What Is Church?

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Session 1 of 3: Goals

Basic concepts

• origin
• Imagery
• term confusion

Origin of the church

• Instituted by jesus
• built by jesus
• served by us
• Seen by Heaven and Earth

church as 'building'

Ephesians 2:20–22
...built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Church As 'Body'

Colossians 1:18 (NIV)

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Church As 'Bride'

Ephesians 5:25–27 (NIV)


Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

church or church

goals of the church

• toward god
• toward believers
• toward the world

1. Worship

We Glorify God In

• declaration (praise)
• imitation (witness)
• Dedication (holiness)
• anticipation (hope)

2. growth

We gather to maintain

• unity
• diversity
• visibility
• purity
• Longevity

3. Witness

We represent Christ by

• Standing for truth
• Answering skeptics
• Abounding in love
• Enduring hardships
• suffering for God

fellowship

1 John 1:3–4 (NIV)
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

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The Greatest Need