Sunday's Message: Being the Church in a Challenging World (The Church Grows)

The First Letter of Peter was written to a church which was confronting certain challenges that it neither chose nor wanted. You see, they were living within a society that didn't share their focus and faith; therefore, they were facing the temptation to compromise what they believed, a situation that seems very similar to what we face as we try to be the church of Jesus Christ within a society that doesn't understand our fundamental values and motivation. And that's the reason we'll look at what Peter had to say about how Christians might be the church in a challenging world. 

• The Church Praises (1 Peter 1:3-9) - April 16
• The Church Remembers (1 Peter 1:17-23) - April 23
• The Church Grows (1 Peter 2:2-10) - April 30
• The Church Resists (1 Peter 2:11-17) - May 7
• The Church Follows (1 Peter 2:19-25) - May 14
• The Church Endures (1 Peter 4:12-14: 5:6-11) - May 21

During the third message in this series, we used 1 Peter 2:2-10 to consider how, when faced with a challenging world, the church grows. Below is a copy and recording of the sermon. Next Sunday morning, you can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.

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As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that something unexpected seems to be happening to me. You see, for reasons I can’t even grasp, my interest in sports has kind of decreased and become more focused. Now let me be clear, I’m talking about watching, not playing. I was never an athlete. I remember, back when I played basketball, the coach said that I was short, but I made up for it by being slow. And I’ve got to tell you, that really hurt, especially since my coach was also my father. Of course, I’m kidding. He never said that, but he didn’t have to; I already knew it. No, once I closed the book on high school, my interest in playing sort of tanked. But that wasn’t true of watching; that I still loved. In fact, I used to say that I’d watch anything that involved a ball or a puck or a lot of senseless violence. My goodness, I can remember watching hours of Australian rules football back when ESPN first started and of course, the Wide World of Sports every Saturday afternoon.

But now, well, my enthusiasm has sort of waned and my focus has narrowed. In fact, as it stands now, my interest is pretty much centered on football, and I’m not talking about anything from down under or involving a round ball and a net. No, I still really enjoy good, old American Football, both college and pro, because, for me, it’s a perfect combination of a ball and violence. And so, during the last few days, I was more energized than I’ve been since about the second week of February. You see, we just went through the NFL draft, that one time a year when every professional team takes a hard look within and starts to reshape itself so that it’s better able to meet the challenges of the next season. And I’ll tell you, that’s what they’ve all been doing these last few days, of course, with the exception of the Cleveland Browns. In other words, they’re all looking to grow into a better team, at least, that’s what they all say.

But you know, I think it’s interesting; I’m not sure that’s what the church often does. Let me explain. Do y’all remember how,  a couple of weeks ago, we talked about how the Body of Christ faces certain challenges in our world, you know, how, for some, it involves pervasive immorality or charitable indifference or shrinking relevance? Do y’all remember that? Well, I’ll tell you, even if we’re able to praise God and to remember what he’s done, a couple of topics we’ve already discussed over the last couple of weeks, all things considered, I don’t think we’re all that great in growing into a better church, you know, a stronger team ready to meet the challenges we face. As a matter fact, in a lot of Christian communities, I think more effort and energy seems to be spent pulling in than reaching out. They defend what they’ve got rather than expand what they’ve been given, because if they can just squeeze that fist full of sand tighter... Well, with this attitude, it’s no surprise that their attendance and their involvement and their outreach aren’t the only things that are contracting. At best, their goal seems to be to survive, not to grow.

But, of course, that’s really not the goal the Bible encourages the people of God to claim. I mean, as we confront the very real challenges we face, I think we’re encouraged to grow. And that’s what we’re going to look at this morning. We’re going to use another passage from Peter’s first letter, namely 1 Peter 2:1-10. And we’re going to talk about four ways the church can grow. And for each, we’ll consider what Peter wrote and how we can actually do it. 

But before I say anything else, let me be clear; I don’t think the growth he was talking about involved putting more fannies in the pews or more dollars in the plate. No, his view of growth was a lot broader than that. Let me explain.

For example, for Peter, to face the challenges that lie before it, the church can grow in its determination and I’m talking about its determination to live the kind of life it’s been called to live and to have the kind of relationships it’s been called to have. You see, that’s the first thing the church can do. And I think we can see this kind of resolve reflected in the first few verses of the passage we’re looking at this morning. Peter wrote, 

Stop being hateful! Quit trying to fool people, and start being sincere. Don’t be jealous or say cruel things about others. Be like newborn babies who are thirsty for the pure spiritual milk that will help you grow and be saved. You have already found out how good the Lord really is. [1 Peter 2:1-3, CEV]

You see, this is the kind of determination Peter wanted his people to have.

And I’ll tell you, we can have it too when we decide to stop and to start. I mean, we need to stop being hateful and jealous and to stop trying to fool people and to stop saying cruel things about others and excusing those who do. In other words, we need to stop acting like the kind of people Paul had in mind when he wrote this to the Colossians:

But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits. [Colossians 3:8-9, CEV]

You see, If we want to increase our faithfulness to Christ, man, this is the kind of foolishness we need to stop. While at the same time we can start thirsting for and seeking out what Peter called “the pure spiritual milk,” which is necessary if we ever want to enjoy solid food. And I’ll tell you, I think this was something that the writer to the Hebrews described when he wrote this: 

By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things about what God has said. You need milk instead of solid food. People who live on milk are like babies who don’t really know what is right. Solid food is for mature people who have been trained to know right from wrong. [Hebrews 5:12-14, CEV]

In other words, for our determination to increase, we need to be intentional in taking down all those internal barriers that can inhibit growth and to look for opportunities to strengthen our awareness of just how good the Lord really is. I’m telling you, as we navigate our way through the world, doing what we’ve been called to do, we can grow in our determination. And that’s the first way we can grow. But of course, it’s not the only way.

Because second, the church can also grow in its dedication, and I’m talking about in its willingness to focus on who Jesus Christ was and is and on what we can now be and do. And I think Peter described that kind of dedication when he wrote this in our passage:

Come to Jesus Christ. He is the living stone people have rejected, but which God has chosen and highly honored. And now you are living stones being used to build a spiritual house. You are also a group of holy priests, and with the help of Jesus Christ you will offer sacrifices that please God. It is just as God says in the Scriptures,

“Look! I am placing in Zion

a choice and precious

    cornerstone.

No one who has faith

in this one

    will be disappointed.” [1 Peter 2:4-6, CEV]

You see, the one that we approach and accept, the one who should shape our words and work, man, he’s the one who was rejected by people and yet honored by God. And you know, this was something Jesus also recognized about himself when he said this to the chief priests and leaders:

Jesus replied, “You surely know that the Scriptures say,

‘The stone the builders

    tossed aside

is now the most important

    stone of all.

This is something

the Lord has done,

    and it is amazing to us.’

I tell you God’s kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands. Anyone who stumbles over this stone will be crushed, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces.” [Matthew 21:42-44, CEV]

You see, this is the one on whom we focus and to whom we’re dedicated, the one who did exactly what he said he would do. And as such, we have a good reason to keep coming to him even though it seems like we’re all by ourselves and to keep moving into the future even when we’re really tired and ready to stop and to keep living right now with confidence and hope. Why; because in spite of what the world said and says, Jesus Christ is the foundation of the spiritual house within which we’re all playing a part. I’m telling you, when we find ourselves surrounded by people who tell us that we’re wrong or who just don’t care, we can keep both our faith and our focus by growing in our dedication to the stone that was rejected but honored by God. And that’s the second way we can grow.

And third, in the face of a challenging world, the church can also grow in its understanding and I’m talking about in its awareness of who we are in relationship with Christ and what we can expect from the world. You see, this is another way we can grow, something that I think Peter had in mind when he wrote this:

You are followers of the Lord, and this stone is precious to you. But it isn’t precious to those who refuse to follow him. They are the builders who tossed aside the stone that turned out to be the most important one of all. They disobeyed the message and stumbled and fell over this stone, because they were doomed. [1 Peter 2:7-8, CEV]

Now that’s what he wrote. And for that reason, I think it’s really important to be crystal clear about who it is that we’re following. You see, we’re not following someone who, when he was born, came with great earthly power and secular authority. And we’re not following someone who, during his life, enjoyed enormous popularity because he told the people exactly what they wanted to hear. And we’re not following someone who, right after he died, had all kinds of disciples because he promised that their lives would be easy and successful. That’s not the one we follow. No, the Lord who leads us and who is precious to us, man, he was the one who was rejected. He was rejected because he came as a baby lying in a manger, surrounded by shepherds. And he was rejected because he challenged men and women to question some of the values they’d been told and the priorities they had set. And he was rejected because he commanded a lifestyle that was anything but easy, you know, like this:

Then Jesus said to his disciples:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul? [Matthew 16:24-26, CEV]

This is the one we’ve decided to follow: a humble king who challenged the comfortable values of the world and commanded a life that would probably involve more sacrifice than success. And so why doesn’t the world just flock to the Jesus Christ described in scripture? Well, I think the answer is simple: he was and he is and he will always be the stone that was tossed aside by the builders but that is precious to those who choose to trust and to follow. That’s just the way it is. And for that reason, our ability to stay focused increases as our understanding of who he is and what we can expect deepens. And that’s the third way we can grow.

And finally, fourth, in the face of a challenging world, the church can grow in its unity, in its awareness of who we are and what we’ve been called and equipped to do. And the reason for and focus of this unity is right here at the end of our passage:

But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done. The Scriptures say,

“Once you were nobody.

    Now you are God’s people.

At one time no one

    had mercy on you.

Now God has treated you

    with kindness. [1 Peter 2:9-10, CEV]

Now just pause for a minute and think about what Peter was saying to them and is saying to us. God chose us and made us his special people. By his action, we are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. And for reasons we may never understand, God has brought us out of darkness into his light. These are the wonderful things God has already done, but not for him or for her or for them and not for me or even for you. He’s done it for us. That’s who we are and that’s what brings us together as the Body of Christ and that’s what moves us out into a challenging world with a message to share and to live, and repeating the words of Peter, here it is:

Once you were nobody.

    Now you are God’s people.

At one time no one

    had mercy on you.

Now God has treated you

    with kindness. [1 Peter 2:9-10, CEV]

You see, this is the reason God has brought us together. And I believe that awareness will expand as our sense of unity increases. And that’s another way we can grow. 

Now the NFL draft ended yesterday, and I’ve been reading all these articles about which teams did well and which teams didn’t. Of course, I’ve been around long enough to know that it takes time to determine whether or not a team has actually improved as a result of their picks. And yet, right now, I think they all assume that they’ve grown better. And you know, that should be the same for the church. I mean, it doesn’t matter who’s on the inside, if we’ve made the decision to face our world by circling the wagons, well, we’re probably going to struggle. But I’ll tell you, if we make the intentional decision to grow, and I’m talking about to grow in our determination and dedication and to grow in our understanding and unity, if that’s what we decide to do, I think we’ll move closer to being the people God has called us to be.