Special Announcements
Due to concerns for our congregation, we are canceling all services for the health of our community. We will be closed at least until April 13th. We will be posting articles online during this time for fellowship with you. Stay home and be safe.
Due to concerns for our congregation, we are canceling all services for the health of our community. We will be closed at least until April 13th. We will be posting articles online during this time for fellowship with you. Stay home and be safe.
Join us
Sunday mornings at
10:45 a.m.
for Worship & Fellowship
with
Pastor Roger Cooper
bringing the
Good News of the Gospel.
Sunday mornings at
10:45 a.m.
for Worship & Fellowship
with
Pastor Roger Cooper
bringing the
Good News of the Gospel.
Thoughts for Sunday, April 5th: WHERE’S THE CHURCH IN “ALL THIS?”
Something amazing has happened! For the first time in our history, the churches of America are not able to gather in their comfortable sanctuaries! Instead (are you ready for this?), the church is now positioned back into millions of homes in every township, county and state of our nation! Do you get it? We’re back to the primary locations of New Testament churches, which were the homes of the believers! We’re back where the church started out! Back to the concept of every Christian home having the responsibility (although with necessarily different methods) to touch their individual neighborhoods with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Get a load of this: The church is no longer tied to a specific address such as the “corner of 4 Mile Road and 205th Avenue, but set loose from central locations and given a mandate to minister to multitudes of individual communities, spread out wherever a Christian home exists!
Jesus asked his Disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-18) Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Jesus answered, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter (stone), and on this rock (bedrock) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Jesus didn’t say “Peter, I’m going to build another physical building like the tabernacle in Jerusalem in which you can worship and serve me,” nor did He say He was going to build His church upon Peter himself. Rather, He was saying, “Upon this clear affirmation “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, I’m going to build my church in the hearts and lives of millions of people who declare Me as their Savior and Lord!”
Christians, have you really thought through the positive thing that God is doing in our present crisis? Could it be that God is taking us (the church) from a “four walls” perception of the church to a ‘no walls” realization? If so, what ministry opportunities might He be giving us? This is explosive! Outside our ‘boxes!“ Revolutionary! Life changing!
For example, our son Shawn has many new opportunities at work to share Christ with fellow workers: People are scared and perplexed by the collapse of their comfortable world. A girl was weeping when Shawn told her that his parents were praying for her. She said that it meant so much to know that someone was praying for her! She needs God, just as multitudes around each of us needs Him! Do we understand that even though at present we cannot meet together in groups, that God declares that we are the church, and that we are our community’s “church” representing Him?
Years ago Doug Oldham, the Gaithers and others popularized the song, “The Church Triumphant.” I love those words: “Let the Church be the Church Let the people rejoice For we've settled the question We've made our choice Let the anthems ring out, songs of victory swell For the church triumphant, is alive and well!”
This is our moment! If we have “settled the question and we’ve made our choice” this is our time to join the song: “Let the Church be the Church, Let the people rejoice!” It is time for you and I to show our communities that Christ and His Word are not limited by the virus of sin, but rather that the gates of Hades are not able to stand before the declaration of Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, risen from the dead and now seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for all who come to the Father through Him!
Christians, this is our day of opportunity! God has dismantled our comfortable nests, booted us out into a changing world and said: “Fly for Me! To answer the question, ” Where’s “The Church” in all this? Check your address! There’s the Church!
Pastor Roger L. Cooper
Something amazing has happened! For the first time in our history, the churches of America are not able to gather in their comfortable sanctuaries! Instead (are you ready for this?), the church is now positioned back into millions of homes in every township, county and state of our nation! Do you get it? We’re back to the primary locations of New Testament churches, which were the homes of the believers! We’re back where the church started out! Back to the concept of every Christian home having the responsibility (although with necessarily different methods) to touch their individual neighborhoods with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Get a load of this: The church is no longer tied to a specific address such as the “corner of 4 Mile Road and 205th Avenue, but set loose from central locations and given a mandate to minister to multitudes of individual communities, spread out wherever a Christian home exists!
Jesus asked his Disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-18) Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Jesus answered, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter (stone), and on this rock (bedrock) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Jesus didn’t say “Peter, I’m going to build another physical building like the tabernacle in Jerusalem in which you can worship and serve me,” nor did He say He was going to build His church upon Peter himself. Rather, He was saying, “Upon this clear affirmation “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, I’m going to build my church in the hearts and lives of millions of people who declare Me as their Savior and Lord!”
Christians, have you really thought through the positive thing that God is doing in our present crisis? Could it be that God is taking us (the church) from a “four walls” perception of the church to a ‘no walls” realization? If so, what ministry opportunities might He be giving us? This is explosive! Outside our ‘boxes!“ Revolutionary! Life changing!
For example, our son Shawn has many new opportunities at work to share Christ with fellow workers: People are scared and perplexed by the collapse of their comfortable world. A girl was weeping when Shawn told her that his parents were praying for her. She said that it meant so much to know that someone was praying for her! She needs God, just as multitudes around each of us needs Him! Do we understand that even though at present we cannot meet together in groups, that God declares that we are the church, and that we are our community’s “church” representing Him?
Years ago Doug Oldham, the Gaithers and others popularized the song, “The Church Triumphant.” I love those words: “Let the Church be the Church Let the people rejoice For we've settled the question We've made our choice Let the anthems ring out, songs of victory swell For the church triumphant, is alive and well!”
This is our moment! If we have “settled the question and we’ve made our choice” this is our time to join the song: “Let the Church be the Church, Let the people rejoice!” It is time for you and I to show our communities that Christ and His Word are not limited by the virus of sin, but rather that the gates of Hades are not able to stand before the declaration of Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, risen from the dead and now seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for all who come to the Father through Him!
Christians, this is our day of opportunity! God has dismantled our comfortable nests, booted us out into a changing world and said: “Fly for Me! To answer the question, ” Where’s “The Church” in all this? Check your address! There’s the Church!
Pastor Roger L. Cooper
|
|