Sermon Title: Why Church?

Ron Boomsma

Ephesians 5:25-27

Introduction:

The church is God’s plan to display His grace to the world.  It also functions as the household of God where needy people find Jesus.  Sovereign Grace Church Pasadena focuses on building such healthy churches.  Just as marriages and parenting deteriorate without proper attention, churches require regular reminders of foundational truths in order to operate as God intends.  The following are two foundational truths.

Point 1:  Jesus Gave Himself for the Church

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,..” (v. 25).  Although marriage initially appears to be the focus of the passage, the actual emphasis is the relationship between Jesus and the church.  Christ laid down His life to save sinners and create the church.  His pure love for us, our dire need for Him, how high He resided with the Father, how low He descended to earth--such extremes persuade us to place our hope solely in Jesus.

“What is there lacking, or what would you add if you could, to make Christ more fit to be your

Savior?” (Jonathan Edwards)

Point 2: Jesus Perfects the Church

Salvation in Christ is just the beginning of a Christian’s journey.  Our new life, purpose, and direction is summed up in the first catechism statement that our congregation is memorizing:

Question:  What is our only hope in life and death?  

Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.

The following “one another” statements in the Bible describe a Gospel-empowered local church life that is crucial to Gospel witness:

Conclusion:

Jesus gave Himself up for the church, and He is at work to perfect us for His glory.  We need Jesus as our Savior, and we need the church as our family.