Untitled Sermon

Friends, if you are able please stand for the reading of God’s word. Hear these words from Ephesians 2:19-22

Ephesians 2:19–22 CSB

So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

Pray with me

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This last week was a tough one for me. I had the unfortunate responsibility of attending the first part of the trial of my former senior pastor who was accused to sexually assault two women that he was doing counseling with. I mean just devastating stuff. And the consequences of his sin and failure are catastrophic and widespread.

From his family falling apart, marriage destroyed, financial repercussions. To the victims and their families and careers and stories now being marked by a dark trauma of a shepherd abusing their sheep and then lying about it publicly.

Relationships being marred and destroyed, with all hopes of reconciliation this side of eternity looking impossible.

A myriad of younger Christians who attended this congregation and respected their pastor, only too see him be made out to be a liar and epically fall, resulting in faith being questioned and leaving the church.

That church itself losing people, and families, and losing gospel witness. I have several people make plans to visit that church, and after finding out what happened, never went.

And who can blame them?

Honestly these stories can bring up a lot of hurt, and it has at times brought up the question for many people - why would God who is infinite in wisdom, entrust the message of the Gospel and the kingdom of God, to the church when it just time and time again fails and fails spectacularly.

Why would God choose the church to be the heralds of this message?

And that’s just one story of a church failing.

I mean just in my life - I’ve been under pastors who have failed, my parents experienced deep unfairness and lies from a church that brought them incredibly close to poverty. I’ve seen elders operate wrongly leaving broken staff and people in their wake. Churches embezzle funds.

And beyond the overt offenses, churches that may be churches in name only who seem to have lost all biblical faithfulness and gospel witness and turn into a really unhappy dysfunctional country club.

That’s just what I’ve seen - I’m sure we could find dozens of stories in this room, and thousands if we look online.

All said - it can be hard to want to jump into a church, when we’ve seen church do such terrible things, or nothing at all for so long.

It can be easy to grow disillusioned. To just want to step back. We can find ourselves falling into the “just me and Jesus” thing. And while we do need to cultivate a relationship with Christ by grace through faith - the idea of running this race of life alone is foolish.

For most of the letters of the new testament, most of the commands given to us are given to groups. Yall, not you as it were.

So it’s important that we do this things called church well. Because God HAS decided and ordained his bride, the church, to be the carriers of the Gospel, proclaimers of the kingdom of God.

We don’t want to dismiss all the wrongs that have happened in and about the church. At the same time, we ned to fully step into what God has for us and his Church, for he has chosen to use the Church to proclaim the gospel unto all nations, and to be the hands and feet of christ.

Church matters, how we do church matters, and how each of us as individuals plugs into (or out of) church matters.

Partnering with God to raise the spiritual temperature of south eastern South Dakota

At our church, we believe that God wants us to partner with him to raise the Spiritual Temperature of south eastern South Dakota. To See the kingdom come, here on earth, as it is in heaven.

So we want to see Jesus, and his kingdom, break out here. Which means we want to see people follow him, we want to see the evidences of the kingdom here. Restored relationships. Addictions broken. Souls saved.

And we believe how we do that is summarized in three ways.

First, being Fully Focused on God and His Word, which happens most naturally on Sunday Mornings.

Second, being Fully Formed by the Spirit in Community, which happens best in our community Groups.

And Third, being Fully Engaged with Christ on Mission, which happens in each of our lives as we seek to live as Jesus would in our world.

And today I want to zoom in on the second part, being fully formed by the spirit in community.

Scripture has a lot to say about the community of the saints that is known as the church. let’s look first at the scripture we read at the beginning,

Ephesians 2:19–22 CSB

So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

In context, this section comes soon after the incredible passages in Ephesians 2 where Paul talks about being saved by grace through faith. That we were once children under wrath, dead in our sins, but God rich in mercy, and full of great love towards us, made us alive in Christ even though we were dead.

Then he continues describing that the hostilities between gentiles and jews have been defeated in christ, and now we are reconciled to God as one body. And now through Christ, we both, gentiles and jews have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then, we are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens with the saints. members of Gods household.

Remember - we were once children under wrath - now we are kids of Grace in Gods household. And our family of origin is no longer our fleshly family, but that of the apostles and the prophets - and the corner stone of it all is JEsus christ, God in Flesh.

But verses 21 and 22 are so important - in him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

So Jesus is building a temple, it’s being put together, built by the people of God. And he then says, that in Christ, we are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit. WE are being built together.

We are the Church. We are the temple. Not just us - with all the redeemed all around the world, and across all time. We are the dwelling place of God. And when we come together something terrific happens. More and more every day, we grow and are sanctified into the temple of God where his Spirit can live and move and bless and heal and instruct and convict.

When life gets hard, and when church seemingly turns sour and goes awry it can be tempting to pull away into isolation, or just me and jesus. thinking that I don’t need the church - just Jesus and the bible and me. Friends - that’s not church, that’s not the picture of the church, and we are missing out on SO many of the commands and instructions and wisdom of the new testament.

Just like God, eternally existing in loving communion amongst the God head, father son and spirit in eternal communion, we too, formed in God’s image are made to be in relationship with God, AND with others.

So when we try to operate absent from close community, we are not only missing out on what it means to be a believer biblically, but I would argue we are missing part of what it must mean to be made in the image of God.

There’s an infamous illustration of this. Back in the depression days, there was a small rural church of a few dozen people. They were a pretty healthy congregation, but like all communities, not without some relational dynamics. As one winter came, some of the relational issues became greater, and in frustration, one family left, and decided they wouldn’t come back; that they were better on their own.

A few weeks went by and sure enough they didn’t come to services. On one particularly cold evening, the pastor rode his horse over to their home, and after an awkward mostly quiet greeting, the man of the house invited the pastor in to warm himself by the fire that was roaring in the hearth.

They sat in silence for a few moments as a stack of many logs blazed in the fire place. As the silence grew, the pastor then silently stood, and grabbed tongs from next to the fire. From the stack of burning logs he pulled one log out from the pile and placed it a foot away on its own then stepped back. The log he removed, once on flame, rather quickly found itself extinguished, while the rest of the logs, still piled together burned hot.

The lonely log lay with barely a glowing ember, then after a moment the pastor reached in with the tongs, and place the lone long pack on the pile, and it almost instantaneously engulfed in fire once more.

He then bid the man a good evening and left without saying anything else. The family rejoined the following week, determined to work through the issues that had driven them away.

It’s a simple illustration, but a profound one.

We state that we are Fully Formed by the Spirit In Community. Yes the spirit can do work on us alone, and often does as we pursue the Lord in silence and solitude. But we are the church. We are the temple of the holy spirit. And the church, the corporate gathering of the children of God is how the Spirit often chooses to instruct, correct, love, and help.

It’s in community that we love and serve and submit. It’s in community that we can love and mourn and rejoice and be with.

Many a cult, many a heresy has started with a man alone in his bedroom. Many a bad decision has been made that way. Many a rogue twisted intrusive thought has run rampant when you find yourself alone with your mind.

The Church, made up of the people of God, gifted by the Spirit of God, working with the Son of God, pushes back on all of that. When someone has a crazy heretical thought - community can step in and calm that person down. When someone is spiraling in sin and temptation, the presence of friends can give the strength to push through and find resolve. When our thoughts get crazy and we spiral and hyper-fixate, a loving friend can gently remind us of the truth, and bring our minds back to the shores of security that is found in Jesus.

It is only in community that we can faithfully follow Jesus. It is in community that we are formed by the Spirit.

That is NOT to say that there are not times where the church just royally messes up. Hurts people. compromises their witness. Those all happen, and all too often.

But Paul has a lot to say about what to do with the smaller gripes that arise in a congregation. Just following our first passage, look what Paul says in response to Christ’s love: Ephesians 4:1-6

Ephesians 4:1–6 CSB

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

In light of the salvation and love of Christ, we are urged therefore to walk in line with that gospel. Meaning as we are forgiven and loved, we too are to forgive and love. We are to live with all humility and gentleness, and to bear with one another in love. This is the same kind of disposition that God has towards us when we are in christ, right? and so we are called to live that way towards each other.

We are to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. To me, this implies that we are to make every effort, but it may not always be possible. Sometimes there is a sin that’s so great and without great accountability and consequence, that this side of eternity, unity may not be possible. Or there may well be people who are unwilling to approach with humility themselves, or are wolves in sheep’s clothes, or are unsafe, or perhaps have prideful narcissistic tendencies. Paul says we are to make every effort. so that’s what we do then! In view of all of God’s mercies, we extend mercies, at the same time, making sure that we are keeping unity and peace, not letting satan have his way in our congregation. right, this isn’t let people walk all over you without any recourse. but it is bearing with one another.

And what’s great is God didn’t just say that and leave us all alone without help. Just a few verses later, Paul gets into the offices and gives of the church,

look at Ephesians 4:11-13

Ephesians 4:11–13 CSB

And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

Here we see different offices and giftings of the church that are manifestations of the Holy Spirit,

Some apostles, those who walked with Jesus with great authority, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors (or shepherds) and teachers. Theres conversation whether shepherd and teacher is one or two offices. Is it a shepherd teacher, or a shepherd and a teacher. theres some linguistic difficulty there. But that’s beside the point a bit, what is amazing is these offices and gifts were given for a purpose -

To equip the saints for the work of the ministry, and to build up the body of Christ - until unity and maturity happens.

God gave us structure! God is not a god of chaos but of order. And these offices were given so that we can have equipping to do what God has for us, and so we can be built up in unity!

Paul continues, look at verse 14 - 16

Ephesians 4:14–16 CSB

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Put it this way - we all need each other. WE need to submit to scripture, and biblical authority, and Each other.

We are fully formed by the spirit in community.

And structure matters.

As our denomination has surveyed the scriptures and how christians have interpreted scripture throughout the centuries, we have a structure too.

At the local level, our church is overseen by a team of elders. Right now our elder team is John Shubeck, Greg Ostrem, Mike Smith and myself. We look at the elder qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and our congregation as guided by a nominating committee confirms men who discern a call to be elders in the congregation. The role of an elder, Biblically speaking, is shepherding and teaching. And according to our church structure, that board is the highest level of servant leadership.

Can I just say publically here, church, those men that are serving as elders are amazing. And they love you all quite a bit. And they take their role seriously.

But they’re office is that of shepherd teaching. The pastor doesn’t have unlimited authority. No, they being the paid elder perhaps have more capacity to pursue teaching and education and various roles, and the elders delegate to the pastor quite a bit - but it’s a team thing.

In my experience, churches typically go awry when the elders go awry.

In our culture it has become common to confirm elders who seem like successful leaders and business men. And by doing so the elder team becomes more of a board of trustees rather than a team of shepherds standing in the gap for the congregation.

Sometimes churches neglect that elders should be shepherds, and due to enthusiasm put a bunch of evangelists and people who are more apostolically driven on the team. These are great people - but they can at times be driven enough to sacrifice sheep at the sake of perceived progress. No we need evangelists to evangelize! Gifting and calling matters!

Sometimes churches find elders who don’t meet the biblical standards, and the church becomes marked by sin and immaturity. Sometimes they choose elders who serve reluctantly rather than willingly.

In my experience, we need Godly elders who shepherd well. And are willing to discipline, love, and guide. At my last church where the pastor went dark - the elders did not operate biblically. Not to disparage, but they ended up being just a board of trustees which allowed the pastor to have unchecked power and authority which Satan used to corrupt.

And the elders ought to delegate and oversee, and shepherd and pray, allowing the congregation to do the work of the ministry.

So I invite you and ask you to pray for your elders!

And I invite you to lean into community.

Our church does community groups, staring next week. Sign ups are in the back.

These groups are formed and designed to push us into the world of practice discipleship, and spiritual formation, and to do it in community where we can love, and serve, and help each other.

Friend - I strongly encourage you - join a community group. Pursue God together and allow his spirit to transform you as we walk together as the church.

Okay - Why did Jimmy want to dedicate a sunday sermon to this topic? Is this just Pastor Jimmy ranting and raving time?

Let’s get to our question - So What?

So What?

Friends - people are lonely. Desperately so. We, as a people, crave true community and love. However that type of community can only happen in a context of radical love and humility and therefore the Church ought to be the paragon of what community should be.

It can be easy to want to give up on church as we see failures and heartbreaks. But God is so wise. For the church can be so attractive to people if we pursue the biblical precedent for it.

This last week, again I sat in the court room as charges were read, and lawyers argues, and the jury was selected, and in many ways I felt like I was just sitting in the rubble of devastation. And, honestly, I again had to wrestle with the concept of the Church. Like is this stuff even worth it? It has hurt and devastated so many people when it goes wrong. And it feels like it can go wrong a lot!

But then after court, I got to go to a friends home, and sit with one of the victims and their, who are dear friends. And we laughed, and cried, and prayed, and spoke and listened. And we were the church. Even in the depths of devastation - the people of God gathered to weep with those weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. And it was beautiful.

Friends - our church is not perfect. Your pastor sure is heck isn’t.

But church matters. Community matters. We are formed by the Spirit in community.

But relationship really only happens when all the parties come in honesty and transparency with the same goal. So we pursue Christ together, and we confess all of our weakness and mixed motives. We are honest with God, ourselves, and others.

And then we get to marvel as God transforms us.

Yes, church can be devastating. But as I look back - some of my favorite moments have happened in and amongst the church (stories here?)

So What - friend if you want to grow in faith, if you want to become like Jesus, if you want to be sanctified, the biblical way to do that is in a community called Church.

Because in Christ, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

Stand and pray with me.