Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduce me; just so you know, I’ll be a little longer than usual this morning - there’s a lot to say!

Why are we here?

It’s one of the key questions of life.

And yet I think it’s a question a lot of us struggle to answer with much confidence - and it’s often one we don’t answer with much conviction.

It’s one of those questions that we get distracted from because we’re too caught up in the detail and the busyness of life.

Or in the endless trivia of our modern age: minor news; celeb outfits; cat pictures.

But I think it’s more than just distraction which keeps us away from this question - because it’s also a question which scares us.

It scares us because any answer to it has serious implications for how we should live.

And let’s be honest: we already have our own plans for that.

Plans we don’t really want to change.

This key question of purpose - this is a question which matters as much for organisations as it does for individuals.

And yet I think many organisations are similarly coy about why they are here; perhaps distracted by the busyness of business; perhaps scared by the consequences of clarity.

Perhaps just lacking much confidence and conviction in their answer.

As a church, we want to be crystal clear on why we are here.

We want to be crystal clear on what our purpose is; on what our goal is.

And just so we’re clear, Our end-goal isn’t to become a comfortable church

You know, a church which is like those cosy old slippers, one where everything just fits in snugly around us, helping us relax.

No rough edges.

No pointy bits.

All rubbed off.

All there is is just smooth, warm, soft relaxation.

A church where we can get a spiritual high to carry us through each week - one which conveniently fits into our busy schedule.

A church which won’t challenge us to change where we’re out of line with God and his plans for us and for the world.

Nope, our goal isn’t to be a comfortable church - so church makes you a little uncomfortable from time to time, that is the plan.

Our end-goal isn’t to become an established church either

Our goal isn’t to get out of this start-up nomadic stage with all its attendant challenges and occasional chaos and arrive at a stable, established, grown-up kind of church.

You know the kind of church where things run smoothly and reliably week to week, where we’ve become a finely tuned machine with carefully honed systems and processes; the kind of church which has built up a reputation; the kind of church which has a building.

Though if you’re observant, you will have noticed we have been talking about a building rather a lot over the last few months - and we’ll talk about it quite a bit more yet.

I’m genuinely really excited about this prospect of a new building even though we started out expecting to just be renters of space for a long time.

Turns out renting space, particularly enough space for a gathering plus a kids’ programme serving a few different age groups, gets really tricky when you’re just a little bigger than we are today.

And it gets seriously expensive.

We’re thinking about a building because a building is going to become a pretty essential part of pursuing our true goal if we keep on growing.

But you need to know a building is not our goal, our destination; it’s not what we’re about as a church.

It’s just a means to an end - it’s just enabling the mission.

it’s not the mission itself.

So our goal isn’t to become an established church - even though that’s not inherently bad thing.

Our end-goal isn’t even to become a big church

No question we would like to be a bigger church, even though that will bring challenges and complexities - like needing to think about a bigger space and how look after significantly more children, for example

or how to build real community and care for each other well when it’s no longer true that everyone knows everyone.

We would like to be a bigger church - at least somewhat bigger.

But our end-goal isn’t to be a big church - though again, that’s no bad thing.

Our end-goal is to win as many as possible - for the glory of God

Our goal as a church, following in the footsteps of the apostle Paul, is to win as many as possible (1 Cor 9:19).

To win as many as possible.

To win as many people as possible.

Paul talks about winning because there is a real competition for people.

There are competing faiths, competing world-views - competing stories about who we are, why we are here, and how we should live as a result.

Our goal as a church is to win as many people as possible to the truth about Jesus: who he is, what he’s done, and how that changes everything for all of us.

And we want to pursue that urgently quite simply because it is urgent.

The Bible tells us each human has just a limited time to respond to the message of Jesus.

No-one knows which will be their last year - or their last day.

The Bible tells us we live in the midst of a world that is perishing - and yet God, through His own son Jesus, has entered it, opening the way to life.

And when you think about it, if we believe what we say we believe, it’s pretty hard to defend any other goal in the end: Luke Muehlhauser, writes this – and for the record, he’s an atheist blogger:

Let’s say we all lived in Poland at the start of World War II and you got word that soon, the Nazis were going to invade the town where several of your friends and family lived.

The Nazis were going take everybody off to concentration camps in chains, and possibly kill them.

And let’s say this information came from a very reliable source, so that you really believed this was going to happen.

Would you just go on about your life?

Would you just mention this to your friends and family in passing, and send them the occasional tract with information on the threat of the Nazis?

Would you merely pray for them to see the threat and save themselves?

Or, would you do everything you could to save your friends and family?

Maybe you would drive out there and try to convince them of the threat until you were blue in the face.

Maybe you would refuse to leave until they came away with you.

Maybe you would… I dunno what, but it would be pretty drastic.

I know if I were in that situation, then I would do some pretty drastic things to save my friends and family.

Do you see?

If we really believe this is life and death - and make no mistake, that is what Jesus clearly teaches; we’ll see him lay it out this starkly as we continue through Luke’s gospel in our regular Sunday talks - if we really believe this is life and death, then how could we justify anything other than trying to win as many as possible?

How could our lives really be focused on anything else?

Go on, take a moment.

Think it over.

What else could your life be about?

What else could you get done that really matters a hoot in the end?

David Platt writes this: On the last day "we will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world.

Instead we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day " - that is, the day of judgement.

Radical, 217

But it’s not just logic which calls for this purpose, it’s Jesus himself.

You see Jesus, who has done everything for us, leads us in mission and calls us to share in it:

God the Father sent Jesus, his only begotten son, into a world that would kill him - reaching out in love to a broken world and a perishing people despite the cost.

And Jesus sends us into this same mission - Jn 20:21.

Scarily direct, right?

And this will have a cost.

But we’re not sent alone, or unequipped: we’re sent in the power of the Holy Spirit Jn 20:21-22 .

And we’re sent to walk together in his footsteps as his body (the church is the body of Christ on earth - 1 Cor 12:27).

So everyone who takes the name Christian, everyone who calls Jesus their saviour and Lord - and that word “Lord” simply means master - every Christian is commissioned to go + make disciples (Mt 28:19).

To seek to share the message of Jesus with others so they too may become his followers and join us in taking on his commands.

One more thing to say on this: it’s life and death - so it’s the only rational goal; it’s Jesus command - so it’s the only obedient goal.

But it’s also the only thing which can truly transform our world today, here and now.

You know we live in a broken world.

You just have to watch the news to see that’s true.

Education hasn’t fixed it.

Politics hasn’t fixed it.

Democracy hasn’t fixed it.

Independence hasn’t fixed it.

Union hasn’t fixed it.

Development hasn’t fixed it.

Science hasn’t fixed it.

That’s because the problem isn’t out there - it’s in here [heart].

The problem is us.

And Jesus promises to start to change us from the inside out as we follow him.

This goal, to win as many as possible, it’s world-changing for the here and now because transformed lives transform our world.

Big example: Clapham sect - a group of Christians in London working together in the early 1800’s managed to end slavery in Britain and ultimately throughout the British empire amongst other things.