ESSENTIALS PART 3: OUR ROLE AS THE CHURCH
Here is a recap of Sunday’s message from Pastor Steve, “Essentials, Our Role as the Church”
We opened with prayer and a sobering hook, we live in the most connected society in human history, yet many people feel more isolated than ever. Pastor pointed out the tension, the average American can spend most of the day “connected” through texts, calls, emails, DMs, and social media, and still be deeply alone. That led us into the uncomfortable question we had to wrestle with, can you be obedient to Christ while being disconnected from His people? Pastor’s answer from Scripture was clear, the Bible never describes a believer who belongs to Jesus but not to His church.
This week in the “Essentials” series, Pastor framed the first three weeks, Week 1, prayer and meditating on God’s Word, Week 2, boldness and standing on conviction, Week 3, our role as the church. He acknowledged the reality that church is one of the most debated and painful topics in modern American Christianity. Many have been hurt in church, and Pastor did not pretend that church experiences are always clean and easy. He shared honestly that some of the deepest pain in his life has been connected to God’s house, yet even more, the greatest blessings in his life have been deeply connected to the church. That tension matters, because it is exactly where many people get deceived into drifting away.
Pastor drew a line with clarity, going to church does not save you, but as a Christian, refusing to connect to a local church is explicit disobedience to the Word of God. This message was not aimed at shaming people who are already attending, but at strengthening the church against the enemy’s strategy of gradual isolation. Being here today does not automatically mean you will still be connected tomorrow, and the enemy knows that.
From there, Pastor focused on three questions, what is the church, who is the church, and what is the purpose of the church. Starting in Matthew 16, Jesus introduced the church as the ekklesia, an assembly of people gathered. The church is not built on a personality, a platform, or a human institution, it is built on the confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Pastor clarified two big truths, the Christian life is never a solo act, and the church is built on Christ alone, not Peter, not pastors, not online influencers, and not the pope. Scripture then reinforced that Jesus is the head, the church is His body, and the body is made of many parts that need each other.
Pastor then defined who the church is by distinguishing between the local church and the global church. The global church, the body of Christ, includes all who have been saved by repentance and faith in Jesus across cultures, generations, and nations. It cannot gather all at once, and it is the bride Jesus is returning for. The local church is a gathered community of believers who meet regularly to worship, be equipped, practice spiritual gifts, grow, be counseled, serve, give, take communion, hold one another accountable, evangelize, and live as a spiritual family. Pastor highlighted the obvious implication, many of these commands cannot be faithfully practiced alone, isolation is one of Satan’s most effective strategies because a disconnected believer becomes shallow, unaccountable, and vulnerable.
The message then turned to the purpose of the local church. Pastor reminded us that Jesus established the church, promised to build it, promised His presence where believers gather, commissioned disciple making, confronted Paul for persecuting the church, birthed the church through the outpouring of the Spirit, and addressed local churches directly in Revelation. The blueprint from day one was community, Acts 2 showed a devoted, united, Spirit filled people who gathered, learned, prayed, ate together, shared resources, worshiped daily, and saw salvation added consistently. Pastor contrasted this with modern American individualism, podcasts and online content can supplement faith, but they cannot replace pastors, spiritual family, accountability, or embodied obedience. An online pastor is not your pastor, and internet influencers are not your brothers and sisters.
Before closing, Pastor addressed common objections that keep people from belonging to a local church. He answered the claims with both truth and honesty, you are part of the body, you are not the whole church, hypocrisy exists everywhere and the church is for broken people, busyness reveals priorities, God is a God of order not chaos, and deep hurt is real, but healing often requires being set back into the body. Pastor shared personal pain and traumatic experiences to validate those who have been wounded, then gave a powerful picture, a broken bone cannot heal properly unless it is set back in place, and in the same way, many believers cannot heal outside the body of Christ.
The service ended with invitation, first a call to salvation, then a call for activation, to be the church and build the church. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, and Jesus is calling His people out of isolation and into obedience, community, mission, and spiritual family.
Practical takeaways:
• You can be socially connected and spiritually isolated, obedience requires connection to Christ’s people.
• The church is not a building, but it is also not just “me and Jesus”, it is an assembly, a body, a family.
• Jesus is the head, we are the body, every part matters, and disconnected parts wither.
• The global church is the whole redeemed body, the local church is where we gather to live out New Testament obedience.
• Most commands of the New Testament assume you belong to a local church, worship, communion, teaching, gifts, counsel, accountability, encouragement, mission.
• Isolation is one of Satan’s primary strategies, but embodied community is God’s primary design.
• Church hurt is real, but healing often requires being set back into the body, not running from it.
• Going to church does not save you, but refusing the local church is serious disobedience for a believer.
Images that stuck:
• A society flooded with connection, yet drowning in isolation.
• A log removed from the fire that slowly goes out, while logs together burn hotter.
• The church as a body, different parts, same Spirit, shared suffering, shared honor.
• The early church gathering daily, not consuming content, but living as spiritual family.
• A broken bone being set back into the body so healing can actually happen.
Below are the verses that were read during the message.
Matthew 16:13–18 (NLT)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Ephesians 1:22–23 (NLT)
God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
Colossians 1:18 (NLT)
Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.
1 Corinthians 12:12–16 (NLT)
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body?
1 Corinthians 12:25–27 (NLT)
This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 (NLT)
We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
Acts 2:42–47 (NLT)
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity, all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Ephesians 2:19–22 (NLT)
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
A closing encouragement from the service, if you belong to Jesus, you belong to His people. The enemy loves to isolate because isolated faith becomes fragile, but the Spirit forms family, builds community, and produces endurance. Church is not a consumer choice, it is covenant family. Jesus is building His church, and He calls every believer not just to attend, but to belong, to serve, to grow, to be known, and to help build a house where others can meet the living God.