Church | Be the Church: We Are the Church - Part 6

Send us Fan MailBe the ChurchWe Are the Church - Part 6Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith StewartSunday, June 12, 2022This weekend is the final installment in our series and will be unlike the others in this series because this one is intensely personal. Pastor Keith will take us on a journey from his earliest experience of church up to the present day and into the future where God is taking us. Needless to say, this journey has been one filled with much brokenness, painful learning, many surprises, and lots of amazing grace. God has been faithful even when we have not. More than anything, we want to be a part of what God is doing today. Lord, prepare our hearts, minds, and wills to say “YES” to You.SERIES: WE ARE THE CHURCHThe Church today is suffering from memory loss, not amnesia, more like Alzheimer’s. When a person has amnesia, they lose short-term memory but maintain a basic knowledge of their identity and are able to function. But Alzheimer’s slowly takes away the memory of how to function and identity.  Without periodic reminders, we all too soon forget who we are called to be and what we are called to do as Christ-followers – members of His Church. This series is to remind us of those bedrock principles.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSIn your conversations with others or in what you have seen on social media, what are some of the other more common criticisms of the church in America? Do you think there is merit in the criticism? How would you approach a conversation with a person raising such a critique?The criticisms laid at the feet of the church don’t often resemble the criticisms aimed at Jesus. In what ways are they different? Why do you think that is?The outsider was made to feel included by Jesus in both His teaching and behavior. Can you think of any specific examples of this? How might we as a church and you as a Christ-follower do a better job of this?In the last half of the message, Pastor Keith pointed out the fundamental flaw in our thinking that leads to judgmental attitudes and behavior. It all boils down to the difference between bounded versus centered sets. So many want to define Christianity in terms of being a bounded set. When we do this, we invariably focus on externals that define us as Christians. That thinking is not just the basis of all legalistic Christianity, it’s also the way many Christians think who would never consider themselves to be legalistic. Can you give any examples of where you have seen this or had personal experience with it?Jesus rejected the boundary-oriented approach to spirituality. In fact, this was His most common criticism of the Pharisees. Jesus instead used a centered approach to spirituality that focused on the movement of people either toward or away from God. Why is this a better approach? In your own walk with God, is your thinking more like the Pharisees or Jesus? In what ways would our relationship with those outside the faith improve by simply watching for signs of movement toward God?-----Engage with us for updates, alerts, and information by text...CHURCH INFO AND UPDATES: Text SPRINGCREEK to 96995GUESTS: Text NEW to 96995GENEROSITY: Text GIVE to 96995Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. Visit https://www.springcreekchurch.org/text-policy/ for our privacy and terms.https://www.springcreekchurch.org/#realspringcreekchurch #wearethechurch #itsjesuschurch #reminder #backtobasics #church #fundamentals #churchisnotabuilding #culturalbaggage #baggage #traditionalism #areweworshippingworship #worship #outsiders #followers #whattheworldneedsnow #war #battle #spiritualwar #culture #bethechurch #journey #past #present #future #sayyestoGod #yes