All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Mark 9:23-24

What do you believe? In what do you place your trust? 

Each time you sit down in your favorite chair you place faith in it that it will still hold you. Every morning you put your child on the bus you trust that your child will return home to you at the end of their day. Or, if you only get your news from one source (especially in this politically charged season) you are placing a lot of faith that the news source is not biased and is giving you the full story.

Acts of faith take place each and every day. Often times without thinking about it. It is second nature and instinct. I’ve had my chair for over a decade. It’s found its home in three different homes. It has seen better days and the cushion and leg rest mechanism is not what it once was. But, even as it has become worn, not once have I thought I need to inspect it before sitting down on it. Its life is well past middle-aged—it has entered the twilight years. Yet, I don’t think twice about sitting in it. I believe it will hold me—every time. 

Yesterday I met with our confirmands that will stand before the church at the end of the month. Each of them will confirm the faith that has been instilled in them from the beginning. They will celebrate what their parents did in bringing them to the font of baptism. And, on that day, they will raise their hand and say I want this for me. I want to continue in the faith. I believe in Jesus and His power and I will continue to walk in this life trusting in Him. Confirmation is an age old rite of the church. 

Today we talked about the Apostles’ Creed. We recite it each week in worship. 

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord.  He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary.  He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.  On the third day he rose again.  He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  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 life everlasting.  Amen

This creed is one of three statements of belief of the church. It establishes what it means to be a Christian. It paints the boundaries of our faith—what is in bounds and what is out of bounds in the playing field of our beliefs. You don’t believe that God the Father was the creator of all that is? Then you are outside of the confines of the faith. This creed, along with the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds, are anchors of our faith and of the church. They are helpful, faithful, and essential parts of our life and worship together.

We use them each week in worship because we need to be reminded each week. Right? This world is constantly telling us all kinds of different things to believe. We are bombarded with a wide swath of things to trust and chase after. There are competing ideologies and antithetical systems that are vying for your attention. The truth is, worship and the creeds are a part of every week because it’s important to be reminded. With all the ways that other beliefs creep in and steal our focus, our sinful hearts need the constant repetition. It becomes a forming force over the course of your life. “What do you believe?” I believe in God the Father almighty…

As part of confirmation, I walked with each of our students through the beginning process of writing their own belief statements. Why do this? Because it is valuable to think deeply about the things you believe. It is important, from time to time, to wrestle with the things that you hold near at the core of your being. This is true for confirmation students as they grow and develop. And it is true for you at whatever state of life you are in currently. So, four questions framed our work.

What do you believe about God the Father?

What do you believe about Jesus?

What do you believe about the Holy Spirit?

How will this faith help you in faith and life?

These young people wrestled and worked and thought through these questions. I spoke about how it is important that each of their belief statements rhymes with the Apostles’ Creed, but it is important for them to put the statement into their own words. And they did. Boy did they ever. The words and declarations of their faith were beautiful, powerful, and faithful. I am excited for them to continue to polish these words and then share them publicly at the end of the month. 

I hope that your faith is stored by the father of the child that needed Jesus’ help, “I believe; help my unbelief.” And, with this, I ask you, what do you believe?

Using the 4 questions above, make time this week to think deeply and write your own “I believe” statement