#7 - God's gospel is now embodied in the church

Notes
Transcript

Introduction

We are continuing in our series of What we hold to be true. A few weeks back we had given me an extra week off of preparing a message as I was in the thick of grief dealing with the loss of our grandson. On that Sunday we were blessed to have Martin Perren deliver a message speaking to this Big Idea we are going to explore deeper.
He had recorded that message specifically for another church as their pastor had also needed to step away from the pulpit to tend to his father’s medical emergency.
The Big Idea for this Sunday is

God’s Gospel is now embodied in the new community called the church.

I really appreciated what Martin had shared with us and I would like to, oh so briefly, recap his major points.

Recap of Martin’s Message

His approach was similar to the questions we ask ourselves and more specifically as we look into the question about the church.
If you happen to miss this sermon, may I encourage you to take the time to listen as it is on our website.
He outlined it this way.

Who

All Justified by faith in Christ
Romans 3:22–24 ESV
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

How

United by Christ
1 Corinthians 12:12–13 ESV
12 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. 13 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.

Where

Manifestation of Believers

What

Visible and tangible expression of the Gospel

What about Us

The rest of the time this morning, I am going to expand on the What and the why of the local church here in Merritt.
In Martin’s sermon we heard the Bible’s description of the Who, How, Where, What and Why,
But let’s take a few moments to see how that specifically applies to this local congregation.

Visible and Tangible expression of the Gospel

Before I explore this statement further, let me read to you the doctrinal statement that we have on our website. I am going to read it all together then break the sections into two parts:
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head.
This part of the statement is an acknowledgement that there are other local assemblies that are the larger part of the church. Other church’s hold to basic Doctrine’s similar to ours that recognize that Christ is the head of the church.
The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
This part of the statement goes on to clarify the part of the local assembly of believers that in many cases stand alone week to week.
The first part of this statement I would like to clarify is that of membership.
As you heard earlier in our announcements we were asking for you input in recommendations you feel, as led by God, those among us that God has directed to provide spiritual leadership to this congregation.
You would have been told that only those who are “members” are eligible to fulfill those roles within our local assembly.
You may be thinking this morning that I have been attending this church for a long time and consider myself a member of this group.
I help out, am involved, financially support, faithfully attend, faithfully pray for others and encourage others, why am I not considered a member.
I often hear from people, I don’t become a recognized member in a local church because I don’t see in scripture the description and process we have in membership, afterall look at the first part of the statement.
Let me take a few moments as to what membership is like here at the church.

What it is not!

There are many things to membership, but there are many things it is not. Some people have in their own mind what membership means so let me share with you a few things it is not.

For the elite or privileged

One doesn’t become a member because of their perceived status or reputation. People are not rejected or removed to their status or reputation in the community.
When one enters the process to be accepted as a member, it is based upon their relationship with Christ and their acceptance to be held accountable to one another at a higher level.
It also is not a Higher class of believers.
You may very well be sitting in this context of community, not a member and viewed the same as the believer sitting next to you who has taken on membership.
You are not less of a believer. Membership is open to all who hold to the faith, but is not comprised only those saved among us.

Born into membership

One would think that if you raise your child in this church and they become an adult they are automatically a member. This is not true. Each person who decides to enter int holding membership does so based upon the same for all.
In fact, the Free Church movement began on this very principle. To be Free from the concept of State church. Those who were Born into the church and rights and priviledge.

Roll Call

Membership is not a roll call of people who were once members and have it as a part of their lifetime achievements.
Membership requires participation. Those who move away or stop attending can in some cases cease to listed as a member here at this church.

Baptism

Baptism is also not a requirement or an automatic acceptance into membership.
We hold to the fact that baptism is a tangible expression of the Gospel and is a public declaration of acceptance of ones life to identify with Christ in His death, burial and Resurrection, but it doesn’t apply to membership.

Salvation

Finally, holding membership in a church is not equated with a part of the salvation process.
Faith alone in Christ alone. Can I be any clearer than that

What it is!

So what is membership.
There are two ways we look at membership here at our church.
The first is Formal Membership
For me it all boils down to a willingness to be fully accountable to others.
Galatians 6:1–5 ESV
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.
In today’s world, he restoration process is best done in the process of membership. You can still be held accountable outside of membership, but when you enter into membership it is an
All IN mindset.
I’m willing to bring my spiritual gifts and talents to the collective group and use them to encourage one another.
Ephesians 4:11–15 ESV
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Another part of membership is being a part of choosing those leaders.
Hebrews 13:17 ESV
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
We are asking for recommendations from you for leaders. Then a group of people, chosen by the larger group, select people for positions of spiritual leadership. We choose these people not based on popularity or because they are members, rather on the Facts
Faithful
Available
Competent/Character/Chemistry
Teachable
Servant
Along with this is the evident of spiritual gifting needed to fulfill this ministry within the local body.
As members, these chosen people are then brought before the entire group and they have a say in accepting them.
This is true accountability. Formal members are a willing to be a part of the full process of this local assemble.
The Second type of Member which we often use is those who are actively involved, attend, and feel a part of this
Context of Community.
I would say, those sitting here, or a part of our virtual Zoom Church all fit into this category.
You are coming here to be a part of God’s work.
Some of you have been here a long time, others have just joined.
But you are a part of this group, or tribe, or seeking to see if you want to.
Some of you the jury may still be out and depending on what is being sung, prayers, and message you haven’t made your final journey.
If you have been here you may have heard we hold to some thoughts. We call them a couple of things. We call them purpose and mission statements.
So whether you are a formal member or member of this group, I want to walk through what we are as a Church.
If you look again at the Big Idea once again

God’s Gospel is now embodied in the new community called the church

I want to show you how we define this community called our church. The Nicola Valley Evangelical Free Church.

Our mission is to intentionally reach families in our community for Christ and integrate them into the NVEFC family.

Let me start out with our mission statement.
To be clear, this is not my mission statement. It’s not the Elders’ mission statement. It’s not a few people’s mission statement, it is all of ours mission statement.
As a church, we are, or I say, Should be intentionally reaching out into our community.
Reaching out with the Gospel, or good news of Jesus Christ.
Reaching out to our neighbors, friends, co-workers.
Matthew 28:19–20 ESV
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.”
The verb go is also one of as you go.
Where you are, were you are going.
We are to go.
To be honest, Covid has made this part of our mission extremely difficult.
We are told to limit our contact with people.
Maybe our bubble should be full of those in our lives who are in need of Salvation.
We take this so seriously that we are in the search for an Associate Pastor who’s target will be to pastor a flock of Youth and young families within our church and in the community.
We see the need for this individual to be able to actively promote and lead the charge in reaching out to the many youth in our community. To point them to Christ. To be a active part in this community for younger families.
This person is not expected to do it alone, but rather Pastor Us to reach the youth we are connected with, the young families we are connected with.
To fulfill the intentionality of our mission statement.
The second part of our church is our purpose statement.
We have a purpose.

Our purpose is to glorify God while uniting as a family, training to spiritual maturity, serving in His Church and sharing Christ with others.

While the mission is focused on the bigger picture and what we accomplish as a group, the purpose statement involves the purpose for each of us.
We are all to Glorify God
Bringing honor and glory to Him.
We are able to accomplish this outlined in four different ways.
Uniting as a family
Training to Spiritual Maturity
Serving in the church
Sharing Christ with others.
Uniting as a family or Tribe or members has been very difficult during Covid
I also realized that there are those a part of this family that were among us Pre-Covid that are in need of support.
In preparing for this message this week, I was challenged to write this letter to folks who I haven’t connected with lately due to Covid
I wrote:
As I feel the need to connect with you and your family, I am reaching out to you in this way. On Thursday, we once again heard the news that in-person services will not be happening in the near future. I suspected as much, but as I work on a sermon for this Sunday--on the church, who and what we do--it saddened me as a pastor that we cannot meet in person.
As you may have often heard me state, a definition for a disciple of this church is
One who is seeking to know God, while begin transformed into the image of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit in the context of Community.
As a leadership team, the Elders are supportive of running our context of community church service via Zoom. I know that there are some of our community that struggle with Zoom and thus have not been able to connect in that forum. Admittedly, this forum of Zoom has also been difficult for me to connect with you as your pastor. I have enjoyed taking time to touch base with folks as they make their way into the church sanctuary on a pre-Covid service and having to run the Zoom services sometimes limits that ability to connect with people.
It is hard to be united without, what we say to our children who have moved away from home
Proof of Life.
Connection. When we first started virtual church a year ago, this is what is looked like
Picture
This is how Heather and I ran Easter Morning.
It seemed like a challenge. A studio. She played while you listened and sang along. It seemed like a few weeks.......Months......and now we sit a year later, pivoting once again on how to do church
We were first told to keep Social Distant, now we say physical distance because we need that social connection.
So we need to look at what church will look like moving forward and what Covid has done and will do to “Church” in the next few months and years.
Folks,
Our purpose hasn’t changed
We are still Glorying God while we
Unite as a family
Train to Spiritual Maturity
Serve in the church
Share Christ with others.
I have been spending time working through scripture on the training to spiritual maturity.
As leaders, we have come up with the definition of discipleship.
A Disciple is one who is seeking to know God, while being transformed into the image of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, in the context of Community.
Folks if you have given your life to Jesus Christ. You are a disciple.
Discipleship is viewed in on of two ways.
The first is that you get introductory training then your set
The other is a life long learning process.
Remember your first day on a job.
You’re new, things are exciting. You have been waiting to be a part of the work team.
Then the training begins.
In some cased You come home overwhelmed with the task, and begin a new day. In a few short weeks you look back and have a good handle of the job.
Your up to speed and the training stops and you continue in your job day after day. Doing the same thing you learned at the beginning.
That is the introductory disciple.
They come to know Christ. Are trained in reading the Bible, prayer, attending church,etc and all the things that a good christian should do.
These are good things, but not much has changed. Growth as a believer is hard to measure this way.
The second perspective is life long
Back to the job. You know have a handle on the job and you look for other ways to do things.
You never stop learning and applying the learning.
You are sent for additional training. You have Professional development?
Your promoted because of your training. You’ve changed. You have grown.
A follower of Christ, should be a disciple of Christ.
It isn’t the just for those who have come to know Christ, but it MUST be our life long goal as a believer.
This is where our definition fits in
Seeking to know God More.
Some of you have been a follower of Christ for longer than I have been a gleam in my father’s eye.
Can you look back over the many years and see your growth and knowledge of God and plot its growth. Have you searched through scripture to discover new things about God. To understand God better? To become closer to God.
Are you seeking to know God MORE
Are you being transformed into the image of Christ.
What does that image look like. How are we to be image bearers.
Is this body of believers helping me to become better image bearers.
Are we being empowered by the Holy Spirit
Last week we touched upon many scriptures showing the work of the Holy Spirit, Are we reaching out and using that.
When I was first married and working partime and going to seminary, I worked for the Hudson Bay Company. They had courses an employee could take called CBT It was to equipe you to do your job better. Computer based Training. Watch video, listen, answer questions and you were trained. Right
As a disciple we Christ Based Training. Read scripture, pray, listen and we are trained right.
In the context of community we apply that training. We find out what we learn and use it with others.
Training to spiritual maturity is never ending.
If we use Christ’s analogy of plant growth. When we are mature like a plant, we are plucked and are no longer a plant.
When do I want to stop maturing as a disciple of Christ. When I am standing in the presence of my savior.
Th last two parts of our purpose statement are serving in the church and sharing Christ with others.
As our time has slipped away from us and these next two parts of can not be handled justly in the time left.
I’m going to have to pivot and make this the Big Idea Part One.
In a couple of weeks we will return to this topic and complete part two.

Conclusion

In conclusion The church is the Living Gospel.
Christ’s has passed on the incredible task of partnering with Him in Building His Kingdom. Let’s continue to look towards Christ and the Spirit to strengthen us to complete the task.
Amen
Next week I have asked one of our supported missionaries come to speak. We look forward to hearing Don Richmond come and present the Word of God for us.
And now let’s move to a response to worship in song

Response to Worship

Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more