REALLIFE STUDY GROUP
"The
Truth About The Church & The Kingdom!"
ICEBREAKER: What is the funniest thing you ever remember
happening in church or your home?
INTRODUCTION:
The truth regarding the church is that it is God's idea! And while we are a
mess sometimes we are still God's agents to represent Him in our world. The
church is not the Kingdom of God but it is His governing hand in the earth to
reach a lost and dying world on behalf of the Kingdom. Don't give up on the
church! It still is God's plan.
STATISTICS:
Current religious data shows that
Christianity is well established:
·
Christianity, with a market
share of about 34% worldwide, remains the most popular religion globally.
·
The religious landscape in
North America is overwhelmingly Christian: about three in four adults identify
themselves as Christian; the next largest organized religious groups are Islam
and Judaism at about 1%.
·
Although the importance of
religion has been declining in other developed countries, it has remained
strong in the U.S. The United States has a higher level of church attendance
than any other country which is "at a comparable level of
development."
·
53% of Americans consider
religions to be very important in their lives. This compares with 16% in
Britain, 14% in France and 13% in Germany.
But there are some interesting signs
that religion is in a state of rapid flux, both in the U.S. and around the
world:
·
The percentage of American
adults who identify themselves as Christians dropped from 86% in 1990 to 77% in
2001. This is an unprecedented drop of almost 1 percentage point per year.
·
The percentage of American
adults who identify themselves as Protestants dropped below 50% about the year
2005.
·
Confidence in religious
institutions has hit an all-time low.
·
There appears to be a major
increase in interest in spirituality among North Americans. However, this has
not translated into greater church involvement.
·
Mainline denominations have
been losing membership for decades in the U.S.; conservative denominations have
been growing.
·
At the present rates of change,
Islam will become the dominant religion in the world before 2050 CE.
·
At the present rate of change,
most Americans would identify themselves as non-religious or non-Christian by
the year 2035 CE.
·
The numbers of "unchurched" people has increased rapidly in the U.S.
These are individuals who have not attended church in recent months.
·
Agnostics, Atheists,
secularists and NOTAs (none of the above) are growing rapidly.
·
Interest in new religious
movements (e.g. New Age, Neopaganism) is growing
rapidly. In particular, Wiccans are doubling in numbers about every 30 months.
·
The influence of the central,
program-based congregation is diminishing as more cell churches are being
created.
CONFESSION:
I am a member of the Body of Christ
I am a soldier in the army of the Lord
I am a child of God
I am forever a part of the family of
God
I am the temple of the Living God
I am covenantally married to Christ
I am an ambassador of the Kingdom of
God
I am the righteousness of God in
Christ
I am a peacemaker
I am a joy to my Father God
I am more than a conqueror
I am an overcomer
I am a vessel of God
I am a minister to and for the Lord
DEFINITIONS:
Church:
1.
a gathering of citizens called
out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
a.
an assembly of the people
convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
b. the
assembly of the Israelites
c.
any gathering or throng of men
assembled by chance, tumultuously
d. in
a Christian sense
2.
an assembly of Christians
gathered for worship in a religious meeting
3.
a company of Christians, or of
those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own
religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own
affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake
4.
those who anywhere, in a city,
village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
5.
the whole body of Christians
scattered throughout the earth
6.
the assembly of faithful
Christians already dead and received into heaven
OUTLINE: Attributes Of The Church
The
church is...
·
A building with no address
·
A bride made up of men and
women
·
A body with many members but
just one head authority
·
A business that gives away all
the profit
·
An army with no guns or
grenades
·
A family where all the children
have been adopted
·
An agent of the kingdom filled
with kings under the King of kings
·
A temple not made with human
hands
·
A living global organism where
the microcosm has all the attributes of the microcosm.
·
A place where every demographic
can gather and find common ground
How
Has The Church Changed?
The
church in America has shifted...
·
From a Christocracy to an
ecclesiastical democracy
·
From serving to being served
·
From give me truth lest I die
to give me what I want to hear lest I assassinate your character
·
From home meal time mentality
to a fast food mentality
·
From Christ is my life to
Christianity is part of my life
·
From building lives to building
buildings
·
From fellowshipping in the
sufferings of Christ to make my life as comfortable as possible
TEXT:
1 Timothy 3:5,15; Matthew 16:17-19; Psalm 145:13; Ephesians 3:21
STUDY
GROUP QUESTIONS:
1.
How has church changed since
you were a child?
2.
Which attribute of the church
listed above most impacts you?
3.
What do you think the world
would most like to see in the church?
4.
Why would church be the most
important institution in society?
5.
Name one way you could better
serve the church and be an agent of the Kingdom.
6.
Name one thing the world hates
about the church.
7.
As a member of the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ what is your ministry?
8.
Paul taught Timothy how to
behave in the church in 1 Timothy 3:15. Describe one way people should or
should not act in church.
PRAISE
REPORTS & PRAYER REQUESTS
ACTION
POINT: This week I will serve the church by
____________________.