The Church – Getting Back To Its Roots

This Sunday (May 29) we’ll be studying the history of the church after Jesus ascended into heaven. It all began on a day we call Pentecost and the world has never been the same since. It’s good for 21st century Christians to go back to our roots, especially when it comes to our lives together in the church. It’s good for us because we need to continually remind ourselves of why we’re members of Christ’s church and what our mission is as a local congregation.

Today people have many different ideas of what a church should do. Books have been written on the subject. Looking back at how things started in the New Testament book of Acts, however, it was all pretty simple. The church was about people who trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They got together with each other to more effectively serve as Christ’s representatives in this world. Their mission was just as straightforward — offer the forgiveness of sins through Christ to everyone willing to listen. If they had been asked about their vision, goals and objectives, they would have probably said, “Look, Jesus Christ was killed on a Friday. He came back to life on the following Sunday and we have seen him with our own eyes. That means everything he said about himself is true. We’ve got to tell people about him and what he taught.”

Whatever image comes to mind when you see or hear the word “church”, try to think in the same way as those early Christians. We are a people who have been given eternal life by the God who created us, rescued from our own self-destructing evil. What else could be more important to us than sharing the same gift we have received? Let’s go back to our roots. We may be shocked by what God does when we do!