Pastor John, in episode 912 of this podcast, it was titled,

Paying Pastors, Church Buildings, and Weekly Sermons, a trio of issues.

You skipped right over the question about house churches and meeting and buildings,

and many savvy listeners wrote in to point that out to us. Nothing gets past our listeners.

So do you have any particular views when it comes to whether or not the church should meet in house churches or in buildings?

Okay, not a problem. I have views. I think the Bible has something to say.

I'll summarize my view in six observations. I don't think they're very controversial.

I think they're easily supportable. So here we go, and people can judge for themselves.

First, the church in the New Testament, as the New Testament teaches about the church,

is people not places. The word church in the New Testament is a translation of the word,

which means called out ones or assembly. It never refers to building or place.

The English word church, it's an interesting word. Where did that come from?

Well, it came from the Old English Kirk, or Kirk, like in the Scottish Kirk,

and it comes from the Greek Kuryakos, which means belonged to the Lord.

So the word church means belonging to the Lord in its etymological origin,

and could refer to a place or could refer to a people. So that's where the English word church comes from

and doesn't prove anything about where a people should meet.

But in this whole discussion, it is utterly crucial to keep in mind that in the New Testament,

nothing is said about the church as place and much is said about the church as people.

And just to give a few examples, Matthew 16, 18, Jesus says to Peter,

on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

That was not a building he's talking about. Or in Matthew 18, 17, in church discipline,

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