Ethos Church

Why Go to Church?

At some point along the way, we have trained Christians to be demanding consumers, not disciples. Do we really just go to church for our own benefits? Doesn’t doing so merely perpetuate the consumerist culture that has caused so many to abandon church? There must be far more beautiful and deeply meaningful rationale for going to church beyond what we can get. Right? Within the present anti-church climate, we must attempt to answer, “Why go to church?” What do you tell your friends or perhaps your parents or children who no longer go but wonder why you do? What is being proposed is not a series of reasons why you might want to go to church but why you should go to church. That’s not a bad thing … an old philosophical dictum suggests that love follows knowledge, the heart needs a vision … So what can be a vision, a reason for going to church and committing ourselves to a group of very flawed men and women and agreeing to journey with them for the rest of our lives?

Romans 12:2 (NLT) - Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Not As Easy As We Hope. More Important Than We Thought

We desperately need to recapture the communal aspect of historic Christianity. There is an entire generation deconstructing their beliefs not because those beliefs are wrong but because they never saw those beliefs actually done in a loving community of commitment and sacrifice. What we believe is not our witness to the world, it’s how we live among one another that is our witness to the world. The church was not founded to critique the surrounding culture but to form a distinct counterculture where “life to the full” is on display as an invitation to all. However, in many ways the church has mirrored the culture more than forming a counterculture.

Matthew 16:15-18 (NLT) - Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Reflection Questions:

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

When the Holy Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People

Have you ever noticed that the greatest demonstration of the Spirit of God which was also the moment that launched the Christian church, happened not while someone was preaching, but while people were praying? What does it say about the church today that the Spirit came, and that God birthed the church in a prayer meeting, and prayer meetings today are almost extinct? What do you think will happen if you begin to pray that God will reveal his power in your life and lead you toward people whom he wants you to love?

Matthew 6:9-10 (NLT) - Pray like this: Our Father in

Reflection Questions:

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Experiencing the Grace & Gifts of the Holy Spirit

There’s a crucial principle we need to understand from the outset: Spiritual gifts are not God bestowing to his people something external to himself. They are not some tangible “stuff” or “substance” separable from God. Spiritual gifts are nothing less than God himself in us, energizing our souls, imparting revelation to our minds, infusing power in our wills, and working his sovereign and gracious purposes through us.

1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT) - A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

What stands in Our Way of More?

How did Jesus do everything that Jesus did? There are two dominant theories that exist to answer that question, neither are entirely inaccurate, but one of them is most clear: by the power of the Holy Spirit. Before the Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus after His water baptism, Jesus did not do much. However, after he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, He was teaching with authority, working miracles, building disciples, and bringing Heaven to Earth. Here is some more good news; the same Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus wants to empower you. Martin Lloyd Jones said, “If we have what the first Christians had, why do we not do what they did? We must conclude that either God gave them more than He has given us, or we have failed to avail ourselves of what He has given us.” Let’s continue to lean in together.

"But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you."

John 16:7 (NLT)

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. // John 14:12

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Clearing The Path for Pentecost

“He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything. He is a person, the same as you are a person, but not material substance. He has individuality. He is one being and not another, He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person.”

- AW Tozer “The Counselor”

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. // John 14:12

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Limit of Powerlessness, the Gift of Turbulence

Following Jesus sounds great in theory, but obedience is scary. We only discover how we’re going to do what Jesus calls us to do after stepping out in obedience. That seems backwards. But when we focus on Jesus – the one calling us to obey – it gets easier because we learn to take comfort in Him.

Matthew 14:28-29 (NIV) - “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus."

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Limit of Fear, the Gift of Faith

It is safe to say that we all experience emotional fears that grip us, and that have the ability to limit our yes to God. Fear is not an uncommon or an unnatural emotion in life, and God knew that we would feel it. He tells his people, us, throughout the Bible, “Do not be afraid.” He already knew that we would feel this emotion, and He promised to come alongside us to strengthen us and to help us fight and overcome fear. In that fight against fear, however, we are called to be faithful to His promises and to cling His sovereignty. So that we can look fear in the face and say ‘yes’ to God. And as a result, we get to step into God’s call and purpose for us.

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) - "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org