• We are part of God’s creation, made in the image of God. • Being created in the image of God means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God. II. GOD THE HOLY TRINITY • God, the Father • There is one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. • This means that the universe is good, that it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it. • God, the Son (Jesus Christ) • What do we mean when we say that Jesus is the only Son of God? We mean that Jesus is the only perfect image of the Father, and shows us the nature of God. The nature of God that is revealed in Jesus is God is love. • What do we mean when we say that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and became incarnate from the Virgin Mary?
We mean that by God’s own act, his divine
Son received our human nature from the Virgin Mary, his mother. The divine Son became human, so that in him human beings might be adopted as children of God, and be made heirs of God’s kingdom. • What is the great importance of Jesus’ suffering and death?
By his obedience, even to suffering and
death, Jesus made the offering which we could not make; in him we are freed from the power of sin and reconciled to God. • What is the significance of Jesus’ resurrection?
By his resurrection, Jesus overcame
death and opened for us the way of eternal life. • How can we share in his victory over sin, suffering, and death? We share in his victory when we are baptized into the New Covenant and become living members of Christ. • God, the Holy Spirit • The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, God at work in the world and in the Church even now.
• How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the Old
Covenant? The Holy Spirit is revealed in the Old Covenant as the giver of life, the One who spoke through the prophets. • How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the New Covenant? The Holy Spirit is revealed as the Lord who leads us into all truth and enables us to grow in the likeness of Christ. • How do we recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives? We recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit when we confess Jesus Christ as Lord and are brought into love and harmony with God, with ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation. • How do we recognize the truths taught by the Holy Spirit?
We recognize truths to be taught by the Holy
Spirit when they are in accord with the Scriptures. III. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES • The Holy Scriptures, commonly called the Bible, are the books of the Old and New Testaments; other books, called the Apocrypha, are often included in the Bible. • The Old Testament consists of books written by the people of the Old Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to show God at work in nature and history. • The New Testament consists of books written by the people of the New Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to set forth the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom for all people. • The Apocrypha is a collection of additional books written by people of the Old Covenant, and used in the Christian Church. In the Anglican/ Episcopal Church, THE Apocrypha are being read for example of life and instruction of manners, but is not use to establish any doctrines. A. OLD TESTAMENT CATEGORY: i. PENTATEUCH: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy ii. HISTORICAL BOOKS: Joshua, Judges, Ruth 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther iii. POETRY: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Job iv. THE PROPHETS: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi B. NEW TESTAMENT CATEGORY: i. GOSPELS: Matthew, Mark, Luke John ii. HISTORY: Acts of the Apostles iii. EPISTLES/ LETTERS: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude iv. APOCALYPSE: The Revelation to John • We call the Holy Scriptures the Word of God because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible.
• How do we understand the meaning of
the Bible? We understand the meaning of the Bible by the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in the true interpretation of the Scriptures. IV. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS These are the laws given to Moses and the people of Israel. We learn two things from these commandments: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbours. A. Duty to God: • Our duty is to believe and trust in God- commandments 1-4
B. Duty to our neighbours:
• Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us- commandments 5-10 • The purpose of the Ten Commandments: • The Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbors. THE CREED • The creeds are statements of our basic beliefs about God.
• This church uses two creeds:
APOSTLES’ CREED & THE NICENE CREED What is the Apostles’ Creed? is the ancient creed of Baptism; it is used in the Church’s daily worship to recall our Baptismal covenant. What is the Nicene Creed? is the creed of the universal church is used at the Eucharist. V. SIN AND REDEMPTION • Sin is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.
• Redemption is the act of God which sets
us free from the power of evil, sin, and death. VI. THE CHURCH • The Church is the community of the New Covenant. • In the Bible, the Church is described as the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all baptized persons are members. It is called the People of God, the New Israel, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, and the pillar and ground of truth. • In the Creeds, the Church is described as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. • The Church is one, because it is one Body, under one Head, our Lord Jesus Christ. • The Church is holy, because the Holy Spirit dwells in it, consecrates its members, and guides them to do God’s work. • The Church is catholic, because it proclaims the whole Faith to all people, to the end of time. • The Church is apostolic, because it continues in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles and is sent to carry out Christ’s mission to all people. • The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. • The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love. • The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members. VII. PRAYER AND WORSHIP • Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.
• Christian Prayer: this is response to God
the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Example of a Christian prayer:
O God the Father of All, whom the whole
heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. • The principal kinds of prayer: • The principal kinds of prayer are adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, and petition. • Adoration is the lifting up of the heart and mind to God, asking nothing but to enjoy God’s presence.
• We praise God, not to obtain anything, but
because God’s Being draws praise from us. • Thanksgiving is offered to God for all the blessings of this life, for our redemption, and for whatever draws us closer to God.
• In penitence, we confess our sins and
make restitution where possible, with the intention to amend our lives. • Oblation is an offering of ourselves, our lives and labors, in union with Christ, for the purposes of God. • Intercession brings before God the needs of others; in petition, we present our own needs, that God’s will may be done. • WORSHIP • These are actions that praise and glorify God. • Corporate worship • In corporate worship, we unite ourselves with others to acknowledge the holiness of God, to hear God’s Word, to offer prayer, and to celebrate the sacraments. VIII. THE SACRAMENTS These are Christian rituals that convey God’s grace. Christians believe on the two sacraments instituted by Jesus himself and the other sacramental rites which evolved in the Church also as means of grace. A. GREAT SACRAMENTS (These are the sacraments instituted and ordained by Christ Himself) 1. Baptism, it is the most readily identified with Christianity, where it symbolizes the cleansing of sins, and the union of the believer with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection so that he became one of Christ’s faithful. 2. Holy Eucharist/ Lord’s Supper, it is the other universally accepted ritual in which Christians share the bread and wine. This is performed in fulfillment of Christ’s instruction that Jesus gave to do in his memory. It came from Greek word Eucharistia meaning thanksgiving. B. OTHER SACRAMENTAL RITES (other sacraments also based from Biblical practices of the Apostles and the early Church) 1. CONFIRMATION • It is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through the prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. 2. RECONCILIATION OF A PENITENT/ PENANCE • It is the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution. 3. HOLY MATRIMONY • It is a Christian marriage, in which the woman and man enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfil their vows. 4. HOLY ORDERS/ ORDINATION • It is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace of the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops, priests and deacons through prayer and laying on of hands by bishops. 5. HOLY UNCTION OF THE SICK • It is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God’s grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind and body. IX. The Christian Hope • The Christian Hope is to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God’s purpose for the world. Q. What do we mean by the coming of Christ in glory A. By the coming of Christ in glory, we mean that Christ will come, not in weakness but in power, and will make all things new. Q. What do we mean by heaven and hell? A. By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God; by hell, we mean eternal death in our rejection of God. Q. Why do we pray for the dead? A. We pray for them, because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust that in God’s presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is. Q. What do we mean by the last judgment? A. We believe that Christ will come in glory and judge the living and the dead. Q. What do we mean by the resurrection of the body? A. We mean that God will raise us from death in the fullness of our being, that we may live with Christ in the communion of the saints. Q. What is the communion of saints? A. The communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ by sacrament, prayer, and praise. Q. What do we mean by everlasting life? A. By everlasting life, we mean a new existence, in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and each other. Q. What, then, is our assurance as Christians? A. Our assurance as Christians is that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
