Resources on Church Life
Prayers for the Future
John 17:20-26 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they…
The Fruit of Love
John 15:9-17 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life…
Neighbor-Love
Luke 10:25-37 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he…
Life in the Spirit
Galatians 5:13-26 13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to…
A Contrite Community
Isaiah 57:14-21 14 And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”15 For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy:“I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.16 I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry,for then they would faint away…
Outsiders Brought In
Isaiah 56:1-8 56:1 This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right,for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.2 Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast,who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.” 3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” 4 For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and…
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
1 John 1:5-2:2 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without…
A Well-Ordered Church
1 Peter 5:1-14 1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of…
The House of God
1 Peter 2:4-10 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those…
A Worshiping Church
Acts 2:42-47 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor…
A Learning Church
This week, we examine the teaching ministry of the Church to understand how devotion to the Word leads to an experience of heaven on earth. Acts 2:42-47 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they…
A Caring Church
This week, we began a new sermon series called, Heaven on Earth. The beauty of the transformative power of the gospel is that today, the body of Christ can be a taste of heaven here on earth. One element of this is that the Church ought to be a place where community and care are defining characteristics. Today, we take a look at the early Church to learn how we are to live this out. Acts 2:42-47 42 They devoted themselves…