Is our congregation part of Jesus' church?

focusPoints: Announcement From Heaven

Revelation 1:4-8 is an announcement from heaven. In verse eight, heaven is telling us that Jesus is the beginning and the end, first and the last. It has always been that way. It is true today. It will always be that way. Jesus is the only thing that really matters!


forwardPoints:

Let's remember what a difference Jesus has made in this world. Without Jesus our world would be a different place.

Here are three reminders from REVELATION 1:4-8:

1-Reminder One: Without Jesus there would be no faith.

2-Reminder Two: Without Jesus there would be no church.

3-Reminder Three: Without Jesus there would be no hope.

(Fookes: Stockwell UMC Worship Message, 25 November 2007)


fellowshipPoints:

Everyone of us is too narrow in our understanding. We don’t want upsets in our lives, or changes in our habits, or threats to our opinions…Telling God it’s okay to change an institution we lean into for stability (like our church) is really scary. But we need to do it.

The narrowing of focus is a huge risk for every one of us. This insider focus is chaplaincy. It is not the vibrant ministry of the Gospel. The danger of that mind-set, sweet-spirited as it may be, is that it focuses on the church as an end in itself.

Here is the highlight: people who were not raised in the church are different…The hard news for us is that we can’t communicate well through the theological words or concepts that we’ve worked so hard to learn and now take for granted!

We had to re-think almost everything we were doing. We weren’t talking about our faith …We had never thought of all the little ways our worship and our educational classes made unchurched people feel awkward or ignorant. Why had we assumed that being nice was enough?

Remember, growing churches are changing. After a while, we will have to sacrifice things we love to help new people move into faith.

In some ways, our lives are a continual process of surrendering the old and adjusting to the new … We consistently face something new. Sometimes conflict will enrage and scare us.

(Reese: Unbinding the Gospel)

findingPoints:

Considering Fookes illustration points (without Jesus there would be no faith, no church, no hope) with Reese’s declaration that faith, church, and hope are often hijacked from Jesus and made to be what closed societies we know as congregations want them to be:

What are some of our congregation’s culture that are foreign to unchurched persons?




What are some of the ways Jesus would recognize this congregation as a group of believers in community?




What are some of the ways Jesus would not recognize this congregation as a part of His bride?




What are some things we could do that may be beyond that which we now know how to do, that would make our congregation evident as part of Jesus’ bride?




faithPoints:

Meditate in prayer on discovering how you can make yourself a recognizable part of Jesus’ bride.