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Day 3 – Two Ordinances
Baptism (Matthew 28:19)
Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Communion (1 Corinthians 11:26)
For as
often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death
until He comes.
We already discussed the two
ordinances on days 4 and 5 of week one. The following is the Baptist Faith and
Message summation.
“Christian baptism is the immersion of a
believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It
is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried,
and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and
the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It testifies of
faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Baptism is prerequisite to church
membership.
“The
Lord’s Supper (Communion) is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the
church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize
the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.” (Article VII, 1963; 2000)
Day 3 (Continued) – Two Offices
Pastors (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
1 Here is
a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.
2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife,
temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not
given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of
money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his
children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If
anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s
church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become
conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must
also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into
disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
While some churches have
elders, separate from the vocational pastoral staff, and different from
deacons, the ministerial staff of our church have been called by a search
committee and are considered the role of pastors we discussed last week (week 2 Day 3). A
search committee is named by the nominating committee, approved by the church
and once a candidate is approved by the committee, the staff member is then
elected by the church. The pastoral staff generally has been ordained and sense
a call into the vocational ministry.
The LifeGroup leaders for our
adult classes also have a role of overseeing their respective portions of the
flock, but not in an ordained role. By being accountable in attendance to small groups, leaders are able to be equipped to help the ministerial staff in overseeing, shepherding, and feeding the church.
Deacons (1 Timothy
3:8-15)
8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued,
not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery
of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first be
tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 11 Likewise,
their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all
things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their
children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served
well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the
faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Every week, FBC Killeen
highlights a “deacon of the week”. As needed, our church seeks out nominations
for deacons to be ordained. Deacons are assistants or helpers to the pastors
and to the church. Acts 6 does not use the noun “deacon,” but does use the verb
for deacon, which meant “serve”.
Deacons serve in assisting in
the ordinances, ministering to the widows of the church, meeting monthly for
reports of the operation of the church, and evaluating annually the ministry of
the senior pastor. At least one deacon serves on each committee of the church.
For Week 3 Day 4, click here
For Week 3 Day 4, click here
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