Coming out of Sunday January 24th’s teaching, “The Church Defined: A People Called By God”, spend some time in prayerful reflection and dialogue with your Home Church/Friends/Family around any combination of these questions:
Read 1 Peter 2:4-10 before starting. Pray and ask God to speak.
- Reflect back to Sunday’s message. How did God speak to you through the sermon?
- Jeff asked everyone to answer the question, “How would YOU define church?”. How did (or would) you answer that question (off the top of your mind)?
- How has COVID impacted the way many of us think about church? What’s healthy about that? What’s unhealthy about that?
- Jeff shared about how many people are confused about what church is, often assuming that “church = a worship service and/or a building.” Can you relate to this? What are some dangers in thinking of the church in this way?
- The greek word that the Bible uses (114 times) for church is “Ekklesia” (meaning “called out ones”, “the people of God”, or “an assembly of believers”). What’s significant about this word and it’s meaning?
- In Matthew 16:18, Jesus talked about the global/universal Church (Ekklesia) while The Apostle Paul often spoke about the church (“Ekklesia”) as a local assembly/congregation in a specific geographical area (see 1 Cor 1:2, as an example). Why does it matter that we see the church is both global and local? How can/should it impact the way we think about “the Church” today?
- Consider some of the other metaphors that the New Testament uses for the church: Temple (1 Peter 2:5), Family (Ephesians 2:19), Christ’s Body (1 Cor 12:27), and the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-26). Can you think of any other metaphors for the church in the New Testament? Which one(s) most resonate with you? Why? How do these different metaphors impact the way we think about and approach ‘church’ today?
- Jeff wrapped up with one reflection question: What does it look like for us to “be the church” together in this season? How would you answer this question? (Jeff talked about “Care and Connect”. What does that mean to you in this season?)
