The Church - called into being (Spiritual Article)

The Holy Spirit calls the church into being. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into the world to empower us to tell the world about the future that we have in Jesus. The message is that we have a future as God is calling us to join with Him in the eternal community that he is establishing.

Our personal identity is vested in our future as resurrected saints alive and active in God’s eternal community. It is a corporate identity where we join as God’s saved people, rescued from sin, death, illness and imperfection to live renewed and holy in the richness of the new creation. Our Christian beliefs will be fully realised, and our life of faith fully and perfectly expressed in action!

The church is the sign of the kingdom of God coming to us. It is a fellowship of people-in-relationship of loyalty to God and in relationship to each other. We are called out of the world by the work of Jesus to belong to God as individuals who make up the whole community of saints from all nations, from all times and all places. We are the community of salvation and as God’s image are a fellowship people. In this fellowship we reflect the image of God and are given fully the essence of his nature as we share the perfect love for the Trinity and the community of saints (2 Peter 1:4). The church is the pioneer community of God, called together by the Spirit of God, to participate in the work of God.

Our identity as church is found in God and is the basis for our ministry in the world. The churches mandate, the essence of who we are, is our mission of the ministry of God to the world. The church works for the glory of God to bring love to the world. God pours the Spirit into our hearts to live for him. We take the fruits of the Spirit in, with and by the good news of Jesus, into the world. We are sent to share Jesus’ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians5:22-23).

THE CHURCH IN WORSHIP

GLORIFIES GOD (corporate worship)

A – adoration

C – confession

T – thanksgiving

S - supplication

SHARES THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION (mutual edification)

A - accountability

B – build others up

C - combine in common purpose in community

OUTREACHES TO THE WORLD

P - prayer

P - proclamation

S - service

THIS IS OUR IDENTITY – IT IS WHO WE ARE – IT IS WHAT WE DO – WE REFLECT THE IMAGE OF GOD

A CHURCH FOR ITS OWN INTERESTS IS NOT BEING A CHURCH TO THE WORLD!