but it doesn't really sound like sermons, rather three lectures with some points i thought were interesting and worthy of inclusion.
so any ideas would be appreciated!
- the story of the trinity
how do we get from the shema to the creed?
perichoresis
act and being
Yhwh
who's who in the OT?
St Francis and the Crusades
heresy? Trinitarian controversies i the 4th Century.
dynamic vs modalistic monarchianism
- the story of the son
mediator
theopoiesis
eternal word in creation
hypostatic union
heresy? Christological controversies.
4th Century truly God.
5th Century two natures.
- the story of the spirit
individual and communal
spotlight on the son
OT & NT indwelling
Nazianzus: OT reveals Father clearly, Son opaquely; NT reveals Son clearly, spirit opaquely; Church reveals the Spirit.
heresy? Pneumatological Heresies.
continuing revelation (montanism, anabaptists, mormons?).
4th Century: fully God.
UPDATE: i've added a few more things to the list. mainly the heresies.
5 comments:
Will be praying for you brother that God will use you to bring his truth to the His people at WS.
Hi Doug
There is a danger, when discussing the Trinity, of getting bogged down in terminology and obscure philosophy.
Don't be afraid of a little mystery. God is three, and God is one. Both are true, because the bible tells us so. That sounds like a contradiction, but that is just a limitation of our puny brains -- God is not subject to our limitations.
It can be valuable to talk about salvation. How Jesus' role as Messiah required His humanity, but in order for His sacrifice to be adequate required His divinity.
Debating the finer points of perichoresis vs. coinherence vs. hypostatic union can easily start sounding like how many angels on the head of a pin.
You need to make it practical to ordinary Christians.
Anyway, I'll pray for you as it is a tough sermon to give.
Michael
Chris Wright has good stuff in the beginning of "Mission of God" as to why Jesus is YHWH. His context of missional theology should help keep it from becoming esoteric.
thanks for your comments and prayers.
@Robert - that book is next to my desk at college so ill have a read of it next time i'm in.
@Michael - this is why i miss talking to you at WS@5! thanks for those valuable insights.
i think that's why i want to call each talk 'the story of ....' - partly to remind myself that it's a story i'm telling, not points on an outline.
Any time you want a discussion, I'm usually up for one. Either by email or drop in and do it face to face.
I'm really hopeful I'll be back at church soon, but I've been saying that for ages without any success. It is in God's hands. :-)
Post a Comment