We’re all searching. Sometimes the search is easy: simply type a question and the answer pops up. But sometimes our questions are complicated, and the answers are difficult to see and harder to articulate. How do we discover and examine the truths that give meaning and purpose to life? Adam Hamilton believes that some powerful answers are contained in the Apostles’ Creed, an early statement of foundational Christian beliefs. In this six-week study, Hamilton considers important questions of life, reality, and truth. He explores not only what Christians believe, but also why they believe it and why it matters. This Youth Study Book takes the ideas presented in Adam Hamilton’s book and interprets them for young people grades 6-12. Includes leader helps with discussion questions and can be used with the adult-level DVD. Explores what Christians believe, why they believe, and why it matters through the Apostles Creed. Adam Hamilton is senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. The Church Report named Hamilton’s congregation the most influential mainline church in America, and he preached at the National Prayer Service as part of the presidential inauguration festivities in 2013. Hamilton is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Walk, Simon Peter, Creed, Half Truths, The Call, The Journey, The Way, 24 Hours That Changed the World, John, Revival, Not a Silent Night, Enough, When Christians Get It Wrong, and Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White , all published by Abingdon Press. Learn more about Adam Hamilton at AdamHamilton.com. Creed Youth Study Book What Christians Believe and Why By Mike Poteet Abingdon Press Copyright © 2016 Abingdon Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-5018-1383-2 Contents Introduction, 1. God, 2. Jesus Christ, 3. The Holy Spirit, 4. The Church and the Communion of Saints, 5. The Forgiveness of Sins, 6. The Resurrection of the Body, Notes, CHAPTER 1 God I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Pray a Psalm Where could I go to get away from your spirit? Where could I go to escape your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there. If I went down to the grave, you would be there too! If I could fly on the wings of dawn, stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean — even there your hand would guide me; even there your strong hand would hold me tight! If I said, "The darkness will definitely hide me; the light will become night around me," even then the darkness isn't too dark for you! Nighttime would shine bright as day, because darkness is the same as light to you! — Psalm 139:7-12 Get The Conversation Rolling Roll a six-sided die and answer the corresponding question from the list below. 1. What sight, sound, or smell do you associate with God, and why? 2. Name one actor and one actress you would cast as God in a movie, and briefly explain your choices. 3. If you were God and wanted to prove your existence to the world, what would you do? 4. What's one thing you wished everyone believed about God? 5. What currently popular, nonreligious song most makes you think about God, and why? 6. If you could ask God to do any one thing to prove God's existence, what would you ask for? Consider the Creed Can We Talk About God Without Blushing? Early in June 2016, a certain piece of "news" flooded my social media feeds. Theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku had supposedly made a stunning announcement. One website breathlessly declared: World Renowned Scientist Michio Kaku Proves Existence Of God Turns out, he didn't. As I followed a long trail of hyperlinks away from that clickbait headline, I never found a source I could trust telling me when, where, or to whom Dr. Kaku had made this groundbreaking revelation. But I did find a year-old article by him in which he writes, "We physicists are the only scientists who can say the word 'God' and not blush." I also found, on YouTube, an even older interview suggesting what he meant by those words. In the interview, Dr. Kaku describes the way Albert Einstein thought about God: "the God of order, harmony, beauty, simplicity and elegance" — the ultimate reason we find structure in the cosmos where there could have been chaos, and loveliness where there could have been ugliness. Since Dr. Kaku is an expert in cosmology (the study of the universe's origin and development), I suspect this is the kind of God he can talk about without blushing. When the people who wrote the Bible looked at the heavens and the earth, they too saw structure and beauty: • "Heaven is declaring God's glory," the psalm-singer rejoices; "the sky is proclaiming his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). • In Isaiah, God insists that God did not "create [the earth as] a wasteland but formed it as a habitation ... I didn't say ... 'Seek me in chaos'" (45:18, 19). • The Bible