Pastor's Midweek Message

Midweek Message w/o May 25, 2025

Sisters and brothers,

This past Sunday we began a new sermon series in worship. For three weeks, we’ll be examining the Trinity—the concept that God is one God, in three persons, whom we call Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is a pretty mind-bending concept. One of my seminary professors, Dr. Creasman, would introduce the topic by saying, “Anyone who thinks they completely understand the Trinity is fooling either themselves, or you.” Just about every commonly-heard analogy to explain the Trinity is flawed somehow, or worse, actually heretical. For instance, we might have heard the analogy that the Trinity is like water, which is one compound (H2O) that can be solid ice, liquid water, or gaseous vapor. Some people even go on to say that God revealed himself first as Father in the Old Testament, then the Son in the Gospels, then as the Holy Spirit today. But the problem there is, it suggests God is not three persons that always exist, but just chooses to reveal himself in three different ways, at three different times. That approach was condemned by the early church in 381 AD, believe it or not. Or others suggest that the Trinity is like the sun, where we have the star and its heat and light. But that’s a heresy known as Arianism, which suggests that the Son and the Holy Spirit are creations of the Father, instead of being eternal along with the Father, forever and ever. See how this gets tough?

This past weekend we explored what it means to say, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed that we confess each week, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” We acknowledged that God’s “fatherhood” isn’t a gender construct but rather a way of describing God as the author of all life, everywhere. We also heard that God’s creative nature, expressed in Genesis 1, is in reality an outpouring of God’s unconditional love: God has to create, because God is loving and wants to share, in love.

It's actually the perfect time to explore the Trinity, because this coming weekend is Ascension Sunday—the day we mark when Jesus ascended to heaven. On Sunday, we’ll talk about what that means, what heaven might be, and why Jesus’ ascension was so critical to our understanding of him as God. Then the weekend after is Pentecost—the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit for all of humanity. With these two weekends, Ascension and Pentecost, proclaiming important truths about two of the three persons of God, it makes sense that we talk about all three!

I don’t know that I have yet hit upon the perfect analogy for the Trinity. Maybe God has given it to you? But regardless, it’s important for us to explore, and to understand the three persons of the Godhead. It’s important for us, as Christians, to be able to explain why we believe what we say each week we believe: in God the Father, in Jesus Christ the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. What does each mean to you? How do they interact, and how do they intersect with your life? These can be powerful ways in which you can share your faith with others, especially those trying to figure out Christianity as they’re hearing about it for the first time.

So let's go.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Eric