Small Group Study for New Christians

A friend of mine recently started coming to the church but wasn't used to the open, reflective questions that we were using in our standard Bible study and didn't have enough of the Bible to really contribute. Joining in these discussions is a skill that we have unconsciously honed over years without even thinking about it and we forget how daunting this can be to people who haven't been to university and don't regularly think and discuss in this way. I put together this study on the Nicene Creed to build up knowledge of the fundamentals of our faith and to encourage deeper reflection on how we can be guided by the spirit and live changed lives.

The Nicene Creed

 

The Nicene Creed is the defining statement of belief of mainstream Christianity. It was adopted in the city of Nicaea, a city in modern day Turkey, in the year 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople, which is modern day Istanbul, which is also modern-day Turkey. All we need to know is that the Nicene Creed tells us what it means to be a Christian.

 

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. 

 

 

 

Session 1

 

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

 

1.    This is a description of our God. What words would you use to describe God?

2.    God is described as “Father”. Our Father God isn’t actually a man – this is a metaphor to help us understand the family relationship we have with God. As Christians, we are adopted into God’s family. Do you find thinking of God as your father helpful? In what ways?

3.    The Bible teaches that God has always existed. It was Him that created everything on earth and in heaven. What do you think is the most amazing thing that God has created in the universe and why?

4.    There is one God. Christians believe in the Trinity – a difficult to understand concept where there is one God but the one God has three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Do you find it easy to say there is only one God?

 

 

 

Session 2

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.

 

1.    Jesus is the “Son of God” but this part of the creed makes clear that he is “of one being with the Father”. He isn’t a demi-God like in a Greek myth. He is fully God. Do you think of Jesus as God?

2.    Jesus is described as “true God”. There are lots of other gods mentioned in the Bible and in the world but Jesus is the true God. How do you feel about saying Jesus is the only true God?

3.    Jesus is often described as “the light”. If you turn on a light in a dark room, you can see. You cannot turn on darkness to make something less light. Light overcomes darkness in a way that darkness cannot overcome the light. What darkness is there (or has there been) in your life?

4.    Everything is made through Jesus. He is the supreme authority in all creation. Are you ready to submit to Jesus as your Lord and to do everything he asks?

 

Session 3

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.

1.    There are lots of religions in the world. Many of them have stories about their gods that are in the dim and distant past and where there are no records other than the story. But Christianity is different. Jesus’s story is linked with real people like Pontius Pilate and real places like Bethlehem. People not connected to Christianity wrote about Jesus and the impact he had. We can prove that Jesus was a real person who really lived. Is it important to you that there is evidence for Jesus and that he was a real person and not just a story?

2.    The sentence “incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary” means that God is 100% human and 100% God. He isn’t half God/half man. He was born as a helpless baby, grew up and became a man. He was betrayed by his closest friends, physically attacked and killed. Whatever suffering you have had in your life, Jesus can empathise because he has suffered worse. Do you find it helpful to have a God who can fully understand your suffering when you pray to Him about it?

3.    Jesus was crucified as a sacrifice for our sins. How does it make you feel that he took the death penalty so that you can be forgiven?

4.    What things do you find difficult about the story of Jesus?

 

 

 

Session 4

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.

1.    Jesus died on Good Friday and rose again on Easter Sunday. Jesus died! God knows what it means to face death and die. We will all die someday but like Jesus we will live again in a new spiritual body. Does death worry you?

2.    About two thirds of the Bible is made up of the books, poems and wise sayings in the Old Testament. These were all written before Jesus was born and are packed full of predictions about Jesus. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, it was written that a virgin will get pregnant and give birth in Bethlehem and that’s what happened. It says Jesus will be crucified even though he is innocent and that is what happened. Jesus was always part of God’s plan and as a Christian so are you. What do you think God’s plan might be for your life?

3.    It says that one day we will all face judgment. Everyone. Good or bad, Christian or not. As Christians we will still be judged on how we live out life; it is just that we will not face any punishment because Jesus has already been punished for us. How does it feel to know that Jesus will judge our every action?

4.    It says that Jesus is seated on the right hand of the Father. To say someone is on your right hand is to say they are your equal. Jesus is the equal of God the Father. How does seeing Jesus as God, help you understand God better?

 

Session 5

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.

1.    The Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity that lives in us and guides us. When you chose to follow Jesus, did you ask the Holy Spirit to come into your life?

2.    The Holy Spirit is called the giver of life. When you become a Christian, your old life dies and you start a new life that is focussed on heaven. Give some ways that your new life is focussed on heaven.

3.    It is the Holy Spirit that makes people aware when they are doing something wrong and guides us to do the will of God. Have you ever felt yourself being guided when you’ve read the Bible or heard someone preach?

4.    Our body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. Do you treat it as a temple?

 

 

Session 6

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.

1.    “Apostolic” means that our faith is based on the teaching of the people who wrote the New Testament. How often do you listen to or read the Bible?

2.    Have you been baptised?

3.    Your sins have been forgiven and you are living a new life but temptation is everywhere. How do you keep yourself from sinning again?

4.    The Bible says Jesus will come again. When he does, we will live again in a new heaven and a new earth. Some people think they have had former lives but the Bible says you have one life and then you go to be with the Lord. How can you live for Jesus in this life?