I Will Be A Functioning Church Member

I Will Be A Functioning Church Member-12 12-31.docx

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

I am beginning a series this morning called “I Am A Church Member”

I AM A CHURCH MEMBER

REPEAT AFTER ME—“I AM A CHURCH MEMBER”

Over the next several weeks we are going to take a look at what it means to be a church member

What being a church member is about?

American Express says, “Membership has its privileges”

A lot of places now have some kind of membership program

SAMS

YMCA

You can even join a country club and have exclusive use of its facilities

To some though membership, especially at a country club, means that others will serve me. I just pay the rate and I can enjoy the life of leisure.

Some of use treat the church like a country club.

Just sitting around waiting on people to wait on me

With statements like:

“This is my church so you have to play the music just the way I want it”

“Look pastor, you need to remember who pays your salary”

“If you don’t do this program, I’ll withhold my check to the church”

“I’m a charter member, so I have a right to get what I want”

“I don’t pay good money to this church to listen to sermons that long”

You get the picture

Those are common comments that come from church members who have an unbiblical view of membership

For them membership is about receiving instead of giving, being served instead of serving, rights instead of responsibilities, and entitlements instead of sacrifice

SO what is church membership about?

Glad you asked

Read Verses

1) The Church Body Is A Diversity In Unity-Vs. 12-13

a) Paul uses the illustration of the human body to give us a picture of how the church body is composed. (v. 12)

b) ILL-- Have you ever considered how amazing the human body really is? Truthfully, how could anyone ever believe that it is the product of chance plus time? The stomach’s digestive acids are strong enough to dissolve zinc. Fortunately for us, the cells in the stomach lining renew so quickly that the acids don’t have time to dissolve it. The lungs contain over 300,000 million capillaries (tiny blood vessels). If they were laid end to end, they would stretch 2400km (1500 miles). Human bone is as strong as granite in supporting weight. A block of bone the size of a matchbox can support 9 tons – that is four times as much as concrete can support. Each kidney contains 1 million individual filters. They filter an average of around 1.3 liters (2.2 pints) of blood per minute, and expel up to 1.4 liters (2.5 pints) a day of urine. The focusing muscles of the eyes move around 100,000 times a day. To give your leg muscles the same workout, you would need to walk 80km (50 miles) every day. Everything in our body seems to work together by design...

c) It is no wonder why Paul chose to use the Human body as an illustration of how the church - the Body of Christ - ought to function.

d) God designed the church to function much like a human body - it is comprised of many different parts yet those parts are united into one body.

e) The universal church (catholic) - the body of Christ - is made up of many different parts, just like a human body yet those parts are unified into one whole body.

f) So it is with the local assembly - the body is made of many diverse parts united together into a whole.

g) Even though the parts of the human body are different, they must be united to one another so that the body functions properly. The church is no different than our bodies.

h) If a part is missing we are handicapped.

i) When a part of the body is missing it hurts

j) The work of assembling the body together is a work of the Spirit of God (v. 13)

k) The Baptism of the Spirit occurs at conversion (baptize = to place into)

l) We all drink of the same Spirit (Indwelling of the Holy Spirit)

m) Jn. 7:38-39—““He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

n) ILL-For we are the body-Casting Crowns

o) Listen, Membership means we are all necessary parts of the whole

2) Every Body In The Church Body Has A Function-Vs. 14-20

a) Each part of our bodies is designed with a different function - Paul mentions our hands, feet, ears, eyes and our sense of smell (our nose).