1. Back to some basics

2. Know What you believe
and Why you believe it

3. Nicene Creed One document Council of Nicaea 325AD.
Council of Constantinople 381AD.
Council of Ephesus 431AD.
One document

4. WE BELIEVE in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.

5. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

6. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

7. Apostles’ Creed No Councils! Uncertain authorship
Referred to in Second Century documents
Appears to be a response to three baptismal questions of the early Church in relation to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

8. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker 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, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

9. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

10. So if we know what we believe and why we believe it, what should be the result?

11. As fellowships of Christians we are only scratching the surface of the potential that we have within our congregations. We are slow to learn and even slower to change. We are unaccustomed to cost and sacrificial commitment.

12. Do we dare to permit the living God to walk among us, transforming our attitudes, motives and actions, quickening vision and rekindling in us a passionate love for Him and his purposes? If we were to, maybe we would have the privilege of seeing scores of people coming to faith in Christ. Sometimes this would be as a direct result of our participation in their needs and sometimes as a combination of factors such as friendships, ‘power events’, ministering to need and preaching.

13. It is not just conceivable, that we have within our grasp, the possibility of drawing the attention of whole communities, maybe even whole nations, to the reality of the kingdom of God and the claims of Jesus Christ.
Brian Hathaway, Beyond Renewal (Milton Keynes: Word, 1990),