We are into week two of our series Questioning the Church and week two of our blogs that will help us to reinforce our understanding and what we are learning about our purpose and God's ultimate design for the church. With that understanding, let's get to the two points for today.
Point 1- Our purpose is bigger than ourselves.
We are called together to a purpose that is higher than ourselves and it is part of God’s plan to redeem the world. I hope you feel the gravity of that. This time that we spend together and live up close and pray and be discipled is not just a good way to spend our years on this planet to pass the time and have fun and have a network of people to cling to…It is instead the plan of a great and providential sovereign God to know his character and proclaim His great redemptive plan to the world. You are part of that plan. The church is that plan.
Feel the gravity of that. When you feel the gravity and begin to understand that, church is less about preference and style and more about theology and purpose. So as we walk through this series and you follow along in community groups and on this blog and talk in your homes I pray that you would understand that you are here for a purpose bigger yourself. I pray that this blows up our understanding of church.
Point 2- Ephesians 2:19-22
This passage adds to the understanding of Jesus as the cornerstone with this notion that our foundation comes from the prophets and apostles, which is essentially scripture. Jesus is the cornerstone (strength and direction) and scripture is the foundation in this metaphor of the church being a building.
I bought some concrete yesterday to set a couple of posts for a clothesline for Jen. The concrete will become very sturdy and strong and hold a lot of weight. But right now, that concrete is a bag of powder and small rocks. Prior to being mixed with water, that concrete will not accomplish its task of securing the post. Those rocks and that powder must get mixed with water in order to become concrete. We are held together and receive our growth from Jesus and the gospel. Verses 21 and 22 are repetitive giving us insight that the church is held together by Jesus, gets it’s growth from Jesus and becomes a holy dwelling place for God through Jesus.
In our task as a church, everything rises from and is built upon Jesus and scripture.
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