Believing.

February 8, 2022

Hello, church family and friends!

In a worship committee meeting recently, we realized together that we had gotten out of the habit of saying the creeds together. When I was a kid, we had to memorize them, the Nicene and Apostles Creeds, and understand the history and meanings and differences between them. We said them every single Sunday. Even now, the particular versions my church used are a matter of muscle memory. 

In case you might not be familiar, a “creed” is a statement of belief. There have been several that Christians have used over the centuries, and there are many that are deeply meaningful. The Nicene Creed dates back to the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE; the Apostles’ Creed is shorter and more well-known, and it may be older. They are both in our hymnal, along with a couple more modern ones, and one especially fitting for us as we study Romans because it comes from Romans 8. We’ll be saying these together more often in worship going forward, especially on communion Sundays.

Anyway, it all got me thinking about believing, and what we believe in, and how that affects our lives. I ran across this from Frederick Buechner, a Presbyterian minister and poet, in his book Beyond Words.

“Believing.

Prepositions can be very eloquent. A man is “in” architecture or a woman is “in” teaching, we say, meaning that is what they do weekdays and how they make enough money to enjoy themselves the rest of the time. But if we say they are “into” these things, that is another story. “Into” means something more like total immersion. They live and breathe what they do. They take it home with them nights. They can’t get enough of it. To be “into” books means that just the sight of a signed first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sets your heart pounding. To be “in” books means selling them at B. Dalton’s.

Along similar lines, New Testament Greek speaks of believing “into” rather than believing “in.” In English we can perhaps convey the distinction best by using either “in” or no preposition at all.

Believing in God is an intellectual position. It need have no more effect on your life than believing in Freud’s method of interpreting dreams or the theory that Sir Francis Bacon wrote Romeo and Juliet.

Believing God is something else again. It is less a position than a journey, less a realization than a relationship. It doesn’t leave you cold like believing the world is round. It stirs your blood like believing the world is a miracle. It affects who you are and what you do with your life like believing your house is on fire or somebody loves you.

We believe in God when for one reason or another we choose to do so. We believe God when somehow we run into God in a way that by and large leaves us no choice to do otherwise.

When Jesus says that whoever believes “into” him shall never die, he does not mean that to be willing to sign your name to the Nicene Creed guarantees eternal life. Eternal life is not the result of believing in. It is the experience of believing.”

Because He lives,

      Pastor Dawn

Worship Any and Everywhere!

ROMANS: More than Conquerors

This week, as we continue in our study of Romans, we get to what many folks, if asked, would cite as the best part of the entire letter. For some, they might even claim it as the best part of the New Testament as a whole! Chapters 7 and 8. It’s inspiring, it’s passionate, it’s bold and exciting and wonderful. We’ll talk together about what was inspiring Paul in his writing, and what this part of his letter to the churches in Rome have to say to us. 

 

If you are worshiping with us from home, either via the radio broadcast or video, we are so glad! If we can pray for you, or if there is anything you need, we would love to do that. You can call the church office at 775-423-4714, or you can call Pastor Dawn on her cell phone any time, 775-671-5553.