The church seeks to build intentional relationships with believers to help each other grow and with unbelievers to share the gospel with them sooner rather than later. This lesson and post explore what “intentional relationships” mean and look like in the church body.
To help each member understand what new members and
every member is committing to when they join Trinity Baptist Church, this
week’s lesson and last week’s lesson, Meaningful Membership, reviewed the two
weeks of the New Members class.
Two main parts of the second week of membership are (1)
two initial requirements of church membership – salvation and baptism and (2) BAPTIST
acrostic that explains some distinctive beliefs.
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16‑17, 2 Tim. 3:16-4:2)
AUTONOMY OF THE LOCAL CHURCH: (Col. 1:18; 2 Cor. 8:1-5,19,23)
PRIESTHOOD OF EVERY BELIEVER: Every believer has direct access to God. (Rev. 1:5‑6, Heb. 10:19, 1 Tim. 2:5)
TWO ORDINANCES: Baptism by immersion and The Lord's Supper (Acts 2:41,47, 1 Cor. 11:23‑31)
INDIVIDUAL SOUL LIBERTY: Every believer can distinguish truth from error through the teaching of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (1 John 2:20, 27; 1 Cor. 2:12)
SAVED CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (Acts 2:41, 47)
TWO OFFICES: Elder and Deacon (Phil. 1:1, I Tim. 3:1‑13). There is a Plurality of Leadership – Never CEO.
Each member
of the church plays an important role in the life of one another because each member is a part
of the body of Christ. In The Gospel
Primer, Milton Vincent captures this reality with the following statement “The more I comprehend the full scope of the gospel,
the more I value the church for which Christ died, the more I value the role
that I play in the lives of my fellow-Christians, and the more I appreciate the
role that they must be allowed to play in mine.”
This intentionality is made known in the many "one another" commands. Many of these commands can be found at www.challies.com/articles/one-another-the-bible-community/
These intentional relationships are built on Sunday mornings, other regular meeting times, special events, and throughout the week.
These intentional relationships are built on different levels. There are deep personal relationships, friends, and acquaintances.
A helpful intentional relationships resource is www.crossway.org/articles/building-a-culture-of-spiritually-intentional-relationships/, which contains four P’s that can lead to persistent cultural change. You can talk about how each of these can help grow intentional relationships.
DISCIPLESHIP & EVANGELISM THREAD:
Church members seek to build intentional relationships with believers to help each other grow and with unbelievers to share the gospel with them sooner rather than later
Upcoming Classes
10/01 Ministries of the Church
10/08 75th Celebration
10/15 Prayer & the Church
10/22 The Bible & the Church
10/29 Preaching & the Church
11/05 Leadership & the Church
11/12 Discipline & the Church
11/19 The Gathering of the Church
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