Distorted Images

Passion  What’s my passion? Family Faith Attitudes and Motivations

The Church Psalm 61:9 (TNIV) “Zeal for Your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult You fall on me”  Forgiven  Redeemed  Restored  Empowered

Stereo-typical Views  Inept  Bigoted  Out-moded  Fanatical  Liberal  Right wing

Four Images “The local church is the hope of the world” – Bill Hybels Jesus is the hope of the world – the local church is means by which Jesus is expressed to the world enabling people to find hope

Four Images  Building  Body  Bride  Army

Building “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” 1Peter 2:5 (TNIV)  Growing  Linked together  Foundations  Comfort, warmth, protection  Investment How is the building growing?

Body “ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5 (TNIV)  Everyone needed  Disabled?  Inferior – feel we don’t belong  Superior – put people off  Value diversity

Body “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” Ephesians 5:21 (TNIV) “No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body” Ephesians 5: (NLT)

Bride John Newton “Jesus my Shepherd, Brother, Friend, My Prophet, Priest and King” “Jesus my Shepherd, Husband, Friend…”

Bride “Your Maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is his name” - Isaiah 54:5 (TNIV) “I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord” - Hosea 2:19-20 (NLT) John the Baptist & Jesus “For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God Himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband – Christ” - 2Corinthians 11:2 (NLT)

Bride “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:26-28 (TNIV)

Bride “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church” Ephesians 5:25-27 & 32 (TNIV)

Army “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” - Ephesians 6:12 (NIVUK) “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” - Colossians 2:8 (NLT) - Colossians 2:8 (NLT)

Army “ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ ” - 2Corinthians 10:3-5 (TNIV) - 2Corinthians 10:3-5 (TNIV)

Points to Ponder “Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard, and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith in the blood of Jesus' death” - Romans 3:23-25 (NCV) - Romans 3:23-25 (NCV)

Points to Ponder “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first ” - Revelation 2:4-5 (NLT) - Revelation 2:4-5 (NLT)