In our studies of the Apostles’ Creed, we have reached the statement “[He] Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead…”

The Apostles’ Creed tells us nothing about Christ’s childhood and adolescence. It leaps straight from the miraculous conception and birth of Christ to this statement, and in that respect, it echoes the Gospel writers, who give us similarly very little information about Jesus’s younger days (see Luke 2 for what information we do have.) That may frustrate our curiosity, but the Gospel writers were far more interested in the ministry of Jesus and even more than that, they were interested in the final weeks of His life. They knew, without a shadow of a doubt, what is important in this great story and what is important are these key elements highlighted in the Creed.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate is not, in many ways, a key figure in the Gospels. We know very little about him from these accounts, though he is mentioned in all 4 Gospels: in Matthew 27, in Mark 15, in Luke 3 and in Luke 23 and in John 18 and 19. Apart from the Gospels, he is mentioned briefly by the historians Tacitus and Josephus, and there is an inscription known as the ‘Pilate Stone’ which confirms his title as that of a ‘prefect’ (or governor.) Luke tells us in Luke 3 that the ministry of John the Baptist and ultimately that of Jesus started “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas” (Luke 3:1-2). It seems Pilate became governor or prefect in about AD 26 and was in authority for about 10 years. A governor had four main tasks, being responsible for the taxes and acting as the Roman Emperor’s personal finance agent; being an accountant who had to deal with local building projects; being in charge of the army in that area and acting as the province’s senior judge. He features in the Gospels because of his role in the trial of Jesus, which was connected with his role as judge.

Pilate’s authority is invoked because the Jews are following their own agenda and they want the authority to kill this man. Pilate does not seem to want to execute Jesus, recognising that he has done nothing worthy of death. He tries to negotiate with the chief priests and scribes to have Jesus released (Mark 15:9-15), but ultimately he ignores his own conscience which tells him this man has done nothing wrong (John 19:6), his wife’s pleas to have nothing to do with this innocent man (Matt 27:19) and despite his attempts to absolve himself of blame (Matt 27:24), he wants to please the people more than he wants to do the right thing. As such, he is remembered for his part in the death of Christ, giving us a fixed point in history for Christ’s death, showing us that Christ did indeed live on earth, suffer and die under his authority.

He was crucified, dead and buried
In six short words, the Apostles’ Creed sums up how the plan of salvation was worked out. It tells us the method of Jesus’s death: that barbaric death used by Romans at this time, usually to punish slaves, pirates and enemies of the state. Crucifixion was considered a most shameful and disgraceful way to die, and for Jews it was especially horrific for they remembered Deut 21:23 which said “anyone who is hung on a pole [tree] is under God’s curse”. Crucifixion was a painful and terrible way to day, but this is the method of death which our Lord suffered for our sakes. Paul reminds us of the reason behind the Crucifixion in Gal 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Paul has come to see that even the method of Christ’s death is significant. No one could get to God through their own righteousness and therefore every single one of us was condemned, because the righteous law said “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” (Gal 3:10, quoting Deut 27:26). Yet as Christ hung on the tree, He was taking the punishment that should have been ours, becoming a curse for us so that we might not be cursed. Paul goes on to say “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Gal 3:14).

Jesus really did die. He did not just swoon or faint on the cross, but was fully dead when taken down – the Romans didn’t bungle the death penalty, because they were likely to suffer it themselves if they did! Not only did He die, but He was buried (see John 19:38-42, Matt 27:59-66). Naturally speaking, there was no way out of the tomb!

He descended into hell
This phrase is probably the most controversial in the Apostles’ Creed, mainly because there are different interpretations as to what is meant by ‘hell’. One writer says, “To some, the descent into hell represents the physical agony of death upon the Cross. It was hellish in its pain. To others, the word hell means Hades or Sheol, the collective abode of the dead, divided into Paradise or Abraham’s Bosom–the state of God-fearing souls–and Gehenna, the state of ungodly souls. Thus the descent into hell may suggest that the Son of God carried the sins of the world to hell; or the Son of God carried Good News of deliverance to the godly dead such as Lazarus the beggar and the repentant thief. A third-century Syrian Creed speaks of Jesus, “who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and departed in peace, in order to preach to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the saints concerning the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead. Others believe that the descent into hell accounts for the problem of God’s justice by providing an opportunity for all mankind–in eternity as well as in time–to hear the message of redemption from the Word Himself. ” (http://www.creeds.net/ancient/descendit.htm) These are the range of beliefs commonly held about this phrase in the Creed, derived from passages such as Matt 12:39-40, 1 Pet 3:18-20 and Ephesians 4:9-10.

Jesus is Lord of all and His proclamation to imprisoned spirits indicates the triumph of the Cross. (Col 2:15)

On the third day he rose again from the dead
Peter told the crowd on the day of Pentecost:
“This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:23-24)
The resurrection of Christ was a real, bodily, physical resurrection. Christ appeared to His disciples on many occasions and as Paul expounds in 1 Corinthians 15, without the resurrection of Christ our faith is in vain. The resurrection shows us that Christ’s sacrifice for sin was acceptable to God and gives us hope that death does not have the final word. Christ the Lord is risen today!

“Love’s redeeming work is done, hallelujah
Fought the fight, the battle won, hallelujah
Death in vain forbid Him rise. hallelujah
Christ has opened Paradise” (Aaron Shust, ‘Risen Today’)
http://christianjukebox.blogspot.com/2011/10/aaron-shust-risen-today-official-lyric.html

Dave preached this morning from Luke 1:5-22, 57-66, on the story about the birth of John (getting us ready for Christmas, five weeks today!) Zechariah was a priest, a descendant of Levi and had been chosen by lot to offer incense at the daily sacrifices, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Zechariah’s turn of duty was more amazing than most, for the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that his heart’s desire was about to come true: he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son at long last.

So incredible was this news to Zechariah that he didn’t believe it! He had been disappointed for so long that he didn’t dare hope this could be true. He doubted the message (and by implication God who had sent the message) and as a result was struck dumb.

It was not until the birth of his son all those months later when Zechariah’s silence was ended. Having been told by Gabriel to call his son John, a fact he obviously communicated to Elizabeth, he confirms her choice in writing to the priests and immediately was able to declare praises to God.

Those months of silence were not so much God’s punishment, however, as God’s way of preparing Zechariah for the job he had to do. In those months of silence, fear was turned to faith and resistance was turned to worship. Times of silence can give way to insight and creativity. We have to heed the Psalmist’s command ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Ps 46:10) and must stop running long enough to listen. Elijah, in 1 Kings 19, does not hear God in the wind, the earthquake or the fire, but in a ‘gentle whisper’. Activity and productivity are not synonymous; instead, we need time and space and silence to reflect, to wait on the Lord and listen for His ‘gentle whispers’.

If we learn to do this, we find:
(1) new strength (Is 40:31)
Our weaknesses are exchanged for God’s strength and we can rise up on wings like eagle and find the energy to run again.
(2) a better perspective (2 Cor 4:18)
We press the ‘pause’ button, biting back our first reactions and learning to wait on God to find His perspective on situations. Proverbs tells us that ‘a gentle answer turns away wrath’ (Prov 15:1) and we often need the time to see things as God sees them, rather than from our limited vantage point
(3) we deepen our determination to persevere (Ps 27:14)
God whispers encouragement to us as we wait on Him and we realise afresh that the Lord is strong and mighty.

Silence is not a curse; it’s an opportunity. We need to use it to listen, to pray for others, to hear from God. Those of us who are so busy we feel we never have time for silence need to be intentional about listening and take the time to stop and listen. We need more than one ‘silent night’; we need to take time out daily to listen to the voice of God.

Worship is what we do with our lives, not something which is restricted to a few hours in a church building. Paul, in Romans 12, has urged us to offer our whole lives to God in worship and has shown us that our thinking needs to be transformed too. In Romans 12;3-8, he goes on to show that this kind of radical offering and sacrifice leads to humble service.

Humble service, however, starts with a right view of ourselves. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” (Rom 12:3) Life is a little bit like a tightrope walk. We can either fall off by having an over-inflated opinion of ourselves or by having an exaggeratedly low opinion of ourselves. Either extreme is wrong. Instead, we need ‘sober judgment’, viewing ourselves as Christ sees us, understanding how much God loves us and learning godly contentment (1 Tim 6:6, Hebrews 13:5). That way, we have the security of knowing whose we are and can serve freely, because we have nothing to prove. Our identity and calling are secure.

The body metaphor of the church is taken up in 1 Corinthians 12, but Paul makes the point here that there is a natural diversity in the church, just as there is in the body. We all have different functions and roles, but we are all important. We all have different talents and giftings. In the list that follows, Paul seems to randomly pick certain acts of service, mixing up the order to include those we view as ‘spiritual’ (such as prophesying or teaching) with those which we tend to think of as more unimportant (such as serving or encouraging.) His point, surely, is to show us that all acts of service are important and that there is no hierarchy of service. Instead, there is simply the need to fulfil our calling, doing the things that God has equipped us to do, according to the faith He has given us. It’s pointless comparing ourselves to others, longing for talents we don’t have or being dissatisfied with who we are. Instead, we do what we can: whether prophesying, serving, encouraging, teaching, giving, leading or showing mercy. The list is not exhaustive, and Paul will focus on other acts of service in other parts of the Bible. Our part is to understand who we are and to serve thankfully and humbly from grateful hearts that understand the debt we owe to God and are not willing to hold anything back from Him. As Tim Hughes sings, ‘I am chosen, I am free, I am living for eternity’. Having been given so much, we then say ‘And nothing’s going to hold me back.’ (‘Holding Nothing Back’, Tim Hughes)

Dave preached from John 17:9-21 last night, looking at the High Priestly prayer of Jesus. He reminded us that we are all engaged in spiritual warfare and that we have an enemy who is like a roaring lion (1 Pet 5:8-9). Nonetheless, we should not be afraid, for God has given us everything we need to stand firm (Eph 6:13) and has provided everything we need for victory.

Christ in us is more powerful than the enemy (Christ is described as the Lion of Judah; the enemy is only like a roaring lion!). Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17 and included us in that prayer (John 17:20). We remain in the world even after Jesus ascended to the Father, but we are not of the world. Jesus’s prayer for divine protection for His followers, no matter what difficulties they go through, should encourage and inspire us. He warns us that the world will hate us and we will suffer for His name’s sake, but we are left here on earth for a purpose: to do His work and to spread the good news of the gospel. We are Jesus to a corrupt and dying world: He has no other plan but that the church should act as His body and be the means by which people come to know Him. We should not fear the enemy, for Christ has given us His power (Matt 28:18-20) and has prayed that the Father will protect us from the evil one (John 17:15). We can, therefore, be confident that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and can be sure that the victory is won. As Aaron Shust says, ‘There is no power strong enough to fear’ (‘Greater is He’). Christ has won the victory!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPYeY5kX7cg

Remembrance Sunday is a time when we remember the sacrifices made during war. For many of us in England, war is just history to us. We may know that war still goes on around the world, but it does not touch our daily lives in the way that it did for our grandparents and great-grandparents. Nonetheless, Remembrance Sunday is the day that is set apart for us to remember those affected by war and to pray for peace.

Stephen preached from Revelation 22:1-5, reminding us that Scriptures teaches us to adopt a peaceful outlook. Jesus reminded us that ‘Blessed is the peacemaker’ (Matt 5:9) and urged us to ‘turn the other cheek’ (Matt 5:39). Wars arise, James reminds us, because of the sinfulness of the human heart (James 4:1-2). But a day is coming when there will be no more war, no more night, no more sickness, no more sorrow, a day when there will be ‘healing of the nations’ (Rev 22:3). When Christ comes, there will be perfect peace, for His hand is a healing hand and His kingdom will bring perfect peace.

Remembering is important, but as we look back and remember, we also look forward to the day of perfect peace which is surely coming.

There is nothing quite like a baptismal service! Celebrating new life in Christ and seeing people’s obedience and desire to follow Christ are great things. We had a wonderful time tonight!

Dave spoke from Matthew 28:19 on the subject of baptism. Some churches baptise babies, but in our church we baptise believers. He dealt with some frequently asked questions about baptism and also asked ‘what does baptism do for us?’ Baptism ultimately is a symbol of Christ’s death and resurrection (see Romans 6). It doesn’t make us a better person or have any magical powers; what it is is a symbol that when we accept Christ’s sacrifice as the means by which we are reconciled to God, we are dead to sin and can rise from the water just as He rose from the dead, a new creation. We obey Christ’s command to be baptised and declare publicly our allegiance to Christ. Sin has separated us from God and the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23). We simply have to sink our pride, admit we can’t do it on our own and surrender the ownership of our lives to God.

We moved some of the older chairs from church to Beever Street:

Then we filled up the baptismal tank again:

Lorraine gave her testimony, explaining how her daughter’s baptism two years ago had been the start of her own journey to faith:

Then she was baptised:

It was wonderful to see three generations of a family being baptised. Here, Emma reads verses from James 5, watched by her mother, whose turn was coming!

Before…

… and after:

Karen reads from the Apostles’ Creed:

and is baptised:

Finally, her husband, Paul, was baptised:

After the service we had some food. Emma decided to take advantage of the wheelchair on hand:

Debbie volunteered to be photographed like this!

We are grateful to all who helped to make this a wonderful service and pray especially for those who were baptised as they continue to learn more about the Lord and grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus, as well as for all those in the service for the first time.