Welcome to Windber PA's First Assembly of God's The Sermon Seven Pictures of Christ by David McGee Page

This is a machine transcript of the sermon. It won't be completely accurate of what's said in the sermon.

In Matthew chapter sixteen, verses thirteen to twenty were continuing our theme on the church and we spoke about how that last week. If you you are here last week. This is. This is a what is it at the bowl and the ball with water in a canine and no were not going to drink it, but the idea is some of you got what it wasn't a deeper communion knows of your miracle to you and why wine writers in their grape juice, whatever, but solely spoke about how that there's a difference between an organism, an organization and an organization in every original of it today and organization eight, the church is an organization organization which there is structure. There is service. There is a time when we don't have an official outline for our service, you know, such as in the bulletin or so on, but we don't restructure we have an idea of what that structure is in the way it's going to be presented in what flows from next, from one thing to the next, so there is a board and there is a constitution and bylaws. There are all these things that add structure but also the church is an organism that which is alive and active, and that which you don't even like in the body, how that the cells feed off of each other and that that there is supplying of strength one to another front don't you be aired. We breed gets the oxygen to every cell you know what they are selling it. We all have a way of touching each other 's lives and the idea was if you are and everyone had a teabag and you brought the tea bag up and you placed in the water and I left it there for the purpose of letting us know that by now we sprayed the ball of the tea that is in the bag. This is probably in the water. What was the one strength is now on the other teabags and what was in one teabag is now out a way of working its way into the others, so that with the body of Christ, that being here. We know that we don't get to heaven by osmosis. We know that we don't get to heaven by rubbing shoulders with someone we know that is biased by the grace of Jesus Christ, and being born again being, say forgiveness of sins, but we also know that we have an effect upon others and being here has an effect upon the body. The rest of the people here so everyone here has a way of affecting others, even if we don't directly touch then see them shake hands with them or whatever, just as the team bag has a way of giving the strength to the water and in giving strength to lead to the other bags in the bowl so to that one bag gives the ability to touch another bag waddled back to another speak for myself. Okay you have to let you get the idea right so you have a way of touching people 's lives. You have a way of affecting one another, and so to an organism, an organization and organization which people are not connected. That's not real. I mean, the United have organizations like that. They bicker and fight to do what you want, but an organism is that which supplies life and strength, and the strength also been, and we find today and I study that were in our message of our study on this particular Scripture where to find out what and where this all comes from. So Matthew, chapter sixty, beginning at verse thirteen when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, you him us. People say that the Son of Man is, they reply, some say John the Baptist others say Elijah is still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets, but what arguably asked to do you say that I am Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ, the son of the living God Jesus replied, because usually Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven, and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it or will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in our hit rate this morning, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone about that. He was the Christ. So the church as you have spoken, then this is is a subject that we have kind of illustrated here with the eBags and probably a place that it will place them in this bottle, and this water invisible and we find that if we said the church 's organization, the church as an organism that which is alive and that which has its file has a six areas in spreading its strength one to another, while Jesus says that the foundation, and the Scripture we interpret the Scriptures being that Jesus becomes the foundation of the church that Jesus is the foundation of the church. The rock on which Jesus would build his church is the truth, that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God, and this has been identified as Jesus himself, the work of salvation dying on the cross. We celebrated today in the communion server as you be the coming of Jesus Christ is his life, his death, you know, whenever he was there at the Last Supper and spoke to the disciples and spoke to them about the body and the bread that being the bread and the copying the wine. But Jesus himself is the work of salvation dying on the cross, Peter would be the first great leader of the church of Jerusalem and the confession of faith. Peter had given was that all subsequent shrews will be built upon this principle of which Jesus Christ from the reveal. Our revealed the truth about Christ. The church is the gathering together of those who have a common experience Jesus as our Savior so wisely put all this together, we began to understand about the principles that the God has given us for our life and for churches as a organization that also has an organism. The church is gathered together around a common experience that Jesus Christ as our Savior. We have a common purpose and that purpose is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those private regulation, going all the world and preach the gospel. We can go around the world and preach about. We support the missions projects in our missionary giving. We support ministries and missionaries in different parts of the country in different parts of the world we share a common value in the greatest commandment to love God with all of our heart and soul. And to love our neighbor as ourselves to know Jesus Christ. This is the great commission. This is a great foundational principle of our life that God loves us, we spoke about that last week and that what is the great was a great foundational principle that the church is based on his found the gold in the Children's Court, Jesus, love when this. I know for the Bible tells me so foundational principle the beginning, the merrier principle upon which our life is built is built upon what Jesus Christ has done for us the knowledge that God is alive and he is active in our midst that God is interested in by going to be captured by his grace, and we have been touched by his Spirit and we have allowed the blessing of God that is in our life to touch the lockout that the lives of those around us. Where there's just been a handshake or integrating whether it's in a phone call or whether it's in a prayer, we find that we are in connection with one another, so we know that the problem that arose. The nearly church or are came to be known in the church was that the church meet began to be represented as a building, and that people would gather at church and the true understanding of church is the body of believers that we as individuals are who make up the church and what I was looking at for today. There are several principles that the seven ideas that are given in the Scriptures about the church. What the church looks like what the church is most known for, and I think most the time we think of it in the in the context of the body. Again, there are seven the first of these is the body and we may see the body of Christ, and it emphasizes that the need for every member to be a part of the body to be involved with every other member is just as your body cannot function without other parts of the body that it that it must be together and so forth. The body is wanted has many members, but all the members that are one body, being many sullies Christ's Paul later state. Now you are the body of Christ members individually. We need all parts of the blog the function and that we cannot say that the hand is the right hand is better than the left-hand leisure right and leisure left and add it to my PC. The idea is that no matter what part of the body. We like to isolate, we can yell if you stub your toe. You can't walk right now in view of one-party rear body hurts the rest your body hurts. If your have a backache. Sometimes you create and sometimes though, as in Sunday's buildout. One was moving around, but they also was moving their glasses cases same time. It's like I got was that your back or what it's all in the body. Eric severe, often in the yard and working in your body hurts you feel that the next day so insulted the body of Christ when one member hurts. We have an effect upon it has an effect upon all members, and that's why we know whenever we were praying today that wanting to pray one for another, the importance the value of sharing the needs that that each other has sold where I think of it is that describing the brain. Let's all think of the church is the body of Christ. The second picture is out of the building and inanimate building is Peter chose to describe the church in the context of the building, and I promise kind of unique, yet Peter. He now thou art the cardio whenever you saying about Jesus, thou art the Christ, upon this in all Australia is on the living God, and Jesus tells Peter tells Peter that upon this truth, I will build my church, and is an and I got ironic that you would be the one who would identify the church as a building and anything a child to describe the church. The context of a building built on a foundation then he writes about this and he was writing to the Jewish Christians, we told them you also as living stones are being built top of the spiritual house. First Peter two five so Peter writes about the church and being living stones being built on the foundation of Jesus Christ in Africa have a problem identifying Jesus as the foundation of the church and I says, all in all of these stones in the structure are rightly related to each other in the end this in the spiritual Temple built as a unique dwelling place for God so Peter writes about being a building, a living stones fitly joined together in Oz, watching him one of those historical shows you know. Sometimes you like and sometimes you don't. But they were talking about back in one of the cultures that if you look at the stones that the stones are that over how they got there in the shape in the form that they did, and the person who was giving the commentator on and said that these individuals had to have help to create these ancient structures. They would have to have found a way to Milt Stowe brings then after found a way to millstone and put it in place and how that they would happen, they would have to visit were hardened in place in order for all these stones become together the structure. So therefore it was extraterrestrials settle, I just, I was on the Discovery Channel, while James was at a different idea when he was talking about living stones in the living styles is that we are alive in crime in the spirit of God being alive in us is that lively structure and so we are fated fitly joined together, it's almost in all, we don't know how those stones were placed there, but they were placed there in such a way that available had to be heated, moved and pulled in place. Is it something how that the body of Christ that Jesus has a way of molding each of our defense into the specific place that he has for us and you know what it is our character is our personality that makes us who we are and we find ourselves coming together to fit exactly as if we were made for that spot. The body of Christ. The building coming together. We fitly joined together it all on a number of whenever I was in Egypt and no in the pyramids that they have the styles that are bigger than tractor-trailers and that you cannot put a piece of paper anywhere in the entire link the stone setting. Upon each other, that you can't put a piece of paper between the stones anywhere in the entire length and you know we don't have the technology today to do that but we find that in the body of Christ and God has a way of bringing us together. Peter calls it living stones as a building, put together by the hand of God, you and I being put together brought together to worship God, and being brought here for purpose and that the teabags in the water. It all comes together. So first is the body of Christ. The second of his contract. These now. First one is what body second one is living so okay there marriage. The third picture of the church and the community is married with all talk about Christians and their mom relationship to God. He described it as a relationship between Christ and his church is that like lichen is American. Admittedly, Paul described the relationship between husband and wife in the top in the context of a great mystery concerning crisis church Ephesians five thirty two is just as there is a great mystery concerning Christ and his church. A says that husbands are to love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for so there was this depiction of the church as as in a relationship based upon love and sacrifice, not on love and obedience, but upon love and sacrifice, I know I often interview here. This one verse. No quoted that says you women are to be subject to their husbands, and so on. But it also says that that that be subject to her husband as price is gave himself for the church, so that as obedience and sacrifice come together when we see that one is willing to die for the other. So when you're willing to die easy to be obedient when someone loves you so much that they will die for you then you don't mind being obedient to them, and you don't mind listening to what they have to say insult to the Scriptures talk to us about this love relationship with God has with us that he was willing to die for us. And so, when God asks us to be obedient to him. It is, and obedience based upon one who is willing to sacrifice everything for our life, not only in this life. But unlike the come, and who would imagine. I mean, why can we ever doubt that God would want us to do something. It would be harmful to our lives and our relationship, our relationship with him, and in our relationship with life with other people. The fourth picture was the third when to second, the fourth picture between a shepherd and the shape charge of the shameful John the Baptist describe Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus described himself I am the good shepherd. The good Shepherd gives his life for a shape so is looking at this, this analogy between an end. We know we don't understand the value of our what we hereby shepherded sheep and in ancient times. If you are the shepherd and something was attacking your sheet. It was your responsibility to protect and even to die for those sheet because they were under your responsibility young. They were under your care. So therefore, under your care and your responsibility. A shepherd worthy of his name shepherd would die to protect a sheet daily whenever he was a young boy watching the shape he took on the lion in the bear, not because he needed target practice, but because it was his responsibility to keep the shape so that the me analogy and in Psalm twenty three. What is it because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. So the analogy is the one of shepherding sheep. So what's the first one but the second a lot of building as the building of the marriage, fourth month the fifth one is a picture to represent the church is a garden. The growing of plants and vines and trees. Jesus used the metaphor of a mind to describe his relationship to the individual Christian. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. The husband and the emphasis is on abiding in the relationship between Christ and the believer I'm not finding it was apprenticed to a by me and I him, bears much fruit. Me you can do nothing. So if you are not connected to where the source of your life is now you're just the minds well women die because not connected to live the sex picture is a picture of the family. Believers are called children, sons of God. Jesus described the experience of becoming a Christian. In the context of being born again born into the family of God. John one twelve says as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the children of God to share to those who believe in his name. We are called children of God. So when Jesus taught the disciples to pray what they say are father who art in heaven, so whenever we are looking at this the idea becomes that there is a picture of a family. The first one is the body. The second one is the building. The third one is marriage for shepherding sheep five garden six family and the seventh is a priesthood, Peter was introducing people village of a Jewish background of Christianity to be trained. He portrays the church as a priesthood. The working together in the service of God. He describes Christians as a holy priesthood, he described Christians. You're not as a holy priesthood, first, that first Peter two five in first Peter two nine is a royal priesthood, the early church. The every believer as a phrase with direct access to God. See when Jesus came and I meet for the mail in the in the Old Testament Temple that was that existed at the time to build it separated the people from God Jesus for that and not all systems. The priest represented the people to God by Jesus Christ set up believers have direct access to God. It is usually so Jesus himself how to hold the office as the high priest, and all other believers reviewed then as a kingdom of priests, Revelation one six so most evangelical Christians. Then describe the doctrine as the priesthood of believers that we are to offer our life as a living sacrifice to God. We are to offer our honest sacrifice of praise, so we did our priests, as it were to offer our life as a sacrifice. It has a relationship with God. So, as believers in priesthood of believers is that we as believers work together as a royal priesthood, a holy priesthood, to bring our sacrifice of praise and worship to God. So the charge, then, is designed to be a place of interactive relationships, helping believers to experience God. So we're not setting one up is greater than the other, we are recognizing that sometimes members of our body have problems and difficulties. Sometimes we falter sometimes we fail. Sometimes we have great strength, sometimes with great for press but we all recognize that we are part of the body of Christ which is recognized as the church, which is the body which is the building, which is marriage, which is Shepherd in shape, which is a garden which is family which is a presa sorry that I have today then I wanted to relate to her came out and while was Rosa Rosa Parks and I know Rose Park since Rosa Parks, Vivian L Rosa Parks Rosa Parks roles. Roles are less a part sent a message about racial segregation when she boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, December nineteen fifty five, and from some of your December nineteen fifty five that is really old history for some of us. We were just kids. Some of you rollback and fifty five. But anyhow, in nineteen fifty five, there was the was called segregation and Rosa Parks in an and you know, maybe some of you for me with this or not but in that time it was the buses and public transportation. The first ten seats of the bus can rose of a bus work for white passengers and then form eleven from eleven throwback were for black and so if you were black and job you are in a bath, you had to see if you had the set at role eleven back while this day the Rosa Parks was here. She was in this bus she was at role eleven. What happened was the first ten rows became full and so all the driver announced that the first ten rows of role role. Eleven is a verse eleven role eleven have to make a move back, now you couldn't just one part of the aisle couldn't just do people put just get up and move the back of fluoride to get up because one person means that in the eleven because it is illegal to set what a black person or cross on the black person. So three out of four people in role alignment got up, except Rosa Parks. Just she just didn't get up while because she didn't get off the bus driver stopped the bus called the police and had her arrested because she was breaking the Civil War civil rights laws of Alabama, and so she was arrested for not getting out of her seat, which of course then brought about the segregation law that changed in December nineteen fifty six, with the Supreme Court that outlawed racial segregation on public transportation, now I bring this up because Rosa Parks said. I simply wanted people to treat me with respect and basic human dignity. She wasn't making a statement to change the racial laws of Alabama. She was just making a statement that was for that moment in time but yet it reflected on all of the segregation enough in the whole state, and I asked ourselves the same terms in question. We have a teabag here in this bowl of water and when it makes a statement there represents the whole bag. It represents the whole pot as it were a key because it is part of of the mix and whenever we think of our lives is the body of Christ as the bride of Christ as the building of Christ the shape of the shopper as as we think of ourselves we are connected to one another and we have a direct impact on one another and we have an impact so influential that we can do little things in the right way and it can change what happens across the board, just saying I need to have prayer for me or for Jenny or for someone else. It has an impact on our lives upon the people around us. This is the body of Christ, and whenever we have this relationship with God, and this relationship with others. We begin to value how great we are and how important it is for God to touch our lives and touch the lives of those around us and sometimes it seems just a rather simple thing to bag in the bowl of water seems like a very simple thing. We get when God touches your life answers your prayer has a certain way of affecting everyone in the body and you are part of that body that has a change because as someone else in the book In Matthew chapter sixteen, verses thirteen to twenty were continuing our theme on the church and we spoke about how that last week. If you you are here last week. This is. This is a what is it at the bowl and the ball with water in a canine and no were not going to drink it, but the idea is some of you got what it wasn't a deeper communion knows of your miracle to you and why wine writers in their grape juice, whatever, but solely spoke about how that there's a difference between an organism, an organization and an organization in every original of it today and organization eight, the church is an organization organization which there is structure. There is service. There is a time when we don't have an official outline for our service, you know, such as in the bulletin or so on, but we don't restructure we have an idea of what that structure is in the way it's going to be presented in what flows from next, from one thing to the next, so there is a board and there is a constitution and bylaws. There are all these things that add structure but also the church is an organism that which is alive and active, and that which you don't even like in the body, how that the cells feed off of each other and that that there is supplying of strength one to another front don't you be aired. We breed gets the oxygen to every cell you know what they are selling it. We all have a way of touching each other 's lives and the idea was if you are and everyone had a teabag and you brought the tea bag up and you placed in the water and I left it there for the purpose of letting us know that by now we sprayed the ball of the tea that is in the bag. This is probably in the water. What was the one strength is now on the other teabags and what was in one teabag is now out a way of working its way into the others, so that with the body of Christ, that being here. We know that we don't get to heaven by osmosis. We know that we don't get to heaven by rubbing shoulders with someone we know that is biased by the grace of Jesus Christ, and being born again being, say forgiveness of sins, but we also know that we have an effect upon others and being here has an effect upon the body. The rest of the people here so everyone here has a way of affecting others, even if we don't directly touch then see them shake hands with them or whatever, just as the team bag has a way of giving the strength to the water and in giving strength to lead to the other bags in the bowl so to that one bag gives the ability to touch another bag waddled back to another speak for myself. Okay you have to let you get the idea right so you have a way of touching people 's lives. You have a way of affecting one another, and so to an organism, an organization and organization which people are not connected. That's not real. I mean, the United have organizations like that. They bicker and fight to do what you want, but an organism is that which supplies life and strength, and the strength also been, and we find today and I study that were in our message of our study on this particular Scripture where to find out what and where this all comes from. So Matthew, chapter sixty, beginning at verse thirteen when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, you him us. People say that the Son of Man is, they reply, some say John the Baptist others say Elijah is still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets, but what arguably asked to do you say that I am Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ, the son of the living God Jesus replied, because usually Jesus replied, blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven, and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it or will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in our hit rate this morning, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone about that. He was the Christ. So the church as you have spoken, then this is is a subject that we have kind of illustrated here with the eBags and probably a place that it will place them in this bottle, and this water invisible and we find that if we said the church 's organization, the church as an organism that which is alive and that which has its file has a six areas in spreading its strength one to another, while Jesus says that the foundation, and the Scripture we interpret the Scriptures being that Jesus becomes the foundation of the church that Jesus is the foundation of the church. The rock on which Jesus would build his church is the truth, that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God, and this has been identified as Jesus himself, the work of salvation dying on the cross. We celebrated today in the communion server as you be the coming of Jesus Christ is his life, his death, you know, whenever he was there at the Last Supper and spoke to the disciples and spoke to them about the body and the bread that being the bread and the copying the wine. But Jesus himself is the work of salvation dying on the cross, Peter would be the first great leader of the church of Jerusalem and the confession of faith. Peter had given was that all subsequent shrews will be built upon this principle of which Jesus Christ from the reveal. Our revealed the truth about Christ. The church is the gathering together of those who have a common experience Jesus as our Savior so wisely put all this together, we began to understand about the principles that the God has given us for our life and for churches as a organization that also has an organism. The church is gathered together around a common experience that Jesus Christ as our Savior. We have a common purpose and that purpose is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those private regulation, going all the world and preach the gospel. We can go around the world and preach about. We support the missions projects in our missionary giving. We support ministries and missionaries in different parts of the country in different parts of the world we share a common value in the greatest commandment to love God with all of our heart and soul. And to love our neighbor as ourselves to know Jesus Christ. This is the great commission. This is a great foundational principle of our life that God loves us, we spoke about that last week and that what is the great was a great foundational principle that the church is based on his found the gold in the Children's Court, Jesus, love when this. I know for the Bible tells me so foundational principle the beginning, the merrier principle upon which our life is built is built upon what Jesus Christ has done for us the knowledge that God is alive and he is active in our midst that God is interested in by going to be captured by his grace, and we have been touched by his Spirit and we have allowed the blessing of God that is in our life to touch the lockout that the lives of those around us. Where there's just been a handshake or integrating whether it's in a phone call or whether it's in a prayer, we find that we are in connection with one another, so we know that the problem that arose. The nearly church or are came to be known in the church was that the church meet began to be represented as a building, and that people would gather at church and the true understanding of church is the body of believers that we as individuals are who make up the church and what I was looking at for today. There are several principles that the seven ideas that are given in the Scriptures about the church. What the church looks like what the church is most known for, and I think most the time we think of it in the in the context of the body. Again, there are seven the first of these is the body and we may see the body of Christ, and it emphasizes that the need for every member to be a part of the body to be involved with every other member is just as your body cannot function without other parts of the body that it that it must be together and so forth. The body is wanted has many members, but all the members that are one body, being many sullies Christ's Paul later state. Now you are the body of Christ members individually. We need all parts of the blog the function and that we cannot say that the hand is the right hand is better than the left-hand leisure right and leisure left and add it to my PC. The idea is that no matter what part of the body. We like to isolate, we can yell if you stub your toe. You can't walk right now in view of one-party rear body hurts the rest your body hurts. If your have a backache. Sometimes you create and sometimes though, as in Sunday's buildout. One was moving around, but they also was moving their glasses cases same time. It's like I got was that your back or what it's all in the body. Eric severe, often in the yard and working in your body hurts you feel that the next day so insulted the body of Christ when one member hurts. We have an effect upon it has an effect upon all members, and that's why we know whenever we were praying today that wanting to pray one for another, the importance the value of sharing the needs that that each other has sold where I think of it is that describing the brain. Let's all think of the church is the body of Christ. The second picture is out of the building and inanimate building is Peter chose to describe the church in the context of the building, and I promise kind of unique, yet Peter. He now thou art the cardio whenever you saying about Jesus, thou art the Christ, upon this in all Australia is on the living God, and Jesus tells Peter tells Peter that upon this truth, I will build my church, and is an and I got ironic that you would be the one who would identify the church as a building and anything a child to describe the church. The context of a building built on a foundation then he writes about this and he was writing to the Jewish Christians, we told them you also as living stones are being built top of the spiritual house. First Peter two five so Peter writes about the church and being living stones being built on the foundation of Jesus Christ in Africa have a problem identifying Jesus as the foundation of the church and I says, all in all of these stones in the structure are rightly related to each other in the end this in the spiritual Temple built as a unique dwelling place for God so Peter writes about being a building, a living stones fitly joined together in Oz, watching him one of those historical shows you know. Sometimes you like and sometimes you don't. But they were talking about back in one of the cultures that if you look at the stones that the stones are that over how they got there in the shape in the form that they did, and the person who was giving the commentator on and said that these individuals had to have help to create these ancient structures. They would have to have found a way to Milt Stowe brings then after found a way to millstone and put it in place and how that they would happen, they would have to visit were hardened in place in order for all these stones become together the structure. So therefore it was extraterrestrials settle, I just, I was on the Discovery Channel, while James was at a different idea when he was talking about living stones in the living styles is that we are alive in crime in the spirit of God being alive in us is that lively structure and so we are fated fitly joined together, it's almost in all, we don't know how those stones were placed there, but they were placed there in such a way that available had to be heated, moved and pulled in place. Is it something how that the body of Christ that Jesus has a way of molding each of our defense into the specific place that he has for us and you know what it is our character is our personality that makes us who we are and we find ourselves coming together to fit exactly as if we were made for that spot. The body of Christ. The building coming together. We fitly joined together it all on a number of whenever I was in Egypt and no in the pyramids that they have the styles that are bigger than tractor-trailers and that you cannot put a piece of paper anywhere in the entire link the stone setting. Upon each other, that you can't put a piece of paper between the stones anywhere in the entire length and you know we don't have the technology today to do that but we find that in the body of Christ and God has a way of bringing us together. Peter calls it living stones as a building, put together by the hand of God, you and I being put together brought together to worship God, and being brought here for purpose and that the teabags in the water. It all comes together. So first is the body of Christ. The second of his contract. These now. First one is what body second one is living so okay there marriage. The third picture of the church and the community is married with all talk about Christians and their mom relationship to God. He described it as a relationship between Christ and his church is that like lichen is American. Admittedly, Paul described the relationship between husband and wife in the top in the context of a great mystery concerning crisis church Ephesians five thirty two is just as there is a great mystery concerning Christ and his church. A says that husbands are to love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for so there was this depiction of the church as as in a relationship based upon love and sacrifice, not on love and obedience, but upon love and sacrifice, I know I often interview here. This one verse. No quoted that says you women are to be subject to their husbands, and so on. But it also says that that that be subject to her husband as price is gave himself for the church, so that as obedience and sacrifice come together when we see that one is willing to die for the other. So when you're willing to die easy to be obedient when someone loves you so much that they will die for you then you don't mind being obedient to them, and you don't mind listening to what they have to say insult to the Scriptures talk to us about this love relationship with God has with us that he was willing to die for us. And so, when God asks us to be obedient to him. It is, and obedience based upon one who is willing to sacrifice everything for our life, not only in this life. But unlike the come, and who would imagine. I mean, why can we ever doubt that God would want us to do something. It would be harmful to our lives and our relationship, our relationship with him, and in our relationship with life with other people. The fourth picture was the third when to second, the fourth picture between a shepherd and the shape charge of the shameful John the Baptist describe Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus described himself I am the good shepherd. The good Shepherd gives his life for a shape so is looking at this, this analogy between an end. We know we don't understand the value of our what we hereby shepherded sheep and in ancient times. If you are the shepherd and something was attacking your sheet. It was your responsibility to protect and even to die for those sheet because they were under your responsibility young. They were under your care. So therefore, under your care and your responsibility. A shepherd worthy of his name shepherd would die to protect a sheet daily whenever he was a young boy watching the shape he took on the lion in the bear, not because he needed target practice, but because it was his responsibility to keep the shape so that the me analogy and in Psalm twenty three. What is it because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. So the analogy is the one of shepherding sheep. So what's the first one but the second a lot of building as the building of the marriage, fourth month the fifth one is a picture to represent the church is a garden. The growing of plants and vines and trees. Jesus used the metaphor of a mind to describe his relationship to the individual Christian. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. The husband and the emphasis is on abiding in the relationship between Christ and the believer I'm not finding it was apprenticed to a by me and I him, bears much fruit. Me you can do nothing. So if you are not connected to where the source of your life is now you're just the minds well women die because not connected to live the sex picture is a picture of the family. Believers are called children, sons of God. Jesus described the experience of becoming a Christian. In the context of being born again born into the family of God. John one twelve says as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the children of God to share to those who believe in his name. We are called children of God. So when Jesus taught the disciples to pray what they say are father who art in heaven, so whenever we are looking at this the idea becomes that there is a picture of a family. The first one is the body. The second one is the building. The third one is marriage for shepherding sheep five garden six family and the seventh is a priesthood, Peter was introducing people village of a Jewish background of Christianity to be trained. He portrays the church as a priesthood. The working together in the service of God. He describes Christians as a holy priesthood, he described Christians. You're not as a holy priesthood, first, that first Peter two five in first Peter two nine is a royal priesthood, the early church. The every believer as a phrase with direct access to God. See when Jesus came and I meet for the mail in the in the Old Testament Temple that was that existed at the time to build it separated the people from God Jesus for that and not all systems. The priest represented the people to God by Jesus Christ set up believers have direct access to God. It is usually so Jesus himself how to hold the office as the high priest, and all other believers reviewed then as a kingdom of priests, Revelation one six so most evangelical Christians. Then describe the doctrine as the priesthood of believers that we are to offer our life as a living sacrifice to God. We are to offer our honest sacrifice of praise, so we did our priests, as it were to offer our life as a sacrifice. It has a relationship with God. So, as believers in priesthood of believers is that we as believers work together as a royal priesthood, a holy priesthood, to bring our sacrifice of praise and worship to God. So the charge, then, is designed to be a place of interactive relationships, helping believers to experience God. So we're not setting one up is greater than the other, we are recognizing that sometimes members of our body have problems and difficulties. Sometimes we falter sometimes we fail. Sometimes we have great strength, sometimes with great for press but we all recognize that we are part of the body of Christ which is recognized as the church, which is the body which is the building, which is marriage, which is Shepherd in shape, which is a garden which is family which is a presa sorry that I have today then I wanted to relate to her came out and while was Rosa Rosa Parks and I know Rose Park since Rosa Parks, Vivian L Rosa Parks Rosa Parks roles. Roles are less a part sent a message about racial segregation when she boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, December nineteen fifty five, and from some of your December nineteen fifty five that is really old history for some of us. We were just kids. Some of you rollback and fifty five. But anyhow, in nineteen fifty five, there was the was called segregation and Rosa Parks in an and you know, maybe some of you for me with this or not but in that time it was the buses and public transportation. The first ten seats of the bus can rose of a bus work for white passengers and then form eleven from eleven throwback were for black and so if you were black and job you are in a bath, you had to see if you had the set at role eleven back while this day the Rosa Parks was here. She was in this bus she was at role eleven. What happened was the first ten rows became full and so all the driver announced that the first ten rows of role role. Eleven is a verse eleven role eleven have to make a move back, now you couldn't just one part of the aisle couldn't just do people put just get up and move the back of fluoride to get up because one person means that in the eleven because it is illegal to set what a black person or cross on the black person. So three out of four people in role alignment got up, except Rosa Parks. Just she just didn't get up while because she didn't get off the bus driver stopped the bus called the police and had her arrested because she was breaking the Civil War civil rights laws of Alabama, and so she was arrested for not getting out of her seat, which of course then brought about the segregation law that changed in December nineteen fifty six, with the Supreme Court that outlawed racial segregation on public transportation, now I bring this up because Rosa Parks said. I simply wanted people to treat me with respect and basic human dignity. She wasn't making a statement to change the racial laws of Alabama. She was just making a statement that was for that moment in time but yet it reflected on all of the segregation enough in the whole state, and I asked ourselves the same terms in question. We have a teabag here in this bowl of water and when it makes a statement there represents the whole bag. It represents the whole pot as it were a key because it is part of of the mix and whenever we think of our lives is the body of Christ as the bride of Christ as the building of Christ the shape of the shopper as as we think of ourselves we are connected to one another and we have a direct impact on one another and we have an impact so influential that we can do little things in the right way and it can change what happens across the board, just saying I need to have prayer for me or for Jenny or for someone else. It has an impact on our lives upon the people around us. This is the body of Christ, and whenever we have this relationship with God, and this relationship with others. We begin to value how great we are and how important it is for God to touch our lives and touch the lives of those around us and sometimes it seems just a rather simple thing to bag in the bowl of water seems like a very simple thing. We get when God touches your life answers your prayer has a certain way of affecting everyone in the body and you are part of that body that has a change because as someone else in the book