What is Christianity all about?
God as Father
God is love - His passion is for everyone to live in love, joy and peace. He is more loving, more joyful, more peaceful and more powerful than we can imagine, so he took a risk...
God as Son (Jesus)
God is like Jesus Christ - God's Son, and through his teaching Jesus showed us how God changes lives when we turn to him. Jesus freely offered himself up on the Cross, dying to release us from our worst failings, and on Easter Day rising again so that he could show that even death cannot separate us from God's love.
God as Holy Spirit
God is present as Father in creation, and as Son in history - and present in us today by his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was released at Pentecost so that God's power and grace could flow in us, and through us into the world. The transformation and renewal powered by the Holy Spirit brings about what is called God's 'Kingdom' - that rule of love, joy and peace for which he longs.
Our Response
When we turn to God in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, he looks to build a loving relationship with us. Just as when we grow our human relationships, as Christians we long to explore God, to find out more about him, and to spend time with him.
We do this by belonging to what Saint Paul called 'the Body of Christ' - the Church, whose task is to continue the work Jesus began, and nurture his people through the Bible, through Prayer and through Sacraments.
The Bible
The Bible is God's love story - his continuous pursuit of his wayward people. It was written by many authors over about a thousand years, but it is inspired by God so that we can rely on it to guide, move, shape and empower us. A word of advice - if you're reading the Bible for the first time don't start at the beginning! Start with Saint Mark's Gospel, which is the shortest and tells the heart of the story of Jesus.
Prayer
Prayer is not so much about technique as about relationship - building a friendship with God takes many forms - it may mean being quiet in his presence, listening for his gentle word, seeking to align ourselves with his will. Or offering our sorrow for our failings. Or our praise and thanks. Finally, it may be about asking God for what we need, or for what our neighbours or the wider world needs.
Sacraments
These are God's way of breaking through the limitation of words and giving us a direct encounter with the divine - 'an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace'. Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, is the most central action of the Church, where Jesus is present with us in broken bread and wine outpoured flowing into us to give us refreshment and share in his risen life.
You can read more about the Christian faith on the Church of England website
God is love - His passion is for everyone to live in love, joy and peace. He is more loving, more joyful, more peaceful and more powerful than we can imagine, so he took a risk...
God as Son (Jesus)
God is like Jesus Christ - God's Son, and through his teaching Jesus showed us how God changes lives when we turn to him. Jesus freely offered himself up on the Cross, dying to release us from our worst failings, and on Easter Day rising again so that he could show that even death cannot separate us from God's love.
God as Holy Spirit
God is present as Father in creation, and as Son in history - and present in us today by his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was released at Pentecost so that God's power and grace could flow in us, and through us into the world. The transformation and renewal powered by the Holy Spirit brings about what is called God's 'Kingdom' - that rule of love, joy and peace for which he longs.
Our Response
When we turn to God in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, he looks to build a loving relationship with us. Just as when we grow our human relationships, as Christians we long to explore God, to find out more about him, and to spend time with him.
We do this by belonging to what Saint Paul called 'the Body of Christ' - the Church, whose task is to continue the work Jesus began, and nurture his people through the Bible, through Prayer and through Sacraments.
The Bible
The Bible is God's love story - his continuous pursuit of his wayward people. It was written by many authors over about a thousand years, but it is inspired by God so that we can rely on it to guide, move, shape and empower us. A word of advice - if you're reading the Bible for the first time don't start at the beginning! Start with Saint Mark's Gospel, which is the shortest and tells the heart of the story of Jesus.
Prayer
Prayer is not so much about technique as about relationship - building a friendship with God takes many forms - it may mean being quiet in his presence, listening for his gentle word, seeking to align ourselves with his will. Or offering our sorrow for our failings. Or our praise and thanks. Finally, it may be about asking God for what we need, or for what our neighbours or the wider world needs.
Sacraments
These are God's way of breaking through the limitation of words and giving us a direct encounter with the divine - 'an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace'. Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, is the most central action of the Church, where Jesus is present with us in broken bread and wine outpoured flowing into us to give us refreshment and share in his risen life.
You can read more about the Christian faith on the Church of England website