The FIVE Sermons

God’s heart is to fill His church, but to do that, we need to be emptied of our glory and expectations; it’s then that we’ll begin becoming all He dreams us to be.

As we come into this story, Solomon and the team have just finished building the temple. It’s stunning, incredible, beautiful…but it’s missing something. Missing everything. It still needs to be filled. And as we get to the climax of this story, we see a God faithful to fill it with His presence. He’s actually, so faithful that He totally messes up expectations and plans and egos and ambitions of everyone at the scene. But it’s here that we see the people of God in their sweet spot: emptied of themselves, and abundantly full of of the fullness of God, to overflow into the world.

When the Church lives into what it is truly meant to be, healing comes and the forces of darkness are put on the defensive.

In Matthew 16, the disciples are wrestling with who Jesus truly is and what that means for them. When Peter’s proclamation meets realization about Jesus being the son of God, Jesus commends his understanding, and then charges Peter and the disciples with a mission. When the people of God discover who Jesus really is and who they are meant to be, they are sent on mission to be the Church, which means the forces of hell and darkness are put on the defensive in a losing battle. The Church is meant to be a body that recognizes its own brokenness, and with hearts and minds centered on Jesus, is qualified to walk alongside the world in its brokenness, knowing that the restoring nature of God is in their hearts and on their side. This is what the Church is meant to be.

Becoming the Church means becoming a team, a body, and a family.

Throwing a bunch of athletes on a field doesn’t make them a team any more than throwing a bunch of Christians in a room makes them a church. Coming to church is a beautiful and necessary first step, but until we learn what it means to become the Church to one another, we’ll never be able to be the Church we’re supposed to be to a hurting and broken world. Today, we’ll explore the ways that becoming the Church looks like becoming a team, a body, and a family. It is our hope that you’ll leave convicted, encouraged, and empowered to love one another in such a radical way that the world sees Jesus.

What if something as simple as coming to church could unlock faith, hope and love in ways we’ve yet to experience?

In Hebrews 10, the author paints a beautiful picture of just how thorough and far reaching the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is. What year after year of sacrifice could not accomplish, Jesus did once and for all. Through Christ, we are forgiven and free. But what now? Now that we’re forgiven and free, is it really necessary to keep meeting together? If Jesus paid it all, why keep gathering for this thing we call for church? Here the author of Hebrews makes a compelling point: the death and resurrection does in fact change everything, but it doesn’t change if we meet – it changes how we meet together. Through Jesus, coming to church is not a boring, rote ritual but a catalytic habit where faith, hope and love can be grown and matured in powerful and consistent ways.