Week 3: In But Not Of: Exploring The Relevance Of The Church In A World Of Options

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2 Week 1: Doubt? An Internal Struggle Week 2: What Does Christian Community Really Mean? Week 3: In But Not Of: Exploring The Relevance Of The Church In A World Of Options Week 4: Is The Church Having Any Impact On Society? Week 5: How Do I Live In A Hypersexualized World?

3 Week 3: In But Not Of: Exploring the Relevance of the Church in a World of Options

4 Millennials & Religion More likely to have a do-it-yourself attitude toward religion Evidence of a lack of trust in institutions from the outset Spiritual experiences apart from church remain valuable Pew Research, Michael Hout (NYU)

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7 What relevance does the church hold for us and for the world in which we live?

8 John 17: I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

9 John 17: I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

10 John 17: My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one 23 I in them and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

11 John 17: My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one 23 I in them and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

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13 Living for Christ in a pluralist and secularist world Proclaim God as the author of love (1 John 4:19) Confess that we cannot love God without obeying his commands (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-6) Order your life according to God s commands (Matthew 22:37-40) Love God above all else Love your neighbor as yourself Let God s love be its own witness (1 Peter 2:11-12)

14 Is the World Really that Bad? Sin is a worldly problem (Romans 8:20-21, cf. Genesis 3:14-19) God s love distinguishes his children from the world and its loves (1 John (1 John 2:15-17, 3:10-16, 4:7-21) Worldly good done at the exclusion of God cannot avoid sin (John 15:5-8)

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16 A Recipe for Relevance Renew our hearts and minds (Phil. 2:5; Col. 3:1-4) Broaden our understanding of worship (Romans 12:1-2; Eph. 4:1) Be the church (Gal. 5:22-26; 1 Peter 2:9) Clothe ourselves in Christ (Romans 13:14, Gal. 3:26-27) Take up our vocation/s (1 Cor.12-13; 2 Cor. 5:16-21)

17 Ephesians 3:7-12 7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

18 Ephesians 3: His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

19 1 John 4: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

20 1 John 4: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

21 What makes faith and the church relevant to every generation? The love of God

22 Semper reformanda