I’ve been thinking a lot about the Church lately. Since it was the Church’s birthday yesterday (Pentecost) I decided to preach about it. In the midst of that I was looking for a definition of the Church and found a number of them. Some were good and others not so good so I thought I’d give it a try myself. After my first draft I showed it to Joel. His comment was that it was in theological christianeze and regular folk wouldn’t get it. I reworked it into American English and hope it works. Here it is…
The Church is the community of people who were purchased for God by the payment of Jesus’ blood.
It is where Jesus lives by His Spirit;
It is where the spiritual gifts, given to the people of God by the Spirit of God, are seen and active;
It is where the Word of God (the Bible) is faithfully and accurately taught and applied;
And it is where the Sacraments (the grace giving rites of the Church) are given, shared and enjoyed.
It is through the Church that the ministry of Jesus continues on the earth;
That the Good News about who Jesus is, and what he did for us, is brought to others;
That the restoring of our broken relationship with God is offered and given,
And that God’s Kingdom is declared to the whole world.
Let me know what you think.
May 12, 2008 at 3:17 pm
[...] of the Church My dad (fr. dave) wrote a definition of the church for this past sundays sermon and I thought it was awesome. This [...]
May 12, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I liked it, but I always like your Sermons. I really understood this. Thank you for sharing this again. I think it’s great. You are really blessed from God in teaching all of us what you know.
–Janna
May 12, 2008 at 6:35 pm
really awesome, opened my eyes to the simplicity of it all
May 13, 2008 at 1:30 am
I think this really communicates. Thanks for the post.
May 13, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Very cool…
May 15, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I found something that helped me and this kind of applies to your sermon last sunday: John 17:20-26
20″My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that 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. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24″Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25″Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
June 2, 2008 at 6:53 pm
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a detailed explanation of the Church in its “RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH” on June 29, 2007. The text of this explanation may be found at the following web link:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html
The question I have is this: since the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC) maintains that its Bishops and Priests are a part of the valid Apostolic Succession which has its origins in the Seat of Peter that also includes Rome (i.e., the Vatican), is the CEC a part of the Catholic Church, but Autocephalus, or is it an Ecclessial Community as Pope Benedict XVI described most other non-Roman Catholic “churches”?
I am very interested in a response to this question given that I am a devout Catholic, but have a deep and abiding interest in CEC.
June 7, 2008 at 2:56 am
Paul
I am in an extended time of prayer and do not have the time or desire to go theological with you. If you want to discuss something, let’s talk about unity and loving the brethren.
Thanks