The Work to be Done - VBS report - June 27, 2021

 I. Introduction

I saw a little quote about work a while back that said this: when a president was asked what his coat of arms was, he replied quickly “a pair of shirt sleeves”. He was ready for the work, was he not? This week has been VBS for our church, and I don’t know about the rest of the workers, but I know that I am both very worn out but also very much excited about what God has done this previous week. We’ve seen so many youngsters here in our church building. But this is only the beginning of the work! Now, I know that some of you are like “did he just say this is the beginning of the work? Didn’t we just get done with doing a TON of work getting ready for this week?” Yes, you heard me right, this is the beginning of the work. There is a reason, though. Look one more time at one of the verses we just read. Philippians 1:6 says “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” That was our focus verse this week, and it reminds us that Christ has started the work for us when we became Christians, but he will continue to complete it until he comes again! 

II. 5 Words

One of the things that we did this week was that there was a theme to every day’s lesson. It was always just one word, and it always was leading us to the grace of Jesus. For instance, our first day’s lesson was about the worth that Jesus has for us. Next was forgiveness, reminding us that Jesus loves us regardless of our sin. Then we had love, which reminded us that Jesus chooses to love us, that we cannot earn that love. Then we had promise, that Jesus will always love us, and then finally, we ended the week with the word life, reminding us that Jesus’ love is the foundation for the rest of our lives. As we know, these are always lessons that Paul puts into his letters to the various churches. He reminds us often that the work that was started in us through Jesus finds us in a way that reminds us of our worth, of our forgiveness, of the love, the promises that Jesus keeps with us, and the life that we can have in Him, and only through Him.  

Really, it is those five words that give us the path to Christ, and to a life that is full of richness and full of Godliness in our lives. I was reminded as I studied for this message that when Paul was writing this letter to the Philippians that he was sure of the need of reminding the people of Philippi that there was still work to be done. One commentary states “Paul’s conviction that God, the one who began the work, will complete what he began, but that conviction reflects Paul’s awareness that the Philippians were not perfect and that they needed to be reminded of this.” The Philippians, in other words, had felt like that because they were Christians now that they were perfect and that there was nothing else to be done. It’s times like this that reminds me of a question that I was asked one time by a Sunday School teacher. She asked “why is it that God doesn’t take us up to Heaven right away when we are saved?” This serious question merited a moment’s thought and contemplation. No ‘Sunday School’ answer would have worked. The reason that God doesn’t do that is because we are not completed yet. The work is not done. 

Let me put it another way: we will be completed when we reach heaven or when Jesus returns. Many times we are like the Philippians. We think that the work that has been done is enough, and that there is not anything else we need to do. But this isn’t true! There is always work to be done, both on the outside, and on the inside. We can have great works, and we can do a great deal of things for the Lord that reflects the faith, but if we are not doing both parts, then we must look hard at ourselves. 

III. Jesus, Our Strong Foundation

Our Motto this week for VBS was “Jesus! Our Strong Foundation!” When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he knew that they were strongly supporting his mission work. They had given funds to him to help establish other churches, but they were struggling to keep the faith. Their foundation had not been built upon the rock of Jesus fully. Jesus told a parable of this in Matthew 7:24-27. It reads “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Jesus was, of course, speaking about himself and the teachings that he was giving to all of us even to this day. Our foundation is the Scriptures, the words of Christ, but also living a life that is continually trying to be more Christ-like daily. When we build our house on the rock, we survive the storms of life. We survive the turmoil and the heartache, and we survive the floods of our life. We survive the sentence of death upon our lives because we have a substitute in the form of the perfect lamb slain for us. And we will continue to improve until the Day of the Lord comes. 

Some of you might be wondering what the Day of the Lord truly is. It refers to the end of days. It’s a truly terrifying time that we read about in Revelation 6:12-17. I won’t read the entire passage here, and in fact, I’ll invite you to come and study the book of Revelation in depth with us on Sunday mornings in the Fellowship Hall at 9:45 where we will be talking in great detail about this day coming very soon. But in essence, the Day of the Lord will be the day coming where great calamities, great climate and earth shaking events will happen to the point where those that have not been saved will realize that God is God. They will beg for death by the falling rocks around them. They will say “For the great day of wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” No one, except those who have built their house upon the rock of Jesus Christ. We are reminded in Romans 8:1 that “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We should celebrate that God is going to complete the work for those of use who have no condemnation under Christ! 

IV. Conclusion

One last part of VBS this week had to do with those same words of the day. There is a tab within those words that had a simple set of pictures and three letters on it. It is a reminder to all of us working, and to the kids that attended of the plan of salvation. It reminded us that God is King. He is the ruler of our lives and the master worker. But there is a problem, and that is sin. That sin is what keeps us away from God forever, and condemns us to death. But there is hope! A promise made to us all the way back in Genesis, that God would make a way for us. And that is the gift that God gives to us through Jesus. The way for us to be saved is given to us freely, and cannot be earned. It is the gift of grace. And when we accept that gift, we are saved. It just takes the ABC’s. We first have to admit that we are sinners, then we have to believe that Jesus died for our sins, for everyone here. And then we confess that Jesus is our Lord! 

Rev. Dr. D.P. Thomson, the great Church of Scotland minister and evangelist said this one time about starting the Christian life. He said:

If you are going to play football, you have got to kick off. At least somebody has. It is not enough to pick or take sides – the ball has got to be set in motion before the game can start. You may have two teams out spoiling for the fray, but there’s nothing doing until someone kicks off. It is only then the games starts and things begin to happen! 

And so it is in the greater game of life. You have got to take sides, but that isn’t enough. You have got to kick off – to make a beginning. Perhaps you have heard or read of people “getting converted,” as Paul was on the road to Damascus, or giving their hearts and lives to Christ, as some of us have done. That just means, in plain, homely English, that they have not only taken sides with Jesus Christ, but have kicked off. They have made a beginning in the Christian life. They know which side they are on, and they have begun to make their contribution to the success of the team. We have not only taken sides with Jesus Christ, but have kicked off. We don’t say we have got very far in the Christian life – we know we have at least made a start! Have you? If not, why not make a beginning today?” 

That last set of questions is our question for today. Have you? If not, why not make a beginning today? And that’s not just for those who might be wondering about the faith. Not just for those who have never fully understood what it means to be a Christian. It is also a chance for a new start continuing to work towards the completion of the work that Christ has started in you. Today, we celebrate the end of our Vacation Bible School. We know that God has done a great work this week. We know that families have been empowered through Christ, that they have seen the work that the Holy Spirit has done through the workers of this week. We know that the Holy Spirit will keep working. This is the beginning of something special for this church, and we ask, why not make a beginning today? Let’s pray. 

We Serve - Mark 10:41-45

  We Serve – Mark 10:41-45

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

1. Introduction

As I was reading Hin study of this lesson, I came across this little tidbit. It says “In a museum at Greenfield Village, Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive, and only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that.

That caused me to pause for a good long minute. How many churches have we known to be like that? Jesus reminds us in Matthew 9:37 when he said to his disciples “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Last week, we talked a great deal of who the church is. I think we definitively answered that the church is not a building, but it is the people who come together as a saintly mob, that is a congregation, to learn from and edify one another. But there is an example that Jesus gives us in these verses that if we call ourselves Christians - Christ followers - that we must do as well. We must do the work. 

2. Why do we work? - Genesis 2:15

Why do we work though? Work for the Lord is something that he gives us to do, all the way back to Adam! Look in Genesis 2:15. It reads “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” This is an interesting thing to me because it shows us that when we work for the Lord, it is something that is pleasurable and reminds us of the riches we are building up in Heaven. One commentary of Genesis states that the work that is being done here teaches the dignity of work in the original creation. It should be noted that the fall of mankind was not due to the work being done in the garden, but rather the temptation of sin itself. The work was good for Adam: no thorns, no weeds, no troubles. Additionally, when we are doing work for the Lord, just as Adam was, makes us an active participant in the actual work of the Kingdom. The work that Adam was given was not just to give him something to do, it was to ensure that he was doing the work of the Lord. 

This reminds me of something I read in Randy Alcorn’s book titled “Heaven”. If you haven’t read this book, I highly urge you to get a copy of it soon because it will completely change your viewpoint not only of what is coming when we arrive in Heaven, but how you will live your life here on Earth. He uses scripture to back up what he is saying in his book, and in particular to this lesson today, he writes about what work will be like in Heaven, actually using the verse we just quoted as his basis. Alcorn reminds us that work became mundane and toilsome because of the curse of sin. But in Heaven, because the curse will be lifted from us because of Jesus Christ, our work in Heaven will be joyful and fulfilling, giving glory to God. But we have the opportunity to do a little of that here on Earth as well. Let’s look at one other reason why we should work. 

3. What other reason do we work? - Colossians 3:23-24 

Look at Colossians 3:23-24. It reads “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” This is somewhat echoed in 1 Corinthians 10:31, which says “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” These two verses remind us that when we work, we are to do it for the glory of God first, and to be reminded that we are serving a higher power and a higher calling. Did you ever stop to think that the work that you do is ordained by God? We just saw in the book of Genesis that God intended work to be pleasurable, but because of sin it is toilsome. But I feel that God gives us jobs to do that are particularly based upon the skills and gifts that we have in the Holy Spirit. Colossians 4:17 says “see to it hat you complete the work you have received in the Lord.” What kind of work have you seen to that you know has come from the Lord? 

Now I know that some of you might be thinking, well, that’s easy for you to do Matt, you’re a preacher! Well, as you well know, I’ve not always been in the pulpit. I was ordained back in 2011, and I worked in the regular business world most of that time. Now, to me, this is what God had ordained me to do at that time. It was to work towards getting better in my faith, to continue to hone my skills as a speaker, but also to take the time to understand and work with people who were not similar to me. I feel that God put me in that particular place because it was helping me to do the work that HE had given to me. I was completing the work that God had given to me at that time, and I know that in whatever work that you are doing right now, you have to look at it in the same light. 

When we do the work that God gives us, no matter where we are in our lives, we will be greeted by Jesus just as he greeted the churches that he wrote to in Revelation. In chapter 2 and verse 2 of that book of the Bible, Jesus wrote to the church in Ephesus that “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance”. Jesus knows our work, and he knows the tasks that have been set before us. But be reminded of another example that Jesus gives to us about work and why we should glorify God through it. In John 17:4, Jesus said “I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do.” When we follow the example of Christ, we will want to do what God tells us to do. This leads us to something perhaps most important for us to know today if we follow Jesus’ footsteps. 

4. We work because Christ is still working - John 5:17

One last thing that we know about work and how we must follow in those footsteps is that he himself is still working for us today. Look at John 5:17. It says “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” He said this to the Jews that were persecuting him, but I feel that Jesus said this to remind us that even though he said this during his earthly ministry, he also meant it as instruction for us today. Jesus’ words always give weight to today’s society and to today’s troubles. This is why we quote the Bible still to this day and find its relevance in today’s society. But Jesus is still working, as is God!

Did you ever stop to think that God is a worker himself? It’s not like he worked for those six days and just kicked back and said “Well, I’m done!” Retirement time for me! No! He still works today! This has been an argument of theologians and scholars for centuries: is God still working today, or is he the eternal clockmaker, setting things into motion and observing them? I think that it is the former, easily, and it comes from our stories in the Old Testament, like when he speaks to Moses in the burning bush, or when he speaks to the prophets. But it comes from the New Testament, very clearly shown when Jesus Christ walked this earth, healing the sick, healing the sinner, and ultimately dying for you and me, but rising from the grave to give us grace everlasting. God’s work comes in showing Saul a great light that changed his life, making the great killer of Christians into one of them himself, making him into Paul. And it shows even today. How many times have you prayed for God’s will to be shown to you, and you follow that path and it happens? Does this sound like something that is from a God that is sitting back watching everything but is not involved? Absolutely not! Our God is a worker! And our Christ is a worker, being our intercessor to the Lord Most High. Being the High Priest. Being the Life Everlasting! And if we are God’s image-bearers, for we are made in his image, are we not to do the work like our Jesus did here on the Earth? Absolutely we are! Will it be hard? Absolutely! It’s part of the curse, but when we do the work that God has given to us, we will find ease, comfort, and most importantly, that Heavenly JOY that we can experience here on Earth. 

Look at what Jesus did here on earth. He was not static. Did you ever look at the maps in the back of your Bible? I always did when I was a kid, even when I was supposed to be paying attention to Dad. One of the ones that fascinated me the most was all the walking that Jesus did throughout the Holy Land. Doing a quick Google search, some of the conservative estimates of Jesus’ ministry has him walking around 3125 miles. Others have said that over his lifetime, he likely walked over 21000 miles total. This, of course, is just speculation, but we have a rough idea that it was a LOT. Now, I say all that to say this: Jesus did not stay in one place. He did not establish a brick and mortar church. Before his earthly ministry, he worked with his earthly father, Joseph, in the carpentry shop. This would have certainly had him at least going to the marketplace to buy supplies and then in turn sell the things that he and his father had made together. But when he started his earthly ministry, he would go to the seaside to talk with fishermen, making them fishers of men. He would go into temples to teach. He would enter homes and teach. He would encounter people in sycamore trees and have them turn away from their sins and repay the ones they had stolen from four times as much. And even after his resurrection, Jesus still did work. He appeared to his disciples, he reconnected Peter from the disappointment that he had done when denying his Lord three times, and he, as the book of John says, did so many things that it would take several books to account for all that Jesus did. 

5. Conclusion

Jesus did work for a purpose, and it was this: to glorify God. And that is our call for work today too. We can know that our work here on earth builds up treasures in Heaven. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 6:19-21, which says “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We can know that our work will always be worth it when we do it for the Lord. And when we do work as the Church, not just in a church building, we will see that joyfulness come. It’s part of what we’ve been talking about over the last few weeks, not only about what the church is, but with revival. It’s about making an impact for the Kingdom of God, not just here in Suches, but around the world.

When I lived in Sandy Springs, I was exposed to people just in my high school from 52 different countries. In a recent survey of Fannin County for the tourism board, they stated that something to the effect of 30ish different nationalities were encountered coming to Blue Ridge during the last year. I can tell you that the same could be said for Union County, probably more! And this is not to take into account when we ourselves travel. You never know when you go and talk to someone about Jesus where that message may go. 

I will finish with this. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon said this once: I realized that God could save the world without me, but when he told me that I could help him I praised him for the honor and the privilege. We have a great honor and privilege to work in the kingdom. I will say this to you, not as a pressure, but as a question to you: how will you work in the kingdom this week, this month, or even over the next year? In the next few weeks, there will be positions open on different committees in our church. This is not a ‘you had better do it or else’ kind of plea. It’s an open and  honest one: I hope that you will pray that God will reveal to you what kind of work you need to be doing in your life for God’s kingdom. If that happens to be something here at the church, that is fantastic. But if God places something on your heart and that is in His will for you to do that is outside the church, we will be in prayer and will be celebrating with you as well! God will give us the opportunities. We do not go into the world to be served, but we serve it. And the harvest is great, and we can be workers to take it in. Let’s pray. 

We Don’t Go to Church, We ARE the Church Ephesians 2:19-22

 We Don’t Go to Church, We ARE the Church 

Ephesians 2:19-22

 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

1. Introduction

There's a wonderful story about a Chicago bank that once asked for a letter of recommendation on a young Bostonian being considered for employment. The Boston investment house could not say enough about the young man. His father, they wrote, was a Cabot; his mother was a Lowell. Further back was a happy blend of Saltonstalls, Peabodys, and others of Boston's finest families. His recommendation was given without hesitation.

Several days later, the Chicago bank sent a note saying the information supplied was altogether inadequate. It read: "We are not contemplating using the young man for breeding purposes. Just for work." Neither is God a respecter of persons but accepts those from every family, nation, and race who fear him and work for his Kingdom. 

We just finished up a series about revival in our lives. How are you feeling about that? Because I know that I am excited to see what’s been going on in my life. I feel so much closer to the Lord than I have in a while, and I feel like there’s great things about to happen. But we turn our attention to something today that I think should be a byproduct of seeing revival in our lives: we should want to work in the church. Now, this is not a ‘let’s browbeat everyone into a job’ type of sermon. In my experience, it’s never an effective way of getting people to want to work in the church! In fact, it usually has the opposite effect! No, today, I want you to leave thinking about how God wants you to work in the KINGDOM.

I titled today’s sermon we don’t go to church, we ARE the church. But why is that? Let’s look at the scripture today in a deeper way.

II. New Citizenship - v19

The first verse of this passage of scripture talks to us about not being foreigners or strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people, and members of his household. My uncle is Cuban. He escaped from Cuba a long time ago, and when he came to the United States, he was very often viewed in a poor light because of how the Cuban government was and still is. He was often viewed as a threat to the people around him. But, today he is a United States citizen, having become a citizen through one of the most difficult ways to do so, which was to serve in the United States National Guard, specifically in the Air Force. He could tell you what it is like to have a new citizenship in a place that gives you so much more opportunity than where he grew up. He could tell you how much he loves his fellow citizens, but most of all, he could tell you about the freedom he has to worship and to love God freely in this country.

When we look at this first verse, we have to understand that God wanted us to be his people. He wants us to take up citizenship in his land. As one author put it, strangers tells of isolation and anonymity, and foreigners are those in a country where they have no standing, rights, or protection. When we are not Christians, this is exactly what we are! We are in sin, we have no rights, no standing in God’s kingdom, and most importantly, we have no protection against suffering the death that we deserve.

In another sense, too, Paul was using the Roman citizenship in a way to emphasize how we have a greater responsibility when we are taken into God’s family. Just as we mentioned, those who are not of a country don’t enjoy the same benefits as citizens do. This was especially true of Roman citizenship. Do you remember that there were two times where Paul was either thrown in jail or about to be beaten by the Roman officials, and he reminded them that he was a Roman citizen? Paul knew of the great good that could be had from being a citizen of a great empire like Rome’s. He knew that the heavenly citizenship was greater than this, though. And he knew that the citizenship in Heaven was worth more than any citizenship here on earth. 

III. New Cornerstone v20

Let us move to the next verse here. We see that Paul writes that the foundation of the saints is that of the apostles and the prophets, but that Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Now, you might be wondering, weren’t we just talking about citizenship and how the church specifically ISN”T a building? I mean, how can you just say that we are the church but yet talk about a building instead? Well, obviously Paul was using a metaphor here, talking in a way much like how we are the body of Christ. I remember that someone asked one time which finger they were for the hand of Christ if they are part of the body of Christ. Of course, that is an old joke, but it is a reminder that we are part of something bigger than ourselves in our faith. But how does this apply to what we are talking about?

We can know that the foundation of our faith comes from God, first and foremost. But it was the job of the apostles and of the prophets to be the mouthpiece and the scribes of God’s word to people here on Earth. But we have to note that without a cornerstone, there can be no true foundation. Why is that? A cornerstone is the first stone to be set in the construction of a building. All the other stones, walls, and everything else in the building is set in reference to this stone, determining the position of the entire structure.

Think about this, look at John 1:1-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” In the beginning was the Word. He was with God in the beginning, and through him all things were made. Does this sound like something that might have been set before all other things, and then every other thing was set from it? Jesus Christ truly is the cornerstone to everything in our lives!

IV. New Building v21

But there is more to this building than just the cornerstone. I mean, three walls and a roof don’t make a house, right? Paul points out that it’s necessary for the ‘building’ of God’s household to fit together. It’s an interesting picture that Paul shows here: the pieces of God’s house don’t fit together naturally. Rather, God fits them together to create the church itself. He makes us into one church, one structure, one people of God. To be able to do that, sometimes God adds to us. We know this because we all are uniquely gifted things from the Holy Spirit. But also, it comes from removing material, too. It’s removing the spiritual baggage in our lives. It comes from removing sinfulness from us. It comes from removing hatred and regret. He does this so that we can be part of the church complete! We become the congregation.

But what is a congregation? Some of the synonyms are an ingathering, a mob, a rally, or an assembly. Most importantly, though, a congregation is the act of bringing together. We bring ourselves into the body of Christ, and build a new Temple for him through all of us. We come together to live as pure of a life together as a congregation body that is pleasing to the Lord, not only in our worship of him, but in our actual lives, too! We have to be united as a body to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

V. New Church v22

We then turn to the final verse of this passage. We are being built together through Jesus to become the dwelling in which God lives by His spirit. In short, the new church, the actual church, not just a building of mortar and brick, is all of us. All of this happens through the Spirit. It is through the spirit that we worship. Jesus reminds us in John 4:24 that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” We live by the spirit, as we see in Galatians 5:25, which says “if we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.” We are led by the spirit and we walk by the spirit, which Paul wrote in Galatians 5:16-18, writing “walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.” When we walk in the spirit and live by it, taught by it, and follow it, we are able to be apart of the entire building of God. Just as salvation is something owed purely to the grace of God, success in the Christian life is owed entirely to the power of God through the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that we can understand that we are truly the Church rather than just a simple building being the church. 

Through this passage, Paul once again highlights the reality of Christian unity God is the emphasis of the church, and that church, which is truly God’s people, is made up of all the individual parts which work together to worship Him. Regardless of our background, and regardless of our past sins, God can forgive and make us part of his family and make us part of his Kingdom. He creates a new family among believers, joining us together both in this life and in eternity.

VI. Conclusion

We are all uniquely created and are a part of the Church itself. I was reading an interesting story this week about a Presbyterian minister named Howard Hendricks who was ministering at the 4th Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. He was giving a message at a Thursday morning father-son breakfast one week. There were lots of military, various government workers, and just a bunch of others from all over the Washington D.C. area. After finishing speaking, he looked over the crowd milling about, and noticed some people picking up chairs and stacking them. He saw others picking up the rest of the leftovers. But one particular person caught his eye: it was longtime Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield. Hatfield was the longest-serving Senator in Oregon history, a major Senator over many many years. What was he doing there? Was he there to press the flesh? Was he there to make some sort of impression for the press? No. He was there stacking chairs, picking up trash, and just generally being the kind of Christian that wanted to do whatever it took to work for the Kingdom right then and there. Mark Hatfield, in that moment, was not the great Senator from Oregon, he was a worker in the kingdom of God. As Hendricks put it himself, “if you are impressed that, really, you are the greatest thing that ever happened to your local church, you do not serve. You live to be served.”

That’s the greatest part of this that I hope you will take away today: when we say that we are the church, we have the opportunity to show that to others in our world. Christ is our cornerstone, the stone in which everything that we have had or ever will be will be set upon. And we will have the ability to serve others. Next week, we’ll finish up this little couplet with a call to work. But today, I hope that you will take heed that we are the church, and we are here to come together and work as one body. Let’s pray.