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    Church: What we can learn from Acts: seven studies for groups
    Church: What we can learn from Acts: seven studies for groups
    Church: What we can learn from Acts: seven studies for groups
    Ebook83 pages1 hour

    Church: What we can learn from Acts: seven studies for groups

    By BEKI ROGERS

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    About this ebook

    In the book of Acts, we see the church unleashed on society to make God’s kingdom known. Thousands came to faith, signs and wonders inspired awe, and the church was radically united together for God’s work. But we also see the tensions of the early church – struggles over belief and holiness, leadership and unity. 2000 years later, how can we learn from Acts to be the church unleashed? These seven studies explore different aspects of the church seen in Acts and applies them for the church today as we work out our mission in the world.

    Specially designed for small groups and individuals based on the theme of Spring Harvest 2020, this workbook contains material for seven sessions, all of which help small groups engage with the Scriptures and apply them to daily life. Each study includes Bible passages, key thoughts and comments, questions to reflect upon or discuss, action points and prayer guidance.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIVP
    Release dateMar 26, 2020
    ISBN9781789741803
    Church: What we can learn from Acts: seven studies for groups
    Author

    BEKI ROGERS

    Beki is the Principal of the St Edmund Courses in London and oversees one of the Lay Ministry (Reader) pathways for the London Diocese. She is also the Director of the London Centre of Spiritual Direction. She has been involved in teaching theology for fifteen years and has written and taught across London. Beki is very passionate about seeing people equipped to unpack and relate their faith to the 21st century as well as to engage in a deeper way with God. She is also a priest in the Church of England and with her husband runs a church in the East End of London where they share the house with their two teenage children, various placement students, a hamster and a destructive house rabbit!

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      Book preview

      Church - BEKI ROGERS

      TitlePage

      First published in 2020

      Essential Christian, 14 Horsted Square, Uckfield, TN22 1QG Tel: 01825 746530

      Email: info@essentialchristian.org Web: essentialchristian.org

      Registered charity number 1126997

      IVP, 36 Causton Street, London SW1P 4ST, England

      Email: ivp@ivpbooks.com Web: www.ivpbooks.com

      © Beki Rogers 2020

      Beki Rogers has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as Author of this work.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

      Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicized edition). Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

      ISBN: 978–1–78974–179–7

      eBook ISBN: 978–1–78974–180–3

      Typeset by Ascent Creative

      Web: ascent-creative.co.uk

      eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

      Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

      Inter-Varsity Press publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.

      IVP originated within the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, now the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk. That historic association is maintained, and all senior IVP staff and committee members subscribe to the UCCF Basis of Faith.

      Contents

      Introduction

      The Church Unleashed as Family

      The Church Unleashed as Servant

      The Church Unleashed in Power

      The Church Unleashed as Herald

      The Church Unleashed as Organization

      6 min. Retreat

      The Church Unleashed as Sign

      The Church Unleashed as Disciple

      Going Deeper

      Bibliography

      Introduction

      When the Church was formed in the book of Acts, it was designed to be unleashed on society to make God’s kingdom known. When we look at these early stages of church life, it looks very exciting and inspiring. Thousands of people were coming to faith, there were signs and wonders of the kingdom happening daily, and there was a dynamic and exciting community all giving and living together for God’s work. It was an exciting time. What we don’t always see is the struggle with agreeing on theology, the tension in how things should be organized, and who should lead what. This early church needed to organize itself so that the work of Jesus could continue to grow.

      Now 2000 years on, there is a danger that we play at being church rather than being unleashed to be the church. We can do this because we feel like we want to do it right or be in control, but the early church was a community who were filled with the Holy Spirit and from this, unleashed to simply be themselves and no one else. The Church is unleashed to do the work of God, living out the mission of God in every neighbourhood for every individual to meet with God. As the Church grew, they realized that to stay unleashed, they needed to set some structure. Structure wasn’t the opposite of being unleashed but the framework for the people of God to stay unleashed. This process of structuring the community and being filled with a dynamic spirit requires walking a fine line, and one can easily fall either way. We can be so unleashed that no one knows what is going on, and we can be so structured that we get nothing done. The Church is to walk this fine line.

      When we look at the Church, it can be useful to have a set of characteristics to consider as we work out how we compare to the early church and how we fulfil the mission that we have been given.

      Dulles, a theologian, identified six different aspects or characteristics that the Church holds in tension as it seeks to work out its mission in the world. This Study Guide takes these six aspects and adds one extra, Power, and then looks at what they are and how they can be seen within the local church.

      This study looks at those characteristics, examines where they are seen in Acts, looks at the strengths and weaknesses behind them and encourages the reader to look at their own church community and reflect on how it encounters its context and which aspects it needs to develop to fulfil its mission to the world.

      It also encourages readers to look at how those characteristics are reflected in their own lives, challenging them to become more Christ-like in the process.

      It is important to remember that each of our local churches is part of the worldwide Body of Christ. Some churches will have different emphases and different focuses. Some denominations consider some aspects more important than others – but it is as a whole that we reflect the kingdom of God, not as individuals.

      I love the local church! I think it is a beautiful and wonderful thing. It is the Body of Christ, but made up of fallen and imperfect people like me and you. So it is not ideal and not perfect. My prayer is that this study can be a

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