Welcome to United Church 101
Connecting with God and each other
We’re glad you’ve chosen to find out more about United Church! This class is the basic introduction to our church family. Since we have members from many different church backgrounds as well as no church background, this class was designed to clearly explain who and what our church is.
Ephesians 2:19 You are a member of God’s very own family and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.
Key Truths:
- The church is a
- God expects me to be a
Goal: I will commit myself to Christ and to the United Church family.
What makes United Church a family?
- Our Salvation
- Our Vision
- Our Strategy
- Our Structure
Salvation
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN?
Everybody wants to be happy.
People try, primarily, three different ways:
1. Acquiring possessions
2. Experiencing pleasure
3. Gaining prestige and power
Real happiness comes from understanding my purpose.
WHY AM I HERE?
- God made me to
Jeremiah 31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Ephesians 1:4-5 Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be His through our union with Christ because of His love. God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would make us His children. This was God’s pleasure and purpose.
We were created to
Genesis 1:27-28 So God created human beings, making them in His image. He blessed them and said “Live over the earth and bring it under control. I am putting you in charge.”
1 Timothy 6:17 God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
John 10:10 I have come in order that you might have life, life in all its fullness.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Man has a natural desire to be in control and to ignore God’s principles for living.
The Bible calls this attitude: sin.
Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray and each of us have turned to his own way.
John 1:8 If we say we never sin, we’re only fooling ourselves and we refuse to accept the truth.
Isaiah 59:2 The trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God.
Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of God’s glorious ideal.
John 14:6 I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.
Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO?
1.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong.
2.
Romans 10:9 If you confess that Jesus is your Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
3.
Ephesians 2:8-9 It is by grace you are saved through faith and it is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works so one could boast.
4.
Prayer of Commitment:
“Dear Jesus, Thank you for making me and loving me even when I’ve ignored You and gone my own way. I realize I need You in my life and I’m sorry for my sins. I ask You to forgive me. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Please help me to understand it more. As much as I know how, I want to follow You from now on. Please come into my life and make me a new person inside. I accept Your gift of salvation. Please help me to grow as a Christian. Amen.”
HE GAVE THE CHURCH TWO VISIBLE SYMBOLS CALLED ORDINANCES.
1. Baptism
2. The Lord’s Supper
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING BAPTIZED
Why should I be baptized?
1.To follow the example set by
Mark 1:9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river.
2.Because Christ
Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus said, ‘Go then to all people and make them my disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.’
3.It demonstrates that I’m really a
Acts 18:8 Many of the people who heard Him believed and were baptized.
John 2:3 We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands.
Why should I be baptized by immersion?
1.Because
Matthew 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.
2.Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion.
Acts 8:38-39 *Then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him. Then they came up out of the water. *
3.The word “baptize” means to “dip
4.It best symbolizes a burial and resurrection.
Who should be baptized?
Every person who has
Acts 2:41 Those who believed and accepted His message were baptized. Acts 8:13 - Simon himself believed and was baptized.
Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good News and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
At United Church, baptism is a membership requirement.
THE MEANING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
What is the Lord’s Supper?
1.It is a
1 Corinthians 11:23 *…the Lord Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed, took bread and broke it. *
2.It is a reminder.
1 Corinthians 11:24 And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
3.It is a
1 Corinthians 11:25 In the same way, He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; drink it to remember Me.”
4.It’s a statement of faith.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For whenever you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes back.
Who should take the Lord’s Supper?
Only those who are already
1 Corinthians 11:29 For anyone who eats or drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment upon himself.