 What do Christians believe?
We believe that the universe did not come about by chance but was created by God, and that God continues to sustain the universe and everything in it. We believe God, not to be an impersonal force, but a person who loves his creation. Although no-one has seen God, we believe that we can know something of him through the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.
We believe that God loves us all and longs to have a personal relationship with each of us, a relationship which is developed and deepened through worship and prayer. In order to show us what he is like and to help us draw close to him, God was willing to put aside his power and become human as Jesus Christ. Jesus is, then, somehow both God and human.
He was born about 2000 years ago into a poor family and lived a normal, quiet life until he was about 30. Then for three years, he became an itinerant preacher, teaching people of God’s love for them, healing those who were sick and collecting together a group of disciples who worked with him and supported him. He was finally arrested, tried and executed by crucifixion as a common criminal.
But three days later, much to the amazement of his disciples, he rose to life again and inspired his followers to continue his work and spread his story to the whole world. Those followers were the origins of the worldwide Church we see today and Jesus’ message of God’s love can now be heard across the globe.
The Church is the community of people who try to follow Jesus today. We seek to live our lives in the way he taught, to gather together for worship and to continue his work of telling others about God’s love. Although over the years the Church had divided into a number of different denominations, we still believe we are doing God’s work and are one Church.
The Bible is the source-book of the Church. It is a collection of writing spanning over a thousand years which tells of God’s dealings with his people in many different situations. The newest part is the New Testament which contains the stories of Jesus and some of the teaching of the early Church. We still read the bible today, not just to learn about events, but because we believe God can actually ‘speak’ to us as we read it.
This, of course, is only a short summary of our beliefs and can only give you some idea of what Christianity is about. If you want to know more, come along to one of our services or get in touch with us. We’d be more than happy to talk with you.
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