Last week, we examined the nature of the church and saw that the New Testament overwhelmingly stresses the local church rather than the universal in its teachings. The Bible does speak of the church as the invisible, worldwide, universal body of all believers everywhere, but never to the exclusion of the local churches, which are the only place the exhortations, commands, and blessings can actually be lived out. We also studied several descriptions of the church (body of Christ, bride of Christ, temple of God) and saw how they apply to both the universal and the local church. This Sunday, we ask, "What is the church’s mission," and, "Why does the church exist?" Jesus succinctly gave the church’s mission right before He ascended into heaven. At the very end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus provides the church with her marching orders (Matt. 28:18-20). We are to make disciples. That is the church’s mission. Therefore, everything we do must contribute to that mission or spring from it. Sunday, we will discuss what making disciples means and how we do that as a congregation, not just individually. Making disciples is our mission, but that is not why we exist as the church. Our purpose in all things is to glorify God. God created everything, including His people, to glorify His name. To demonstrate this, we will examine several passages (Isa. 48:9-11; Eph. 1:3-14) but focus on 1 Peter 2:9-10. There, Peter calls the church God’s chosen race, His royal priesthood, and His holy nation - Then, he tells us why the church has been given these titles and responsibilities. "...that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (v.9). Finally, we will see how the church makes disciples and glorifies God as a congregation in the example of the first local church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47). I understand this is a lot of information to absorb in one sermon, and I tend to talk fast. So, below, I have given my outline and verse references (also attached to this email in printable form) if you want to take notes easily or study the passages beforehand. May God be glorified in our hearts and assembly this Sunday

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