I Believe Part 1 Hebrew 11:1-6 8-5-07

Disciple Bible Study

Financial Peace UnivI believe, part one Hebrews 11:1-6 Sermon 8-5-07

New series on belief……..the apostles creed,
Part one…….basic belief in god
Part two…..the miraculous life of Jesus
Part 3….any number of ways….the nature of the church

Read Scripture

Faith, the great journey.
Belief. The great choice
Heb 11. the faith chapter…….read it this week for homework.
Notice that they all had faith, whether they got what they wanted or not.

Those who come to God must believe that he is….Heb 11
Basic thought that people have…I believe in God
Everyone says that, what does it mean?
Hair dresser in Princeton…..”brand X preacher”
What does a Christian believe?

Apostle’s creed –lets say it
Pg 881
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.

Used some, used little in different traditions
History
2nd century
before any of the splits…..truly ecumenical
nicean creed adopted council of nicea 325-modified 381

Purpose
Identify our main beliefs
As an affront to heresy………gnosticism, earliest heresy
· Many forms………boil down to the search for special knowledge
· Some preachers look for a new angle something new to talk about
· Some Christians need special knowledge…..separate themselves
As if the love of God thru Jesus Christ is not enough
As if the grace expressed is insufficient
· The apostles creed declares for all time that these are our basic beliefs
· There is nothing new under the sun

There is only one gospel….

We are bound together by our common belief.

Wesley’s catholic spirit--
Essentials of faith
Core values, bedrock beliefs
Core values
Joy
Authenticity
Excellence
Bedrock beliefs
God’s love is unconditional
Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord
The Holy Spirit is active in the world

Christians come in many flavors but we are bound together by our common belief

The 4 part singing around the piano…..
We are bound together by a common belief
How churches get smaller

I believe in the father
Maker of heaven and earth
Why not………….

Gen 1:1
I believe that god made it all….it did not just happen
Macro and micro evolution

If I made the world, I would not make all babies or all seedlings
Romans 1:20
20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Awakenings….its good, all good.

What does that mean?
I know the owner. I know the operator
Jenny at Red robin

Conclusion
Well belief…………..
I believe-what does that mean

Faith is not a leaping toward, faith is a resting upon
John G. Paton (1824-1907) was one of the great missionaries to the South Sea translating the Scriptures into the native language of these islanders, he could find no word for "believe." Since the concept of "belief" is so basic to the Christian faith, and to the New Testament, he didn’t know how to proceed

One day an exhausted islander came into his home, threw himself down in a chair, put his feet up on another chair, stretched his body and sighed how great it felt to be able to lean his whole weight on those two chairs. Instantly Paton knew his quest for the right word had ended. For belief is at its most basic level "leaning our whole weight" on God, surrendering to God's strength, not ours. Belief is not an act of truth. It is an act of trust.

I believe vs we believe

If you are tired of seeking for other things
If you are tired of living for other things,

Each must choose
Each must keep choosing
We never arrive
Being a Christian is giving all that you know of yourself to all that you know of God.
I invite you to choose to believe. To believe in God