ALL THE CHURCH HAS IS JESUS

Sermon Notes, February 1, 2015

Rev. Dan White

            Pastor Dan’s sermon was titled “All the Church Has Is Jesus.”  His text was Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore 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.”

            He told us a story about a church in the downtown area of a big city, with a big beautiful building, complete with a huge marble statue of Jesus in the foyer, standing with His arms outstretched as though calling people to come to Him.  The congregation had been made up of wealthy and important people, but it was diminishing.  It seemed like the church was dying.  One day there was a terrible fire, and as the floor of the foyer collapsed, the statue of Jesus crashed down into the basement.  The entire building was destroyed.   When the debris was cleaned up, they found that the statue had survived, and they brought it up to the street with a crane so they could clean it up.  As it sat there a passer-by said, “Looks like all the church has left is Jesus.”

            Healthy churches are built around Jesus.  According to a survey by Lifeway, healthy churches have a  high view of scripture.  They encourage prayer and scripture reading.  They have a healthy faith, helping not only their own but churches around the world.  They know the importance of sharing the good news of Christ.  They carry out the plans God has for the church.  If Jesus is in charge, the church will grow.  As the passer-by said of the rescued statue in the story above, “Looks like all the church has left is Jesus.”  Jesus is all we need.