Colbert’s Commitment to Truth

As citizens of the Kingdom of God:

  • May we give voice to what is wrong, unjust or evil, but do it in a gentle way, without a hint of meanness or a spirit of retaliation.

  • May we point others to the truth by what we say and how we live, and may we be effective as salt and light in a bland and dark world by loving our neighbors as ourselves.

  • May we bear witness to the reality of the Kingdom by being human billboards for the Golden Rule: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you” (Mt 7:12).

  • May we shrug off the temptation to cling to power, choosing instead the humble, lowly way of Jesus in our pursuit of justice and peace.

  • Finally, may we be good citizens of the counties and states and provinces in which we live, and may we remember that when values clash, our ultimate responsibility is to follow the way of Christ and the Kingdom of God, even at the risk of losing our own lives.

  • “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever” (Rev 1:5-6).

    Amen.

A Brief Statement of Faith

The PCUSA’s Brief Statement of Faith highlights many of our core theological understandings.

Adopted by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1991 in as part of the Book of Confessions.

In life and in death we belong to God. 
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the love of God, 
and the communion of the Holy Spirit, 
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, 
whom alone we worship and serve.

We trust in Jesus Christ,
Fully human, fully God. 
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: 
preaching good news to the poor 
and release to the captives, 
teaching by word and deed 
and blessing the children, 
healing the sick 
and binding up the brokenhearted, 
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners, 
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel. 
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, 
Jesus was crucified, 
suffering the depths of human pain 
and giving his life for the sins of the world. 
God raised this Jesus from the dead, 
vindicating his sinless life, 
breaking the power of sin and evil, 
delivering us from death to life eternal.

We trust in God, 
whom Jesus called Abba, Father. 
In sovereign love God created the world good 
and makes everyone equally in God’s image 
male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community. 
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. 
Ignoring God’s commandments, 
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, 
accept lies as truth, 
exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. 
We deserve God’s condemnation. 
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. 
In everlasting love, 
the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people 
to bless all families of the earth. 
Hearing their cry, 
God delivered the children of Israel 
from the house of bondage. 
Loving us still, 
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant. 
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, 
like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, 
God is faithful still.

We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life. 
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, 
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, 
and binds us together with all believers 
in the one body of Christ, the Church. 
The same Spirit 
who inspired the prophets and apostles 
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, 
engages us through the Word proclaimed, 
claims us in the waters of baptism, 
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, 
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church. 
In a broken and fearful world 
the Spirit gives us courage 
to pray without ceasing, 
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, 
to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, 
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, 
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. 
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks 
and to live holy and joyful lives, 
even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth, 
praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

With believers in every time and place, 
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death 
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.