Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

How would you describe KUMC to someone?

Answers....

Church of people that are quick to share God’s love

family

warm, inviting, inclusive, non-judgmental

welcoming and relevant

Home.

hip.

humorous.

community

missional

a place to raise a family

full of the Holy Spirit

Family and a home

safe

Beautiful answers.

So diverse in response though.

Too often we define our church based on some ministry or mission project or a slice of the pie.

We are a big church and it would be impossible for all of us to know everyone intimately or for all of us to participate or champion everything that happens here.

And so we become members of smaller parts of KUMC.

Listen not all of this is wrong, we know that as a large church we have certain benefits and resources that will help us to work in ministry while maintaining the importance of pushing you into smaller worship communities, small groups, Sunday schools, and participating in certain missions.

We even make decisions and base ministry sometimes with only a slice of the pie in mind.

On the surface and mostly this is all ok and a good thing, however, the slippery slope becomes that we drift further away from each other.

We forget the rest of the pie.

We never fully grasp what the big umbrella is.

What I mean is we have lost language and understanding for what makes KUMC a church.

What is our collective calling?

Our mission at KUMC is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

The question

Let me be so bold to say that nearly none of us grasp the big umbrella and in the next several weeks we want to prayerfully put language to what Unites us at KUMC.

What makes us Kingwood United?!

So in the coming weeks we will discuss both what we see God already doing in this community and discussing where we believe God might be leading us.

house of prayer

fellowship community

community on mission

Wesleyan heritage

a covenant community together

deep discipleship

But today to introduce it we begin with the most basic questions.

What is a church?

And how should we understand this calling in Kingwood?

Ekklesia

The greek word that is mostly translated to church in the new testament is ekklesia.

Think of Jesus speaking to Peter in that conversation of, who do people say that I am? Upon the correct answer Jesus tells disciples and specifically Peter, it is upon you that I will build my church.

So what is the biblical understanding of church?

OT perspective: Now the way we look back into the old testament and see when a similar understanding comes through is by something called the septuagint.

The septuagint is the greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

So where the greek word ekklesia shows up in the septuagint would show us where in the Hebrew bible a similar idea would be present.

Now, in the OT the idea of church is refers to many different things:

the gathered people to receive the law in

or the assembled people of God used several times of Deuteronomy…literally referring to “the assembly of the Lord”

Or even God’s people called together for battle in

Or gathered to receive God’s message from King David

The new testament has a diversity of usages as well:

People of God, especially when they are gathered together

2. Group of Christians living in one place.... as in the “church at Ephesus”

3. Or house assemblies of Christians, like in Acts where people were meeting in homes under the care of disciples named Priscilla and Aquilla.

So what is common in all of these, because they are so basic?

Well I think two things that will help us consider the ekklesia of Kingwood United:

Identity and Mission

Identity: The church’s identity is primarily and wholly based on the truth that we are called by God

First, the identity was primarily and wholly based on this truth…that they were called by God.

the root word for ekklesia, is Kaleo…yeah you are getting your greek in.

It means Called.

Ekklesia quite literally means the ones assembled that were called by God.

the identity of these groups had nothing to do with what the people looked like, where they met, who their specific leader was, where they had rock and roll worship band or choral and incense, identity was not based on how nice they were (though they should be), or how great their missions was or childcare and children’s ministries....the identity began with those people are called by God.

Individually and collectively they are a community that has seen God and is responding to God.

This means that Kingwood United is not a support group, though we provide support.

Not a social club, though you will undoubtedly make friends here, it is not a non-profit, a political club…we boldly and confidently stake our claim on this truth....we are an assembly that has been called by God.

Nothing else has the power of transforming the world because God is not a part of it.

Purpose: The church is built and shaped by a shared purpose

the other thing we get from the biblical understanding of ekklesia is that they shared a purpose, God’s purpose.

The only time in the gospels that Jesus speaks and this word ekklesia shows up is in Matthew.

When Jesus tells the 12 and Peter that it is upon them that he will build his church he is declaring the calling to “become a light to the nations, that God’s salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

()

In a few weeks we will talk about what it means to be on mission, but for now we are united in our purpose.

Kingwood United means that we are a people called by God with one thing on our mind.... being a light to the nations, bringing God’s salvation to the end of the earth.

If we at KUMC stop asking, How are we doing this....how are bringing God salvation....then we become salt that is not salty, useless.

We stop being ekklesia.

And when we allow our purposes in our missions or our small groups or our agendas for what church is supposed to mean to operate outside of this shared purpose then we are simply a pile of bricks

Consider the illustration of a pile of bricks

Unity as one

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which we read this morning, Paul gives the basis for this unity of identity and purpose.

And it is worth exploring:

Let me read it again:

He says one seven times, to even a cursory reading one can tell he is trying to make a point.

First there is one body:

There is one body because there is one spirit.

We are one body…all of those in Christ, even bigger than KUMC, we all are one body, a temple of the Holy Spirit building us all together.

This means:

Jew and Gentile

White, black, all ethnicities and races

slave and free

white collar, blue collar, no collar,

Baptist, Methodist, Catholic....whether we agree on that or not

Texans fans and cowboys fans....

We are all one.

This is important because how could we imagine to all be one if God’s assembled people at KUMC cannot be united.

There is one body

Second there is one hope: