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.

Arm Yourselves

June 11, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 4:1-6 Prepare to suffer Is. 50:6-8a I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. The martial language indicates that discipline and grit are needed to live the Christian life, particularly in view of the suffering believers encounter. -Thomas R. Schreiner Some people won’t like you if you follow Jesus When a culture abandons biblical standards, when extramarital sex, cohabitation, and birth outside of marriage become normal, people attack the church for its moral snobbery and judgmentalism. Peter warns us that if we do take a stand, we need to expect slander, not applause. -Daniel M. Dorian This is one of the hardest things a new Christian has to face. Your friends liked you because you shared in “the same flood of debauchery.” It seemed great fun at times, but then you came to embrace Christ… But your friends have not… They will be surprised when you say “No.” -Juan Sanchez. Keep an eternal perspective Our outcome is glorious Suffering is good for us Let’s remember that suffering accomplishes God’s purposes. It exposes what or whom we are trusting (1 Peter 1:6–7). - Juan Sanchez Ecc. 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Discipleship Questions: Verse 1 tell us to arm ourselves by thinking as Christ did about suffering. How did Christ arm himself for and against sufferings? What does it look like for us to do that? Have you ever lost friendships (or had them change) because you were following Jesus? Do you fear that we (or our kids) will experience greater persecution in the future? If yes, how should we handle that fear?

I Believe That We Will Win

June 3, 2025
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Jesus suffered and died in order to bring us to God Jesus conquered death by his resurrection “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” —Martin Luther Problem #1 - he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison —Jesus preached through Noah to those who lived at that time (1 Peter 1:10–12) —Jesus proclaimed His victory to evil angels (see Genesis 6:1-4) Problem #2 - baptism now saves you —Scripture is clear - we are saved by grace not works —baptism pictures our salvation from God’s judgment through the resurrection of Christ “The waters of baptism, like the waters of the flood, demonstrate that destruction is at hand, but believers are rescued from these waters in that they are baptized with Christ, who has also emerged from the waters of death through his resurrection. Just as Noah was delivered through the stormy waters of the flood, believers have been saved through the stormy waters of baptism by virtue of Christ’s triumph over death.” —Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude —in baptism we are appealing to God for a good conscience "This appeal is an act of the heart looking away from itself and from all human instruments and calling on God, appealing to God, for grace to save.” —John Piper —in baptism we are pledging to God to live in a manner worthy of the gospel Jesus ascended to heaven and now reigns over everything “We can face suffering as Christians with confidence rather than panic, and hope rather than despair, because the road marked with Christian suffering is, no matter what its twists and turns are, the road to vindication and glory. The God who vindicated Jesus will vindicate you, and he will sustain your faith until that day.” –Juan R. Sanchez, 1 Peter For You Discipleship Questions: How does Jesus’ death and resurrection encourage us when we suffer? Why did we need Jesus to suffer and die to bring us to God? How does Jesus’ victory over death give us eternal hope? What are your thoughts regarding some of the problems in this passage? How does what Peter says about baptism elevate the importance of baptism? When were you baptized and how does this passage inform your understanding of baptism? How does knowing our victory is secured help us with all the things this life throws at us?

Who Can Be Against Us?

May 27, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:13-17 Nobody can (truly) hurt Christians Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The train of thought is as follows: “No one will be able to harm believers on the future day if they are zealous for good” (v. 13). Indeed, even present suffering is not a sign of punishment but of blessing both now and especially in the future, on the day when God rewards his people with eternal life. -Thomas R. Schreiner Honoring Christ Erases Fear Share your faith with strength and gentleness Embrace balance Be prepared to share The truth of the gospel is a public truth that can be defended in the public arena. This does not mean, of course, that every Christian is to be a highly skilled apologist for the faith. It does mean that every believer should grasp the essentials of the faith and should have the ability to explain to others why they think the Christian faith is true. -Thomas R. Schreiner Be prepared to suffer “I’ve spent a number of years in India and Africa where I found much righteous endeavor undertaken by Christians of all denominations; but I never, as it happens, came across a hospital or orphanage run by the Fabian Society [a British socialist organization], or a humanist leper colony.” -Malcolm Muggeridge Be bold! We will likely suffer as Christians in this world, but that suffering is slight and temporary compared to the eternal inheritance that awaits us. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we die and receive our promised inheritance. Can you imagine how emboldened Christians would be if we only believed what Peter is saying? -Juan R. Sanchez Discipleship Questions: Does the fact that nobody can (truly) harm us comfort you? What would change if we lived like we really believe that? Are you a more confident person as someone who knows Christ? Does your security in Christ embolden you to take some risks in life, knowing that the worst that could happen is death? How equipped / prepared are you to give a reason for the hope that you have? What would grow your confidence and competence in that? Have you considered joining Michael Clark one day for evangelism at the harbor? Well….you should….
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