I Love The Church Because Of Jesus Christ

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” – Ephesians 2: 19-21.

For those of you who know me fairly well, know that my passion is the local church.  I love Northstar. There are several reasons why I love the church, not only as a pastor but as a Christian and I will talk about them over the next few days. But I want to say first, is that I don’t love Northstar just because I am the lead pastor. If the Lord had chosen a different path for me I would still attend church every Sunday. I want to be in a church.  I love the church, and for the best reason.

The only reason I need is that Jesus loves the church. With all that Jesus could have done, might have done in the world, had the power to do, He only built one institution; the church. In Matthew 16: 18 Jesus said, “and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”  No matter how many times I read that verse I am still awed by its power. Jesus never said He would build a better government, or a road system, or schools. “…I will build my church.”

Sure, the church isn’t perfect. The church is full of imperfect people. But if we love Jesus we should love the church.  Each individual member of the church, the body of Christ, has a story of redemption. We constantly hear stories of people of people who lives have been changed by entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It motivates me and I hope it motivates you to get excited about what God is doing through and in His church.   

In spite of some flaws, let us be a group of believers that sees the best of the church and loves her just the same. And more importantly, let us be a contributing factor to church growth by loving Jesus Christ and loving people. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you view as your responsibility to the church?
2. If you were completely honest, would you say love the church? 
3. Jesus loves each of us, and he wants to use us to touch the world around us. How does that impact your view of the local church?