Lakeview Christian Center

Loving the Local Church

“God is not just saving individuals and preparing them for heaven. Rather, He is creating a people among whom He can live and who in their life together will reproduce God’s life and character” –Gordon Fee

[Ephesians 2:18-22]

Temple of God

“In [Christ] the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (v. 21-22)

-People of holiness who reflect God’s character
-Church distinguished by God’s manifest presence
-Church structured on the cornerstone of Christ
-Gathering as a place for God to dwell by His Spirit

Members of the Household

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (v. 19)

-Loving the church as Christ loves the church
…“Every Christian should have his church enclosed within his heart, and be affected with its maladies, as if they were his own, sympathize with its sorrows, and bewail its sins” –John Calvin
-Valuing the corporate gathering & church membership
-Practicing Biblical fellowship & “iron sharpening iron”
-Cultivating an atmosphere of leading and following
-Serving the family of God as well as those outside the family