“THE CHURCH WE ARE CALLED TO BUILD”
(MAIDEN SERMON AT ST. JAMES - MASIAKA) By REV ALUSINE DIAMOND-SUMA Text: Matt 16:18 Let us pray Thanks, the people of St James Masiaka, I appreciate God for your lives and thanks for holding the church thus far. Thank my Rural Dean – The Rev. Canon S. F King, My Vicar – Rev Sanu and all Clergy present here today. I am more than happy this morning to ascent this pulpit for the very first time, and more especially delivering my maiden sermon in this church. I want to remind all of us that Jesus loves the church! 2000 years ago Jesus said – I have come to build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Jesus came for the church and died for her. Matt 16:18 Eph 5:25: Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her The church is squarely on the heart of God. Jesus Christ loved the church so much, as we see here in the picture of a bridegroom, that He would die for her. So, the church is squarely on the heart and mind of Jesus. So, I wondered, what did Jesus actually have in mind? What does the church that we are called to build look like? So today, I would first like to look at what the “church” is by looking at the purpose of the church that Jesus talks about and a look at the early church in the New Testament. Let’s start first by defining what a church is. Looking back at the forming of the early church after Christ ascended and left the disciples behind, to the development of the early church in the NT, a good definition that I have found is this – The Church is “a community of Christ-followers empowered by the Holy Spirit to participate in the Great Commission”. So let’s first quickly pull it apart from the elements an look at each part. 1. The Church is a COMMUNITY. It starts with God. The very nature of God is a community – the Triune God – God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. During Jesus’ ministry, the first thing He does is to gather the 12 disciples together to form a community. So the church is not something you go to; it is not the building. It’s something you are a part of. The church is a community that you are connected to. And the measure of a great church is not the number of people that go there but the quality of relationships that takes place within its community. But at the same time, we also have learned that the church exists for those outside it. We also need to look at who is our primary community. Many different churches reach out to people in different locations, we see that similarly when the disciples went out, Jesus called them to be His witnesses first in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the ends of the Earth. So who is our primary community? We have been focused on the community so far. But what makes a church different from let’s say a country club or a team on a mission 2. A church is a community of CHRIST-FOLLOWERS. So it’s not just about hanging out, having friendships, they are developing a lifestyle that reflects what Jesus is like. The church is a place where we grow together to follow Christ. That’s also why the church exists: to create a space that we can grow together to be more like Jesus. Christians by its very definition means followers of Christ. And so being like Jesus is for everybody – not just the select few. And so I would like to offer that in fact, spiritual maturity does not mean knowing a lot of scripture (although it helps), or how long you have been in church, but instead, it is the degree to which we are able to follow Jesus in our lives. The first twelve disciples are followers of Jesus. They learned from what Jesus was teaching and doing and put into practice, and then learned some more and did some more. Some aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry included: • Jesus focuses on the nobodies and undesirables. There were no perquisites to who He ministered to. Jesus said that he had come for those who are sick not the righteous. • Jesus met the immediate felt needs of those he encountered using a combination of healing and eating with them, forcing people to come into contact with the divine through everyday activities. • Jesus also spoke up against religious leaders of its time and corrected wrong attitudes. 3. A church is a community of Christ-followers EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. The third important element that we need to pay attention to as we look at the kind of church we are called to build is a church that is “empowered by the Holy Spirit”. Jesus didn’t start his ministry until He received the Holy Spirit. And actually if you really think about it, the book which follows Acts of the Apostles is not really correct, it’s more like the Acts of the holy spirit working through the apostles. When Jesus appeared after His resurrection to the disciples, He taught them one final truth: Luk 24:45-49 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” The disciples were going to be witnesses. But they were not going to do it without help; they were going to get power from on high. How do you live a life empowered by the Holy Spirit? 2 Cor 13:14 – The Benediction May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The word fellowship here comes from the Greek word “koinonia”, which means an intimate partnership. Jesus said when He goes, He will send the Holy Spirit to us. And that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is now living in you and me. The kind of church we need to build is a church that allows that relationship with God, that intimate partnership to develop and flourish. We do this when we create opportunity and space to gather to worship and pray, and we allow the spirit of God to move as we minister to one another. 4. A church is a community of Christ-followers empowered by the Holy Spirit TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GREAT COMMISSION. God’s mission is to partner with us and participate in reaching our world. A commission is a co + mission. Matt 28:18-20 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. The church exists because of the Great Commission. We’re here today in this Church and we know Christ because someone that came before us obeyed the Great Commission. In fact, we can come here every Sunday and worship in this very place because a community obeyed the Great Commission. All churches need to be built on the Great Commission. But we’ve been living it like the Great Opinion or the Great Suggestion. We marry a church model and flirt with the Great Commission. The Great Commission is all about making disciples, not converts. And making disciples simply means equipping ourselves, being a witness by following Jesus, serving others through our lives and ministry, and then inviting others to do the same. Let us stay focus and build the church. Let us pray
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The project involves the training of nine candidates for ordination. This is part of a larger strategy to empower the rural areas of Sierra Leone and in particular the northern provinces. Bishop Thomas Wilson of Freetown Diocese hopes that one day the north will become an independent diocese. Though it will take many years before this region is strong enough to stand on its own, it is a great vision, and will certainly strengthen evangelization in the area.
The Diocese of Freetown is mainly centered around the capital and the peninsula, on which the capital is situated. It has the reputation of being a Krio-church (referring to the specific ethnic group of that area). However, the diocese covers a large part of Sierra Leone. Mission has been slow in most part of the northern districts and in some areas the church has lost its presence. Today it is the vision of Bishop Thomas Wilson to revive and expand the mission. Most people in the northern parts of the country belong to the temne tribe and therefore the bishop would like to see a church with temne as the main language. The training of nine candidates is just one step out of many steps towards a new independent diocese. Relay Trust intends to collaborate with the bishop in his vision to empower the north of Sierra Leone. It will be part of our strategy in the years to come. The training programme is coordinated by the theological board of the diocese and is carried out by different skilled teachers. Students are meeting every month to receive new teachings and materials. The diocese has already completed 1/3 of training. Now Relay Trust will assist with the last 2/3. You will be able to follow the progress of the nine candidates on this web-page and in our quarterly newsletter. If you or your church would like to sponsor one or more students, please let us know. Together we can reach much further! Project title: ADF001 “Training of Ordinands” |
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