April 25th, 2010
Building God’s Church
These are my sermon notes from today, which I might add was an awesome sermon. Pastor Q has given me his permission to publish my sermon notes to my blog.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:12-15
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Romans 14:1
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Romans 14:9
You thought that being a Christian was just about you and God, but it isn’t, is it?
Colossians 3: 12 -15 tells us that we are:
- Chosen – by God
- Holy – put apart for God’s use
…and that these attributes are that of becoming a Christian:~
- Dearly beloved
- Compassion
- Kindness
- Humility
- Gentleness
- Patience
- Bear with each other
- Forgive
- Love
- Perfect unity
- Peace
- Thankful
How are you going? Do the attributes listed sound like you? Give yourself a score out of ten. It is your responsibility to protect the unity and the harmony within God’s family. Accept him whose faith is weak, and don’t focus on trivial matters. We are not to judge other people. Remember that the way in which you judge others is the way that you, yourself will be judged. Let’s aim for harmony ~ we need to build one another up ~ the church is renowned for shooting the wounded.
Try to build up especially the people that you don’t like or who rankle you. We are not perfect, but God chose and loves each one of us in spite of our imperfections. We share one Lord, one body, one purpose, one Father, one spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism and one love.
Think about the person that you dislike the most. No, don’t look at them. You could end up living in a mansion next to them in your heavenly home. We should learn to like the differences. God wants unity, not uniformity. He wants us to work together for His good. Christ Jesus lay down His life for the church, so we are to love our brothers and sisters to that point.
There are meant to be differences. When we focus on those differences, the church will be divided. We need to love each other. Do you think that the devil wants harmony and unity in the church? Every time he puts a negative thought into your mind about someone, pray for that person. The devil tries to get us to focus on the differences, instead of the things that unite us.
We don’t love each other as Christ loves us, but we are called to. The church is not perfect, but we are going to work to make God’s church better. We are called to love the church. They are still your family even when they don’t act like it.
People go sour on the church because:
- the music’s too LOUD
- someone upset them
- petty upsets within the church
They become hypocritical about the church, but that’s not the way that it’s meant to be. Going to church and expecting to be fed each week is fine, but you’re meant to grow when being fed, and you’re meant to share. People leave the church because they feel neglected. Perhaps the pastor isn’t spending twenty minutes quality time with them after the service, but can you imagine the logistics of the pastor doing that with all of the people in the congregation! It makes the mind boggle, doesn’t it?
People also leave the church because of pettiness ~ they think, “They have women preaching in that church” – that’s not in the Bible, but what they’re doing amounts to legalism. Because we are human, we will inevitably hurt someone at some time. People who leave the church and go from one church to another will still have their problems follow them from church to church. If you have problems or disagreements, you need to work on resolving that situation. Christ lay done His life for the church, and when He comes back, it will be a perfect church. He will look them in the eye and say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
It is God’s grace and God’s love that needs to flow through you! When God joins you to a church, it is only God who should unjoin you.
God bless you!
I am a daughter of the King of Kings, seeking to live a godly life and mirror the love of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Jillian: I would agree with you & your pastor ~ in theory. Like all good theories the practicalities are often quite different. When it is an issue of sin, blatant, unrepentant sin, & you have tried to get the issue addressed & dealt with in a scriptual manner ~ & nothing changes ~ to condone that behaviour by staying makes you culpable also. Petty issues, which are minor issues & more about sacrificing our own flesh, then I am with you wholeheartedly. I’ve seen churches torn apart by pettiness ~ but they die when sin is allowed to flourish unchecked!
I know I don’t even come close to a 10! I wonder even if I will within this entire lifetime actually. Amazing post. I hope I can live up to even a small portion of what I am called to do.
Hi Jill,
Nice post! Although I will differ on one point
You wrote,
People go sour on the church because:
the music’s too LOUD
someone upset them
petty upsets within the church
Hmmm, not too sure that I agree that the root of the problem is that the music is too loud, etc. Many people have simply been badly burnt or hurt by the church and those who have any sort of authority within the church.
Yet others simply find the church today to be irrelevant… not at all as described in the NT. Some people want real, honest, down-to-earth fellowship within a community of believers- a community that deeply touches the heart of the lives around it, and they find that the local church simply doesn’t share the same goal.
Other people have much to offer but their gifts are recognised without pieces of paper- which again goes back to the church not being what it was in the NT. How are most men to serve in the Church today? Leading worship? Not with the songs that are mostly sung- even most women can’t reach those high notes! LOL Handing out communion or the hymnal? making a meal? No, I fear that many of our churches are not established in such a way that lay people are given full room to minister and serve accordingly and this is sad…and turns many people off.
There are many reasons why people get ticked off with the church and for sure, some people certainly do gripe about the music and other trivialities… but the heart of the matter is usually deeper than that.
Mind you, a plethora of books have been written on the topic so we’re not about to solve it all in a blog post so I shall leave it there… suffice to say it is a topic close to my heart – as it is yours too.
Hi Ganeida,
I agree – sin should not allowed to go unchecked. That is when the church should step in and deal with things in a Scriptural manner.
We have left a church because there was sin within the church, nobody was willing to act Scripturally and to stay would be to condone that sin.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Tricia,
Thank you. I don’t even come close to a 10, either, but God is slowly changing each one of us into His likeness.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Susan,
Yes, I agree that some people have been badly burned or hurt by the church, but they should return to the church to sort the problem out, if it is at all possible.
Hmmm – I hadn’t thought about the church of today being irrelevant, but that is the precise reason that we left our last church *duh*. We were going to a church, but found that they didn’t touch the lives of anyone around it, and much less, they didn’t appear to care.
In our church, men do serve in the church today. They prepare communion messages, help serve refreshements, share testimonies, vacuum the hall, and some of the young men play in the band.
I agree – there are many reasons why people do become disgruntled with the church, but please don’t shoot me, for I am only the messenger. These are my sermon notes from our pastor.
Yes, it is a topic very close to my heart, as we have only just found a church where we feel that we belong, and the church is reaching out to those in the local community.
Thank you for your opinion on this topic, for it has helped me to broaden mine.
Have a wonderful week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥
I agree with Susan’s comments wholeheartedly… good churches are few and far between. What a blessing that you and your family have found one that you feel aligned with…
We have moved from church to church quite a bit in the past. These were seasons of time, in which God was teaching us things. We learnt to hear His voice more clearly through the ‘sorting through’ of our journey. We never left because of offenses or trivial reasons, rather we kept following the voice of our Shepherd. Of course, I do know many people who have left one place or another because of trivial reasons, or because ‘self’ didn’t get it’s way.
Eventually the Lord lead us to North Queensland, and like Abraham, we set off for a place without knowing what was before us. We have faced many challenges and times of pressing here, and things took a different turn than expected, but all in all, I can honestly say I know we heard His voice and wouldn’t miss what He is doing in our midst, for the world.
The main thing, I believe, is to know and believe that the Lord is the Shepherd, and His sheep know HIS voice. Obeying the leading of His voice is necessary, no matter what it costs. We sold all, and have gained much (in spiritual richness). I would leave again in a heartbeat, if He called us to another place…. that’s why we live light in the way of the goods of this world. No anchors so to speak, only in Him
I have found actually, that it is in the trials and testings of relationship/s within the church/body, that refining comes, and fruit follows… like living stones that rub together until they fit together nicely. The basic thing needed is an alignment/agreement in the teachings you are sitting under. If the church is all about ‘feeling good’ about yourself etc, or the preaching is not sitting right with me, then I wouldn’t stay there, no matter how much community work or whatever, they do.
One more thing… to add to Susan’s comment. A lot of churches have become more like an organisation or business than a part of the Living Body. That is why they need people to have studied at Bible College and have cert 1 through to 100. Very little Spirit led teaching, and it seems the art of going to the closet, to get the Word of the Lord for His people, is an art that is long since extinct. Now you need a degree on how to fashion a 20 point sermon filled with jokes and boring stories about golf games and the footy.
Ah! Off my soap box now, or I won’t finish anytime soon LOL Thanks for taking the time to type up your Pastor’s notes.
I can feel another ‘ironing post’ coming on LOL, as in generated interest/comments.
Hi Jillian,
Hey no shooting any messengers here, lol. Just discussing things or ‘chewing the fat’ so to speak.
I see real issues with much of what we do in church when it comes to men. I am deeply saddened yet not surprised, at the lack of men in our churches. I wonder too, if this is more common in cities than in the country or rural areas?
I find much of what we do in church to be stifling- limited to only a few of the gifts. I find many churches to be feminised… and it’s a huge bug bear of mine – from the decor to the music to the activities during the week. However, that is a large topic, probably quite out of the realm of your post so I’ll leave it there.
However I’m glad that you have found a church community where you feel ‘at home’. Praise Him!
Hi Amanda,
I totally agree – good churches are few and far between. We have seven churches locally, but we have chosen to travel 84 kilometres to church to hear the Word of God preached well and for a church that does minister to the outside world, and work with it.
We have moved from church to church quite a bit in the past, too, but this was unavoidable with the amount of house moves that we had. Our daughter had lived in seven houses by the time that she was seven!
Eventually we were led here, and the Lord provided our home, but it has taken lots of perseverance to find a church that we feel at home in – we didn’t realise that there was an AOG church only 84 kilometres away, or we would have gone there first.
I totally agree that the Lord is the Shepherd, and we do need to hear His voice and follow Him.
I agree – it is through the testings and trials of relationships within the church that we grow closer together, and fruit follows. It is just like our life situations – trials and testings actually draw us closer to our heavenly Father.
I agree wholeheartedly – it is when the Holy Spirit leads us that we grow in Him. It is only as the body grows that we will see more of Jesus and less of us.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a comprehensive comment.
Have a wonderful week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥
Hi Susan,
Thank you – I’m glad that you realise that I didn’t write the sermon, but it’s great to get feedback, for it is only through our conversations that we grow.
I think that the lack of men in churches must be a city thing, for our church has equally as many men as women.
There are many activities within the church for men – just as many as there are for women, and as for decor, well, our church is rebuilding and we are in temporary accommodation, so I can’t really comment on that.
I am so glad that we have found a church where we feel at home, too. Moses wandered the wilderness for forty years – we wandered it for seven years, but I wasn’t looking forward to another thirty-three years of wandering!
I do praise Him for guiding us into a living church. 
Thank you for taking the time to explain what you meant – it’s interesting to hear other people’s points of view.
Have a great week, my friend,
Love Jillian ♥