraged his followers ---

"to earn all they can,
to save all they can,
and to give all they can!!!"

Our money becomes wealth when we use it to bless others.
In God's eyes, each one of us is IMPORTANT, and what ever
role we play in his kingdom, it is an IMPORTANT role.

Therefore ---

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, ---"

And, you will become ---

"a cheerful giver!!!"

Amen.

From pages 310-311, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The neat thing about tithing is that ---

"It is LARGE enough to be scary;
and SMALL enough to be doable!!!"

If you choose to tithe, then you MUST adjust your lifestyle.
Just as we can not be in more than one place at one time,
we can not participate in EVERYTHING that is available to us
in the American society. YOU must determine what is
important to you and what is not important. Once you do that,
then tithing becomes easier.

From page 310, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Clearly, in the New Testament, it is NOT a legalistic
10 per cent; BUT, out of generosity that believers
become cheerful givers!!! In fact, 2nd Corinthians 9:7 states:

"Each man should give what he has decided
in his heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver!!!"

From page 308, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Let us look at our text again, Proverbs 3:9-10:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine."

These references to "filled barns" and "full wine vats" are
symbols to Holy Communion. Yes, the bread and the wine.
When we honor God with our wealth we are in Communion with Him!!!

From page 306, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

You promise to be loyal to the United Methodist Church;
and uphold it by ---

"your prayers, your presence, your gifts and your service".

But, your level of support in each of these areas is up to YOU.
No one from the church will require from you a certain amount
of time each day praying, require that you be present a minimum
number of Sundays, require that your gifts be a certain amount,
or require that you perform a certain amount of service work.
These are entirely up to you!!!

From page 306, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Honor the Lord with your Wealth

You see "Honor" means showing respect and esteem to another.
When we "Honor" God with our wealth, we are showing
"respect and esteem" to the one who is due it.

From page 305, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

During my morning devotionals, I discovered a little used text
on how we are to support the Church with our financial resources.
It is Proverbs 3:9-10, N.I.V., which reads:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine."

From page 305, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.