I. The Church Video

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II. The Church Transcript

The Bible presents every person living in this world as someone in need of God’s forgiveness for the corruption that exists in human nature. In Psalm 32:1-2 (ESV) the Bible says “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

The people whose transgressions against God are forgiven are known as the Church. We believe the Church is a group of people who have received forgiveness from God for everything in their lives that the corruption in human nature causes. We believe this corruption makes it harder for God to accomplish His goals in this world, and therefore the local Church is committed to supporting each other in their struggles to gain freedom from that corruption together.

I have some important thoughts about the Church to share with you now.

The First Thought About The Church

The first thought I want to share with you is about Church membership. Let me state my first thought in the form of a question. The question is this: who does God accept as a member of the Church?

Anyone who God has forgiven for the corruption that makes it harder for him to accomplish His goals in this world is recognized as a member of the Local Church. This kind of forgiveness comes with a change of heart that Jesus Christ referred to in John 3:3 (ESV) when he said “unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

This idea can also be found in the letters written by the Apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) Paul wrote that “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold; the new has come.”

Discussion Question:

#1. Has there been a moment in your life when you experienced the change of heart that Jesus Christ called being born again?

#2. Do you see more and more evidence that the old way of life has actually passed away and a new way of life is becoming more and more obvious every day?

The Second Thought About The Church

Now let’s take a look at another important thought about the Church. I will put this thought in the form of a question for you as well. The question is this: what do I gain from being faithful to a small group of believers within a local Church?

The main benefit to having a small group of believers within the Local Church where you live is that you will have a community to support us when you are struggling to learn how to reject the corruption known as the Works of the Flesh and embrace the Fruit of the Spirit in the new lifestyle God wants to develop to repair the damage caused by the corruption in human nature.

The kind of struggle that I am referring to can be seen in Galatians 5:19-23. This passage of Scripture clearly outlines the kind of character transformation that God can cause in our lives. In the English Standard Version of the Bible, Galatians 5:19-23 says this:

“Now the works of the Flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control: against such things there is no law.”

Discussion Questions:

#1. Have you made any progress in gaining this kind of freedom?

#2. Have other people close to you noticed this kind of character transformation happening in your life?

The Third Thought About The Church

I have a third thought about the Church to share with you. I will put my third thought about the Church in the form of a question, and that question is simply this: how does God cause a local Church to grow?

The local Church grows as men and women share the Message of Christianity with others in the ordinary moments of life. God will add new people to the local Church when people who have not heard the Message of Christianity before are approached by members of the Church who understand the truth about the corruption in human nature and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only solution and are willing to share it with others in the ordinary moments of life.

I want to encourage you to use prayer to ask God for help recognizing opportunities to share the Message of Christianity. If we approach an entire family with the Message of Christianity at the same time, they can make the decision to come to Jesus together and begin the kind of character transformation into the Fruit of the Spirit together, which will make Church growth happen faster.

Jesus Christ warned us in Matthew 10:16 (ESV) that “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” This warning about the wolves outside of the Church should motivate us to approach an entire family of wolves as the same time so that the family we want to reach can begin the character transformation process together when we take the Message of Christianity across the street or on the other side of the world.

Discussion Question:

#1. Who can help you “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves?”