Why the Church Matters: Home

Tanner / prayer

Here’s a quick joke: Tarzan came home from a hard day’s work and said, “Jane, it’s a jungle out there.”

Scripture: Ephesians 2:19

Theme: The Church is a home filled with a family built on faith in Jesus.

Aim: To invite everyone to move from attendance to belonging. Help our church to understand that they aren’t just a guest in God’s house; it’s their house too and the Lord is calling them to invite others to make it their home too.

For Social Media: Church isn’t a building, it’s a family. God places people in spiritual homes for growth, protection, and discipleship.

We’re in a series called "Why the Church Matters,"

Week 1: Harvest The Church exists to reach people with the truth of the Gospel. Scripture: Matthew 9:35–38

The harvest is now. every believer is a laborer with a personal assignment.

We wrote down your “one” and placed it in the harvest basket.

Week 2: Hearts The Church exists to love people into wholeness through Jesus. Scripture: Acts 20:28

Truth without love is ignored. Love is sacrificial, Spirit-filled, and healing.

I told you to pray daily for your one and ask God to help you walk in love toward them.

Today we come to, for me, what is one of the most wonderful reasons why the Church matters, because the Church is meant to be a home.

Do you remember the show “Extreme home make over”? They find a deserving family and build them a brand new house. It was a very popular show for a while. Each episode ends with people crying in front of a house? Why?

It’s never about the square footage.

It’s not just the countertops or the open concept kitchen.

It’s about what that house represents.

Home

The place where your people are.

Where you belong.

Where you’re safe.

Where you're known.

Where you’re still loved, even when you're a mess.

A place where they grow.

A place where they are seen, loved, challenged, forgiven, and formed.

And if that’s true for our natural families, how much more true should it be in God’s house?

When we think of the word "home," different things can come to mind. For some, it’s laughter around the table. For others, it’s a safe place we long for when the world feels a bit too much. Home is a good place for most. We love being home.

But for many today, home can be a painful word. Maybe home was broken. Maybe home was absent. Maybe you were never invited to feel like you belonged anywhere.

Let’s read our main scripture today:

Ephesians 2:19 NLT

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.

Let me give you the context of this statement. Paul is writing to a group of Gentile believers in the city of Ephesus. These were people who didn’t grow up in the Jewish traditions. They were outsiders to the temple, the promises, the covenant, the heritage. They had no religious pedigree. But now, because of Jesus, Paul says, they’re no longer outsiders; they’re family.

In the same way, we identify with the people Paul is talking to because we aren’t Jewish. We are gentiles too!

But what qualifies people who aren’t under that old covenant to claim this promise? Following Jesus!

To be a follower of Jesus means surrendering your life to Him. Not just believing in who He is, but

Committing to walk in His ways

Luke 9:23 CEV

23 Then Jesus said to all the people: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me.

2. Trusting Him as your Savior

John 3:16 CEV

16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.

3. Obeying His Commands

John 14:15 CEV

15 Jesus said to his disciples: If you love me, you will do as I command.

4. Listening to His Voice

John 10:27 CEV

27 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me,

5. Walking with the Holy Spirit

Romans 12:2 CEV

2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

and

Galatians 5:25 CEV

25 God’s Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit.

Following Jesus is a daily decision to live not for your own glory, but for His purpose. What is His purpose?

Matthew 28:19–20 NLT

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

If you are really following Jesus, we have this wonderful promise that we are now part of God’s family.

This is revolutionary. Not only are we saved, we are are placed. We are part of something bigger.

We are not just believers in Jesus, we are brothers and sisters.

Followers of Jesus are “The Church”

You need to know:

The Church is a Place to Belong

Paul says, “You are members of God’s family.”

Not, “You attend God’s gatherings.”

Not, “You visit God’s building.”

No, if you are following Jesus, you belong. You’re a member of His family.

Every human heart longs to belong. It’s why people join clubs, sports teams, book groups, and even gangs. It’s why we check our phones 100 times a day. We’re longing for connection.

The Church — when it’s healthy — is the one place where anyone, from anywhere, can find true belonging.

And here's the truth: You can’t just watch your way into belonging. Belonging happens when you show up and let people in. When you sit at the table. When you bring your story, your wounds, your gifts.

That’s why we have home groups. That’s why we encourage people to get connected. Because Sunday morning isn’t enough. You need people who know your name and pray for you by name.

I doesn’t want us to be a crowd. I want us to be a community. I want us to be a spiritual home.

The Church is a Place to Grow

Homes aren’t just places of safety, they’re places of formation.

Anyone who’s raised kids knows that growth happens at home. Sometimes messy. Sometimes loud. But always necessary.

It’s funny how my mind works. If you ask me to think of a special moment of raising my kids. I immediately go to the day when Lanie was eating Spaghetti in her high chair. She was so little, and in my mind I remember sauce everywhere, noodles on the floor…the ceiling. It was cute because she was learning to eat. You know what wouldn’t be cute today? If today, at lunch, she got her food all over her face! It wouldn’t be cute today because she’s grown up!

In the same way, the Church is where spiritual growth is meant to happen. And growth isn’t always comfortable. It’s not always convenient. But it’s always good.

God places us in homes so we can be sharpened. Encouraged. Discipled. Corrected. Taught. Loved.

Paul goes on in Ephesians 2:20-21:

Ephesians 2:20–21 CEV

20 You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. 21 Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord.

We’re being built. Together. That means your growth is connected to someone else’s. And their growth is connected to yours. We’re not meant to be spiritual freelancers. We grow best in community.

Are you planted or just potted? Are you growing roots here, or just watching from a distance?

The Church is a Place to Serve and Be Seen

In a healthy home, everyone helps with the dishes. Everyone carries part of the load. And in the Church, there are no spectators. Just servants. Just sons and daughters doing their part.

God has gifted every believer with something to offer. Maybe it’s hospitality. Maybe it’s teaching. Maybe it’s serving behind the scenes. But if you’re part of the house, then the house needs you.

Some of you feel invisible. Maybe you’ve felt overlooked. But hear me: God sees you. And this house needs you.

When someone joins a healthy family, they don’t just sit at the table, they grab a towel to clean up after eating. They look for ways to help. And in helping, they’re seen. They’re known. They’re part of something that matters.

Let me close with a picture. The modern American church has too often looked like a drive-thru. Quick. Shallow. Transactional. Come, get your message. Maybe give an offering. Drive away. No connection. No transformation. Just consumption.

But the Church was never meant to be a drive-thru. It’s meant to be a dinner table.

The table might be messy. The food might not be perfect. But it’s real. It’s family. It’s life. And it’s where you are fed, formed, and found.

We are a family, we are not perfect. But we are a people who are trying to build a table big enough for the lost, the broken, the wandering, and the returning.

If this is your house, don’t just visit…belong. Grow. Serve. And invite others to do the same.

Call:

Some of you today need to come home to Jesus and to His Church.

Some of you need to take a next step: join a group, start serving, get baptized.

Some of you need to forgive a church wound and let God restore your sense of spiritual family.

Let’s respond in prayer. Let’s worship. And let’s say to God:

“This is Your house. And I’m ready to make it mine.”