Month of Mission iv. What does a healthy Church look like?

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Ephesians 4:14-16 and Revelation 2:1-7

Paul Minear’s classic work “Images of the Church in the New Testament” refers to no less than ninety-six word pictures of the church.  We have already focused on Paul’s image of the church as a healthy body (Eph 4:7-16).  We will now highlight John’s emphasis on the church as loving community (1 John 4:7-9).  Paul spent three years at Ephesus grounding believers in the gospel.  Thereafter he wrote them a letter from prison in Rome in the early 60’s AD, prior to his martyrdom.  The apostle John remained in Jerusalem, moving to Ephesus shortly before the fall of Jerusalem and the desecration of the Temple.  The church at Ephesus under John served as a hub to reach the Roman province of Asia and he wrote his 3 letters there in the late 80’s.  They afford a fascinating insight to the situation which prevailed in Ephesus a generation after Paul’s ministry there in the early 50’s.

Identity Formation

Preacher: Lincon Hardouin

Verses: Romans 6:1-14

Most people have never thought about the fact that from a very young age, some suggest as early as 3-4 years old, we start developing an “identity”.  Identity is described as being a combination of different and distinct parts of a person, be it genetics, culture, language, gender, family, etc. coming together to form who we are at this very moment. And yet, we need to realise that our identities are always evolving. This is because identity is shaped, established and influenced by any number of different things within this life. For example, part of my identity is found in my nationality as a South African.  Part of my identity is found in the fact that I am the second born in my family.  Part of my identity is found in that fact that I am English speaking. Part of my identity is founded upon the way in which people have affected my life and in the way in which I have affected theirs, whether in a positive or a negative way.  Of course, this list could continue for the next few hours and I don’t think anyone wants to sit here until 1:30.  But the point is this, no single person is the same in terms of identity as they were say 10 years ago, and no single person is exempt from these changes whether we know they are happening to us or not.  It’s often only over an extended period of time that we even realise that we have changed.