Sermon Tone Analysis

Marks of the Church ---Word & Sacrament

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:26

Today we continue our series on “The Marks of the Church”.

It is my hope and prayer that as we look at the Marks of the Church, we will see our church and the mission we have been called to in this corner of the world.

God has planted The Seed for such a time as this.

The Greek word for church is “ekklesia.”

It is used 110 times in the new Testament with only 2 of those times in the Gospels.

It is used twice in the Gospel of Matthew.

The most references to the word.

“ekklesia or church” are found in the Book of Acts.

The meaning of “ekklesia” is an assembly of gathered or called out ones to or for a purpose.

The purpose of the called-out ones is to hear and respond to God’s Word.

For the past five weeks, we have looked at the Marks of the Church.

Week one: we learned from Acts 2:42 through 47 that the early Church was:

Ø A Learning Church

Ø A Fellowshipping Church

Ø A Praying Church

Ø A Worshiping Church

Ø A Happening Church

Ø A Sharing Church

Ø A Happy Church

Ø A Worshipping Church

V The early church was devoted to the apostle’s teaching --- they were a learning church.

V They were devoted to fellowship which included the breaking of bread and sharing what they had in common.

V They were a worshipping church with prayer, awe, wonders and signs.

V They were a joyful, attractive and growing church through their witness.

V They were a teaching and learning church that was devoted to fellowship, worship and witness.

Week two: we learned from the Gospel of John that worship is not about a place, but about a person.

Worship is all about Jesus.

The early church had the sign of the fish to remind them of their purpose.

The Greek word for fish is “ichthys” and each letter stood for one word.

Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior.

What a beautiful and powerful Mark of the church, the sign of the fish --- Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior.

Week three: we learned another Mark of the church is that we are a living letter of Christ that is read by all.

Week four: that we are the aroma of Christ—and that forgiveness is one of Christ’s aromas.

Last week, we dove deep into the Love of the church.

I know that last week was broad and wide.

It was a hard message to give, let alone comprehend and take in.

I am sorry about that.

What I learned last week is that we will need to do a whole sermon series on the deep, deep love of God that is found in Christ Jesus.

Love is a wonderful mark of the church.

This week, we turn to two different words that describe The Marks of the church.

These words have been around since the beginning of creation.

The Marks of the church that we will look at today are “Word” and “Sacrament.”

Before we turn to study God’s living Word, let us turn our hearts to our Living Lord in a moment of prayer.

“Lord, God of all creation, create in us a new heart.

Cleanse our hearts with Your Living Words of life.

I pray that we will truly experience a sacred moment today as we hear Your Words of life and share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Amen.

“

I Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.[i]

Another mark of the Church: The living WORD!

Just this past week people all around the world celebrated Halloween.

Now I need to tell you something, I am not much of a Halloween person.

I am not opposed to it and I’m not afraid of it.

I also know that God is not afraid of Halloween.

But, I like to think of this holiday as Reformation Day.

It was on October 31st in 1517 that a man by the name of Martin Luther went to the Wittenberg Castle and nailed 95 theses on the door of the castle.

He did this to ensure that there would be a debate and discussion of the 95 statements he posted to the door.

Martin Luther never set out to start a new church, all he wanted to do was reform the Roman Catholic Church of his day.

The Roman Catholic Church did not want reform.

They brought Luther up for trial and wanted to martyr (that is kill) him.

They demanded that for him to recant.

You know what he said?

“Here I stand.

I can do no other.”

Yes! Don’t give me a day to celebrate Halloween!

Give me Martin Luther and Reformation Day! What a saint!

“Recant or we will martyr you.”

“Here I am.

I can do no other.”

Martin Luther totally stood his truth, unafraid.

Yes, give me Reformation Day every October 31st!

Do you know that the cry of the reformation had five “sola” statements?

These statements became Marks of the Protestant church.

The reformation church was called the Protestant Church because the Latin word for Protestant is “protestari” and it means “to stand for something not stand against something.”

The protestant Church stood for:

V Sola Scriptura --- Scripture Alone

V Sola Fide --- Faith Alone

V Sola Gratia --- Grace Alone

V Sola Christus --- Christ Alone

V Sola Deo Gloria --- Glory to God Alone

What a powerful first statement --- Scripture Alone.

For the early reformers, one of the Marks of the Church was when the “Word” was rightly preached and heard, and the “Sacraments” were rightly shared.

I am history buff.

I went to college to become a history teacher.

But God had other plans.

I love museums, history books and biographies.

I am currently reading a book about Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans.

When I got to thinking about the “Word” of God I did a quick research and found that the first written “Word” of God came from God’s own hand when he wrote the Ten Commandments.

That was around 1400 BC.

Around 500 BC the first complete Hebrew Bible was written with the 39 books we have in the Old Testament.

It was in 315 AD that an early church Father by the name of Athanasius identified the 27 books we call the New Testament.

It wasn’t until 382 that Jerome completed the Latin Vulgate which included the 80 books in the Bible at that time --- 39 Old Testament, 27 New testament and 14 called the Apocrypha.

Almost 1000 years later in 1384, a man by the name of Wycliffe hand wrote the entire Bible from Latin into Anglo-Saxon, the language of his day.

In 1455 Guttenberg invented the printing press and the making of books and literature became easier.

Along comes Martin Luther in 1517 and one of his reformation thesis was that he thought the people should have the “Word of God” in their own language.

From 1517 to 1522, five years after the famed Halloween Reformation day in 1517 at Wittenberg, the German people had a New Testament in their own language!

God bless Martin Luther.