The Church is Central to Jesus’ Story

I have been re-reading Tim Chester’s book on the church this week – aptly titled, “Everyday Church.” I have been reminded that the church is absolutely central to the story of Jesus in the world. I hope you will find these two quotes as beneficial as I have today.

“The Christian community demonstrates the effectiveness of the gospel. We are the living proof that the gospel is not an empty word but a powerful word that takes men and women who are lovers of self and transforms them by grace through the Spirit into people who love God and others. We are the living proof that the death of Jesus was not just a vain expression of God’s love but an effective death that achieved the salvation of a people who now love one another sincerely from a pure”

“At the heart of our vision is not a new way of doing events but the creation of Word-centered gospel communities in which people are sharing life with one another and with unbelievers, seeking to bless their neighborhoods, “gospeling” one another and sharing the good news with unbelievers. The context for this gospel-centered community and mission is not events but ordinary, everyday”

― Tim Chester, Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission

The church is God’s effort to show the world that Jesus is redemptive in all spheres of human existence. For this reason, Jesus loves the church, died for the church, and intervenes on her behalf.