The Bible Study Podcast, episode 42. Today the Bible Study podcast starts a new series on the church,

what it is and what it's meant to be. This episode will deal with unity.

Welcome to the Bible study podcast.

I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

As we start looking at the issue of what is the church, the one thing that we should start with is

the church in the Bible is never referring to a structure.

It's never referring to a building.

In fact, at the time the Bible is finished being

written, church buildings won't be built for hundreds of years. And so never in the Bible,

when it's referring to a church, is that word implying a building or even a specific location. It's implying a group of people who are

called together in Christ. And they usually would be meeting in people's homes. But I want you to

get that mental image first. Because to get at what the church is meant to be, we're going to have

to undo some of our perception of what the church

is right now. And as we start looking at what the church is, I want to start with some words of Jesus

from John 17. And this is a prayer that Jesus prays on the eve of his crucifixion. And first he

prays for himself, and then he prays for his disciples.

And we're going to skip down to verse 20, where he's praying for all believers.

Because this is where he's praying for the church.

My prayer is not for them alone.

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.

That all of them may be one,

Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may

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