About MPC

The Apostle's Creed

2007-11-29T00:34:31Z

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
    born of the Virgin Mary,
    suffered under Pontius Pilate,
    was crucified, died, and was buried.

]]> He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living 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 life everlasting.

Amen.

The Nicene Creed

2007-11-29T00:33:11Z

We believe in one God,
     the Father, the Almighty,
     maker of heaven and earth,
     of all that is,
             seen and unseen.

]]> We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
     the only Son of God,
     eternally begotten of the Father,
     God from God, Light from Light,
     true God from true God,
     begotten, not made,
     of one Being with the Father;
     through him all things were made.
     For us and for our salvation
         he came down from heaven,
         was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
         and became truly human.
         For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
         he suffered death and was buried.
         On the third day he rose again
         in accordance with the Scriptures;
         he ascended into heaven
         and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
         He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
         and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
     who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
     who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
     who has spoken through the prophets.
     We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
     We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
     We look for the resurrection of the dead,
     and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Brief Statement of Faith

2007-11-29T00:31:05Z

In life and in death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.

]]> fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
preaching good news to the poor
and release to the captives,
teaching by word and deed
and blessing the children,
healing the sick
and binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,
suffering the depth of human pain
and giving his life for the sins of the world.
God raised this Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal.

We trust in God,
whom Jesus called Abba, Father.
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in God’s image,
male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community.
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.
Ignoring God’s commandments,
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,
accept lies as truth,
exploit neighbor and nature,
and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God’s condemnation.
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.
In everlasting love,
the God of Abraham and Sarah choose a covenant people
to bless all families of the earth.
Hearing their cry,
God delivered the children of Israel
from the house of bondage.
Loving us still,
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,
like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,
God is faithful still.

We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the Church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace,
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,
praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Statement From Session

2007-11-29T00:30:08Z

The session of Malibu Presbyterian church, meeting on the thirtieth day of June, in the year two thousand and seven, unanimously reaffirms the session resolution of September 2001.

]]> 1. That Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the only way of salvation as affirmed in Scripture and the Constitution of the PC(USA).

That “God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and made Christ Head of the Church which is his body” (G-1.0100); that “the church is called to tell the good news of salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Lord” (G-3.0300); and that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name given among humans by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12; cf. BOC 8.10-11, 9.10-11), for, as Jesus himself proclaims “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).

2. That Holy Scripture is the Triune God’s revealed Word, the Church’s only infallible and sufficient rule of faith and life as affirmed in Scripture and the Constitution of the PC(USA):

That “the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal” (G-14.0405b2); and that “the authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, depends not on the testimony of any church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof, and therefore is to be received, because it is the Word of God” (BOC 6.004, cf. 9.27); and that “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God maybe proficient, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

3. That God’s people are called to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes, but is not limited to, honoring the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman, the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate, as affirmed in Scripture and the Constitution of the PC(USA):

That “truth is in order to goodness; and the great touchstone of truth is its tendency to promote holiness, according to our Savior’s rule, ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’” (G-1.0304); “that all unchastity is condemned by God, and that we should therefore detest it from the heart, and live chaste and disciplined lives, whether in holy wedlock or in single life” (BOC 4.108, cf. 5.245-246, 6.133); that “anarchy in sexual relationships is a symptom of man’s alienation from God, his neighbor, and himself” (BOC 9.47); and “Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4).