Church is a Hospital

The church is not a place for the perfect - The church is a place for the plagued!

Don’t believe the propaganda about the Christian Church - especially from those who have been hurt, offended, disappointed or have never been!

Chances are they simply don’t understand what Jesus made the church to be -

The perfect vehicle by which imperfect people find the mercy and grace of God to be made perfect.

We believe that:

Everyone needs Jesus - Everyone needs a local church - Everyone needs a Pastor

The Church is a Hospital & Jesus is the GREAT Physician!

Luke 5:31 NKJV

31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

Luke 4:18 NKJV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

brokenhearted=shattered

captives= prisoners of war

oppressed = crushed; bruised

If you are shattered, crushed, a prisoner (of war), poverty stricken, or can’t see much in front of your current moment, Jesus is specially equipped for you!

Each of these symptoms is actually caused by the same root issue

The Worst Pandemic Disease:

EVERY human (even pastors) is plagued by the SAME disease

SIN:

Romans 3:23 NKJV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 NKJV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SIN - We don’t even like the way that word sounds, right?

SIN just sounds EWWWWWW...

We feel like if we admit to having sin, we are saying that WE are somehow bad & horrible.

Sin is not a judgment on who we are, it is the name of a disease that is destroying our life & for which there is a 100% effective cure!

Sin Defined:

Sin is anything that separates us from God:

character, desires, relationships, love of money, attitudes, lying, etc.

James 4:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

What we should feel is GREAT HOPE because we have a Great Physician & a Great Savior!.

Ephesians 2:14–18 NKJV

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Everyone needs Jesus!

Jesus wants to separate us from the things that separate us from Him

- SIN.

-Sin causes death.

Without sin in the world, there would not be shattered lives, broken hearts, prisoners, crushed and bruised people, & people without hope

Where the Church “Misses It”:

I think it’s funny how Christians claim that

The church is not a building, it’s people

When they don’t want to go to church consistently, but then claim that “The Church” should do this or that when the same people who “Are the Church” don’t want to get their hands dirty and get involved

I have GREAT NEWS for you, Christian!

You know The One who has the cure for the ills of the world - His name is Jesus!

If we will refer our friends to:

A clothing rep for those leggings you just HAVE to have

A Personal Trainer for fitness

A Contractor to build their home

A physician who specializes in a medical condition

Why do we hesitate to bring people to Jesus so they can be healed, set free from bondage, have the shattered pieces of their life put together?

Not sharing Jesus is worse than having a 100% effective cure for COVID-19, having enough supply for the whole world, using it for yourself, but not sharing it anyone else!

Our “Church Hospital” Culture:

We celebrate all who come to this place:

No one despises the sick for going to a hospital to be healed.

Everyone is Welcomed:

There is no one too far gone for Jesus, the Great Physician, to heal

We are convinced that as long as there is breath, there is hope.

There are no perfect people here:

We are in constant need of Jesus’ help - We are never so perfect that we don’t need Him

Everyone is in-process

This is a comparison-free zone:

No one’s favorite brand of sin is better than another’s - Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.

We are bringers:

We introduce as many people as we can to The One who can heal us.

Just One Thing:

You have hope because you have The Cure!

Who can you bring the cure to this week?

Discussion Questions:

When was the last time you immediately regretted something you said?

Sin is anything that separates us from Jesus - What is something rather obscure, in your own life, that you know separates you from Jesus. Explain a bit in your group.

Please read Matthew 19:16-26 and share what you think separated the young man, in the story, from Jesus. Please explain why you think it separated him.

Who is 1 person you know you need/want to share Jesus with this week? Pray with your group specifically for boldness & opportunity with that 1 person.