My Account Wish List Shopping Cart Log In
Store Location

Life of the Church

At the Lord's Supper, Christians eat and drink together. We call it communion because by it we are unified in Christ. This togetherness—this community—is central to the life of the Church. Its distinguishing feature is not multiplicity, but oneness: "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph. 4:4-6).

Like all good stories there is unity to the story of the Church. It looks much different now than it did in the first century, but it's still the same Church. Part of its life is this story: where did it come from, who keeps it together, where is it going? While there are all kinds of interesting particulars, there is really only one answer to these questions: Christ. He is the founder of the Church, He is its sustainer, and He is the goal toward which it is progressing. History will cumlminate in the absolute glorification of Christ before all creation, and the Church's primary task is to prepare the way for Him. The Church is healthiest when Christians are most dedicated to this task. This doesn't mean the death of denominations, it simply means they will be working humbly together. Just as the men of Israel worked together to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem (Neh. 3), so all Christians regardless of denomination must build the kingdom together.

To be successful the Church must be healthy internally. Its worship must reflect the standards and guidelines found in the Bible, and its observance of the sacraments cannot be taken lightly or neglected. The Church is to be the one consistently safe place for Christians in a mostly hostile world. This is not to imply the Church is a location or building but that it is a spiritual presence providing refuge for the people of God.

The apostle John made it plain how the Church is to hold itself together. The world will know us by our love, he said. "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:11). The Church is at its best when it is filled with the selfless love of Christ and is sharing that love with the world.

It is the Church's responsibility to spread the kingdom Christ set up during His lifetime. This kingdom is spiritual and its citizenry is increased whenever someone is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but it exists in a physical world and will lead to the transformation of all civilization and culture. While this goal often seems hopeless and beyond reach, God has promised that the Church will triumph:

"On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." — Matthew 16:18

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Life of the Church
Subcategories
420 Items found Print
Filter
"Atheism" of the Early Church
by Rousas John Rushdoony
from Ross House Books
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$12.00
"But Don't All Religions Lead to God?"
by Michael Green
from Baker Books
for 7th-Adult
in Evangelism & Missions (Location: XAP-EVA)
$12.99
"No one..."
by J.D. Wetterling
from Christian Focus Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Abandoned on the Wild Frontier
Trailblazer Books
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
Adventures in Naked Faith
by Ross Tooley
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Against All Odds
by Jim Stier
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99
Against Christianity
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$10.50
Against the Church
by Doug Wilson
1st edition from Canon Press
for Adult
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$10.50
Alphabet Makers
by Hyatt Moore
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 8th-Adult
in History of Books & Language (Location: HISV-BOOK)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Already Gone - DVD
by Ken Ham
from Answers in Genesis
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$7.50
Am I Called?
by Dave Harvey
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$8.50
Ambushed in Jaguar Swamp
Trailblazer Books
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
American Indian Prayer Guide
by Danette Maloof, Dean Cozzens
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-7th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.50 (4 in stock)
Apologetics in Evangelism - CD
by Doug Wilson
from Canon Press
for Adult
in Canon Audio (Location: XMED-CAN)
$6.00
Approved Unto God with Facing Reality
by Oswald Chambers
from Discovery House Publishers
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ashamed of the Gospel
by John F. MacArthur jr.
First Printing, Underlining from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Assassins in the Cathedral
Trailblazer Books
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
At the Edge of the Village
by Lisa Leidenfrost
from Canon Press
Biographies for Adult
in Evangelism & Missions (Location: XAP-EVA)
$17.00
Attack in the Rye Grass
Trailblazer Series
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
Bandit of Ashley Downs
TrailBlazer Book
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
Baptism of Jesus the Christ
by Ralph Allan Smith
from Wipf and Stock Publishers
for Adult
in Baptism (Location: XWO-SAC1)
Baptized Body
by Peter J. Leithart
from Canon Press
in Baptism (Location: XWO-SAC1)
$15.00
Being the Body
by Charles Colson, Ellen Santilli Vaughn
First Edition from Word Publishing
for Adult
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Betrayer's Fortune
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
Biblical Eldership
by Alexander Strauch
Rev Exp from Lewis and Roth Publishers
Historical Non-Fiction for Adult
in Church Government (Location: XWO-GOV)
$18.50 $8.00 (4 in stock)
Biblical Eldership
by Alexander Strauch
from Lewis and Roth Publishers
for Adult
in Church Government (Location: XWO-GOV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Biblical Evangelism - CD
Canon Press Audio Series
by Doug Wilson
from Canon Press
in Canon Audio (Location: XMED-CAN)
$6.00
Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church
by Michael Lawrence
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biblical Theology (Location: XTH-BIB)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Blessed Are the Hungry
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
in Communion (Eucharist) (Location: XWO-SAC2)
$15.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Blinded by the Shining Path
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
Blood of the Moon
by George Grant
from Wolgemuth and Hyatt
for 9th-Adult
in World Religions, Cults and Sects (Location: XAP-WRCS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bobby’s Friends
by Phia van den Berg
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.95
Body of Divinity
by Thomas Watson
from Banner of Truth Trust
Theology for 9th-12th grade
in Puritan Writings (Location: XCH-PUR)
$16.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Psalms for Singing
by Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
from Crown and Covenant
for 7th grade-Adult
in Hymnals & Psalters (Location: XWO-HYMN)
Brigham Young, Pioneer and Prophet
Let Freedom Ring
by Cory Gideon Gunderson
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Built to Last
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$24.99
Built Upon the Rock
by Mark Dever
1st edition from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Church Government (Location: XWO-GOV)
$6.50 $3.00 (1 in stock)
California's Missions
by Various Sources, Edited by Ralph B. Wright and Illustrated by Herbert C. Hahn
from California Mission Trails Association
for 7th-Adult
in California Gold Rush (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Call of Grace
by Norman Shepherd
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Covenant Theology (Location: XTH-COV)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Carved in Ebony
by Jasmine L. Holmes
from Bethany House
for 10th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$17.99
Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism
by Gregg Strawbridge, editor
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
in Baptism (Location: XWO-SAC1)
$16.99
Catching their Talk in a Box
by Betty M. Hockett
from George Fox Press
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Evangelism & Missions (Location: XAP-EVA)
$3.50 (4 in stock)
Catholic Myth
by Andrew M. Greeley
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Caught in the Rebel Camp
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-CFTB)
Celebrating Biblical Feasts
by Martha Zimmerman
from Bethany House
for Adult
in Jewish Holidays (Location: HOLIDAY)
$16.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Celebrating the Sabbath
by Bruce Ray
from P&R Publishing
for 11th-Adult
in Worship & Sabbath (Location: XWO-SABB)
$6.99
Cell 58
International Adventures
by Dan Baumann
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$12.50
Center Church
by Timothy J. Keller
from Zondervan
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
$24.00 $16.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Promise
by Robert Booth
from P&R Publishing
for 11th-Adult
in Baptism (Location: XWO-SAC1)
$14.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Illustrated Jewish Bible
by Laaren Brown & Lenny Hort
Revised Edition from DK Children
for 1st-6th grade
in World Religions, Cults and Sects (Location: XAP-WRCS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
123456789
Sign Up!

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Learn more about our store location and hours

Connect

503.655.1951

hello@exodusbooks.com

19146 Molalla Ave,
Oregon City, OR 97045