Ephesians: Lecture 29

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Speaker Notes

The Ministry of Evangelism

Ephesians 4:11

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,

Thomas Merton “Seasons of celebration” Chapter 6 The Nativity Kerygma (page 101, 1986 edition) quote:

        Christianity is not so much a body of doctrine as the revelation of a mystery. A mystery is a divine action, something which God does in time in order to introduce men into the sanctuary of eternity. Being a religion of mysteries, Christianity is a religion of facts – divine facts, divine actions.

        In celebrating the mysteries of Christ as they recur in time, the Church first of all announces these events: “Christ is born!” “Christ is risen!” She proclaims them, as a herald proclaims the triumphal entrance of a victorious King into a city. Her announcement, her proclamation of the divine event, is a work which she entrusts to her “heralds,” her apostles, her preachers. Christianity is thus essentially kerygmatic: the priest is a herald, kerux, an angel of the Lord of Hosts, a voice crying out in the desert: “Make straight the ways of the Lord.”

Episcopal Church definition of Evangelism:

To Evangelize is to present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit in such a way that people come to believe in Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord in the fellowship of the church.

Sam Shoemaker “I Stand by the Door” webpage link

Jürgen’s Blog