2022 Kick off Sermon- Why the Church- a plan to Thrive

I can think of no more frustrating way to end 2021 then these last 2 weeks. I returned from Texas celebrating with my in-laws to wake up feeling like I had been run over by a truck. A visit to urgent care confirmed what I feared- COVID for Christmas. Over the next several days we would learn that multiple members of our church had been confirmed positive as well, creating the need to move the last service of 2021 fully online.

Honestly church, the only thing that felt worse than having COVID was having to announce that decision.

I spent a lot of the last 10 days pondering all of the goings on of the last 2 years. Rick and I have been talking a lot about 2022. Pondering what’s next as far as church at West Metro. What is the next thing. What are we going to do or be in this new year?

That starts with an important question. What is a church?

The pandemic has forced us to ask a lot of questions about the nature of church. There have been lots of debates and pronouncements. Arguments about online worship, virtual church, now we even have “meta verse” church. And everyone has an opinion about what qualifies and what counts. I don’t want to enter into those debates. I don’t think anyone who follows Jesus as their Savior can fail to see the value and long term necessity of gathering together in person as often as possible to worship, learn, and be together as a family.

But the physical act of “being together,” isn’t what defines a church. A church is defined by who it worships and what it does out of that worship. See a group of people can gether together and worship a preacher or a music style or a politician or a nation or Mickey Mouse and call themselves a church, but that doesn’t make them a church- at least not in the New Testament sense. A New Testament church worships Jesus.

Jesus said in John 15:14-15 that we are His friends, if we do what He has commanded us to do, and that He has not hidden from us anything that He heard from God. He has given us all that we need to follow Him.

So this morning, I want to ask you to turn with me to Matthew 5:13-16. I want to look at this as a blueprint for 2022 for West Metro.

(Read Matthew 5:13-16)

First look at verse 13. We are to be salt.

There are some discussions in commentaries about what salt is to mean in this verse. Some say it refers to the church’s job to “preserve” the world against decay. We act as a buttress against the destructive work of sin in the world. And that makes some sense, because the more Christians there are in the world, then the more people there are seeking to please Jesus rather than themselves. And that would, in theory, work against the destructive nature of sin.

Others, would see salt as “seasoning” meaning that the church brings out the truths of God that already exist in the world and put them on display, making them more vibrant and obvious to a world that is seeking to know God- making His grace and kindness more obvious and appealing so that people are called to know Him. That makes sense as well.

But there are 2 important things we can’t miss here:

1) it is possible for salt to lose is saltiness. When we start to mix the good salt of the Gospel with non-salt it loses its ability to do what it is supposed to do. You cannot preserve with a mix of salt and dirt. You cannot season with a mix of salt and dirt. In other words, we can’t mix the Gospel with falsehoods and personal opinions and preferences and expect the Gospel not to become not the Gospel. We don’t need to “defend” the Gospel, we need to simply adhere to it!

2) Along with this, of the same importance, salt does no good when it stays in its own container. Salt unapplied has no effect. Imagine, sitting at the Christmas dinner table last week and asking someone to pass the salt and then sitting the salt shaker on top of your food. It does nothing. It has to leave the shaker. Until it is applied, salt is also worthless. It does not cease to be salt. But it ceases to be useful, because it is NOT being used.

This is the problem church. The church in America is struggling to thrive because we are struggling with how to get the salt out of the salt shaker. And yet, we have more ways than ever to do so. More opportunities. More outlets. And yet we are wasting them, in so many ways, distracted by fleeting things that will not matter in days or weeks.

Church for many of us, 2022 needs to be the year we exit the shaker and become salt. We have friends and family members and co-workers and neighbors who are exhausted and despairing and dying and are looking for hope- something to bring them back from the brink. And if you know Jesus, you are someone who can introduce them to that hope.

That’s why Jesus pairs salt with light Light from a city on a hill was a call to safety and hope for travellers looking for shelter Wanderers who were seeking a place to rest and be protected and to have a chance would look up from their journeys and see a city that they could make it to

Cities were lit. They were not hidden The lights in the city were not placed under bowls to extinguish them. They burned brightly in windows and on pedestals and on walls to call people to them.

Church, that is who you are. You are a light. Yes, I said you. If you know Jesus, you are a light that can guide others to Him.

And Jesus makes it clear, HOW we do that. Through how we live our lives. Our good works that point other people to Him, not us.

If we want to really see the Gospel Thrive in 2022, in our lives, in the lives of others, in this church, we need to commit to being about good works that glorify Jesus. That will mean some changes. That will mean leaving behind some things. That will mean refocusing on what truly matters and not passing things that have distracted us and hidden our lights and made people question what the Gospel is really about.

And church, we are positioned to do that. Think for a moment about all we endured in 2021. We saw a lot of change and upheaval and criticism. And yet God blessed us in the midst of this season. We are so thankful for all of you who found this church in 2021. We really believe God brought you here for a reason. I want you to know, personally, that you have given me hope this last year. We are so thankful for those who have been here since the beginning. Through ups and downs and thick and thin so many of you have said, “This is where God has put me, and I am staying until He departs.” You have given me hope and reminded me that God is not done with us yet. And to those who have stepped up and said, “I will serve. I acknowledge that God is calling on me and I will be obedient.” You give me hope. You remind me that God is not surprised even when we are. And that He is at work, even when we do not know what is coming.

We all need to see that the calling to be light is both for the world and for one another. We are all building together. And God has a plan and a use for each of us.

Who are we going to be in 2022? Are we leaving the shaker? Are we lighting up the darkness? Are we going to commit to become even more the church He has called us to be? Are we going to see people come to Jesus? Are we going to baptize people?

I believe we are. I am believing and praying for an outbreak of God’s Spirit on this church like we have never seen in our history. Will you join me in beating down the doors of Heaven to see that happen as well. Will you make it your prayer that we would see God move like never before at West Metro with people trusting Jesus as their Savior and returning to Him to walk in obedience?

We want to see Jesus lifted high here in 2022 and when He is lifted up He draws all people to Himself. Let’s seek that in 2022.