SPEAKER_00: Hello my friends, and welcome back to the Spray UMC Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Hoyt, and I'm grateful you've joined me today as we begin something special, a new series.
SPEAKER_00: Over the next six weeks, we are walking through one of the oldest, clearest, and most beautiful summaries of Christian belief, the Apostles' Creed.
SPEAKER_00: You may know it from childhood.
SPEAKER_00: You may have never said it at all, or you may say it each Sunday without thinking about the depth behind the words.
SPEAKER_00: Wherever you're coming from, this series is for you.
SPEAKER_00: Because the creed is not just a tradition, it is a testimony, a story of the God who created us, redeemed us, and sustains us.
SPEAKER_00: Now before we dig in, let's speak the creed together.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Today we focus on the opening line.
SPEAKER_00: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
SPEAKER_00: These words may sound simple, but they contain the foundation of everything the creed and the Christian life stands on.
SPEAKER_00: Let's take it phrase by phrase.
SPEAKER_00: I believe.
SPEAKER_00: To believe means to trust, to lean your weight upon, to build your life around.
SPEAKER_00: In Scripture, belief is not passive, it is relational.
SPEAKER_00: I believe means my life rests on this truth.
SPEAKER_00: In God the Father, the creed begins not with rules, not with doctrine, not with morality, but relationship.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus prayed, he said, Our Father, not a distant deity, not a coal force, not a cosmic judge waiting for you to mess up, a father, one who knows your name, one who calls you his child, one who invites you close.
SPEAKER_00: The creed begins where the gospel begins with a God who loves you, almighty.
SPEAKER_00: This is where our hearts breathe a sigh of relief.
SPEAKER_00: God is not just Father.
SPEAKER_00: He is powerful enough to hold everything together.
SPEAKER_00: He is mighty enough to keep his promises, strong enough to carry what we cannot, faithful enough to sustain us through storms, suffering, and uncertainty.
SPEAKER_00: He is Father in tenderness and almighty in strength.
SPEAKER_00: Both are true, both are necessary.
SPEAKER_00: Both are who He is.
SPEAKER_00: Maker of heaven and earth.
SPEAKER_00: The creed does not say God made heaven and earth.
SPEAKER_00: It says Maker present tense.
SPEAKER_00: Because creation is not something God did once, it is something God still does.
SPEAKER_00: God is continuously sustaining, renewing, and holding all things.
SPEAKER_00: Your life is not an accident.
SPEAKER_00: The world is not random.
SPEAKER_00: Creation is intentional, born from the heart of a God who delights in beauty.
SPEAKER_00: When the creed calls God maker, it reminds us we belong to Him.
SPEAKER_00: Our identity comes from Him, our purpose flows from Him, and nothing in creation stands outside His care.
SPEAKER_00: Why this matters?
SPEAKER_00: This opening line of the Creed anchors everything else we believe.
SPEAKER_00: If God is Father, then we are loved.
SPEAKER_00: If God is Almighty, then we are secure.
SPEAKER_00: If God is maker, then our lives have meaning.
SPEAKER_00: This is not just doctrine.
SPEAKER_00: This is comfort, this is identity, this is hope.
SPEAKER_00: The Creed starts here because we must start here.
SPEAKER_00: Before we talk about Jesus, before we explore the cross, before we speak of resurrection, we begin by reminding ourselves we are held by the one who made us.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go to prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, thank you for being both strong and tender, both powerful and personal.
SPEAKER_00: Help us build our lives on the truth that we belong to you, created with purpose, loved without measure, and carried by your faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: As we begin this series, open our hearts to know you more deeply and trust you more fully.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a home church, we would love to have you worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road, Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving church where we love God and we love people, all people.
SPEAKER_00: May the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe.
SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.