What should Christians believe? At one level, we should believe the whole Bible, which Jesus and his apostles commend to us as the very word of God. But the Bible is BIG, dense and (sometimes) hard to understand. Even in a lifetime, we won’t mine all its riches! So what are the core truths that we should get familiar with from the start?
That’s a question that churches have wrestled with since the earliest days, producing summaries to teach new believers and to guard all believers against error. The Apostles’ Creed is the oldest of these to gain universal acceptance as a faithful overview of the Bible’s key claims.
In a new, monthly sermon series on Communion Sundays, we’ll be digging into the Apostles’ Creed with three aims:
* to strengthen our grasp of these core truths,
* to enrich our faith,
* to fuel heart-felt worship.
Along the way, we’ll see where these truths come from in the Bible and learn from the insights of our forbearers in the faith.
The Apostles’ Creed
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic[1] Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
[1] Catholic simply means universal; it doesn’t necessarily mean Roman Catholic!
Hungry for a deeply rooted faith? Come along on Communion Sundays to learn more (usually the 3rd Sunday of the month).
Here are the dates and themes for the series this year
Sunday 13 September – An introduction – AC1 ‘Why bother?’
Sunday 20 September – AC2 ‘I believe in God the Father
Sunday 25 October – AC3 ‘The Almighty, maker of heaven and earth’
Sunday 15 November – AC4 ‘I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord’
Sunday 13 December – AC5 ‘who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary’
