A Taste of Heaven
Sunday, September 15, 2024 | Dr. Ivan Satyavrata
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He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:15-18
‘Church’ - EKKLESIA – EK+KALEO = Called out assembly/ gathering
‘Rock’ – PETRA
‘Peter’ – PETROS
What is the Church?
The Church is not:
A Building
A Denomination/ Organization
PEOPLE…who have said YES to God, chosen to follow Christ and are committed to fulfilling God‘s purpose & mission in the world.
What should the Church look like?
Holy Temple
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians 2:21-22Family of God
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
Ephesians 3:14-15
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
Ephesians 2:13-17
The Cross breaks down the dividing wall of hostility that separates people.
The Blood of the Covenant is thicker than the Water of the Womb.Body of Christ
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ…Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12, 27
INTERCONNECTED & INTERDEPENDENT
We care for one another...
Love one another: John 13:34-35
Serve one another: Galatians 5:13
Share with one another [those in need]: Romans 12:13
Be kind to one another: 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Offer hospitality to one another: 1 Peter 4:9
Carry one another's burdens: Galatians 6:2
Encourage one another: 1 Thessalonians 4:18
We share with one another...
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had…And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. Acts 4:32-34
That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me
John 17:21
Bride of Christ
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27
INTIMACY & BEAUTY
The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name by the Lord’s own mouth. The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see - a splendid crown in the hand of God…Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. Isaiah 62:2-3,5