The first part of the Apostle’s Creed that we will look at are the very first two words; “I believe”. A Creed, after all, is simply a statement of belief.
So before we enter into the content of what it is we believe, let’s look at just what belief is and how it is we believe. Here are a few questions/discussion starters to get us going.
1) What does it mean to believe something?
2) Is belief the same thing as faith, or is it different? How so?
3) How does what (or who) we believe in affect how we believe?
4) How does a person come to believe in God? (How did YOU come to believe in God?)
5) Any suggestions for hymns or acts of worship?
So before we enter into the content of what it is we believe, let’s look at just what belief is and how it is we believe. Here are a few questions/discussion starters to get us going.
1) What does it mean to believe something?
2) Is belief the same thing as faith, or is it different? How so?
3) How does what (or who) we believe in affect how we believe?
4) How does a person come to believe in God? (How did YOU come to believe in God?)
5) Any suggestions for hymns or acts of worship?
6) Most importantly...so what? How does this have any meaning for your life, change the way you live or transform the world?
Any other questions or comments that you have – please post or e-mail or put in the question box at church.
Any other questions or comments that you have – please post or e-mail or put in the question box at church.
Naturally, I'm not asking you to answer all the questions above - they are only posted to get your brains going.
Some scriptures to look at (two or maybe three of these will be used in worship)
Genesis 15:1-7, Exodus 3:7-14, 4:1-9, Numbers 14:1-11
Matthew 21: 18-23, Mark 9:17-24, Mark 16:9-16, Galatians 3:21-25,
Do you have any suggestions for other scriptures? Please let me know!
Some scriptures to look at (two or maybe three of these will be used in worship)
Genesis 15:1-7, Exodus 3:7-14, 4:1-9, Numbers 14:1-11
Matthew 21: 18-23, Mark 9:17-24, Mark 16:9-16, Galatians 3:21-25,
Do you have any suggestions for other scriptures? Please let me know!
This topic will be preached on June 14th
2 comments:
Okay, Pastor Mike, I've got this far. . .So my comments on your "I Believe" sermon for June, 14th. The difference between Belief and Faith? Belief is freedom from doubt and faith is complete trust, in my humble opinion. Actually, I had to look it up and I like those definitions.I've looked up the Apostles' Creed in a really old hymnal at home. I've always had a small issue with the part "...the holy catholic church. . ." I understand that we are all Christians, but I think that's weird in a UMC Creed. That's it for now. This will be an interesting experiment. Good luck. - Tricia
Thanks for posting Tricia!
I like the idea of belief being something we are free to have. I think it's an aspect of belief that we don't focus on enough.
As for "Catholic" in the creed - it's not saying Roman Catholic (que Monty Python song) rather it means "universal" and in fact this is the same creed read by Baptists, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians....and on and on.
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