Anchor Verses

Matthew 21:12–13, Galatians 1:6–10, Ephesians 4:11–16

Focus Statement

A healthy church gathers to encounter God, not consume religious experiences.

Introduction

  • People choose churches for:
    • Music
    • Programs
    • Childcare
    • Atmosphere
    • Convenience
  • Rarely:
    • Prayer
    • Holiness
    • God’s presence
    • Spiritual formation
  • The Danger
    • Consumer Christianity isn’t merely damaging the church. It creates an entirely different religion.

The Church Exists For God’s Presence

  • Matthew 21:12–13
    • Jesus cleanses the temple.
      • Why?
      • Misplaced worship.
      • The issue wasn’t commerce.
      • The issue was replacing God’s purpose with man’s preferences.
  • Main Idea
    • The church was never intended to be a religious marketplace. It was intended to be a house of prayer.
  • Ask:
    • Why am I here? To encounter God? Or to have my preferences met?

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Consumer Christianity Creates A Different Gospel

  • Galatians 1:6–10
    • A false gospel is often similar enough to deceive.
    • Consumer Christianity teaches:
      • God exists for me.
      • Church exists for me.
      • Spiritual leaders exist for me.
    • The gospel teaches:
      • I belong to Christ.
      • I exist for His Kingdom.
      • The church exists for His glory.
  • 2 Timothy 4:3–5
    • People gather teachers who tell them what they want to hear.
    • Preference becomes authority.
  • Main Idea
    • When preferences become king, Jesus is no longer King.
  • Application
    • Wanting a good church is not wrong. Making your preferences your master is.
  • Matthew 6:24
    • You cannot serve two masters.
    • Fun is wonderful. But if Jesus has to entertain us before we obey Him, then entertainment has become our master.

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The Church Is A Body, Not A Product

  • Ephesians 4:11–16
    • Leaders were never meant to:
      • Feed everyone forever
      • Carry everyone forever
      • Perform for everyone forever
  • Leaders equip.
  • Saints minister.
  • The body builds itself up in love.
  • Spoon-feeding babies.
    • Healthy babies eventually learn to feed themselves.
    • Healthy Christians learn to pursue Christ personally.
  • Main Idea
    • The goal of church isn’t dependence on leaders. It’s maturity in Christ.

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Healthy Bodies Feed On Christ, Not Themselves

  • Matthew 26:26
    • “This is my body.”
  • A healthy church is nourished by Christ’s body.
  • A diseased church consumes its own body.
  • Healthy churches:
    • Serve
    • Sacrifice
    • Give
    • Bear burdens
  • Diseased churches:
    • Demand
    • Critique
    • Consume
    • Drain
  • Main Idea
    • We are sustained by Christ, not by constantly consuming one another.

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Encounter Over Entertainment

  • Entertainment creates manufactured experiences. Encounter produces transformation.
  • Powerful Contrast
  • Jesus didn’t pull back a curtain to reveal a better religious system. He tore the veil to reveal the presence of God.
    • The answer is not finding better experiences. The answer is pursuing deeper communion with God.
  • Three Responses
    • Confession
    • Where have I treated church like a product?
    • Communion
  • Return to Christ as the source.
  • Converse
    • Talk honestly with God.
    • Pray.
    • Listen.
    • Respond.

Next Week…

  • Next week for Father’s Day, we’ll look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son and discover that while it’s easy to judge a father by how his children turn out, Jesus focuses on something else: how the father responds when his children need him most.

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