Sermon Tone Analysis

Because we are a biblically based ministry, we look to scripture as the only source for what we believe and what we do.

Within scripture we acknowledge that the primary purpose of man is to glorify God.

We glorify God by reflecting or declaring His character.

Because we are a biblically based ministry, we look to scripture as the only source for what we believe and what we do.

Within scripture we acknowledge that the primary purpose of man is to glorify God.

We glorify God by reflecting or declaring His character.

Because we are a biblically based ministry, we look to scripture as the only source for what we believe and what we do.

Within scripture we acknowledge that the primary purpose of man is to glorify God.

We glorify God by reflecting or declaring His character.

The final two aspects of our church’s purpose are edifying believers and testifying to the lost.

Both aspects are byproducts of reflecting and declaring the character of God.

We minister to others out of the overflow of our lives.

As we personally reflect and declare God's character, we affect those around us.

As we glorify God, we will edify believers and testify to the lost.

Edify Believers

The edification of believers within the church flows from church members consistently glorifying God.

As members reflect and declare God’s character, those around them are encouraged.

It is this encouragement that Paul exhorts in 1 Thessalonians, “therefore encourage one another and build one another up . . .

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (, ; Cf. ; ).[1]

To build up or edify.

To edify literally means to construct a house.

When used figuratively, especially in the context of the preceding verses, it implies the “establishment and increase of a Christian community known as the house of God . . . the process of spiritual growth and development of the spiritual community and each member within it.”[2]

To encourage.

The word encourage carries the idea of “coming close to someone’s side and speaking in a friendly manner” or “rousing up someone’s will about what ought to be done.”[3]

In looking at these two concepts, a few implications may be drawn.

(1) That the work is good, it’s profitable.

Edifying is not tearing down.

(2) There is a bigger purpose outside the present moment.

(3) It’s a process.

Being built up doesn’t happen overnight.

(4) There will be challenging times.

This process is beneficial but will inevitably be hard at times.

So then, how do we edify one another in the context of the local church?

To answer that question, we offer the acronym FEAST: (1) fellowship, (2) exaltation, (3) accountability, (4) service, and (5) teaching.[4]

Fellowship.

The fostering of relationships in which all participants actively share Christ and His purposes in common.

Luke writes of the early church in that they “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship.”

According to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, “fellowship” refers to companionship, a company of equals, or membership and partnership.[5]

There are three key ideas that come out of this.

(1) Fellowship means being part of a group of people.

Fellowship stands in opposition to isolation, solitude, loneliness, and our present-day independent individualism.[6]

(2) Fellowship requires a sharing with others of certain things in common such as interests, goals, feelings, beliefs, activities, experiences, or concerns.

(3) Fellowship can also refer to a partnership that involves working together and caring for one another as a company of people, like a company of soldiers or members of a family.

But what about Christian fellowship?

The Greek word koinonia[7] carries similar meanings as the English word fellowship.

The distinction between the two comes in the context.

John offers us the simplest definition for Christian fellowship.

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” ().

Jesus Christ is the “source and fount for all spiritual communion.

Only when rightly related to the Lord do we experience true fellowship with another Christian.”[8]

Scripture reveals that Christian fellowship is the fostering of relationships in which all participants actively share Christ and His purposes in common.

(1) Relationship.

We share a relationship with Christ and as a result a relationship with one another.

The common thread that holds us together is Christ.

(2) Partnership.

We as well share Christ’s purpose.

Therefore, we partner together to accomplish the goals Christ has set out for us, those being to care for one another and to bring the lost to Christ.

To accomplish this purpose, we share our possessions, time, and money.

(3) Companionship.

As we share Christ and His purposes, we encourage and exhort one another along the path.

We communicate with one another.

We encourage one another.

We hold each other accountable.

Exaltation (Corporate Worship).

An acknowledgment of God’s greatness which is accompanied by a response of humility.

Our opportunities to exalt the greatness of God are found in scripture reading, prayer, singing, and the ordinances.

For the sake of an acronym, we mention “exaltation,” but what we refer to specifically is corporate worship.

Our corporate worship serves as one of the primary tools for encouragement.

Corporate worship consists of many elements simply summarized in the following definition.

Worship (or exaltation) is an acknowledgment of God’s greatness which is accompanied by a response of humility.

There are two elements to this definition: (1) an acknowledgment of God’s greatness, and (2) a humble response on the part of the worshipper.

These elements are clearly seen throughout the Old Testament in context of worship.

For instance, in , the author writes, “When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down[9] with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped[10] and gave thanks to the LORD.”

Two words draw our attention, bowed down and worshiped.

Both root O.T. Hebrew words could be translated as “worshiped” in specific context.

While both can refer to a physical act of bowing, the first word emphasizes the physical act of bowing, while the second tends to refer to the act of a beggar’s obeisance to a superior, more specifically through the act of “showing, telling, or making known.”

While five Greek words may be translated as worship, most instances involve the word proskuneo, meaning to bow down to or worship, “expressed concretely with falling face down.”[11]

A study through the New Testament would provide several manners in which the Church is directed to display its external worship.

(1) Scripture reading.

“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” ().

(2) Prayer.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” ().

(3) Singing.

“addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” ().

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” ().

(4) Gathering together.

“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight” ().

Accountability.

A simple definition for accountability refers to an explanation of one’s actions and/or motives.

We desire to foster accountability by building relationships which promote honest evaluation and obedience to God.

Primarily to God.

The stark reality of Scripture is that every person, Christian and non-Christian, is accountable before a sovereign God, whether it’s on the day of judgment () or the judgment seat of God (), “the whole world [will] be held accountable to God” (), and will one day bow before Christ ().

To Leadership.

Our accountability is primarily if not solely to God, yet this accountability extends beyond this divine vertical relationship to our horizontal relationships.

We will be held accountable for our submission to our leaders and one another.

The author of Hebrews writes, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” ().

And Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians, “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you” ().

These passages speak of accountability from two dimensions (1) Elders are held accountable to God for their handling of the truth and their leadership of the church they lead.

(2) There is accountability or responsibility to the elders by those whom they lead.