The Miracle of the Gathered Church
Notes
Transcript
This is a very special Sunday, this is the first time our congregation has celebrated the Lord’s Supper since the COVID-19 pandemic has broken out. Not only this we have also celebrated the sacrament of baptism together. These two sacraments point to the Miracle of the Gathered Church. I have selected four passages, three from 1 Corinthians and one from Ephesians. I am going to read them back to back without introduction, so that you can get a better feel of what Scripture teaches concerning the church as the body of Christ. Let us now hear God’s Word to us today:
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
It is estimated that 30% of those who were regular attenders to church services will never return after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. There are many reasons for this, but without question, the leading reason is because the “virtual church” is so much easier. It is nice to be able to sleep in an extra hour or two. Better yet, you can watch or listen to the service in your pajamas, sitting the comfort of your easy chair, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a Pop Tart in the other! All this thanks to the miracle of technology! What could be better?
What could be better is divine miracle; the miracle that Christ performs every Lord’s Day as His church physically gathers for worship! As the church gathers for worship, it becomes the body of Christ on earth!
The Virtual Church is a “Miracle” of Technology
The Virtual Church is a “Miracle” of Technology
The Virtual Church has been a tremendous blessing during this pandemic. Many of our members have compromised health and public worship is far too dangerous. In addition, we have found our shut-in members, those traveling, and even people out of state are watching our services. Because of this, our Session plans to continue providing these live-stream services even after this pandemic ends. However, we must remember, so called “miracles” of technology are not miracles at all. They are the work of man, not God.
The Gathered Church is a Miracle of God!
The Gathered Church is a Miracle of God!
We must never forget that Christianity is a supernatural religion. Cold, anti-supernatural rationalism reduces a sermon to a “teaching moment”, the Lord’s Supper to a memorial and baptism to an initiation rite. While they are all these things, they are so much more. They are Christ’s means of grace, by which He makes the spiritually dead alive and then transforms them into His image! They are the means by which Christ so intimately communes with His people that they become the incarnation of Christ! Jesus said before He ascended into heaven, “where two or three gather together in my name, I am there in their midst.”
I once heard someone say, “Nature is my church.” Jesus would respond to such thinking by saying, “Nature is not MY church!” The New Testament word “church” is the equivalent of the Old Testament “assembly.” The church exists only in fellowship with other Christians. Scripture teaches us that creation reveals the glory of God and we would all do well to spend more time in nature, but we must not neglect the weekly assembly of God’s people.
At the beginning of this pandemic, it was necessary to not meet together in order to “flatten the curve.” It is still necessary for those with compromised health conditions to keep themselves isolated, but this pandemic will end and at that time, it will be necessary for all of God’s people to assemble together again. This is because there are no unnecessary members. Paul writes,
For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Right now, the Church of Jesus Christ is suffering because of COVID-19, it is keeping us apart. We long for the day when we can all rejoice together. Let us learn from this season of trial, so that when it is over, we will commit ourselves to the fellowship of the saints as never before!
Let us pray.