Word of the Week … Church
What is church? Is it even right to ask, “what is church?” Should it be, “who is church?”
Going to church – does this explain what church is? Is church about the building we go to?
It must have been exciting being at the start of a new thing. The church in Acts 2 was risky and groundbreaking – it was brand new!
God is a God of new things. In one sense he doesn’t change; but he is never stale, he is always fresh and creative.
At the start of the New Year, we often think of new things. We might be glad to see the back of the old year, or maybe we have set ourselves a New Year’s resolution or two. In another way, the 1st of January follows 31st of December just as the 1st of December follows the 30th of November and things continue the same.
However, God desires to breathe the fresh breath of his Spirit into all we are and do.
ACTS 2 church –
1 Word and Spirit were in harmony – apostles doctrine. Word central. Rooted in scripture – revelation of God – word and experience in unity
2 Fellowship – community of believers – as a safe place – development – all in common – making disciples, encouraging, caring
3 Breaking of bread – worship – constant employ – to enjoy God.
4 Prayer – vital – focus on prayer – prayer outside these walls. Someone has said, ‘The church that prays together stays together; the church that sings together clings together; the church that shares, cares.’
5 Outreach – people joined themselves to the church as God saved them – (JESUS SAID ‘GO’) – church is about mission – church exists because there is a mission – we exist for the people outside the walls of this church – we exist for their benefit. JESUS said – ‘love our neighbours as ourselves”. William Temple, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, famously remarked that the church is the only organization that exists solely for the benefit of its non-members.
If mission is at the heart of God’s will for his people, it follows that the only way to glorify God is to make it the heart of our churches. (John Houghton: Outhere , Nexgen, 2004, p.18)
There is Church because there is mission, not vice versa. (Bosch, p.390)
It is not the Church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a church in the world.
If your church is full of members, you get an occasional missionary. If your church is full of missionaries, the rest is just about geography. (Erwin R. McManus, Seizing Your Divine Moment , Nelson, Nashville, 2002, p.166)
The church is the catalyst of mission not the goal. (Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christian , p.157)
The church doesn’t exist for itself; it exists to serve the world. It is not ultimately about the church; it’s about all the people God wants to bless through the church. When the church loses sight of this, it loses its heart. (Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis , p. 165)
The church doesn’t exist to satisfy the consumer demands of believers; the church exists to equip and mobilize men and women for God’s mission in the world. (Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christian , p. 157)
A church that never looks beyond itself is a church headed toward a slow but certain erosion. (Thom Rainer, Breakout Churches, p.178)
If we huddle in our trenches (however well equipped they may be) making occasional forays farther afield to win converts in order to bolster our numbers, we are condemned to watch as the church, and the world along with it, perishes. (Steve Chalke, Intelligent Church , p. 25)
Christ cannot … really be present in a congregation whose energies and interests are focussed on themselves, and who do not show, as a body and as individuals, an interest and compassion for the needs of the immediate neighbourhood, and a consciousness that the congregation exists, as a Christian group, to serve the needs of others. (Gerard Hughes, God of Surprises, p. 132)
WE ARE HERE FOR OTHERS – NOT FOR OURSELVES – Jesus said – ‘I have not come to be served but to serve…”
1 Corinthians 12 speaks of church as a body
All are a part – everyone has a function, every one has at least one gift, every one should contribute … for the common good.
Christian people are church, everyone of us equal – different but equal, neither male nor female, slave nor free, no age limit – we are all collectively responsible for mission of church and ALL have a part to play – all accountable to God for using what he has given us
CHURCH IS NOT ABOUT ME HAVING MY NEEDS MET – it’s not about me, it’s about GOD & OTHERS
ALL IN POWER OF SPIRIT –
Remarkable signs
Acts 2:43
43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
Remarkable prayer meetings
Acts 4:31
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Remarkable worship –
1 Corinthians 14:26
26What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
SPIRIT FILLED WORSHIP
SPIRIT ANOINTED TEACHING
SPIRIT ACTIVATED GIFTS
All for strengthening – this is the norm – not supernatural but NATURAL LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
I BELIEVE GOD PURPOSES SOMETHING FRESH FOR US AS A CHURCH, I BELIEVE HE WANTS/DESIRES TO DEMONSTRATE HIS POWER IN US – EACH ONE OF US CAN GRASP THE OPPORTUNITY, ‘SEIZE THE DAY’ (CARPE DIEM) – THE TIME IS NOW FOR US AS A CHURCH….. THE TIME IS NOW.
Mal Wright 3rd January 2010