Christianity 101, the Church

Why?

why review the basics

most Christians simply don’t know what the Bible actually teaches on a variety of subjects

leads to misconceptions, calling right wrong and wrong right

unnecessary fear (salvation)

angry with God about something he never said

easily led astray by false teachers

these foundational things lead to better understanding of everything else

So far:

unveiling mysteries of the Bible, parts 1 and 2

Salvation Explained

Faith Explained

more of this teaching will be done in Bible Study than in sermons

Review: The “One’s”

book = 66 books or parts but they all go together

God = same God in both Testaments, we just see different sides

family = Abraham’s family, Jews, Hebrews, Israelites

problem = sin and death

response = faith

big story = creation to judgment day

commandment = love God

on true hero . . God

Review: Understanding Scripture in Context

Context - understanding the full situation

Lesson 1 - check to make sure that scripture is actually in the Bible

Lesson 2 . . .

Bibles not written in chapter and verse

good - they were added to help us find things

bad - we started ignoring context

how many letters do you read just one sentence in the middle?

To fully understand a scripture, you must keep in mind its

chapter, book, testament, Bible

written to who

their culture

events happening at the time

how would they read it

translation from original language

then you can look to apply it (sounds like a lot, but it become more natural with practice)

Example - “You are a fool!”

who was talking - Sherry

who were they talking to - to me

what else was said, before? . . . a joke

what happened after? . . . they both laughed

culture - what does that word mean to them

fool - clown for a king

fool - easily tricked, stupid

fool - funny person

application (something that is said among equals to acknowledge a funny sense of humor)

yes - friend to friend, spouse to spouse

no - child to parent, student to teacher

The Bible has to be read with the same carefulness

tonight . . . What is the Church

Church: What comes to mind?

show pictures

phrase, “We had sum ‘chuch!”

most of what we think of as church, right church, or good church is more preference than biblical command

good or bad memories as a child

Quiz time:

How many churches in the U.S.? . . . 380,000

texas 27,848

tarrant county 1,695

most churches per capita in Texas: Lubbock

Definition of Church

Greek Word, ekklesia - called out assembly

Every Christian has been called out by God (from the world)

General, very simple sense - all true Christians (past, present, and future)

everyone who is truly saved is a member of the called out assembly, church

right away, you can see the church gets accused of doing somethings that were actually done by people posing as the church, but not really the church

you become a part of the church when you accept Christ, and we usually call this the Universal Church

not talking about churches that put the word universal in their names

We participate in the CHURCH through a local church (local assembly)

various denominations

various sizes

various preferences and traditions

various organizational styles

WMBC is a local assembly of Christians, local church

you join our local assembly by going through some courses, signing an agreement

yet, our new membership process, has nothing to do with your salvation, or your universal church membership, but it’s your way of agreeing to work with this part of the Universal Church at WMBC

Foundation of the church

Matthew 16:16–18 NASB95

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

People living life based on the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.

affects how we think, talk, act, respond . . . .

What Church is NOT supposed to be

not just a place

the place where we meet has been come known as the church (but that’s a culture thing)

in the Bible, they first met in people’s homes

but a church does need somewhere to meet, so nothing wrong with saying that, as long as you understand

not a gathering place for special occasions: funerals, weddings, mother’s day, Easter, baby dedications, family reunions

at every church house, members of the called out ones are probably there (and some who are there, but are not part of the real church)

not just the staff

Church – pastor, musicians, singers, ushers, teachers, preachers, janitors

usually a big disconnect here, when some people say “our church” usually they are talking about the staff

“you’ll love our church” means, you will love our staff

they are usually not asking about the people who attend there

A Spiritual Gym

pay dues/fees for a service

get in shape (church: get help when down on your luck)

not concerned about welfare of gym or employees (not going to pick up trash)

not intimate

probably don’t know staff or many of your fellow club members

you say, “they” or “you all” instead of we

more likely to complain about what you don’t like, instead of fixing it yourself

easy come and easy go

still tell people you work out there, though you haven’t been in 6 months

disappearing and showing up again is normal

When did the Christian Church start?

Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:37–41 NASB95

37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

Holy Spirit came, Peter preached, 3000 saved and added to Universal church

you see that idea of come out (called out ones) from this generation

we start seeing the word, “church” in acts

Acts 5:11 NASB95

11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.

death of Ananias and Saphira . . . you can see hear that church is talking about Christians

Acts 8:1–3 NASB95

1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

the first local groups were grouped by cities (church in Jerusalem)

Paul ravaged the church (he didn’t do anything to a building), you can see that church means the believers . . . they scattered, dragging off men and women

The church is one body, many members.

1 Corinthians 12:12 NASB95

12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

Every Christian is a MEMBER of the one church body (locally and universally)

the church has many parts

1 Corinthians 12:13 NASB95

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Repeated “ones” - we are supposed to be unified, together

the pandemic has hurt our unity

one reason when I cringe when people miss church, won’t watch sermons online - hurts the unity,

when all come - we catch the vision together, we grow together, all understand CONTEXT of what’s happening

people start drifting, misunderstanding, complaining, falling away

Everyone is important, race, background doesn’t matter

I could be your supervisor at the job, you could be my supervisor at the church

my sister and I

1 Corinthians 12:17–18 NASB95

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.

Everyone has different roles/responsibilities

Church is more than preacher, music team, and staff

They are out front more (like a face), but they are not more important

there’s is a whole body supporting this face

Everyone needs to stay in their lane, the lane God put them in

Every local church doesn’t have to be the same - different parts of the body

1 Corinthians 12:26 NASB95

26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

we are in this together

if I stump my toe, my whole body is sad about it

If I eat something delicious, my whole body is happy

You have an impact on the church

make the church look good or bad

help the church do better or worse

Personal for WMBC, the smaller the church then the more impact

You are an important reason why our church is like it is (friendly, mean, quiet, loud)

set the atmosphere by how you walk through the door

smiling, joyful

being on time . . . this is important (when a lot are late, it affects the atmospher)

At a church this size, you can raise praise level by yourself

increase excitement for the Word

Just like members of the body give and receive, church membership is about giving AND receiving

not just about coming, or receiving (sermon, song)

hands - brush the teeth

teeth breakdown the food so the hands will have energy

hands put glasses on the face, so that the feet can know which direction to go

ears allow us to hear for communication, hear danger signs

hands can cover ears to protect them

Who is the head of the church?

this scripture is speaking of Christ

Ephesians 1:22–23 NASB95

22 And He put all things in subjection 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.

Summary

WE ARE THE CHURCH!

“I am looking for a better church”

nothing wrong with trying to be where God wants you (he places the members)

but that’s the key, where God wants you . . . we treat church like a gym (want all the amenities)

but many people need an old fashioned sweat box gym! (not 100 TV’s)

Old saying, “you can’t join a perfect church because once you join, it’s not perfect any more”

before you start looking at other “assemblies of Christians” . . . start with yourself

if you are better, then your church is better

if you are looking for a better church, try being a better member first

often it’s like that one player on the team who doesn’t come to practice, starts looking for a new team

you’re taking your issues to a new team, so the problems will remain

Good prayer – how can I best serve my church?

Next week: purpose of the church

Mentor Moment

check the Kid’s menu for cheaper food items (same item, less price or same price with dessert and drink)

go to You Tube to learn how to fix things - key words “easy fix”, I fixed my office chair

Announcements

You do Not have to bring your own elements to Sunday Worship for communion

Clean up/Fix up day moved to Saturday, June 26

40th anniversary committees - you might get a call to help