A reflection on Church (one of several)

Reflections of the day

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Unity and Diversity in the Body

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by^[a] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Hebrews 3: 1-6

Jesus Greater Than Moses

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honour than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. ”Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

The base trunk is our relationship with the Lord. Everything above it, all the branches, leaves and fruit rest in this relationship. It is out of our relationship with God that every kind of prayer comes forth. It is interesting that Jesus spoke of his relationship with his followers in similar terms. He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

A reflection on church (one of several)

Our Heavenly Father,

You art the creator of this world that we live in and thou have created all things known to Man and thou have created all things unseen by Man. We acknowledge that thou have created all Mankind in thy image.

We acknowledge thou gave us thy Holy Scriptures. We acknowledge thou as one Father and we acknowledge thou as eternally existent in three persons; as thou Father, as thou Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and as thou Holy Spirit. We acknowledge that thou Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, is thou manifest in the flesh and we acknowledge thou intention that thou Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, came into this world to save us from our sins and for us to find a way to thou. We acknowledge thou Holy Spirit enables us to live a life that can be described as one that thou desires, that thou Holy Spirit enables us to witness and to work in the name of thou Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father, we are able to see that in recent years the Church has experienced what can be described as a decline in attendance. We are able to see that many say that they are unable to see what is relevant about Church.

Heavenly Father, we are able to see that thou Scriptures teach us what the Church is and that thou Scriptures teach us what the Church is for. We are able to see that the nature of the Church and the purpose of the Church are ones that are connected. We are able to see that thou Scriptures teach us that we have a call to gather as a community and that this gathering is known to all as the Church. We are able to see that this gathering is one that thou desire as thou desire us to be at one with each other and thou desire us to be at one with thou. We are able to see that the forming of the Church is one that can be described as one that is fundamental to our faith and that through faith we can be led into a divine relationship with thou.

Heavenly Father, it is at this time we uphold to thou the Church and we hope and pray that many will draw closer to thou and we hope and pray that many will see clearly the need for us all to be united as the Church.

Heavenly Father, we ask thou to guide us in our daily life, we ask thou to guide us at the times we gather, we ask thou to guide us at the times we worship together, we ask thou to guide us as we draw closer to thou so that we are able to see thy purpose for us and so that we are able to see thy purpose for the Church always.

Heavenly Father, we hope and pray that many will reflect carefully upon the nature of the Church and we hope and pray that many will reflect carefully upon the purpose of the Church and we hope and pray that many will reflect carefully upon thou desire for us to be at one with thou, now and always.

Amen.

You are invited to respond either by way of a comment or a prayer. Any prayers will be posted.

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