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The Bible Speaks Today: Bible Themes Series
The Message of the Church
Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Theology)
The Bible begins and ends with God dwelling with his people--from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the great multitude in the New Jerusalem. At each step, God gathered his people together: to speak to them, hear from them and change them to be more like him. God assembling his people, whom he loves, is what the Bible calls church. The church should aspire to be a vibrant, loving, risk-everything people who are passionately committed to living out the values of God's Word and looking forward to the new creation. Churches and their pastors and leaders need to hear what the Bible says about who they are and what they are to do. Chris Green takes the message of the church to mean three things. First, the church has a message, which is that God has saved his people through Christ. Second, the church is the created and saved result of that message. Finally, the church is a message. He has saved broken people like us, and by belonging to his people we are trying to respond to him in the ways he requires. Green's stimulating and insightful exposition begins with a survey of the church from eternity, to Eden, to exodus, to exile, to eternity, and then focuses on various dimensions of the church's life and ministry, including its worship, unity, maturity, servants, gifts, holiness, boundaries and future.
The Bible begins and ends with God dwelling with his people--from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the great multitude in the New Jerusalem. At each step, God gathered his people together: to speak to them, hear from them and change them to be more like him. God assembling his people, whom he loves, is what the Bible calls church. The church should aspire to be a vibrant, loving, risk-everything people who are passionately committed to living out the values of God's Word and looking forward to the new creation. Churches and their pastors and leaders need to hear what the Bible says about who they are and what they are to do. Chris Green takes the message of the church to mean three things. First, the church has a message, which is that God has saved his people through Christ. Second, the church is the created and saved result of that message. Finally, the church is a message. He has saved broken people like us, and by belonging to his people we are trying to respond to him in the ways he requires. Green's stimulating and insightful exposition begins with a survey of the church from eternity, to Eden, to exodus, to exile, to eternity, and then focuses on various dimensions of the church's life and ministry, including its worship, unity, maturity, servants, gifts, holiness, boundaries and future.
- GenresTheology
333 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2014
2 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Chris Green
9 books8 followersThe official bio
Chris Green is the vicar St James, Muswell Hill, a vibrant church in North London. Before that, he was on the staff at Oak Hill Theological College, a seminary in North London, teaching, preaching, church leadership, church planting and ministry. He is a Church of England minister, and has been involved in leading four churches. Chris has written several books, and has most recently published Assemble the People Before me: The Message of the Church for the Bible Speaks Today series, and Cutting to the Heart Applying the Bible in Preaching and Teaching. Chris is a graduate of Edinburgh University.
The real story
I was born on the edge of South London, in Ashtead, Surrey, in 1958 and I grew up in a loving and stable family. I was taken regularly to church, and fortunately it was one with a brilliant children's and youth work. I honestly can't remember when I became a Christian, but I do remember standing by a bus stop on a rainy November afternoon, and I was late for going away on a youth group weekend; I decided that I would become a Christian then and there, if God would provide me with a bus! I prayed a prayer, opened my eyes and a bus pulled up. I do not recommend that as a pattern.
An active church youth group meant I went on camps and had opportunities to give talks, and eventually people began to suggest I should head for fully-time ministry. No-one at the school or church gave me any guidance at this point, so I ended up studying Divinity at New College, Edinburgh; at that time it was one of the most theologically solid universities in the UK although I didn't know it, and I had a brilliant foundation for future ministry. God was very kind to an innocent 18-year old!
I was also looking at being ordained in the Church of England, and after a brief stay at Cranmer Hall, Durham, I was ordained in 1983 and worked in Christ Church, Virginia water, and then Christ Church, Bromley.
But back in Edinburgh, my flatmate Phil Edwards had persuaded me to come to the Christian summer camp he went to, and I came under the influence of the brilliant Andrew Cornes. Under him I learnt to study the Bible for myself, to explain it to others, to lead Bible studies - and above all, to put Christ first in everything. Those years under Andrew's wings were the most formative of anything I have done.
The second most formative was a placement in Tennessee in a Southern Baptist Church, which introduced me to a seriousness and focus to the task of church leadership I had not encountered before. I still learn loads from our American sisters and brothers.
At the end of my contract in Bromley I couldn't find the right church to move to, so I went instead to work for a year with Dick Lucas at the Proclamation Trust in London. I had two roles. One was to help teach on the first year of the Cornhill Training Course, and this introduced me to the role of training future preachers that has become such a major theme of my ministry. The other was to help Dick finish The Bible Speaks Today on 2 Peter and Jude, and this introduced me the idea of writing Christian books, which is another major slice of my ministry.
I then spent a happy eight years in Surbiton, minister at Emmanuel Church, Tolworth, where we had great experiences in ministry, and I married Sharon - and now with two great boys.
We moved to Oak Hill in 2000, to be David Peterson's Vice Principal, and then Mike Ovey's. It is a wonderful thrill to see successive generations of young men and women heading into ministry with hearts on fire for Christ and a passion to see a world won for him.
And now we've reached a new phase of life and ministry, back into church life again in busy North London, St James, Muswell Hill. Join us one Sunday!
Chris Green is the vicar St James, Muswell Hill, a vibrant church in North London. Before that, he was on the staff at Oak Hill Theological College, a seminary in North London, teaching, preaching, church leadership, church planting and ministry. He is a Church of England minister, and has been involved in leading four churches. Chris has written several books, and has most recently published Assemble the People Before me: The Message of the Church for the Bible Speaks Today series, and Cutting to the Heart Applying the Bible in Preaching and Teaching. Chris is a graduate of Edinburgh University.
The real story
I was born on the edge of South London, in Ashtead, Surrey, in 1958 and I grew up in a loving and stable family. I was taken regularly to church, and fortunately it was one with a brilliant children's and youth work. I honestly can't remember when I became a Christian, but I do remember standing by a bus stop on a rainy November afternoon, and I was late for going away on a youth group weekend; I decided that I would become a Christian then and there, if God would provide me with a bus! I prayed a prayer, opened my eyes and a bus pulled up. I do not recommend that as a pattern.
An active church youth group meant I went on camps and had opportunities to give talks, and eventually people began to suggest I should head for fully-time ministry. No-one at the school or church gave me any guidance at this point, so I ended up studying Divinity at New College, Edinburgh; at that time it was one of the most theologically solid universities in the UK although I didn't know it, and I had a brilliant foundation for future ministry. God was very kind to an innocent 18-year old!
I was also looking at being ordained in the Church of England, and after a brief stay at Cranmer Hall, Durham, I was ordained in 1983 and worked in Christ Church, Virginia water, and then Christ Church, Bromley.
But back in Edinburgh, my flatmate Phil Edwards had persuaded me to come to the Christian summer camp he went to, and I came under the influence of the brilliant Andrew Cornes. Under him I learnt to study the Bible for myself, to explain it to others, to lead Bible studies - and above all, to put Christ first in everything. Those years under Andrew's wings were the most formative of anything I have done.
The second most formative was a placement in Tennessee in a Southern Baptist Church, which introduced me to a seriousness and focus to the task of church leadership I had not encountered before. I still learn loads from our American sisters and brothers.
At the end of my contract in Bromley I couldn't find the right church to move to, so I went instead to work for a year with Dick Lucas at the Proclamation Trust in London. I had two roles. One was to help teach on the first year of the Cornhill Training Course, and this introduced me to the role of training future preachers that has become such a major theme of my ministry. The other was to help Dick finish The Bible Speaks Today on 2 Peter and Jude, and this introduced me the idea of writing Christian books, which is another major slice of my ministry.
I then spent a happy eight years in Surbiton, minister at Emmanuel Church, Tolworth, where we had great experiences in ministry, and I married Sharon - and now with two great boys.
We moved to Oak Hill in 2000, to be David Peterson's Vice Principal, and then Mike Ovey's. It is a wonderful thrill to see successive generations of young men and women heading into ministry with hearts on fire for Christ and a passion to see a world won for him.
And now we've reached a new phase of life and ministry, back into church life again in busy North London, St James, Muswell Hill. Join us one Sunday!
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 12, 2021
Such a helpful, thoughtful book on the Church. I enjoyed looking at scripture and digging deep into who the church is. The last chapter on Revelation and looking at the future church was fabulous!
October 7, 2022
This book will make you love the church more and praise God more for her. Though I could quibble with some of Green’s Anglican proclivities, I heartily recommend reading The Message of the Church.
December 8, 2019
Barring a slightly different ecclesiology than my own I think this book is an amazing read and look at how the Bible understands the church. Brilliant!!
October 7, 2021
It was a good summary of a lot of aspects of the church.
August 10, 2023
A very sane treatment of the subject.
October 31, 2023
Mostly good, some weird
November 2, 2023
6/10
Good read, helpful, Anglican bend.
Good read, helpful, Anglican bend.
December 2, 2015
Excellent series of chapters that outline the church as it is seen in Scripture. There is some really challenging thinking from the Bible too (eg. why do we have worship leaders when Jesus is presented in the Bible as the only worship leader?). A great read.
January 19, 2014
Green answered many of my curiosities and kept me interested throughout the book. I am overall very pleased with what could have been a dry experience.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews