On December 1, the First Sunday of Advent we explored section 7 of Living Faith (God’s Church). We reflected on the questions, “What is the Church?” and “What is it for?” as well as how this connects to the Advent theme of Hope.
This is part of a series on Living Faith, one of the faith statements of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Our guiding scriptures for this week are Psalm 67 and Matthew 28:16-20.
The two songs mentioned in the message are:
‘We Are The Church’ by Richard Avery and Donald Marsh: https://hymnary.org/text/the_church_i…
‘Build Your Kingdom Here’ by Rend Collective: 
• Rend Collective – Build Your Kingdom …
Here are some highlights from section 7 of Living Faith (the full section can be looked up in the link at the bottom).
Chapter Seven – God’s Church
7.1 The Church 7.1.1 The church is Christ together with his people called both to worship and to serve him in all of life.
7.1.2 The church is one. It is one family under God whose purpose it is to unite all people in Jesus Christ.
7.1.3 The church is holy. It is set apart by God through the Holy Spirit to be a chosen people in the world.
7.1.4 The church is catholic. It is universal, including all people of all time who affirm the Christian Faith.
7.1.5 The church is apostolic. It is founded on Christ and the apostles and is in continuity with their teachings.
7.1.6 The church is in constant need of reform because of the failure and sin which mark its life in every age. The church is present when the Word is truly preached, the sacraments rightly administered, and as it orders its life according to the word of God.
7.2 Ministry
7.2.1 The Lord continues his ministry in and through the church. All Christians are called to participate in the ministry of Christ. As his body on earth we all have gifts to use in the church and in the world to the glory of Christ, our King and Head.
7.3 Worship
7.3.1 The church lives to praise God. We have no higher calling than to offer the worship that belongs to God day by day, Sunday by Sunday.
7.3.3 Worship draws us into the work of Christ. Even now he intercedes for the world to which he came and for which he died. In union with him, the church prays for the healing and the salvation of the world.
7.3.4 Blessing and honour and glory and power be to our God for ever and ever!
You can find the full text of Living Faith here: https://presbyterian.ca/wp-content/up…
Minister: Rev. John T. Read