The Community of God
Our vision statement starts with these words: Our vision is to be a community…
The church is a community. The church is also a people in covenant, ekklesia, a people who sees themselves standing in relationship with the God who saves them. In a community of faith, we are all responsible for each other–for spurring each other on and encouraging each other for our whole lives–or until Jesus returns. That's why it's so important that we commit to regularly meeting with other Christians, because we cannot do this alone.
Ps 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” This unity is described as “precious oil” The Psalm ends with “For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”
Where there is unity, God pours out His blessing.
1 Peter 4:6 “Most of all, continue to show deep love for each other…”
The church as community is also the body of Christ. As His body, the church exists to do the will of Christ and to be his presence in the world. We don’t all have the same gifts or talents, but we do have the same goal – to proclaim the Good News of Jesus wherever we are called to serve him.
So, to expand on those first six words in our vision: We are a church on God’s mission, with our hearts devoted to Jesus, figuring out together what it means to love each other deeply, hoping to do so in unity and harmony! HAHA! WHAT A MOUTHFUL!
As if that is not enough, we added “where Jesus is encountered”. Whatever we do, wherever we do it, our sincerest aim is for people to encounter Jesus. Contrary to what the world may believe, God has not abandoned us. He loved us deeply enough to send his son. May God awaken in us a love for others so that we can indeed be true reflectors of Jesus, our Saviour. As you read the stories shared in this addition of our newsletter, ask God, ask Jesus “What will following you look like for me?”
Proverbs 24:3-4 “A house is built on wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables”.
Someone wrote: Families become strong, not because they have gone to school and learned the rules, but because parents pay the price to be different... because they inculcate biblical truth in everyday life, conducting their relationships in the realm of wisdom, understanding and knowledge. As we model to the children in our faith community what this community is truly like, let us remember that we are filling the rooms of this house with precious treasure.
Keep the faith.