Sermon Tone Analysis

What is the Purpose of the Church?

Good morning everyone and happy new year!

It is again my humbled joy to be able to share God’s word with you.

With the start of the new year we are beginning a new sermon series.

Over the next couple months we are going to be working our way through a topical series on “What is the Purpose of the Church?”

I want you to think about that question for a moment.

What is the purpose of the church?

What would your response be to that question?

If you were to do a quick online search there are an array of answers.

Such as, the church exists for evangelism and discipleship.

Or the church is to be a lighthouse to its community.

Or the church exists to provide for the needy.

And while each of these may be an aspect of the church, they may not completely define or fulfill the church’s intended purpose.

But before we go much further let us have our minds and hearts brought to attention through our focus verses for this series.

Please say with me.

Now I will be honest, trying to find one verse or a short passage that captures this topic is rather hard, and is why over the next several weeks we are going to be looking at Scriptures through out the Bible to help us come to a better understanding of what the purpose of the church is.

Now you may be asking why is this important?

Is it really that difficult to understand our purpose?

Yes, yes in fact it is.

And when you look at the landscape of most American churches what you see is that they have lost a clear vision of what their purpose is.

Al Mohler, president of Southern Theological Seminary stated it like this.

“An anemic ecclesiology inevitably produces an anemic church.”

What could Al Mohler mean by a statement such as this.

Well first we need to understand that this series that we are going to embark on while being a topical series, deals with the systematic theological aspect of ecclesiology.

Or rather what all the Scriptures have to say about the church.

Who is the church, and what is its purpose.

I appreciate how Mohler describes our understanding here as anemic.

Merriam Webster defines anemic as this.

2 a: lacking force, vitality, or spirit 〈an anemic rendition of the song〉 〈anemic efforts at enforcement〉

b: lacking interest or savor: INSIPID 〈anemic wines〉

c: lacking in substance or quantity 〈anemic returns on an investment〉 〈anemic attendance〉

When we lack in our understanding of who the church is and what the church is to do, we will be a church that is lacking.

We will be a church without force, a church without vitality, a church without spirit.

Ultimately, without this proper understanding we will be a church that says we worship God, but actually worship ourselves.

We will be a church that says we care about the lost, but really look to our own concerns.

We will be a church that says we want growth, but really we want others too conform not to God’s ways, but rather our ways of doing things.

Now I know some of these things are not fun to hear.

They hurt when we look at them and are faced with the truth of God’s word.

But that is okay this is to be a refining process.

Our whole Christian walk is a process of growth, of being challenged with where our understanding currently is and where God is wanting to take it for his glory.

That each step of the way we give up a little more of our rebellion and gladly submit to His holy and righteous ways.

But while some of these truths may sting a little to look at, this series should not be looked at as one of doom and gloom.

No we should be excited about this.

About coming back to square one and seeing what it is we are to be doing.

But before we go any further please join me in prayer.

PRAYER

Father you are so good to us.

Your faithfulness time and time again is what causes us to praise your name and find comfort and joy in our times of trials.

Lord as we begin this series will you open our hearts and minds, lead us to understand more about what our purpose is as your church.

Father continue to grow us, while keeping us humble.

We thank you father for this day and ask your blessings upon this message.

Amen

Well the title of our message for today is I Will Build My Church: And the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail.

For this message we will be looking to the 16th chapter of Matthew starting in verse 13 going through verse 18.

If you brought your personal Bible or choose to follow along on your device please turn there now.

If you are using the blue pew Bible it is on page 911.

Or you can follow along on the screen.

Let us hear the word of our Lord.

May the Lord bless the reading of his word.

As we read through this passage we recognize it.

It is a familiar passage.

It is Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah.

We see that this is a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples about who he really is.

But why would we look at a passage like this when introducing the topic of what is the purpose of the church?

Well our title gives us the most obvious reason and that is verse 18 from our passage today.

That within this dialogue Jesus proclaims that he is building his church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.

This passage serves as a great starting passage because embedded within it is what the church is, how you enter into it, and what it is suppose to be doing.

Today we are going to look in depth at the first two and then introduce the last one as the next several weeks will be spent spelling that aspect out in more detail.

What Is The Church?

This first point looks towards verse 18.

When discussing the purpose of the church it is best to start with defining what the church is.

How many of you recall the 1934 hymn by Richard Avery I am the church, you are the church!

1.

The church is not a building;

the church is not a steeple;

the church is not a resting place;

the church is a people.

(Refrain)

2. We're many kinds of people,

with many kinds of faces,

all colours and all ages, too

from all times and places.

(Refrain)

3. Sometimes the church is marching;

sometimes it's bravely burning,

sometimes it's riding, sometimes hiding;

always it's learning.

(Refrain)

4.

And when the people gather,

there's singing and there's praying;

there's laughing and there's crying sometimes,

all of it saying:

(Refrain)

5.

At Pentecost some people

received the Holy Spirit

and told the Good News through the world

to all who would hear it.

(Refrain)

I am the church!

You are the church!

We are the church together!