The Church and Human Flourishing

The Church and Human Flourishing

(Preaching Outline)

1)      Why should we belong to and be involved in church?

a)      Stephanie asked that question after watching a YouTube Video

b)      I can’t tell you how important it is to ask that question, or the interesting ways that this connects to our vision and mission as a church.

c)      More important probably than anything I am going to teach today would be owning that question for yourself and seeking answers to it.

d)      Some answers I have an issue with:

i)        You need to go to church to receive the blessing.

ii)      Any answer that motivates through guilt or fear – that builds a culture that is contrary to the nature of the true church of Jesus Christ.

iii)    Any answer that builds a shaky foundation that people can fall off of easily.

e)      There are many people today who believe in Jesus but do not go to church.

i)        Often they have been hurt or offended by church.

ii)      Here is a challenging thought – could some people be closer to finding true church when they leave the church because there is something fundamentally wrong with the way we think about and go about church in general today?

f)       When there is a problem, we need to take responsibility and own it, think deeply about it and discuss it.

g)      I would suggest how we answer the question is very important and here are some initial thoughts.

i)        If we make what people get out of church or the personal benefits of it the first priority, we are building on a shaky foundation.

ii)      Suggested priority

(1)   Jesus is Lord – He died, rose and ascended – God is to be worshipped in the way He prescribes.

(2)   The social, national and international implications of the gospel.

(3)   The Generational implications of the gospel.

(4)   The personal blessings and benefits of the gospel.

h)      We are going to explore some scriptures that will hopefully inspire us all to own the question asked as well as open discussions on how to genuinely build a church that restores human flourishing in the world.

2)      The destiny of the church to bring liberty to the captives.

a)      Matthew 16:13–18 (NKJV) — 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

b)      Revelation 5:7–10 (NKJV) — 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

c)      Revelation 5:11–12 (NKJV) — 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

d)      Revelation 5:13–14 (NKJV) — 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” 14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

3)      The Leadership of the King.

a)      * Builders of a new society need a leader who will not do the work for them but will inspire them to do it for themselves. The face of Moses, we saw earlier, was like the sun; that of Joshua like the moon (Bava Batra 75a). The difference is that sunlight is so strong it leaves no work for a candle to do, whereas a candle can illuminate when the only other source of light is the moon. Joshua empowered his generation more than a figure as strong as Moses would have done.[1]

b)      (STRONG LEADERS CAN CREATE DEPENDENCE) – When people are led by “great men,” they can easily become passive, dependent, lacking in a sense of personal and collective responsibility. When there is a crisis, they expect the leader to deal with it. They do not expect him or her to challenge them to do it themselves. Moses’ greatness, never subsequently repeated, was both good news and bad. Without his strength the people would never have left Egypt, but dependent on his strength they would never develop the independence they needed to conquer the land.[2]

4)      A Kingdom of Kings and Priests

a)      * Judaism was the world’s first attempt to create a society of equal dignity under the sovereignty of God. It was the inspiration behind the statement in the American Declaration of Independence that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal [and] that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Far from being self-evident, this statement would have been regarded as absurd by the ancient Greeks. Plato believed that that society was divided into three classes – rulers, soldiers, and the masses – who were as different as gold, silver, and brass.4 Aristotle believed that some people are born to be free, others to be slaves.[3]

b)      * Judaism is about diffused responsibility, making each individual count, building a cohesive nation on the basis of a shared vision, educating people to their full potential, and valuing honest argument and the dignity of dissent. That is the kind of culture the rabbis inculcated during the centuries of dispersion.[4]

c)      Aristotle – Islam vs. the West

5)      The Book that Made Your World

a)      * Above all, though, came the belief that status was conferred by scholarship, Torah study. On this, the rabbis’ remarks were forceful and unambiguous: With three crowns was Israel crowned…. The crown of priesthood was bestowed on Aaron and his descendants. The crown of kingship was conferred on David and his successors. But the crown of Torah is for all Israel. Whoever wishes, let him come and take it…. A Torah scholar of illegitimate birth takes precedence over an ignorant high priest.[5]

b)      (GENERAL EDUCATION FOR ALL) – There is always a tendency for the most intelligent and scholarly to see themselves as more gifted than others and for the rich to attempt to purchase a better education for their children than the poor. Yet to an impressive – even remarkable – degree, Jews were vigilant in ensuring that no one was excluded from education and that schools and teachers were paid for by public funds. By many centuries, indeed millennia, Jews were the first to democratise education. The crown of Torah was indeed open to all.[6]

6)      LSCC Mission & Vision

a)      Vision: To restore human flourishing through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

b)      Mission: Becoming a community that restores the world by reproducing the life of Christ with imperfect people growing in grace and serving through the gift of the Spirit.

c)      Please ask the question, why church and add to it, what kind of church.