The New Testament Gateway

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Also added to important links.

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - LCMS Logo Cross

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - LCMS Logo Cross: "Meaning of the LCMS Logo Cross Cross The LCMS logo is three crosses in one. It declares that “we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity.” The open arms point upward toward God in prayer and openly receive God’s grace. The lower arms point down, as if open to embrace the world with God’s love. The 12 individual parts of the logo cross remind us of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. The four arms appear to be in motion, as we urgently tell the world what God’s love in Jesus Christ means to us and, uniquely, as Missouri Synod Lutherans."

Athanasian Creed

Athanasian Creed in Separate Sentences

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Spiritual Life at St. John, Ellisville, MO

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The Nicene Creed - From LCMS

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Athanasian Creed - From LCMS

Written against the Arians.

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three Eternals, but one Eternal. As there are not three Uncreated nor three Incomprehensibles, but one Uncreated and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords.

The Father is made of none: neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son: neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before or after other; none is greater or less than another; But the whole three Persons are coeternal together, and coequal: so that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. He, therefore, that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood; Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ: One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead; He ascended into heaven; He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give an account of their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.

This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.

Children Sing

Sing Children Sing

The 10 Commandments

Praise God!

Thank you Lord for providing all that we needed this week to occupy our new home in Highland, IL. Amen.

I can't recall me "password" for google. Do you know how I can get?

Readers don't need a google account to view WAMG Oxford or to make comments anonymously.

If you have an account and forgot you password then you can use the form provided by google to send them your email and they will return your password or a new password.

Internet Ministry benefits. Can you think of others?

There are a number of reasons for this approach:

~ A great majority of people are checking out churches on line before ever stepping in your door

~ people are practicing their faith in a variety of ways, they want to explore, discuss, be challenged

~ people like to explore matters of faith on their time table. So being able to go online at any time meets their needs

~ people want current up to date information

~ people want a user friendly format that's easy to understand

~ non-churched and non-christians will check these out. So it allows us access to these people we might never reach

~ what we post is not limited to our own materials but can have multiple links (but of course that are aligned with our mission, beliefs etc)

~ it expands our mission field far beyond our local community

~ it can provide us very useful feed back from members, guests etc on what they are finding at AGLC

Blue Letter Bible - Promises I Peter 2:5

Blue Letter Bible - Promises: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Reflection O believers, take joy in the great honour bestowed upon you by the Lord Himself! Not only has He made you His son, pure and undefiled, but He has counted you worthy to be built together with your fellow saints and Christ Himself to be the very temple to house His Spirit. What a blessing it is to be the object of such a gift! Praise be to the Lord Almighty who has made us into living stones to take special and essential part in His sovereign plan!"

BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Psalms 100:3;

BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Psalms 100:3;: "Psalm 100:3 (New International Version) 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."

BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Psalms 100:3;

BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Psalms 100:3;: "Psalm 100:3 (King James Version) 3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

Blue Letter Bible

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Luther - Movie Review

AMAZING GRACE – OXFORD MISSION Updates

Ø We completed our Articles of Incorporation and received our approval from the state in July

Ø We have completed our first full draft of a Constitution and hope to complete in September. We will then begin to work on our By Laws in order to submit both to the FLGA District for review and approval

Ø We have been blessed with the exclusive use of the facilities at First Baptist Oxford. Since the end of July we have had teams work to paint the interior and power wash/paint the exterior

Ø We are currently using the building at First Baptist for Small Group Bible study (we have two studies with almost 30 people involved) and for other meeting purposes

Ø In September we will be working on our Mission & Vision Statements that define our primary mission

Ø In August we held our first Celebration Evening – which was an evening of worship, praise and community building. We will continue to hold these Celebration events monthly. They will also include a break-out time for various teams to work on various areas i.e. Outreach Plans, Community Service, Public Relations, Worship Planning, and other organizational/mission work. Everyone is invited to come join us whether just to celebrate with us what God is doing or to join in

WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

· Prayer – for Pastor Rockey as he leads the launch team toward the raising up of this new mission post of our Lord. Prayer for the Board of Directors as they work on the many areas needing development i.e. Constitution/by laws, Mission/Vision Statement, Plans, processes, organizational structure and more; and prayer for those who in the community who need the message of hope that we offer.

· Join us as we Distribute information about AGLC in the neighborhoods in the Oxford area on September 9, from 9am-noon. You will be trained on this simple process of going out as teams.

· As part of this same event on September 9, you can also be a Prayer Walker through the neighborhoods for God to open hearts to the message of the Gospel and AGLC and for Him to bless them in whatever needs they might have. Note: Future dates will be schedule. Call to sign up~

· Volunteer to help with “Saturday in the Park” with AGLC, on September 28 from 11am – 2pm. You can help with games/activities, giving out information about the church, preparing/serving food, set up etc.

· Facilities preparation – you can help with working on our grounds, painting etc of the building or offer some special gift you have such as making banners.

· Mailing team – we will be doing a minimum of 3 mailings of 5,000 pieces into the community surrounding AGLC. You can help with this in a number of ways.

· Be an ambassador for AGLC and the Lord by extending an invitation to the unchurched/unbelieving in the Oxford/SW Villages areas. You can find business cards/invite cards in the narthex of Trinity to keep in your pocket/purse and use to invite people to specific events. And of course, you should always be doing the same for the Kingdom work at Trinity.

· Join us for our Evening of Celebration on Thursday September 20, at 6:30 at First Baptist for a time of worship, praise and more.

· Invite someone to join you in watching the Luther Movie on Saturday October 27, 6:30pm. What a great way to spend an evening and introduce people to God’s amazing grace and our Lutheran roots and what it is we believe.

· Be praying for those who are part of our Launch Team (Core) that they might not only be fully connected themselves, but see themselves as the instruments God wants to use in bringing the community to the Lord at ACLC.

· Pray for our Grand Opening Sunday on November 11, 2007 with Bible Class at 8:30 and Worship at 9:30 that the Lord would help us to have in place instrumentalist(s), well prepared worship, welcoming teams, parking, signage/PR etc.

Please call Pastor Rockey, 391-3363, if you would like any more information, to sign up, to give the names of prospects you know or just to learn more. We thank you, the members of Trinity, for your partnership.

Living to Serve by Pastor Rockey

There are times we step back and evaluate our lives and what has past. We consider our accomplishments and disappointments and we ponder our goals for the future. One of the most common times we do this is at the beginning of a new year. Most of us come up with some very worthy goals – many of which you could list in your mind right now. But how many of us have a true desire to live with the goal of serving?

Serving is something we fit into our schedules when we have the time. Serving may be seen as an option or as an obligation we fulfill as part of a family, a community or a job. Serving is usually not what we live to do; its not what we consider our purpose in life.

Yet as God’s people, we are urged to fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12: 2). The writer to the Philippians asserted, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus (2: 5). What is that attitude? When we fix our eyes on Jesus, what will we see?

We see the Suffering Servant about whom the prophet Isaiah wrote. The One Who took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows: the One Who was pierced for our transgressions…crushed for our iniquities...and by (whose) wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53: 4,5).

We see the Son of Man Who, in His own words, did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20: 28). This is the Son of man Who lived childhood in obedience to His Father and to His earthly parents. This is the Son of Man Who preached and taught, Who healed the sick, comforted the despairing. This is the Son of Man Who showed us what serving is all about and Who has directed us to deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow Him (Matt. 16: 24).

What would happen if each of us as members of the Body of Christ made make serving a priority, rather than an option or an obligation? How might God’s Kingdom grow and be strengthened if we put into practice the Apostle Paul’s command to have the attitude of Christ?

At Amazing Grace, we are still developing a Mission Statement, but to date our discussions have surrounded the fact that, we are a people called together to experience and share God’s amazing grace through His Son, Jesus Christ, reaching those not yet part of His family that lives may be transformed for today and eternity. Now please consider this…as we finalize this mission statement or as you review the mission statement of Trinity, these are not the mission statements of the staff or leadership. Such mission statements are about you…they reflect how each and every one of us is called to live! We are called to have the same attitude of Christ, to serve and not be served! So how can you serve? Well consider what you are interested in or what Spiritual Gifts God has equipped you with. Then seek out the coordinator or leader in that area and offer your life, and offer yourself in whatever way you can. Don’t wait for someone to ask you, but live that same attitude of Christ.

We have each experienced the undeserved and amazing grace of God, daily! So what better way to thank our Lord and please Him than to share the same with those not yet connected to Jesus?

Pastor Rockey

Canvassing Document Bible Verses

Scripture cited in Amazing Grace Canvassing Handout

Greetings to our friends at the Tuesday nite AGLC bible study.

We'll be with you in spirit this evening. Ask the pastor to send us a copy of the study. God's Blessings.

Now what are the 7 principles for the 21st century?

Dear Lord

I thank and praise you this day for the dedication, zeal, sincerity, and leadership our pastor displays with the building of Your church in Oxford. For Your glory, keep him strong in all tasks. Amen

WELCOME TO AMAZING GRACE!

Come join us & discover God’s amazing grace…

The Bible is God’s Word, His love letter, true & without error.

We are blessed by God with the gift of His inspired Word. God reveals Himself in creation and in our hearts, but only in His Word does He reveal forgiveness and His plan for our salvation accomplished through Jesus Christ. God continues to speak to us today through His Holy Word in the Scriptures.

2 Peter 1: 20-21 2 Timothy 3: 15-17 John 20: 31

The Lord calls us to love one another.

God calls us to love our neighbors and we believe this includes all people. We therefore love because this is how He treats us and in response we love others.

1 John

God wants a loving relationship with ALL people.

God offers this relationship to us as a free gift. We can do nothing to deserve it.

1 Timothy 2: 3-4 Romans 6: 23 Ephesians 2: 8-9

We all have the same need – forgiveness of our Sins.

God is holy and our sin separates us from Him. We are humanly and spiritually powerless and cannot change our relationship with God on our own.

Romans 3: 23 Colossians 1: 21 Ephesians 2: 1-2

God, our Father, sent His Son, Jesus to save us from our sin.

Our heavenly Father is a God of love. Therefore, Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins and to earn for us forgiveness. Jesus rose from the dead & offers us salvation through this relationship with Him. He is our only true hope.

John 3: 16 Romans 4: 25 John 14: 6

The Holy Spirit brings us to faith & nurtures our relationship

The Holy Spirit creates and gives faith to restore our broken relationship with God. The Spirit encourages us in our faith through God’s Word, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Jesus’ Body & Blood in, with and under the bread and wine). The Spirit empowers and leads us to serve God and one another.

1 Corinthians 12: 3 Titus 3: 5 John 3: 5-6

John 8: 12

Jesus said,

“I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

A Grace Place