The Church Is A New Covenant

The subject of the book, author’s purpose and intended audience: The history of Christian thought in the modern era was a quest of today’s Christian. Faith in a multi-denominational society decreases a sense of belonging. Since the Enlightenment some

The beginning of church is said to have risen from the resurrection of Jesus. In fact after the Pentecost, the disciples were celebrating the blessing given to Moses at Mount Sinai in which he experienced the presence of God. After this experience, the disciples were believed to be bold, understanding and Courageous. These characteristics till this day are still celebrated on Pentecost Sunday and are used for the sacrament of Confirmation, which is receiving the responsibility of a Christian and accepting the Holy Spirit. Church has been the backbone of people's faith. It has given them a comforting home to pray and be one with God. Today, however, more people are practicing faith outside the church. The majority of followers believe in God and life after death, however, many have lack of interest in the church. Church must be looked as a community of disciples. The book uses a suggestion from a Roman Catholic theologian Avery Dulles. He suggests, "that most appropriate image of the church for our times is the church as a community of disciples"(pp. 157). I totally agree with his suggestion. In order for Christians to find fulfillment in ones faith, one must help others understand their faith. We need to be grounded in grace; by being a Christian community your focus on believing is responding freely to a personal call and

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

For the Life of the World authored by Fr. Alexander Schmemann an Orthodox priest was originally intended as a “study guide” in the 1970’s for students preparing themselves for Missionary work, giving them a “world view”, helping to speak about Christian view points along with an approach to how they coalesce through the eyes of the Orthodox Church. A key theme Fr. Schmemann discussed is Secularism, which he believes developed from our progressive alienation of the Christian culture. Additionally, he presents his interpretation of the transforming biblical themes of creation, fall, and redemption through a sacramental understanding. Fr. Schmemann’s experiences within the Orthodox Church liturgy reveal unity in the meanings of these three themes. It is through these understandings he believes can effectively offset the disastrous effects of secularism while revitalizing the sacramental understanding of the world.

Norris and Speers’ journey sent them out around the US in search for five different churches that undoubtedly worship differently but at the same time follow the universal Christian belief of the one true God. The goal of their expedition was to set out to explore the amount of politics that are found in many congregations. Out of these five distinguished churches, Norris and Speers’ focused on analyzing the congregation’s worship tactics, along with their leaders and mission of the church.

Church buildings, musical instruments, ministers’ attire, choir robes, hymns, names of converts, schools and curriculums had Americans’ religious, cultural, and economic trademark. The Christianity that addressed issues of life in the American cultural context was transplanted in different parts of the world. Unlike the transition of the Hebraic-Christianity from the Jewish culture to the Gentile world in the first century, which developed its own unique theological, cultural, and leadership identity in a short period of time, the phenomenal growth of Christianity in the majority world has been largely influenced by the dominance of American Christianity. As the result, we have Christian faith that is not well anchored on local theology. And to most of the churches in the majority world, up until recently,

In the first section, we deal with the biblical foundation of church growth, health, and evangelism. In details, he gives three main reasons why we have church in the world. Our first responsibility as a church is to glorify God’s name.

The questions, “what does it suggest in saying that this new solidarity, effected by Christ, is what we call “the Church,” and what does this imply concerning the importance of visible communion as a visible solidarity among those renewed in Christ?” become answerable by revisiting and binding together the three original questions presented at the start of the course. These original questions, “Who is Israel,” “Who is Jesus,” and “Who is the church,” demonstrate a synchronistic relationship with each other. By reviewing them and, illustrating their connectivity we can begin to see how one can draw inferences regarding the new visual solidarity manifested in the church.

New Covenant: I – New Testament A: A better Covenant 1.Hebrews 8:1-6 a: We see how Jesus Christ has become our High Priest b: Every High Priest gives both gifts (Holy Spirit) and Sacrifices c: All other priest and preachers serve as copies of Heavenly things B: A New Covenant 1.Hebrews 8:7-13 a: The first covenant was not faultless b: The first has become obsolete and vanishing away C: New Covenant is the basis of Ministry 1.2 Cor 3:6-18 a: We are ministers of the New Covenant, made sufficient by the Spirit b: We see that the commandments are glorious, so how much more is the ministry of the Spirit D: Christ is the Theme of Ministry 1.2 Cor 4:1-7 a: Now that we have this new ministry we have received mercy so we do not lose heart b: We see

Many people today, especially from emerging generations don’t necessarily resonate with a church or organized Christianity. Most are leaving their church and some were probably not even a part of one to begin with. Sometimes this may be due to the misperceptions about the Christian church and sometimes they have been taught on a very strict basis that they simply rebel against the church. However, often many of these people are still spiritually open and are engaged in having a relationship with Jesus and Him alone. In “They Like Jesus but not the Church” six of the most common misperceptions and misunderstandings that the emerging generations have about the church and Christianity are discussed and explored. The resources are based on conversations

For that we read Matthew 28:19-20, the last words Jesus spoke to his followers: "'Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you...'" Jesus gave his followers a mission, which preceded the formation of the Church. The formation of the Church would evolve later, as we read about in the Acts of the Apostles. The mission, given by Christ, preceded the Church, and the Church emerged from that mission.

Gilbert Bilezikian gives four areas that need to be addressed when administering the church here on earth, 1. A shared faith, 2. A share purpose, 3. A shared lifestyle and 4. A shared authority (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195-197). A shared faith is noted in Ephesians 4:5 where God’s people are told to have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (NIV). Gilbert tells his readers, “every church needs to formuloate clearly its understanding of the Christian faith” ( (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195). With this written statement everyone within the church will have a common ground from which to govern, with all people knowing what the belief of that church is.

In the 21st century many different issues are affecting each and every one of us in one way or another. Whether it be from the simplest of things or the most complicated the bottom line is the world is changing. While the world is changing many of us carry on and sometimes not even notice it, but more specifically drastic change has been hitting the Christian faith. When Christianity was founded in Jerusalem it had a set of specific beliefs that everyone was supposed to follow, however in today’s status quo the change in Christianity has all too much slowly tearing Christianity apart. Nonetheless the challenges of change and modernity to Christian belief and practice are the different types of Christianity, absence of unity, and the lack of cultural significance.

In his hardback titled The Church: Contours of Christian Theology, Edmund P. Clowney writes a systematic presentation about concerning the doctrine of the church. In chapter eight of his book, he describes the Marks of the Church. Clowney writes about the marks of a true church of Christ, which include the true preaching of the Word of God; the proper observation of the sacraments; and the faithful exercise of church discipline.

The Church and the Kingdom are not identical terms in one sense, that is the - Kingdom is the visible reign and government of Jesus Christ on earth. Augustus gives definition of the Church in