We Are The Church (Part 1) Series

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. – Ephesians 2:19,20

QUESTION – what IS the church built on?

On the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone

What do you call a building without a foundation? A pile of rubble…

NOW – as I mentioned last week I have a few goals for this series of conversations…

#1 –

To help each of us understand just how beautiful, awesome, amazing, precious, powerful, incredible, indescribable, uncontainable, unstoppable and essential the church is.

#2 – To move us to take the church much more excitedly (being in a state of excitement, emotionally aroused, stirred)

I MEAN – like the parable of the treasure, in his JOY he went and sold all that he had…

#3 - To move us to take the church much more seriously.

NOW - I gotta tell you, I have been doing a lot of studying for this series and I have a lot more studying to do…

AND – one of my key resources for study has been to listen to some teaching from Dr Roger Chambers (one of my professors, Arron Eats With Sinners dad, died in 1988, one class with Him, but still my greatest teacher and mentor in college through cassette tapes) faithfulpreaching.com.

WELL - in one of his lectures that he gave in a workshop at the North American Christian Convention, He makes the following statement…

“One of the major problems that the church faces today, is that it does not take itself seriously enough.” – Dr Roger Chambers

QUESTION – what do you think about that statement? Do you agree? Disagree?

AND – do you know what - I could not agree more…

We (you and I) simply do not take the church seriously enough.

I MEAN – how else do we explain how so many people think that it is totally okay to: quit, divide, ignore, neglect, gossip, speak negatively about the church - or allow others to do so…

AFTER ALL - as the Scriptures I just read a few minutes ago proclaim… This church that many feel free to quit, divide, ignore, neglect, gossip, speak negatively about

• Belongs to Jesus (I will build my church)

• Jesus gave Himself up and shed His blood for the church

• And the church is a priceless treasure worth selling and giving up everything that we have.

B/L – we all (you, me… and the person to your right and life)…

Need to take the church more seriously.

Amen?

I MEAN – we need to learn the very same lesson that Saul learned as he traveled on the road to Damascus to continue his persecution of the church…

THAT - what we do to the church Jesus takes personally.

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

– Acts 9:3,4

AGAIN – my goals for this series are…

1. to help us understand how awesome the church is

2. to move us to take the church more excitedly, to stir us up with great joy that we get to be a part of it - R U kidding me