What is the Church?

What is the church? A typical, modern-day conception of the church is that it is a building where you go to hear preaching and singing once a week (or at least on Christmas and Easter).  But the question is a bit misleading. The church is not so much a what but a who. According to Scripture, the church is actually a people: the people of God (1 Pet. 2:9-10), the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), the temple of the Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16). It is the ekklēsia, the “called-out ones,” who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. In this sermon, Pastor Dave explains how the local church is a gathering of God’s chosen people who publicly assemble to worship, confessing that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16).