Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

/ 2 5 3

T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

The Church at Work

Welcome to the Mentor’s Guide for Lesson 4, The Church at Work . The overall focus of this lesson of the Capstone module Theology of the Church is to enable your students comprehend clearly and be able to explain to others the various dimensions and elements of the Church, describing how we may detect authentic Christian community through the Church’s actions and lifestyle. We will be looking at the identity and works of the Church through the marks provided in the Nicene Creed, the Reformation’s teaching, and St. Vincent’s rule. Through these sources we can come to understand and evaluate traditions and teachings claiming to speak about the nature of the Church and Christian doctrines. We will also explore the character of the Church’s works in the world by exploring various images of the Church mentioned in the New Testament. Through the lens of images of the household of God, the body of Christ, and temple of the Holy Spirit, the ambassadorship of the Church as the agent of the Kingdom of God, and the Church as God’s army, we’ll comprehend what the Church is called to be and do in the world. As in your leading of the previous lessons, note here again how critical it is to orient your class session around the learning objectives of the class. Your responsibility as mentor is to emphasize the ideas coming through the objectives in such a way that they provide clear targets and goals for you throughout the lesson. Emphasize the objectives throughout the time, but especially during the discussions and interaction with the students. The more you can highlight the objectives throughout the class period, the better the chances are that they will understand and grasp the magnitude of these objectives. This devotion focuses on the privilege the Church has in representing the soon-and-coming Kingdom of our Lord Jesus in what it does and says in the world. Jesus commands us to allow our lights to so shine, both personally and communally, that our works would be seen by our neighbors, and for them through those works to glorify God the Father, who is in heaven (Matt. 5.14-16). To represent another is to stitch their reputation to your actions, to force them to be seen in the light of what you do (or fail to do). As the agent and representative of Christ, we reveal him through what we do, how we conduct ourselves in the world, and the way in which we function in this age. Help the students recognize better the

1 Page 115 Lesson Introduction

2 Page 115 Devotion