Tag Archives: church

Advent Thoughts: Who Did God Use?

Who does God delight to reveal Himself to? Who does He so often choose to spread His message of love? Is it the qualified and trained? Or the ordinary person?

This Advent season, I’ve been reading again the incredible story of Jesus’ birth. There is so much to be amazed about, to ponder and think about in this story.

Today I asked myself the question: If I were the Messiah coming to earth, who would I first announce my arrival to?

I’d probably look for people of influence, good communicators, people who are believable and have credibility. I’d want to choose those who are well-educated and could clearly and eloquently articulate the message of my coming. read more

What Makes a Church a Church? Part 3

“Is my home group a church?” you may ask. “We don’t have a pastor and we are only a few families that meet together.”

“Does time of day and day of the week have to do with if we should call this a church? Can a church meet on a Tuesday night and still be a church?” Again, good questions.

It is important to answer these. What is it that makes a church a church? A great place to find answers is to look at the early church described in Acts.

In Part 2, we looked at five of the functions of the early church from the passage below. We will now take a look at the remaining five. These are church essentials if we desire to be like the New Testament church. read more

What Makes a Church a Church?-Part 1

church what is it

When people typically think of church, they think about a building, pastor, pulpit, church members, and a weekly meeting. Sadly, this is what the definition of a church has become. Even Merriam-Webster defines the word church as “a building for public and especially Christian worship.” This definition, though a commonly used one, is sadly not biblical.

Church – What Is It?

In the New Testament, the original Greek word for church is ekklésia. It means those who are “called out of the world to God.” To the Greeks it meant an assembly of people.* read more