Date:
May 2-4, 2022Worship: A Commitment...Not a War, Part Two
In an attempt to come to an understanding of worship, it is helpful to realize there is a difference between the essence of worship and the expression of worship.
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In Israel's northern city of Caesarea Philippi, among the ruins of a worship centre dedicated to the Greek god Pan, a cave exists that was long believed by those who worshipped there to be the doorway into the netherworld. It was in the vicinity of this grotto, the alleged gateway to hell, that Jesus promised: "Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18).
From Pentecost in the first century to the present day, Satan has attempted to destroy Christ's Church—yet it endures. From a small group of Jewish outsiders in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, Christ built His Church to reach even the remotest parts of the world. Despite controversies, wars, and denominational splits, the Church continues to be the means through which God announces to a dark and dying world that light and life have come in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.
For these reasons, and many more, we learn about and appreciate the body of Christ, the Church.
Worship: A Commitment...Not a War, Part One
The tyranny of the urgent demands our time and forces us to put off the truly important. We need to stop and reconsider what's important. When we do, we'll discover that we're missing the essential ingredient we were made for: worship.
Distinctives of a Contagious Church
When a church is contagious, the word quickly travels. Churches like this have four distinctive qualities, as Paul listed in 2 Timothy.
Challenges, Struggles, Solutions, Priorities
By examining the first-century church we can find some insightful guidelines for our church in the 21st century.
The Church: Let’s Start Here
We are surrounded by churches. Is it any wonder that so much confusion exists regarding the Church? Our idea of church needs renewal, so let's start at the beginning.
A Precise Explanation of Ministry
Chuck Swindoll explains how a healthy ministry focuses on the person of Jesus Christ—admonishing, teaching, preaching, and warning all people to walk in the truth and mature in their relationship with the Lord.
Restraint
As long as the church of Jesus Christ is present on this earth, lawlessness remains under great restraint. Second Thessalonians 2:7 puts it well, “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.”
What Now?
Matthew 28:16–20 brings us into the intimate final moments between Jesus and His faithful disciples, His closest followers, His best friends as He passes on the baton of spiritual power...not political power.
The Supreme Significance of Love
The power of Jesus' love transformed John's life. When John came to the end of his life, the major theme of his letter to the church was loving one another.
The Spirit's Most Significant Mission
For millennia, average Christians as well as learned theologians have strained more than one brain cell to try to understand the incomprehensible mystery surrounding the conception and birth of our Saviour. We'll not lose ourselves in the unsolvable riddle that is the conception of God the Son. Rather, we'll lose ourselves in the wonder that is God the Holy Spirit's most significant mission.
