Read:
Ephesians 2:19-21
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
The church As The Temple
a Good picture of the church comes from the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, but before that he was pastor of Washington D.C.'s large Fourth Presbyterian Church. He had been leading that church for years when suddenly, one night, he saw his church clearly for the very first time. He was flying into Washington one day at dusk. At that time the approach path to Washington's Reagan National Airport happened to pass directly over Fourth Presbyterian Church. He pressed his face against the window to catch a glimpse of the building from the air. But everything on the ground was shrouded in the shadows falling over the city as the sun set. Dick could not find his church. He leaned back in his seat, gazing at the Washington skyline, always an inspiring sight. As his eyes followed the Potomac River, he could see the skyscrapers of Rosslyn, just across Key Bridge from Georgetown. Then, in the distance to the left, the White House, the lights of the Labor Department, the distant glow of the Capitol dome. As he stared out the window, he began mentally ticking off the names of members of his congregation who worked in those office buildings and government bureaus. Disciples he had equipped to live their faith. And suddenly it hit him. "Of course!" he exclaimed to the startled passenger in the next seat. "There it is! Fourth Presbyterian Church!" You see a church isn't marked by a sanctuary or steeple. The church was poured out into homes, Washington, and neighborhoods. I want you to see yourself looking below the plane today. How many lives have you impacted in some way or another. You look down and you can't seem to find your church, but you see your school where you might have impacted someone. Then you see a large building where you led someone to Christ. As you are flying a little further, you see a neighborhood where you might have led a cell group, or touched someone. Maybe you haven't made an impact like you needed to as a Christian, and you want to. Just look below the plane today. There is opportunity waiting for you. You can make a difference as being part of the church.
There are 3 things that I want us to reflect on as we go forward with the Functioning Temple series.
1. Connection- We need to connect greater than ever with our home church. The church should be teaching God's truth of course, but it's time as the temple that we connect in a healthy way. There is such a power in connecting a the church.
2. Motivation- We need to be motivated to go out of the church and hit our community. We shouldn't stay within the 4 walls of the building and expect to see a change in our community and nation. We can each make a difference. We need to be motivated by God's spirit and the 5-fold ministry in the church to feed the poor, help the widows, orphanages, and win lost souls for the Lord Jesus.
3. Revelation- We need a fresh revelation of how God builds. God builds generationally, relationally, and by revelation. When we get fresh revelation of how God builds, then we can enter that placement that God has got for us as part of the body of Christ.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask that you give us a new perspective outlook on where we all fit in as the church. Give us that revelation to plug in to the church in a healthy way, and allow our gifts and talents that you have given us unfold before us as we connect to the body of Christ the right way, amen.
by Keith Edwards
No comments:
Post a Comment