We Believe in God

Continuing with the theme of "What we Say and Do," for the next 6 weeks we will take a closer look at the Apostles' Creed. Some of you remember growing up and memorizing this creed, others not so much (me...). My first time really spending any significant time with it was in seminary in my History of Christian Thought course. Whatever the case may be, it is worth taking a more in-depth look at. In these words, we declare our faith and trust in God:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic (universal) church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

When we are saying this together, whether in our local contexts, or broadly as the body of Christ, this becomes a "we believe..." statement. And we join Christians across the globe who claim this creed to be a fundamental statement of faith and history.

The next 6 weeks, the messages will be organized the following way in this "We Believe" series:

In God

In Jesus

In the Holy Spirit

In the Church---The Communion of Saints

In the Forgiveness of Sins

In the Resurrection and Life Everlasting

The Apostles’ Creed is a framework for Christian belief. The creed is not a checklist of things that one has to agree with in order to be a Christian. Rather, it is the place where we begin our conversation about what we believe God has done in Jesus Christ and explore what that means for the church and us as disciples in our own day and time.

As we begin this time together, I want to invite you to think and pray about (maybe even journal, if that is something you do) who God is to you. This week, we will use Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 85, and

1 John 4:7-13 to guide us as we think about "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth." I invite you to consider these texts this week and ponder the question "who is God to you?"

I think of God sometimes as a Father or Mother, provider, sustainer, forgiver, redeemer, a shoulder to cry on and the One who is always with me...Who is God to you?

I hope to see you Sunday!

Prayer*:

Holy God,
you have given us grace,
  by the confession of faith of your holy church
  to acknowledge the mystery of the eternal Trinity
  and, in the power of your divine majesty, to worship the Unity
Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship,
  and bring us at last to see in your eternal glory
    One God, now and forever. Amen

*United Methodist Hymnal, 76.

In Christ,

Jack