Dalton Gardens Church of Christ

PRINT MICHAEL’S HANDOUT

Mathew 16:13-18

Overview

1. Church is NOT something you go to, but something you  are .

Eph. 2:20-22

Uber Church?

2. There is one  universal church .

Acts 2:47; Rev. 13:8

3. By far the most references to the church in the NT speak of a local congregation  gathering  in a specific  place .

The local church is a community of believers who  gather  regularly, committed together to help each others follow Jesus and continue His mission.

Lessons:

1. Jesus loves each individual but he came to establish the  church . (Acts 2; Acts 5; Act 6; Eph. 3:20f)

2. Jesus is the  owner . (Acts 20:28)

3. Jesus is the  builder . (Eph. 5:28-30)

Mark 8:27-29

“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”  -Genesis 12:3

“Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”  -Mark 8:30

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…’”  -Matthew 16:16-17

Mark 8:31-33

The Big Idea: You can be right about who Jesus is and still be wrong about what His suffering means for you.

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”  -Hebrews 5:8-9

The cross reminds us of our helpless against sin and that Jesus understands our difficulties more than we know.

Many of us need a greater sense of the cross because it is central to our message and our lives.

Mark 8:34-37

It’s not just knowing about the importance of the cross, but it is about living a “cross-formed” life.

The path of the cross is about choosing God’s concerns above human concerns…
The nature of God is decisive!

God wants us to keep coming back to the cross…We all need to be CROSS-TRAINED to stay centered as His disciples.

Mark 7:1-16

What’s the point?

1. Rite is wrong when it displaces the whole truth of scripture.

“They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them, but they are unwilling to help those who struggle under the weight of their rules.”  -Matthew 23:4

Have you ever looked at a congregation through the eyes of a non-believer?

We can become an irrelevant church by being so focused on things only a long time member of this congregation can understand.

2. Rite is wrong when it distorts God’s mission.

“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”  -Exodus 20:12

“But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”  -1 Timothy 5:4

This church does not exist for us, but for everyone.

Mission must always trump tradition!

3. Rite is wrong when tradition is confused with The Gospel.

“God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: All have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory, and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. God gave him as a way to forgive sin through faith in the blood of Jesus’ death.”  -Romans 3:22-26

Traditions can bless us, but only Jesus can save us.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”  -Ephesians 2:13

“Nothing is impossible with God.” (LK 1:37)

“If you will believe, whatever you ask for you will receive.” (Matt 21:22)

“Therefore, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.”  (Rom 8:1)

“…nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” (Rom 8:39)

Mark 6:31, 35-44

“But Jesus said, “YOU feed them!”  -Mark 6:37

Mark 8:1-9

Remember:

1. God often puts in places where our logic says: “we can’t do it.”

Guess what? We are NOT Jesus we and never will be in this lifetime.

Do you think sometimes Jesus just expects too much of us?

The disciples answered logically, but not theological.

2. We learn to trust God by applying His faithfulness to our future challenges.

They saw Jesus was faithful to His promises….

…but they soon fell back into a small faith reality.

Do you suffer from spiritual amnesia?

“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead…”  -Romans 4:18-19

The task of obedience is to decide what God wants…

…The second task of obedience is to show up where God might do it.