The God-ordained ordinary patterns of slow, faithful, study, and absorption of the Word of God

and steady growth in grace and the knowledge of Christ in the midst of a faithful congregation

is far too ordinary for the salesman of adolescent, extreme, radical experience.

Welcome to Grace To You with John MacArthur.

I'm your host, Phil Johnson.

There are pastors who believe that churches need to create extraordinary experiences for

other people, let a church should have a reputation for being extreme or radical or revolutionary.

Well today John MacArthur will show you why the best thing for you and more important

the best thing for your church is actually to be ordinary.

You'll see what that means today as John continues his current series on the New Testament

beginning to end.

But before you begin today's lesson on the ordinary church, John, let me ask a foundational

question.

What makes a church?

Well a church.

And what's the difference between a local church and a ministry like Grace To You?

When we talk about church or a church, we do need to define our terms.

First of all, there is the church building.

Church on the corner, there is then the people that go to that place and sometimes they're

called the church.

But the building on the corner doesn't itself have spiritual life.

So it certainly isn't what the Lord had in mind when he said, I will build my church.

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