1. “I like your Christ. I do not like your
Christians. They are so unlike your
Christ.” Gandhi
2.
3. I believe in God the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth: And in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord: Who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead and buried:
4. The third day he rose again
from the dead: He ascended
into heaven, and sits at the
right hand of God the Father
Almighty: From thence he
shall come to judge the quick
and the dead:
5. I believe in the Holy Spirit:
the holy catholic Church:
the communion of saints:
The forgiveness of sins:
The resurrection of the body:
and the life everlasting. Amen.
7. GOD, JESUS – NO PROBLEM
Church, Religion, Christians however...
“I believe in God, even Jesus, but I don’t
believe in the church.”
“Christians are a bunch of hypocrites”
“The Church is a big disappointment...”
“Church is more concerned about what I
wear ... say ... how I behave ....
but not about the real me !”
"I admire Christ, but I have no
use for the church";
"Christianity is great, but the
church is a racket";
8. The problem is that God believed in the church.
He ‘created’ it & Jesus ‘declared’ it
Ref Matt 16:15-20
“But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you
say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of
Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by
man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell
you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of Hades will
not overcome it. I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
9. PETER later wrote in
1 Peter 2:4-5
4 As you come to him, the
living Stone — rejected by
men but chosen by God
and precious to him—
5 you also, like living stones,
are being built into a
spiritual house to be a
holy priesthood, offering
spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.
10. PAUL’s declaration in Eph 2:19-22
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners
and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's
people and members of God's household,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the
chief cornerstone.
21 In him the whole building is joined
together and rises to become a
holy temple in the Lord.
22 And in him you too are being
built together to become
a dwelling in which God
lives by his Spirit.
11. I believe in the Church...
The Church is not a building ...
but PEOPLE you and I...
We don’t attend church,
Rather we are the Church.
12. I Believe in the Church
‘going to a garage does
not make you a car’
‘a mouse in
a cookie jar
‘working in McDonald’s
isn’t a
do not make you a
cookie’
hamburger’
Corrie ten Boon.
Similarly : ‘Coming to
church doesn't make
you a Christian’
13. “I believe in the church.”
CHURCH ?
• NT (Gk) : ekklesia.
– Ek means 'out' or 'out of' and
– Kaleo means 'call'.
• Ekklesia : people 'called out‘
– To be 'called out' of one place
is to be 'called to' another place.
– The Church : people called out of the
‘world’ and
called to God and each other.
14. “I believe in the holy
catholic church.”
1st Mark of the Church :
HOLY
Why & What’s HOLY ?
Eg Israel
– Holy Land
Jerusalem
- Holy City
Bible
– Holy Book
Christians
– Holy Nation
- Holy People
** Hagios (Gk)
– Holy
(same word as for ‘saint’)
15. “I believe in the holy catholic church.”
1st Mark of the Church :
HOLY (Gk: Hagios)
• being “set apart”
• ‘pure’ moral character
The HOLY CHURCH is ...
set apart,
consecrated to God
a reflection of God’s character.
16. “I believe in the holy catholic church.”
2nd Mark of the Church :
CATHOLIC ?
DO NOT Refer to the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
catholic – Gk : katholikos
kata – ‘about’ , ‘according to’
holos – ‘whole’.
‘according to the whole’, ‘in general’ or
‘universal’
Early 2nd C Ignatius of Antioch –
“Where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic
church.”
17. “I believe in the holy catholic church.”
2nd Mark of the Church : “catholic”
– We are all united in Christ (regardless of
our denominations)
– Unity does not demand uniformity
– We can have unity amidst diversity
‘catholic’ refers to ...
the universal church, God's redeemed
people, the body of Christ
all Christendom, through time
and space ...
the ‘invisible’ church
18. Universal Vs Local ‘Church’
UNIVERSAL CHURCH
Invisible
One Church
No Denominations
Christians
Living & Dead
Whole Body of Christ
Christ – Visible Head
in Heaven
Indestructible
LOCAL CHURCH
Visible
Many Churches
Many Denominations
Christians & Non
Christians
Only Living members
Part of Christ’s Body
Christ – Invisible Head
on Earth
Destructible
19. “I believe in the holy catholic church.”
3rd Mark of the Church :
CHURCH - not churches
Nicene Creed : “I believe in one, holy,
catholic and apostolic Church.”
The Church is to be
ONE
UNITED
in UNITY
20. “I believe in the holy catholic church.”
Jesus high priestly prayer in John 17
v21 “that all of them may be one,
Father, ... so that the world may
believe that you have sent me.
V23 “...May they be brought to
complete unity to let the world
know that you sent me”
The Church : ‘Demo Unit’
to demonstrate on the earth ...
the perfect unity that exists in
heaven between the Father and
the Son.
21. “I believe in the holy catholic church.”
ONEness and UNITY
• Christians are trying to “create” unity
among churches eg ecumenism
• BUT God has already done that in Christ.
• The Church / Christians are called to
“maintain” and “keep” the unity God has
already set in place
22. “I believe in the holy catholic church.”
ONEness and UNITY
Ref Eph 4:3-6
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of
the Spirit through the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit— just
as you were called to one hope when
you were called—
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is over
all and through all and in all.
25. Unity with our
Christian brothers &
sisters is not an ideal
for which we strive
BUT a reality in which
we participate
- Bonhoeffer
“We may
not all be on
the same
chapter, but
we should
be in the
same book".
“Unity of Faith doesn’t mean
Uniformity of Expression”
Ravi Zacharias
26. the Communion of Saints..
'communion’
? ‘the Lord's Supper’ or
‘Holy Communion’ or ‘the Eucharist’
Gk : Koinonia – NT 19 X
o deep fellowship, intimate sharing
o togetherness
NB Aristotle & Marriage
Sharing our life in Christ
As a result - we share life with one another
27. the Communion of Saints..
SAINTS ?
Gk : ‘hagios’
People ‘set apart’ ...
(same for ‘Holy’)
In the NT
• Saints x 45
• Saint - Nil
All of us are ‘Saints’
Saints - all Christians living and dead
In action ...
30. The Perfect Church
I think that I shall never see
A church that’s all it ought to be;
A church that has no empty pews,
Whose preacher never has the blues;
A church whose deacons always “deke”
And none is proud but all are meek;
Where gossips never peddle lies
Or make complaints or criticize;
Where all are always sweet and kind
And all to other’s faults are blind.
Such perfect churches there may be,
But none of them are known to me.
31. The Perfect Church
But still we’ll work, and pray and plan
To make our church the best we can!
If you could find the perfect church,
Without one fault or smear,
For goodness sake, don’t join that church
You’d spoil the atmosphere.
If you should find the perfect church,
Then don’t you ever dare
To tread upon such holy ground,
You’d be a misfit there
32. The Perfect Church
But since no perfect church exists,
made of imperfect men,
Then let’s cease looking for that church
and love the one we’re in
Of course it’s not a perfect church,
that’s simple to discern
But you and I and all of us
could cause the tide to turn.
Anonymous
33. I don’t go to church because ...
• a church member cheated me ...
• a church leader betrayed my trust ...
• of the gossips ...
• no one cared when I lost my job ...
• no one visited me when I was sick ...
• of the behavior of the Pastor’s
children ...
• I had a ‘bad experience’ in church ...
• ???
34.
35. Application
• The CHURCH is PEOPLE,
– not buildings,
– not organization,
– not programs
• The CHURCH is PEOPLE who are SAINTS
• The CHURCH is PEOPLE who are SAINTS
called to be HOLY
• The CHURCH is PEOPLE who are SAINTS
called to be HOLY living in COMMUNION
36. I Believe in the Church
You can be committed to Church
but not committed to Christ,
but you cannot be committed to
Christ
and not be committed to
church.
37. Application
• SSMC –a Local Church – is part of
the catholic (universal) church
• Is SSMC perfect ?
• Am I perfect as your Pastor ?
• Are you perfect as a Saint ?
• Are you surprised to find
imperfect people in church ?
‘To live above with the saints
we love, that will be glory.
But to live down below with
the saints we know,
that’s another story’
38. Application :
Heb 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur
one another on toward love and good
deeds.
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as
some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another — and all the
more as you see the Day approaching.
39. Application
STEPS to take :
1. Becoming a ‘Saint’
– taken out of darkness
– into His marvelous light
“You become a ‘Saint’ by committing
yourself to Christ, that’s SALVATION.
Then you become a church member by
committing yourself to a local church,
that’s COMMUNION”
40. Q: Can I be a Christian without being
part of a local church?
Yes, you can ...
BUT it's like...
being a soldier without an army
a sailor without a ship
a business person without a business
a tuba player without an orchestra
a football player without a team
or a bee without a hive.
By definition, Christians gather, and when
we gather we are the holy catholic church.
41. Application
STEPS to take :
2. Make SSMC your Home Church
3. Join a Discipleship Group (DG)
4. Getting involved in a ministry
“Do not be spiritual orphans who
move from one church to another
without any identity, accountability
or commitment.” Rick Warren
43. The Church as it should be :
“The Local Church is indeed
the hope of the world.
There is nothing like the local
church when it’s working
right.
Its beauty is indescribable.
Its power is breath-taking.
Its potential is unlimited.
It comforts the grieving and
heals the broken in the
context of community.
44. The Church as it should be :
It builds bridges to seekers and opens
its arms to the forgotten, the
downtrodden, and the disillusioned.
It breaks the chains of addictions,
frees the oppressed and offers
belonging to the marginalized.
The potential of the local church is
almost beyond measure.”
Adapted from Bill Hybel
45. I believe in God the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth: And in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord: Who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered
under Pontius Pilate; was
crucified, dead and buried:
Apostles Creed
46. The third day he rose again
from the dead: He ascended
into heaven, and sits at the right
hand of God the Father
Almighty: From thence he shall
come to judge the quick and the
dead:
Apostles Creed
47. I believe in the Holy Spirit:
the holy catholic Church:
the communion of saints:
The forgiveness of sins:
The resurrection of the body:
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Apostles Creed
48. “I believe in the church.”
THE CHURCH’S ONE FOUNDATION
The Church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
by water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
and for her life He died.
49. “I believe in the church.”
Elect from every nation,
yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.
50. “I believe in the church.”
Though with a scornful wonder
we see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping;
their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.
