belhar confession. urcsa akasia
TRANSCRIPT
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BELHAR CONFESSION.URCSA Akasia.
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LEADER
We believe in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Who gathers, protects and nourishes the church
from the beginning of the world to the end.
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CHURCH
The church is one;
the church is holy; the church is universal.
It is the community of God’s children,
called together from the whole of humanity.
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LEADER
We believe that the reconciling work of Christ
gives birth to a uniting church,
because church unity is a gift from God
and a goal we need to strive for.
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CHURCH
The unity of the church must become visible
so that the people around us can see
how separation and hatred are overcome in Christ.
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LEADER
We believe that genuine faith in Jesus Christ
is the only condition for membership
in this Christian church.
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CHURCH
So we praise God
that neither colour, class, gender nor culture
determines who may belong to this church.
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LEADER
We believe that God has entrusted to the church the message of
reconciliation,
that we are called to be peacemakers:
the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
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CHURCH
We celebrate God’s victory in the cross of Christ
over all the forces of division and bitterness.
This makes us a community of hope,
working for peace and unity.
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LEADER
We believe that God wants to bring about
true justice and lasting peace on earth.
We believe that God is, in a special sense,
The God of the suffering, the poor and the downtrodden.
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CHURCH
God gives justice to the oppressed
and bread to the hungry;
God sets captives free
and makes the blind to see;
God protects strangers, orphans and widows
and obstructs the plans of the wicked.
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LEADER
We believe that the church, belonging to God,
should stand where God stands:
against injustice and with those who are wronged.
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CHURCH
We oppose every policy that causes injustice:
We witness against the powerful
who seek their own interest and harm others.
We stand with those who suffer –
to share our lives with them.
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LEADER
We are called to confess – and to do –all this
in obedience to Jesus Christ, our only Lord;
even if authorities or laws oppose this;
even if punishment and suffering are the result.
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CHURCH
Jesus is Lord! We will follow him!
To the one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
be honour and glory, for ever and ever!
Amen.