tollie.org/blog thoughts and reflections of Tollie Williams

Notes from 1-18-2008 Sermon – Our Bible Driven Church part 1

The glory of God is everything. He is most glorified through his church. Churches need revival and reformation (in that order). This means suffering for God's shepherds and God's people.

Matt 16:13-18, 21-23

Peter: "home run" on getting right who Jesus is.

Upon the rock of the _truth_ that Peter recognized, God would build his church.

Peter: "strike out" on trying to override God's interests with man's.

Many churches have only the form of Godliness but not the power of: The prominent pattern of those who walk by the spirit is God worshiping, treasuring, humble, self-denying, sacrificial people.

"Just when we need the church the most, it has become just like us."

How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus told them "I'm going to leave you to go die?"

16.4 million people labeled "Southern Baptist" because they marked a card, one-third of them go to church, and most of those don't behave like Christians.

I disagree: "We need to repent of freudian, atheistic psychology. We need to repent of our esteem of the studies of sociology..."

I agree: "We don't need psychology and sociology and the study of community demographics to design His church."

Purpose Statement: God's will for any church in any generation.

Grace Life's wording: "To glorify God, by obediently making and equipping disciples of Christ, in the Shoals and throughout the world, by the power of the Spirit."

* To Glorify God

Ephesians 3:21.

Be bought the church with his own blood. Acts 20:28

The church is the body, Christ is the head. Consider: does a report ask the legs how they accomplished the task when they've run a race? The head gets the attention.

The church is his bride. Ephesians 5. This is not our church - it is his church. Everyone is expendable to the end of the glory of God.

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