Sermons About Church

sermon 1 Corinthians 11:17-22

“Instruction for His church”

mpt-The church ought to be the beautiful image of its head, Jesus Christ. This
takes instruction, correction, and bold leadership.
Today we will be talking about the local church in Corinth and what we as a fellow
new testament church can learn from her and from what the Word of God has to
say about the local church.

What do you think about when you think about the local church?
● Think about her in the best light
● Think about her in the worst light
● Think about what your friends and family has said about her
● Think about what media and culture says about her
● Think about the people in the church, the individual members that make it
up
● Think about your own church
● Think about her in her fullest potential fulfilling her mission
● Think about her in her worst potential future
Everyone’s experience and understanding of ecclesiology is going to be
somewhat different. As we prepare to look at the local church lets start with a
few scriptures that describe her.
church=
● Acts 20:26-28
○ Whole counsel
○ Local flock
○ Obtained with His own blood
● Ephesians 2:12-22
● Matthew 16:15-19
With primer lets look at the Corinthian Church
Corinthians (50 miles west of athens in greece)

● Divisions
● Some in the church are not His
● Drunkenness
● Suing one another
● Sleeping with step parents
● Making factions about men when it should be about christ
● Spiritual grand standing
● Denigrated their pastor, Paul
In our text today Paul is writing to this church, we know its not a good letter
based on the way he starts it and ends it.
● 18- First place 🙂
○ First of all, with no other 2nd or 3rds but just going off
○ He then ends it with in 22 what!
○ Rhetorical questions for me in verse 22
○ Answering his own question

What
● 17 Instructions
○ There is an order to God’s church
■ Much like there is an order to everything
■ 1 timothy 3:15-16
○ We need to know what God wants in His church
○ There is no excuse on the part of church leadership and members of
God’s flock

● 17 Coming together is not for the better but worse
○ There is a coming together
○ The gathered body ought to be for the better
■ Greater works john 14:12
■ Holy spirit john 14:22-23
■ Full body not isolated parts
■ One anothers
○ Reality that church health is a real thing
■ A toxic church
■ A healthy church

■ Churches of revelation

● 18 Together as a church
○ A church is largely defined by its coming together with a specific
group of people
○ Ie, we need to be coming together
● 18 Divisions
○ Christ is not divided, therefore His church should not be divided
■ List of possible divisions
■ Race
■ Ethnicity
■ Ses
■ age

● 19 Some in the church are not His
○ We must be aware and not naive or ignorant about this
○ Matthew 13:24-30
○ It will help us with potential church hurt
○ Church membership
● 20 Not the Lords supper
○ This is an ordinance of the church
○ 1 corinthians 11:23-26
○ Just because it looks like ministry, does not mean it is
○ May look like a church and not be a church
○ May look like a baptism
○ May look like a wedding
○ May look like service
○ May look like love
● 21-22c Selfishness, drunkenness, lack of compassion for less fortunate
○ Not a fruit of the spirit
○ Not a christian trait
○ Aint no Jesus in none of that!
○ Think about the motives behind those actions
● 22 Church of God
○ There is a sacredness, a distinction between home and church of
God
○ Talk about the formalness of the sanctuary as a youth
○ The church is not a building, but it is a place where the saints of God
gather and God is glorified

● 22 Disappointed in them

Now what-lets take church and church membership seriously
● Examine ourselves
○ Am i helping, hurting, or being complacent in Jesus’ church
○ Am I serving, am i giving
■ Financially
■ Relationally
■ Time
○ Is Jesus’ mission of bringing about the kingdom being enhanced
because I am a part of Transformation Church
■ That question hits the elders of the church the hardest
○ Am I even a member?
○ Earlier we read that Jesus obtained the church with His own blood,
family let us approach it as thus.
○ Lets pray

17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,[a] 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.