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June 2002 Table of Contents
Just A Little Talk With...
Marty Parks
I Believe
By Kathie Hill
When you gather next with your congregation for worship, you won't be doing this alone. You won't be doing this only with those in your fellowship who are assembled, nor will it be only with others of your denomination. In fact, your gathering for worship involves even more than all of us who profess Christ in this present age, regardless of our denominational stripe or our geographic location.
The truth is, when you meet with others for corporate worship, you're part of a legacy of millions and millions of believers who have gone before; countless witnesses who have stood up - and in some cases, given their lives - for what they believe. You're an essential link in this heritage... a vital component in this centuries-old bond.
Today it's relatively easy to find someone who will quite boldly say, "I don't believe in this!" or "I don't believe in that!" You want to know what's really difficult? Finding people who will state, "This is what I do believe!"
I didn't grow up in a church that ever included The Apostles' Creed or The Nicene Creed or any other congregational affirmation of faith in our corporate worship services. I often heard statements like, "We have no creed but the Bible!" ... which always sounded a lot like a creed to me! At any rate, when I became affiliated with congregations that included these grand statements of our
beliefs when we met for worship, I became enthralled. I could (and still can) see in my mind's eye apostles, martyrs and other assorted disciples joining with us, proclaiming to the world, "This is what I believe! These are the truths I live by! This is who God has revealed Himself to be!" Suddenly, I saw myself as a part of this legacy, this heritage, this bond.
I never realized how much an affirmation of faith like The Apostles' Creed had become a part of me until one day, not too many years back, when I got a knock at the front door of my home. You've gotten them, too, I'm sure. There stands a group of the most polite people in the world who have some literature to distribute and some information about who God really is and how He's going to orchestrate the destruction of the universe and the end of time. (Would I be interested and could I supply a financial donation?) To
my family's amazement, I always invite them in; not to crack open my wallet, but to carefully open God's Word. No matter what turns our discussions take, it always comes down to one essential question: Who is Jesus?
I usually try to make a point of explaining that I haven't invited them into my home to beat them up or berate them. They get enough of that already. I do try to let them know, however, that I think they're doing a marvelous thing ... for the wrong reason! I don't know of many from my local fellowship who are giving up the number of hours they are, in the kind of weather they endure, with the kind of results they reap. Inevitably, we get around to John 1 and the essence of Jesus. For the record, don't ever buy the
statement that our scripture translations have misquoted the Greek text when they say that the Word was God. That really is what the original says; look it up.
On this day in question, as we dissected the scriptures and compared English and Greek texts, my visitor grew so frustrated he finally blurted out that a major segment of Christianity (the non-Protestant kind) had just issued a statement declaring they no longer believe Jesus to be God. The whole room grew uncomfortably quiet. I turned to one of the other visitors who had remained silent through the whole discussion. "Do you believe that?" I asked him.
Well, obviously it was news to him!
"I suppose, Mr. Parks," the leader said, "You can tell us what you believe?"
I leaned over the kitchen table and got as close to him as I could, and from somewhere deep inside me came the familiar words: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in His only Son, Jesus our Lord..." and on I went through the entire Apostles' Creed until I reached the climactic phrase, "... and in the life everlasting. Amen." The leader looked me right in the eye and said ever so cautiously, "We gotta go now."
What encouragement and assurance I gained by once again knowing and being able to articulate what it is exactly that I believe; what I know is unchangeable; what I know, without a doubt, is true.
So, this week as you enter your sanctuary or auditorium or wherever it is that you meet with other like-minded believers, we'll be with you. And so will millions of others who are cheering you on, standing right beside you proclaiming, "I believe!" You'll be like God's people in II Chronicles 5 who experienced the manifest presence of God not because of the number in their choir and orchestra, and not because of the volume of their music. Rather, because as with one voice they said (and you'll say) "The Lord is good; His love endures forever."
I believe that, don't you?
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
And in His only Son, Jesus 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 arose 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 [ universal ] church, The communion of saints, The forgiveness of sins, The resurrection of the body, And the life everlasting. Amen.
Marty Parks is the Associate Pastor of Worship Ministries at Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. He is also a composer and arranger of many choral projects published by several publishers. His principal publishing outlet is through Lillenas Publishing where he has developed a line of worship materials called Lillenas Worship Resources. For more information or for other articles like the one above, please contact
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