Covenant Christian Reformed Church

Winnipeg Canada

Sermon Outline for June 21

Transition Pastor Peter Hogeterp

SEVENTH BIBLICAL BUILDING BLOCK FOR THE TRANSITION PROCESS:

THE CHURCH, A COMPLEX SYSTEM, Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:9-21

Introduction:

When you compare the church to something else you know, what is it most like? Like a business? Like a service agency? Like a social club? Like the government? Like the military? It is most like A FAMILY.

1. How the church is like a FAMILY

a) Our association is not entirely voluntary

b) We never have greater joy than in family

c) We also never have greater pain than in family

d) Family is a collection of memories of people, together

e) Family is a place where you can be who you are

2. How the early Church in Acts functioned

a) They did everything together; a model community. At first.

b) Ananias and Sapphira were killed for defrauding God

c) The Greek-speaking widows believed the care they were receiving was inferior to what the Hebrew-speaking widows got.

3. How the healthy church functions

a) They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ Teaching

b) They devoted themselves to Fellowship

c) They devoted themselves to Prayer and Worship

d) They devoted themselves to Acts of Service

Conclusion:

The earliest New Testament Church did it right for a little while. It doesn’t take long for evil to set in. Which is why we need to focus on GRACE. Philip Yancey, in What So Amazing About Grace, defines Grace as “there’s nothing you do that’s so good that will make God love you more; there’s nothing you do that’s so bad that will make God love you less.”