Church
Week of February 23rd
A New Series…
Now that we have wrapped up our relationship
series, we are moving on to a series loosely coined, “spiritual disciplines” -
the idea being, things that YOU can do, and in some cases, are commanded by
scripture to do, in order to cultivate your faith and relationship with the
Lord. Enough fluff, we want to talk about practical
things you can do to grow closer to the Lord - not just now, but forever.
Because the truth of the matter is, Ozone is
temporary… Your time in Middle School/High School is finite. My time as your
Ozone leader is finite. But your time to grow to seek the Lord is not. You will
move on to college- to different cities with different friends and a different
schedule. You will no longer come to Ozone and will no longer hear me speak.
But that doesn’t, and shouldn’t change your relationship with God. HE is
the only constant, and our hope in this series is to equip you to seek him on your own, or at least, outside of the
context of Ozone.
The CHURCH, really…
It seems like a pretty dang good place to start -
the church. Before we dive into the command
of scripture to be an active part of a church, let’s take a second to
understand where exactly this word church comes from…
The Greek word, ekklesia,
is used 114 times in the New Testament alone and comes from the words “kaleo”
meaning “to call” and “ek” meaning “out of.” Translated as a gathering or an
assembly, it’s important to understand that the Jesus’ use and the New
Testament discussion of “church” is not referring to a building, but rather an assembly or congregation of “called out”
people. Our word “church” was actually derived from “kuriakon,” meaning
“belonging to the Lord,” or “the Lord’s thing” - commonly referring to a
building or temple.
The church, therefore, is an assembly of people
with certain characteristics, NOT the brick buildings that we attend on Sunday
mornings!
The Biblical Church
It’s so important for us to get across that Ozone
is not a replacement for church. Even though we seek to be a community of high
school/middle school students pursuing the Lord, maturing in our faith and
learning the importance of discipleship, we are not a substitute for the
church!
Into the Church, God has entrusted and called Godly leaders who have been specifically gifted to preach
and teach, and are biblically called to meet certain standards.
Ephesians 4:11-13
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be
prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare
God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be build up
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God
and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Hebrews 13:17
“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.
They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that
their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to
you.”
1 Peter 5:1-3
“To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow
elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the
glory to be revealed. Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care,
serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing, as
God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it
over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
Titus 1:6-9
“An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one
wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild
and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be
blameless, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not
violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who
loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He
must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he
can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”
1 Timothy 3:1-10,12-13
“Here is a trustworthy saying: if anyone sets his
heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be
above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled,
respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent
but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own
family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone
does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s
church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall
under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with
outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s
trap.
Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect,
sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must
keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must
first be tested: and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as
deacons… a deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his
children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent
standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”
The Church is an assembly where God has united us
together as believers to keep one another from sinning and straying.
Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother sins against you, go and show him
his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your
brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that
‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to
listen even to the church treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
And the Church is a place where we can answer the
commands of scripture to teach God’s word, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, baptize
new believers and pray for and encourage one another (and so much more!).
Acts 2:42, 44-47
“They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching
and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… All the
believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions
and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet
together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the
people.”
Hebrews 10:24-25
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in
the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you
see the day approaching.”
The Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ
In the context of the assembly, aka: the Church, we
make up the Body of Christ.
Ephesians 5:23
“For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ
is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.”
Ephesians 4:15-16
“We will in all things grow up into him who is the
Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by
every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part
does its work.”
As believers, we are all a part of this body, which
works effectively when all the parts are operating correctly. We are not
individuals in this faith, but apart of a much bigger purpose and picture, with
a responsibility of making His name great in our time on this earth. Jesus
loved the church (meaning US) more than we could possibly understand.
Ephesians 5:25-27
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved
the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the
washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”
Conclusion
Clearly the definition of church is so much more
than just a building, but it also means so much more than a weekly parachurch
youth group meeting on a Thursday night. Ozone never wants to become a
substitute for your involvement in a local church, which we hope you will seek
out not only now, but when you head to college and your schedule is no longer
dictated by mom and dad. We would love to help you find and connect to a church
in the area, so if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! We
believe, a renewed love for church is one of the greatest gifts we can try to
give you here at Ozone because the church can come with you to college, can be
with you when you start a family, and beyond…
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