The Character of the Church

 

  1. Christian
    1. Colossians 1:18-20 “Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.”   
    2. With Christ as our Great Shepherd we can know we are cared for and loved

                                                              i.      Christ is our Creator

                                                           ii.      Christ is who brings us together

1.      Reconciled to God

2.      Together in peace

3.      Unity

4.      Eternal destiny

  1. Helping
    1. Be “The Presence of Christ”

                                                              i.      His feet going

                                                           ii.      His hands reaching

                                                         iii.      His voice calling

                                                          iv.      His ears hearing

                                                             v.      His eyes seeing

                                                          vi.      His knees bowing

                                                        vii.      His mind thinking of how to serve God

                                                     viii.      His heart caring

  1. Uplifting
    1. Hebrews 10:24-25 “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” NLT

                                                              i.      Encourage each other

                                                            ii.      Have loud explosions of love

                                                          iii.      Gather together regularly

                                                          iv.      Act like Jesus is just about to walk around the corner and find you

  1. Restoring
    1. God gave us reconciliation
    2. God gave us the MINISTRY of reconciliation

                                                              i.      Take others to the cross

                                                           ii.      Lead others to His love

                                                         iii.      Seek to Restore what has been broken or lost

1.      Relationships

2.      Families

3.      Self

a.      Addictions

b.      Attitudes

c.       Abuse

  1. Caring
    1. Hebrews 6:10-12 “For God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians, as you still do.  Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.  Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and patience.”  NLT

                                                               i.      Care for others

1.      For Jesus

2.      For them

                                                             ii.      Love others, then keep on loving them

1.      no matter what

                                                            iii.      A lack of love and compassion brings

1.      indifference “I don’t care”

2.      Dullness “so what?”

                                                           iv.      Loving brings us closer to who Jesus wants us to be

 

  1. Home
    1. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 “May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in his special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope , comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say.”  NLT
    2. A church is not a home for the healthy
    3. A church is an emergency room for life’s bruised, battered and broken

                                                               i.      A place for those who need comforting

                                                             ii.      A place for those who need help

                                                            iii.      A place for those who need strength

                                                           iv.      A place for those who are looking for love

1.      THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE

    1. We should be a place where everybody can come and:

                                                               i.      Feel safe

                                                             ii.      Feel loved

                                                            iii.      Feel hope

    1. Because they FIND JESUS

 

What should the character of our church fellowship be?

 

1.      Christian

2.      Helping – never hurting

3.      Uplifting

4.      Restoring

5.      Caring

6.      Home

 

A Home for Hope that is a safe place, a refuge – A SANCTUARY to everyone who is battered, bruised or broken.

 

A place where the overlooked, underserved and unappreciated can come and find a family – the family of God.

 

A place where everyone can find Jesus, His love and His children.

 

A place to belong.

            A place to long for.

                       

God’s House doing God’s Work for God’s Glory.