Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning, Gateway Chapel!

Scripture

Prayer

Intro

I think a universal experience in life is walking in a room…looking around, and asking, “Why am I here?”

Maybe it happens more when you’re older and you’ve got more things on your mind.

I don’t remember that ever happening as a kid, but as we get older and your mind is like an internet browser with 20 tabs open... “Don’t forget to pay the credit card bill…did the Mariners win last night?...How do you repair a leaky faucet?…what’s the weather like tomorrow…oh yeah I forgot to text Spencer back.......I’m in the garage.

Why am I in the garage?”

Today, you all have organized your Sunday morning in such a way as to arrive here.

At 15715 Main St E, the current home of Gateway Chapel, for church.

That’s what happened, but why did it happen?

Of all the things you could do on Sunday, why church?

Think of what you could be doing today.

You’re behind on house projects.

I know it!

Don’t pretend it’s not true.

Your neighbor put moss out on their roof before the rain came, why aren’t you doing that?

You’re tired from the first week back from school.

You deserve some rest!

You could be kicking back on the couch and watching NFL Redzone.

And in the time that it took me to say this sentence, five new Emmy-nominated shows just debuted on Netflix, so you need to keep up!

You could be catching up with friends and family by going out to brunch at that new place you wanted to check out.

Exercise is important, right?

You could be working out.

And yet you chose to be here, in a small concrete box with drip coffee, with some people.

You’re at church.

Why church?

Of all the groups you could associate yourself with right now, why church?

In 2020, for the first time in 80 years, Gallup polls said less than 50% of the country calls a religious gathering home (church, mosque, or synagogue) with the last 15 years showing a steep decline.

In Sumner, WA we are far from the geographic center of world Christianity.

The church is exploding in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Who would’ve thought 100 years ago that many church buildings are now museums, Hindu Temples, mosques, or trendy bars.

Why come to church?

You can listen to way better preachers online, or stream church right to your TV!

I talked with a friend recently who is a nurse and watches church online and says, “I love the church and the pastor...I just don’t know that I can go back.

I’ve been fighting against COVID and I feel like the church has told me my fight doesn’t matter.”

Attending church can feel like choosing sides.

Oh you go to that church?

Republican.

Hate masks.

Oh you go to that church?

Critical race theory.

Love is love.

So why are you here?

Why am I here?

What are we supposed to do here?

What are we about?

As we come back from summer, and begin more regular rhythms of life together, I wanted to take time to clarify important questions.

Why church?

So the next four weeks we’ll look to Scripture to cover some foundational aspects of our church life…why church?

Why discipleship?

Why baptism and communion?

And why church membership?

This morning, we’ll be reading out of 1 Peter 2:9-10, and in this text Peter is writing to an eclectic group of people who outside of Jesus, don’t share a lot in common.

They live in different towns, they have different ethnicities, they have different backgrounds.

And they’ve also experienced major trials in the recent past.

Their faith has been shaken by death, persecution, and fear.

Can anyone relate?

And in 1 Peter 2:9-10, Peter tells them why church: You’re the people of God who worship God because you’ve received the mercy of God.

Prayer

Let’s read 1 Peter 2:9 together.

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession...

Our first point this morning is that

We’re reading out of 1 Peter, which is a letter by the apostle Peter, one of Jesus’ first disciples.

In the greeting of the letter it says...

As you see on this map, Peter is writing to a wide range of Jesus-following communities around the Ancient Near East.

Why is he writing to them?

We read in verse 6

Imagine you are a Christian in the first century, your neighbors wouldn’t know what to do with you.

You don’t go to the temple to appease the local gods and make sure life went smoothly.

And you also don’t go to synagogue with other Jews and eat Kosher, get circumcised, and the like.

Who are you?

Why are you worshiping some Jew who died on a Roman cross.

You say Jesus is Lord, your neighbors say Caesar is Lord.

You follow Jesus, others reject Jesus.

Imagine getting strange looks by your neighbors, wondering if rumors were growing about you and your family…wondering if those rumors would eventually grow and cost you your life.

Imagine the feeling…now that I follow Jesus…where do I belong?

The church is the people of God.

Note Peter doesn’t say church, but he’s writing to churches that probably met in homes, they were gatherings of people who believed Jesus was the Messiah.

The first thing Peter says about these early Christians is they are a...

Chosen race

Is God racist?

Race is a strong word.

If I said on the weekly video, “Hey we’re going to talk about race!” You’d say, “Man I hope he means Rayce Whitson.”

Race is a top of mind conversation for our culture now, just as it was then.

Peter was a part of the Jewish people, a race of people connected way back to Abraham.

In our text, Peter is quoting from Exodus 19:5-6.

God saves Israel from slavery in Egypt, brings them through the Red Sea, and enters into a binding relationship - a covenant - a marriage ceremony - with the people of Israel (descendants of Abraham).

Peter is Jewish, so he traces his identity back to this text to say this is who I am and why I exist.

But in his letter, he’s writing to people who do not trace their lineage back to Abraham.

So how can he say they’re a chosen race?

What is race if not a connection through blood relation?

And what is a Christian if not someone who is connected to God and others through the blood of Christ?

Peter is saying through Jesus, you are now a part of the people of God.

Just like God chose Israel, he chose you.

And this new people is full of all ethnicities and nationalities because it’s united around the eternal King Jesus.

Jesus redefines family.

Over the last couple of years, have you felt like you don’t belong?

Church is the family of God, united by the blood of Jesus.