"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build MY CHURCH,
the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
(Matthew 16:18)
In Matthew 16, Jesus declares that He will build His church. In the Greek, the word here for church is ekklesia which generally means “gathering” or “assembly.” But the church is more than a gathering of believers. The church is a local community of believers who gather for worship and scatter for witness. “They share life
together centered on Jesus for the good of one another and for the good of the world. This idea of community is everywhere in the New Testament; the Bible knows nothing of ‘lone ranger’ Christianity” (Tony Merida, Love Your Church).
For the month of July, we will be in a series entitled CALLED TO COMMUNITY. As followers of Christ, we are a community of believers. It is an absolute privilege to be a part of such a community. While we share this privilege, we have a responsibility for one another as fellow brothers and sisters of the faith. With this call in mind, here are the following passages that we will be looking at during this series:
I Corinthians 12:12-27 = Paul uses the metaphor of the church being a body with many members.
Ephesians 4:1-6 = Every member is called to be a source of unity for the sake of the Gospel.
Philippians 2:1-11 = Every member is called to serve Christ and to serve others.
Ephesians 6:18-20 = Every member is called to prayer.
In preparation for this upcoming series, I ask that you take some time and read over the passages. While reading over them, pray for us as HCC to be strengthened as a community of believers. God bless you all!
“It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God’s Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing… The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer… The prisoner, the sick person, the Christian in exile sees in the companionship of a fellow Christian a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God… It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together)
In Christian love, Brad
