Sermon Central
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A Recipe For The Church
Contributed by Ron Murphy on Nov 9, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: This is a communion message, which included an object lesson of the importance of all the elements of a cake recipe. I actually mixed a cake as the message was delivered.
Introduction
I. This morning we are going to celebrate “communion”
II. Communion; my dictionary gives these definitions for the word,
A. The sharing of intimate thoughts and feelings.
B. The service of Christian worship at which bead and wine are consecrated and share, the Eucharist
C. An allied group of Christian Churches or communities.
III. Communion, or “The Lord’s Supper” was mandated by none other than Jesus Christ himself, during the so called “last supper.”
A. Matthew relates these words of Jesus in the 26th chapter - “...Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
B. And of course Paul states that Jesus also said, “do this in remembrance of me.”
IV. The basic idea that I want to stress this morning is that in participating in “communion” we are not only celebrating the fact that we are in fellowship with Jesus Christ, but also that we are in fellowship with one another.
A. By virtue of our coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we are at once placed in a relationship with every other person that has ever accepted the gift of Christ, and with every other person that ever will.
B. Communion then is a pretty overwhelming point to consider.
V. Communion, when coupled with the idea that Paul was presenting in 1st Corinthians 12 has some staggering implications.
A. Every person coming to faith in Jesus Christ is an indispensable component of the body of Christ, the church.
B. Every person, though unique in gifts, passion and calling is an indespensible part of the “Recipe For The Church.”
1. No one person is ultimately more important than any other person.
2. No one person is in any way less important than any other person.
C. The “Recipe for the Church”
1. Is that every one of us has a role to play in making the church of Jesus Christ great,
2. Every one of us must “give” within the context of how God has equipped us for the church to be reflect the glory of God to the “powers and authorities in the heavenlies.”
3. You cannot do without me, and I cannot do without you.
VI. This morning, I plan to successfully mix this Devil’s Food Cake.
A. In order for this cake to successfully bake, and to taste the way it is designed to taste, every component must be added
B. If any one part, no matter how large or how small is left out, the cake will not be what it was designed to be.
VII. With that in mind, I ask, “So what is the recipe for the church of Jesus Christ”? Plenty of Vision
I. The first component of this cake is “Plenty of Vision”
A. You say, “What”
1. This cake is supposed to be a “Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake.”
a. Not vanilla,
b. Not strawberry,
c. Not cheesecake
d. It is supposed to be chocolate.
2. The fact that this is to be a chocolate cake is exceedingly important.
B. Knowing what this cake is supposed to be determined what ingredients I gathered and measured.
C. Perhaps if it was some other type of cake, most of the ingredients would have been the same, but knowing that it was to be chocolate, I knew that I must have chocolate on my shopping list.
II. The recipe for a church of Jesus Christ must also have vision, God’s vision to be sure, but vision no less.
A. Proverbs 29, verse 18 says this in part, - “Where there is no vision, the people perish...”
1. The word perish means “naked” or “exposed.”
2. Without God’s vision to direct it, the people are left exposed to the pulling of our world system.
3. In fact the latter part of verse 18 says, “but he that keepeth the law; happy is he.”
III. God has a vision for what the church of Christ is supposed to look like.
A. Listen to Ephesians 2:10 - “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
B. See that; “prepared beforehand” that is vision.
IV. In our passage from 1st Corinthians, Paul states that there are many members, and every member has it’s own gift, talent or ability that God has given it.
