Why Church
Ephesians 5: 25-32
Intro: How many of you remember the comedian Flip Wilson? For those who don’t know him, he was a ground breaking black comedian. His show ran for four years, from 1970 to 1974. He created many memorable characters in his show and one of them was a pastor of the church of the “What’s Happening Now”. He did a Skit where he told about this pastor. He’d shout out:
"IF THIS CHURCH IS GOING TO SERVE GOD IT’S GOT TO GET DOWN ON ITS KNEES AND CRAWL!!!"
And the audience yelled back "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl!
"AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO CRAWL, IT’S GOT TO GET UP ON ITS FEET AND WALK!!!"
"Make it walk preacher, make it walk" the audience moaned.
AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO WALK ITS GOT TO LEARN TO RUN!!!"
"Make it run, preacher, make it run!"
"AND IN ORDER TO RUN, ITS GOT REACH DEEP DOWN INTO POCKETS AND LEARN TO GIVE!!!"
(pause) "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl."
. Sadly, that’s what many people think about the church today.
. All they want is my money. Folks let me tell you, nothing could be further from the truth.
. Yes, the church cannot function without money, just as your household could not function without money.
. That’s not why the church exists or why you should attend.
. Today is national back to church Sunday and I want to share with you this morning Why you should come to church. Why you should commit yourself to a local church.
. Our scripture this morning is one that I usually get a lot of amen’s from the men and glares from some of the ladies.
. Paul is giving us instruction about the relationship between a husband and a wife. We usually see this text used for that.
. If you read carefully, you will see that the relationship between Jesus Christ and the church is also laid out.
. Lets read Ephesians 5: 25-33
25For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
26to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.
27He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.
29No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.
30And we are members of his body.
31As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
. Why Go to Church? Why should we love going to church?
. The first reason is because Jesus loves the church.
. Look at verse 25 again.
25For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
.Jesus loved the church so much that He died for the Church.
. The Bible describes the church as the bride of Christ. From the Gospels through to The Revelation, the church is portrayed as the bride of Christ with Jesus as the bridegroom.
. Paul writes that Jesus loves his church so much that He gave his life for her.
. Yes Jesus died for us individually but He also died for the church. That’s how much he loves his church.
. You see, the church is made up of the individuals who have placed their faith and trust in him.
. We should love the church, the gathering of believers, because Jesus loves us.
. Jesus didn’t die so that we could all say yes, I believe that Jesus died for me, yes I accept this free gift of salvation and then sit on our keesters for the rest of our lives.
. Jesus died with the intention of his followers banding together to grow his church.
. The last thing Jesus said to his disciples is recorded in Matthew 28. The church was so important to him that the last command he gave us was to grow his church. To gather together and teach and be taught on how to live this Christian life.
. Look at Matthew 28: 18-20
. 18Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
20Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
. Jesus says tell em about me and then teach them.
. Many times we get caught up in the tell so much that we don’t place just as much emphasis on the teach.
. The church is the mechanism that God created to accomplish the great commission.
. Christ loved the church so much that He died for her.
. Pam and I celebrated 32 years of marriage this week. Thursday was our anniversary. There are many secrets to a long and happy marriage.
. I believe the most important one is how you treat each other though.
. In a marriage, the spouses main job is to make the other one happy.
. You commit yourself to the happiness of your husband or wife.
. That’s actually what Paul is telling husbands and wives in this scripture. Wives, commit yourself to your husband and husband, commit yourself to your wife. Just as Christ commits himself to the church.
. Jesus gave everything for the church. For his bride. He loves the church.
. Folks, if we say we love Jesus. That’s what we are saying when we are born again as Jesus told Nicodemus. If we say that we love Jesus, then He should be the center of our life.
. Our goal in this bride and bridegroom relationship should be to make each other happy.
. Jesus has and is still doing his part. He died for the church and He continues to empower us. He teaches us and loves us.
. The church’s part is to make Jesus happy. We do that through serving him through the church.
Verses 31 & 32 sum up this love that Jesus has for his church.
31As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
. We, the church, are joined to Jesus the same way a husband and wife are joined together.
. Why Church, because Jesus loves his church. If we are followers of him, we as the church should reciprocate that love.
. The writer of Hebrews gives us another reason why we should attend church.
.Look with me at Hebrews 10:23-25.
23Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
24Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
. The writer here in Hebrews says that we should not neglect our meeting together.
. They had the same problem though.
. He says lets not neglect our meeting together as some do.
. I wonder if they had the same excuses that we have for not coming to church.
. I am thinking about having a no excuse Sunday so that everyone can come to church.
.Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say "Sunday is my only day to sleep in".
.There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard.
.Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night.
.We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in If I ever came to church."
.Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot.
.Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
.We will distribute "Take Away The Tithe" buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money.
.One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.
.Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.
.The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.
. There are many excuses that people who call themselves Christians use for not coming to church. As a pastor, I believe I have heard them all.
. God tells us through the writer of Hebrews that we are to share with others the love of God. That we are to think of ways to motivate each other to perform acts of love and good works in the name of Jesus.
. We do that through the church. We are here for each other. We are here to love God and love each other. To motivate each other and lift each other up.
. In the fall of the year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. Linda didn’t know you don’t travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening she found a room in the mountains near a summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wakeup call so she could get an early start. She couldn’t understand why the clerk looked surprised at that request, but as she awoke to early-morning fog shrouding the mountain tops, she understood.
Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged. “Where are you headed?” one of the truckers asked.
‘Whitehorse’
“In that little Civic? No way! This pass is DANGEROUS in weather like this.”
“Well, I’m determined to try,” was Linda’s gutsy, if not very informed, response.
“Then I guess we’re just going to have to hug you,” the trucker suggested.
Linda drew back. “There’s no way I’m going to let you touch me!”
“Not like THAT!” the truckers chuckled. “We’ll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we’ll get you through the mountains.”
All that foggy morning Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains.
. That’s what church is for folks. To show the way like the truck in front and to be there in case we lose our way to help us get back on the right track.
. I know that churches have flaws. That’s because they are inhabited by humans.
. While we are Christians, we are not perfect. The perfect church is in heaven, not here on earth. But even with all it’s human flaws, the church is still the bride of Christ. The entity that Jesus died for.
. We are the vehicle that God uses to expand his kingdom.
. On this national back to church Sunday, realize that while we are imperfect, we serve a perfect God who died for the church.
Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
Illustrations, sermon central
