Tuesday, March 15, 2011

belief

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 Spirit,
     born of the Virgin Mary,
     suffered under Pontius Pilate
     was crucified, dead, and buried;
     the third day he rose from the dead;
     he ascended into heaven,
     and sitteth at 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 Spirit,
     the holy catholic church,
     the communion of saints,
     the forgiveness of sins,
     the resurrection of the body,
     and the life everlasting. Amen.

"A creed is not, and was never meant to be, a substitute for personal faith: it attempts to give substance to a personal faith that already exists." - Alister McGrath.  

Since true worship is a heart response on our part, true worship begins with knowledge of God (and I'm not simply talking about simple, cognitive knowledge of God, either, but an understanding of the truth's power in my life).

So, it holds truth that a teaching church is a worshiping church. 

And, I think it is equally true that a church that doesn't teach is not, at least not in the full sense of Christian worship, a worshiping church.  This doesn't mean you have to say particular creeds or sing particular songs or preach in a particular way or anything else.  But if you're not teaching and leading people to an increased knowledge of their faith, worship isn't going to be as rich and full and wholehearted as it could be.

Alister McGrath, I Believe: Exploring the Apostles' Creed (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 14.

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