Who Do You Say I Am?

The current series at church is called ''When Questions are Answers."  It's about some of the questions that were asked by Jesus, one of which is "Who do you say I am?" to the disciples.  The verse for this preaching is from the book of Matthew 16:13-17.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

 People had many different ideas about who Jesus was during the time of his ministry.  He asked his disciples what the word on the street was on his identity, but then turned the question to his disciples, the group he spent most of his time with.  What have they understood about Jesus after seeing him perform miracles and listening to his teachings?  Peter was given a revelation that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior Israel has been waiting for for centuries.

Fast forward to this age, there are still many beliefs about the person of Jesus -- a prophet, a mere mortal, etc.  But what matters is what we personally believe about him today.  To me, Jesus is the son of God who was crucified on the cross to take the punishment for our sins.  He died but on the third day rose again.  He is the Lord and Savior who equips us with the grace and power to overcome the challenges we face in this life.  There is peace and joy in following Jesus.

Creed

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24)

 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)
*****
Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that the separation between us is because of my sin.  I confess that I have sinned and have fallen far short of Your glory.  I thank You that you sent Your Son, Jesus to pay the penalty for my sin.  I believe that He died on the cross for me.  I believe that you raised him from the dead. I am sorry for my sins and I ask You to forgive and cleanse me.  I want to turn away from everything the Bible calls sin and receive You as my Lord, Master and Savior.  Help me to love, serve and obey You for the rest of my life.  In Jesus' name.  Amen. (Prayer for Salvation, One2One)

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