table talk

what is the church?

the church is a universal institution that is experienced through a local community.

What is the Church? The Church is all who have put their faith in Jesus: past, present, and future. This “universal” Church is designed by God to be experienced by all Christians primarily through a local church community in which they are a member.

Head Heart

You may have noticed that in the command to baptize Jesus specifically commands us to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In other words, baptize in the Trinitarian name of God. The Trinity has popped up a lot in this study on what we believe, and shapes much of who we are as new creations in Jesus. Spend some time discussing some of the other times the Trinity has shaped who we are and what we believe in this study.

How have you personally obeyed these three commands in the Great Commission this year? Do you need to repent for disobeying any of these commands recently?

Is there a Christian friend or family member in your life who has not yet been baptized? Ask them to a meal and tell them you want to talk about baptism with them.

(Have you been baptized?) matthew 28:16-20

Sometimes we think of sharing the Gospel and discipling as an individual task, but it was a command given to the Church. Is there someone your family/group knows that doesn’t yet know Jesus? Discuss how you can bring them into your family/ group and share the Gospel with them together.

In these verses we see the final command that Jesus gives His church before returning to His Father to prepare a home for His church. This commission is the Church’s job to do until He returns. There are three specific commands that go into this commission. Spend time as a group/family discussing what it looks like for us to obey each of these commands in our current context (Chillicothe Illinois 2021).