Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16

Did you ever think about why we have a church? What is the true purpose of the church? Did you ever think about why you are a member of the Mt Paran Presbyterian Church?

This morning I would like for us to think about why we have a church and why we as Mt Paran Presbyterian Church have existed for the past 290 years.

The Greek word for Church is EK-KLAY-SEE-AK. It means, "Called out", "separated from" – yes, called out of the world, separated from the worldly things in life.

Our Book of Order tells us that "The Church of Jesus Christ is the visible demonstration of what God intends for all humanity. As such, the Church is called to be a sign in and for the world of the new reality which God has made available to people in Jesus Christ."

The Church is not a building but the Church is the people who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Church is The Body of Christ and The Body of Christ is made up of many members. For the body to be effective all the members must perform the function they were created to perform.

In our text from Ephesians, we learned that the primary goal of the Church is to prepare the people of God for works of service, so that the body of Christ will be built up – Our goal then is to become like Christ so that we can indeed be a sign for the world.

The Church goes about the task of preparing God’s people by providing opportunities for worship, opportunities for studying God’s inspired word, opportunities for fellowship, opportunities for missions, and opportunities for evangelism.

First we must always look up to Almighty God for direction and for strength. We do that through worship; reading, proclaiming, and studying God’s inspired word; and … through prayer.

Worship is the top priority for individual Christians and for the Church. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In other words, to love God with our total being! This is our 11:00 a.m. Service of Worship. It is the time when we as a body of believers gathered together to collectively offer ourselves to God! Worship should always be an encounter with our Living God and it is when we focus on responding to His love! The worship service should be a challenge for us to live for our Lord! Worship do not end at 12:00 noon true worship begins at 12:00 noon because worshipping God is to be a way of life. We are called to worship Almighty God in everything we think, say, and do!

But we cannot be serious about responding to and worshipping a God that we really don’t know? God gave us His Word, the Bible, so that we can know Him and know what He requires of each one of us. We will never know God unless we diligently read and study our Bibles. We need to discipline ourselves to read God’s Word everyday - not just for head knowledge, but heart knowledge.

The Sunday School is the primary vehicle for Christian Education - learning about God and what He requires of us. Christian Education is for everyone – young and old, men and women; Elders and Deacons as well as new believers.

One of the most gratifying things for me recently is that 43 adults are participating in The Purpose Driven Life study. However, the sad part is that some of you were not interested in taking the time to learn and develop a closer relationship with The Lord.

We are to look up, then the Church is to look inward. Each of you is also a minister. God has called each of us to minister to our fellow man. If you look in your bulletin you will see that all of the members of Mt Paran are listed as Ministers. That is not just a cliché but that is God’s design for His church. All the members of the body of Christ ministering to those around them in His name! The word minister means, "One who cares" – One who shares! Our actions always speak louder than our words.

As we read through the Gospels we find several examples when the crowds overwhelmed Jesus with their needs for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. So Jesus trained His disciples to go out and minister in His name.

We are all called to demonstrate our love for our fellow-members at Mt Paran. We are to bear one another’s burdens. No one in our congregation should be friendless, lonesome, or in need. God gave each of us gifts to help and encourage each other. Visits, cards, telephone calls, preparing meals, grocery shopping, the list is endless. If all of us do not step up and minister two things will happen: First, some people will not receive the ministry they need and secondly, the members who do not step up will miss out on the marvelous blessings of sharing ourselves with others.

Next as a church we must reach out. Ministry is not limited to those in the church. We are to reach out to all those people we come in contact with those that have needs. Can we as Christians sit back and watch the hungry and homeless? The writer of James tells us that faith without works is dead. The Gospel without a loaf of bread doesn’t speak very loud and the loaf without the Gospel is totally silent, consumed and forgotten. If the Church lowers itself to the level of a secular relief organization then we have missed the high calling of Jesus Christ. That is why The Stephen Ministry program is so important to Mt Paran. It equips us to do the job we have been called to do - Ministering in the Name of Christ. It is not enough to put $20 in the offering plate; Christ’s example of the Good Samaritan show us we must go out of our way, go the second mile, become involved by giving of ourselves. Outreach to the community is not an option – Outreach is a command to the Christian.

But the greatest gift you can ever give to someone is leading them to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. That is because that gift will last throughout eternity! Evangelism is simply letting other people know what Christ means to you. You will recall that after Jesus healed the demon-possessed man in Gerasenes (Mark 5:19), the man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you." That is true evangelism. And that is what Jesus commanded us to do. It is nothing to be afraid of or something you need a Ph.D. in Bible or theology to do. Simply tell your family, your neighbors, and those you work with what God has done in your life.

If you go to a great Chinese Restaurant, don’t you tell your friends? You don’t rationalize that "maybe they will think I am pushy if I tell them", or you don’t think, "They won’t like me anymore if they don’t like Chinese Food." What is the difference in telling our friends about Jesus? Remember our job is to tell - not convert!

Just think of the potential for Mt Paran if we had 100 committed ministers who labored out of love for The Lord and depended upon the Holy Spirit for guidance and energy. This is not a dream. This is our calling. This concept is not new; it is God’s design for His Church. It is not impossible – "For all things that are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 19:27) Amen.