Faith

FAITH

Belief in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is at the heart of our faith.

Christians believe that Jesus is God’s Son; that through his life and ministry he has revealed to us the Father; and that this wonderful work continues through the Holy Spirit.

We are growing in an appreciation of what this means, and there will always be a degree of mystery, but yet we believe and trust that this is how God has revealed himself to us. This is called faith. It is a different sort of knowledge. It is the knowledge of being known and loved, and of loving in return.

There are signs of God’s existence and handiwork in creation for all to read (Acts 14.15–17). But we believe in the way we do because God has come to seek us out and has made himself known to us.

The Creed is a detailed summary, handed down over the centuries, of what the whole Church believes about the great doctrines of the Christian faith, and is regularly used in our worship today.

The word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin word credo, meaning ‘I believe and trust’.

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is,

seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary

and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

WORSHIP

As Christians we believe the full purpose of our lives is to praise God. As we do so we begin to recognize more and more that everything comes from God and to feel even more thankful and full of praise.

Worship helps to recognize who God really is, it opens our hearts to what is good. It catches us up into the life of heaven. It is something we are called to every day of our lives and is fulfilled, among other ways, when we say the Lord’s Prayer.