The Mutual Ministry of Women and Men, Part 1 - Participant

The Mutual Ministry of Women and Men
- Part 1: "Our Shared Priesthood in Christ"

Participant Book by Rev. Dr. Steven E. King
(Go HERE to purchase the Part 1 Leader's Guide)

This fifteen-session, three-part series focuses on how the whole people of God minister together as part of the Priesthood of All Believers. It looks at what it means for each of us to “do ministry” in our everyday life of faith, especially in regard to how we are called to communicate the grace and mercy of God to others in Christ. 

Part 1 of 3: Our Shared Priesthood in Christ
(Click SAMPLE to download a sample session.)
This first part focuses on what it means to be an ambassador of Christ and our particular calling to speak his words of grace and forgiveness to one another in Christ’s name.

Session 1)   All the Disciples of Jesus
                     Our Common Calling as Followers of Christ

Session 2)  Ambassadors for Christ
                     God’s Command to Speak on His Behalf

Session 3)  The Authority of Christ Himself
                     Handing on the Word We Have Received

Session 4)  The Priesthood of All Believers
                     Ministry of the Whole People of God in Christ

Session 5)  Standing in for Christ or for the Church?
                     Executors of God’s Will and Testament
 

Longer Description from the Introduction to the Study

Focusing on how the whole people of God minister together as part of the Priesthood of All Believers, the goal of the series is to help us all see ourselves as ministers of God in service to one another, no matter who we are or what our particular gifts may be. It looks at what it means for each of us to “do ministry” in our everyday life of faith, especially in regard to how we are called to communicate the grace and mercy of God to others in Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us." (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

With this passage as our central guiding compass, the series will explore Scripture texts across the Old and New Testaments to show how all of us are called to serve in Christ’s name. We will address the topic of Ministry in the broadest sense and discuss how both laity and clergy share in the same mission and goal set before us by Christ. In doing so, we will look at the biblical definitions of what it means to be a disciple, an apostle, a witness, and an ambassador for Christ and how Scripture says we are all priests in the service of God.

This series will also look specifically at how the Scriptures show us that women and men were created to live and work together in God’s service. We will also examine how we, as believers, make use of the varied and complementary gifts he has given as partners in the ministry of God’s kingdom. Toward the end of the series, we will talk about the difference between the callings of lay and clergy and how Scripture speaks of leadership in the Church as a matter of good order, rather than a differential in power. This study is intended to help all God’s people better understand their Christian calling, and it may be particularly helpful for those who are in the process of discerning a call to professional ministry.