Local Church

Intro

we’ve been going through this series, Better Together. The goal of the series is to share with you our refreshed vision and mission as a church.

The first couple of week we looked at faith and family. To our online community, you missed the family talk as we had our outdoor service. Big thanks to Paul and Maureen for hosting that! It was a lot of fun, and the guys got to lean into their competitive side a bit. I hope that is just the start of a great year of Men’s ministry.

This morning we are going to do things a little bit differently. I’m going to share a slightly abbreviated message, and then we are going to move right into our ministry expo. As you can see at the back, the tables are all set up and information is all laid out. The idea is that you can take an info package of any of the ministries you may be interested in. Michelle and I will also take some time and share with you the heart behind some of the ministries. There are 13 different ministry opportunities, some of which need volunteers to pull off, and some are more informational, we’d like volunteers but they’re necessary to pull them off. We will get into that more at the end.

But this morning, the value we want to communicate is the value of the local church, and the role the local church plays in the life of each and every one of you and your development as a believer.

So we are going to read some scripture, I will unpack it briefly for you, and then we will move into the second part of this morning.

we’re going to start with Acts 2. The reason I want to start here is because this is the earliest recorded description of the early church. Jesus has just ascended into heaven, we have the Pentecost experience at the beginning of chapter 2, 3,000 people confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and we read this

Acts 2:42 NLT

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

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so the early church was committed to being together. They wanted to fellowship and eat together. As we read through the book and Acts, this becomes a common theme. They were together, they had everything in common.

following Acts, we have all these different letters. Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians. The biblical authors were writing these letters to specific, local church bodies. Yes, Paul would repeat some of the teachings between the letters, but each letter had a specific group of people in mind, addressing specific situations and issues.

By the time we get to Hebrews, the author of Hebrews says this

Hebrews 10:23–25 NLT

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

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do not neglect meeting together. Now I want to address two very important points that this verse addresses, especially on today’s society of technology.

The New Testament authors only understood faith within the confines of community

much of the New Testament writings address the idea of being in relationship with other believers. Disciples would serve together, worship together, pray together. Not that there wasn’t an emphasis on your personal relationship with Christ. But a healthy, growing faith in Jesus was only possible within the gathering of the local church.

The New Testament authors only understood faith within the local, not universal, body

one of the things that technology has made room for is this idea of the universal church. I don’t need to attend the local church because I’m part of the universal church.

the problem there is that the biblical authors took great lengths to lay out the structure of the church, with overseers and pastors. There were shepherds and apostles. There is no leadership, direction, or accountability within this enigma called the universal church. The only space where the universal church applies is where our church helps another church because we are all believers that serve the same God. We don’t need to compete or slander one another, but we need to plant ourselves with one of the families to get the things that only the local church can provide.

so with that in mind, we are going to dive into 1 Corinthians 12. Now I know, for those who have been involved in church for a long time, you’ve probably heard this passage of scripture lots. I know this is one I will go to lots, especially when it comes to talking about the church and how the church is supposed to function, but this morning, this passage is a good launch point before we transition into the expo.

1 Corinthians 12:12–27 NLT

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

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so let’s unpack this analogy, and point out the important points that the Apostle Paul makes

We are all one body.

Ephesians 4:2–6 NLT

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

also in Acts

Acts 4:32 NLT

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.

even earlier in 1 Cor 1:10

1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

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the same way all the parts of your body work together to accomplish a common goal, the church is to be a picture of unity and purpose.

The problem is that we will often equate unity with being the same. In order to be unified, we have to have the same gifts, serve in the same ministries. But unity doesn’t mean the same.

We all have our parts to play

this is the important part that I really want to park on. We can often lie to ourselves and excuse ourselves from getting involved because of a whole host of reasons. I’m not that smart, I’m pretty young, I’m not musical. I’m too old.

This is exactly what Paul was saying. The foot says, Because I’m not an hand, I’m not part of the body. No actually you you still have a part to play.

being a part of the local church is not having all the same gifts, but understanding how your gifts help the church accomplish its goals and purpose.

I have a story for you

An above-ground pool was donated to Applegate Christian Fellowship’s mission for handicapped orphans in Mexico. But, because it arrived in what seemed to be a million pieces, try as they might, the Mission staff was unable to assemble it. It wasn’t more than a few days later, however, that my brother, Jimmy, who runs the mission got a call from a man at Twin Peaks Bible College.

“I just feel like the Lord would have me come and spend some time at the mission,” he said. “I can’t do much. I’m not a Bible teacher. I’m not a children’s worker. I’m not a cook. I’m not a gardener. But I just feel I should come.”

“Come on down,” said Jimmy. “By the way, what did you do before you were in Bible school?”

“I spent twenty years installing above-ground pools,” he said.

Within four hours of his arrival, the kids were swimming.

I love the story. I can’t do much because I don’t have this and this skill, but I feel like I need to come

You have a combination of skills, passions, and experiences that are unique to you and they are exactly what OneChurch needs to live out the mission God has given us.

So, it is not really about whether you have the right stuff. I’m telling you, you have the right stuff. The question is, are you willing to be used by God? Are you willing to play your part?

Here is the reality. For years, the church in general has operated under the pretense that 20% of the people do 80% of the work

Now imagine you come across a person who could only use 20% of their body. It is pretty safe to say that this individual is disabled, and probably pretty severely. Are they able to live a fulfilling life? Absolutely, all things are possible with God. But the question would always be, what if they had 100% of their body? What would they be capable of?

The same is true of the church. Can a church be effective and missional with only 20% of the body doing its role? Sure, all things are possible. But imagine what a church is capable of if 100% of the parts did their role? Imagine what we could be capable of!

And with that, we will transition into our Ministry Expo!