The Church (Sermon 1)
Sermon Series by Timothy Gardner
Church Analogies (Overview)
I found this poem found hanging on a wall in St. Louis at a local Salvation Army church. It was knitted together and it hung in the sanctuary. I wrote it down because i found it interesting to share with others. Let me read it to you.
“What makes a good church?
If all the lazy folks get up
If all the sleepy folks wake up
If all the discouraged folks cheer up
If all the gossiping folks shut up
If all the dishonest folks fess up
If all the estranged folks makeup
If all the depressed folks look up
If all the disgusted folks sweeten up
If all the lukewarm folks fire up
If all the Sanctified folks show up
If all the leading folks live up
If all the vowing folks pay up
And if all the soldiering folks stand up.”(Unknown)
The word "church" as rendered in the New Testament comes from the Greek term ekklesia which is formed from two Greek words meaning "an assembly" and "to call out" or "called out ones." In summary, the New Testament church is a body of believers who have been called out from the world by God to live as his people under the authority of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Joke:
On a sunny morning, William's mother came into her son's room and said, "William, it's Sunday. Time to get up! Time to get up and go to church! Get up!"
From under the covers came mumbles, "I don't want to go!"
"What do you mean?" she said. "That's silly! Now get up and get dressed and go to church!"
"No!" he shot back. "I'll give you two reasons. I don't like them and they don't like me!"
"Nonsense," she told him. "I'll give YOU two reasons to go. First, you are 42 years old, and second, you are the PASTOR!" (Unknown)
The church: The place where a small part of the population goes on a Sunday morning. (Tim Gardner)
During the next several Sundays leading up to Advent we will be talking about church: what the Bible says church is and how it is compared to different things. Today will be a synopsis of what we will be studying. The compared to a building, a living body, a flock, a bride, a treasured possession, branches of a vine and a temple. Let's pray.
Church compared to:
1. A Building
Most people identify the word church to be a mere building, which is not necessarily true. There is such a thing as a church building, but without the church, it would only be called a building. In order for the name church building to be used it has to have a church meet there continually. So, what then is a church? 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 9 answers that question. “For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.” Church building. Therefore the church is the people, not the building. But there are two things that need to come to order before a people can call themselves God’s church. First thing is:
- Christ the Builder (Matt. 16:18)
If Christ is not the builder of the church, then the church will collapse in no time flat. Jesus has to be the foundation and the building contractor in order for the church to become sturdy to withstand storms and floods. Matt. 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.” Secondly…
- Christ the Cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-20)
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”
The cornerstone is one of the most important parts to building. If it is not placed right, then the whole building can collapse with just one small jolt or jar to the building. Therefore, Jesus has to be placed in the right spot as our cornerstone. Secondly the church is compared to...
2. A Living Body (1 Cor. 12:27)
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” We are a body. What does a living body consist of in most cases? Arms, legs, hands, feet, head...
- Christ the Head (Col. 2:19) “He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”
If a body has no head, it has no life .The head is significant as it is where the brain is. The brain is what is needed to function the entire body. It tells our arms to move, our legs to walk, our eyes to blink, and even our mouths to talk and our lungs to breathe. It is the most vital part of the living body aside from the heart. As a church that is the living body of God, we must not think it is possible to function headless. It is impossible. Thirdly, the church is compared to...
3. A Flock (Luke 12:32) “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom" How many here have sheep, or have ever worked with sheep. Sheep are usually pretty easy to deal with, but there are those stubborn ones that need to be dealt with. Who cares for and deals with these sheep? The shepherd.
- Christ the Shepherd (John 10:11) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
A sheep’s pen back in Biblical days and even now in most countries consists of a large fenced in area with only one gate which serves as the entrance and exit. One door. This is so that the shepherd can make sure his flock is safe and can count his flock as they come into and go from the pen. The shepherd guards the door and becomes the target of attack by other predator animals in order for them to get to the sheep. Jesus has laid down His life for us already, but He is the shepherd that keeps watch over us, His church everyday and every night. Fourthly the church is compared to...
4. A Bride (Rev 19:7) “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.". The bride is the one who gets the most attention at weddings. Think about it. The groom usually only picks out one thing: the engagement ring. After that, the bride gets to choose everything else. The cake, the colors, the flowers, the outfits for the wedding party, the photographer, the food, the place the wedding will be held, the pastor, the decorations, the dress, and the tux. The groom is lucky to be able to help plan things. But then look at the wedding itself. The groom goes to the front without any introduction. Even the wedding party gets more attention than him. Then the bride enters with big fanfare and her own song, etc... Afterward the dress is put away in storage and adorned by many for many years to come, but the groom returns his tux that probably didn't even fit right to the rental company. But lets look at the church. Who are we in this comparison? The bride and so who is the groom?
- Christ the Bridegroom (John 3:29) “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” The Bible talks a lot about brides and bridegrooms and wedding feasts. Jesus even talks about the great wedding in Matthew 25. Christ is the bridegroom. He is the one who waits for us to come to Him. He patiently waits and watches us as we keep our lamps ready for the doors to open. We are the bride. Number five: the church being compared to...
5. A Treasured Possession (Mal 3:17) “They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.” A treasured possession in most cases is something that has been handed down from one generation to the next. It is the one possession that can never be bought or let go of. Who is Christ when it comes to the church?
- Christ is the Collector – Jesus tells the story of the lost coin in Luke 15 8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” As a collector of anything we find value in what we have, even though to others it might be worthless. Or the things we collect may not be very exciting for other people, but it sure is exciting to those that are collecting. For instance, my monopoly collection may not be anything that tickles your fancy, but it sure tickles mine. Christ sees us as His treasured possession. When we come to Him and accept His grace, I believe He takes us in and displays us in His museum of treasures for all the angels to see and rejoice with Him. Number six...
6. Branches of the Vine (John 15:5) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." A vine is considered to be a plant that grows and climbs. As it gets bigger it creates branches. In John chapter 15 Jesus gives an incredible illustration on this. He says He is the vine.
- Christ the Vine – John 15:4 Jesus says, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." As a vine grows and grows it produces branches. These branches need the vine to grow. The vine brings nourishment to the branches. it has everything the branches need in order to bear the fruit that it was designed to do.
- God the gardener - John 15:2 Jesus says “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” A grape vine is very difficult to start and even more difficult to grow larger and larger. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of time, and a lot of patience. My father had a beautiful one in his back yard. He told me how he started it years ago and had to keep tending it, and pruning it just right every year which is how it became so large. Jesus does the same with us. He tends to us and makes sure that we have everything we need to keep on growing in Him. He takes a lot of time with us as well, and has a lot of patience with us. As a church, we need to continually ask Christ to prune us and make us stronger and larger in order for us to bear much fruit for His kingdom. Finally the church compared to...
7. A Temple (1 Cor. 3:16) “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?” These are hard words for us individually as well as on a group level. But do you really know what a temple is? (1760: Thompson Chain Bible)
- Christ the High Priest (Heb 4:15) “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”
Christ is our High Priest! He is the One who has come and will come again. He stands ready for us to come to grips with our sin. He stands ready for us to repent and acknowledge Him as Savior. He stands ready for us to become the temple that we were created to be. Christ stays within His temple. Remember when we said we the church is the living body and Christ is the head? Well, He is the heart of the temple. He loves inside our hearts meaning that He helps us with our emotions, our weaknesses, our temptations, our fears, our troubles, even our strengths. Christ is our High Priest within us, His temple, and He is ready to take charge! Are you allowing Him to do so?
Conclusion:
In all, the church is us. And we need to start acting like it. We need to put Christ first always in our church as well as our personal lives.
The founder of the "home church" movement in England, Canon Ernest Southcott, said it best: "The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God’s people—strengthened by preaching and sacrament—go out of the church door into the world to be the church. We don’t go to church; we are the church."
The church, therefore, is not a place. It's not the building, it's not the location, and it's not the denomination. We—God's people who are in Christ Jesus—are the church.
Let's pray.
