The Origin, Nature and Mission of Christ and the Church have been and are misunderstood by many.

The carpenter’s son – “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things” (Mt. 13:55,56; 1:25; Gen. 4:1). A prophet – “So they said, Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Mt. 16:14).

Mt. 16:16 - “And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jn. 5:17,18 - He called God His Father Jn. 8: He was before Abraham Rev. 1: The Alpha and Omega – He had no beginning (Is. 9:6).

A sect of the Jews’ religion – Acts 5:17; 15:5; 24:5,14; 28:22,23 Began in Restoration Movement The truth? In God’s eternal purpose, Eph. 3:8-11 Built by Christ, Mt. 16:18 Product of the word, Mt. 13:19; Lk. 8:11 Follow the same pattern – same product

A good man – “And there was much murmuring among the people concerning Him. Some said, He is good; others said No, on the contrary, He deceives the people” (Jn. 7:12). The God-man – “Behold, a virgin shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us” (Mt. 1:23). Lk. 22:66-71

The Divine Side: A perfect builder – Mt. 16:18 and pattern, Jas. 1:25. The Human Side: Imperfect humans, 1 Pet. 2:1,2; Gal. 2:11-14; 1 Cor. 3:1-6 Perfection is not essential to membership, 1 Cor. 8:4-9; Rom. 14:1-4; 15:1,2; Rev. 2,3

He was not: A political leader, Jn. 18:36 A social reformer, Lk. 12:13-15 He was the Savior: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). “And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21).

Not a Social Club, 1 Cor. 11:20-22,33,34 Some say “do not eat during worship,” or “if you can’t wait for the poor to arrive, eat something before you come together.” It has a spiritual mission: entered by a spiritual birth (Jn. 3:3-5), spiritual worship (Jn. 4:24), engages in spiritual work (Eph. 4:11,12).

God Gave: –Apostles –Prophets –Evangelists –Pastors –Teachers –Eph. 4:11,12 God did not Give: –Actors – theater –Coaches – gym –Cooks – kitchen –Business managers – Farms, stores, fishing, etc. (Fellowship is never used of social meals, but is used of fishing, Lk. 5:10)

The rodeo takes place in the (Colbert County) church’s recently completed arena, a place of fellowship for church members and an outreach tool for the community. If they come out there for the rodeo, there’s a possibility that they will come for the service and see what else is fun at the church. Times Daily, Aug. 29, 2009

They spoke briefly about what they wanted to pray about and then bowed their heads. Once they finished with prayer requests, the young students got down to the business at hand – learning ballet. Harvest Baptist also offers private lessons in voice, piano, guitar, drums and violin. The idea is to provide youth and adults a Christian setting to learn music and dance and that nurtures their faith. Covenant United Methodist also offers music and dance lessons, which gives a comfort level when it takes place in a Christian environment (Dothan, Al., via Times Daily, Sept. 7, 2009). The same arguments - for kitchens and gyms!

Misunderstanding comes from failure to understand Bible authority, use of human reasoning, and desire to be like the nations (1 Sam. 8:5). The fact that many misunderstand the origin, nature and mission of Christ – does not excuse my misunderstanding. The fact that many misunderstand the origin, nature and mission of the Church – does not excuse my misunderstanding.