United In Christ · Growing In Grace · Reaching Out In Love

Sunday Morning Sermon Summary

►“Fit Together Perfectly” (Ephesians 4:16)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

ME: “Overall the Western church has shriveled and shrunk; it has ceased to count as a community force; the faith of which God made it trustee is largely unknown to the man in the street, and when known it is largely ignored; and the godliness that the church once set forth as true humanness is rated in popular culture as a comic, old-fashioned oddity. The church appears as a ruined city, like Sarajevo or Beirut after the fighting, and like Jerusalem as Nehemiah found it (in the Old Testament), and a tremendous rebuilding job awaits anyone who still cares about its welfare.  In such rebuilding, the reconstruction of biblical belief will be the first and basic task” (J. I. Packer. A Passion for Faithfulness, p. 71)

Biblical, Spirit-guided, tested by consensus. How does that work itself out in real life?  What does the Bible say about the church? What guidance do we need from the Spirit?  Is it important to have consensus about who we are, what we do, how we do it, and what we expect the results to be?

WE:      ►WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE CHURCH: “We believe in the spiritual body of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and that the local congregation is composed of those united for worship, instruction, fellowship, and evangelism.”

              A spiritual body of all believers (?) Why we ought to be uniting with other  “believers”     (“The whole               Body” –“of all believers” (not just ABChurch)

              Small churches united make a big church  “No one is as smart as all of us”

              A local congregation composed of those united for worship, instruction, fellowship,  and evangelism: why we stress consensus

                    Worship – Sunday morning (quote from Armstrong)

                    Instruction – Small Groups, Sunday School, Simulcasts,

                    Fellowship – Entry point, gateway “Fun Matters”

                    Evangelism – “True revivals have historically proved again and again that a revived and healthy church reaches a dying and lost world through its own awakened people.”  (John Armstrong)

GOD:   ►VISION: “We seek to create an Ephesians 4 culture that results in an Acts 2church.”

                  Ephesians Chapter 4 describes who we are:

                  Acts Chapter 2 describes what we do and how we do it: (Small groups will talk                   about that Acts 2 church and what we can do to get the results they did).

              An Acts 2 church grows out of an Ephesians 4 culture: WHO WE ARE

►Ephesians 4:16 From him (Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. NIV

              ►1.  Common values and vision: “From Him the whole body”…

1 Corinthians 12:12, 13 - The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ (from Him the whole Body). For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body —

              ILLUSTRATION/TRANSITION: Superbowl, coaches standing on the sideline with a laminated sheet of plays, quarterback with a wrist band or speakers in his helmet

              ►2.  Interdependence: “joined and held together by every supporting ligament”

              “A saint” ain’t”! (over 100 uses of the word and not one singular)

1 Corinthians 12:24-25 - God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

ILLUSTRATION/TRANSITION: Every position has an assignment, the play doesn’t work unless all 11 players do their part.

              ►3.  Nurture and Accountability: “grows and builds itself up in love”

Matthew 18:15-20 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses’. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "I tell you the truth, whatever you (the church) bind on earth (forbid) will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth (permit) will be loosed in heaven. "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

ILLUSTRATION/TRANSITION: Practice, practice, practice, “perfect practice makes perfect”, see a receiver run the wrong route, then watch the quarterback when he comes back to the huddle, see the player taken out of the game by the coach, watch the exchange on the sideline, notice a player traded later.

              ►4.  Shared Experiences Over Time: “as each part does its work.”

ILLUSTRATION: OFFENSE, DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS, 3 KINDS OF KICKERS, BLOCKING BACKS, RUNNING BACKS, TRAINERS, ETC.  When the team gathers for the trophy presentation everyone’s there: the owners, general manager, maybe even the wives and kids of the players…WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! 

YOU: Romans 12:9-13 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 

WE:      ►Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the earth”

“We believe in the spiritual body of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and that the local congregation is composed of those united for worship, instruction, fellowship, and evangelism.”           

Legend:

Green: Mission and Vision
Blue: Illustrations and quotes
Red: Scripture

Note to the visitor:  These are Pastor Paul’s sermon notes from Sunday Morning.  They probably won’t make much sense if you weren’t in the service.  Feel free to contact Pastor Paul if you’d like more detailed information.
For past sermons, please visit the Sermon Archive. 

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