POST SERIES
0: Church is (____HOPE____)
1: Church is (___DEVOTED___)
2: Church is (__BEDAZZLING__)
3: Church is (___PREPARED___)
4: Church is (_BARRIER-FREE_)
5: Church is (__GRACIOUS & HONEST__)
6: Church is (____GIVING____)
You know now days the Church gets a bad rap I think.
You’ve heard it before—the perception of people outside the Church is that it’s filled with a bunch of hypocritical, judgmental, bigots. Church is political. Church is legalistic
Now some of this perception is warranted—because we can be these things.
But throughout history Christians have been on the front lines of compassion and service. Which makes sense because Jesus created a whole new vision that the least of humanity should be treasured. Compassion became the brand of the new Jesus movement, because they understood that compassion was not optional.
The Church bedazzled the pagan world because of their compassion and mercy. Because of their signs and wonders. One of the best episodes in the Story of the early church shows just this, in Acts 5.
What we find here is a summary of the activity of the apostles and early church with outsiders. And what they did bedazzled them. Turned heads. Knocked socks off.
We need this story, because part of what it means to be the church is to bedazzle the world. To impress and impact the world with our brilliance and skill, with our signs and wonders. And I hope my own church we would do just that—just like the early church.
