Ekklesia Sermon Notes
This is a library of Sermon Notes written for the interactive church meetings we call Ekklesia (pronounced, "ek-clay-see-ya"). Ekklesia is the New Testament Greek word that is translated as "church" in most of our Bibles. It was originally a non-religious word, literally meaning a "people called out for a purpose". It was used of gatherings of people for a wide variety of purposes, civic caucuses, guild meetings, etc. It was used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament for the gathering of God's people as a group for non-religious purposes. A different word, "synagogue", was employed for religious gatherings. By employing Ekklesia, Jesus chose to differentiate the movement of those who were following Him from the religious system and establishment of His day. The term maintained a historical connection with the people of God, but broke from the religious traditions and expectations of the past. Ekklesia was the calling out of people to meet for a purpose. The purpose of the Ekklesia was to build up the Body of Christ by serving and "truthing" in love to one another.
This library is organized chronologically, from the present backward to 2008. Hopefully, this resource will provide some encouragement and food for thought for you, as you follow Jesus and seek to better understand what the "church" is supposed to be all about.
|