A simple quiz:
2 + 2 = ?
Red + Blue = ?
If I let go of this pencil, will it go up or down?
How many sides does a triangle have?
Great Job! You all passed! These are all things that we know to be true. We can go in depth and study these things through mathematics and geometry, physics and art. But we figure these things out long before we can explain them. Furthermore, if I told you that I believed 2 + 2 = 3, or that Red + Blue = Yellow, it still wouldn’t be true.
Likewise, we can say the same thing about the Church. There are basic fundamental truths about the Church that no matter what people in local churches believe or how they behave, those truths never cease to be true. So I want to do something a little different these next 3 weeks. I want to look at the Church from 3 different perspectives:
I. The Church and her beliefs
II. The Church and her mission
III. The Church and her character
This might sound a little familiar if you remember our conclusion from James last week that RIGHT BELIEFS lead to RIGHT ACTIONS which lead to RIGHT CHARACTER. Now, we’re going to apply those to the Church.
What inspired me to do this? A couple of things:
I. First, I get these messages from the conference asking each church to have a 5 or 7 year plan. So that led me wondering, “Does La Grange have anything like that?”
II. My inquisitiveness from that question led me to find a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement that was written here 2 years ago. I liked the vision statement. In case you haven’t seen it lately, it says:
LaGrange United Methodist Church is an:
Intergenerational
Christian
Spiritual Home
We build faith for all ages together through:
Worship
Study and
Fellowship
For Our Community
We provide:
Hands on
Personal
Care
Within our community
To the larger community
To the state
To the world
After reading this, it occurred to me that it can be helpful to look at the big picture Church and then apply that to the local church. And my prayer is that by looking at the nature of the Church, God will use this process to inspire us to new ideas and confirm within us what we are already doing.
We’ll touch on different aspects of this vision statement in the next couple weeks, but this week I want to focus on one word: Christian.
What does it mean to be a Christian church? Why is that important?
I think it is important not to lose the history of Christianity- of where we came from.
I. Part 1- “The Church: Orthodoxy” Orthodoxy simply means “Right Belief” or to believer correctly. The beliefs that 2 + 2 = 4 or that Red + Blue = Purple are orthodox beliefs because they are true.
A. What are the beliefs of the Church? Where did these beliefs come from? How did they come about?
1. Let’s start with Scripture. All of the Church’s beliefs originate from Scripture. Scripture is seen as trustworthy, reliable, and God’s Word.
a) Our Scripture reading this morning from Hebrews describes it well. “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
2. There is no question that the beliefs of the church come from the Jewish history as described and prophesied about in the Old Testament. Here are just a few examples of Christ fulfilling prophesies.
a) BE BORN AS A HUMAN MALE- Isaiah 9:6-7
b) BORN OF A VIRGIN- Isaiah 7:14 700 B.C.
c) FROM THE HOUSE OF JUDAH Isaiah 37:31 700 B.C.
d) FROM THE ROOT AND STUMP OF JESSE Isaiah 11:10 700 B.C. Isaiah 11:1-5 700 B.C.
e) FROM THE HOUSE OF DAVID- Isaiah 16:5 700 B.C.
f) BORN IN BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH- Micah 5:2 700 B.C.
g) BE FROM NAZARETH OF GALILEE- Isaiah 9:1-2 700 B.C.
h) HIS BIRTH WOULD TRIGGER A MASSACRE OF INFANT BOYS- Jeremiah 31:15 625 B.C.
i) COME OUT OF EGYPT- Hosea 11:1 725 B.C.
j) MISSION WOULD INCLUDE THE GENTILES-Isaiah 49:6 700 B.C. Isaiah 42:1-4, 6 700 B.C.
k) MINISTRY WOULD INCLUDE MIRACULOUS HEALINGS- Isaiah 29:18 700 B.C. Isaiah 35:5-6a 700 B.C.
l) MINISTRY WOULD DELIVER SPIRITUAL CAPTIVES- Isaiah 61:1-2 700 B.C.
m) DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN- Isaiah 53:3 700 B.C.
n) HATED WITHOUT CAUSE- Psalm 69:4 1000 B.C. Isaiah 49:7 700 B.C.
o) REJECTED BY RULERS- Psalm 118:22 before 400 B.C.
p) REJECTED BY HIS OWN BROTHERS- Psalms 69:8 1000 B.C.
q) BETRAYED FOR 30 PIECES OF SILVER-Zechariah 11:12 500 B.C.
r) SILVER RETURNED AND USED TO BUY POTTER'S FIELD- Zechariah 11:12-13 500 B.C.
s) DISCIPLES WOULD SCATTER- Zechariah 13:7 500 B.C.
3. The beliefs of the church also come from the life (and consequently, also the death and resurrection) of Jesus and His teachings.
a) Why is Scripture so highly esteemed? Jesus quoted Old Testament Scripture. The gospel writers and the Apostle Paul told how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophesy. 2 Peter 3:15-16- Paul’s letters are identified with “the rest of the Scriptures.”
4. Apostles’ Creed (p.881 in the Hymnal) Read together.
a) Why the Apostle’s Creed? As the Christian church spread throughout the Roman world in the first century, and as the first leaders died out, there was a practical need for local churches to have a basic statement of beliefs. As false teachers began to bring in strange ideas, Christians needed to know "Just what is it that we believe?"
Some of these churches had a few books of the New Testament, perhaps some of Paul's letters or one of the four Gospels. But none of the churches had all the New Testament. They needed a standard to judge whether a teaching was truth, or heresy.
The early Christians also realized that new people didn't have to know everything before they could be baptized and accepted as believers. How much should they know and accept before being admitted into the church? This was another reason that early churches wanted a brief statement of what they believed to be most essential.
Churches in different cities and regions made their own lists, which had many points in common, since all the churches had traditions tracing back to the apostles in one way or another. The small differences were eventually eliminated as church leaders discussed these things with one another. They shared not only the scriptures they had, but also their statements of faith.
When Christianity became a legal religion in the fourth century, this process became easier. Churches throughout the empire agreed on which books should form the New Testament, and they agreed on several basic statements of faith.
5. THE NICENE CREED (381 A.D.) (p.880) Read together.
a) Why the Nicene Creed? The Nicene Creed came about as a result of the Arian heresy- which stated that Jesus was begotten, in other words there was a point in time before He existed. The Nicene Creed affirms the teaching of the Trinity.
B. What is unique about the beliefs of the Church?
1. Certainly the most unique aspect about the beliefs of the Church is that every belief (and as we’ll see, everything else) revolves around Jesus.
2. Again, this comes out in Hebrews: Jesus, as our great, sympathetic high priest. He is the reason that we can approach God’s throne with boldness.
C. What makes the beliefs of the Church different from any business, social club, or community organization?
1. The Church functions as a business only because Jesus told us to be good stewards of what He has given us.
2. The Church functions as a social club only because Jesus commanded us to be unified and to look after one another as brothers and sisters.
3. The Church functions as a community organization because of God the Father’s concern for justice and His concern for those who need help. In our reading from Mark today, Jesus told the rich man to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor. Throughout Scripture we see God’s heart for the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the foreigners among us.
D. What is the Church?
1. “Not institution, but a supernatural entity in process of growth toward the world to come. It is the sphere of the action of the risen and ascended Lord. All of its members are in Christ and are knit together by a supernatural kinship. All of our gifts and activities continue Christ’s work by the power of the Holy Spirit, originate from Christ, and are coordinated by him to the final goal.” Robert G. Clouse
2. The body of Christ
3. The Bride of Christ
4. The family of God
5. God’s Temple
In conclusion, I would like to leave us with some questions to ponder and some thoughts to think about:
E. What could orthodoxy look like in La Grange?
1. Affirm the authority of Scripture. Center of the Sanctuary. Read from it every Sunday. Preach from it. What else could we do?
2. Affirm the Apostle’s & Nicene Creed. Maybe we build into our worship the occasional reading of one of those Creeds. Perhaps a sermon series going through the Creeds belief by belief. What else could we do?
3. See ourselves as the Body of Christ- that is, be Christ’s agent. What does it mean to represent Christ in La Grange? What does that look like now? What could it look like?
4. See ourselves as the Bride of Christ- that is, be passionately in love with Jesus. How do we express our love to Jesus in La Grange now? What else could we do to show Jesus that we love him?
5. See ourselves as the family of God- that is, take care of one another as brothers and sisters. How do we take care of one another now? What else could we do to take care of one another?
6. See ourselves as God’s Temple- that is, maintain a reverence and awe of God’s holiness. How do respect God’s name and His holiness? What else could we do? For example, I’ve thought of possibly doing a sermon series on some of the names of God. I think the more we know of God’s character, the more we are led into worship of Him.
We’ll explore more of the practical side of some of these things next week, but for this week, I just want us to celebrate Christ and His Church with a better understanding of what makes the Church “Christian.” And as we learned, it all centers around Jesus, trusting in Him, and enjoying the sweetness of that relationship. So let’s stand now and sing together our closing hymn, “’Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus.”
2 + 2 = ?
Red + Blue = ?
If I let go of this pencil, will it go up or down?
How many sides does a triangle have?
Great Job! You all passed! These are all things that we know to be true. We can go in depth and study these things through mathematics and geometry, physics and art. But we figure these things out long before we can explain them. Furthermore, if I told you that I believed 2 + 2 = 3, or that Red + Blue = Yellow, it still wouldn’t be true.
Likewise, we can say the same thing about the Church. There are basic fundamental truths about the Church that no matter what people in local churches believe or how they behave, those truths never cease to be true. So I want to do something a little different these next 3 weeks. I want to look at the Church from 3 different perspectives:
I. The Church and her beliefs
II. The Church and her mission
III. The Church and her character
This might sound a little familiar if you remember our conclusion from James last week that RIGHT BELIEFS lead to RIGHT ACTIONS which lead to RIGHT CHARACTER. Now, we’re going to apply those to the Church.
What inspired me to do this? A couple of things:
I. First, I get these messages from the conference asking each church to have a 5 or 7 year plan. So that led me wondering, “Does La Grange have anything like that?”
II. My inquisitiveness from that question led me to find a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement that was written here 2 years ago. I liked the vision statement. In case you haven’t seen it lately, it says:
LaGrange United Methodist Church is an:
Intergenerational
Christian
Spiritual Home
We build faith for all ages together through:
Worship
Study and
Fellowship
For Our Community
We provide:
Hands on
Personal
Care
Within our community
To the larger community
To the state
To the world
After reading this, it occurred to me that it can be helpful to look at the big picture Church and then apply that to the local church. And my prayer is that by looking at the nature of the Church, God will use this process to inspire us to new ideas and confirm within us what we are already doing.
We’ll touch on different aspects of this vision statement in the next couple weeks, but this week I want to focus on one word: Christian.
What does it mean to be a Christian church? Why is that important?
I think it is important not to lose the history of Christianity- of where we came from.
I. Part 1- “The Church: Orthodoxy” Orthodoxy simply means “Right Belief” or to believer correctly. The beliefs that 2 + 2 = 4 or that Red + Blue = Purple are orthodox beliefs because they are true.
A. What are the beliefs of the Church? Where did these beliefs come from? How did they come about?
1. Let’s start with Scripture. All of the Church’s beliefs originate from Scripture. Scripture is seen as trustworthy, reliable, and God’s Word.
a) Our Scripture reading this morning from Hebrews describes it well. “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
2. There is no question that the beliefs of the church come from the Jewish history as described and prophesied about in the Old Testament. Here are just a few examples of Christ fulfilling prophesies.
a) BE BORN AS A HUMAN MALE- Isaiah 9:6-7
b) BORN OF A VIRGIN- Isaiah 7:14 700 B.C.
c) FROM THE HOUSE OF JUDAH Isaiah 37:31 700 B.C.
d) FROM THE ROOT AND STUMP OF JESSE Isaiah 11:10 700 B.C. Isaiah 11:1-5 700 B.C.
e) FROM THE HOUSE OF DAVID- Isaiah 16:5 700 B.C.
f) BORN IN BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH- Micah 5:2 700 B.C.
g) BE FROM NAZARETH OF GALILEE- Isaiah 9:1-2 700 B.C.
h) HIS BIRTH WOULD TRIGGER A MASSACRE OF INFANT BOYS- Jeremiah 31:15 625 B.C.
i) COME OUT OF EGYPT- Hosea 11:1 725 B.C.
j) MISSION WOULD INCLUDE THE GENTILES-Isaiah 49:6 700 B.C. Isaiah 42:1-4, 6 700 B.C.
k) MINISTRY WOULD INCLUDE MIRACULOUS HEALINGS- Isaiah 29:18 700 B.C. Isaiah 35:5-6a 700 B.C.
l) MINISTRY WOULD DELIVER SPIRITUAL CAPTIVES- Isaiah 61:1-2 700 B.C.
m) DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN- Isaiah 53:3 700 B.C.
n) HATED WITHOUT CAUSE- Psalm 69:4 1000 B.C. Isaiah 49:7 700 B.C.
o) REJECTED BY RULERS- Psalm 118:22 before 400 B.C.
p) REJECTED BY HIS OWN BROTHERS- Psalms 69:8 1000 B.C.
q) BETRAYED FOR 30 PIECES OF SILVER-Zechariah 11:12 500 B.C.
r) SILVER RETURNED AND USED TO BUY POTTER'S FIELD- Zechariah 11:12-13 500 B.C.
s) DISCIPLES WOULD SCATTER- Zechariah 13:7 500 B.C.
3. The beliefs of the church also come from the life (and consequently, also the death and resurrection) of Jesus and His teachings.
a) Why is Scripture so highly esteemed? Jesus quoted Old Testament Scripture. The gospel writers and the Apostle Paul told how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophesy. 2 Peter 3:15-16- Paul’s letters are identified with “the rest of the Scriptures.”
4. Apostles’ Creed (p.881 in the Hymnal) Read together.
a) Why the Apostle’s Creed? As the Christian church spread throughout the Roman world in the first century, and as the first leaders died out, there was a practical need for local churches to have a basic statement of beliefs. As false teachers began to bring in strange ideas, Christians needed to know "Just what is it that we believe?"
Some of these churches had a few books of the New Testament, perhaps some of Paul's letters or one of the four Gospels. But none of the churches had all the New Testament. They needed a standard to judge whether a teaching was truth, or heresy.
The early Christians also realized that new people didn't have to know everything before they could be baptized and accepted as believers. How much should they know and accept before being admitted into the church? This was another reason that early churches wanted a brief statement of what they believed to be most essential.
Churches in different cities and regions made their own lists, which had many points in common, since all the churches had traditions tracing back to the apostles in one way or another. The small differences were eventually eliminated as church leaders discussed these things with one another. They shared not only the scriptures they had, but also their statements of faith.
When Christianity became a legal religion in the fourth century, this process became easier. Churches throughout the empire agreed on which books should form the New Testament, and they agreed on several basic statements of faith.
5. THE NICENE CREED (381 A.D.) (p.880) Read together.
a) Why the Nicene Creed? The Nicene Creed came about as a result of the Arian heresy- which stated that Jesus was begotten, in other words there was a point in time before He existed. The Nicene Creed affirms the teaching of the Trinity.
B. What is unique about the beliefs of the Church?
1. Certainly the most unique aspect about the beliefs of the Church is that every belief (and as we’ll see, everything else) revolves around Jesus.
2. Again, this comes out in Hebrews: Jesus, as our great, sympathetic high priest. He is the reason that we can approach God’s throne with boldness.
C. What makes the beliefs of the Church different from any business, social club, or community organization?
1. The Church functions as a business only because Jesus told us to be good stewards of what He has given us.
2. The Church functions as a social club only because Jesus commanded us to be unified and to look after one another as brothers and sisters.
3. The Church functions as a community organization because of God the Father’s concern for justice and His concern for those who need help. In our reading from Mark today, Jesus told the rich man to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor. Throughout Scripture we see God’s heart for the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the foreigners among us.
D. What is the Church?
1. “Not institution, but a supernatural entity in process of growth toward the world to come. It is the sphere of the action of the risen and ascended Lord. All of its members are in Christ and are knit together by a supernatural kinship. All of our gifts and activities continue Christ’s work by the power of the Holy Spirit, originate from Christ, and are coordinated by him to the final goal.” Robert G. Clouse
2. The body of Christ
3. The Bride of Christ
4. The family of God
5. God’s Temple
In conclusion, I would like to leave us with some questions to ponder and some thoughts to think about:
E. What could orthodoxy look like in La Grange?
1. Affirm the authority of Scripture. Center of the Sanctuary. Read from it every Sunday. Preach from it. What else could we do?
2. Affirm the Apostle’s & Nicene Creed. Maybe we build into our worship the occasional reading of one of those Creeds. Perhaps a sermon series going through the Creeds belief by belief. What else could we do?
3. See ourselves as the Body of Christ- that is, be Christ’s agent. What does it mean to represent Christ in La Grange? What does that look like now? What could it look like?
4. See ourselves as the Bride of Christ- that is, be passionately in love with Jesus. How do we express our love to Jesus in La Grange now? What else could we do to show Jesus that we love him?
5. See ourselves as the family of God- that is, take care of one another as brothers and sisters. How do we take care of one another now? What else could we do to take care of one another?
6. See ourselves as God’s Temple- that is, maintain a reverence and awe of God’s holiness. How do respect God’s name and His holiness? What else could we do? For example, I’ve thought of possibly doing a sermon series on some of the names of God. I think the more we know of God’s character, the more we are led into worship of Him.
We’ll explore more of the practical side of some of these things next week, but for this week, I just want us to celebrate Christ and His Church with a better understanding of what makes the Church “Christian.” And as we learned, it all centers around Jesus, trusting in Him, and enjoying the sweetness of that relationship. So let’s stand now and sing together our closing hymn, “’Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus.”
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