Christian Community 1: The Community Called Church

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV)

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-45 NIV)

Intro:

“Is the church really necessary?” Begs the question: “What is the Church?”

The Bible’s answer is startlingly relevant: the Church is the Community of Believers. But what does it mean to be a community?

I. What does the Biblical term “Church” mean?

   A.   Ecclesia and Qahal

      1.   Qahal The Hebrew word most often translated “ecclesia” in the Hebrew O.T. and “assembly” in English.

Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. (Psalm 149:1 NIV)

      2.   Ecclesia the Greek word we translate “Church”.

          a.    Literal meaning is “called out” or “summoned.”

          b.   Common meaning was simply a group that was meeting for some purpose.

   B.   Local and Universal

      1.   The Bible talks about the Church in non-precise ways: sometimes referring to local gatherings, sometimes to the Church as a world-wide phenomenon.

      2.   New Testament authors celebrated the local church--with all its foibles.

      3.   New Testament authors also celebrated the universal church.

II.   The Church as Community

   A.   A Christian Community is united in love.

      1.   Love is the one key ingredient that defines what it means to live as a Christian.

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:2-6 NIV)

      2.   If there's no love it's not the church Jesus came to establish.

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-45 NIV)

          a.    It is only possible to love imperfect people (that’s the only kind of people there are!).

      3.   Love means caring for relationships by loving speech.

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

   B.   A Christian Community is united in faith.

      1.   The Church is not a "you can believe whatever you want to here" organization.

4 There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6 NIV)

      2.   We don't need complete uniformity about every possible doctrinal discussion.

          a.    We don't need to all agree about what is God's favorite color, how election works, what the end times will be like.

   C.   A Christian Community is united in worship.

      1.   In the Church we believe that the most important thing in the whole world is your relationship with God.

      2.   We attend to that relationship from two ends:

          a.    Getting right with God.

          b.   Responding to God in our relationship with Him.

      3.   Response to God is worship.

III. The Community called “Church” witnesses to the world.

   A.   Our love for each other is the basic proof to the world that we follow Jesus.

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-45 NIV)

      1.   Outsiders can’t see or understand much about our relationship with God, but they can see how we relate to each other.

      2.   It is impossible to love God and not love His children

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. (1 John 5:1-2 NIV)

   B.   A Community of love attracts outsiders.

      1.   One of the biggest needs in the world today is for authentic relationships.

   C.   A Community of love that welcomes new comers grows.

      1.   It’s easy to be satisfied with what we’ve already got.

          a.    New comers don’t know the unwritten rules (or even the written ones!)

          b.   We’re more comfortable with “our own kind.”

      2.   One of the key ingredients in a growing church is how it welcomes new-comers.

          a.    How long does it take to feel like a member of the group?

          b.   New comers shouldn’t be smothered, nor neglected.

      3.   Welcoming new comers is an action of faith.

          a.    We know that they're here because God wanted to minister to them here (even if it’s only for one day!).

          b.   We don’t know what this new comer might do to change or challenge us!

          c.    We don’t know how God may change or challenge the new comer because of us!

The Bottom Line:

The Church is the place where imperfect people gather to worship God, love each other and show the non-Christian world the power of God’s love shared freely.