Does The Church Really Matter Anymore?:hot Topics 2004 Series

“Does the Church Really Matter Anymore”

Hot Topics 2004 ~ Wakelee Church ~ August 22, 2004

Matthew 28:16-20, Hebrews 10:23-25, Acts. 2:1-47

(verses taken from NKJV unless noted)

Theme: The Church matters when the church does what it’s been called to do!

Introduction:

(I started reading a list of Olympic gold medalists and told the congregation to tell me what they had in common.)

Olympians main goal is to win medals.

They physically train to win medals.

They emotionally train to win medals.

They mentally train to win medals.

As we’ve acknowledged this morning by recognizing their names, Olympians matter when they win medals.

As Christians, our main goal to the be the church, the body of people not necessarily the building, that we’ve been called to be.

Even though the church often gets itself into areas in which it’s presence doesn’t make a difference, when it doesn’t matter, we are called to be in five specific areas that do matter.

And I’d go even farther to say...that unless we are about doing all five of these in the communities we are being called to serve...then we don’t matter as a congregation.

In fact, these are so important, that Rick Warren in his book "Purpose Driven Church" expressed these five as the only way a church could have purpose.

Let’s review them this morning...

(The congregation had a handout of these listed in the five olympic rings.)

The church matters when…

1. The church loves the Lord with all their heart…

WORSHIP (Matthew 4:10)

2. The church loves their neighbors as themselves…

MINISTER (Ephesians 4:11-12)

3. The church goes and make disciples….

WITNESS (Acts 1:8)

4. The church baptizes…

FELLOWSHIP

(Matthew 28:16-20, Hebrews 10:23-25)

5. The church teaches….

DISCIPLESHIP (Colossians 1:27-29)

Illustration....

Acts 2:1-47 – the example of a church that mattered.

Worship - vs. 1-4

(How the world responds to

churches that matter - vs. 5-13)

Witness - vs. 14-36

Fellowship - vs. 37-39

Discipleship - vs. 40-42

Ministry - vs. 43-47

Conclusion:

At Wakelee, we believe we do all of these things when we…

Nurture one another…worship, fellowship, discipleship

Reach out to those around us…minister

And when we witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ!

If we want our church to matter, then we need to do what we’ve been called to do...both as individuals, as a congregation, and as the universal Church of Jesus Christ. Then and only then will we matter!

Conclusion:

NEXT WEEK: “Are We In The Endtimes or Not?”

Romans 13:11-14, Luke 21:7-36, Rev. 22:6-21