Church (Group)

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.

And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.

When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.

On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,

And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch.

From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.

Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.

who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.

Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.

So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church?

Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches.

Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—

If anyone is inclined to dispute this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God.

First of all, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.

Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.

The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.

I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be edified.

It is the same with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, strive to excel in gifts that build up the church.

But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

But if there is no interpreter, he should remain silent in the church and speak only to himself and God.

For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.

Women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church.

For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:

The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.

Along with Titus we are sending the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in the gospel.

More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the gracious offering we administer to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.

As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

In full view of the churches, then, show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our boasting about you.

I robbed other churches by accepting their support in order to serve you.

Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

In what way were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia:

For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.

I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,

His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her

and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.

This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.

as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.

And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

After this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.

For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?

in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need.

to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:

He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”

in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

I have written to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not accept our instruction.

So if I come, I will call attention to his malicious slander against us. And unsatisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers and forbids those who want to do so, even putting them out of the church.

John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne,

saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.

To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze.

Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of the One who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, yet you are dead.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”