What is the church?
- Matthew 16:18 ESV – And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock[a] I will build my church, and the gates of hell[b] shall not prevail against it.
Church
Root: Ecclessia
Definition: assembling, gathering, community, congregation
The church is a congregation of people called by God the Father, united in Jesus, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
- Ephesians 1:3-6 – Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us[a] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. - Ephesians 2:19-22 – 19 – So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[a] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by[b] the Spirit.
- Colossians 1:
- 1 Corinthians 12:
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The Church does: manifests the people of God to the world
- Acts 1:1-2 – The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. - The book of Luke is about what Jesus began to do, and the book of Acts is what the church continued to do.
The church gathered:
- Meets regularly (corporate worship)
- Commits to the Word
- Celebrates communion and baptism
- Disciplines members
- Submits to the Biblical structure of leadership
- Prays and gives together
The church scattered:
- Lives on mission
- expresses the reality of God’s work in their life
- seeks to expand the body
If you need any kind of help, please do not hesitate to contact the church office.
Click here to listen to the audio: https://www.bfcnewarkde.org/?post_type=sermon&p=7455
2022-05-01 12:05:16
