I've been preaching through the Apostles' Creed this spring/summer. As I prepare my sermon every week, I summarize my sermon into a statement about what we believe. Now that I'm at the end of the series, I have a sort of re-done Creed. I thought you all might be interested.
We believe in an all powerful God who is not bound by time. We believe that he created everything there ever is or was or will be. We believe that because of his love for us, we can call him Father.
We believe in Jesus Christ who is God; our Lord who reigns over all things and who both stands as the uniting force for the church and serves as the church's role model for humility.
We believe that, though impossible by human standards, Christ was conceived by the Spirit and born of a virgin. we believe that nothing is impossible for God.
We believe that by the will of God, Christ suffered silently while he bore the wight of the sin of the world. He was crushed and tormented because of our sin.
We believe that the Holy Spirit came to be in and with the church on Pentecost. It is the Spirit that helps believers reach out to spread the good news of Jesus. It is also the Spirit who allows humans to respond to God's call.
We believe that on Easter Sunday, Christ rose from the grave by the power of God the Father. This resurrection gives us the hope in our resurrection and it is this hope that grounds our ministry.
We believe that Christ will come again from heaven, from the right hand of God where he is now justifying us, to pronounce final judgment upon all human beings. It is only by the grace of God that believers will be judged worthy.
We believe that the Holy Spirit draws together the members of he body of Christ into one holy, universal church. We have different gifts and abilities but instead of being divided because of that diversity, we should use those different gifts for the benefit of all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We believe hat because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we can be forgiven from our sins. God will remove them because he loves and cares for us.
We believe that at the end of time when Christ comes again, our mortal bodies will be changed into bodies like Christ's. This is necessary because we are to spend eternity with God.
Knowing this, we work not in vain, but for the Lord as we await and hope for his coming again.
