The church must recapture its first priority. The church is not a monument dedicated to Jesus. The church is not a memorial honoring Jesus. The church is not a living memory of Jesus. The church is not an organization or a physical property to be maintained. The church is a movement.
The church is a Jesus centered movement.
Movement is associated with life. Living things move. A Jesus centered church is a life-giving church. A life-giving church is one that desperately desires the life that is given through Jesus and his Holy Spirit. A life-giving church is one that does whatever it takes to offer the life of Jesus to others.
The life given through the Spirit is described as living water.
Yet, for many their impression of the church can be described as a pale or a puddle of water. Living water is flowing water. A flowing river cannot be controlled or contained, at some point it will flood its banks. A Jesus centered movement floods into dry places that were previously unreachable.
Jesus self-describes as “sent” in the Gospel of John at least 40 times. Jesus was sent by the Father and he is still sent. Christ is still out among people bringing life to the world. He is the forerunner out ahead of his church, setting the pace of kingdom movement. The church has got to catch-up. We’ve got to keep pace.
Ministering the gospel of Jesus Christ can be described as seeing where Jesus is working and partnering with him and his mission.
To be centered is to join with Jesus on his mission. To be centered is to move with Jesus. It’s not that the church has a mission. Jesus has a mission and he has church.
In Matthew 28 Jesus leaves his disciples with the great commission. The great commission was Jesus’s last command. In a Jesus centered church Jesus’ last command is the church’s first-priority.
Where do you see Jesus moving?
Please subscribe, share, and leave a comment below! Thanks for visiting!
Jovan preaches for the Littleton Church of Christ near Denver, Colorado. Visit here to listen to sermons preached at the Littleton Church.