The Early Church Fellowship — Donny Coulter

I was having this picture a few years ago at Heartland and we in Pincher Creek should be able to connect really easily to this picture. That verse in the song that talks about his love's like a hurricane and bending beneath the wind of his grace and mercy.

You ever seen one of those little advertising things that stand up and their arms are like this and it blows in the wind? And that's the picture I get every time I hear those words. I get that picture of the wind of the mercy and grace of God as I bend beneath the weight of it.

Not in punishment but in enjoyment. It's a beautiful thing to know that we are loved by God. This Wednesday, is it this Wednesday Randy? This Wednesday, Randy will be leading a Bible study here at the church at 7 o 'clock.

I'd like to invite anybody that would like to come out to come out. You're welcome to come. What are you studying again? 1 Peter. Oh my, what a wonderful book to study. 1 Peter. Starting up this Wednesday, 7 o 'clock here at the church.

So come if you can. I'd love to have as many out to that as we can. What's that? PM, sorry. 7 PM, yes. 7 PM, Wednesday evening. Randy, it's been a while since Randy's led one. We're excited to have him back leading again.

You will hear more of those kinds of things happening as we move forward. There will be some happening in homes and other places. We're just going to start building our church community again with those kinds of things.

The Early Church’s Four Distinctives

We are talking about the four distinctives of the church. We have gone through two of those distinctives. Turn with me to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. Let's read together. 40 through 47. And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.

So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3 ,000 souls. And they devoted themselves or they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

In awe or fear came upon every soul. And many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together. And they had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. I pray that we would treat it with the honor. The honor that it's due. I pray that we would treat it preciously. Lord, that we would treat it whether it's me speaking it or those who are hearing.

May we treat it with the weight that it deserves in our lives. Father, this to me is the most important part of our walk. It's understanding the word. Allowing it to work. Allowing it to have its purpose in our lives.

And I pray that we would push everything out of our way this morning. God, whatever's going on, football games, meals, parties, convoys. Whatever, God, I pray that we would push all of that out of our minds this morning.

May we allow your Holy Spirit to become our teacher and teach us your word. We need the word of God. Lord, I do fear that someday the Bible may be taken from us. And we need to have it hid in our hearts.

We need to have it as a part of our thinking and our minds and our lives. And I pray that that process would even begin now. Lord, we trust you to be our teacher. Your Holy Spirit to be our teacher. And God, may you take the words and drive them deep within us.

And may we become a worshiping church. We ask those things in Jesus' name. Amen. The four distinctives. We've covered the first two. Let's look at them real quickly as a review. The first two. And they devoted themselves.

I want you to remember those words right there. Do not forget those words. And they devoted themselves or they continued steadfastly in. Depends on your version and how it reads. But these are critical words.

These are critical things that we need to understand. That if we are ever going to be. Remember, I ask you to ask yourselves the question. Are we this kind of church? And am I this kind of believer? And I think it's important that we do that every time that we hear the word of God.

Are we this kind of church? And am I this kind of believer? Because if I'm not this kind of believer, we're going to have a difficult time having that kind of church. Make sense? Because we are the body together.

Collectively, corporately, we are the body. And as the individuals go, so is the reflection of the corporate body. We need to be committed as individuals to be these kind of believers. So that our church can be this kind of church.

Amen? Alright. So here, he says, they were devoted to. It means that it wasn't something that they did on Sunday morning. As we just read, you see how it affected their entire lives. They were together all the time.

They were selling what was important to them and giving the money away. They were so in tune with God and God was so moving that He was working miracles in the lives of people that were around and people were being saved.

The reason why they were experiencing those things and seeing those things is because they were devoted to them. Devoted first to the God of the distinctives. And then they were devoted to seeing that these things were carried out in their lives.

Devotion to Apostolic Teaching and Holiness

They continued steadfastly in. They continued steadfastly in being a studying, teaching, proclaiming church. There's the first one. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' teachings. Do you know that your power to live.

Listen to this. Your power to live out the holiness of God in this life comes from your knowledge of the word energized by the very presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Do you believe that?

This is not about just being a good person. This is about being holy men and women. That is our call and our command. We are to be holy men and women. And to be holy men and women we must be committed to the word of God and the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to energize the word of God in us so that we can live and exercise holiness.

If you want to know how to deal with, now you fill in the blank. If it's a sin in your life, it's an attitude. If it's a frustration. If it's a sickness. Whatever it is. If you want to know how to deal with, fill in your blank.

Then go see Donnie because he knows it all. Everybody can laugh now. Go to that book that helps you. That help book you've got sitting on your shelf. No. If you want to know how to deal with, you fill in the blank.

Then you get your head and your heart into the word of God. Did you hear what I said? Where I said? You get your head and your heart into the word of God and you find out what God says. Not what the counselor says.

And I'm not discounting counseling. But if you don't have your head and your heart in the word of God. And if you don't find out what God says and then hunker down right there. Do you understand what I mean by that?

You find out what God says and then you drive the stake. You hunker down at that moment. At that place. At that truth. And you stay there until it leaks out in how you live. Does that make sense at all?

That you stay right there until it leaks out of how you live. And it takes care of the blank that you just filled in. Because I am foolish enough to believe that the word of God energized by the Holy Spirit in our lives can help us to overcome whatever the blank is.

Fellowship as Partnership in Christ

They were a studying, teaching church. Secondly, they were a church of fellowship. They were a fellowshipping church. And they continued steadfastly. They were devoted to the fellowship. We learned last week that fellowship is partnership.

We've said that definition defines function. And what we just did with coffee and those kind of things is not fellowship. It is a portion of your fellowship. That's why I encourage you to find somebody that you don't know their name and ask them their name.

Because you can't have fellowship with people you don't know their names. Let that sink in a minute. The New Testament definition is a partnership. It's koinonia. It's having in common. And we found out last week that the one person that we have in common together is Jesus.

He is the one in common. And He is the one that we partner around. And because we are partnering around Him. Because we are in common with Him. And with Him together. Then that's why, when we realize that, that's why we respond when there are needs.

That's why we visit. That's why we have meals together. That's why we study the Bible together. Because we have Christ in common. And we ought to be partnering around Christ in every part of our lives.

I know that we've been taught a very different picture of what church is. Church is something that we do on Sunday. We come to a Bible study on Wednesday night. Or on a Thursday morning. Or a Friday morning.

Or a Tuesday morning. Whatever it is. We come to the Bible study. We have a little time together. And we go our separate ways. And I believe that the church was much more than that. And I don't know how to get there.

I honestly don't know how to get there. There's not enough hours in the day. I had people I wanted to visit this week. And I run out of time to visit. Because I was visiting too many other people. Because if I'm going to preach to you about fellowship and partnership.

Then I better be doing it myself. Partnership. 1 Corinthians 1 .25 -26 talks about a practical way that we fellowship. You don't have to turn there. We talked about it last week. It talks about being mutually identified with one another.

Mutually identified with each other. It means that I rejoice with the happy. And I hurt with the hurting. On a mutually identifying level of fellowship. That's what it means. When somebody needs, we respond.

The Lord’s Supper as Worship

They were a fellowshipping church. Now, distinctive number three. Wow, what an introduction, huh? Distinctive number three. And they were continually or continued steadfastly in. Are continually devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.

To the breaking of bread. Now, I am calling this the distinctive of worship. And I hope that you will understand why by the time we're done, okay? The breaking of bread. Now, here, when it talks about the breaking of bread.

You've got so many examples in scripture. Don't you? Breaking of bread. When Jesus fed the 5 ,000. He took the fish and the loaves and he broke it and fed the 5 ,000. There's the breaking of the bread in that context.

There's the breaking of bread. Do you remember when Jesus was after he was resurrected. And he was on the road to Emmaus with the two disciples. And they said, oh, please come. And he broke bread. And as soon as he broke the bread, their eyes were opened.

There's the Lord's Passover meal. The story of the Lord's Passover. They had their common meal together. Their love feast together. And then they broke the Lord's bread together. They had the Lord's supper together.

And we could go on and on. Those are examples of breaking of bread. But here, when it talks about the breaking of bread, I believe that it's specifically talking about the Lord's supper, which included, in practical terms, it included a meal together often with the saints.

Oftentimes it began with a love feast, a meal together, and then ended with the Lord's supper. I read a lot about the Lord's supper. Back in the early days, they had four cups of wine that were shared.

It's amazing. I'm glad we don't do it that way because we'd never get out of church. Long-winded preacher and long-winded communion. But when you read about it, it's beautiful. The Lord's supper. Actually, in the Greek, there's a definite article of before the breaking, the breaking of the bread, which leads to think that the emphasis is not on the love feast, but on the Lord's supper portion.

Acts 20, verse 7. Look, this is the first time that we have clear evidence that the church was meeting on Sunday and not the Sabbath. Now, on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

I like this guy. I bet you don't, though, do you? This guy, he liked to preach. Well, he was heading out, and he had a lot to talk about before he left this church. But on the first day of the week, the disciples came together in the service.

They were meeting not on the Sabbath. It is believed that Luke is now talking from the Roman clock and not the Jewish clock. And so he's saying that on the first day of the week they gathered. So it was probably on a Sunday evening that they gathered together.

And they would have had a meal together, and then they would have went into the breaking of the bread, the Lord's supper. To understand the Lord's supper, let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

I'm trying to lay some groundwork for why I call the breaking of the bread worship in our church. Okay? And I hope you catch it here. 1 Corinthians 11. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread.

And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you. Many manuscripts do not believe that broken is in there. Take, eat, this is my body for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

That's an important word. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he come. There's a remembering. There's a looking back. And there is a prophetic part of this. There is a looking towards the coming of the Lord Jesus.

And when we take the Lord's supper, we are remembering and we are proclaiming prophetically that Jesus is coming back. So it's not just a ritual that we're going to be doing next Sunday. We are going to be remembering and reflecting back, and we're going to be proclaiming the coming of the Lord.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Now, in remembrance, everything that we have, think with me for a second on this. When we're talking about remembering, everything that we have as a believer, everything that we have as a Christian, is centered on the death of Jesus.

Everything we have. Not completely centered on his teaching. Don't be offended by that. It's not... He could have got and taught all of the same stuff that he taught, and did not die for us, for you, as we'll see.

Then his teachings would not have power. Do you understand what I'm saying? That for everything to become the fulfillment of Scripture, there had to be a death according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15.

There had to be a death according to the Scriptures, buried for three days, and then rose again according to the Scriptures. Without that, we do not have the Gospel. We have a story. And there are many religions that have that kind of story.

Whose leaders are still in the grave. They died. But the rest of our story is, he lived. So you understand when I say that most of... Almost everything that we have, everything that we have as a believer, is centered around the death of Jesus.

Do you follow me there? Everything that we have is centered around the death of Christ. That's why I got no problem having a cross up here. I had somebody tell me one time that we didn't need crosses in the church.

Because it's not about... Jesus is not on the cross anymore. But I know he told me that I better remember his death. Right? So I got no problem with a cross in the church. An empty cross. Because he's not hanging there anymore.

Sorry, that was a squirrel. I believe that communion is so much more than just a reflection of what Jesus did. It's so much more than just thinking back. Why do we need to remember why he died? Well, let me tell you why we need to remember why he died.

He died... You ready for this? Make it personal. He died for your sins. He died... Gordon, he died for your sins. Jeff Deja, he died for your sins. Norma Reynolds, he died for your sins. I'm going to find somebody to think about online watching today.

Dale Urbach, he died for your sins. That's why. That's why we need to remember why he died. He died for me. And it goes much deeper than just remembering. It's an association of his death to me. You follow me?

I remember why he died. Because he died for me. He was the substitute. He was the propitiation. He was the substitute for the debt that I could never ever pay. That's why he died. If you're listening today to that message, and you have never responded or even heard that Jesus died for you, can I tell you please listen to the Holy Spirit as he yells out your name inside your heart and in your ears and respond to the Savior who died for you.

We should also remember how he died. And I'm not talking about that. You know how he died? He died willingly. And when you remember that he died for you, then you remember that he did so willingly, humbly.

Do you remember his words in the garden? Oh, if it's possible, let this cup pass. But nevertheless, not my will, but yours. Willingly fulfilling the will of the Father. So that the Father could reconcile himself to us.

Humbly. Philippians chapter 2 says that he gave up and became one of us. Humbled himself. And became obedient even to the death of the cross. That's how he died. Willingly and humbly. And that's what we remember in the Lord's Supper.

Remembering Christ’s Death Through Personal Faith

This remembering is not just a recollection and a recalling of facts. Listen now. Because this is where we move from a mental exercise to a spiritual exercise of worship. That it's not just a recall and a recollection of facts that Jesus died for me.

And that he did so willingly. It's a participation. In the reality of what Jesus has done for you. Do you understand that? It's a participation in the reality of what Jesus has done. And that is worship.

That is worship. And it says, look what it says. This is my body. Broken for you. I love those words. Jesus says in those words, I became a man for you. I gave the gospel to you. I suffered for you. And I died for you.

Do you hear? Who's the main point in all of that? You. Do you know him today? Have you had an experience where you have come to Christ and said, I believe. Have you? You may have been to church a lot.

Grown up in youth group. Had a good family. Good mom and daddy that taught you right from wrong. You've been faithful to church. But you have never come to a place where you have said, I believe. I believe that you did that for me.

That you died for my sins. I believe. If you've never made that step, then I say to you, you will not regret it if you will. Remember that song we sang about the river of life? Come on in to the river of life.

Be washed and cleansed. And there is something incredible. I was talking with one of our folks this last week about their personal experience with Christ. And I remember when they came to Jesus. I remember the day.

I remember the day. Because there was a glow. It was something different. And they even said to me, there's a glow about me. You know why? Because they found freedom from sin for the first time in their life.

And that's available to you. If you'll just believe. That was not in the notes. I want you to look at where. Where this took place in Acts. It was from house to house. It was from house to house and in the meeting place where they gathered.

It's thought that from Acts chapter 2 to Acts chapter 20 that we just read where they met in the house was probably about 30 years. In the life of the church. What didn't matter was where. What did matter was the heart.

Worship in Spirit and Truth

It was the heart that mattered. And that's why I believe that as we said last week. Definition defines function. Definition defines function. And when it comes to worship. How we define worship. Defines how it functions in us.

If you define worship as. Hallelujah thank you Jesus. I'm going to sing a song. And glorify the Lord. If you define that as worship. Then you're probably going to be encouraged. Anytime you sing. But when you're walking through the deep.

And the dark places. That seem to come. In our momentary light affliction. There is no singing. And yet. We can still worship. Because worship is not defined by singing songs. It is a part of. And an outworking of our worship.

But it is not. What worship is. Here's the meaning of worship. It took the idea of. The kissing of the hand. It was actually. Used to describe the way that a dog. Licked his owners hand. We got Brumby.

Brumby is our little dog at home. And he is annoying. He's one of those kind of dogs. And he's annoying. Because you can't pet him. Without him licking. I just want to pet you. I don't want to get licked.

And so we have this thing. Where you pet Brumby. Don't lick. Don't lick. But. It's a realization. Of his worship. Of his master. It's the kissing of the hand. It's a bowing. Of the knee. In admiration.

In adoration. See worship goes. Far beyond. What we have tried to label it as. And define it as. Worship. Matter of fact. The oldest English translations. Of the word worship. Were worth ship. W-O-R-T-H.

S-H-I-P. Not W-O-R. S-H-I-P. But worth ship. That should give us the picture. He is worthy. Do you see why. The communion. Is to me. Is an act of worship. Is because he is worthy. Remembering what he has done.

Makes him worthy. Of my adoration. It makes him. Worthy. Of my admiration. Turn to 1 John. I had more to say. In Corinthians. But we will go. John chapter 4. Verse 19. As you are turning. Let me give you a little explanation.

Of context and everything. This is the story of the Samaritan woman. When Jesus meets the Samaritan woman. And they are out at the well. And they are looking out over. The Samaritan landscape. And I don't know how much you know.

About the history of that. And how that plays into the whole story. But to give you just a little picture. Solomon. After Solomon died. Around 975 B .C. Israel split into two kingdoms. There is the northern kingdom.

Of Israel. And the southern kingdom of Judea. So there is the split of the kingdom. After Solomon's death. The northern tribes. Descended quite quickly. There were 10. And they descended quite quickly.

Away from the command of God. They intermarried. And they began to worship other gods. And life in the northern kingdom. Became. Under the microscope of God. In about 724 B .C. That's about 50 years. After Solomon's died.

The king of Assyria. Defeated the northern kingdoms. Because God said. When you do this. When you turn away from me. And follow other gods. There will be consequences. And God brought the consequences.

Through the king of Assyria. He defeated the northern kingdoms. And he exiled almost all of the Jews. Except for a small population there. You can find this part. This story in 2 Kings chapter 17. But the Assyrian king.

He brought people in. To kind of take care of the land. Babylonian people in. To take care of the land. And they corrupted the land. That God had set aside. For as his land. They corrupted it. By not having the fear of God.

And when they didn't have the fear of God. God sent lions in. As judgment on the people. And so. The king of Assyria says. How are we going to fix this? They go and recruit a priest. From the Jews. That's held in captivity.

They bring him back to be able to teach. All of the beliefs of the Jews. To the people of the land. Well that didn't work either. Then they just started serving both. And it says. Over and over again.

In 2nd Kings 17. That there was no fear of God. In them. Even though they followed the form. Of worship. There's a sermon in and of itself. I won't stop there. But eventually. There. They became known as the Samaritans.

In the northern kingdom. And eventually Sambalat. Built a temple. Because the Samaritans were jealous. Of the Jews. The southern kingdom rebuilding the temple. And so Sambalat. Was put in charge of building.

A Samaritan temple. Now at the time that Jesus is sitting here. Talking with this woman. It's on the Mount Gerizim. That they built the temple. And during this time. The temple has been destroyed. And so now.

We enter into the picture. Of the Samaritan woman. Challenging Jesus. On where are we supposed to worship? Okay. You got the context now? Ruins of the temple on the mountain. But the mountain is still special to the Samaritans.

You got the temple in Jerusalem. And it's special to the Jews. And she wants to know. Where are we really. Supposed to worship? Look at this. Chapter 4 verse 19. The woman said to him. I said sir. I perceived that you were a prophet.

Our fathers worshipped on this mountain. And you Jews. Say that in Jerusalem. Is the place where we ought to worship. Not a question but a question. Which one is right? Which one is the correct place?

And Jesus said to her. Woman. Believe me the hour is coming. When neither on this mountain. Nor in Jerusalem. Worship the father. I'm sorry. The hour is coming when you. Will neither on this mountain.

Nor in Jerusalem. Worship the father. You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship. For salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming. And now is. When the true worshippers. True worshippers.

Will worship the father in spirit. And in truth. For the father is seeking. Such to worship him. God is spirit. And those who worship him. Must worship him in spirit. And truth. Now. Let's break this down just a little bit.

She's saying our fathers. Worshipped here. She's saying that. Worship was okay. Our worship is okay. Because. Because it was passed down to us by our fathers. Let me. Caution us. Caution us that we do not perpetuate.

The errors. Of our fathers. Sometimes. We perpetuate and carry on. Things that are not necessarily. Scriptural. Because our fathers did it. And we need to be careful. With that. I am not insinuating. Anything in that statement.

Other than. We need to be careful. Of the things that we carry on. That may or may not be biblical. Okay. That's all I'm saying. They have. No more reason. Listen. Our fathers had no more reason. To amend the word of God.

Than you and I do. Do you understand that? And just because they did. Or said. Does not make it right. It does not make it biblical or godly. We cannot. We cannot just do. And follow. Simply because our fathers did.

It will never make it right. So she's asking the question. In hopes of finding out. Who's right in this? Is it the Samaritans that are right? Or is it the Jews that are right? Where's the place? And I love that Jesus answers it.

You ready? Look at verse 21 to 24. And Jesus answered in three parts. The first one he says. Worship the Father. Look at that. Jesus said to the woman. Believe me the hour is coming. When you will neither on this mountain.

Nor in Jerusalem. Worship the Father. I believe that Jesus. Said that worship. Is no longer centered around a place. Do you see what he's saying? There's coming a time. When it will not be in the mountain of Gerizim.

Or into the temple of Jerusalem. That you will worship the Father. The focus is no longer on a place. Of worship. But it is on the person of worship. And the person of worship. The person of worship is God the Father.

He says. You see it? The Father is who we worship. Now look at the second one. He says that we will worship. In spirit. You ready for this? Worship is no longer. About a form. It is not about how. You worship.

It is not about some external. Exterior form. That you worship in. Do you follow me? It's not about coming to church. Sitting down. Being very quiet. Or being very happy. Or being halfway in between. It's not about the form.

It's about the spirit. We are to worship in spirit. It's not about the form of the worship. But the spirit of the worship. Philippians chapter 3. For we are the circumcision. Who worship God. In the spirit.

We are the circumcision. We are the true children of God. Who worship in the spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. And have zero confidence. No confidence in the flesh. We are to worship. It's not about the form of our worship.

It is about the spirit. Of our worship. Spiritual worship begins. You ready for this? Spiritual worship begins. Not form worship. But spiritual worship begins. With the change of the heart. When the heart is changed.

The spirit is changed. Ezekiel chapter 11. Verse 19. Then I will give them one heart. And I will put a new spirit. Within them. And take the stony heart. Out of their flesh. And give them a heart of flesh.

The idea in the picture is this. I will give them an undivided heart. I'm going to put in them. A new spirit. I'm going to remove. The old heart of stone. I'm going to take away. That heart of the flesh.

And I'm going to give them. My heart. That's where we worship. Do you understand how I connect. The worship is about the heart change. Worship is not about a form. It's about the change of the heart. It's about the spirit of the worship.

He's going to give them. A singleness of heart. And when we have that. There is change in the life. And when the life is changed. There is true worship. And thirdly. He says that they will worship in truth.

He took the focus off the place. And put it on the father. He took the focus off the form. And he put it on the spirit. And worship is no longer. No longer about ritual. But it's about the heart. And the life.

Worship as a Living Sacrifice

Of worship. Follow me with this. It's about truth. It's about how much the gospel. Has gotten deep down inside. Of our lives and our hearts. And enacted and brought about change. Romans chapter 12. You know this is one of my verses.

Go to verses all the time. When we talk about worship. Romans chapter 12 and verse 1. I beseech you therefore brothers and sisters. By the mercies of God. That you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

Holy. Acceptable to God. Which is your reasonable service. Or which is your worship. That's why. I believe this is one of the best verses. On worship to understand. And define worship. So when you hear the words.

Holy and acceptable. What does that mean to you? What does it mean when it says holy and acceptable? That first of all. You present your bodies. That word present. Means to stand beside. It means to get in front of.

It's a picture of us standing before. The living God as a living sacrifice. You get the picture? Presenting ourselves to God. And we're presenting ourselves there. As a holy and acceptable. Sacrifice.

So what does that mean to you? What does it mean? Holy and acceptable. I have tons of verses. That I could give you. That I will not do today. Because we're going to go back. After the 13th of February.

We're going to go back to. This series on holiness. We're going to go back to that again. Because we never got finished. We just got started. So we're going to go back to that. But what does this statement mean?

That you present yourself. As a living sacrifice. That is holy and acceptable. Before God. Does it mean. That you can live any way you want to. Do anything you want to. Have any kind of attitude you want to.

Say anything you want to. And then come into the presence of a holy God. And worship. Is that what it says? What does it say? And what does it mean to you? We're going to find out what it means. In a few weeks from now.

Examining the Church’s Life of Worship

Here's the challenge. Are we. A worshiping church? Do we have a life. A change of heart. That is reflected. In how we live our walk. Every day. That is a reflection. Back on the sacrifice. Of Jesus. And a proclamation.

Of His coming. Does the change in heart. And life that we have. Do both of those things. Reflect. And participate. Participate in the reality. Of what Jesus has done for us. And proclaim prophetically.

That He is coming again. Does your life do that? And so I'll ask the question again. Are we worshipers? Am I a worshiping believer? And are we. A worshiping church? Let me say this. Jesus says. That God is seeking those.

Who will worship Him. In that kind of way. God is looking. And listening. And God is. Seeking. Your worship. God is seeking you. To worship Him. And until we understand. That worship is so much more. Than coming to church.

And singing a few songs. And doing my devotions. And it's so much more. Than just those single acts. It is the change. Of a heart inside. That reflects the confirmation. Of Christ. That I am being conformed.