WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?
January 6 & 7, 2024 // Pastor Mike Berry
1. THE CHURCH IS THE
“All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”
Ephesians 1:20–23, MSG
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Matthew 16:18, ESV
“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
Acts 20:28, ESV
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:4–5, NIV
“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:40, NIV
2. THE CHURCH IS WHERE WE
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Ephesians 4:15–16, NIV
3. THE CHURCH IS WHERE WE LEARN HOW TO
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! “
2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8, NIV
4. THE CHURCH IS WHERE WE LEARN HOW TO HAVE A
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10 NKJ
5. THE CHURCH IS WHERE WE ARE
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—”
Ephesians 1:3–5, NIV
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17, NIV
“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19, NIV
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:42–47, NIV
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!…”
Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV
“However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—”
1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV
Action Steps: How can you do a better job of committing to and being the Church this year? Where and how have you experienced God? How would you like to grow this year? How has God given you a better life and what would you like to change this year? Make a commitment to pray and study God’s word daily in 2024.