“I like your Christ. I do not like your

Christians. They are so unlike your

Christ.” Gandhi

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:

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:

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

I Believe in ...

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints...

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";

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."

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.

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.

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.

I Believe in the Church

‘going to a garage does

not make you a car’ ‘a mouse in

a cookie jar

isn’t a

cookie’ Corrie ten Boon.

Similarly : ‘Coming to

church doesn't make

you a Christian’

‘working in McDonald’s

do not make you a

hamburger’

“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.

“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’)

“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.

“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.”

“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

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

“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

“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.

“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

“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.

Churches ....

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

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

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 ...

“Saints”

Beware of ...

Denominationalism ??

Religiosity ??

Churchianity ??

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.

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

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

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 ...

• ???

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

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.

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’

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.

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”

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.

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

Story of JIM SULKERS

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.

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

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

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

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

“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.

“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.

“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.