"I like Jesus, but I'm not sure about the Church."
For lifelong Christians, that phrase isn't foreign, but it also isn't comforting to hear. Through our fallen world of sin, humans--including those within the congregation-can hurt others and push people out rather than inviting them in. Yet, Christ calls us to shepherd all people back to Him and to His Church, no matter how people have been led astray.
Author Christa Petzold empathizes and understands how Christians outside the physical church maybe be hesitant to return, yet she encourages them to come back and see the gifts Jesus gives through His Church. She brings light and emphasis to the ways Jesus sees His community of believers, founded securely on Him and His Word.
Dive into the gifts that He brings His believers in Gathered by Christ with introductory quotes from church fathers, historical context, discussion questions, and a leader guide. As you're working through Petzold's insights, she provides sidebar definition of specific terms to help you understand the heart of the matter. See how Christ sees His Church and how He gives His people beautiful gifts through Her.
"Sin, division, confusion, false teaching, and hypocrisy-seeing these in the Church is enough to make anyone want to walk away. This may be how our experiences have led us to see the Church, but how does Jesus see her?" -from the Introduction
