Framework of the Church

A Sunday morning sermon rather than a class. The preacher begins with a photograph from his 1974 wedding and the older men who carried him through his first years of preaching, then asks whether anyone can follow Christ alone: taking seriously why people walk away from organised religion. Working from Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12, he argues that God gave a framework, a local church with qualified elders, evangelists, teachers and deacons, and presses hearers to look past their own circle to members who are struggling.