1 Corinthians 12:12-31
A Sunday school teacher asked the children just before she dismissed them to go to church, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" Annie replied, "Because people are sleeping."
A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?"
Church humor …
But while we might joke about it, we also read the newspapers …
Pedophile priests and the bishops who covered their tracks.
Scam artists filching the faithful, fleecing the flock.
“Jesus Camp” and the “Creation Museum” in Kentucky.
Jonestown, 1978, and barrels of red Kool-Aid.
A friend said to me recently, “The church can hurt people.”
A man raised in the Pentecostal tradition remembers hiding under the pew, so afraid was he of God.
Every time communion was served, a young boy took the juice, but didn’t swallow it, fearing the damnation of his soul, and when church was over, he’d run outside and spit it out.
As for me, I know just about everything wrong with the church.
I’ll hear complaints about Christians and say, “Do you think I don’t know that?”
I’ve been a pastor for 40 years …
I’ve seen the church at its worst, and there have been times when I could’ve walked away from the church and never looked back … let’s be clear: there’s nothing meaner than mean bunch of Christians … I’ve seen churches rip their pastors to shreds, and I’ve seen pastors fail miserably to preach the gospel.
I’ve seen churches that were nothing more than country clubs with pulpits that weren’t worth the name.
I’ve seen churches stuck in the past like a ship stuck in a mud-bank, so in love with themselves they couldn’t love anyone else.
I’ve seen churches who didn’t know Jesus and didn’t want to know him.
I’ve seen just about all of it.
But I also know everything that’s right …
I have seen the church work beautifully, wondrously, powerfully.
Mission and mercy.
Love and courage.
Forgiveness and vision.
I’ve seen the church make a stand for justice.
Sunday School teachers and choir directors doing amazing things for the glory of God.
Deacons going the extra mile.
Elders tackling the big questions.
Millions of faithful people all around the world, and God’s people right here, right now, Covenant on the Corner … singing and praying and loving God, keeping the stories alive … great stories that make great souls.
Do we need the church?
Of course we do.
It’s hardwired into our DNA
To seek divinity.
Create community.
Become spiritual leaders,
Write documents, sacred scriptures, creeds and sermons.
Sing and pray.
Do good and love one another.
It’s in our DNA …
To be religious …
Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims … all around the world – the same patterns of faith … hardwired into our DNA.
Even if we believe nothing about God … never pray and read only biographies, we still seek out one another … book clubs and jogging clubs, investment clubs and clean-the-beach clubs, Common Cause and the ACLU, the Democratic Party and the GOP.
If there weren’t a god, we’d invent one.
If there weren’t a church, we’d make one.
Do we need the church?
Of course we do - to fulfill an essential part of our humanity.
To be great souls on the face of the earth.
And to be a great soul, we need great stuff within us.
Great stories to fire our imagination.
The stories of our faith:
Creation and redemption,
Hope and peace,
Sin and forgiveness,
Time and eternity,
Heaven and hell,
Death and resurrection.
We need the patterns of our faith: Advent and Christmas, Epiphany and Pentecost, Lent and Easter.
We need the hymns of our faith:
“Joy to the World” and “Trust and Obey.”
We need the creeds and the prayers.
We need the waters of baptism and the bread and drink of the LORD's Table.
We need to anchor our week with worship!
Hats off to churches that offer worship on Wednesday night, or a Thursday morning … there’s more to this business than Sunday mornings, yet I say to you clearly and with conviction, if you can be here, be here.
If not here in the morning, go to the dogs.
And if you work on most Sunday, be here when you can.
Anchor your life with worship!
And you will find greatness slipping into your heart!
Can we do this God thing all alone?
Not very well.
Can we play soccer alone?
Not very well.
There is strength in numbers.
Pure, plain and simple.
The chemistry of the company.
It’s always better when someone else is there!
We’re like corn.
No, I didn’t say corny, though we corny sometimes.
But like a stalk of corn …
If you’ve ever uprooted a stalk of corn, it’s a shallow root system, not very deep, and not much larger than a plate… plant one stalk of corn, and it’ll blow over in the first wind.
But plant 500 acres of corn, and let the winds come.
Each stalk shelters and supports the other.
I’ve watched people go through enormous hardships, and when the storms subside, they all say the same thing: “I don’t know how I could have done it without the church, without God, and without my friends.”
It’s a package deal.
Like a software bundle.
Church, God, and friends.
We need the church.
And we need to be sure the church is the best it can be.
The best in faith, hope and love.
The best in kindness and mercy.
The best in forgiveness and peace.
The church doesn’t need to be big.
The church doesn’t need the latest in media tools.
Give me 10 people who love God passionately, and we have a church, a real church on our hands.
Give me 10 people who study the Bible and want to make this a better world, and we have a church, a real church on our hands.
Give me Covenant on the Corner – to sing the songs of faith, and lift up the name of Jesus … and we have a church, a real church on our hands, because God is here, Christ is present, the Spirit abounds.
Do we need the church?
Of course we do.
And so does the world.
What we do here this morning isn’t just for us.
It’s for the world, too.
The world needs us to be the church.
The best we can be.
To fill our lives with greatness … the greatness of God’s love.
So that we have an inner light.
A light that can shine.
Jesus said it well:
Let your light shine before others,
That they may see your good works
And give glory to your Father in heaven.
We do this for the world.
For the children.
And we have to be great in soul.
Great in peace and great in service.
Do we need the church?
Of course we do!
And let’s make the best it can be.
Are you with me on this?
I know that you are!
Amen and Amen!
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