Sermon Central
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Building Together In Love.
Contributed by Joel Sumagaysay on Mar 13, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: This is the sermon I preached during 10th Church Anniversary in Dubai, UAE.
Building Together in Love
Ephesians 4:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Illustration:
"I am going to paint the house," said a big can of paint, waiting, already mixed, in the workroom.
"No, I am going to paint it!" the paintbrush asserted, bristling with indignation.
"You are, are you?" sneered the ladder lying against the wall. "How far will you get without me?"
Just then the painter, who overheard these self-confident remarks, ventured to put in a word. "Perhaps I'd better take a holiday," he said quietly. "I wonder if the house would be painted by the time I got back.
Each one of us contributes to the building of the church.
Each of us has a talent to be used for the glory of God.
The moral of this story is that we must work together for the enrichment of Christ's kingdom. Each one of us contributes to the building of this kingdom. Each one of us is needed. Every contribution counts. The task may be large or small: it doesn't matter. Each task is important. Each of us has a talent to be used for the glory of God.
CHURCH
CH CH – What is missing? If U R missing there is no church at all. So, we ought to be building the church together in love.
Quotation: The church is not complete without "U"!
Likewise, a Christian’s life can never be complete apart from a healthy, Bible believing, Spirit filled church. It goes hand in hand.
WHAT EXACTLY DO WE BUILD?
We don’t have a lot for the building.
We at FICC Dubai meet in a hotel. We don’t even have our own building.
But even if we had our own building we wouldn’t be so concerned about the building. What we are concerned about is the church.
What is a church?
The Greek word for church is "ekklesia“ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ meaning "called out ones".
That is a very special thing, to be one whom God has called out of the world, to be part of His Family!
Ekklesia" also means "assembly" or "congregation". This is how God has organized His family in the earth, through local congregations which are to be earthly representations of His Heavenly Kingdom.
Jesus Himself was the one who ordained and commissioned the church (Matthew 16:18).
Mt 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
One of the Biblical names for the church is the Body of Christ.
1Co 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Can someone be a Christian without going to church?
As Augustine once said, "He cannot have God for his Father who does not have the church for his mother."
Building Together in Love.
Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Building together in love suggests:
l. CONNECTION
For how can we work together if we are not connected with each other?
Scripture clearly teaches that we were created for connections. God recognized this when He said, Gen. 2:18 “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
This afternoon I want you to look at the four metaphors from the Bible that describe being spiritually connected.
These are word pictures that describe the church.
It is possible to attend church but never be truly connected to a spiritual family.
a. It’s like being built into a building.
b. It’s like being joined into a body.
c. It’s like being attached to a vine.
d. It’s like being born into a family.
Eph. 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Occasionally an electrician may install some wiring, but fail to connect it. An electric wire can be in a building and not be connected to it.
This is a metaphor for life. There are people who may come to our church but that are not really connected to the church family.
If you are not connected in a building, you are a disconnected frame with no support.
That is true in any area of life.
Unless you’re connected strong winds may blow you over and the emotional and financial earthquakes of life will undermine you.
The rains are going to beat down on your roof.
You need to be connected.
Eph. 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,
