WhatWeBelieve

A Christian is one who believes in Jesus. But to believe in Jesus is not a matter of the mind, it is a matter of the heart; for what we believe is, in the end, that to which we give our heart. To believe in Jesus does not mean to give intellectual assent to any particular set of doctrines as taught by any particular church. If we study the Greek and Latin roots of the word believe, we learn that it means "to give one's heart to." So in a wedding it would be fitting to ask the bride and groom if they believe in one another, that is, if they give their hearts to one another. We invite you to believe in Jesus, to give your heart to him, and to follow in his way. When you do, you will know the joy God's presence, who is with you now and forever.

We at Hebron Church affirm various testimonies of faith which celebrate the love of Jesus, the one to whom we have given our hearts. These testimonies are not tests by which we evaluate our faith, they are instead affirmations of the good news of God's love for the world. What follows are some of those testimonies.

The Nicene Creed

(1981 Approved Version) UCC Statement of Faith

We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit, God of our Savior Jesus Christ and our God, and to your deeds we testify:

                You call the worlds into being,
                   create persons in your own image,
                   and set before each one the ways of life and death.

               You seek in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

               You judge people and nations by your righteous will declared through prophets and apostles.

               In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Savior,
                 you have come to us
               and shared our common lot,
   conquering sin and death
   and reconciling the world to yourself.

              You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit,
   creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ,
   binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

   You call us into your church
to accept the cost and joy of discipleship,
    to be your servants in the service of others,
to proclaim the gospel to all the world
and resist the powers of evil,
to share in Christ's baptism and eat at this table,
to join him in his passion and victory.

You promise to all who trust you
   forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace,
   courage in the struggle for justice and peace,
   your presence in trial rejoicing,
   and eternal life in your realm which has no end.

   Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto you. Amen.

__________________
   Approved by the Executive Council in 1981 for use in the United Church of Christ in connection with the 25th anniversary.

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     I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
           who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
           born of the Virgin Mary,
           suffered un Pontius Pilate,
           was crucified, died, and was buried;
           he descended to the dead.
           On the third day he rose again;
           he ascended into heaven,
           he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
           and he will come again to judge the living 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 live everlasting. Amen.

Christ is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or powers--
all things have been created through him and for him.
He himself is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come to have first place in everything.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God in love.

God destined us for adoption as God's children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of God's will, to the praise of God's glorious grace that God freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Christ we have redemption through Christ's blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of God's grace that god lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight God has made known to us the mystery of god's will, according to God's good pleasure that God set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fulness of time, to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.

In Christ, we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of God who accomplishes all things according to God's counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set out hope on Christ, might live for the praise of God's glory. In Christ you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in Christ, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of God's glory.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

        who, though he was in the form of god,
        did not regard equality with God
        as something to be exploited,

        but emptied himself,
        taking the form of a slave,
        being born in human likeness.

        And being found in human form,
        he humbled himself
        and became obedient to the point of death--
        even death on a cross.

        Therefore God also highly exalted him
        and gave him the name
        that is above every name,
        so that at the name of Jesus
        every knee should bend,
        in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
        and every tongue should confess
        that Jesus Christ is Lord,
        to the glory of God the Father.

This creed as written in 325 and expresses the faith of the ancient church, a faith based on scripture, a faith we affirm at Hebron Church. We pray this creed when we celebrate Holy Communion.

    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 of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
           and became truly human.
           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 worshiped 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.