The Ekklesia

1. John 2:13-22 Jesus is concerned about Church Ekklesia the called out assembly called out ones.

Jesus is concerned about what’s going on in the church.

• This story of the cleansing of the temple is recorded in all four of the gospels.

• The religious elite were ready to toss Jesus off a cliff in Nazareth just because they didn't like the way he read Scripture. Remember in Luke 4: He commented that in Israel (Jewish) there were many widows, but God sent Elijah to a Gentile who was known as the widow of Zarephath . 27And there were many in Israel with leprosyF in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman (Gentile) the Syrian." 28All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.

• Jesus is Upset or even angry about what’s going on in the Temple. appears only to be concerned that there's a lot of cheating going on. Jesus drives out those that sold sheep, oxen, doves, and the money changers."

2. Jesus is upset over the wrongs going on in the church Jesus throws out

• He throws out those that sold stuff like sheep, both sheep and cattle; 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market?"

• They were taking advantage of travelers selling stuff for more that it was routine cost .

• They have turned the Holy (The Essence of God, Sacred, Consecrated, Divine, )

• Profane means "against the temple" or even "far from the temple. far from the true worship of God

3. Jesus has a righteous anger and over turns, he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables

• Jesus makes a whip and hurls it overturns the tables they have lost sight of the Mission

• Our Mission is one thing and one thing only make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world

• The mission of the UMC because it is Scriptural "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" (28:19-20), and "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. . . . And you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (22:37, 39).

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4. Our forbearers had a clear since of the Churches Mission

• John Wesley, Phillip Otterbein, Jacob Albright, and our other spiritual forebears understood the mission in this way.

• God has used our Church to save persons, heal relationships, transform social structures, and spread scriptural holiness, thereby changing the world. In order to be truly alive, we embrace Jesus' mandate to love God and to love our neighbor and to make disciples of all

• We are called to reach out to people welcome them

• We are called to relate people to God and deepen their relationship with God

• We are called to nurture people in Christian Living

• We are called to support People in ministry

5. Finally, Jesus is truly concerned about His Church

• Jesus cleanses the temple and he will clean our Temple to

• Jesus will turn the Profane to the Holy

• Jesus wants our church to Go Make Disciples for the Transformation of the world