Last week we started a series called, We Are The Church and we want to learn from the first church, those early followers of Jesus, what it means to be the church and how we can be the kind of church that can change the lives of people around us. Today we are going to learn about the kind of people you meet in every church. These people were present with Jesus, and they are present in all churches today and my guess is that we will see a little bit of ourselves in each person. Let’s go back to the picture we get of that first church found in the book of Acts.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
There is one verse in there that shows us 2 kinds of people you find in every church. It says, they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. In every church there are people in need. In every church there are people who are hurting, broken, and ready to give up. In every church there are people who have physical needs, emotional needs, financial needs, relational needs, and spiritual needs. In every church there are people who look like they have it all together but just below the surface they are in great need. In every church there are people in need.
In Lewisburg, we started a worship service at noon on Sundays for Bucknell students. Every week there were students who looked like they had everything they could ever want or need in life. They were smart, many were financially well off, they had great futures ahead of them, they had lots of friends and they looked like they had it all together. After a few years of attending our worship, I had the opportunity to speak to one young man who really did look like he had it all. He was smart, rich, good looking, had tons of friends and had a future on wall street that would continue to keep him financially well off for the rest of his life. When I looked at him I didn’t see much need, in fact I was a little jealous about how he seemed to have it all and have it all together.
What I didn’t know is that most Sundays he sat in worship spiritually empty and filled with guilt. While he talked about his faith and was part of a campus fellowship, his personal life didn’t really reflect much of Jesus. He said that most Sundays he was in church after a night of partying and hooking up with women. He was filled with guilt and shame and he couldn’t understand how God could love him, let alone accept him or ever use him. As we talked and shared, I realized just how much in need he really was. He needed to know that Jesus did love him and that God’s grace could make a difference in his life.
My heart went out to that young man as I listened to his story because I remember sitting in a worship service as a college student and being overwhelmed by my own guilt and shame. It was a communion Sunday and during a period of confessions as we reflected our sin and God’s grace, all I could do was put my head down, not in prayer but in shame. I started crying and hoped that people didn’t notice. I couldn’t bring myself to take communion that day because I was so overwhelmed by my own unworthiness and I left worship and sat alone on campus for hours just unloading my heart to God. I knew some of that young man’s needs and I wanted desperately for him to know the love and grace of God.
This past year I was again someone in the church who was in need. As you may know, my father was diagnosed with dementia on Jan 3 and then cancer on Jan 4. For six months I drove back and forth to CT every couple of weeks to take my dad to treatments or appointments and to try and help manage things the best I could. On Good Friday, my dad ended up in the hospital with an infection that led to complete delirium.
While I was able to step away from the GF worship to be with my parents, I was back on Easter Sunday and while I was preaching about the hope and power of the resurrection, I was wondering what the future was going to be for my father and mother and family. My father died on June 1 and while we were thankful that his battle was over, the first six or seven months of this year I was one of the people sitting here in need. In need of rest. In need of strength. In need of hope. In need of peace. In need of Jesus.
Maybe you are feeling something similar today. Maybe on the outside things look fine, but on the inside you are filled with guilt and shame for things you have done or the things you have not done. Maybe there is a problem that no one can see that is eating you alive. Maybe your marriage is falling apart, your finances are a disaster, or you are battling an addiction, depression, or anxiety that no one knows about. I know there are those who continue to experience the grief and pain of loss and while everyone else seems to be able to move on with life, you can’t. In every church there are people in need.
Here’s why it is important for us to know this. Too often people think the church is only for those who have it all together and are living the dream and since they aren’t living the dream, since they have all kinds of problems and needs, they think they don’t belong in the church. Too many people think they won't be accepted in the church with all their brokenness and pain, but what they don’t know is that in every church there are people in need and that is exactly what the church is supposed to be, a place for people in need.
Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17
Jesus was always surrounded by people in need, which means that His church will also be filled with people who have needs. This means that we need to be sensitive and welcoming to all those around us. Even if the person sitting next to you today looks like they have it all together, they may not. They may be on the verge of everything falling apart so a word of welcome, of love and encouragement may be what begins to turn things around. To be the church God wants us to be, and a church that can change people's lives, we have to be a church that welcomes people with all kinds of needs because in every church there are people with needs.
But… in every church there are also people who care. In that first church there were people willing to sell their possessions to help those in need. Why did they do that? Because they cared. In every church there are people who care. That person might be right next to you this morning. The person who cares might be sitting in front of you this morning, or behind you. In every church there are people who care and people who want to help.
A few weeks ago there was a person here in need. Their child had just received a difficult diagnosis. What she didn’t know is that just a few feet away was a family who had walked that same road a few years ago. When I was able to connect them to each other, it changed that woman’s life. She now has hope and sees a better future for her child. In every church there are people who care.
All year I have experienced this kind of care right here. Once people started hearing about my parents' situation, every week there were people who cared for me. Many people were praying for me and my family. I received hundreds of cards and notes of encouragement. People gave me gift cards for gas to travel back and forth and food for when I was home. Most of all you gave me time and space to be with my family. Pastor David took on more preaching and the church staff all took on more responsibility so I could be with my family. In every church there are people who care.
Now the people who care need to know about the needs of those around, which means that there has to be a certain amount of risk and vulnerability we need to take. My hope is that if you are a person in need that you will know today that there are people here who care. I hope in time you will feel comfortable to share your needs with a small group, or friends you make, and receive some of the support and help others have to offer. Those who care may not be able to solve your problem, but at least you will know that you are not alone on the journey. Maybe the best thing that the people here who care can do is to take you to Jesus.
There was another time the early church was gathered and this time it was literally around Jesus. Jesus was in a person’s home teaching and was literally surrounded by people who loved him, cared for him, but there were also many in need.
They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to [Jesus]a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:2-5
So once again, here is a picture of the church. The people gathered around Jesus were devoted to Him and learning from Him. We see someone in need, a paralyzed man, and people who care, his friends. The four friends couldn’t help the man themselves, they couldn’t make him walk, but they did what they could and carried him to Jesus. Sometimes the best thing we can do for someone in need is not try and fix their problems but take them to Jesus.
These friends stopped at nothing to show that they cared. They didn’t let the crowds stop them. They didn’t let the roof stop them. They carried the man onto the roof, which would have been made of mud, straw and probably manure, and started to dig through it. They opened up a hole in the roof and lowered the man so that he could literally be at the feet of Jesus. These are the kind of people who can make a difference, and in every church there are people like this, people who can.
For many years there was a woman here who did everything she could do to not only make a difference in people’s lives but to also bring people to Jesus. Her name is Janie Mattern. Janie had a heart for missions and a heart for sharing Jesus. Janie was willing to do anything and everything to make missions happen. Janie helped start our Christmas dinner so that no one would eat alone on Christmas Day. For Janie, it wasn’t so much about making sure people had food, it was about making sure people felt loved and welcomed and someone to eat with on Christmas Day. For the last few years Janie worked on the dinner, she always tried to recruit people to go through the dining room and talk to people who might be alone.
Janie organized the crop walk. She set up our day of service with a desire to have everyone in the church doing what they could on one day to show that they cared for others. Serving our Seniors got everyone working and caring for seniors who were in need in our community. Janie went on mission trips. Janie was an early leader at the Faith Centre. Janie worked with special needs children and youth and she did everything she could to not only love them but share the love of Jesus with them. Janie would have been digging through the roof to lower a friend to the feet of Jesus.
In every church there are people who care and who can, but Janie would say we need more people and you can be one of them. You have what it takes to be someone who can make a difference. You have what it takes to meet people’s needs and you have what it takes to share Jesus with others. In every church there are people who can do all of this and more and if you are willing to step out and show that you care, God will lead you to those places where you can make a difference and you can share His love and grace and power.
Unfortunately, in this picture of the church we see another group of people we will find in every church. Why did the 4 men have to go to the roof and dig a hole to get their friend to Jesus? Because no one would make a way for them. They were all so preoccupied looking at Jesus that they didn’t turn around to look at those in need
You see, we can become so preoccupied looking at Jesus and learning about Jesus and learning how to follow Jesus and worshiping Jesus and praying to Jesus and growing in our own faith that we fail to notice anyone in need around us. As important as our devotion to God is, we can’t allow it to keep us from seeing the needs of others. If the people had just been willing to turn around, they may have seen these 4 friends carrying the paralyzed man to Jesus and maybe they would have made a path for them to get to Jesus, and Jesus would have said to everyone there, I see your faith!
The church doesn’t exist for ourselves but for the world. We can’t become so preoccupied with our own relationship with God and each other that we fail to see the need the world has for Jesus. In every church we need people who will help us turn out and see the needs of others and how we can help carry them to Jesus. Next week Pastor David is going to talk about how in this church we focus on 3 relationships, a relationship with God, the church, AND the world, and we have to make sure we don’t become one of those who has turned our back on the world.
Now if we read just a few verses more in Mark’s gospel we will find another group of people that you also find in every church.
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:6-7
Yes, in every church there are people who are critical. In every church there are people who don’t like new ways of doing things, new people in charge, new songs, and even new carpet. In my past two churches I have had to deal with many of these people, but here at Faith Church, I am blessed to say that this has really not been a problem. I know not everyone likes everything we do. I know we all have our own likes and dislikes in worship and I know who we are and how we do things doesn’t meet everyone's wants, needs and desires, but none of this has risen to the point of being obstacles getting in the way of God’s work. There is a grace we share with one another, a cooperative spirit and patience we have with one another and together we look for the new ways God is moving among us instead of holding on to the old ways at all costs. Because of this amazing spirit and love, God has and continues to bless us. May we work hard to keep from being those who are critical and continue to find ways to be those who care and can do all it takes to bring people to Jesus.
We are the church. The church is full of people in need, it is supposed to be filled with people who have needs. It is also filled with people who care and my hope is that you are someone who cares. My hope is that you are open to caring for anyone, and anyone around you that might be in need today. And the church is also filled with people who CAN make a difference. YOU can be that person. It doesn’t take anything more than a devotion to Jesus and a devotion to bringing people to Jesus. Anyone can be that person. Janie Mattern would tell you that YOU can be that person and make a difference. All it takes is a spirit that trusts Jesus and life that is turned toward and tuned in to the needs of those around us.
We are the church which means we are people in need but we are also people who care and yes we are people who can make a difference because we aren’t turning our backs on those in need, we are not so self-absorbed and preoccupied that we don’t see the needs of others, in fact we see them and together we are going to do all we can to bring people to Jesus. That is the church we are. AMEN? That is the church we are. We are the Church. Can I do this?
We Are…. We Are… . We Are… . AMEN!!
Next Steps
We Are The Church - Week 2
In every church there are people…
In Need.
● What needs do you bring with you today?
● What needs has Jesus met in your life and how can that give you hope that all your needs can be met?
● How can we be a church that welcomes people with ALL kinds of needs?
Who Care.
● What did it feel like when someone cared for you?
● Who around you might need your care today?
● How can we be a church that cares for the needs of people?
Who Can.
● When have you been part of making a difference in someone’s life? What did that feel like?
● What can you do to help bring someone to Jesus?
● What can you do to make a difference in someone’s life?
● What can you do to make a difference in our community?
● How can we be a church that can make a difference?
Read Mark 2:1-12
● Why did the people have to dig through the roof to get their friend to Jesus?
● What preoccupies you and keeps you from seeing the needs of others?
● When have you been critical instead of being helpful?
● What 3 friends can help you make a real difference in the life of someone else or in the life of the church?
