The Bride of Christ

Website Editor • September 16, 2020

From Pastor Lance Shumake's' sermon on Ephesians 5:22-32:

It’s true: our church is full of sinners. We fall short daily. We are an imperfect people.


The people in Paul’s church at Corinth were just the same. They painted a picture of the New Testament church that included divisions, factions, and cliques; pride; confusing worship services; false teachers; spiritual immaturity; pagan practices; lack of generosity; hypocrisy; and sexual sin. It was far from perfect; yet, God worked through them and loved them even so.


In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses the church there with thanksgiving, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (v. 4-9)


Even as messed up as the church was, Paul leads with an outpour of generous love. It causes us to ask: why does Paul love such an imperfect, messy, dysfunctional church?


...the answer? Because God does.


God loves His church.


The church is not a building. It is not a place. It is not somewhere you go on Sunday mornings. It is a people. It’s who we are. We are the church.


God’s word tells us that church (the local gathering and covenantal relationships we have with one another) is a big deal!


Because God loves the church, we are to love the church. It should be a significant, central part of our lives. We should arrange our lives around it.


Over and over again in Scripture, we see the church referenced as “the bride of Christ”. There’s this covenantal, marital relationship that is meant to help us understand the relationship Jesus has with His people. Revelation tells us of a marriage between Jesus (the lamb) and His bride, the Church. This image leads us to a few responses: 


(1) It shows up in our love for Jesus. We love Him because He loved us first. He demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, he laid down His life for us. Our love for Him is a response to that. And, as Jesus tells us, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). 


(2) It shows up in that it gives us a desire to pursue holiness. In Ephesians 5:26-27, Paul is clearly talking about what Christ is doing to the church. He wants us to be pure and holy; to shine brightly as lights in this world.


The pursuit of holiness only happens in the context of community. Godly community is designed to point us to a higher righteousness and a higher way of life. Through it, we are sharpened, challenged, and held accountable. We are able to become more like Jesus when we are walking side-by-side with one another.


Because Jesus loves the church, we should love the church.

Love means action. It means that we are going to show with our lives that we value the church and that we are committed to our local body. Loving the church means that we are engaged, involved, and generous with our time, talents, and resources. It means that our value of belonging to the local church takes precedence over everything else in life.


Do you desire to grow your love for the church? Pastor Lance offered a few ways to do just that:


  • Pray for your church. Find time for systematic, disciplined prayer. Pray for church leaders, community groups, serve teams, church body needs, etc.


  • Look for evidences of grace. Instead of dwelling on what you don’t like, look for evidence that God is at work in His people. Celebrate those things and lean into them.


  • Trust the process. God assures us that He is faithful to complete the work He has started in us! We must trust Him in that


  • Invest in your church. Where your treasure is, there your heart is also. Be generous with your resources, your time, and your family


  • Engage and serve. Church is not a place to just come and attend; it’s about being known and serving.


We love the church because God loves the church.


Let that love show up in our actions.


Watch this sermon, here.

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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