What does the Bible say about church?

• Matthew 16:18, on this rock I build my church
• Acts 9:31, the church grows
• Acts 12:15, the church gathers and prays
• Acts 14:27, gentiles welcomed into the church
• 1 Corinthians 1:2, a gathering of those in Christ Jesus
• Ephesians 3:20-21, to God be the glory in the church
• Colossians 1:18, Christ is the head of the church
• Revelation 1:4, grace and peace

Sermon ideas about the church

What does the word church mean? 

Sermons about the church can define the word church: Throughout the New Testament, the church is the assembly of God's people who have been called out by grace from the world and set apart as followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek word ekklesia, which means called out or called from, is the only word for church in the Bible. It is used extensively in the New Testament, beginning in the book of Acts, but occurs in the gospels only four times, in Matthew 16 and Matthew 18, where the word is an anachronism: No formal church yet existed during the time of Jesus' ministry.  

Starting in Acts, church can refer to the overall body of Christ on earth — all believers in all places — but also to any individual congregation (the church at Corinth, for instance). Although the church is ultimately one, the plural churches is used in the New Testament to refer to what today we might call various congregations.  

Sermons about the church can point out that some biblical scholars claim that the idea of a special people called out and set aside by God can be traced all the way back to ancient Israel and to the assembly of the people for times of worship at the tabernacle or, later, in the temple. This Israelite assembly would be seen, then, as the foreshadowing of the body of Christ that would become the church. 

What images of the church do we see in the Bible? 

Our sermons can explore the many images that the New Testament uses for the church: body of Christ, bride of Christ, beloved of Christ, a holy priesthood, God's building, and God's chosen people. Like ancient Israel, the church is to be distinguished by its holiness and by keeping its distance from the works of sin, evil, and corruption that characterize much of wider society.  

The apostles call for unity in the church again and again, for this unity is to mirror the unity among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is to shine as a beacon of agape, the self-sacrificial love that Christ has for his people and that siblings in Christ are to have for one another. 

How can we recognize a true church? 

The church is the place where God's Word is proclaimed, where the sacraments are celebrated, where alms are collected for the poor, where believers discipline and challenge one another in case sin threatens the holiness of the church, and where Christ is to be all in all.  

Theologians throughout history have distinguished the church visible (what you can see in any given congregation on a Sunday morning but which may include people who are not true believers) and the church invisible (the true church of all those — living and dead — who have truly been granted the gift of saving faith).  

Church and kingdom 

Are the church and the kingdom the same? Sermons about the church can explain that the church is part of the kingdom of God but, strictly speaking, is not the equivalent of the kingdom. The kingdom is the larger reality of God's realm and rule of the cosmos. When in the new creation the church no longer needs to exist, the kingdom will be all in all. 

Excerpts about the church 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about church: 

"There are two things here spoken of. First, Christ's church is to be a blessing; secondly, Christ's church is to be blessed." Sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon from the Spurgeon Center  

"We become a new family, sharing, breaking bread together, worshiping God. This is the day of Pentecost when Church was born." Children's Lesson by Virginia Thomas from Storypath   

Worship ideas about the church 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org worship resources about church: 

"The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; she is his new creation, by water and the Word." Hymn by S. J. Stone from Hymnary