Teaching Text

Matthew 16:13-20

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. … And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Sermon Recap

This Sunday, Pastor Jon kicked off our Fall Sermon Series, Making Sense of Church, by asking the question: Why do we still bother with the Church? Western Culture has largely thrown the Church out of the public square, citing it as a divided, corrupt, inward facing, outdated, and hypocritical institution. While many modern believers see the Church primarily as an obligation that does little for them or as an optional addition to their personal faith, reducing life with Jesus to content without community. The reality is that the Church is a dysfunctional family, but it is still key to the mission of Jesus being carried out in the world, and it cannot be disregarded.

Pastor Jon began by unpacking what the Church actually is. The Greek word, ekklésia, refers to a public assembly or gathering for citizens to meet and discuss, discern, and legislate local policies. The New Testament writers intentionally used this term for churches to describe social bodies practicing discernment and decision-making under the authority of Jesus as Lord, allowing Him to shape all areas of their lives. Later in Church History during the Protestant Reformation, three distinct markers of the Church were laid out that still inform most churches today: the faithful preaching of the Word of God, the right administration of the sacraments of baptism and communion as visible ways to confirm the preached Word, and the authentic discipline of its people done with loving correction and care. At its core, the Church can best be described as the covenant people of God called out to live for the covenant purposes of God in the world.

Next, Pastor Jon clarified what the Church is meant to do. The Church exists primarily as a formation mechanism for people to become more like Jesus and to carry out His mission on the earth. The process of being formed into Christ’s image is compared to childbirth, so we have to expect it to be both joyful, but incredibly hard and messy. This cannot be done in quiet, siloed spiritual practices, but must be done in genuine community. This community also shapes us for the mission God has entrusted to His people. Together, we are meant to create and cultivate culture with God at the center, share the Gospel and make disciples, and usher in the mercy and justice of Jesus into broken places by living as He lived in the world. Pastor Jon went on to explain why the Church matters, acknowledging first and foremost that Christ loves the Church with sacrificial love by giving Himself up for her, with sanctifying love by making her holy and blameless, with nourishing love by tending to her needs, and with a bridal love, by preparing her as His Bride. In friendship with a married person, you cannot have intimacy and access to someone and despise their spouse, and in the same way, we cannot claim to love Jesus but dismiss His Bride. The Church also matters because Christ is the one building it. He is actively involved and personally building the Church to have eternal durability and ultimate victory with Him in the end. Finally, the Church matters because the world needs it. Throughout history, the Church has served as a sign of spiritual significance, a witness of the better way to the powers and principalities of the world, a foretaste for what’s to come in eternity, and an answer to where God is in the world. Without fail, wherever there is devastation and brokenness, there will be faithful followers of Jesus holding their hands against the wounds of the world.

Pastor Jon addressed the question many people struggle with: If this is all true about the Church, then why is it such a mess? Simply put, the reason is people like us, showing up broken and traumatized, looking for help, healing, freedom, meaning, and hope. This can be wildly disorienting, but the Church is meant to be a place of transformation, and while the messiness of it does not excuse us from leaning into sanctification, we have to approach living in these communities with the mercy and grace Jesus has extended to each of us. The Church can also be a mess because of God’s willingness to patiently partner with us. He has generously entrusted us with His reputation and His mission, empowering us to live as His people and displaying His heart to the world around us. In light of this, Pastor Jon pointed us to the enduring promise and possibility of the Church. The Church has a legacy of transforming the world because of its ability to create saints out of faithful, ordinary people, model other worldly love through the sanctifying friction of community unto Jesus, carry the prophetic tradition of extending mercy and justice into every sphere of society, and spur on cultural renewal through the arts, education, and vocation.

Finally, Pastor Jon challenged us to be people who bother with the Church. We can be critics who stand outside and judge the Church, cynics who live in suspicion about everything, curious explorers who never fully lean in, consumers who only take from the Church for their own gain, or creators who dedicate themselves to making the Church what Jesus intended it to be. The Church is God’s idea and God’s family, and it has endured through every time and place since its inception. You need the Church for your growth, and the Church needs you, faithfully living as Jesus’ hands and feet in your context, believing this can be the Church’s finest hour, not its greatest failure. We cannot make excuses for the failures of the Church, but also cannot deny the beauty and redemption it has brought; the only question that remains is which future of the Church will you tell with your life?