Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God,the Father

Almighty, creator of heaven and

earth.

Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God,the Father

Almighty, creator of heaven and

earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only

Son, our Lord, who was conceived

by the Holy Spirit, born ofthe

Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius

Pilate, was crucified, died, and was

buried; he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

is seated atthe right hand ofthe

Father, and will come again to

judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection ofthe body,

and the life everlasting.

We believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). We believe that Jesus Christ is the second member of the Trinity (the Son of God) who became flesh to reveal God to man and to become the Savior of the lost world.

The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men. Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he returns to judge all men at the last day.

The Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the administrator of the salvation planned by the Father and provided by the Son’s death, resurrection, and ascension. He is the effective agent in our conviction, regeneration, sanctification, and glorification. He is our Lord’s ever-present self, indwelling, assuring, and enabling the believer. 

We believe in the gifts of the Spirit as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12. Each believer is given gifts, not all are given the same gifts. There is no one gift a believer must have as proof of salvation.

The Bible is God’s written Word, uniquely inspired by the Holy Spirit. It bears unerring witness to Jesus Christ, the living Word. As attested by the early church and subsequent councils, it is the trustworthy record of God’s revelation, completely truthful in all it affirms. It has been faithfully preserved and proves itself true in human experience. The Scriptures have come to us through human authors who wrote, as God moved them, in the languages and literary forms of their times. God continues, by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, to speak through this Word to each generation and culture. The Bible has authority over all human life. It teaches the truth about God, His creation, His people, His one and only Son, and the destiny of humankind. It also teaches the way of salvation and the life of faith. Whatever is not found in the Bible nor can be proved by it is not to be required as an article of belief or as necessary to salvation. We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Spirit to write the words of Scripture. John Wesley said, in reference to the Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:16), ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God;’ consequently, all Scripture is infallibly true; ‘and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;’ to the end ‘that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works’. In other words, the Bible is God’s authoritative instruction for the church.

The church is created by God. It is the people of God. Christ Jesus is its Lord and Head. The Holy Spirit is its life and power. It is both divine and human, heavenly and earthly, ideal and imperfect. It is an organism, not an unchanging institution. It exists to fulfill the purposes of God in Christ. It redemptively ministers to persons. Christ loved the church and gave himself for it that it should be holy and without blemish. The church is a fellowship of the redeemed and the redeeming, preaching the Word of God and administering the sacraments according to Christ’s instruction.

While sex is part of God's good creation, people may still be born with desires and inclinations that do not reflect God’s design for human sexuality. Faithfulness to Christ requires stewardship of our sexuality for all persons.  Sex outside of the marriage covenant is an abuse of God’s good gift and it is outside of God’s design for humanity. Singleness and celibacy are God honoring lifestyles that Scripture commends and that should be considered by all who seek to follow Christ.  Those who choose singleness and celibacy follow the example of Jesus and Paul, and live full, meaningful, purpose filled lives that point us to the temporary nature of marriage and our eternal union with Christ.

Marriage is a lifelong union between a biological male and a biological female who come together as one to reflect God’s character, His covenant love, and to give a visible illustration of Christ’s love for the Church.  Gender differences are a key component of marriage as witnessed in creation and affirmed by Christ.

Those who experience same sex desire outside of God’s perfect plan are not condemned or disqualified from service and leadership in the church.  The Scriptures speak to behavior not fallen desires, which we all have.  But those who experience same sex desires will still be held to the same expectations as all others who share in leadership at Cabot Methodist Church; to faithfully image God through celibacy or faithfulness in marriage between a biological male and a biological female.

Jesus Christ himself affirmed the lifelong nature of marriage.  Divorce, except under the narrowest of circumstances, is to be avoided.  Divorce harms the Church’s witness to Christ and is harmful to the family and society. But, even those who have experienced divorce can find forgiveness and full restoration inside of Christ’s local church. 

Recognizing our common brokenness and that we all fall short of the glory of God, we rejoice in and affirm the good news of God’s grace and forgiveness made available to all persons through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

We believe that because of the sin of one man, all are born sinful. Therefore, all stand in the need of the grace that only God can provide. We believe God’s grace is made available to anyone who would accept God’s offer to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ by placing their faith in his life, death and resurrection. 

We believe, and practice both infant and adult baptism. We believe there is a biblical mandate for both. In both cases, we celebrate God’s prevenient grace. Whether adult or infant, God’s grace seeks us out before we have the understanding to respond. In adult baptism we celebrate that the person has not only received that grace, but that they have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. We believe in that moment the Holy Spirit is actively working to impart grace into the life of the believer. In infant baptism, we celebrate that God has moved first. Grace has been poured out, and we look forward to the day that child will surrender their life fully to Christ. And we accept as our responsibility to raise the child in a way that leads to eternal life. We believe you are baptized because you are saved, not so that you will be saved. We believe you are saved on the basis of faith alone. 

We believe that Christians need nourishment on their walk with Christ. Communion is a means of grace used by God to sustain us on our journey. We share in the Lord’s supper because Christ commanded us to do so. We celebrate to remember Christ’s death and resurrection. We celebrate to receive a fresh outpouring of grace and mercy. We celebrate so that through the sharing of one cup, we might be united. Finally, we share in anticipation that Christ is coming back again. We share an open baptismal table. Membership or some training is not required to share in communion at Cabot Methodist Church. We believe communion is a “means of grace”. Even if the recipient doesn’t fully understand communion, God will still use the bread and the juice to impart grace into that same person.

Intended to provide patterns of preaching and teaching for the people called Methodists, John Wesley published several editions of his sermons, beginning in 1746, to set down what he found as “the way to heaven, with a view to distinguish this way of God from all those which are the inventions of men.” The compilation of forty-four of those sermons were intended to provide a “model deed” for what was preached from a Methodist pulpit in the ongoing life of the church. These particular sermons were regarded by Wesley as being of distinct value, and intended to serve as “standards” for teaching Christian doctrine in the church: 

1. Salvation by Faith 

2. The Almost Christian 

3. Awake, Thou That Sleepest  

4. Scriptural Christianity 

5. Justification By Faith  

6. The Righteousness of Faith 

7. The Way to the Kingdom  

8. The First-Fruits of the Spirit 

9. The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption  

10. The Witness of the Spirit - Discourse I 

11. The Witness of our own Spirit  

12. The Means of Grace 

13. The Circumcision of the Heart  

14. The Marks of the New Birth 

15. The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God 

16-28. Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount (13 Discourses) 

29. The Original, Nature, Property and Use of the Law 

30-31. The Law Established through Faith Discourse (2 Discourses) 

32. The Nature of Enthusiasm  

33. A Caution against Bigotry 

34. Catholic Spirit  

35. Christian Perfection 

36. Wondering Thoughts  

37. Satan's Devices 

38. Original Sin  

39. The New Birth 

40. The Wilderness State  

41. Heaviness through Manifold Temptations 

42. Self-Denial  

43. The Cure of Evil Speaking 

44. The Use of Money