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Brooks Szewczyk

Brooks Szewczyk

Connecting People To The Truth Of Christ

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How and Why Did God Create Us?

November 28, 2018 By Brooks Szewczyk Leave a Comment

New City Catechism Q4: “God created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to his glory.”

God Created Us

God doesn’t act without purpose.

We are created beings. Nothing originated from man. Wisdom, intellect, consciousness, and humanity are all ideas from God. And this is a rarely disputed fact. That God created us is not a belief that is unique to Christianity. In fact, almost all people from all times and in all places assume our creation.

Why do people all throughout history believe that we are created? Romans 1 gives us the answer, “[God’s] invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made.”

God has partially revealed himself through creation. The skies, animals, humans, and everything else all point to an intelligent, creator God.

And we all know that God doesn’t act without purpose. Unlike us, he is not capricious. God created us with a reason, and his intentions will surely be met.

Male and Female

The first thing mentioned by the answer from the catechism is that we were created male and female. This may seem obvious to some, but there is actually deeper truth to be found here that can impact the way that we live our lives.

The first person created was a man name Adam. It wasn’t long after Adam’s creation that God saw that it was not good for him to be alone.So, he created a helpmate for him: a woman named Eve.

We were created male and female because we are meant to complement each other. Man and woman are meant for each other, and are better together. This is God’s good creative order.

Click here to continue reading at RedemptionHillDSM.org.

How Many Persons Are There in God?

November 6, 2018 By Brooks Szewczyk Leave a Comment

This post is regarding Question 3 of the New City Catechism.

Question: How Many Persons Are There in God?

Answer: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

Importance of The Doctrines of the Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity has been one of the most foundational, essential beliefs of the Christian church throughout our history. This doctrine was taught by the apostles and by God himself through his word. And specific beliefs regarding the Trinity were clarified by councils and creeds of the early church.

Nature, Persons, Substance, and Essence

One necessary distinction that is made is that between persons and being. God is three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But, he is one being, meaning that he has one nature, substance, and essence.

We do not have three individual gods; Christianity is a monotheistic religion. As stated by the Shema from Deuteronomy 6, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Nevertheless, our unified God exists in three distinct persons.

Following is an explanation of the divinity of each of the three persons of the Trinity.

Click here to continue reading at RedemptionHillDSM.org.

Pride Will Kill You – 10 Practical Ways to Kill it First

November 16, 2017 By Brooks Szewczyk Leave a Comment

Pride says to God, “I’m more important than you.” Pride would have its own way, rather than the Lord’s. God alone is worthy to receive honor, glory, and praise. But pride tries to hijack it for ourselves.

1 Peter 5:5 says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Which do you want from God: his opposition or his grace? If grace is what you want, it is vital that you lay aside pride.

Pride is the root of every sin. It has the audacity to disobey the loving, wise God who has purchased you. Pride wreaks havoc on your spiritual life.

We must declare war on pride lest we fall into sin and put enmity in between us and God.

What is pride?

It’s essential to know our opponent in this war. We need to know what pride is and what it looks like. We must be able to identify pride from a mile away. Let’s take a look inside the camp of our enemy.

Pride is that desire in you to receive more praise. It is the desire to be exalted rather than to glorify God. The proud person is confident in their own ability, and they do not rely on God’s grace.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of indicators to be watchful of:

  • Frequently putting all of the attention on yourself
  • Struggling to empathize with the sorrows of others
  • Feeling self-pity when you’re not praised
  • Constantly considering what others think of you
  • Avoiding people who are better than you at something
  • Easily finding flaws in others

Now that you can identify pride, you’ve got to know how to fight it. Here are 10 practical ways to be killing pride:

(Click here to continue reading on at BethanyGU.edu.)

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