Nov 23-29-08 One Flock
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Transcript of Nov 23-29-08 One Flock
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Acts 11:19 NET Now those who had been scattered because of the
persecution that took place over Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the
message to no one but Jews.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
20 But there were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them who came to Antioch and began
to speak to the Greeks too, proclaiming the good news of the
Lord Jesus.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed
turned to the Lord. 22 A report about them came to the attention of the
church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Christianity eventually prevailed as the dominant worldview and social force in
the Roman world. One reason: it planted churches in dozens of the
empire's major cities by the end of the first century.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Acts 1:8 NET But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
farthest parts of the earth."
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Christians spread the gospel "to the end of the earth" by establishing strategic, visible communities in urban areas such as Antioch.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Acts 11:25 NET Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for
Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught a significant number of
people. Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called
Christians.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Acts 13:1 NET Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at
Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch from
childhood ) and Saul.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
These groups of believers stood apart from the culture in their
belief and values, yet engaged the culture in their daily lives and
work.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
The New Testament word for "church," ekklesia, means assembly or
congregation. In the Greek world, the ekklesia was a public assembly called together by a herald to discuss legal
issues and make community decisions.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
For example, Paul faced such a gathering at Ephesus, a town meeting
that turned into a riot. Acts 19:31 NET Even some of the
provincial authorities who were his friends sent a message to him, urging
him not to venture into the theater.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
32 So then some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly (ekklesia) was in
confusion, and most of them did not know why they had met
together.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
33 Some of the crowd concluded it was about Alexander because the Jews
had pushed him to the front. Alexander, gesturing with his hand,
was wanting to make a defense before the public assembly.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, "Great is Artemis of the
Ephesians!" for about two hours.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
35 After the city secretary quieted the crowd, he said, "Men of Ephesus, what
person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great
Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven?
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
36 So because these facts are indisputable, you must keep quiet and not do anything reckless. 37 For you
have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor
blasphemers of our goddess.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
38 If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against someone, the
courts are open and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges
against one another there.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
39 But if you want anything in addition, it will have to be settled
in a legal assembly.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
40 For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause we can give to explain this disorderly gathering."
41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
But ekklesia always referred to people—originally to the citizens of a city, and later to a gathering
of believers. There is no evidence that it meant a church building
until the fourth century A.D.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Interestingly, eight times out of ten the New Testament uses the word
ekklesia to refer to all of the believers in specific city, such as "the church that was at Antioch." Acts 13:1a NET
Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch:
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
or "the church of God which is at Corinth." 1 Corinthians 1:2 NET to the church of God that
is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with
all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord
and ours.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Elsewhere it implies all Christian believers, regardless of
geographic location or time in history—what is often called the universal (or catholic) church.
CATHOLIC, a. 1. Universal or general; (Websters)
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Ephesians 1:22 NET And God put all things under Christ's feet, and he gave him to the church as head
over all things.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Ephesians 3:10 NET The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in
the heavenly realms.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Ephesians 3:21 NET to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Ephesians 5:23 NET because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church — he himself
being the savior of the body. 24 But as the church submits to Christ, so also
wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and
gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her with the
washing of the water by the word,
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
27 so that he may present the church to himself as glorious — not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and
blameless.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
28 In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife
loves himself.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
29 For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and
takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church,
30 for we are members of his body.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and
will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
(Gen. 2:24)
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
32 This mystery is great — but I am actually speaking with reference
to Christ and the church.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
In forming churches, the early Christians did not drop out of society, nor did they form congregations that competed with
each other for members (though sometimes members competed with
each other.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
1 Corinthians 1:10 NET I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree
together, to end your divisions, and to be united by the same
mind and purpose.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
11 For members of Chloe's household have made it clear to me, my brothers and sisters, that
there are quarrels among you.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
12 Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," or "I am with Cephas," or "I am with Christ."
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Instead, they lived and worked as members of the larger community.
Meanwhile, they related to the other believers in their cities as members of a common family in
Christ.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
This proved to be a radical concept—so powerful, in fact, that by the end of the second century, one
author was able to write:
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind by either country, speech, customs; the fact is, they
nowhere settle in cities of their own; they use no peculiar language; they cultivate no eccentric mode of life....
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
Yet while they dwell in both Greek and non-Greek cities, as each
one's lot was cast, and conform to the customs of the country in
dress, food, and mode of life in general,
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
the whole tenor of their way of living stamps it as worthy of admiration
and admittedly extraordinary.
CHURCHES-KEYS TO THE CITIES
This remarkable reputation of the early Christians compels modern
believers to ask: What will the church today be remembered for?
(Word In Life Study Bible)
One Flock
Peter explained to Jewish believers what happened to Cornelius. They needed clarification because they mistakenly thought that salvation
was only for Jews.
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Peter convinced the Jewish church leaders of the rightness of
reaching out to the Gentiles, and many Gentiles were subsequently
added to the church, notably at Antioch.
One Flock
The Father sighs because he has a dream.
John 10:16 NET I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold. I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, so that there will be one
flock and one shepherd.
One Flock
God has only one flock. Somehow we missed that. Religious division
is not his idea. Franchises and sectarianism are not in God's
plan.
One Flock
God has one flock. The flock has one shepherd. And though we
may think there are many, we are wrong.
There is only one.
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Never in the Bible are we told to create unity. We are simply told to maintain the unity that exists. Paul exhorts us to preserve "the unity
which the Spirit gives."
One Flock
Ephesians 4:3 NET making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace. Our task is not to invent unity, but
to acknowledge it.
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I have two sisters and a brother. We are siblings because we came
from the same family. We have the same father and mother.
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I'm sure there have been times when they didn't want to call me their brother, but they don't have
that choice.
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Nor do we. When I see someone calling God "Father" and Jesus "Savior," I meet a brother or a
sister— regardless of the name of their church or denomination.
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By the way, the church names we banter about? They do not exist in
heaven.The Book of Life does not list your denomination next to your name.
One Flock
Why? Because it is not the denomination that saves you. And
I wonder, if there are no denominations in heaven, why do we have denominations on earth?
One Flock
What would happen (I know this is a crazy thought), but what would
happen if all the churches agreed, on a given day, to change their
names to simply "church"?
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What if any reference to any denomination were removed and
we were all just Christians?
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And then when people chose which church to attend, they wouldn't do so by the sign outside...they'd do
so by the hearts of the people inside.
One Flock
And then when people were asked what church they attended, their
answer wouldn't be a label but just a location.
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And then we Christians wouldn't be known for what divides us; instead we'd be known for what unites us
— our common Father.
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Crazy idea? Perhaps.But I think God would like it.
It was his to begin with. (From A Gentle Thunder by Max Lucado)
One Flock
We are instructed to build up the body of Christ. Make a list of ways you can be involved. If there are
certain ways you could be tearing down the body of Christ, list those
as well.
One Flock
Be brutally honest.Ask a family member or good friend
to be honest with you.(Max Lucado Devotional Bible)
One Flock
Unity:John 13:35 NET Everyone will know by
this that you are my disciples — if you have love for one another."
One Flock
Ephesians 4:3 NET making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace.Colossians 3:14 NET And to all these
virtues add love, which is the perfect bond.
One Flock
Do you think the idea of Believers everywhere dropping their
denominational names is crazy? Do you think Believers are
unsaved because of the label they wear?
One Flock
Perhaps belief systems are flawed because they have believed the
teachings of men instead of proving that teaching with God’s
Word.
One Flock
In the early part of the sixteenth century Martin Luther broke the shackles and gave the world the
open Bible. Later, Calvin advocated the divine sovereignty
of God.
One Flock
John Wesley agitated the question of more spirituality in the
churches. Around these ideas great denominations sprang into
existence. The people were inquiring for the old paths.
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While all the churches were doing good, had much of the Scripture in
their teaching, and possessed good men, yet they were
weakened and handicapped because they were divided.
One Flock
What it all comes down to takes us back a couple hundred years when men
such as Alexander and Thomas Campbell started encouraging
Believers to return to the Word of God to see what the church was like in the
beginning.
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Their goal was to re-capture the unity of the early church doing all
things as they are laid out in God’s Word.
Getting back to the Bible!
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President James A. Garfield, who lived and died a member of the Christian
Church was for some years a preacher in the church. The following is a copy
of Mr. Garfield's statement of our position in matters of faith.
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1. We call ourselves Christians or Disciples.2. We believe in God the Father.3. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the living God and our Saviour. We regard the divinity of Christ as the fundamental truth of the Christian system.
One Flock
4. We believe in the Holy Spirit, both as to His agency in conversion and as a dweller in the heart of the Christian.
5. We accept the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God.
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6. We believe in the future punishment of the wicked and the future reward of the righteous.
7. We believe that Deity is a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God.
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8. We observe the institution of the Lord's supper on every Lord's Day. To this Table we neither invite nor debar. We say it is the Lord's Table, for all the Lord's children.
9. We plead for the union of God's people.
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10. The Bible is our only discipline.11. We maintain that all ordinances
should be observed as they were in the days of the apostles.
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We cannot claim to be the only Christians, but we must strive to be Christians only. There is a Universal
Church and we must search the Scriptures and make sure we seek
only to do it God’s way in order to be part of that ekklesia, assembly,
Church.