Sermon Tone Analysis

! How You Can Make the Church Perfect Better? 1 Corinthians Chapter 1

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/“In the following instructions I do not commend you,/

/because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.”

*1 Corinthians 11:17*/

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/"15I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.

Would that you were cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.

*Rev 3:15-16*/

 

You Can Make the Church Better By Understanding That:

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Ú *The Church is a People Not a [PLACE]*

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/“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours” *Verse 2*/

 

Ú *The Church is a People with a [PURPOSE]*

 

/“…to those sanctified in Christ Jesus…” *Verse 2b*/

 

/37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38This is the first and great commandment.

39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.*

Matthew 22:37-38*/

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/“19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

*Matthew** 28:19-20*/

 

Ú *The Church is a People with [Positives]*

 

/“4 I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

*Verses*/* 4-7*

 

Ú *The Church is a People with [PROBLEMS]*

 

/“11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren.

12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided?

Was Paul crucified for you?

Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”* Verses 11-13*/

 

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You Can Make The Church Better By Committing To

 

Ú *The [CROSS] of Christ.*

/“17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” *Verses 17-18*/

 

Ú *Always [CONSIDER] Why God Chose You.*

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/“26 For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; 27 but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” *Verses 26-29*/

 

Ú *Focus Your Life on [CHRIST].*

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/“30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; 31 therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.”

*Verses 30-31*/

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\\ I heard a man once say, “The problem with the church is people.”

I thought at the time and still do that his comment was profound.

I can’t remember who said it, but I do remember his words.

His seven words in my opinion are clear and right to the point.

The problems of the church do not come from God, or Jesus, or His Spirit.

Church problems do not arise because of what the Scripture teach.

To be sure church problems don’t arise from any other place than us.

We might blame Satan, but to say, “The Devil made me do it,” seems to me, to be a way to abandon our responsibility.

There should be no doubt, in any of our minds that during this year, Satan will use whomever he can at Vaughn Hill to cause problems.

And whenever those problems arise they do so because we allow him influence in our hearts.

We are responsible for our thoughts and behavior.

Jesus has disarmed the Old Deceiver, and through the cross we are free of him and his power.

The Devil cannot make a saved redeemed child of God do anything.

God wants all of us to be responsible for our own thoughts and actions.

Church problems are not unique to the modern era.

In the First Century there are many examples of churches with problems.

One example is The Church of Corinth .They are a divided church.

They are a church with gross immorality.

They are a church whose members are suing one another.

They are a church that is confused about sexual purity.

They are a church in the middle of a pagan culture, and they are not sure how to deal with it.

They are a church whose worship service is marred by selfishness and drunkenness.

They are a church whose members are playing one upmanship with spiritual gifts.

They are a congregation that struggles with a very serious doctrinal conflict about the resurrection of the dead.

So Paul rebukes them for not making things better.

He says, /“But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.”/

The basic reason why things get worse rather than better in congregations is that we become comfortable with self.

Paul tells the Corinthians that he could not address them as spiritual men because they are carnal or selfish.

He could not commend them, because their self-centeredness made them at best mediocre and at worse disobedient children of God.

And as a result of their carnality the circumstances at Corinth were getting bad.

Another example of a congregation in Scripture getting bad is the church of Laodicea.

Jesus tells them, /“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.

Would that you were cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth./”

They thought they were rich and prosperous and didn’t need a thing.

But Jesus tells them they were blind, wretched, objects of pity, poor, and naked.

You’ve heard of Hans Christian Anderson’s story of the Emperor’s New Clothes.

He writes, “One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance.

They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colors and elaborate patterns, the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held, or who was extraordinarily simple in character.”

Because no one including the Emperor would admit to seeing that the emperor had no clothes on, less they expose themselves as unfit or simple, they convinced the Emperor that he was splendidly dressed, in clothes of unimaginable beauty.

Because of our selfishness we too convince ourselves that we are clothed in Christ.

That we are doing the will of God, but the truth can be that Jesus is ready to spit us out of his mouth.

We have become blind to commitment, faith, grace, and relationship.

That leads us to become a tepid lukewarm church which is very offensive to the tastes of Jesus.

Clearly the Holy Spirit expects us to help to make things better.

Please note Paul did not say perfect, nor was Jesus disgusted because Laodicea wasn’t perfect.

If it is true that the problem with churches is people; until there are perfect people there will be no problem free churches.

People cannot be perfect, but they can make things better.

And this is our constant goal at Vaughn Hill.

If you are a guest, a regular attender, or a member your help is needed to make things better not perfect.

None of us have to stand before Jesus with lukewarm hearts and mediocre service.

There are two ways that we can prevent that and make things better here at Vaughn Hill.

First through understanding the church is really meant to be, and second by committing ourselves humbly to the cross of Christ.

First Corinthians chapter one will help us to understand these two ways to make things better here.

To begin we make things better by understanding what the church is.

In chapter one Paul explains that the church is a people not a place, with a purpose, with positives, and with problems.

Clearly understanding these things allows us to avoid the pitfalls of trivializing God’s church, or making our expectations so high we frustrate God’s goals for his family.

Having the correct Biblical concepts enhances our appreciation of God’s plan, and leads us to a deepening commitment to Jesus.

Paul in verse 2 says *the church is a people not a place.*

Paul writes, /“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.”/

Naturally a group of people occupy a place when they are together.

However, they can be a part of a group that exists in every place on earth.

And that means that no location can define those people.

This is true of God’s family the church.

It comprises everyone who calls on the name of Jesus for their salvation.

It does not matter about their location but their relationship to God.