Confirmation Week One
Welcome!
This week we have the chance to look at each of the three persons of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. You’ve probably heard people in church use those titles. How much have you thought about what they mean before? Why do you think we begin confirmation with that?
This week’s reflection work
Take time to watch each of the three videos from The Bible Project below. After watching each one, take 3 minutes to write your thoughts in your notebook about what you watched. You can write about what caught your attention in the video. You could also include something you learned or something you already knew. If you can’t think of any words at first, draw something to illustrate what’s on your mind.
If there is something confusing or intriguing in a video, watch it again.
The videos
One question
Okay, did you write in your notebook?
Now, we want you to answer a specific question. Label this as important in your notebook so you can share it when we get together with the group. Ready? The question is, What’s 1 thing you learned from each video?
The Holy Trinity, theologians and creeds
What do we mean when we say the Holy Trinity? What else could we have called it? Here’s the funny thing, you can learn to describe what the Holy Trinity is, but it’ll always be a little incomplete. Why is that?
Theologians are people who think about God and all the parts of our faith. In some way, we’re all theologians, if we have thoughts about God. Throughout church history, certain theologians helped the rest of us figure out what we believe about God. One big way was describing the Holy Trinity.
It wasn’t an easy job, and it didn’t just happen. There were people who taught things about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that didn’t quite align with the Bible. So, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity helped the church decide what it believed. One of the ways the church taught about the Holy Trinity was through creeds.
There were a couple of creeds, actually. There are more today. A creed is a statement of faith. It says what you believe about something. The Apostle’s Creed came first, but we aren’t sure when. It was used in worship and to teach. The Nicene Creed was originally written in the year 325–yea, that’s old!
Take a few moments to read through the two creeds below, the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed. They are the most traditional ones we have. You can read them in the hymnals at church. At Kelsey, we usually recite a creed when someone gets baptized and joins the church. What similarities and differences do you notice about them?
The Apostle’s 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,
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 shall 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 the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Here’s a song to help you remember the creed. It’s called “This I Believe.” We’ve sang it at Kelsey before!
Pray to finish
Thanks for taking time to think about this stuff. You’re a theologian already! Now, let’s finish with a word of prayer.
Gracious Lord, all of life is a gift from you. We are blessed because you provide everything we need. Thank you for your Son Jesus who loves us and shows us your way. And may we let the Holy Spirit continue to teach and guide us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
See you soon!