2. A Christ Centered Church 1 Peter 2:9

3. Promised To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph. 3:10-11)

4. Prophesied And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever (Daniel 2:44)

5. Christ is the head of the church And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all (Eph. 1:22-23)

6. Christ is the Savior of the body For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body (Eph. 5:23)

7. Jesus and the church are interchangeable And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles (Acts 8:1) And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (Acts 9:1)

8. Not only is Christ the center of the Bible, but He is also the center of the church It ought to be our utmost desire to be a Christ centered church Here is how this is accomplished We must be…

9. …A Converted Church Many people are convinced, but are they converted? We must be converted to Christ (not elders, deacons, preacher, et al) Cf. Matt. 18:3; Acts 3:19

10. …A Convicted Church The pulse of a local church must beat in unison We must have the “same mind and same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10) We must also be “likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Phil. 2:2)

11. …A Confident Church Those who obey Jesus and live by His word are RIGHT! Strengthened through faith in Jesus (1 Peter 5:10) There is no shame in obeying, loving, defending, studying and proclaiming the word of God (Rom. 1:16) Our confidence ought to be rock solid (Rom. 8:38-39)

12. …A Cooperating Church The letter “I” does not appear in the word TEAM or in CHURCH We are part of a body that is to work together (1 Cor. 12:12-27) All things are given so we can work together (Eph. 4:11-16)

13. …A Cherished Church God loves us so much He gave His Son for us (Jn. 3:16) He does not want any to perish (2 Peter 3:9); but all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) Salvation is available to all (Acts 2:39)

14. Jesus is the author of salvation to all who obey Him (Heb. 5:9) Believe in Jesus (Jn. 8:24) Repent of sins (Lk. 13:3) Confess Jesus (Matt. 10:32) Be Baptized (Mk. 16:16)