Article 9: The Church of Jesus Christ, A Mirror.

Welcome/Prayer/Scripture

Good Morning Church , I am so glad we can come together and worship the risen Lord this morning, Lets pray and present ourselves before God for what He has for us this Morning.

Last Week We looked at article 9: Baptism. We discussed the three baptisms of anabaptist Beliefs. Does anyone remember the 3 we discussed?

This week we are going to look at Article 9: the Church.

This isnt just a series on What we believe, but how we believe it. These articles aren't just about Dogma or Doctrine but how we DO our faith.

The Metaphor: A Mirror Reveals and Reflects

A mirror as we look into reveals our image, it reveals what we look like. This image is not stagnant. It changes over-time. In the same way, that each of us has changed over time, I want to open with how this idea of the Church, God’s people has changed over time.

The People of God have changed over time.

The People of God in Biblical Context

In the OT- God’s Chosen People

In the New Testament- the Ekklesia (Slide) or the Assembly

When You Hold a Mirror up to Mennonites today, what do you see?

Who We are Today: The Gathered People of God

Peter describes the Church this way: 1 Peter 2:4-5,9-10 (slide)

1 Peter 2:9–10 (NIV)

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The church is the household, or family, of God. We believe that the church is the assembly of those who have accepted God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

We adopted into the community of faith through our relationship with Christ. We did not bring ourselves into the Body, but Christ brought us to himself.

Commitment to one another is shown in loving one another as God loves, in sharing material and spiritual resources, in exercising mutual care and discipline, and in showing hospitality to all.5 The church welcomes all people who join themselves to Christ to become part of the family of God.

We are Diverse, Yet Unified. The People of God are not uniform but unified.

We dont need to wear uniforms to know that we are unified.

We certainly arent uniform in our beliefs. If we look at the broad spectrum of the Mennonites church there is a quite a bit of diversity., and there are varying beliefs in this very room. Yet, it is not our common belief that unifies us, but God’s Spirit.

We acknowledge the church as the society of believers from many nations, anointed for witness by the Holy Spirit.2 Through the work of the Holy Spirit, divisions between nations, races, classes, and genders are being healed as persons from every human grouping are reconciled and united in the church.

We are the Evolving Elect! I say this controversial statement to keep you on your toes. What do I mean?

We are in the elect in the sense that “We elect, everyday to get up and follow Jesus.” The church is the assembly of those who voluntarily commit themselves to follow Christ in life

We are not members of a club. Wether it be a social club, golf club, the church is not a resume builder or a network expander but a living body that we must participate in.

Thats why we moved away from membership several years ago. We now are moving closer to the image of Christ’s body as participants. The body is an active. Every part of of your body has a purpose. There is no part that just exists.

We are evolving in the way that we change. We look different in the morror now than the first time we looked at a mirror, We look different now than we did a year ago.

We will de-form without repentence and Reform. But, the church shouldn't be just getting older, heavy, more wrinklier, and more tired as humans do, but growing.

As a pastor, because I love this church so much there are areas in which I wish we could reform. but I cant, in fact we collectively cant change the church it is the Holy Spirit that does the reformation.

The only role we have in this is to be like Jesus and ,to align with the poor, sick, and oppressed parts of the community and invite the Holy Spirit of healing and transformatio. I am moved by the latin phrase. “ ecclesia reformata et semper reformanda” ("the church reformed and always reforming"), for there is nothing in doctrine or practice that is static, nothing that does not require repentance, re-newal, and reformulation. (Slide)

Reformation only happens only through submitting to the refining and reforming of the Holy Spirit!

Transition: But as we look in the Mirror Church, We see who the Mirror reveals us to be, but a mirror also reflects. Who are we called to Reflect Church? (Picture of Jonathan Rume- Jesus)

We as the Church are called to Mirror one Person: Christ.

We believe that the church as the body of Christ is the visible manifestation of Jesus Christ.

We are called to be Christ’s hands and feet, in many ways the church becomes the incarnate Christ through our work and witness of the world.

The church is called to live and minister as Christ lived and ministered in the world. This occurs through various ministries and Gifts.

Believers are to love each other and to grow toward the likeness of Christ, who is the head of the church.

Do We believe these things about the Church? Repeat Each point.

Application: Remember these doctrines are just what we believe but how we live. If we believe this, How do we take steps to do this in our lives, to put into action what we believe?

When I look at the gospels and I reflect on the intentional actions of Christ, I cannot help but notice where Jesus spent his time and who he spent his time with. In my devotional this week, this really stuck out to me (Read from Devotional)

Where- Jesus didnt spend most of his ministry and Kingdom building time in the church/Synogouge. It was in the places where no one else dared to go.

Reflect: Where do we spend our time? Home, the Grocery Store, Comfortable Places?

Mother Tereasa Following Jesus’ example among the poor and rejected.

Challenge: In the next couple of weeks, Identify a space where you can intentionaly place yourself for 30 minutes to an hour that you know is not a “sacred” space where you might encounter the same people that Jesus chose to spend his time with?

For me those spaces would be: the laundry mat, the park, this concept is part of the reason I joined boro council.

Transition: Speaking of People who did Jesus spend his time with.

Who did Jesus spend most of his ministry and Kingdom building time with? Well, lets look at Mark 2:13-17 (SLIDE)

Reflect: Who do you spend most of your time with?

If we reflect Jesus, around people that only know Jesus than How are more people going to know Jesus? Fellowship is great but Christians are becoming increasingly exclusive: we spend our time with Christian, We send our kids to Christian Schools, we only deal with Christian companies. The most scandalous part of Jesus’ ministry is who he spent time with!

Challenge: who can you reach out t that you know that falls into these categories of very people jesus spent time with. The unsaved. The sinners. The messy. The outcasts. Those we tend to overlook. How can you intentionally connect a person this week?

You dont have to leave your house to do this! You can write a person a letter or pick up the phone an call someone in your life. And love them like Jesus.

Verse about Jesus having compassion-

I want to close with a poem: