RECOVER - A CHURCH LIKE THEIRS (5 OF 6)
by Jerry Watts
Scripture: 1 Peter 4:17, Acts 2:40-47
This content is part of a series.
Recover - A Church Like Theirs (5 of 6)
Series: Back to the Basics
Jerry Watts
1 Peter 4:17 / Acts 2:40-47
Why in the world would judgment have to come to the church? By the way, the Greek word used there speaks of 'condemnation' or 'being judged - like in a court proceeding.' In other words, the evidence is presented and guilt is decided. Why would this happen? Is it fair to say that 'it is time for judgment when the ''House of God'' is no longer what the ''God of the House'' desires it to be?
Church! What comes to your mind when you hear the word? People might think about a steeple, stained glass, a SS class, an organ, or whatever their tradition and background would bring to mind. The sad truth is that, in today's culture, many see the church as an archaic building with archaic traditions and sad to say, a very archaic approach to life. Some will argue that 'it's just the world we live in'. But we see those churches where we attend and say, ''We want a church like theirs.''
In Matthew 16:18-19 when Jesus said, ''I will build my church and the gates of hell (our culture) will not prevail against it,'' He was speaking into a culture that is much like ours today. To read Biblical and non-biblical history is to realize that the darkness we see today, the rejection of righteousness, and the focus on self, sex, and other sins were not born in the 20th or 21st centuries; they have always been with us. Yet it is into this type of world that Jesus came to ''launch and build His church.'' ''HIS CHURCH'' - He had a specific vision, mission and purpose for HIS church.
To read the book of ''Acts'' is to get a picture of the church that Jesus had in mind. Physically, they possessed little, but spiritually they possessed the power of heaven and it was 'showing' in their church as well as in their individual lives. They had invaded their community with the truth about Jesus and they were changing their culture. They had little, but were making a huge ...
Series: Back to the Basics
Jerry Watts
1 Peter 4:17 / Acts 2:40-47
Why in the world would judgment have to come to the church? By the way, the Greek word used there speaks of 'condemnation' or 'being judged - like in a court proceeding.' In other words, the evidence is presented and guilt is decided. Why would this happen? Is it fair to say that 'it is time for judgment when the ''House of God'' is no longer what the ''God of the House'' desires it to be?
Church! What comes to your mind when you hear the word? People might think about a steeple, stained glass, a SS class, an organ, or whatever their tradition and background would bring to mind. The sad truth is that, in today's culture, many see the church as an archaic building with archaic traditions and sad to say, a very archaic approach to life. Some will argue that 'it's just the world we live in'. But we see those churches where we attend and say, ''We want a church like theirs.''
In Matthew 16:18-19 when Jesus said, ''I will build my church and the gates of hell (our culture) will not prevail against it,'' He was speaking into a culture that is much like ours today. To read Biblical and non-biblical history is to realize that the darkness we see today, the rejection of righteousness, and the focus on self, sex, and other sins were not born in the 20th or 21st centuries; they have always been with us. Yet it is into this type of world that Jesus came to ''launch and build His church.'' ''HIS CHURCH'' - He had a specific vision, mission and purpose for HIS church.
To read the book of ''Acts'' is to get a picture of the church that Jesus had in mind. Physically, they possessed little, but spiritually they possessed the power of heaven and it was 'showing' in their church as well as in their individual lives. They had invaded their community with the truth about Jesus and they were changing their culture. They had little, but were making a huge ...
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