“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name…so that they may be one as we are one… My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” —John 17:11b, 15-18

Week 1: I Believe in God the

, maker of heaven and earth.

If God is “Father,” then

humans are brothers and sisters and matter to God, including us!

Week 2: I Believe in

, His only Son, our Lord.

Jesus of Nazareth was and is God’s chosen King for God’s Kingdom that never ends and has no

.

Week 3: “Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”

There is no place in heaven or on earth or under the earth where Jesus cannot find you and

you.

The judgment is not about punishment but

, when all wrongs will be righted.

Week 4: I Believe in the Holy Spirit

The Spirit empowers God’s will through

.

The

was and is created, protected, and powered by the Holy Spirit.

My Additional Notes:

This Week: I believe in the holy catholic church.

We do not put our

in the church in the same way we trust in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

To believe in the church means to believe

the context of the church as a part of it.

The church (ekklesia in Greek) is a called out

, not a building.

The word holy in the Bible means

to God or being

Reveal Answer

for God.

We get our word

from the German word kirche, which means “belonging to the Lord.”

The holy catholic church is God’s church made up of people from

.

All who call on Christ and seek to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior are part of one

church.

The

of every local church is to discern Jesus Christ’s will above all else, and then do it.

The communion of saints refers to

Christians.

The Greek word hagios in the New Testament is used 235 times as “

” or as an adjective as “holy.”

For Christians, the word saint or holy is both a present reality and a

calling.

Holiness is our calling and goal – to be completely

to God in all areas of our lives.

To be a part of the communion of saints is to be and become the people God

us to be.

Saints are

people who

Reveal Answer

their lives to God.

A saint is one who speaks up for those who

speak up for themselves. (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Saints find ways to bless others without seeking

.

The Greek word “communio” may mean fellowship, but it also means

. (Acts 2:44-47)

“The Communion of Saints” could mean “the sharing of holy things,” namely the

.

My Additional Notes:

Why It Matters

You are an important part of an

family of love and support. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Worship is a “thin space” where heaven and earth

; where saints “on the way” meet saints perfected.

God’s church is

church set apart for God’s work; a communion of “saints below and saints above.”

If we believe within the “holy catholic church,” then we do God’s work with people with whom we

.

If we believe in the “communion of saints,” then our fellowship is with believers of all

and places.

If we believe in the “communion of saints,” then we share resources and holy things with

.

My Additional Notes:

Action Steps

Invest in God’s work

by submitting your “estimate of giving” for 2023.

If you are not a part of our faith community, invest in God’s people where you are not in

.

My Additional Notes: