Who is the church today? National cultures have certain historic people and events that they often return to in order to affirm their common identity. Americans look back upon the original Pilgrims, the voyage of the Mayflower, and the settlement of Plymouth Rock. Germans look to Karl the Great, The Holy Roman Empire, and others like Luther and Goethe to form a common identity. Filipinos look to their national hero, José Rizal, and his struggles for independence.
The Church of Jesus Christ has the Book of Acts, which serves as a model and as an inspiration for the church today. We return there to learn more about who we are today. ln Jerusalem, almost 2,000 years ago, the New Testament church was born. ln terms of spirituality, what they were then, we are to be today. The principles that were established then are active and relevant today. lf we want to know how to be the church today, we must be familiar with the "Story of Us" in Acts.
We find in the New Testament Church that the Spirit gives the church a prophetic voice that is based on the Word of God, which speaks to hearts and lives of each generation. The true prophetic voice is from the eternal truth of God, and speaks a relevant word for each age. Over the next few weeks we will be examining Acts and discovering that it really is our story today, too.
