Sermon Tone Analysis

Embrace the Discomfort

INTRO: Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community

Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community

A. Big Idea of the Series: American culture is a culture of comfort.

It’s being sold to us everywhere we look.

We’re encouraged to do what we want, when we want, with whomever we want.

If something is uncomfortable, we want to avoid it at all costs.

The Christian faith, though, is just that: uncomfortable

If something is uncomfortable, we want to avoid it at all costs.

The Christian faith, though, is just that: uncomfortable.

This four-week series, based on Uncomfortable by Brett McCracken, will help people embrace, understand, and see the beauty and hope in the challenging realities of being part of God’s people.

During this series, pastors are encouraged to work through Uncomfortable with their congregation (and in small groups).

B. This four-week series, based on Uncomfortable by Brett McCracken,

It will help usembrace, understand, and see the beauty and hope in the challenging realities of being part of God’s people.

I encouraged to work through Uncomfortable.

Maybe give it 5 min in your life groups.

>>> In as culture of consumerism we need a fresh perspective on what the church is and our roll in it.

Around valentines day we usually teach a relationship series.

How to get along with your family and love ones.

This is a relationship series its just a little different.

It is a series about your relationships here in our church community.

What does Jesus expect from you here with all these other people.

We know what you expect of others.

Nursery workers, good music, doughnuts, clean bathrooms a good sermon.

Those are the things we are looking for.

What does God expect of you who come here to worship?

Big Idea of the Message: The Christian life—especially when it comes to being part of a church community—is full of discomfort and awkwardness, but God uses these challenges to help us know him better.

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Week 1

Text: , ;

I.

Your Dream church

Topic: Church, Commitment, Sacrifice, Community

Introduction: On pages 16–22 of Uncomfortable, Brett McCracken describes what his dream church would be like.

He has a specific vision for his ideal church’s architecture, membership requirements, worship style, community life, and more.

The church where he currently attends and serves as an elder, however, looks almost nothing like the church he describes.

A. What is your dream church?

What does it look like?

Parking out front .

You can see from the road.

It has a soccer fields for the community.

A garden we all share and work in.

solar panels on the roof and a good size windmill for power.

cathedral like, but modern at the same time.

Practical and beautiful

Inside the worship center has great accoustics

The seats are comfortable but not cramped

the doughnuts are maple sticks with bacon and snicker doodles

AIR CONDITIONING IN SUMMER

B. Ministry

All church members would be involved

feeding and clothing the poor

Tutor facilities for the community

24 hour prayer

The lobby a place for local artist to display and sell their work

time before service for musicians to play for the community

Work out facilities and showers for the homeless

C. Theology

Elder led with very little staff.

All volunteers.

Preaching from great speakers

Time for prayer and conversion every Sunday.

Planned and spontaneous baptism like we just had.

D. Sunday worship would last all day

we would fellowship and break bread

Play together in the gym watch football with nfl ticket.

Tea and scones on the roof, lawn bowling in front and croquet in the back.

In the evening there would be a fireplace and fireplace readings

D. Discipleship

Every age group would have their own volunteer teachers staffed from Christians that were professors at the local college.

Great teachers would come and teach each group personally and through simulcast.

>>> I can go on and on.

Doesn’t sound great!

The reality is that church can be pretty awkward.

Ever indured a bad sermon or singer.

What about the needy person that is always waiting at the door for you.

Actually it seems following Jesus often leads us into uncomfortable and awkward situations?

What does the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus tell us about embracing the challenge of living in Christian community?

We all have one, and there’s a good chance the church you’re in now doesn’t check all the boxes on your list.

This is the focus of our new four-week series “Uncomfortable”—based on McCracken’s book.

What are we to make of the fact that following Jesus often leads us into uncomfortable and awkward situations?

What does the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus tell us about embracing the challenge of living in Christian community?

II.

Church Is Not about Your Preferences; It's about Knowing God

A. The chosen

Explanation: Peter, while writing to various churches that are experiencing forms of persecution, shares what it means to be the chosen people of God.

Just like Jesus was “the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him” (v.

4), Christians are called to be “living stones” that are “being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (v. 5).

Peter, while writing to various churches that are experiencing forms of persecution, shares what it means to be the chosen people of God.

Just like Jesus was “the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him” (v.

4), Christians are called to be “living stones” that are “being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (v. 5).

Peter, while writing to various churches that are experiencing forms of persecution, shares what it means to be the chosen people of God.

Just like Jesus was “the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him” (v.

4), Christians are called to be “living stones” that are “being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (v. 5).

When people say, you are the church, it is a very real reality.

Fire and fire

B. Peter is presenting an image of a community that is focused entirely on Jesus.

It’s a community that puts aside preferences, quarrels, and comfort zones for the sake of becoming “living stones.”

The entire purpose of this community, this “holy nation,” is to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (v.

9).

It’s all about knowing God and worshipping him as king.

This is contradictory to a consumerist approach to Christian community, which places our personal desires for what church should be like on the throne and tempts us to walk away from communities that don’t meet all our standards.