I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints (Part Two)

Reading: I believe in the Holy catholic Church, the communion of saints. (Apostles’ Creed) Today, in our reflection, we will focus on the additional clause of the Apostles’ Creed which speaks about the Church. The Church is not only a “gathering” of believers, but it is also the “communion of saints.” However, living in a community is not an easy task. Misunderstanding the essence of the Christian community and our expectations of it represent the greatest challenge. As a person who believes that the Church is the gathering of people around one God, one faith, […]

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I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints. (Part One)

Reading: “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints.” (Apostles’ Creed) Reflection: Every year, evangelical churches in Sarajevo organize a joint worship service in an attempt to draw closer to the important truth found in this statement of faith. I believe it is one of the most important and beautiful days in the life of the church in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina when they show that the Church is one and that the holiness of those who make it up is evident in their unity. Each of the five words […]

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I Believe in the Holy Spirit

Reading: I believe in the Holy Spirit (Apostles Creed) Reflection: If someone was going to leave, perhaps to emigrate to the US, Canada or Germany, as so any from BiH have done, or as many foreigners have done recently, returning to their home countries because of concerns about the threat of Coronavirus to elderly parents or relatives, but they said they were going to leave you something to remember them by, that wouldn’t seem so strange would it? Maybe they’d leave a painting, a book, a bike (!) something that might speak of themselves but […]

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From There He Will Come To Judge The Living And The Dead

Reading: “From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.” (Apostles’ Creed); Isaiah 96:11-13; Acts 10:34-43 Rejoice, heavens, and shout for joy, earth! Let the sea and all that fills it resound! Let the field and all that is in it exult! Let all the trees of the forest shout for joy before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one […]

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He Ascended into Heaven and is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father (Apostles Creed)

Čitanje: He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father (Apostles Creed) Reflections: Jesus the Christ, Jesus the God-Man, spent almost his entire public ministry talking about a whole new reality; that God was ruling and that people could live in that reality now. The “Kingdom of God”, the range of God’s effective will, as Dallas Willard put it, and its availability in the here and now, was the key message that Jesus called The Good News. Jesus spoke in the flow of the Prophets of old. They had heard […]

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On the Third Day He Rose Again From the Dead

Redding: On the third day he rose again from the dead. (Apostles’ Creed) Reflection: A dear brother in the church often says on Easter, “Because the tomb is empty, heaven will be full!” As I was researching Jesus’ resurrection recently, I read a statement from the most famous theologian of the last century, Karl Barth, which caused a lot of controversy in theological circles. He said that “Christians do not believe in an empty tomb but in the living Christ.” I like this statement very much, and I won’t explain here why it’s controversial. The […]

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Was Crucified, Died, and Buried

Reading: Was crucified, died, and buried (The Apostles’ Creed), Isaiah 53,5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities… Reflection: “This image could make a man lose his faith!” Count Myshkin’s comment in Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot” perfectly describes the spiritual state that prolonged contemplation of the masterpiece of the great Hans Holbein the Younger produces. If anyone could have thought there was something special, or even divine, in this figure that was crucified and died in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, this scene would dispel any doubt. Holbein did not paint […]

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Do You Understand What I Have Done to You?

Reading: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) So when he had washed their feet, taken his garments, and sat down again, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” Reflection: After washing their […]

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The Mystery of Life and Death

Reading: John 13,21-32 (Isaiah 50,4-9a, Psalm 70, Hebrews 12,1-3) Reflection: If engineers could create something like a seed – that can grow and produce more seeds for infinite generations – that would be an absolutely phenomenal achievement. It would still need to have a lifespan that lasts for thousands of years, and still work. A team in Israel has just published a paper highlighting the miracle of the seed. At four archaeological sites in the Judean Desert, including Qumran and Masada, intact date palm seeds of the species Phoenix dactylifera – a precious cultivar that […]

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Foolishness of the Cross

Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; John 12:20-36) Reflection: When the panelists (the three of us) at a forum in Novi Sad were asked why we chose Christianity, I didn’t have to think much. I replied that it was the most foolish choice of all! No sane person who dares to start a movement that aspires to become a world religion would choose the narrative of the early Church and do it their way. This kind of foolishness should be a characteristic of every person who has chosen Christianity. Paul summarizes this foolishness […]

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