Key Terms and Concepts: Live Your Commitment
A printable PDF of these terms and concepts is available at the bottom of this page.
Apostles’ Creed: an ancient statement of belief still used by many Christian denominations and included in the confirmation vows of The United Methodist Church. The Apostles’ Creed is arranged in three sections, one for each person of the Trinity.
Confess: to honestly admit one’s mistakes; to profess one’s faith
Creed: a formal statement of belief
Discipline: activities and exercises that help a person develop a skill or behavior; rules and guidelines that govern how a person lives; an unwavering commitment to certain activities, exercises, rules, and/or guidelines
Evil: that which causes harm and goes against God’s will
Freedom: our God-given ability to choose to accept God’s grace or to resist it
Gifts: the abilities and resources God blesses us with
Intercessory Prayer: prayer on behalf of another person
Nicene Creed: an ancient statement of Christian belief adopted by the fourth-century Council of Nicaea. The council wrote the creed for the purpose of it being a standard of correct Christian belief. The Nicene Creed is arranged in three sections, one for each person of the Trinity. The creed emphasizes that Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully divine and explains how the persons of the Trinity relate to one another.
Prayer: a spiritual practice in which we communicate and spend time with God. Prayer can be individual or communal, and prayer involves both taking things to God and listening in silence.
Prayers of Petition: prayers in which we take our concerns to God
Prayers of Thanksgiving: prayers in which we give thanks for the ways in which God has blessed us
Prayers of Confession: prayers in which we take our sins before God and give thanks for the forgiveness we have through Christ
Presence: giving one’s complete attention to and being with a person or group of people
Repent: to acknowledge, ask forgiveness for, and turn away from one’s sin
Service: the act of making use of our God-given gifts in ways that honor God and help others
Vow: a special promise that we make to God and God’s people
Wickedness: evil; the opposite of righteousness
Witness: the way in which Christians, through our words and our example, show the world God’s redeeming love through Christ
