Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning, Gateway Chapel!

Scripture

Prayer

What do you do for fun?

For me, I golf.

I love to golf.

One of the most fun things for me is to be around really nice golf courses.

If I can play awesome, but even if today you said, “Chris, let’s just go to Chambers Bay in Tacoma, and let’s just look at it.”

And I’d be like, great!

Let’s do it.

About ten years ago, I got to both look at and play Fircrest Country Club.

Know where that is? Swanky, old school country club.

Super rare opportunity because it was is very private, very expensive, but also a really nice course so I was pumped to play.

So I got to play and I invited Morgan to walk along with me.

We drove there together in Morgan’s 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer which if you ever saw it was a beauty…had a spoiler and a sub-woofer in the trunk, but it could fit my golf clubs so that’s what mattered.

We drove HWY 16 all the way to Fircrest, pulled into the parking lot, got ready for the day, me with my clubs and appropriate country club attire (no denim, collared shirt), Morgan’s got her golf stuff on, too and we’re excited.

I’m going to play, Morgan’s gonna walk along, it’ll be a great time.

Well, part of the deal getting to play there is you have to play with a member, and I don’t remember this gentlemen’s name but he meets us at the pro shop.

We’re all ready to go, and this guy says to me, “You ready to play?”

And I say, “Yes sir!”

And he turns to Morgan and he says, “What’re your plans today?”

And Morgan says, “Um…I’m just gonna walk along.”

And the gentlemen says, “Oh…I’m sorry, today is men’s day.”

And we look at each other like, “What?

Men’s day?”

He says, “Yeah it’s men’s day.”

And I said, “Sure, but she’s not playing.”

And he says, “Right, but she’s not allowed to walk on the course, either.”

This is a real thing!

So as you can imagine, Morgan sped off in that black Mitsubishi lancer and I found another ride home.

Looking back telling that story I should’ve left too but I ended up playing and having a nice time.

Was I in sin?

Quite possibly.

This morning we’re going to be talking about church membership.

It’s possible that when we talk about church membership, we have elements of Fircrest Country Club membership in mind.

Exclusivity.

Only for the elite.

You have to dress like us, talk like us, look like us…or you’re out.

Are they the same?

We’re in our fourth week of our sermon series: Why Church?

We’ve been looking at some foundational aspects of our life as the church asking God to give us a renewed vision and joy for who we are and why we do the things we do as his people.

So at Gateway Chapel we have church membership, why is that something we value?

The Bible has its own portrayal of membership.

This morning we’ll be in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and in this passage we see the word member not in regards to a club you aspire to join, but a body in which the many members are united by God in love.

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Paul is not giving a proof text on why local churches should have membership systems, but I think there are parallel principles that show us the value of membership in the local church.

So this morning we’re going to examine 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, see what Paul was talking about, and look at five principles I suggest as to why church membership.

Pray

1 Corinthians is one of many New Testament letters written by Paul.

Paul was an apostle.

He met Jesus in a powerful way and the trajectory of his life changed forever.

Everything he did was about helping people live in light of who Jesus is and what he had done.

And 1 Corinthians is a letter written to a church which Paul is trying to help.

They had a lot of problems.

Problems with leadership, sexual sin, they were suing each other, they had questions on marriage, food, worship gatherings, spiritual gifts…and Paul is writing to help them navigate life in light of Jesus.

And in 1 Cor 12, Paul is addressing the issue of spiritual gifts.

Every Christian has some God-given gift which they are to use to serve God and others.

And the Corinthians were ranking these gifts, using them to benefit themselves rather than others.

This caused division, power struggles, and chaos.

And so in the spirit of unity and diversity I want us all to read the text together, but in a unique way.

We’re going to read the whole text but each section of seats will read a different pat.

Front right section you guys read every word in RED, back right section you read every word in GREEN, back left you read everything in YELLOW, front left you read everything in BLUE.

Read 1 Cor.

12:12-31.

Based on that reading, what would you say is Paul’s main point?

One body, many members.

Your physical body has many members or parts - limbs, organs, cells, hairs, joints, nerves - but it’s one body.

And in the same way, the church - the body of Christ - has many individual members that are extremely different, but they’re one body.

The Corinthians have different gifts but they are not disconnected.

Paul wants them to see that the way to truly realize their individual gifting is to see their corporate connection to the body of Christ.

Now, you might notice, Paul is not talking about local church membership as a system.

He’s not asking them to sign up for a membership class.

He’s talking about membership as an illustration to the reality of their unity in Christ.

Define church membership: Membership is a mutually recognized commitment between the local church and a believer.

So why does Gateway Chapel practice structured church membership?

Membership reflects reality.

Local church membership reflects a global reality.

Paul says all the members are in one body…so it is with Christ.

He will go on to say you are the body, and not like the body.

You ARE individually members of the body of Christ.

Membership reflects reality.

It’s a local, particular, contextualized version of a global, cosmic, eternal reality in Christ.

So if we are the body of Christ, why do we need a membership class and other things on top of what

What compels people to get married and sign documents and go through all the hassle?

Gene was talking in our membership class last Sunday about how in the 60’s everyone was rebelling against everything, including things like marriage.

Why get married?

It’s just a piece of paper.

And I’m like Gene I’m pretty sure that’s not just the 60’s.

There are so many comparisons between local church membership and marriage.

Love compels two people to commit to each other through the institution of marriage.

The love of Jesus compels believers to commit to each other in the local church through church membership.

Membership reflects reality.

You are the body.

Membership is inclusive.

Jews or Greeks, slaves or free.

Those are HUGE differences.

Morgan understandably bristled at “Men’s Day” at Fircrest, but every day was Jewish people only day in the temple.

Every day slaves did not have the rights or privileges of free people.

But membership in the body of Christ is inclusive to all people.

Now, is there a line?

Yes.

And that line is trusting Jesus.