What is God calling FBC to do and be in 2013? What does it mean to be a community of faith? As we look for a few weeks at some pivotal themes of the Old Testament, we shall find out that it means what it has always meant. God has always chosen to reveal himself to the world, not in creeds or doctrines, but in the lives of those who live in relationship with him. According to the Bible, the Judeo-Christian faith has always been a community affair. It was not an individual, nor a group of individuals, but a community that God rescued from slavery in Egypt. The Old Testament is not primarily concerned with the relationships between God and individuals, but with the relationship between God and the whole of Israel. The word that the New Testament uses for ‘church’ (ekklesia) comes from the Greek Old Testament where it is used to describe the assembly of all the people of Israel.

The Old Testament story progressively unfolds God’s universal plan for the whole world. He is seen as a missionary God who wants to bless all nations on earth, and chooses a people through whom he can achieve this. The people of Israel are the community of faith who will repeat the stories of God’s goodness to their children (Psalm 145:4-5). They are also to be a ‘light to the Gentiles’, a demonstration to others who do not yet belong to the community of faith of who God is and just how much he loves them. They are to share the mission of their God. Blessed to be a blessing.

Although in a different place in time and space, culture and circumstance, FBC is intended to be exactly this. A community of faith, centred around Jesus as Lord and Saviour, radically living the life God has called us to live, and generously sharing his love with those around us. Are you with us?