Peninsula Evangelical Friends Church
What We Believe

1) We believe the Bible to be inspired by God, without error (in its original manuscripts) and our standard and final authority for truth. (Matthew 5:18, 2 Timothy 3:16)

2) We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son (or Word of God), and the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Luke 3:21-22)

3) We believe God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died for our sins, was buried, was physically raised to life on the third day, appeared to many, and visibly ascended to God the Father in heaven. (Matthew 1:22-25, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, Hebrews 4:14-15)

4) We believe that God created man in His own image, to glorify and enjoy God forever; that the first man (Adam) sinned, passing on a sinful nature and death to all men. (Genesis 1:27, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 3:20-21)

5) We believe that God the Father placed upon Jesus Christ all of man's sin and its punishment, thereby offering forgiveness of sin and eternal life as a free gift to everyone who believes and receives it. (Ephesians 2:8, 1 Peter 2:24)

6) We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every such believer and baptizes (joins) them into one body, the universal church. (Romans 8:9-11)

7) We believe that Jesus Christ will visibly return to earth to judge every man, alive or dead, and to be united with the universal church. (Acts 1:9-11, Revelation 1:7)

8) We believe that God has appointed each man to die once, then to be physically resurrected to face God's judgment; that the righteous will receive eternal life, and the unrighteous will receive eternal conscious punishment. (Matthew 13:40-43, John 5:28-29, Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:7-15)

How to Be Saved

The Bible tells us God created us to be perfect and to have fellowship with Him. But, we "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23) and "the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) Apart from God's provision to save us from this penalty for our sins, each of us would be hopelessly condemned. But because God loved man so much--even as "sinner"--He did this for us: He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ into the world as a man just like us (John 3:15), except that he never sinned. When Jesus was nailed upon the cross, God placed (transferred) all of man's sins--including yours and mine--upon him, so that Jesus might receive our punishment in our place, while we receive Jesus' eternal life.

Do you realize the the Lord Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all your sins with his own blood? (Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Pet. 1:18-19.) You can be sure now that you are completely acceptable to God. All you must do is turn away from your sins and accept what Jesus has done for you; to ignore or reject it is to render it of no benefit ot you.

Please consider carefully your response to what God has freely offered to you. This is the most important decision you will ever make.

As Jonah Was In the Whale
      Three Days and Three Nights
The Question of the Sabbath
      The Week With Two Sabbath Days
   It was the day of Preparation, the next day was to be a special Sabbath (Jn 19:31)
   The Sabbath was about to begin (Lk 23:53)
   The next day the Priests and Pharisees went to Pilate to request a guard unit (Mt 23:63)
   And the women bought spices to prepare the mixture for the anointing of Jesus body (Mk 16:1)
But Was He Really Dead
      Is There Another Answer?
   The Swoon Theory
      Many died during the beating prior to crucifixion
      New word used to describe the pain from the crucifixion - excruciating
      Blood loss and hypovelomic shock cause fluid buildup in the pericardium and heart failure
      Centurion's spear confirmed death with the outward flow of much blood and clear fluid/water
The Revival in the Tomb
      After feinting on the Cross, He Revived in the Tomb
   Hypovelomic shock / blood loss
   Roman executioners / experts at killing
   Grave clothes / 100?150 pounds of paste
   How did He move the rock from the inside?
   How did He overpower the guards?
   How did He walk great distances and give the appearance of "conquering"death within a very short time - hours?
What Does the Evidence Say?
      Did Jesus Die?
   "Clearly the weight of the historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted. . . . Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge."

Dr. William D. Edwards, 1986
Journal of the American Medical Association
Okay, But Did He Rise Again?
      Or Did the Disciples Steal the Body?
   Was Jesus Really buried there?
      Witnesses
         Pharisees and Sadducees
         Guard unit
         Women 
         The Jews never contested the empty tomb!
Was He Really Alive?
   Or Did His Body Just Disappear and His Spirit Appear?
1 Cor. 15:3?7 - Creed from before AD 37
   Witnesses
      Mary Magdalene, Jn 20:10ff. Sunday
      On the Road to Emmaus, Lk 24:13 ff. Sunday
      The Disciples, Jn 20:19?30 Sunday
      Thomas, Jn 20:24ff. One week later
      Breakfast on the Beach with the Disciples Soon after
      Meeting with 500 of the brothers
      James, his skeptical brother
      Saul of Tarsus Sometime after the ascension to heaven
Is There Any Supporting Evidence?
      What affect did the resurrection have?
   The Disciples died for their belief
         If it was a lie, they knew it and willingly died for it
   The conversion of skeptics who were nearby
         James, Jesus' brother, and Saul of Tarsus
   Changes to key social structures
         The cessation of the daily sacrifice for thousands of faithful Jews
   Baptism and the Lord's Supper
   The emergence of the Church
         Upended the Roman Empire in less than 300 years
Who Do You Say Jesus Is?
      What will you do with what you know to be true?
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about [Jesus]: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic . . . or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice, Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
Once skeptical Cambridge University professor, C. S. Lewis
Today is the Day of Salvation
Do not harden your heart as the Jews did in the wilderness
That if you confess 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 confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:9?13