Today's sermon: "Rethinking Church"

1 Then some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ 2 This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the question with the apostles and elders. 3 The members of the church saw them off, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they told how the gentiles had been converted, and this news was received with the greatest satisfaction by all the brothers. 4 When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders, and gave an account of all that God had done through them. 5 But certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had become believers objected, insisting that gentiles should be circumcised and instructed to keep the Law of Moses. 6 The apostles and elders met to look into the matter, 7 and after a long discussion, Peter stood up and addressed them…12 The entire assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the gentiles. 13 When they had finished it was James who spoke. ‘My brothers,’ he said, ‘listen to me….19 ‘My verdict is, then, that instead of making things more difficult for gentiles who turn to God, 20 we should send them a letter…22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose delegates from among themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, 23 and gave them this letter to take with them: ‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of gentile birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. 24 We hear that some people coming from here, but acting without any authority from ourselves, have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds; 25 and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with our well-beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have committed their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written.

Denomination: A group of people with shared patterns of believing and living.

• Ecumenical

• Character & Motive

• Heart-Attentive/Oriented

• Value the Mind/Education

• Premium on Prevenient Grace

• Salvation in Christ alone

• Focus on Freedom of Choice

• Optimism about Holiness

• Care for Poor & Oppressed

• Egalitarian: Affirm Women

• Ecumenical

• Healthy view of Scripture

• Affirm the Sacraments

• Wonderful History

We believe in the Church. The Church is made up of people who 1) Confess Jesus Christ as Lord, 2) View themselves as recipients of a New Covenant, that is, a new mutual agreement between God and themselves. In this agreement, God promises that those who pledge their allegiance to Jesus are made new; and, 3) Consider themselves a tribe, united by the Holy Spirit and Holy Scripture. God calls the Church to live in unity. This is possible because the same Spirit indwells each member, which brings about fellowship in the Spirit. This tribe worships together. This tribe hears Scripture preached together. This tribe baptizes and takes the Lord’s Supper together. This tribe does ministry in Jesus’ name. This tribe strives to be obedient to Christ. This tribe values holy living. This tribe also values mutual accountability. The mission of the global Church is to participate in the ministry Jesus called them to: preaching that God has both provided rescue from sin and a way to be right with God again. This mission is carried out in believers by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Church fulfills its mission by making those rescued and restored into Christ’s disciples. This is done through evangelizing, educating, showing compassion, working for justice, and bearing witness to God’s reign in and over peoples’ lives and this world. This Church has existed for thousands of years of history in many different places. Thus, there is a global Church and there are local congregations or tribes. Some serve the Church at the global level and others locally, but both are connected. God calls the Church to live under his reign. Thus, the Church, as Christ’s bride, waits in eager anticipation for the return of Christ, it’s Groom and Lord.