Here's my reply...

Here's my Reply The Apostles' Creed by Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.com) The Apostles' Creed expresses in words the essence of Christianity. Dr. D. James Kennedy in his book, Knowing the Whole Truth (Fleming H. Revell Company), states the following. Pastor Kennedy writes, "The Apostles' Creed is a marvelous statement... It is something which virtually every group of Christians everywhere can agree upon... I think that it is important in this day and time, when atheism is militant and armed, that Christians let the world know that we are not a bunch of separate sects, but that we hold great truths in common." I certainly concur with him. Christians have more to celebrate together about the Faith than we have to profane by imposing factions. I'm going to begin and continue for the next several days a daily devotion series on the Apostles' Creed. I think you will find the information helpful in regards to what Christians have long believed, and died in defense of, for the past 1800 years (the Apostles' Creed is a statement of faith from the very earliest centuries of the church). This material should help you renew you faith in Christ and His Church. So, let's get started. If you were to search the web for the Apostles' Creed, you would discover that some Creeds are more elaborate than others are. You would find that some Creeds use different phrases or words than others to convey essentially the same thing. Please keep in mind that diversity is always the choice over the bland and the overused. The Apostles' Creed recited as an invocation most every Sunday at Faith Fellowship Church contains the phrase, "the Holy Universal Church of the Lord Jesus Christ..." instead of the common phrase, "the Holy Catholic Church..." No, FFC is not opposed to the Roman Catholic Church and trying to avoid all references to it. The word "catholic" means "universal." In order to allay the anxiety that grips many Protestants about the word, "catholic" Faith Fellowship Church uses the word, "universal" instead of "catholic." Enough said with that. Let's move on. Faith Fellowship Church recites the Apostles' Creed as follows. "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator 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, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen." Now some people say they don't need a creed. Some say creeds take away from the importance of the Bible. They erroneously think that reciting the Apostles' Creed is honoring the words of men above the Word of God. What do you say? Do you know what the word, "creed" means? The word simply means, "I believe." Whether or not you believe in and recite the Apostles' Creed is irrelevant to the meaning of "creed." Everyone everywhere believes in something. To say "I don't believe in anything" is a creed. I choose to believe in the words of the Apostle's Creed. To me, it is the Bible condensed in short form. I can readily recall the Apostles' Creed over long and systematic columns of theology, especially when sharing my faith in Christ. I hope you agree, but it's not imperative you agree with me to enjoy, even benefit from this series. I pray that you will stay tuned with me and respond from time to time with your comments. Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is our soon coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Pastor T, I believe. To be continued tomorrow...