When you pray, God gives you what you ask for, or what He knows to be better for you. Surprised at this answer? Learn why this is true in this lecture. We learn that we pray because of who we are, a child of God. Praying is speaking to my Father. We are members of God royal priesthood, a kingdom of priests through baptism. The Holy Spirit intercedes and prays with and for me. It can be said the Holy Spirit "cleans up" our prayers so they are in the will of God. Remember, nothing can separate us from the will of God. Prayer is going to One greater than me, One who wants to give me good gifts.

A creed is a formal statement of Christian belief. Three primary creeds have been used by the church across history: the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. The Apostles� Creed is the oldest creed and was in use by Christians as early as 150 A.D. The 16th century Lutheran Reformers accepted these creeds, and included them in the LCMS confessional writings as faithful expositions of Holy Scripture. The Apostles' Creed is the focus of this teaching, and it is often called the baptismal creed. Pastor Rhode introduces this creed by showing its baptismal connections, then he discusses its three parts: creation, redemption and sanctification.

The Ten Commandments express the way God actually lives. They are written for us in Exodus 20 and can be summarized in this manner. "I am God. I brought you out of Egypt and want to be your God and bless you. Here is my Name, use it for a blessing. Let's set aside one day a week so we can get together so you can take a rest and I will bless you. Then when you go back home, honor your father and mother and all authorities I have placed over you. Don't hurt one another. Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal and be content with what you have." This is the way of life for a Christian. Having received the gifts of God, we are to live in them in this manner. Join us in this opening lecture from this six part series, Being a Christian.