The basics.

Next week I'm taking a class called Formation and Catechesis.  To prepare, I have been reading all these wonderful books and getting all fired up about how we really need to get back to teaching people the basics of faith.  Reformers Luther and Calvin (and others) focused on the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in their teaching.  It is a shame today that many Christians know how they feel about their faith, but they cannot articulate their faith.  There is a lot to be said about this...and I am thrilled to be reading about it in this book.  But I thought that just to have it as a handy resource, I would post the words to the creed, prayer, and commandments.  I was fortunate enough in my church/family growing up to have learned each of these, but some are not so fortunate.  More important than memorizing them is learning about and studying them...not on your own, but with someone who has spent some time themselves studying and living them.  Calvin and Luther had some discrepancies over which of these three should be studied first, but I will not get into that here.

Apostles' Creed

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,

and born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended to hell.

On 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 thence He will come 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.

The Ten Commandments, as found in Exodus 20, NLT

Commandment 1

3 "You must not have any other god but me.

Commandment 2

4 "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

Commandment 3

7 "You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

Commandment 4

8 "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Commandment 5

12 "Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Commandment 6

13 "You must not murder.

Commandment 7

14 "You must not commit adultery.

Commandment 8

15 "You must not steal.

Commandment 9

16 "You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

Commandment 10

17 "You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor."

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.