Popular misconceptions:

• Church = services
• Church = buildings

• Friends with Jesus
• Friends with one another (Hebrews 10:25)
• Greek word koinonia = fellowship

• God as our Father (John 1:12)
• Brothers and sisters to each other (1 John 4:19 – 5:1)
• Importance of unity
• Jesus prayed “... that they may be one.” (John 17:11)

Becoming a Christian involves:

• Something God does—He gives you the Holy Spirit
• Something you do—you repent and believe
• Something the church does—baptism

Baptism is the visible mark of being a member of the church.

Baptism signifies:

• Cleansing from sin (1 Corinthians 6:11)
• Dying and rising with Christ (Romans 6:3–5; Colossians 2:12)

Old Testament—physical temple was God’s home

New Testament—a building made up of people (Ephesians 2:21–22)

• Jesus as the cornerstone (v.20)
• Indwelt by God’s Spirit (v.21) “a holy temple”
• A place where people are loved, accepted, and welcomed home

• We are the body of Christ through whom the world will see Jesus. (v.27)
• Universal church (Ephesians 3:10,21; 5:23,25)
• Unity (John 17:20–21)
• Diversity (Ephesians 4:7–11)
• Mutual dependence (vv.14–26)

• Jesus loves the church; Jesus loves you. (v.25)
• The church should be famous for its love.

“You can do what I cannot do, I can do what you cannot do; together we can do great things.”

— Mother Teresa

1. What did you think or feel as you listened to the talk?
2. Are there any questions from the session last week, where we talked about healing and took time to pray for each other?
3. How has your life changed over the past 11 weeks?

Questions of Life by Nicky Gumbel