We've got to the 4rd 'mark of the church' - Discipline! Does this prompt the image of an ancient Headmaster, cane in hand? But discipline is also what characterizes a successful army marching into battle, ordered and ready for whatever the enemy will throw at it. And the church is certainly in a battle against evil. Are you disciplined enough to face him and to overcome as you follow General Jesus Christ?

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Here's the 3rd 'mark of the church' - Communion a.k.a. The Lord's Supper. We've never taken a meal with the King of England (nor any other kings on earth) but today's part of the Bible tells us that Jesus' followers are under royal command to take regular meals with the King of the Universe - wow! What an amazing privilege ... and even more so when we discover how excited Jesus is about us sharing a meal with him. Are you hungry?

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Now it's the 2nd 'mark of the church' - Baptism. Jesus was baptized and he told his disciples to make more disciples who should be baptized. Have you been baptized? If not, is it time to make a splash?

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Following last week's introduction comes this 'mark of the church' - the preaching of God's word. It's the major role of the church, commissioned by Jesus Christ. God's word will always be a challenge to every human because it points to perfection himself and exposes all our defects. That's the reason that preachers have so often been resisted, even persecuted - but the preaching of God's word was never more critical than it is now. We need to hear it, too!

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For the next few weeks we're taking a break from Luke and looking at what makes a church a church. What are the distinguishing features (and we don't me a steeple!). Is a church the name we give to a religious social club - and, if not, what is a church? Think of your own answer then watch and see if you got it right.

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Most people spend a large proportion of their time thinking about how they appear to others. Maybe they employ careful make-up. Maybe they try to build a good reputation. Some even try to impress God with carefully considered religious and charitable behaviour. Sometimes what you see is what you get. But sometimes it's a mirage. But God sees deeper, much deeper. He sees the real you and the real me. Ouch! In today's talk we discover Jesus uncovering the real centres of some of the people he met. And his conclusion? ...... Woe!

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This week, in Dr Luke's account of the life of Jesus Christ we find Jesus being accused. His enemies said he was making out he had the power of God while, in reality, he was in the grip of Satan. But Jesus exposes their twisted logic and, in so doing, shows us all that's there no middle ground - either you and I are full-on followers of Jesus or we're full-on his enemies. And everyone who doesn't respond to God's teaching is in that second of those two groups.

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Our next look into Dr Luke's account of the life of Jesus Christ takes us to one of his most well-known quotes - the so-called "Lord's Prayer". We may recite it in a church service but Jesus didn't intend it as a bit of liturgy (or worse, a garbled formulaic recital). He intended it as a User Manual - How to Pray. Maybe our prayers would be better if only we'd follow this manual - after all, God the Son wrote it.

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Today a one-off! It's the start of SBC's Week-of-Prayer so we're 'focussing on prayer' (or 'focusing on prayer' if you have a less UK English spelling!). But whether you're a 'Queen's English' speller or not, prayer is the basis of all communication between humans and their God. And what a God we se in Psalm 8 - how majestic, yet One we can speak to because he had declared us to be those he has made supreme over all of his creation.

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In this series of talks from Luke's account of the life of Jesus, we see Jesus teaching his followers (his disciples) what it really means to be such a follower. Today Luke records 2 events by which Jesus made his point - first, an example where the unlikeliest person showed Christ-like love and the second where one of Jesus' most devoted followers didn't. How do you match up?

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