“The Church has Left the Building”

Sermon in a Sentence

The Church is called to make an impact beyond its four walls.

Introduction

Imagine for a moment a hospital where the doctors, nurses, and staff gather every day, but never actually treat patients. They spend their time admiring the building, having meetings, and talking about the great things they could do. Sounds absurd, right? Yet, if we are not careful, that’s exactly how the modern church can become. We gather week after week, sing songs, hear sermons, an fellowship—but what happens after blessed be tie that binds our hearts, or let the church say amen? What happens when we leave the building? The church was never meant to be a museum for the saints, but a mission field for the lost. The building is a gathering place, but the real work—the kingdom work—happens when we take the message, the love, and the power of Christ into the streets, workplaces, schools, and homes. The reason why the church needs to leave the building is because the true power and purpose of the church are seen not just in what happens inside, but in how we impact the world outside.

Context of Matthew 28

We pick the narrative up here in chapter 28 after the events of “Good Friday” where the stone the builders rejected laid down his life as a ransom for sin. From Thursday night until early Friday morning, the man Jesus experienced betrayal, denial, abandonment, rejection and eventually death at the hands of the religious leaders through Roman complicity. As he was dragged from court to court, from Annas to Pilate with stops at Caiaphas and Herod Antipas he was ridiculed and scorned. The Pharisees wanted him dead to save the nation, but when Pilate found no fault, he left Jesus’ fate to crowds that gathered. The crowd chose the criminal over the Christ, the murdered over the Messiah, the zealot over the Zenith, the renegade over the Redeemer. Pilate washes his hands, the people were stirred up so they declared that Jesus’ blood be on them and their children. The creator of the tree is forced to carry his cross from the material he created along the street called the Viva Delarosa, or commonly known as the road of sorrows. As Jesus is being crushed under the weight of his cross, Simon of Cyrene helps him carry the cross to Golgotha, the place of the skulls. Jesus is nailed and lifted for all to see, saves a thief, leaves his mother to John, fulfills what the Scriptures spoke of him, declared it’s finished and died. Pilate releases the body to Joseph of Arimathea to be buried in his new tomb. On the third day, the women went to the tomb to see that the stone was rolled away and while the guards feared, the angels provided clarity as to the whereabouts the risen Lord, showed them the empty tomb, and instructed them to tell the disciples who secluded themselves in Jerusalem that he had risen to meet him in Galilee. Fearing death from sleeping on duty, the religious leaders offered them a deal they could not refuse and spread the rumor that Jesus’ disciples came and stole the body in the night, and that story is still spread to this day. The disciples meet Jesus in Galilee, and their response was shockingly split: some worshiped and some doubted (vs. 17). He declared that God has given him all authority in heaven and earth, and based on this authority, he commissions his disciples with the Great Commission which is still the mission of the church today.

The Church is a Mission, Not Just a Meeting (Matthew 28:19-20) — Presence of the Church

The church dubbed Matthew 28:19 as the “Great Commission” or the marching orders for the church. Jesus’ never said, “Stay inside and hope people come to you.” He said, “GO.” Laity and leaders alike must understand that the Great Commission is not a suggestion—its a mandate. The sad indictment of the “church” is we talking about going but never actually go, while complaining about the decline in worship attendance and membership. Jesus issues his Great Commission to the twelve disciples to make more ‘disciples,” whereas the church is trying to make more “church members.” Today, it could be possible that the modern church is not keeping “the main thing the main thing.” Jesus did not give his life so we could meet; he gave life so we could partake in his mission. We have mastered meeting, but when will we be about our Father’s business? (Luke 2:49).

If you meet without a mission to fulfill the Great Commission….then are you really being about your Father’s business…

We are the Hands and Feet of Jesus (James 2:17) — Participation of the church

If Christ is the head of the Church, then we are the “hands and feet of Jesus.” The apostle and half-brother Jesus highlights the importance in balancing faith and works. Christianity is not exclusively faith or exclusively work; it is a delicate balance of both. Faith fails when it lacks work and work fails when it lacks faith. The apostle settles the importance of faith and works through showing the practicality of faith with an example of a person lacking daily food and poorly clothed (v. 14-16). The idea here that the church should not just “pray” but they should participate in helping those in need. If there is no works with our faith, then our faith is nekros (νεκρός), pertaining to being utterly useless, with the implication of total lack of purport. It is hard to witness about the living Savior while our faith is unused. Where have our feet taken us so that we can help the disenfranchised, downtrodden, and ostracized. Where are we going and what are we doing? God’s church is not the sanctuary because we are the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 3:16).

“Your hands will never get to work if your feet never move.”

The World Needs the Church in Action (Acts 1:8) — Power of the church

Here the now “apostles” meet with the resurrected Christ in Galilee as he provided proof of his sufferings and teaching them about the kingdom of God. He orders them wait in Galilee for the “promise of the Father” which they knew to be the Comforter, Holy Spirit and Paraclete that he foretold of in John 14:15-17. Jesus ascends and reminds them to wait on the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the Spirit of God not just move us to praise; we have the promise of the Father to be witnesses to this lost world.

Picture a family barbecue where everyone brings their best dish – grandma’s famous potato salad, uncle Joe’s grilled burgers, and even the kids’ funky fruit skewers. When they all come together, the feast becomes a celebration! The Holy Spirit unites us to be witnesses of Christ’s love, bringing our unique gifts to the table. Together, we create a flavorful testimony that attracts others to the Gospel!

In Matthew 28:20, we are promised God’s eternal presence and in Acts 1:8 we are promised God’s power…