What We Believe
OUR CREED
Historians believe what we refer to as “the Apostles Creed” was adopted by early Christians as a method of remembering and reciting the core beliefs held by the disciples of Jesus Christ. Tradition states that the early believers would recite the Apostles Creed at the moment of their baptism. Today we believe that the same creed continues to hold the core values of our faith.
We believe in the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth. We believe 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; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he will come to judge the quick 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 life everlasting. Amen.
OUR FAITH
Faith is the basic orientation and commitment of our whole being—a matter of heart and soul. Christian faith is grounding our lives in the living God as revealed especially in Jesus Christ. It’s both a gift we receive within the Christian community and a choice we make.
OUR SAVIOR
Jesus Christ was the one and only Son of God, who came down from heaven for the purpose of our salvation. He was both fully man and fully God himself, without sin. He was crucified for our sins, dead and buried. On the third day, he was resurrected and later ascended to heaven from whence he shall return. Jesus is our eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all persons are to be judged.
(Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1: 15-17)
THE CROSS
Used as an instrument of torture and death, we now view the Cross as a symbol of our hope in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross was an atoning sacrifice, making possible our forgiveness and reconciliation with God. To repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ are the only requirements for one to receive that salvation made possible by Jesus’ death.
(1 John 2:2; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
ABOUT SALVATION
Because of rebellion against God going all the way back to Adam, all persons are inclined toward sin and selfishness. Sin means missing the mark of God’s righteousness; it means to be in rebellion against God, to disobey his laws. We are unable to overcome sin by our own means and methods. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit and the salvation offered through Jesus Christ that we can break free from the chains of a sinful life.
(Romans 3: 10-12)
THE BIBLE
The Bible was inspired by God and contains all things necessary for salvation. When read under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is our true rule and guide for faith and practice. It’s our sacred canon and, thus, the decisive source of our Christian witness and the authoritative measure of the truth in our belief.
(2 Timothy 3: 16-17)
OUR WESLEYAN HERITAGE
The United Methodist Church was founded out of a movement started by John Wesley in the 18th Century. Wesley did not intend to found a new denomination, but historical circumstances and his organizational genius conspired against his desire to remain in the Church of England.
What started with John Wesley and his brother, Charles, traveling the circuit and preaching outdoors, soon grew into a movement. Perhaps the biggest theological distinction that separated (and ultimately divided) John Wesley from most of his contemporaries was the assertion that Christians could enjoy entire sanctification in this life: loving God and their neighbors, meekness and lowliness of heart, abstaining from all appearance of evil, and doing all for the glory of God.
Grace pervades our understanding of Christian faith and life. By grace we mean the undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human existence through the ever-present Holy Spirit. While the grace of God is undivided, it precedes salvation as “prevenient grace,” continues in “justifying grace,” and is brought to fruition in “sanctifying grace.”
Historians believe what we refer to as “the Apostles Creed” was adopted by early Christians as a method of remembering and reciting the core beliefs held by the disciples of Jesus Christ. Tradition states that the early believers would recite the Apostles Creed at the moment of their baptism. Today we believe that the same creed continues to hold the core values of our faith.
We believe in the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth. We believe 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; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he will come to judge the quick 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 life everlasting. Amen.
OUR FAITH
Faith is the basic orientation and commitment of our whole being—a matter of heart and soul. Christian faith is grounding our lives in the living God as revealed especially in Jesus Christ. It’s both a gift we receive within the Christian community and a choice we make.
OUR SAVIOR
Jesus Christ was the one and only Son of God, who came down from heaven for the purpose of our salvation. He was both fully man and fully God himself, without sin. He was crucified for our sins, dead and buried. On the third day, he was resurrected and later ascended to heaven from whence he shall return. Jesus is our eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all persons are to be judged.
(Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1: 15-17)
THE CROSS
Used as an instrument of torture and death, we now view the Cross as a symbol of our hope in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross was an atoning sacrifice, making possible our forgiveness and reconciliation with God. To repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ are the only requirements for one to receive that salvation made possible by Jesus’ death.
(1 John 2:2; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
ABOUT SALVATION
Because of rebellion against God going all the way back to Adam, all persons are inclined toward sin and selfishness. Sin means missing the mark of God’s righteousness; it means to be in rebellion against God, to disobey his laws. We are unable to overcome sin by our own means and methods. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit and the salvation offered through Jesus Christ that we can break free from the chains of a sinful life.
(Romans 3: 10-12)
THE BIBLE
The Bible was inspired by God and contains all things necessary for salvation. When read under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is our true rule and guide for faith and practice. It’s our sacred canon and, thus, the decisive source of our Christian witness and the authoritative measure of the truth in our belief.
(2 Timothy 3: 16-17)
OUR WESLEYAN HERITAGE
The United Methodist Church was founded out of a movement started by John Wesley in the 18th Century. Wesley did not intend to found a new denomination, but historical circumstances and his organizational genius conspired against his desire to remain in the Church of England.
What started with John Wesley and his brother, Charles, traveling the circuit and preaching outdoors, soon grew into a movement. Perhaps the biggest theological distinction that separated (and ultimately divided) John Wesley from most of his contemporaries was the assertion that Christians could enjoy entire sanctification in this life: loving God and their neighbors, meekness and lowliness of heart, abstaining from all appearance of evil, and doing all for the glory of God.
Grace pervades our understanding of Christian faith and life. By grace we mean the undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human existence through the ever-present Holy Spirit. While the grace of God is undivided, it precedes salvation as “prevenient grace,” continues in “justifying grace,” and is brought to fruition in “sanctifying grace.”
Stuttgart First Methodist Church
“Making Christ first in life”
We invite you to join us in making Christ first in your life and our congregation by embracing what we believe is of first importance.
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15.1-11)
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15.1-11)
First Church Firsts
Beliefs of First Importance:
Values of First Importance:
- We proudly proclaim that Jesus is the Christ!
- We believe the early Christian Creeds such the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed,
- We believe in the Articles of Religion of the United Methodist Church.
- We believe in the Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church.
- We believe in the 53 Standard Sermons of John Wesley as our standards for teaching Christian doctrine in the church.
Values of First Importance:
- We value making the heavenly Father known like Jesus did.
- We value holding to the conviction that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
- We value making first class disciples of Jesus Christ.
- We value introducing people to Jesus in positive ways.
- We value the pursuit of entire sanctification. God’s call to holiness was never meant to be a burden, but a gift that liberates us for life by delivering us from the destructive power of sin. We believe that a life of holiness or entire sanctification is the goal of each person’s journey with God. John Wesley referred to this as “the grand depositum” of the Methodists and why God raised up the Methodists.