Victory Groups

Materials App

Church Government

Weeks 14 to 19

What Is the Church?

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “church”? Why? • What is one person or topic you would like to understand more? What baffles you about this? • Who is the geekiest person you know? What topics does he or she talk to you about? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦; 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮:𝟵–𝟭𝟬 For many Christians, understanding the theology of the Church doesn’t seem that important. Even if church is a regular part of our lives, there is much to learn about it. The Church: • is the people of God, not a building • is both local and universal • is both visible and invisible • is called out in order to be sent out • gathers in order to scatter • is an organism more than an organization As it relates to the Trinity, the Church is called the people of God, the body of Christ, and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. There are many ways to describe the Church, and each one reveals how the Church lies at the center of God’s eternal purposes. This means that the Church is not a divine afterthought or an accident of history. It is important because Christ founded it (Matthew 16:18), purchased it with His own blood (Acts 20:28), and intimately identifies Himself with it (Acts 9:4). Matthew 16:18 is the first place in the New Testament where the word translated as “church” is used. It came from the compound Greek word 𝘦𝘬𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢: 𝘦𝘬 means “out”; 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘰 means “to call.” Taken together, 𝘦𝘬𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢 means a group of people called out and assembled for a specific purpose. 𝘌𝘬𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢 was normally used to refer to political assemblies in Athens. In the New Testament, it has a more sacred application, referring to those whom God has called out of sin into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, and who have become 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 with God’s people (Ephesians 2:19). This word is also applied to people who physically gather to worship and serve the Lord. The Church is a reflection of the character of God. The Nicene Creed of AD 381 affirms that Christians believe in the one, holy, universal, and apostolic Church as a reflection of God’s unity, holiness, immensity, eternality, and truthfulness. In this lesson, we will look more closely into the attributes of the Church. 𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵—𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭—𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟰–𝟲 Because God is one, the Church is one and is to be one. Unity is a major attribute of the Church and a sign for the world, reflecting the unity of the triune God. This unity is not always visible at the organizational level. Local churches obviously have different styles, methods, and structures. Unity refers to the spiritual reality consisting of the fellowship of all true believers sharing in the same baptism, partaking of the same supper, and looking forward to sharing one heavenly city. This is why divisions and quarrels are not supposed to be normal in the church. How important is it for 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 to work together? What happens when it doesn’t? 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆. . . . 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟱:𝟮𝟱–𝟮𝟳 Because God is holy, the Church is holy and is to be holy. This doesn’t mean that the Church has attained ethically perfect holiness right now. God is still in the process of smoothing out the wrinkles and spots of His people. The holiness of the Church is the result of Christ’s holiness and the progressive work of the Holy Spirit. The Church is holy because God has set it apart from the world for His service. According to this passage, how did Christ make the Church holy? 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹. “𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 . . .” 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟱:𝟵 The Church is universal in that it stretches across space and time. In both the Old and New Testaments, God is called the “Lord of all the earth” and “King of the Ages.” Although the universality of the Church is not explicitly spelled out in the New Testament, the scenes of the future detailed in the book of Revelation show that the Church is composed of people from all tribes, languages, peoples, and nations. While we are all part of different local churches, we belong to the universal Church. Why is it important for believers to understand this? 𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 . . . 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟭𝟵–𝟮𝟬 Because the Church is founded on and is faithful to the word of God given through the apostles, the Church is apostolic and is to be apostolic. The word “apostolic” is important. It comes from “apostle,” a messenger or one who is sent, and refers to at least two things: apostolic message and apostolic mission. First, the Church must remain faithful to the gospel message Jesus entrusted to the apostles, that they in turn gave us through the Holy Scriptures (John 17:20; 2 Timothy 2:1–2). Second, the Church must always send out people to reach those who do not yet know Jesus (Acts 1:8). Why is it important that the Church both gathers and scatters? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • Why do you think we should grow in our understanding of the Church? How does your perspective need to be aligned with God’s word? • Of the attributes of the Church, which caught your attention the most? What did you learn and how will you apply it in your life? • What is the role of the Church as it relates to the rest of the world? What do you think the Church should do? As part of the Church, what are you willing to do? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for the Church. Thank God for placing you in a local church. • Pray for those in your church community. Speak a blessing over them. • Pray for those in your household or group of friends who are not yet part of the Church. Pray that they would know Christ and fulfill His purpose for their lives.

The Purpose of the Church

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • Do you like speaking in public? Why or why not? • Which group of friends do you rely on regularly? What brings you together? • Are you musically inclined? Tell us what type of music you like. 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 “𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟭𝟲:𝟭𝟴 What is the purpose of the Church? The Church exists to worship God, make disciples, preach the gospel, and be socially responsible. 𝟭. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗚𝗼𝗱. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘐 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟭:𝟯𝟲–𝟭𝟮:𝟭 The one grand purpose of the Church, the reason the Church meets together in the first place, is for the glory of God. As believers, we worship God by offering our whole selves as living sacrifices to Him. But worship is not restricted to worship services. It is about glorifying God in every single thing we do. How does this play out in your own life outside the worship service? 𝟮. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀. “𝘎𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟮𝟴:𝟭𝟵–𝟮𝟬 Jesus commanded His disciples to 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴. This means helping others to know and follow Jesus. Before sending them out, the church is to nurture believers and build them up to maturity in the faith. Like the disciples, as people come to know Christ, they grow in their faith and in turn tell others about Him. The goal is not just for people to come to the saving knowledge of Christ. It is to 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 (Colossians 1:28). Why is nurturing and equipping believers important in order for us to disciple all nations? 𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟭𝟲 When the people of God have been discipled and nurtured, they in turn make the gospel of Christ known to others. This evangelistic work is our primary ministry to the world. We are called to preach the gospel with boldness and urgency. How do you think Paul came to a point where he was 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭? How did you learn to preach the gospel confidently? 𝟰. 𝗕𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝟭 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟯:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟴 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟭𝟬 The Church is called to be socially responsible. While the New Testament emphasis is on meeting the material needs of those who are part of the church (Acts 11:29; 2 Corinthians 8:4), we are to help and serve unbelievers so that they may come to know Christ. This means caring for the poor and needy in the name of the Lord. Even if they do not respond with gratitude or choose to receive Christ into their hearts, we are supposed to minister God’s love to them. According to 1 John 3:18, how are we supposed to love others? Which of the four is most important? Since all these are commanded by God in Scripture, we must do them. If we only focus on one or two, we neglect some elements that are crucial to the life of the church. If, for example, we overemphasize worship, we might have a church full of people who are highly spiritual but don’t know how to love their neighbors. If we overemphasize preaching the gospel, we might not be able to help believers mature in their faith. If we overemphasize social responsibility, we might lose sight of the spiritual nature of our ministry. 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • Are you a disciple of Christ? How can you grow in your faith and relationship with God every day? • What is the purpose of the Church? How does this relate to you? What is your role as a part of the Church? • Are you making disciples? Who can you help follow Jesus? What can you do differently starting this week? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for the opportunity to worship Him as a church every week. Pray that you would honor Him every day. • Pray that the Church would fulfill its purpose in Christ. Pray for your local church to grow and continue to make disciples. • Pray that your local church would be socially responsible and reach the world.

The Role of Church Leaders

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • What do you do to stay focused on a task? Recall an instance explaining this. • Recall a school play or activity you were given a special role in. What happened? • In your experience, what are people’s expectations of a leader? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟭𝟰:𝟮𝟯 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯.” . . . 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 . . . 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟴, 𝟭𝟭–𝟭𝟮 God has designed that every local church should be led or governed by spiritual leaders, particularly pastors. The New Testament uses several terms to refer to them, such as “elders,” “shepherds,” and “overseers.” Paul says in Ephesians that these leaders are 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 Christ gave to people, not just to the church. This is probably because when church leaders perform their God-ordained roles well, the church and all of society are blessed. However, many people have a misunderstanding of church leaders’ roles. Many call these leaders “ministers,” believing that doing the work of the ministry is mainly a pastor’s job. In reality, these responsibilities belong to every member of the church: preaching the gospel, praying for people, helping others follow Jesus, visiting the sick, and meeting members’ needs. So when pastors do not meet these perceived expectations, it can result in disillusionment and disappointment in the church. And when pastors try to live up to roles that God has not planned for them, it can lead to burnout. Today, we will look at what the Bible says about the God-given role of pastors. 𝟭. 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵. 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥: 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺; 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟱:𝟭–𝟯 “𝘗𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮𝟬:𝟮𝟴–𝟯𝟬 Pastors and church leaders are called to take care of God’s flock, the church, by leading it and overseeing all the affairs concerning it. They are called by God to know the church’s condition, oversee the care and growth of the members, and lead and direct the flock towards its God-given purpose. This also involves diligently watching for dangers that could harm church members, such as teachers of false doctrines and others who could take advantage of the members for selfish gain. Overseeing the church does not mean that the pastors and church leaders have to do everything, but that they make sure everything gets done. Because the Church is so precious to God and Jesus purchased it with His own blood, these all should be done with careful diligence. How have you seen the pastors in your church lead and oversee? 𝟮. 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. . . . 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟲:𝟮, 𝟰 Since Jesus is the true head of the Church, pastors and church leaders should devote themselves to prayer. It is in prayer that they are spiritually nourished to do what God has called them to do. They also receive God’s guidance through prayer. If Jesus, the Son of God Himself, devoted time to prayer, how much more should human beings commune with God? How do you think prayer will strengthen pastors and church leaders to oversee the church and disciple the nations? 𝟯. 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆, 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. . . . 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟲:𝟮, 𝟰 . . . 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥; 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯; 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘬𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟰:𝟮 The Bible is God’s word in written form and is useful for all matters of faith and practice. This is how God primarily communicates with His people. Therefore, pastors and church leaders should devote their time to study, preach, and teach God’s word. If the church is to be strong and healthy enough to disciple a nation, feeding the flock is of utmost importance. The accurate preaching and teaching of God’s word provides spiritual nourishment and guidance to the church. This will help members grow and mature, serve in society, and be who God has called them to be. How have pastors and church leaders helped you grow in your understanding and appreciation of God’s word? 𝟰. 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 . . . 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟭𝟭–𝟭𝟮 The Church is the body of Christ. Imagine what a human body would look like if a majority of its parts were not functional. This is a picture of the Church when only the pastors are viewed as ministers. Pastors are to 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱 church members to do 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, not do every work of ministry themselves. They are not the star players of a team; they are playing coaches—in the game while directing the team. When pastors focus on equipping church members and the members stop relying on pastors to do all the work of ministry, the church is built up. They will be equipped to minister to one another and advance God’s kingdom in every sphere of society. How have the pastors in your local church equipped you to do the work of ministry? How is this still ongoing? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • How would you explain the role of pastors and leaders in the Church to someone who isn’t part of it yet? What did you learn from today’s lesson and how do you think this applies to your life? • What mindset or belief do you have of pastors and church leaders that needs to be aligned with God’s word? What does the Bible say about it? • Do you have a relative or friend who may have turned away from God because of the church? What can you do for this person this week? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for His word that guides us. Thank Him also for the spiritual leaders He has appointed in your church. • Pray for your pastors and leaders. Pray that they would lead with wisdom and humility, devoting themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. Speak a blessing over their families and households. • Pray for the church to be equipped to minister and advance God’s kingdom. Ask God for boldness and strength to continue the work of ministry in your sphere of society.

Church Governmental Authority

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • What comes to mind when you think of a “servant”? Why? • What is something you are very particular about? Recall an instance explaining this. • In your area of expertise (in your profession, homemaking, or even school), who is the most qualified? What qualifies him or her? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 “𝘗𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮𝟬:𝟮𝟴 God values the Church so much that He appointed leaders and gave them governmental oversight to care for the Church. However, because of the lack of understanding of some about the nature and extent of the authority given to spiritual leaders, there have been misuses and abuses. Some have made use of worldly principles of authority instead of God-ordained ones. This has tainted the image of the Church in some areas of society, which in turn has been a hindrance in fulfilling Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations. In this lesson, we will examine some biblical truths about the authority given to church leaders. When these truths are properly understood and applied, the Church will be strong and steadfast in fulfilling its mission, and church members will learn to use these same principles in their spheres of society. 𝟭. 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟭𝟴 “𝘗𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮𝟬:𝟮𝟴 All authority ultimately belongs to God. Because He instituted church leaders and delegated authority to them, pastors and church leaders oversee churches as an extension of God’s authority. Pastors and church leaders are not the true heads of the church; Christ is. Therefore, the pastoral office should be respected by both the pastors and members. Their leadership and authority are not absolute and are limited to the extent that they reflect Christ’s will and ways. Church members are not obligated to follow when their church leaders tell them to do things contrary to God’s word. When pastors preach and teach according to God’s word, their words carry the authority of Christ—as if Christ Himself were saying these words. If the pastors’ words reflect God’s word, how should we respond? 𝟮. 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺: 𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳-𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩? 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭. 𝟭 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟯:𝟭–𝟳 The Bible says that aspiring to serve as an overseer or pastor of the church is 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦. However, such governmental authority should only be conferred upon those who meet the God-given character, maturity, and relational qualifications. They must also have a proven track record in managing their own families well before they can care for God’s church. These qualifications have even more weight than their qualification of being 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩. Based on the passage above, why do you think this is so? Since no one is perfect and completely Christlike, what does it mean for an overseer to be 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩? 𝟯. 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗽. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝟮 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟭𝟬 𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥: 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺; 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟱:𝟭–𝟯 The purpose of church governmental authority as indicated in these passages helps us determine its limits. It is to be used for building up, not tearing down or shameful personal gain. However, the use of this authority is not always pleasant. Paul wrote about the possibility of his 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦 use of authority to discipline certain church members (2 Corinthians 13:10). Even when authority is used for discipline, it should be 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. Recall an instance when your pastors or church leaders sacrificed their time or resources to serve you. Share of a time when you were corrected but also built up in the process. 𝟰. 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺.” 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝟭𝟬:𝟰𝟮–𝟰𝟱 The admonition of the apostles Paul and Peter in 2 Corinthians 13:10 and 1 Peter 5:1–3 reflects Jesus’ teaching in Mark 10. When James and John were seeking positions of authority in God’s kingdom, Jesus contrasted how ungodly leaders use their position and power to compel others to obey them. He calls this “lording it over” people. In His kingdom, this is not how things work. Those who lead should serve and set a godly example. Jesus demonstrated this through His life and sacrificial death. He gave His own life to serve others, instead of seeking to be served. In the same way, church leaders today are to lead by example. They should not use their titles or positions of authority to compel others to follow their leadership. How is this exemplified in 1 Corinthians 11:1? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • How did this lesson help you understand church governmental authority? How do you think this will affect your life? In what area do you need to think differently and adjust? • How does church governmental authority apply in your local church setting? What is one thing you can do this week to understand it better? • What is your response to the church leaders God has placed in your life and community? How can you apply what you learned? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for the authority He instituted for His people. Thank Him for the leaders in your local church. • Pray for church leaders to remain faithful to God’s call in their lives and live above reproach. Pray for them to serve and lead by example. • Pray for more pastors and leaders who will also be raised to uphold the highest standards of integrity.

Responding to Church Leadership

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • Recall a recent disagreement you had with a friend. What happened? • When celebrating birthdays or special occasions, what is a tradition you have with family members or friends? How do you show the person you value him or her? • How do you know you trust a person? Recall an instance explaining this. 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘖𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝗛𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟭𝟳 For church leaders to fulfill their roles well, church members should know how to respond to them and the authority of their office. When church leaders exercise this God-given authority well and church members respond according to God’s design, the church will be healthy and effective. As a result, the church will fulfill God’s purpose of advancing His kingdom through discipleship in every sphere of society. Today, we will look at how God calls church members to respond to those who hold the pastoral office. 𝟭. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝘖𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝗛𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟭𝟳 Because God has delegated authority to church leaders to watch over the church, we are to submit to them and follow their lead. Responding this way will also allow leaders to serve God’s people and carry out this challenging task 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘺. However, like all delegated authority, there are limitations. A pastor or church leader should not make decisions for church members. They are to preach and teach God’s word with clarity and authority, but church members are responsible to apply these truths to their own lives. For example, pastors teach God’s view of marriage, but do not dictate whom to marry. They teach God’s view of finances, but do not determine which investments to make. Furthermore, if what they say is contrary to God’s word and leads others to sin, church members are not to blindly follow them. According to the passage, what is the role of a church leader? 𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘉𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝟭 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟱:𝟭𝟮–𝟭𝟯 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘹 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯,” 𝘢𝘯𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴.” 𝟭 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟱:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟴 The apostle Paul urged the Thessalonian believers to respect those overseeing them. This respect is based on God’s appointment of church leaders, not their talents, education, or age. He also wrote to Timothy, the head overseer of the church in Ephesus, that those who preach and teach are 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳. By this, he meant that they deserve to receive decent or good 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 for their work in the Lord. How can we respect and honor our church leaders? 𝟯. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝗛𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟳 𝘉𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝟭 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟭:𝟭 Since those in church governmental authority are to lead by example, members of the church are to give careful attention to their way of life. Church leaders, like everyone else, have flaws and weaknesses. That’s why we are to 𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, not everything they do. We are to observe their faith in God in different situations and seasons of their lives, and imitate them as they pursue Christ. What does it mean to imitate someone? What does it mean to imitate someone’s faith? 𝟰. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝟭 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟱:𝟭𝟵 Church members extend trust to their leaders by refusing to entertain baseless accusations against them. Bringing accusations against believers is one of Satan’s oldest tricks in the book, and leaders are not exempt from this. In fact, they are the enemy’s primary targets. That’s why, by default, we are to give church leaders the benefit of the doubt and trust them—unless there is sufficient basis of error or wrongdoing. If what they did merits correction, this is best brought up with them directly or with other church leaders who can help bring correction and restoration. In any case, whether there is a false accusation or a behavior proven wrong, gossip is not constructive and will only cause disunity in the body. How do you show your trust? How can you apply this as you relate with church leaders? 𝟱. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴. 𝟭 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟱:𝟮𝟱 Church members often ask their pastors to pray for them. However, pastors and church leaders need prayer, too. At times, they feel tired, frustrated, and lonely. They also experience fear and anxiety, challenges, lack, and moments of weakness in their faith. They carry the weight of serving God’s people and equipping them to advance His kingdom through discipleship. Therefore, one of the most practical things we can do for our pastors and church leaders is to pray for them regularly. How do you pray for your pastors and church leaders? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • Of the different ways we can respond to church leadership, which one stood out to you? Why? How does your understanding of church governmental authority need to be aligned with God’s word? • What’s one thing you can do to show respect and honor to your church leaders? • How can you pray for your church leaders? Who can you commit to pray for and how often will you do this? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for the leaders He has given your church community. • Pray for them to love God and others with all their hearts. Pray for their families and ministry. • Pray that you would respond to God-given authority with love, joy, and peace.

Responsibilities of Church Members

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • Choose one person in this group. Without telling us his or her name, describe the person to us. • What do you think makes a person difficult to love? • Have you ever thought of what you would like written on your epitaph? What would you like people to know you for? Why? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭. 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟯:𝟲 Is being a member of a local church important? If the church is open to all, what is the value of membership? What are the distinguishing marks of church members? Membership is a thoroughly biblical concept. Just as families, tribes, and our bodies have members (Romans 6), so does the Church. The apostle Paul wrote that the moment Gentiles believe the gospel of Christ, they become 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 of Christ. In God’s great plan, His people are distinct and set apart from others. The Bible emphasizes the distinction between those who trust God and those who don’t. The truth is, our responsibilities as church members are borne from our responsibilities as Christians. We are to love and worship God, be baptized in water, participate in communion, hear and obey God’s word, and share life together. In this lesson, we will look at the responsibilities we have to God, one another, our church community, and the world. 𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱. . . . 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟬 As members of the body of Christ, the grand obligation of our lives is ultimately the glory of God. Everything else flows from this, and no duty or responsibility is more important. The chief motivation of all we do inside and outside the church is God’s honor and glory. How is this grand obligation evident in your daily decisions and actions? 𝟮. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. “𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟯:𝟯𝟰 Christianity is a community matter, and Christian life can only be fully realized in relationship with others. The New Testament has at least fifty-nine commands about relating with 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, such as bear with one another (Colossians 3:13), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). We cannot obey any of these in isolation; they are done in the context of relationships within the local church. As Christians, we have a responsibility to carry out these “one another” commands. Why should we do this, even when it is difficult? 𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟰:𝟭𝟵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵—𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭—𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟭–𝟲 Church members are obliged to pursue 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 and 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 within their congregation. Strife and divisiveness should be actively avoided for the sake of God’s honor and our Christian witness. Because Christians share the same Spirit and mind, unity must be a natural expression of that Spirit. How have you learned to pursue peace and unity in your local church? 𝟰. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟭:𝟴 The Church has a responsibility to the world. We have mentioned how, first and foremost, church members are to make disciples, preach the gospel, and serve the poor, the marginalized, and the disadvantaged. But the Church does more than these. Our responsibility to the world includes being: • the salt that preserves the world from corruption • a city on a hill that throws light onto our darkened society • the collective conscience of a nation • God’s hands and feet to the downtrodden • the prophetic voice that thunders against injustice and evil How does the Holy Spirit empower us to fulfill our responsibilities as Christians and be Christ’s witness to the world? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • How can you honor and worship God through what you do at home, at work, and in your community? • Recall a difficult time in your life. Who helped you get through it? How can you be available for someone else this week? • What is your profession and how do you think this helps in fulfilling the church’s responsibility to the world? How can you help people know God through what you do? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for your church community. Pray for your church to be strong in faith, hope, and love. • Pray that the Church would fulfill its responsibility to God, one another, and the world. • Pray that the Church would be God’s hands and feet to the downtrodden. Pray for the gospel to be preached in every nation.