The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. —Luke 1:30-35

is to Sing God’s Praises, Serve God’s Children, and Share God’s Salvation until Christ comes again.

Week 1: I Believe in God the

, maker of heaven and earth.

If God is “Father,” then

humans are brothers and sisters and matter to God, including us!

If God is “Almighty,” all-powerful and everywhere, we are never

and ultimately

Reveal Answer

.

is to help non-religious and non-active Christians become radical Christ followers.

Week 2: I Believe in

, His only Son, our Lord.

Christ is the Greek equivalent to

in Hebrew, meaning “anointed one” and God’s chosen king.

Jesus of Nazareth was and is God’s chosen King for God’s Kingdom that never ends and has no

.

His only Son: “Jesus is not just a son of God, but

Son of God.” – Rev. Adam Hamilton

Jesus did things that ordinary people could not do:

the sick, the lame, the blind, deaf, and mentally ill.

Our Lord: We don’t refer to Jesus as a lord, but

LORD, the same title used for Yahweh.

The most important question of your life remains, “Is

my Lord, or am I?”

Week 3: “Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…”

The scientific components of sexual reproduction were not discovered until the

.

The early church did know of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, and

. (Genesis 25:21)

The Creed affirms that the birth of Jesus is unique and that it is

.

“Suffered under Pontius Pilate” is used as a way to set a specific

in history. (Isaiah 6:1, Luke 2:2)

Other gods of the time were thought to come in cycles or seasons (flood, drought), but Jesus rose

.

“Was crucified, dead, and buried” was stated to counteract misinformation circulating at the time that Jesus did not really suffer and die because his body was

, incorruptible, if even real.

“Descended to hell”: Jesus’ salvation is for all people and all

. (Ephesians 4:9-10, 1 Peter 3:18-20)

“The third day he rose from the dead” means

died, and we share in the resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:54-56)

“He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;” Christ

to his point of departure; he ascends to be with his Father and to continue their work.

“From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead” means everything will be in its proper

.

Why It Matters

Jesus is the

expression of who God is, what God is like, and what God’s will is for our lives.

If Jesus is “Christ,” then Jesus is the person God has chosen to

on God’s behalf.

If Jesus is “the only Son,” then Jesus has a special and

relationship with God like no other.

If Jesus is “our Lord,” then we live in the unshakable Kingdom of God with the unshakable King!

If Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary,” then the uniqueness of the birth makes Jesus

of all, and the reality of the birth makes Jesus like one of us.

If Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate,” then we know

and where Jesus died and rose again.

If Jesus was “crucified, dead, and buried,” then Jesus was really

and not pretending.

If Jesus “descended into hell,” there is no place in heaven or on earth or under the earth where Jesus cannot find you and

you.

If Jesus “on the third day…rose from the dead,” then we can live with him

. (1 Corinthians 15:14, 20-22)

If Jesus “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,” then since heaven is where God’s

breaks into the world, Jesus is still with us working for our good.

If Jesus “will come to judge the living and the dead,” then all

will be righted.

“The Creed was a clear statement of what it means to believe in this God who rules the universe, in this Son who is crucified as a common criminal, and in the Spirit who makes believers participants in the death and resurrection of that convicted criminal.” —Justo González

Action Step

Read the 16 chapters of the Good News according to

this week. It takes less than an hour.