This was a new idea to me, as I had been seduced by sincere but misguided brethren who promoted the importance of the individual nature of the church by making superfluous the activities that take place in the church building. But as I studied the subject further as presented in the book of Ephesians, I was amazed to learn that the church is the means by which the wisdom of God is revealed to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm (3:10). I am grateful for the support of Church On Randall Place, for their encouragement, support and patience.
I would like to thank the believers of the Church who participated in the target group of the ministerial project. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation for the patience shown by the people from the various small groups who provided assistance with the four AMEs required for this degree. Special thanks go to the faculty who conducted various seminars, and to all the employees in the office of the doctor of the ministry.
INTRODUCTION
But the truth is that the church is the means by which God carries out his plan of salvation. The suggested remedy was to foster a strong biblical ecclesiology in the minds of the congregants at the Randall Place church. I gathered a cross-generational sample group, but was limited by the nature of the church.
This question of the threat of the church to the gates of Hades is critical, but secondary. Two different words are used in the Old Testament to denote the gathering of the people of God. Specifically, the church is not based on ethnicity, but on Yahweh who lives in every believer in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 12:13).
44 The essence of the Church in the Apostles' Creed is that it is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Another function of the church that requires a certain form of membership is the area of church discipline.
Recruitment of the Focus Group
The third requirement was to attend a lecture for church members called Entry Points at the conclusion of the sermon series. In addition to a variety of ages and genders, I wanted to create a group of single, married, divorced, and widowed believers, as well as those who have been coming to CORP for several years, and at least one who has been attending for several years. a little over a year. In other words, the goal was to create a group with as diverse a demographic as possible.
Synopsis of the Sermon Series
After introducing the focus of the sermon series, the first message illustrated holiness as the defining characteristic of the people of God. Holiness is one of the clear characteristics of Yahweh made clear in Genesis 1, as Moses draws a clear dividing line between Yahweh and the gods of Israel's neighbors. The message concluded with a presentation of the blessing of holiness, which is the presence of God among His people.
The first was that obedience to the word of the Lord is a testimony to our neighbors, just as it was to the Israelites in entering the Promised Land. Second was to help demonstrate the continuity of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Two overarching truths were introduced in this message that guided the rest of the sermon series.
The importance of the church is not only in its testimony to the world, but also to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places (Eph 3:10). At this point I introduced that the mystery of the church is the calling of Jew and Gentile into a united community. I explained the role of elders and deacons in the structure of the local congregation and the responsibility these individuals bear.
Some of the congregations consider the issue of church governance to be too political for serious consideration. These two issues were addressed, but it was my desire to move the church beyond the "bolts" of the two ordinances and bring them to a deeper underlying truth about baptism and communion. The penultimate message in the series was designed to impress upon the hearts and minds of the congregation the biblical purpose and need for corrective discipline.
The final issue addressed was what it meant to be a member of the CORP, and that local church membership was the norm in the early church.
Development of the Church Covenant and Church Membership Curriculum and Church Membership Curriculum
One of the leading phrases for this project was John 17:23, when Jesus prays that the disciples would be united among themselves as a testimony to the world that the Father has sent the Son. The Bible tells us over and over again how believers should behave "toward one another." For example, Jesus commands believers to love one another as he loved those he saved (John 13:34). Through the use of “other”-centered scriptures, there is a constant reminder that CORP members must consider others as themselves.
During the two-week period between the end of the sermon series and the church membership course, I developed a curriculum with the aim of introducing individuals to the church at Randall Place, which would also serve as a necessary requirement for those who wish to join the Church. members. The class would be open to anyone who wanted information about the church, even if the person was only interested in learning more about what we teach, our Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) affiliation, our polity, etc. Necessary for the unity of the church is that we all agree on our vision, purpose and doctrine.
Too much disharmony within a local congregation may be due to the fact that a congregation member never fully agreed with the established church. After a time of faithful attendance, however, he learns that his beloved church is taking a doctrinal position that is inconsistent with his personal beliefs. Or it may be that the doctrinal position of the pastor is more in line with that of the Remonstrant and less with that of the Reformed.
During this class I am able to address what the church teaches regarding challenging issues such as eschatology, spiritual gifts, and the doctrines of grace. The curriculum developed is not entirely new as we have had church membership classes prior to the one following the ten-week sermon series. For this project, I rearranged the most important material and added new material gathered from the sermon series.
The new curriculum better reflects our church culture, more accurately defines who we are as a church, and is more biblically based.
Teaching the Entry Points Class and Administering the Post-Test and Administering the Post-Test
Twenty-six people gathered in the community hall of the Randall Place church to participate in the Entry Points class. The focus of this project was to increase the appreciation of the local church in the hearts and minds of those who call Randall Place Church their church home. I found the project process completely rewarding as an opportunity to demonstrate the value of the church in God's plan of salvation.
The goal of the project was to deepen covenant relationships at the Church On Randall Place in Pine, Arizona. Therefore, when people arrive at the church at Randall Place in the future, the established belief will be one consisting of a high view of the bride that Jesus died to bribe. 1Analysis of both the pre-test and post-test data can be found in the “Evaluation of the Methodology” section of this chapter.
The second phase was the ten-week sermon series on the importance of community in God's plan of redemption. The fourth phase involved evaluation of the test results and presentation of new members to the church family. The characteristic that became apparent was that the majority of the focus group already agreed with the positions regarding the church that I affirm.
This portion of the project was uneventful in the sense that I believe I accomplished what I set out to do. Due to the limited time frame, I decided to focus on three primary areas of the church community. The purpose of this decision was to respect the time constraints of those who wanted to attend.
I called the sermon "The Characteristics of the Church," but this title may be misleading because I did not specifically address the identifying characteristics of the Church.
SERMON OUTLINES
The moral nature of God must become visible in the daily life of the believer. The attraction of the wisdom of God's people was that Yahweh was near when they called upon Him. The last and final court of appeal in the life of the local church is the congregation.
When we partake of the elements, we join Jesus who humbled himself and served for our good. Cut off from the spiritual blessings and benefits of the church and relationship with God. Paul uses the image of "the body of Christ" to speak of the universal church (Ephesians and Colossians).
CHURCH COVENANT
We will cheerfully and generously contribute to the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the advancement of the gospel to both our neighbors and the nations. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Johannes Calvin: Where the proper teaching of the Word and the proper administration of the sacraments.
At the crossroads the temple is destroyed, the veil of the old way to God is torn, and Jesus is now the new way. The church is a community of people who are different from each other, but who share a common Christ and who live together in unity and love that gives glory to God. In the church we are to be providers, engaged in the hard work of loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The church can only discipline those who have made some form of formal commitment to the church. This is a fellowship of approximately 50 churches located in the East Valley (Chandler, Apache Junction, Mesa and Queen Creek) and the Central Rim country (Tonto Basin, Payson, Star Valley, Pine, Tonto Village).
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