The Church: A Spiritual Community (Part 6) – The Church as It Was Meant to Be – John 13, 15, 17, 20
April 23, 2017Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Speaker: Jerry Cisar
So far we’ve examined the church through Peter’s letter (1 Peter), Paul’s letter (Ephesians), and then through the eyes of each of the first three gospel authors—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This Sunday we will examine what the Lord wants to teach us about the church through the apostle John.
Our series title, The Church: A Spiritual Community, captures well John’s way of painting the church in the second half of John’s Gospel (chapters 13–21). Two themes show up consistently: 1) the coming presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of them, and 2) the community which that Spirit would create in them. It is the Spirit who will transform the church into a spiritual community.
On the eve of his death (John 13–17), when Jesus washes, teaches and prays for the disciples. And in each of these scenes we see the church as Jesus’ meant it to be. In the scenes following the resurrection (John 20–21), we see the church, not how it was meant to be, but as it often is. How do we get from what we often are to what we were meant to be?
Join us in worship as we explore what the apostle John teaches us about the church as a spiritual community.