First Principles: The Centrality of Christ The Community of Christ

“For Baptists the church is a community of believers gathered together out of the world, who have committed themselves to Christ and to one another.” Paul Beasley-Murray

The Community of Christ in Matthews Gospel Matt Jesus calls individuals Matt Jesus teaches his disciples within a large crowd setting Matt John’s disciples recognise a distinct group identity

Matt 10 Jesus sends the disciples out together Matt First mention of ‘Church’ immediately after Peter’s confession of Christ The Community of Christ in Matthews Gospel

Matt 18: ‘Horizontal’ attitudes (vs 1-5) Flock & individual (vs 10-14) Caring if it goes wrong (vs 15-20) Forgiveness in the family (vs 21-35)

The Community of Christ So what can we learn?

The Community of Christ So what can we learn? Community is God’s idea

The Community of Christ So what can we learn? Community is God’s idea We can ‘walk together and watch over each other’

The Community of Christ So what can we learn? Community is God’s idea We can ‘walk together and watch over each other’ We are not perfect

The Community of Christ So what can we learn? Community is God’s idea We can ‘walk together and watch over each other’ We are not perfect We can accomplish more together

The Community of Christ So what can we learn? Community is God’s idea We can ‘walk together and watch over each other’ We are not perfect We can accomplish more together BUT

The Community of Christ Jesus Christ must be central or it is not Church