New Israel

We are now starting into a sermon series called “These Are the People in Your Neighborhood”. If we think back to childhood we might remember a nursery rhyme where we clasped our hands together and said “Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.” We sometimes have to ask the questions what is the church and who are the people? This week we start with that question of what is the church? The church is described multiple ways in the New Testament including New Israel. We find in 1 Peter that Peter likens Christians, the Church as a chosen people. But to understand why Peter does that we have to understand the relationship between God and Israel, and that takes us back to the beginning.