There is one living and true God
Who is Love
Who is Spirit
Knowledge, wisdom and goodness
Beyond measure
Who brought the universe into being.
No one has seen eternal God
But his character
Can be known
In the person of Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
Nature and grace of God on earth.
The Divine Presence triggered
A singularity
In space-time
14 billion earth-years past
Creating, composing
Expanding, cooling universe.
A galaxy forms and near its edge, a star
Of burning brilliance
With dreaming planets.
Gas giants and icy globes.
Amidst them
Sparkling green and blue, majestic Earth.
Elements of Earth combine
Nuclei divide
Duplicating data
Life springs from lifeless dust.
Divine breath
Stimulates its processes
Earth rounds its star four billion times
As Divine Love nurtures
Life evolving
Growing in complexity,
'Til self-aware
Humanity emerges, mindful of mortality.
Humankind: women and men
Inquisitive
Intelligent
With capacity to love
Just like God!
But DNA driven to survive.
The nature of an apex predator
With lust to rule
Inclined to fail
In power clusters, tribes and nations
Exploiter and abuser
Covets and controls resources and procreation.
None is free from selfish tendency
All undeserving
All fall short
But for those accepting Christ, salvation!
Participation
In intimate relationship with Him
God anointed Jesus Christ
Identified Him
This Son of Man
Mediator with humankind
Prophet, Priest
King above all earthly kings.
In Jesus, witness perfect humanity!
No selfishness
Just love and grace.
Who holds himself accountable
Unconditionally
For humanity’s fragility and failure.
Speaking truth to power
Challenging
Hypocrisy and deceit
Champion of the poor and weak
Grace and mercy
To the marginalised and rejected.
In his infinite capacity for Grace
God accepts,
Embraces
All who freely follow Christ
Those so blessed
Are called to God’s purpose by his Spirit
Brothers and Sisters of Christ
Daughters
And Sons
of eternal God by adoption
Through Christ
By the power of the Spirit
Free to accept, or reject him
Humans may choose
The Way of Life
Or exist by their own resources.
Good works alone
Do not bring them closer to God
At once liberating and binding
Sola fide
Faith alone
bestows freedom from iniquity
Justified
And bound in love to Christ
Quickened and strengthened
In saving grace,
In amazing ways
To practice daily holiness,
The fruits of faith.
Draw them ever closer to Father God
Holy Spirit, essence of God
Illuminates
Guides the way
Into truth and knowledge
of God in Christ,
Confirms in them all grace.
The church, universal,
Many streams
of living water
Flowing from a single source
Body of Christ
Gathering, perfecting his people.
A sacrament, a symbol
Of choice
For Jesus
A sign of the cross in water
or immersion
To show the world we are his.
In the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit
Become his forever
A sign and seal
Of the Covenant of Grace