Belief in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is at the heart of our faith. Christians believe that Jesus is God’s Son. Jesus reveals to us that God is our Father, and that God is available to us through the Holy Spirit.

You won’t ever be asked if you completely understand all this. But we do have the opportunity, during our Sunday morning services, to express what we believe about God and to put our trust in him. This is called faith. It is a different sort of knowledge. It is the knowledge of being known and loved, and of loving in return.

The Christian faith is not a human invention. There are signs of God’s existence and handiwork in creation for anyone to read (The Bible, Acts 14.15–17). But we believe in the way we do because God has come to seek us out and has made himself known to us.

God has revealed himself through the Bible. God has revealed himself most clearly through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. God makes himself known personally to each believer through the work of the Holy Spirit.

‘The most important decision any person can ever make is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. It’s the best thing anyone can do.’   Archbishop Justin Welby

When someone becomes a follower of Jesus they are baptised. (Or, if they have already been baptized, they will confirm for themselves the promises made at their baptism.) During this service a series of questions will be asked – in most respects the questions asked today are the same as those new Christians were asked in the earliest days of the Church.

Brothers and sisters, I ask you to profess together the faith of the Church.

Do you believe and trust in God the Father?
Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ?
Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit?

Everyone answers with either a simple ‘I believe and trust in him’, or by reciting the three parts of the Nicene or Apostles’ creed, two of the most ancient summaries of the Christian faith.

Being a Christian means responding to Jesus’ invitation to enjoy a relationship with God here on earth and for eternity.