The Church
Hello Life Groups!
For Life Group this week we are diving into Anna’s sermon from April 24th where she encouraged us around the Church. Thank you for taking the time to go through this material with you group, we pray that it is a blessing to you.
Notes:
Hello Life Groups, so great to be joining you again for our study this evening! What a privilege we have to come together around God’s word. Tonight we’ll be unpacking Anna’s sermon from April 24th where she encouraged us around the Church – the Bride of Christ.
You know whether we are at home engaging online, whether we are serving the needs of our communities, or whether we are worshipping together at one of our campuses. We are the Church.
We share the same heart, the same mission, the same purpose. We are a group of people who love Jesus and recognise Him as our Lord and Saviour.
That is what the church is, the church is God’s people. That’s partly why it’s called the ‘Bride of Christ’ - it’s the people that Jesus so incredibly loves. He’s invested in them, connected to them.
The Church is not a building, it’s not even a gathering on a Sunday or a Wednesday night, those are vital aspects of the church, but the Church is the people, you and I are the church, we are the people of God.
And God loves the Church, and He is committed to building it, moulding it, correcting it, shaping it, and empowering it to walk out the mission that He has planned for it.
God has a plan for the church we can be absolutely confident of that. It is the vessel that He in his wisdom has given to see the expansion of His kingdom here on earth. To see the message hope of in Christ spread out to mankind.
And in Anna’s message she covered 3 key points in relation to the Church:
The purpose of the Church
The power of the Church
The place of the Church
And so we’re going to dive into those again tonight. Starting with the purpose of the church.
Anna spoke into 3 great points that I think really do sum up the purpose of the Church from a kingdom perspective.
Evangelism, discipleship & community.
If we look at the Great Commission which we find in Matthew 28:19
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 NLT
In this commissioning, we see the purpose that Jesus envisioned for his disciples to live out.
Evangelism – to go into all the world and make disciples.
Discipleship – don’t just make converts, disciple them. Raise them and teach them all the things that I have taught you. Baptise them into a new life.
Community – which is the natural result of a life lived following Jesus. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment was to love people. We are wired for community.
Evangelism, discipleship & community. You know you could be forgiven for thinking this is quite a simple formula. But when you really pause and think about what those 3 things entail, they have the power to transform this world.
Evangelism – sharing the good news, telling people of the hope you have found in Christ.
We call it good news, but that title is probably the biggest understatement of all eternity, it is far more than good news! It’s the greatest news you could ever hear!
That your sin has been paid for, your record has been wiped clean. Praise Jesus that He died in my place. That I can be reconciled with God.
That is the only message we ever need preach. That you can be reconciled with the God who loves you and made you. I’m sure you’ll be like me that there will be so many people in your life who need to hear that message.
That is our commissioning from Jesus, to go into all the world and tell them the good news about what He has done for us.
How do we go into the whole world? By me going into my world, and you going into your world. You are a representative of Jesus in your world, in your world you represent the Gospel.
The way you live, the way you talk, the way you react and respond to situations, the way you carry yourself through times of stress and trial. They are all communicating to people the power of the gospel.
And as Anna shared in her message, that can seem like an intimidating task.
But the truth is, you are the best person for the job. The people that are in your life, the job you have, the family you are in, the connections you have, none of these are an accident. God has placed you where you are to make a difference. To show love to people, to bless people, to show people who He is, through your life.
Evangelism can be natural, as you continue to build your life upon God. As you build your relationship with Him, blessing will flow out of that.
So we’re going to pause there and open up for some discussion, so here are some questions to get you started:
Have you ever shared your faith with someone in your life, and how did that go?
How do you feel about sharing your faith with the people in your life?
Do you actively look for opportunities to share your faith, or do you wait for opportunities to present themselves? And why is that?
Now I want to move on to discipleship. And the power of the Church.
The gospel encompasses more than just an initial moment of salvation. The gospel is about life transformation. That is what discipleship is all about.
Paul the Apostle describes discipleship like this in Romans 12 verse 2
Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 NLT
Following Jesus should impact every part of our lives. In fact, the Bible says that in him we become a new person, the old has gone and the new has come.
That’s the power of the Holy Spirit, as he enters our hearts and begins to transform our lives. Transform the way we think.
This is what I mean when I say that the gospel has the power to transform the world. All of the pain and the brokenness that we see across our planet is simply a result of sin, it’s a result of the fall and our subsequent disconnection from God.
But with the Holy Spirit in my life, he renews my mind, gives me a new way of seeing things, gives me patience, joy, peace, a love for people, restores and reconciles relationships (not just with God but with the people around me).
The more and more people that the Holy Spirit can impact, the more and more people begin to live from this place of freedom.
But we have to allow the Holy Spirit daily access to our hearts to continue this transformation process. Discipleship is not a one-and-done deal, it’s a daily commitment to allow God to work on things in my life.
As Anna said:
The power of the church does not come from you and I. It doesn’t come from anything that we could do. The power of the church comes from the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 says But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
That means that we have access to this power. When we step out in faith, when we share the gospel, when we serve, when we encourage, when we bless others, we’re not doing it in our own strength. We are doing it with the power of the Holy Spirit. And that is what enables us to make a difference and to have an impact on the people around us.
That’s the power of the Church. It’s the Holy Spirit ministering and working through His people. It’s not our power, but what a privilege we have to be given the role of being Jesus’ hands and feet. To see people’s lives impacted as the Holy Spirit works through us.
And as we say here at church we are better together than we are on our own. God chooses to work through us. And what an impact we can have as the Church when we work together in obedience to the Holy Spirit.
So to jump into some discussion again here are some questions for you:
How have you personally experienced the power of the Church?
And if you can be honest: What areas of your life do you feel you need to give the Holy Spirit greater access as part of your discipleship?
Ok, time for our final section. Where we’re going to talk about Community and the place of the Church.
Anna shared Romans 12 verses 9 to 13 as they paint such an incredible picture of church community, listen to this:
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Romans 12:9-13 NLT
What a wonderful community we get to live in as part of a church, a community of people who love each other, who are invested in each other, who care for each other.
That’s why it’s so great to be a part of a Life Group and why we need to continue to see our Life Groups growing, because so many of those things in that verse are exercised more fully in the small group.
Please don’t hold back on inviting people into your group, or if you feel called start praying about becoming a leader and starting your own group.
We are wired for connection, we’re designed to be in relationship with each other. Now of course there are those who are more introverted and those who are more extroverted, so some prefer a little more or less connection than others!
But we’re not meant to do this alone. God’s design is to bring us together in community, and I really think that this past season with COVID has highlighted that.
We’re meant to be together. To spur each other on, to encourage each other, to help each other when we are weak. We’re not perfect, but we are unified by our love for the one who is perfect.
Ultimately it’s his job to build, and it’s our job to bless. It’s our job to love, to encourage, to strengthen, to be hospitable, to show mercy and to help those in need.
The church will never be perfect, because we as people, will never be perfect. We all have fallen short of the glory of God, but as believers we have been redeemed. We get to experience the fullness of God’s grace and His unconditional love.
And so it’s not church at the centre. It will always be Christ at the centre. But the church is Christ’s bride. It’s his vessel for reaching people and changing people. It’s where the broken, the lonely, the lost can come and find a place where they can belong, and find hope again.
And so to close this section I want to present some of the questions that Anna actually asked in her message, for you to discuss as a group. So these are just straight out of her sermon:
What is the place of the church for you? Where does church fit in to your life, or into your families’ lives?
When it comes to church are you a consumer or are you a contributor? Are you willing to lay down some of your preferences or comforts in order to bless others?
Thank you for taking the time to go through this material, I pray it was a blessing to you.