building-up-the-body

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “Building Up The Body Of Christ”   (347 KB)

Preview:-

We are all part of the Body of Christ.

“The body” is a metaphoric concept. The body is a key concept in Paul’s writings, and it it used to tell us a lot about the church.

Ephesians 4:11 -  It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,  to prepare God’s people for works of service,so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

In the church, everyone must work at building up the body of Christ.

There are at least three ways that we can take building up the body of Christ. The body of Christ is individual Christians. We must work to build up each follower of Christ. As a minister, I think of the church in congregational terms. We build up the body of Christ when we help the local church to function properly. The third way we build up the body of Christ is when we help the church to function on a world wide basis. Helping spread the gospel internationally, or ministering to the needs of others in distant countries-people that we may have never met- is building up the body of Christ.

In some ways, people on the church staff have a great idea of the contributions that people make to building up the body. When I hear how someone has taken care of someone else; when I see people come to the church building and use their talents, when young people shovel the snow so older people can come in safely, when teachers prepare their lessons so that others can learn, when people build each other up in many, many ways, the church is functioning as God intended it.

Christ is the conquering hero or emperor who ascends to his throne. In Psalms, the king, receives gifts. In Ephesians, the conquerer gives gifts to men. Specifically, there are five groups of people who are given as gifts, Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

The result is that the body of Christ might be built up until we all reach unity n the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In other words, the goal of using our talents is to contribute to the overall growth of the church. We want to use our talents to work toward unity, until we are mature and act like Christ in his fullness.

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Qu:- Are you contributing in any way to the growth and development of the church?

Ans:- Many people seem to think that the church exists to serve them. Yes, the church should meet our needs, but the words of Jesus still ring true, “the son of man came not to be served, but to serve.” I am not asking, “Are the leaders of the church doing their jobs?” I am asking, “What are you doing to build up the body of Christ?”

If you haven’t been helping-Its time to start! I might refine the question a little….

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Qu:- What mundane things can you do to help individuals or the church?

Ans:- It doesn’t have to be something great and glorious. It can be as simple as taking a cup of soup to someone who needs it, making a phone call, picking up trash around the church ground, listening to the needs of a friend.

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Qu:- What special talents do you have that you can offer to build up the body of Christ?

Ans:- God doesn’t give us talents just for our own glory. If you have been blessed with a great intellect-don’t use it to show off-use it to help others. If have some great talent-thank God for it and put it to use in helping others. In doing so, you are helping to build up the body of Christ.

marks-of-a-christian

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “Marks of a True Christian”   (487 KB)

Preview:-

Sitting in McDonald’s for a few hours won’t make you a hamburger and …..Sitting in church won’t make you a Christian. You must take some action. You don’t just want to talk the talk, you want to walk the walk. The old time version said, sitting in a hen house won’t make you a chicken. The times have changed, but the concept is the same.

This calling challenges us to live a life worthy of that calling. It is expressed in a very similar fashion in three different verses. Philippians 1:27, tells us to walk or live “worthy of the gospel of Christ”. Colossians 1:10 admonishes us, “to lead a life worthy of the Lord”. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 reiterates, “to lead a life worthy of the God who calls”.

We have established that we are to walk worthy, now we turn to some specifics of that calling. First, humility.   ” Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

The term for humility literally means, lowliness of mind. It is set in contrast to “highmindedness.” It is a person who is willing to put himself down in a positive sort of way. One who is willing to take a lower position to show love for others. In the mind of the people of that day, that was weakness. It may represent much the say for people today. However, that is not the way that God views it. Matthew 5:5 says, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. And Matthew 23:12 states, For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. The person who becomes like a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. The true Christian doesn’t have to go around bragging on what they have done, they are able to show true humility.

The Christian is to exhibit gentleness. Gentleness is a fruit of the spirit. In church, the true Christian should not be terribly hard to get along with. “Cantankerous” is not a good adjective for the Christian. In Christianity, even when we are right, we are not supposed to go around arguing about everything. Instead, we are to go about with gentle instruction.

Eph 4:3 – Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-”. There are no lone ranger Christians. We must live as a part of the community of the faithful.

Eph 4:5 – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Remember that talking the talk is not the same as walking the walk. Just being baptized is not all there is to it, you must not just start the journey, you must finish it.

pausing-to-give-thanks

Click on the above link to download the slideshow  “Pausing To Give Thanks”   (536 KB)

Preview:-

Here is our plan of attack for the day. First we will read Psalms 118. Then a meditation on thanksgiving .  We will then examine the Biblical background of thanksgiving. Finally, will conclude with some categories that we may examine for thanksgiving in our lives.

We ought to be thankful because God has given us everything we have.

The book of Psalms is literal filled with expressions of thanksgiving. Psalms 100, 118, and 136 all address thanksgiving to God. That thanksgiving often takes the form of praise. It would take more time that we have to examine these, but just take note of how prominent that the attitude of thanksgiving is in psalms.

Jesus does not give us a “sound-bite” pronouncement on thanksgiving. He does however leave us a marvelous example of thanksgiving. If you want to be like Jesus, you must be grateful to your heavenly father.

Jesus regularly gave thanks for his food as shown in Mark 6:41 “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.

When Lazareth was raised from the dead, “Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.”

In other words, thanksgiving was a regular practice of Christ, totally integrated into his personality.

Last, but of course, not least, is the blessing of salvation. More important than all the others, the blessing of salvation should inspire us to continual praise and thanksgiving before God. Paul lets his thanksgiving ring out in 1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you do not count salvation among your blessings, accept God’s plan today and live faithfully for him. Then everyday you will possess the greatest of blessings, the forgiveness of sins.