Study Six
Knowing The Church
Prayer:
“And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might
have the supremacy.”(Colossians 1:18). O God, thank You for
Jesus Christ as the head of the church, and thank You for making me a member of
His body which is the church. We ask for Your
blessing on Your church. We ask in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
Being a Christian is never being alone. Christians are part of a worldwide fellowship of believers from all nations. The worldwide fellowship is called the Church. However, Christians gather to fellowship and worship in their own locality and these form the local churches. The worldwide Church can be subdivided into 3 groups: Protestants, Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodox. Within the Protestant group are also many subgroups known as denominations. Some examples of denominations are Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and Brethren. Read chapter seven, “Christ Our Life”: a communicant’s manual.
NEW
1. What do you understand by the word “ecclesia”?
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HOW OLD IS THE CHURCH?
2.
What
do you understand by the church as the “New Israel”?
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THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH
3.
What
is the foundation of the Church?
(1 Corinthians
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THE EARLY GROWTH OF THE CHURCH
4. What are some of the characteristics of the early church in Acts 2:42-47?
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MEMBERSHIP OF THE CHURCH
5. What are some of the metaphors or word pictures used to denote membership of a church?
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The church is the gathering of God’s children, where
they can be helped and fed like babies and
then guided by her motherly care, and grow up to manhood in
the maturity of faith.
John
Calvin
THE RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH
6.
At a
time in church history (sixteenth century), God renewed the Church through a
process called the Reformation. Some of the key issues were clarified:
What is the supreme authority for the Christian and the Church?
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What is the way of salvation?
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What is the meaning of Communion?
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What is the mean of access
to God?
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THE
7.
What
do you think is the most significant event in the history of the Presbyterian church in
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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THE
8.
Presbyterian________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Elder______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Deacon____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Presbytery__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Synod_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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SPECIAL MARKS OF THE
9. What are some of the special characteristics of the Presbyterian church?
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WHAT IS ESSENTIAL IN CHURCH MEMBERSHIP?
10. To become a member of a Presbyterian church requires certain commitments (vows) from you. What are these commitments?
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(2)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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To be a member of a
church is to be part of the community of faith. It is to be part of a caring,
loving compassionate community where there is mutual love and respect. There is
unity because we all worship the same God and come under the same authority.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for making me a member of this church. Lord, help me to love my brothers and sisters in this church. Give me the gifts to build up this church so that it will fulfil the great role You have given this church. We thank You in Jesus’ Name.
Amen