What is the church?
The Perfect Church
If you should find the perfect church
Without one fault or smear,
For goodness sake!
Don’t join that church;
You’d spoil the atmosphere.
If you should find the perfect church
Where all anxieties cease
Then pass it by, lest joining it
You’d mar the masterpiece.
If you should find the perfect church
Then don’t you ever dare,
To tread upon such holy ground;
You’d be a misfit there.
But since no perfect church exists
Made of imperfect men,
Then let’s cease looking for that church
And love the church we’re in.
Of course, it’s not a perfect church,
That’s simple to discern
But you and I and all of us
Could cause the tide to turn.
What fools we are to flee our post
In that unfruitful search
To find at last where problems loom
God proudly builds His church.
So let’s keep working in our church
Until the resurrection.
And then we each will join that church
Without an imperfection.
Galatians 6:1-10
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
The church is a family where people can be real, a family where people can grow, and a family where people can be loved.
Being Real
Real is much better than perfect.
V. 7
God cannot be mocked. When we play church we
are mocking God.
The world may not realize it, but God does.
The world will find out.
V. 8
We will reap what we sow. We live like the
world- destruction.
We live like a God wants us to- eternal life.
Not a one time decision, but a life lived.
We need to be real so that others who haven’t
made that decision will be
inspired to do so. People who don’t know
Christ need to see real people living out
real faith in the real world.
Growth.
V. 1
Be spiritual. Being a Christian does not
equal being spiritual.
Examine your own life.
Overcome struggles and temptations.
Grace and forgiveness rather than harsh
judgment.
What if God dealt with us the way we deal with
others.
V. 5
Carry his own load.
You must continue to grow and become less
needy.
Less demanding.
More independent.
More of a contributor.
How can you carry another’s load when
you don’t carry your own?
You can spend your Christian life
bickering about minute issue.
You can be a liability that slows
everything down.
Or you can be a leader, a
contributor,a team player, a unifier.
Love
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
V. 1
Accountability- mature Christians can guide
you in life.
V. 2
Support- help carrying the heavy burden life
often puts on you.
V. 9-10
Service- doing good to each other. Especially
family members.
Serve everyone, but especially Christians.
This cant happen with a one hour a week church
attendance.
Never take Family for granted-
Lynn and I do not have family nearby. My kids have never had their grandparents see them play a ball game, never spent the night with grandma and grandpa.
We cant just hop in the car and run over to mom and dad’s.
Our family is here.
Don’t ever take this family for granted. It is a blessing.
Maybe today you need to join the family by accepting Christ and being immersed into him.
