Enduring Elements of Public Worship (part 1)
Thomas Aquinas said we must know:
- What to believe (The Apostles’ Creed)
- How to live (The Ten Commandments)
- What to pray for (The Lord’s Prayer)
These are the core issues of life and they are answered in the Creed (What to believe), the Commandments (How to live) and the Prayer (What to pray for). Peter Kreeft in Knowing the Truth of God’s Love 1988 p44-47
What to believe? The answer to that question is longer than we usually have time to explain. In fact, we often don’t know where to begin to give an answer. For hundreds of years the “Apostles’ Creed” has been a common statement of faith for Christians all over the world. Forms of it appear as early as A.D. 140 and full versions as early as A.D. 460. Though not written by the apostles it is based in Scripture. It has become for many of us Christians a concise statement of our own belief – a shorthand way of expressing the fundamentals of our faith. It is also, importantly, short enough to memorize and readily bring to mind. When recited together we remember we are the new people of God here, all over the world, and throughout the past 20 centuries. Ephesians 2:19 “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” We do well to commit it to memory and declare to ourselves and each other what we believe. I commend it to the church as a regular part of worship.
In the next issue we will consider “How to live – The Ten Commandments” and later “What to pray for – The Lord’s Prayer.”
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