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1 Peter Sermon

Why Church?

Last Sunday Jinson preached from 1 Peter 2:9-10 and shared with us the vision and goals for the Church in the year 2019.

As mentioned, the three goals we want to focus in 2019 are

  • Neighbourhood Ministries – Reaching out to our neighbours with the gospel and planting new Gospel Communities.
  • One-on-one Discipleship – Where everyone is sharing life with at least one person.
  • Establish Covenant membership – Committing to church life and fulfilling the vision as a family.

Jinson also highlighted that the responsibility of fulfilling this vision of the Kingdom of God is not just upon the elders of the church, but it is the calling laid out for every follower of Jesus.

Some of you may be finding all this overwhelming?

And the questions you are asking are ….

Q: Why should I get involved in church so deeply when I have other things to focus in life?

Q: Am I not supposed to focus on my career and my Job the most?

Q: Am I not supposed to find a spouse, get married, have children & settle down in life?

Can’t I just be a regular person who comes to Church on Sunday whenever I’m free and relaxed?

Hidden behind all these smaller questions about Church is a larger question most people are asking today is “Why Church?”, Why is Church important?

In today’s sermon, I will be answering this question.

But before I begin, I want to let you know that we as leaders totally understand these struggles. We too work in corporate companies as full-time employees just as you guys and voluntarily serve in the church.

I’m not saying this to boost, but I’m saying this to let you know that we are not asking you to do anything that we are not doing.

What I’m going to share about the church today are the very reasons that motivate us to sacrifice our time and energy because of the joy and fulfilment we experience in serving God and his people.

This calling is not just for church leaders but is for each one who’ve put their faith in Christ and is his followers.

The Right picture of the Church

But, let me first start by presenting the right picture of the church.

The word ‘church’ in Greek (Yunani) is the called ‘ekklesia’ and ekklesia means ‘an assembly’ or ‘called out ones’. It is not a building or a place, but it is people.

This is important for our conversation because most people when they hear the word church the visual is of a building with a cross on it, which is a totally distorted view.

Church, is an assembly of people gathered together for a common purpose of glorifying God. And this assembly is led by a leader.

Ephesians 1:22-23 tells us that Jesus is the head of this church, this assembly.

“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

And for the assembly of Jesus followers to function well, it has to be organised well. And that’s how we get the understanding of Universal church and the Local Church. The universal church is the whole assembly of Jesus followers spread around the world, and the Local church is a unit of the universal church that operates locally.

The idea is similar to a political leader (for example Mahatma Gandhi) who gathered a group of people across the nation for a common purpose and then established offices in different regions and assigned local leaders to lead them.

Similarly, when we talk about the church – the head of the assembly is Jesus, the common purpose is bringing Glory to God’s name, the different establishments are the local churches and the elders are the leaders appointed by the head shepherd, who is Jesus, to lead God’s people towards the common goal.

Now, coming back to our question

Why Church? or

What is the purpose of the Church? or

What role does the church play in our individual lives?

To answer this question, we will look at two scripture verses out of which I will share 4 functions of the church and talk about how each of them functions contribute to our individual lives.

The first verse is Acts 2:42 where we get to see the activities that happen within the church and Matthew 28:19-20 where we look at how that transcends into the world.

Acts 2:42 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Matthew 28:19-20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1. Why Church? Because the Church helps us gather a RIGHT PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE.

Acts 2:42 gives us a description of what church life looked like for those new believers who heard Peter share the Gospel and were cut through their heart, repented of their sins and were baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit.

The first thing they did was they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.

Brothers & sister, the world around us offers various different perspective on life, there are thousands of books available in the market that give different outlook on life.

Some will say money is the answer to all life’s problems, others will say knowledge is what liberates men, and others who say freestyle living is the answer to all emotional setbacks.

Remember that all these observations are human perspectives based on individual experiences and it is only the Bible that opens our eyes to the truth and sets us free.

2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.”

We get the right perspective on life only in the church because it is only in the church where we are introduced and taught from the manual provided by our manufacturer God.

Moreover, the church not only addresses specific issues periodically but also increases our appetite to go back home and read and meditate on scriptures even more.

And therefore, the church is important because when we come here with an open mind to receive what’s been taught from the manual of God, the Bible, we gain enlightenment and a right perspective on life.

And therefore it is important that we pay attention to the preaching of God’s word, even if we’re not able to make to church on Sunday make sure you go back read the notes without fail.

We meditate on what’s been preached, when the scriptures convict us of sin, confess and repent to God and to a fellow brethren.

Finally, walk in obedience and change your belief’s, your lifestyle as the Spirit of God leads you. 

2. Why Church? Because Church encourages us to have and maintain a RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS PEOPLE.

The second thing we see the people do in Acts 2:42 is they regularly fellowshipped with each other.

If you look at history, humanity has always thrived when they’ve come together in unity. Great exploits have been recorded that proves the effects of the union of human spirits. Every being on this planet, be it social or wild, flourish when they live, share, and grow as a community.

A human being is a social being, and we like to share our feelings, happiness and sorrows with other humans. And in doing so especially within the church context helps us develop right relationships with people, not just with church folks but also with the world outside.

Through his church, Jesus joins us together in a community where we learn to love, forgive, bear with one another, encourage, help, exalt, correct, uplift, etc.

God has joined us together as a family for a purpose, and we need to see it that way. Not running away from each other but running towards each other for support and encouragement.

That is why we encourage participation in Gospel Communities and One-on-one discipleship.

When we do so, we develop a right attitude towards other people which also reflects in the way we deal with the world outside.

3. Why Church? Because Church helps build RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

The thirdd activity we see in Acts 2:42 is participating in the Lord’s supper and praying together as a family helping build a healthy and right relationship with God.

We are professional forgetters, even though we’ve heard the Gospel and its implications on our personal lives a thousand times, the devil is continuously behind our back distracting us to follow a false path leading us to death.

But when we come to church and participate in the holy communion, when we gather in communities, and a have a meal, when we join hands and prayer for each other – we remember our Lord and his sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of our sins. We express our dependence on him in prayer.

All of this leads to building a right connection with God. As a result, we carry the light of Christ to every place we go.

4. Why Church? Because the Church reveals to us the RIGHT PURPOSE TO PURSUE.

We have to remind ourselves that the end goal which God is accomplishing for himself is to gather his called ones from all around the world. And it is our great privilege to be a participant in this great work.

In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus said – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Beyond our career, our jobs, our dreams, making money & travelling the world, the truest purpose in life, for which we are all created is to serve God and to participate in his Kingdom work. Everything else is secondary.

Every one of us will find true fulfilment only when we pursue the purpose for which we are created, every other pursuit will just give us a temporary sense of satisfaction and happiness.

It is only in the church where we are made aware of our purpose and given the opportunity and direction to serve God and purse the right purpose for life.

And that is why we encourage each one of you to serve in some way or the other.

Conclusion

As I conclude, I hope I’ve given you enough reasons to get up from your bed every Sunday morning to come to church with joy and excitement in your heart to gain a RIGHT PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE, to develop a RIGHT A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS PEOPLE, to build a RIGHT CONNECTION WITH GOD & to PURSE THE RIGHT PURPOSE IN LIFE.

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Sermon

Give Thanks

Ending 2018 with Thanksgiving to God

We usually preach through the book of the Bible, and we are currently preaching through the Gospel of Mark. But because of Christmas and the beginning of the new year, we decided to take a break from Mark and speak on some relevant topics that will prepare our hearts and minds for the coming year.

Last Sunday, since it was a Christmas week, Jinson preached a message of the good news of Jesus. This Sunday I want to encourage all of us to end this year with a token of thanksgiving for all that God has done in our lives, especially in the year 2018.

But let me first begin by sharing why is it important to give thanks to the Lord.

1. We thank God primarily because it is a command – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Our general human tendency is to feel happy and thankful when everything around us is going on well. But if we are indeed a child of God then what sets us apart for others is when we show thankfulness even when we go through hard times. And the reason is that we know that God is working for our good even when he allows bad circumstances to come in our lives.

And that is why Paul is saying ‘give thanks in all circumstances.’ – not just for the good times but even for the bad times.

The reason I want to highlight this point is that you may not be pleased how the last year went by in your life. Maybe you didn’t get what you expected from God, but instead, the previous year was the worst year ever.

No matter how good or bad the year has been in your life, as a believer, we are commanded to give thanks at all times, and I want to encourage you to offer the sacrifice of thanks to our God all times.

2. We thank God because we cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being thankful.

In Psalm 100:1-3 the psalmist is exalting us and saying.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness!  Come into his presence with singing!  Know that the LORD, he is God!   It is he who made us, and we are his;   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,   and his courts with praise!   Give thanks to him; bless his name!  For the LORD is good;   his steadfast love endures forever,   and his faithfulness to all generations.

Worship is the will of God for the whole earth and Thanksgiving is the essential ingredient to True Worship.

We worship him because we are thankful for all that he has done and will do in our lives.

3. We thank God because by doing so we acknowledge that everything comes from God and that we are entirely depended on him for everything.

4. We think God because it keeps our hearts in right relationship with the giver of all good gifts.

What does it mean when we don’t thank God?

Without gratefulness, we become arrogant and self-centred. We begin to believe that we have achieved everything on our own.

Out of the many things we ought to thank God for, I want to highlight and speak about two things that’s most important of all.

1.    The first one is the Gospel.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Once upon a time, we were in darkness and the Gospel set us free.

We were created by God, to love Him, to worship Him, to adore Him, to glorify Him.

God wanted us to live under his authority and his dominion because he made us he had all the right to demand that from us. But instead of living in a loving relationship with God, the first man and women, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s Holy laws and failed to live under His authority. They Sinned, and their relationship with God was broken.

Since then everyone born on this earth is born sinful, no one teaches us to cheat, bite, lie and rebel, we are born with those qualities. Why? Because we are born sinful.

The reason our world is corrupt is because we are corrupt. We live in brokenness because our relationship with our creator God is broken and no matter how hard man tries to please God, he never succeeds.

But the Bible tells us that God so loved us that he sent his Son Jesus to live an obedient life and SINLESS life on our behalf, take all the penalty of our Sin on himself and die a terrible death on our behalf so that we can be forgiven, and our relationship with God can be restored back by doing two things – Repenting and Believing in his son Jesus.

Jesus died and was buried for three days, after which he rose again from the dead, defeated sin and death and giving us an abundant life. A life full of joy, peace and satisfaction.

For those who believed – Since then the Gospel is at work in our lives – Daily setting us free from bondage and sin patterns that capture our minds.

The Gospel is at the centre of our church ministry, and that is why we make sure to preach the gospel through every sermon we preach.

As we end this year, let us be thankful for the Gospel in our lives. The constant reminders of God love and grace.

2. Church

When I say church, I’m not talking about a building or a place but the people. The Church is the people of God.

Here are a couple of reasons why we have to be thankful for the church and especially one another.

1. God uses the Church to bring the Hope of Christ in our lives – Through the preaching of God word, through the counsel of Godly leaders.
2. God uses the church to break every wall of separation that mankind has created, and unites our hearts as one people.
3. God uses the church to sanctify us – As we rub against each other, through sufferings, through conflicts, through the pain.
4. God uses the church to uplift our spirits in hard and difficult times.

Let us be thankful and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving that will glorify the name of our Lord.

Let us enter the year 2019 with thanksgiving in our hearts. With hope in our hearts, expecting God to do great and mighty things in our lives.

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Articles

Why is Church boring?

This is one question I often asked myself when I was a young boy and maybe you asked the same one at some point as well.

After many years now, when I look back I can see how graciously God led me to find the answer to that question and so let me share why I personally found Church boring when I was young and what really changed in these past years.

In attempting to answer this question please note that I am not referring to any particular church or congregation but it’s a general view.

Here’s why I felt church boring:

1. I never knew what God’s Love truly meant.

I was born in a Christian family and for 17 years all I knew about church was that no matter what, we have to go to church every Sunday without fail and anyone who doesn’t go is a sinner who will one day end up in hell.

And because of that knowledge I would regularly go to church with my parents and siblings. It worked well for us until we were kids because the Sunday school kept us entertained. The boredom started when we stopped going to Sunday school.

On the other hand, I was a pretty bad student in my school and felt rejected by my teachers, neighbors and even by my father. A hopeless young guy like me found pleasure in sin and would indulge in all unwanted activities and ungodly friendships.

Until one day an old man visited our home and my Mother asked him to counsel me. Instead of talking to me at home, he took me to a park and all I remember is him telling me how much God Loves me; a love so deep that God sent his only son to die for a worthless, hopeless and rejected person like me. He told me the story of Jesus all over again and all that while I kept weeping for I knew that God had touched my heart.

The day I truly understood God’s love, church worship became more meaningful because it was then that I could express my love and gratitude to God in praising and worshiping him.

2. I did not bother to know the purpose of my Life.

It hurts to see people who never feel the need to find their Life’s purpose. I was one among them.

After knowing God’s Love my next journey was to find the purpose of my existence. In a world of consumerism where people exist just to consume and survive we often fail to understand the true purpose of Life.

We are taught that life is about the survival of the fittest and you got to do whatever possible to get to the top. Parents teach them, schools promote them and companies encourage these ideas.

After much struggle with the forces outside me, I finally came to a realization that my Life is meant to Glorify God. That is it! That is why I am created and that is why I exist.

It sounds mean, right? Glorify God? What about me & my life?

I did struggle with those questions but I learnt that my greatest satisfaction and fulfillment only comes from Glorifying God. We are objects of God’s affections made to have an intimate relationship with a loving Father.

It can’t be about making lots of money or else every rich man would have been happy, which is not the case. It can’t be about reaching the top position in a company as well or even becoming the top businessman.

When I learnt that my purpose was to Glorify God and that true fulfillment in life will eventually come from God, Church became a training ground to learn more about this God and what it means to glorify Him.

3. I found no joy in reading the Bible.

I found the Scriptures too heavy, unapproachable and disconnected from the thoughts and views of our current generation. Especially the old testament books always would put me off.

Have you ever felt so?

As I continued going to church and listening to sermons and talks by godly men I began to realize how wrong I was in my understanding. I learnt that the scriptures were not only approachable and applicable even to this generation but I also experienced the life-transforming power of the scriptures in my life as well as others around me.

I grew in love with the Bible as I systematically started reading through it. It gave me direction for life and helped me mature in my faith.

My love for the scriptures encouraged me to go church even more.

4. I failed to see people the way God did.

In church you will find all kinds of people, some who will always encourage you, uplift your spirits and then there are others who like to poke their head in everything you do, say things that put us off and so on and so forth.

I’m sure you’ve experienced these kind of people.

The people who come across negative are often people who are still struggling and are yet to mature in their faith. Yes, they are imperfect people. But guess what, Church is supposed to be a place of imperfect people, Isn’t it?. Jesus died for the sick & sinful people of this world.

If I expect the church to be a place where only perfect people should meet, then I am the first one to be thrown out because I am still an imperfect guy and I will be imperfect until the Lord comes.

I often looked at people with a judgmental attitude and never enjoyed their company and would end up hating them even more.

All I needed was to see them the way God saw them, the way God saw me, imperfect yet loved ones, purchased by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Who am I to judge them when God doesn’t? The beauty of the church is about a perfect God connecting with imperfect people like us and to one another and fulfilling His purpose.

When I started looking at people the way God did, Church became a place to hang out and share the pain & the joys with every brother & sister.

Conclusion

Church is not a place, it is people; wherever God’s people meet it’s the church. The church is who we are as the people of God, an outward expression of what is being accomplished through the life-transforming message of the gospel.

We view the church as a family, a redeemed people being reunited to God and one another through Jesus Christ.

It is our desire that everything we do as the church would be a reflection of that message. We also desire that as the gospel changes the hearts of God’s people that change would flood into the streets of Mumbai and the world around us.

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Articles

The Essentials of a Christian Community

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. – Ephesians 2:13-22

The above verses talk about the formation of the community that God built for himself through his son Jesus Christ and also gives us an idea of what that community looks like.

Without Christ and his sacrifice this community is meaningless.

4 things that stand out from the text are as follows.

1. Oneness

We are made one in Christ and there are no diving walls that separate us from each other. In Galatians 3:28 Paul writes “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

2. Reconciled as one body

God reconciles us as a body, purifies us as a bride and therefore we take responsibility for each other and help each other get right with God and walk in holiness.

3. Access to the same Spirit

Since we all have access to the same spirit, the same spirit that gifted one with certain skills and talents is available for another. We all have access to one Spirit therefore we don’t walk with pride thinking we are better than others or in shame because we don’t match up to others. It is just a matter of asking God.

4. Built on the foundations of the apostles & prophets

Our understanding of the community of God is not laid on a weak and man made foundation but instead it is rooted in the foundations of the apostles & prophets. Our foundations are God inspired and they are meant to give us life and life in abundance.