Chapter 12: The Christian Church

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Recommended: The importance of the Bible within Christianity

Lynn Malone, is currently the senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Monroe, Louisiana. On June 13, 2008, Malone gave a homily that entailed a very key component of the Christian faith, the church. In this homily, the main concept of the homily is the church as being one whole entity. Throughout the homily, numerous examples are given that exemplify this concept. I will be discussing two themes more in depth throughout this paper, the Christian Church as one entity, and the universality of Christianity and Christ’s teachings.
The homily opens up with a quotation from the Apostolic creed, (the shortest of the three Christian creeds), which reads “I believe in the holy catholic church; the communion of saints.” (qtd. Reese 163) This excerpt from the Apostolic creed, outlines ultimately what Christians believe about their church. That it is one holy catholic (universal) church, and that it is bound together by everyone who has been apart of the Christian Church, both living and dead. To better understand the church itself, we must look to the very book that is universally recognized, the bible. In Ephesians 4:4-6, it outlines the very foundation of what the church is. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your vocation. There is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.One God and Father of all, which is above all, and through all, and in you all.” This excerpt truly does capture the unity that is found in the church through the communion of saints. That ultimately, the Spirit is in each and every one of us. This unites all of the members of the Christian Church on a spiritual level, and as such expresses unity.
Another point found in Malone’s homily is the universality of both Christianity a...

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...body.
Throughout reading this homily, it became evident that ultimately in order to stop the strife and arguing within the Christian denominations we need to understand the fundamental truth that we are all united as one through Christ. Even though there are various denominations, the church is united as one, and in my opinion this is a wake up call to be more accepting of each other. In the future, this must be considered in order to maintain lasting peace within Christianity, as we are all united by Christ.

Works Cited

Reese, William J., Emily Dykman, Michael Lopez-Kaley, and Laura Nettles. Christian Theology: Scripture, Tradition, and Practice. Kearney, Neb.: Morris Pub., 2012. Print.

"Universality." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014

"Our Pastors & Staff." First United Methodist Church in Monroe Louisiana. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

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