The Apostles Creed

What We Believe – The Apostles’ Creed”

You know what a 10/10 movie in my humble opinion is: the movie Wreak- it- Ralph.

For 30 years, Wreck-It Ralph has been the "bad guy," wrecking buildings while hero Fix-It Felix Jr. fixes them, leaving Ralph to live in the dump. After being excluded from his game's anniversary party, Ralph decides to win a medal from another game to earn respect.

- I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

Opening

Alright, before we start—quick question.

Have you ever been asked, “What do you believe?”

And your brain just kind of froze?

Yeah. That’s normal.

Tonight and this semester, we’re talking about something Christians have used for hundreds of years to answer that exact question. It’s called the Apostles’ Creed.

1. What Is the Apostles’ Creed?

The Apostles’ Creed is a short statement that explains the core beliefs of Christianity.

Now, quick clarification: The apostles didn’t sit down in a room and write this together. But the creed faithfully summarizes what the apostles taught in the Bible.

The creed doesn’t replace the Bible—it helps us clearly say what the Bible teaches.

Think of it like this: The Bible is the whole movie. The creed is the trailer.

The trailer doesn’t tell you everything—but it tells you the main story.

2. Why Does the Apostles’ Creed Matter?

Let me ask you this.

Imagine I ask everyone in this room: “What do you believe about God?”

One person says:

“I think God is nice, but probably mad at me.”

Another says:

“I think Jesus was just a good teacher.”

Another says:

“I believe whatever I saw on TikTok last night.”

Ok….That would be total chaos.

The Apostles’ Creed steps in and says:

“Let’s be clear. This is what Christians believe.”

and It matters because it helps us:

Know what we believe

Say what we believe

Not make up our own version of Christianity

3. Why Is the Creed Important for You?

Middle school is when you start asking real questions:

Is my faith just my parents’ faith?

Do I actually believe this?

How do I explain my faith to others?

Let’s talk about worship for a second.

When we worship, we’re not just singing songs—we’re declaring truth about who God is. Worship is our response to what God has revealed about Himself.

Tells us who we’re worshiping

Reminds us what God has done

We’re worshiping with our minds and hearts, confessing the same truth with believers around the world and across history.4. The Creed Keeps the Gospel at the Center

The Apostles’ Creed talks about:

God the Father as Creator

Jesus Christ, God’s Son

Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and return

The church and forgiveness of sins

Notice what it doesn’t say:

“I believe in trying harder.”

“I believe in being a good person so God likes me.”

Rather we believe: We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone.

The creed reminds us of that.

5. A Bible Passage That Shows This

Listen to this verse:

1 Corinthians 15:3–4

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

This is basically an early Christian creed.

Before there were worship bands, church buildings, or youth rooms—Christians believed this: Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose again.

The Apostles’ Creed is built on this same truth.

6.Help Us Get It

Illustration : Making Up Your Own Rules

Imagine playing a game where everyone gets to make up their own rules.

One person says:

“Actually, I can’t get tagged.” Another says:

“I get unlimited lives.”

That’s not a game—that’s chaos.

The creed reminds us: We don’t get to make up what Christianity is. God has already told us in His Word.

7. Bringing It All Together

So why does the Apostles’ Creed matter?

Because it:

Helps us know what we believe

Helps us say it clearly

Keeps the gospel at the center

And most importantly, it points us to Jesus.

Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn’t live. Jesus died the death our sin deserved. Jesus rose again in victory.

Our faith isn’t built on feelings. It’s built on truth.

The Bible tells us that we all sin. We don’t love God perfectly, and we can’t fix that on our own. But God loves us and didn’t leave us stuck in our sin.

Being a Christian isn’t about saying the right words or being a good person. It’s about trusting Jesus.

Closing

Over the next weeks, we’re going to walk through the Apostles’ Creed line by line—not to just memorize words, but to understand the God we believe in.

Let’s pray.