The Church: Who Are We?

Greeting:

Good morning everyone it’s good to see you all.

Truly it’s a blessing to be here worshipping God.

Today’s a great day.

A great day of worship, a great day of fellowship, a great day to begin this Gospel Meeting...

I want to express my gratitude to you all for asking me to be here this week with you.

Thank you to the congregation here for having me and my wife here this week.

I think I have come to know most all of you but if not I am looking forward to getting to know you this week

My wife tells me all the time I never meet a stranger and that I like to talk too much...

As for our lessons this week our theme is centered around the idea of: “The Church and The Need to Evangelize”

Our goal this week is to look at this topic and study exactly that!

We are going to begin by looking at the church and who we are and follow that up with some lessons on evangelism and why its crucial that we as the church see the need and the importance to evangelize..

Our goal every day as christians should be to share the gospel message and tell others the story of Christ and what he has done for us...

Hopefully we can do just that today and each day to come this week Lord willing...

This morning I think its only appropriate we begin by taking a look at something we oiften call our identity...

Who are we? What makes us who we are? What is the church?

I think thats got to be our starting point and we will try and build upon this each lesson this week, but for the time we have this morning I want us to begin this meeting by looking at a lesson we have titled...

“The Church: Who are We”?

This evening come back and be with us as we look at a lesson entitled “What Can I Do To Help the Church?”

Lesson Text:

Acts 2:42-47

Opening:

Growing up there was something my dad would always correct me on.

Particularly on days like today when we could come to worship.

I would always refer to coming here as “going to church”

We probably all do that

He most always would correct me and say you, “You can’t go to church. You are the church.”

I used to always think what a technicality. You know what I mean.

He would then proceed to say, “Were going to worship, or we’re going to bible class, but weren’t not going to church because you are the church.”

After many years I’ve given this idea thought more and more.

Many of you this morning may be like me and think, how nit picky Daniel.

But my question for us this morning, does he have a point?

How do we feel about the concept of “the church”?

Is it simply just a place we attend, a building we sit in?

What has this idea of the church become in today’s time, what does it mean to us?

Has it simply become something we just do?

Or is there more than that?

I want to start by saying I’m glad you’ve came this morning whatever we may have called it…

Do I think you’re a terrible sorry human if you slipped and said you are going to church…

No. I don’t.

That’s not the message I want you to take away from this.

But I do want to challenge you to maybe think a little differently about this.

To give the church that our Lord died for and established more thought…

My goal in this is to have us examine ourselves and ask our selves how we view the concept of the church.

We are going to see what makes up our identity as the church…

Going with our theme this week….

If we are going to evangelize and share the gospel and invite others to worship with us, I think its crucial we have an understanding of who we truly are to begin with!

Lesson:

Acts 2:42–47 NKJV

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Little back ground before this text we studied in class this morning what lead up to this point…

We looked in Acts 2 at Peter and his sermon to the crowds and how they heard the gospel and became Christians

Acts 2:41 tells us their souls were added to the church.

So, we see here what this idea of a faithful church looked like in the first century…

We see here a group of Gods people dedicated, united, working together to further the kingdom…

Thats what the church was…

What is it to us today?

I am afraid the idea of church has become distorted in a way, I think.

Church has become simply something we just go to.

A box we check.

An hour we set aside to say we did something good.

Church may be something we do only when we feel we need to go.

You’ll notice this morning I like to ask a lot of questions.

I like to make people think.

So hopefully this morning you’ll ask yourselves these difficult questions as we study…

But has church just become a hobby, an activity for you?

Something or somewhere we just go because it’s Sunday and well that’s what we do?

Mom and dad made me get up and come this morning…

Or is it something more to you?

Is it something like we read here with the first century Christian’s?

I want to motivate us this morning to not just simply go to church, but be the church.

I want us this morning to examine a few things concerning “church” for us today.

I want to look at who we are as the church and what that means for us!

So, who are we?

What makes us who we are more then just simply attendance?

Look back at our text for a moment.

Acts 2:44 NKJV

Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,

A big word there for us.

Together.

A family.

A group of believers here who were all together…

This group of newly converted Christian’s were together.

Unified together as a team.

A group of people focused, and devoted to God…

Thats what the church was…

What is it to you today?

Growing up in sports we had an acronym for TEAM.

While sometimes I thought it was cheesy, but it holds truth for us physically and spiritually.

Together everyone achieves more.

This is true for the church we read about in the Bible and true for us today!

There is a sense of devotion, togetherness, that’s placed upon the church for a reason.

A sense of unity for Gods people that can’t be ignored…

This idea of unity is a common theme we see all throughout scripture…

Paul pleads with the Corinthians to have unity in 1 Corinthians 1:10…

1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Gods people, if we hope to be faithful and abound in the Lord need to be unified together just as we saw those first century Christian’s…

Back in our text, we see a group of people here who were devoted, dedicated, working together in unity for this amazing life they just entered into.

A Christian life…

I think a common misconception for us as Christian’s is that “church” is something we just add to in addition to our lives when we become a Christian.

We don’t change anything else about our lives except we just add a few hours of worship to our lives.

We make no lifestyle changes.

When really as the church we should be totally different.

An all around different life…

While again it’s important to be here this morning and I am so thankful that we are here, is that all that separates us from the world?

Is simply adding in a few hours, a few scriptures, a few prayers, all that separates you in your spiritual life from the world?

When we look at the idea of who are we….is this all that separates us from everyone else?

The Christian’s we read about in Acts, this idea to them was life changing.

It filled every aspect of their life.

They didn’t just simply add “church” into it, rather they allowed it to dictate their life.

The apostle Paul describes this change we should have well…

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

We are to have a radical change in our life upon becoming Christian’s.

We are the church! We are gods people!

Are we acting like it?

Are being the church? Or just going to it?

Are we just checking a box of four list?

Another picture the Bible paints for us as to who we are, is the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:27 NKJV

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

We are one body.

We must function with unity.

While individually different we are all the same.

All of our identity as Christians is rooted in Jesus Christ…

Some of you here may have a Sam’s card.

I personally don’t but I borrow my parents occasionally.

But for those of you who have this card it comes with a membership right

You’re a member of Sam’s club.

When do you go to Sam’s?

Well when you need something right?

We don’t go just to go.

You’re a member, you go there, you need something from there, but is your identity there?

Are you known as Daniel member of Sam’s club?

Of course not!

Have we made the church this way?

In a similar fashion just like Sam’s… We may be members of the church, we may go there, we may know we need it, but is it our identity?

Is your life built around it?

The decisions we make, the lives we live, is it all based around our identity as being and living as Gods church?

Another picture painted for us as to who we are, is simply… family.

Matthew 12:48–50 NKJV

But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus came to create a spiritual family.

A family that’s stronger than any physical family here on earth.

All we have to do is His will and we are his family.

We again, are all one.

A unified body of believers coming together as Gods church.

Coming together as family.

Do we view Gods people that way?

Do we look around this morning at those assembled with us and view them as Gods family, our family….

Church isn’t just somewhere we go.

Not some club we just belong to.

But rather it’s us.

We are the church.

We are the family of Christ together.

1 Peter 2:9–10 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Notice we aren’t just a people here it says, we are Gods people.

That’s our identity.

That’s the importance of being the church…

Notice here nothing Peter says is individual.

Nor does he say the church is something that’s in addition to our lives.

But rather he says simply, “You are…”

We are. Together.

We’ve become part of something far greater than anything we can imagine.

We’ve become a part of Gods family.

That’s who the church is.

It’s not this building, it’s not just here on Sunday morning or Wednesday night.

It’s you, it’s me, it’s us. Together as family.

Conclusion:

I think it’s time for us a church to change our mindset.

To not view this like I did when I was younger and shrug this idea off, but to see the importance of it.

To know what it truly means when someone says, “You are the church.”

Being here this morning is important.

I want you to understand that and to know how glad I am, how glad you should be, how glad God is that we are here…

But isn’t there more?

Shouldn’t our lives for Christ be more than a mere few hours set aside to him?

To put it simply for us this morning, is being a Christian a hobby for us?

Is it a box we check?

Or is it truly our identiy?

Is it truly what we base our entire life around?

Let’s think our changing from “going to church” to “being the church”

As we continue on in our lessons this ek we are going to build upon this foundation of who we are as the church and how important it is we go out and show others who we are…

As Gods people we are charged with an important job and that’s to go out and evangelize, to share the gospel with others so that they can become part of his church as well…

This morning if we aren’t a member of the church why not?

What’s keeping you from joining Christs family?

What’s keeping you from making the greatest decision we will ever make?

To hear believe repent confess be baptized wash away our sins and begin living a faithful life to God!

Make that decision before its too late…

Being a child of God, being apart of his family, his church , is the greatest blessing in all of the world…

Don’t miss out…

This morning if you’re a Christian already what about your spiritual life?

How do you feel about your place in his church?

Have we slipped into a sense of complacency and just simply going through the motions?

Are we too tied up or invested in things of the world that pull us away from Christ?

Are we falling into sin and temptation and forgetting who we are and what our identity is…

A child of God rooted in Christ…

This morning make the decision to change, to come back home, and see the value in what he has to offer…

If you need to become a Chrisitan this morning or come back home make that decision today before its too late….