Our Beliefs                

 

The Plymouth and Exeter District is being part of the Methodist Church of Great Britain.  We are Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World - and can be the Saviour of every individual person living in it.

link to The Jesus Course

Christians believe that God is revealed to us as Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The supreme revelation of God is in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Methodist Christians adhere to the historic Christian Creeds.  We do however have some specific emphases:

In particular The Methodist Church was raised up by God to "spread Scriptural Holiness .... by the proclamation of the evangelical faith" (Methodist Model Deed)

 

 "Our Calling" is the most recent statement of our understanding of what the Methodist Church is called to be.

 

The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.

 

It does this through:

 

Arrow Worship:
The Church exists to increase awareness of God's presence and to celebrate God's love.

 

Arrow Learning & Caring:
The Church exists to help people grow and learn as Christians through mutual support and care.

 

Arrow Service:
The Church exists to be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice.

 

Arrow Evangelism:
The Church exists to make more followers of Jesus Christ.

 

The Methodist Church also has a series of priorities following on from this calling which underpin all of its work, these can be seen on the Priorities page.

 

On current topical issues:

The Methodist church believes that marriage is a gift from God and that it is God's intention that a marriage should be the life-long union in body, mind and spirit of one man and one woman.(S.0. 011A)

 

The Methodist Church is committed to respond to global climate change by reducing its carbon emissions.  For more details see here.

 

The Bible: John Wesley, who led the first Methodists wrote this of the Bible:

 

"Concerning the Scriptures in general, it may be observed, the word of the living God, which directed the first patriarchs also, was, in the time of Moses, committed to writing. To this were added, in several succeeding generations, the inspired writings of the other prophets. Afterwards, what the Son of God preached, and the Holy Ghost spake by the apostles, the apostles and evangelists wrote. This is what we now style the Holy Scripture: this is that ‘word of God which remaineth for ever’; of which, though ‘heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle shall not pass away.’ The Scripture, therefore, of the Old and New Testament is a most solid and precious system of divine truth. Every part thereof is worthy of God; and all together are one entire body, wherein is no defect, no excess. It is the fountain of heavenly wisdom, which they who are able to taste prefer to all writings of men, however wise or learned or holy1."

 

1. Paragraph 10 of the Preface to John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, dated January 4 1754 at Hotwells, Bristol.

 

 Methodist teaching is that 'The revelation of God in the Scriptures' is the 'supreme rule for faith and practice'.

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