We are reminded that Jesus’ church is to be passionate about evangelism and compassion ministries.

People these days have many ideas about the church. Most of them are misinformed. The Church is more than a building. The Church is a collection of believers who worship Jesus Christ. The Church is the foundation for all ministry, it has a structure, and all of this is explained in God’s Word. Today, we’ll do a helicopter flyover of the Church, getting of bird’s eye view of what the church is, how its composed, and what it does.

All too often we talk a good game about our beliefs but fail to live them out. Therefore, we miss out. We miss out on a satisfying relationship with our Savior, God, and Sustainer. We miss out on opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. We miss out on living our purpose.

Human beings are people of extremes. Typically, there are two extreme, unbiblical approaches to the Holy Spirit: (a) a tendency to overemphasize Him to the near exclusion of the Father and the Son; (b) the neglect any mention of Him at all for fear of being accused of being charismatic. Our aim is to embrace neither extreme but to be biblically centered and balanced in our understanding of the Holy Spirit so that we can explain His ministry to other because we understand Him ourselves.

We need to think more carefully about the doctrine of Jesus Christ (Christology). People fail to appreciate fully who Jesus is and the implications of who He is and what He has done for us. Today’s message is an overview of the person and work of Jesus Christ as God the Son, Messiah, Savior; and Resurrected Lord.

We need to think more carefully about the doctrine of man. We sometimes forget that man is spiritually dead and unwilling and unable to desire the things of God on his own. Understanding the human condition takes pressure off of you when you share the gospel with someone and they reject it. Understanding the human condition helps you to realize that feeding and clothing the poor, while nice, is of little eternal value. Understanding the human condition helps you to realize how far we have fallen and devolved and how far God was willing to go to save us from our sin. Understanding the human condition helps you to understand why there are no truly good people only sinners saved by a truly good God.

We need to think more carefully about the doctrine of God. We need to think more carefully about God. Otherwise, we can’t tell people about Him, or discuss Him with those whom we love in an intelligent or helpful manner.

Christianity has a blueprint. We come with instructions. Those instructions are found in the Bible, the basis for our faith. We cannot know God apart from His Word. Examine the blueprint; read the instructions and know God.

Some say that Roe vs. Wade and abortion represent the watershed moral event of the last 100 years. The abortion controversy is a divisive one. There are Christians and churches that say, “Can we move beyond the abortion discussion to matters of evangelism, earth care, and social justice---because like homosexuality, the Bible doesn’t really talk about abortion. The fact is many in the church have grown comfortable with abortion as a necessary evil. Christians should be uncomfortable with the killing of the unborn because they Bible speaks very clearly on the subject.

Disciple-making is the mission of the church. The believer is called to a complete commitment to the task and to develop a sense of fear and wonder before the King of the universe.