First, let us consider Who we are as THE CHURCH
We are the People of God
1 Peter 2:9–10 – [9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (ESV)
We are the Body of Christ
Ephesians 1:22–23 – [22] And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (ESV)
1 Cor. 12 – THE BODY, THE BODY. v. 13 – For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (ESV)
Ephesians 4:11–12 – [11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (ESV)
We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 3:16–17 – [16] Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? [17] If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (ESV)
Second, Let me share what Have I learned from this study
- Not all churches are the same. (Some are Good and Some are Bad…The Bible is the standard that determines which)
- God has not called me to worry about all churches.
- God has called me to worry about the church God has called me to shepherd..
- It is easy to get sidetracked on what God has called us to do as His church.
Third, what we do as a church really matters.
(What we should have learned from out study about being an healthy and holy church)
- Preaching. Praying, Personal Relationships, and Patience is a where we need to start.
- Getting the Gospel right is vital if true conversion is going to take place.
- Meaningful Membership sets the tone and is the mechanism for how we come together and function as His Church.
- Church Discipline
- God Centered Worship
- The role of biblical leadership
- The priority of our gatherings
- The importance of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
- The centrality of loving each other.