Miracle of the Church
Have you ever considered the miracle of the church? I know that the institutional church has fallen on hard times here in America and the west is flooded with Ex-vangelicals, but let's look back throughout history. Let's look at what is happening in China, in Iran/Iraq, and around the world. Ever since our Lord ascended into heaven to take up his reign the church has lived, grown, and survived. It has been said that the existence of the church is one of the most convincing proofs for God.
This is partly the reason why Paul is so insistent on living out the unity that we have in Christ, as we will see in the first nine verses of Philippians 4 this Sunday. Paul gives application to themes that he grounded in the incarnation of Jesus Christ in chapter 2, calling out specific people and the church as a whole to agree in the Lord. Again, as with chapter 2, Paul grounds his entreaty in the finished work of Christ that both compels and propels us toward obedience.
You may also note that we are moving toward our annual congregational meeting on December 1st. While the Church (capital "C") is much bigger than our local body, each year we come together to renew our commitments to the work that God has called participants of Christ Church GR to, to one another, and to the world that we have been placed in as stewards. Make plans to join us as we carry out our part in pointing to the very existence of God.
Photo by Gracious Adebayo on Unsplash