The Glory of the Triune God
The Trinity:
One of the defining characteristics of Christianity is the belief that the unity of God subsists in and is known through a trinity of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  This belief reveals something about us and about God.  It reveals how we have experienced the fullness of God in three consistent and abiding ways: in the transcendent sovereignty of the Father, in the revealing intercessions of the Son, and in the intimate communion of the Holy Spirit.  The doctrine of the Trinity also reveals, not what God us, for that is veiled in mystery, but who God is.  It reveals the eternal and defining characteristic of God's very being to be relational, for in the words of I John, "God is love."

Creation:
We see the glory of God reflected throughout creation, for God created all that is through the power of God's Word and Holy Spirit.  As such we receive creation as an inherently good gift.  And although God is not a part of the created order, God nevertheless chooses to relate to every aspect of creation.  As such creation has become for us both the context through which we learn of God's glory, and in this present age of sin also the context of our salvation.

Providence:
We believe that God has taken the initiative in providing for humanity that which we truly need.  This has included times of judgment, when we have been chastised for our sinful behavior so that we might repent and learn.  And it has included times of blessing, when our knowledge of God has deepened and we have grown in the faith.  We believe that the Old and New Testaments in the Bible chronicle the life of God's continuing relationship with humanity, and that through this relationship God has revealed to us the essential elements of God's plan of salvation.

The Grace of Jesus Christ
Promised Coming and Birth:
We hold Jesus to be the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation: a plan that was first explicitly revealed in the blessings given to the ancient Hebrew people, but whose scope ultimately takes in "all the families of the earth" (Genesis 12:3).

Life and Teachings:
We confess Jesus to be the full human embodiment of God's divine Word, such that one can look to the life and teachings of Jesus and see revealed there the mind and heart of God (See John 14:7).

Death and Resurrection:
We find in Jesus' death the atoning sacrifice for our sins and in his resurrection the first fruits of the general resurrection to come.

The Power of the Holy Spirit
Prevenient Grace:
We are grateful for that prevenient grace which has been operative in our lives prior even to our knowledge or willing cooperation, a grace which has ultimately called us to repentance and invited us into the life of God.

Justifying Grace:
We are indebted to that justifying grace which is received not by merit, but through faith alone, a grace which pardons us for our sin and ultimately assures us of God's abiding love.

Sanctifying Grace:
We celebrate that sanctifying grace which allows us to cooperate with God, a grace which empowers us to combat sin, grow in holiness, and even experience moments of perfection, moments when we are so enraptured with the love of God that our motives are pure, moments which give us an earthly glimpse into God's kingdom which is yet to come.

The Community of Faith
The Church:
We believe that salvation is a corporate reality requiring the context of community, and that the specific mission of the church includes both nurture (growth in holiness) and outreach (witnessing to God's presence in the world).  Thus, United Methodists are an ordered community, with an order of elders led by our bishops who minister to our laity so that they in turn, along with the order of deacons, might minister to the world.

Acts of Nurture / Means of Grace:
We acknowledge one Baptism as the means of initiation into the family of Christ, and as such we feel that it is wholly appropriate to welcome even infants into our family.  Also, because Baptism symbolizes the covenant that God makes with us, and because God never forsakes God's promises, "re-baptism" is a theological impossibility, though there are times when it is appropriate to rededicate oneself to one's baptismal vows.  Indeed, Holy Communion is one of the means whereby we regularly reaffirm our baptism covenant, as well as celebrate being a part of the fellowship of Christ.  In addition to these sacramental means of grace, we also find the study of Scripture and the practice of corporate worship essential to growth in Christ.

Acts of Outreach / Christian Witness:
A wise woman was once asked, which is more important, breathing in or breathing out?  She replied, it depends upon which you have done last.  The same could be said of the relationship between Christian nurture and Christian outreach: truly to realize how much God loves you is to desire to share of this love with others.  Thus we are motivated to engage in acts of Christian charity, where we respond to people in need, merely out of a love for God and with no strings attached, and acts of Christian ministry, where we take the additional step of inviting others to join us in Christian discipleship so that they too may share in the joy that we have found in God.

A New Heaven and a New Earth
The General Resurrection and the Communion of the Saints:
Sin alienates us from God, from each other, and ultimately in death from our own very selves.  And yet we know that God desires for us not simply to have life, but to have it abundantly, that is to have life undiminished by any of the alienating effects of sin.  Thus, there is even now through the Holy Spirit a type of communion with all who love Christ, even when we are separated from each other by death.  And the age will come when the power of God's grace will finally unite those who love into a fellowship characterized by everlasting life.

The Return and Reign of Christ:
This consummation of God's kingdom is an event analogous to creation itself.  It will happen in God's time, in God's way, and through the one same agent of creation: the divine Word of God whom we know as Jesus Christ.

The Completion of Creation:
Though what will be is veiled in mystery, we do know that God's intent for the world has not changed: we were meant to live and love in the midst of God's creation.  Thus, we seek for the beatific vision, whereby we will see God face to face, and subsequently see each other and all creation through God's eyes.  It is a vision of profound blessing and joy.

Copyright Steven P. Brey
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