Preparing for Sunday, July 22

Preparing for Worship

Matthew 16

Matthew 18

2 Timothy 3:10-17

As you prepare your heart for worship this coming Sunday (7/22), here are a few brief thoughts as you read the passages assigned on Sunday at the end of the sermon. This Sunday’s sermon looks at church membership and what it is according to the Bible. 

Matthew 16

Read the entire chapter, to get the entire flow and context. Next, pay close attention to verses  13-18. After warning the disciples of the false teaching of the Pharisees and Saducees (verse 12), Jesus mentions “church” for the first time. He spends far more time talking about the Kingdom of God than the church. Jesus is building His church on Peter and his statement - on both the person and on their confession. The keys and the term “bind” and “loose” are about authority. 

Matthew 18

Verses 15-20 again use the terms “bind” and “loose”  implying the authority factor again.- this passage is the classic passage about church discipline. Next Sunday, we’ll be looking at the connection between church membership and discipline. This chapter introduces it. 

2 Timothy 3:10-17

The focal verses in this passage are 16 & 17 - they form a foundational idea that we can never relegate to the background. In verse 16, what four things is Scripture helpful for? In verse 17, what is the goal of the activities mentioned in verse 16? How might keeping this in mind inform your approach to reading Matthew 16 and 18, and all of your Scripture reading?

Here are the songs we'll be singing together this Sunday:

Let Your Kingdom Come

The Lord's Prayer

The Solid Rock

Community

Let It Be Said of Us

We are the Body of Christ

Be praying for our time together!

Rob