Citywide Baptist Church
What is the church and who is the Holy Spirit?
The church and the spirit are meant to be the two most important forces in our lives now.
Locations & Times
Citywide Baptist Church (Mornington)
400 Cambridge Rd, Mornington TAS 7018, Australia
Sunday 10:00 AM
Communicate with us directly
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https://www.citywidehobart.org.au/payment-or-gift-to-citywide/We chose our own Truth... and still do
We are beautiful and we are broken, and so is the world
God is Justice, and he is Grace.
Jesus is God and is the embodiment of God's Glory.
The Cross changes our present and our future
The disciples didn't understand ... they defaulted to coercive power
We are beautiful and we are broken, and so is the world
God is Justice, and he is Grace.
Jesus is God and is the embodiment of God's Glory.
The Cross changes our present and our future
The disciples didn't understand ... they defaulted to coercive power
Jesus said... it's not about power, it's about being a witness. A witness is someone who shares the truth of what they see.
Israel was called to be a Blessing to the world by living as a kingdom of God's priests... the church is called to be a blessing to the world by pointing people to the great priest who fulfilled the call on Israel.
This is what we mean by BLESS.
It was going to be the Holy Spirit that enabled them to do that...
Israel was called to be a Blessing to the world by living as a kingdom of God's priests... the church is called to be a blessing to the world by pointing people to the great priest who fulfilled the call on Israel.
This is what we mean by BLESS.
It was going to be the Holy Spirit that enabled them to do that...
All authority is now in Jesus', not in Satan, not in us, not in Israel, not in the church and not in the Bible.
Our task is to go and make disciples, baptising them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has taught...
This is what we mean by FOLLOW.
And HE promises to be with us.
Our task is to go and make disciples, baptising them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has taught...
This is what we mean by FOLLOW.
And HE promises to be with us.
We are sent (Missio) to bless the world as we follow His way.
Breathing on his followers and giving the gift of the Holy Spirit means that the personal relationship of the garden is now available to us.
The Spirit's job is to guide us into Jesus' truth.
Breathing on his followers and giving the gift of the Holy Spirit means that the personal relationship of the garden is now available to us.
The Spirit's job is to guide us into Jesus' truth.
Each one of us can relate to God and discern his voice. This is our main task as followers of Jesus.
Jesus's prayer for us is that we would be one.
The relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the model of the relationship that Jesus wants for the church.
Perechoresis: One but not the same.
The Spirit doesn't act on his own, neither does the Son.
The relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the model of the relationship that Jesus wants for the church.
Perechoresis: One but not the same.
The Spirit doesn't act on his own, neither does the Son.
Perechoresis (one but not the same community) is a gift from God, in the shape of the Glory of God
We aim to be a community that is so distinct from society that people believe in Jesus and know they are loved.
This is what we mean by SHARE.
This means we need to rethink what church is... a body and not a service.
This means we need to rethink what church is... a body and not a service.
It is the one Holy Spirit that enables us to be one
Key to this is the realisation that we are different.
The fall said to trust your own version of reality.... The church is meant to model a community where we trust each other's perspectives. The hand should not believe it can see like an eye, and the ear should not try kicking a football.
A democratic society built on expertise is a society built on Christian principles. As our society moves away from Christianity, it is also moving away from trusting experts... and sadly, this is sometimes being led by people who very publicly proclaim their Christianity.
God never planned for you to rely on your own research in every area of your life... he deliberately gives different gifts to different people.
Key to this is the realisation that we are different.
The fall said to trust your own version of reality.... The church is meant to model a community where we trust each other's perspectives. The hand should not believe it can see like an eye, and the ear should not try kicking a football.
A democratic society built on expertise is a society built on Christian principles. As our society moves away from Christianity, it is also moving away from trusting experts... and sadly, this is sometimes being led by people who very publicly proclaim their Christianity.
God never planned for you to rely on your own research in every area of your life... he deliberately gives different gifts to different people.
A gift of the spirit is not the same as a talent. It is what happens when someone does something and the Holy Spirit does something "extra" that can't be explained by talent.
The outcome of the gifts working together is that we grow to be like Jesus.
The outcome of the gifts working together is that we grow to be like Jesus.
The outcome of growth is love.
Immaturity is self-centred.
There needs to be enough mature people at the core of a church who can create a culture of love.
Love is so central because:
- God creates us as different from each other
- We misread each other's motives
- We each carry trauma and scars that mean we react based on our history
- We have a limited capacity to focus and understand information
- We have different talents, different education and different spiritual gifts
This is why Jesus said love is so central
Immaturity is self-centred.
There needs to be enough mature people at the core of a church who can create a culture of love.
Love is so central because:
- God creates us as different from each other
- We misread each other's motives
- We each carry trauma and scars that mean we react based on our history
- We have a limited capacity to focus and understand information
- We have different talents, different education and different spiritual gifts
This is why Jesus said love is so central
1 Corinthians 13 is what enables 1 Corinthians 12 to be a reality.
We are also a family, built into a building shaped around Jesus, in which God lives by His Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is at work trying to build us together if we will let him.
The Holy Spirit is at work trying to build us together if we will let him.
How does your view of the church and the Holy Spirit need to change?
Questions:
1. When you think about “the problem of evil,” which version of the question feels most real to you right now (God’s justice, God’s power, injustice in the world, or personal suffering)?
2. Luke 13:1–5 shows Jesus rejecting the idea that suffering always equals punishment. How does this challenge the way people today (including Christians) interpret bad events?
3. Mark 10:42–45 and Mark 8:34–35 show Jesus’ call to a different kind of power. What would it look like for us to resist coercive power and follow his way of the cross in everyday life?
4. Romans 8:18–23 says creation is “groaning” and so are we. How do you see that groaning in the world today, and how does hope in Christ help you hold both beauty and brokenness together?
5. Hebrews 2:14–15 says Jesus broke the power of death and freed us from fear. What fears still weigh on you, and how might the cross change the way you face them?
6. Communion is a way of remembering and proclaiming Jesus’ death until he comes. How does sharing communion together keep our story rooted in his story rather than our own?
Pray for each other.
1. When you think about “the problem of evil,” which version of the question feels most real to you right now (God’s justice, God’s power, injustice in the world, or personal suffering)?
2. Luke 13:1–5 shows Jesus rejecting the idea that suffering always equals punishment. How does this challenge the way people today (including Christians) interpret bad events?
3. Mark 10:42–45 and Mark 8:34–35 show Jesus’ call to a different kind of power. What would it look like for us to resist coercive power and follow his way of the cross in everyday life?
4. Romans 8:18–23 says creation is “groaning” and so are we. How do you see that groaning in the world today, and how does hope in Christ help you hold both beauty and brokenness together?
5. Hebrews 2:14–15 says Jesus broke the power of death and freed us from fear. What fears still weigh on you, and how might the cross change the way you face them?
6. Communion is a way of remembering and proclaiming Jesus’ death until he comes. How does sharing communion together keep our story rooted in his story rather than our own?
Pray for each other.