M o n t h l y N e w s f r o m F P C Ty l e r • Vo l u m e 1 2 , I s s u e 4 : A p r i l 2 0 1 7
The Incarnation and Christianity One of the things that makes Christianity unique is the incarnation. We believe that in Jesus Christ, we have not simply met a great human being, or even the greatest human being who ever lived, but that we have met God in the flesh. In other religious traditions, human beings may have encounters with God through prayer and meditation, and God or the gods (depending on the religion) may speak to people through a mediator called a prophet. Christianity includes these types of human-divine encounters, but we go a giant step further in our belief that in Jesus Christ, God has assumed human form and met us face to face. Some ancient heresies in the church tried in various ways to deny the incarnation, some claiming that the Jesus whom people saw was merely an apparition, while others claimed that Jesus was merely a human being uniquely touched by God, but a mere human being nonetheless.
sus Christ we have encountered God? There are several reasons, but the most important and compelling for us is that in Jesus Christ, God himself made the ultimate sacrifice to reconcile sinful humanity to God. Human beings cannot bridge the gap between us and God; only God can bridge that gap. During Holy Week, which runs from Palm Sunday, April 9, through Easter Sunday, April 16, everything we do focuses on the importance of the incarnation: from Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, to his last supper with his disciples, to his arrest, trial, torture, and execution, to his resurrection from the dead. I am not the first to point out that Christianity is unique in that it is not a religion that tells us how to find and connect with God, but a faith that teaches us that God has reached out to us. That’s what the incarnation is all about.
Why has the church always insisted on the incarnation, on believing that in Je-
i n t h i s i s s u e | h i g h l i g h t s & f e at u r e s Merci Beaucoup! | pg 4
The Labyrinth | pg 5
VBS Volunteers Needed! | pg 7
A thank you to all who helped and attended the Mardi Gras for Missions 2017.
Learn more about the history of the Lenten Labyrinth.
Join the VBS team as we need volunteers before, during and after VBS. First Presbyterian Church of Tyler, Texas 230 West Rusk Street, Tyler, Texas 75701-1696 (903) 597-6317 | www.fpctyler.com