Sermon Tone Analysis

Life In the Real World

Show video Real World Magic Kingdom

(If video works)...Life this side of heaven can be pretty complicated…when you throw a bunch of Princesses into one house and force them to live together, all sorts of chaos happens that tends to reveal the not so princess like heart…have you ever felt like life in the church can be like this? (if video doesn’t work start below)

What happens when you throw a bunch of redeemed selfish people into one huge family unit, give them all the same purpose, uniquely equip them to carry out that purpose and charge them with the responsibility of positively impacting each other...YOU GET THE CHURCH…but life inside the church is not always a bed of roses...

YOU GET THE CHURCH....

The church is the wonderful creation of God that Jesus declared He would build…(if video worked) but sometimes life in the church can seem like that video!

Exactly how does Jesus build His church?…He lays the foundation through us being faithful to make disciples through our efforts to be ambassadors for Him pleading with people to be reconciled to God…(GOSPEL)

(if video works)…even when the church is filled with a bunch of prima dona princesses…they shall not prevail either...

Exactly how does Jesus build His church?…He starts by reconciling us to God through His death, burial and resurrection…GOSPEL…

Exactly how does Jesus build His church?…He lays the foundation through us being faithful to make disciples through our efforts to be ambassadors for Him pleading with people to be reconciled to God…(GOSPEL)

2 Cor 5

GOSPEL)

One of the delightful aspects of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ is that you are immediately invited to become part of a life-changing building project…

Exactly how does Jesus build His church?…He lays the foundation through us being faithful to make disciples through our efforts to be ambassadors for Him pleading with people to be reconciled to God…(GOSPEL)

Through us being ambassadors for Him pleading with people to be reconciled to God…(GOSPEL)

By coming to Christ in faith, we then become united together into one body…the church…and we all have been given a responsibility to be His ambassadors to preach the message of reconciliation...

Once people are reconciled to God...With Himself being the chief cornerstone He chooses to further build by using you and me as living stones...

With Himself being the chief cornerstone He chooses to build by using you and me as living stones...

Once people are reconciled to God...With Himself being the chief cornerstone He chooses to further build by using you and me as living stones...

This building project is a both/and endeavor...He builds us and then we are to be actively involved in His construction project by building up each other...

He builds us and then we are to be actively involved in His construction project by building up each other...

He builds us and then we are to be actively involved in His construction project by building up each other...

So one of the delightful aspects of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ is that He immediately invites you and even expects you to become part of a life-changing building project…

One of the delightful aspects of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ is that you are immediately invited to become part of a life-changing building project…

What will this building project look like when we are done?...

in coming to Christ, you are immediately invited to become part of a family where you are simultaneously being built and building others…

that process is an essential aspect of the gospel…where through the power and efficacy of His shed blood…Jesus restores what is broken… He redeems what is lost…He refashions what is marred…He’s the ultimate restorer and builder of life…He even told His disciples…

- where through the power and efficacy of His shed blood…Jesus restores what is broken…

What will this building project look like when we are done?...

- He redeems what is lost…He refashions what is marred…He’s the ultimate restorer and builder of life…He even told His disciples…

the corollary to that is that God has designed you to fulfill a unique role in the building project…others in our church family and in our community can be built up, and need to be built up, specifically by what you bring to the table…

- that’s what the end of the construction project looks like…

- that’s why… - We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

- that’s what the end of the construction project looks like…

- the corollary to that is that God has designed you to fulfill a unique role in the building project…others in our church family and in our community can be built up, and need to be built up, specifically by what you bring to the table…

so if Jesus is building His church…and He purposely draws a diverse group of people together to accomplish that plan…then the way we impact one another matters…it matters a lot…

1

so if Jesus is building His church…and He purposely draws a diverse group of people together to accomplish that plan…then the way we impact one another matters…it matters a lot…

- so if Jesus is building His church…and He purposely draws a diverse group of people together to accomplish that plan…then the way we impact one another matters…it matters a lot…

with that in mind, please open your Bible to the book of 1 John 3…

- there’s great hope and there’s great security in that powerful truth…

- but Paul also affirms… - …But each man must be careful how he builds on it.

- that’s what we’re talking about this year…

- which is why we started with Building on the Foundation of the Gospel…and we studied Tim Keller’s book – Center Churchf…

- by the way, for those of you who have joined us along the way, or if you didn’t quite finish back in January and February—I can’t think of a more enjoyable read on the beach than Tim Keller’s Center Church…

- you’ll probably also want to pack several extra copies…because what will happen is – others around you will undoubtedly say – I couldn’t help but notice that textbook you’re reading…do you have another copy because that looks a whole lot better than this trashy romance novel I’m reading…

- then we turned to the teaching of Jesus – Building Stories from the Master Teacher…some of His most enduring sermons recorded in the Bible used this metaphor to help us understand what it meant to live for Him…

- next we worked through the book of Nehemiah – Becoming a Godly Leader…and it really is amazing how many important, practical principles are contained in that marvelous book…

well, this am we’re launching another series entitled Following His Plans to Build a Spiritual House..this is a study of the “one-another’s” of Scripture…it’s amazing how often that phrase appears in the NT…

- this is a study of the “one-another’s” of Scripture…it’s amazing how often that phrase appears in the NT…

God’s Word instructs us to have an impact on each other and through the transformational work of Christ and the empowerment of His Spirit we are to accomplish this...we’re to encourage one another, we’re to serve one another, we’re to pray for one another, and forgive one another…

God’s Word instructs us to have an impact on each other and through the transformational work of Christ and the empowerment of His Spirit we are to accomplish this...we’re to encourage one another, we’re to serve one another, we’re to pray for one another, and forgive one another…

it’s a rather long and certainly delightful list, (I took the opportunity to put them all in a handy chart for you to keep in your Bible)…but it’s also very challenging because many of these characteristics don’t come naturally…and that’s probably more true in this self-centered, individualistic, “I don’t need you because I have an app on my phone” culture than ever before…

but it also becomes a marvelous way for a body of believers, the church of Jesus Christ, to stand out because of the unique way we try to impact one another…and in many ways that starts with the emphasis we have before us this morning…our calling to Love One Another…

let’s read about that in

Build Up One Another by Loving One Another

So this whole series will seek to answer the broad question of “How are we to be involved in Jesus’ building project?

Today we want to consider three principles to help us build one another in love.

- first of all, understand that…

Loving One Another is a Proof of Our Salvation – 3:14-15

please think carefully about the flow of thought here…

- We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.

He who does not love abides in death.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

that’s an unbelievably powerful statement – because it gets at the very issue of how you and I can have assurance of our salvation…

as a pastor, I’m asked about that a lot…how can I know for sure I’m saved…“Gaining assurance of our salvation” is one of the purposes of the book of 1 John

“Gaining assurance of our salvation” is one of the purposes of the book of 1 John

- These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

in part because John, like any good writer, tells us exactly why he wrote the book…let’s see if we can find the three reasons together…

- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

so that’s one purpose of this book – that we would have greater fellowship with God and others…

- These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

there’s a second purpose – that our joy would be complete…

- These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

that we would have greater assurance of our salvation…if you want to know whether your salvation is genuine, then look no further than the question of whether you are building our church family and building our community by loving one another…

well, of those three, which one does the passage we have before us especially address…the issue of our assurance…

Loving one another is possible because you live in a different sphere than you used to live.

if you want to know whether…you know that you know that you know…Christ as Savior and Lord…look no further than the question of whether you are building our church family and building our community by loving one another…

Loving one another is possible because you live in different sphere than you used to live.

now did you notice how this is…

Described powerfully in this passage

Passed out of death into life – v. 14a

1. Passed out of death into life – v. 14a

what does that mean?...

well, death in the Bible is always separation of some kind…and it is discussed in at least three ways Scripturally…let’s think through which one is in focus here…

physical death – the separation of the soul from the body…

spiritual death – the separation of a person from God…

the second death – the separation of a person from God forever…

well, let’s plug that back into what we’re studying here…

- We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.

is that talking about passing out of physical death, or spiritual death, or the second death?...

is a person who doesn’t love physically dead?...no, or the funeral homes would be much fuller…are we talking about the second death – no, because once that is a person’s eternal condition, there is no way to pass out of that (just ask the rich man and Lazarus in )…

this is talking about the kind of love for others that is evidence of passing out of spiritual death into spiritual life…

the way this person treats someone else is an evidence of the Spirit of God working in and through them…

Let’s do a little survey here this morning… based on your anniversary this year, if you have been married for 2 years or more please stand and stay standing until your number is reached…5 years…10…20…30…40…50…

- that’s not to suggest that a person who doesn’t know the Lord can’t/won’t do that…but for those in our church family…it ought to be celebrated and honored…but every Christian who reaches one of those milestones would be quick to say – it’s not because marriage is always easy or because I just did what I felt like doing every day, or what came natural everyday…but it’s because of the power of Jesus Christ working in and through me…

Thank you…to reach such marvelous milestones in our culture today doesn’t mean that unbelievers can’t make it that long, but for believers it should be a wonderful time of celebration and have a place of honor among us because we know that marriage is not always easy, nor is it a commitment to stay together just for the kids…

but when two equal sinners unite their lives together in Christ there is a remarkable power that works in them to accept the imperfections of one another and grow in their love for one another that they are willing to stay committed to God and each other until death do us part...

Being passed out of the realm of spiritual death means that regardless of the amount and degree of imperfections in someone, we can still be committed to loving them because we are no longer living in a realm where the supernatural power to overcome all things is missing.

- I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

- Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.