What Is The Church?
#MembershipMatters • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 17 viewsBeginning of Bible Study series on Church Membership
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
The depth of your commitment to the church depends on the depth of your love for Christ, and the depth of your understanding of the church.
What is the church?
What is the church?
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:22-
Followers of Christ who derived their identity and mission from Jesus and understood themselves to be the true eschatological community of God.
The church is more accurately depicted as a collection of bodies, not the existence of a building. These bodies gather, worship, pray, and fellowship together in the name of Jesus. The church is more specifically, a group of people who have submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and believe in his resurrection from the dead. Christians are the church. The church isn’t just made up of Christians, it is made for Christians. We were not designed to live in isolation. When God made man, he also made woman because it was not good for him to be alone. It is not good for Christians, especially new Christians to be alone. You need the support and structure of a spiritual community to help you grow.
In Thabiti Anyabwile’s book entitled ‘What Is a Healthy Church Member?’ he records the story of a young lady who joined the church after years of wandering in the wilderness. She was asked the question of her experience at her first church after conversion.
“How was that church for you spiritually? Did you grow there?” After pausing for a moment, she explained, “I expected that after my conversion someone would have helped me to grow as a Christian.” She continued with a distinct trace of confusion and anger: “But it was as if people put me in a corner somewhere, as if they expected me to figure things out own. It was a terrible and lonely time.”
The church is responsible for it’s members. If we are the church, that makes us responsible for each other.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
It was Peter’s confession of Jesus being the Christ that would be the rock that the church would be built on. The church unites people who may have differing interests but common convictions.
The glue that binds the church together is every individuals belief about the identity of Jesus Christ.
To say that you belong to the church implies that you are inseparably united to everyone else who believes that Jesus is the Son of the living God.
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This statement is the foundation that the church is built on, and the glue that holds it together.
The Church Covenant
The Church Covenant
The church covenant is an important document that every member should become familiar with. In this document the responsibilities for individuals are listed. This covenant creates accountability amongst the members of the church. The expectations of membership are clearly expressed so that every member understands in what ways they are expected to conform to the church. Many people cringe at the idea of conforming to a standard set by someone else, but because Christians have submitted to the Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives they must also submit to the expectations of the covenant relationship with his church. This is not unlike following the code of conduct set forth by your employer, or honoring the vows made at your wedding.
Much like our wedding vows, the Church Covenant describes our commitment to one another.
Here are the contents of our Church Covenant:
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour; and on the profession of our faith having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge and holiness; to give it a place in our affections, prayers and services above every organization of human origin; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline and doctrine; to contribute cheerfully and regularly, as God has prospered us, towards its expenses, for the support of a faithful and evangelical ministry among us, the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. In case of difference of opinion in the church, we will strive to avoid a contentious spirit, and if we cannot unanimously agree, we will cheerfully recognize the right of the majority to govern.
We also engage to maintain family and secret devotion; to study diligently the word of God; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintance; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be kind and just to those in our employ, and faithful in the service we promise others; endeavoring in the purity of heart and good will towards all men to exemplify and commend our holy faith.
We further engage to watch over, to pray for, to exhort and stir up each other unto every good word and work; to guard each other’s reputation, not needlessly exposing the infirmities of others; to participate in each other’s joys, and with tender sympathy bear one another’s burdens and sorrows; to cultivate Christian courtesy; to be slow to give or take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, being mindful of the rules of the Saviour in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew, to secure it without delay; and through life, amid evil report, and good report, to seek to live to the glory of God, who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
When we remove from this place, we engage as soon as possible to unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s word.
What is the purpose of the church?
What is the purpose of the church?
The Church is a spiritual community in which Christians are planted, to be fed, nurtured, encouraged, and corrected for growth and guidance. It functions and exists for the people of God. It also functions and exists for the glory of God. The Church is organic in promoting growth, but it is also institutional in providing oversight.
You cannot have a growing church without growing members.
Growth
Growth
The church functions as a catalyst for spiritual growth.
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
The church seeks to ensure the transformation of the lives of it’s individual members through Christian discipleship.
This is done through faithful biblical teaching, collective prayer, and accountability between members of the church. Spiritual growth requires active participation and commitment from the individual. Discipleship, or growth happens when what is learned is applied. One of the church’s functions is the building up of it’s members.
The Bible frequently uses metaphors like a vine with branches, or a body with many members to depict the church. It uses the analogy of a tree and it’s fruit to illustrate the growth and the development of individual believers. This is the organic component of the church in that it is a collection of organisms forming a larger organism. The health of the church is directly related to the spiritual well-being of it’s members.
You cannot have a growing church without growing members.
Guidance
Guidance
The church functions as an institution for spiritual guidance.
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
The Bible also uses metaphors to describe the organizational structure of the Church.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
The Church is under the authority of Christ and so are it’s members. This means that what we do collectively and individually is influenced by the example of the life of Christ. We receive instruction from the Bible or what calls, “the apostles teaching”. Everything that the church sets out to do should align with the teaching of scripture.
The local church is the place where Christians can come to receive practical instruction on daily living.
Worship
Worship
The church gathers regularly to praise and worship God.
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The Bible commands Christians to worship daily by giving themselves as a living sacrifice, but it also exhorts the body of Christ to come together for collective worship. Weekly worship service is the highlight of of the week in the life of the church and individual.
Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday?
Saturday worship is an observance of Sabbath Law which was part of the Mosaic Law. Saturday is considered the 7th day of the week, while Sunday is considered the first day of the week. In the Mosaic Law the people of God were required to cease from all labor on the Sabbath. Jesus came teaching that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, so he performed miracles on the Sabbath and he traveled on the Sabbath, which was formerly forbidden.
Jesus became our Sabbath rest as we moved from the Mosaic Law of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
We were given the Lord’s day to worship and celebrate a risen Savior. After Jesus was resurrected it became the pattern of the early church to gather on the first day of the week for worship.
Outreach
Outreach
The church impacts it’s environment for the glory of God.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew
Mission Statement
Mission Statement
Although the church may have many functions or roles, it has one mission. Members of the church should know the mission of the statement of the church, and that mission statement should be rehearsed often. The mission statement helps the members of the church understand the direction of the church and the motive for everything that they do together. When believers become united behind a single purpose the effectiveness of individual effort is magnified.
So what is the mission of the church?
Let’s first look at the mission of the universal church or Christendom as a whole:
The mission of the church is the expansion of the Kingdom of God on earth.
This happens through evangelizing the unsaved, shaping the lives of the saved to mirror the life of Christ, and teaching disciples to go out and make more disciples.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Each local church should have a mission statement that is similar to the one presented to us in the Bible. This mission statement helps members of the local church communicate what their church endeavors to do and why they do it. The mission here at David’s Temple is the mission of the church as stated in the Bible:
“Sharing the gospel to evangelize the unsaved, equip the saints, and empower disciples for service.”
Evangelize. Equip. Empower.
Evangelize. Equip. Empower.
Questions?
Questions?
