Posts Tagged ‘Church’
It has officially begun . . .
January 14, 2011 | 
Author The Church plant that is to take place this year, Lord willing, on the East side of Raleigh (likely the Knightdale area) has officially begun. Well, it had officially begun along time ago, but now we have filed. The name that is registered with the NC Secretary of State for the church plant is Sovereign Christ Church.
We pray that even the name begins to communicate what we are about. We are called to make disciples of Jesus, our Sovereign Lord. He is the Head of the Church – no man. There is no pyramid-like hierarchy where one man presides over another. Rather, whereas some are further down the road of maturity, all are on the same path; all men and women in the fold of Christ are sheep – there is no division of class between leaders and laymen, no more than there is a division of class within the Trinity, since the images of roles, yet equality of the Triune Godhead are imprinted on the Church, as in the family; there is only One Good Shepherd, the rest are hirelings, who themselves depend on the Good Shepherd and will give account to.
We are Christ’s, not our own. We are dependent on grace. We are unworthy, but chosen. We are seeking satisfaction in Christ, in God – not in ourselves.
We are broken that this has begun. Might He be pleased in all we do, for it is unto Him that it is all done.
Pray for us, pray with us and celebrate the sovereign majesty of our Lord – may He come soon.
More to come . . .
Posted in One as Another, Paradigm Shift, Sovereign Christ Church | 
Tags: Church, Ecclesiology, Jesus Christ, Paradigm Shift, Sovereign Christ Church | 
7 Comments »
Question on Dispensationalism, Israel and Continuity, part 2
Meagan wrote:
Rob,
how would you reply to the notion that dispensationalism is a relatively new (just over 100 years old according to some) belief, and that it is not biblical in origin? Also, why is it
so important to clarify whether the Bible is referring to Jews or Christians ( or both) when it speaks of the “church”?
Lastly, is 1 Cor. 15:52 the only passage from which to build a theology of the rapture, and specifically a pre-tribulational rapture?
ANSWER:
This second one is a very important question, in my opinion. The first answer must be that it is only important if the Text seems to make it important. I think the Text does indeed do this.
From the inception of the nation of Israel through Abram of Ur, God had designed a people to be distinct. For certain purposes, God made an “us and them” situation between Israel and everyone else. This distinctive puts Israel in a unique light by definition. Now, Paul works some of that out in Romans 3 by way of a side argument. This intersects what God is doing through the Gospel more in Romans 9-11. It is this intersection that many interpret the “mystery” that Paul speaks of very often being the Church producing Gospel. This is heightened by Romans 11:25 that indicates a time and position distinction for Israel, offset from the Gentiles (everyone else).
The key is always remembering that when you say “Jew”, you must think of both the individual AND the nation. Read the rest of this entry »
A picture is definitely worth 1,000 words
I have often tried to keep and offer perspective on how we view the Church in out local fellowships by drawing attention to brothers and sisters in the Church in other parts of the world. Some of the things that we get really worked up about, don’t matter – yea are not even existent for countless Christian family in other parts of the world.
Today, I was preaching at a seminary gathering and mentioned, in a bit of tirade fashion, that clearly the church cannot be defined by bricks, mortar and buildings, lest we should have to think less of most of the Christian world that resides outside the Red-White-and-Blue.
Then a dear brother sent me these pics of an African meeting place for a local Christian fellowship. Thanks, man.
We should be so blessed . . .
