Eagles Nest Church
Sunday School - Belonging to the Body (Lesson 2)

      • Ephesians 2:1–9ESV

  • Membership vote:
    Community group once a month.
    Prayer and praise twice a month (one a meal, one not a meal).
    Youth group twice a month.
    Sunday changes:
    Church goes until 12:15.
    Communion every Sunday
    Requires constitutional amendment.
    Church service adds up to 15 minutes as needed for communion
    Fellowship time 20-25 minutes.
    Sunday School 55 minutes.
    _________________
    When it comes to country clubs,
    What kind of things do they have?
    Swimming pools,
    various dining areas,
    meeting rooms,
    swimming pool,
    games,
    golf courses,
    Basically, they come with a lot of perks that exist to keep you happy and coming back.
    The same is true with a Costco or Sam’s Club membership.
    And so in our culture,
    the idea of membership means perks.
    It means Privileges.
    And with that, comes the expectation that once you pay your dues and join,
    you will be served.
    Sadly, this understanding of membership is what many Christians believe church membership is all about.
    “This is MY church - so you have to play the music I WANT.”
    “Look pastor, did you forget who pays your salary?”
    “I’ve been a member of this church for over 30 years, so I have a say around here.”
    “So make the sermons shorter.”
    “Make the music louder.”
    “Make church how I want it - or I’ll start looking for another country club, I mean church.”
    But this is a COMPLETELY unbiblical view of church membership.
    Church membership isn’t Burger King.
    You don’t always get to “Have it Your Way.”
    And if you have that mentality, you’ll be harm, not a help, to your church.
    Behind this mindset, is a “me-focused mentality.”
    It’s the desire to be served - rather than serve.
    And this is something, that Jesus directly taught against, more than once.
    In Mark 10, James and John ask to be seated at the right and left of Jesus when He’s in glory.
    In Mark 9, the disciples argue about who is the greatest.
    And in Luke 22, they are still arguing about who is the greatest at the Last Supper.
    And what does Jesus say to this in response?
    Mark 10:43–44 ESV
    43 … But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
    Mark 9:35 ESV
    35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
    And in Luke 22, Jesus sets the example.
    Luke 22:27 ESV
    27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
    Jesus, the greatest one of all washed the disciples feet.
    which was a lowly and gross job.
    But serving, He says, makes one great in God’s eyes.
    And so being a healthy church member means we don’t view it as a country club,
    we view it as a soup kitchen where we serve for the good of others.
    One of the clearest places in the Bible where we get a picture of church membership is 1 Cor 12-14.
    In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul explains the church through the metaphor of a human body,
    that exists with many MEMBERS.
    And in 1 Corinthians 13,
    he explains that love holds it all together in Christ.
    And so love, not selfishness, is the central attitude we must have.
    Then in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul address the church at Corinth, which was lacking in love and full of selfishness,
    and he corrects them for their wrong view of church membership.
    Now, some Christians in our culture will argue that the idea of church membership is unbiblical.
    But membership, is actually VERY biblical.
    So long as it’s properly defined as biblical membership and not country club membership.
    Here is how the Bible defines membership.
    1 Corinthians 12:27–28 ESV
    27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
    The idea of membership is biblical because we are all MEMBERS of the body of Christ.
    And we exist as different parts within the body of Christ.
    And within a local church,
    Membership is the process of identifying, based upon a person’s testimony of salvation,
    that they truly belong to the body of Christ,
    And are then commissioned to serve within a local church for God’s glory and our good.
    It’s believers entering into a covenant together to care for and love each other.
    Because yes, all Christians make up the body of Christ,
    but we can’t serve all Christians everywhere equally, to the same degree.
    Anymore than I can love all children everywhere to the same degree.
    And so like a parent cares for their children,
    so too do Christians, within a local church, care for each other.
    With a country club membership, you pay others to do the work for you.
    But with church membership, everyone has the role of servant.
    Yes, that looks different,
    because some are hands,
    some are feet, ears or eyes.
    But we are all necessary parts of the whole.
    And unless all of the parts of the body and working properly,
    the entire body suffers.
    Which is something most people over 40 recognize.
    For example, I don’t know why,
    But lately my right thumb keeps locking up.
    And it’s really frustrating sometimes.
    And, my left shoulder’s rotator cuff has some weakness in some of the muscles,
    which causes it to ache sometimes and hurt when I move it in certain directions.
    AND! The right side of my neck and right shoulder just started having that pins and needles feeling randomly,
    which doesn’t hurt, but is super annoying and distracting.
    Getting old and your body starting to not work like it’s suppose to is a trip.
    and the same point is true of church members.
    We need EVERYONE working properly by serving with the gifts God has given them,
    or else the whole body suffers.
    1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV
    26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
    1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most commonly used passages in the Bible at weddings.
    And there’s nothing wrong with that.
    But Paul didn’t write that for weddings.
    He wrote it for the church.
    It’s meant to describe what life looks like within a church.
    And to the degree that a church lives out the love chapter of the Bible,
    Is the degree that we will experience a healthy and godly church.
    1 Corinthians 13:4–5 ESV
    4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
    Does that sound like a church you want to be a part of it?
    It does!
    Does that sound like a church that would have an effective gospel witness?
    It does!
    Does that sound like the ingredients for experiencing revival in a church?
    It does!
    But what prevents us from loving others as Paul tells us to?
    It’s thinking that the basis of loving others is based on how lovely they are.
    But it’s not!
    Because that’s not the basic of God’s love for us.
    God doesn’t love us because we are lovely.
    God loves us despite our un-lovingness, in order to make us lovely.
    Because God loves us with unconditional love,
    we too much love each other with the same unconditional love.
    That means praying for others who have harmed us.
    That means encouraging those we don’t see much to be encouraged about.
    It means serving even if others are not joining in.
    That’s biblical love.
    And so a country club membership really is a night and day difference between biblical membership.
    With a country club member, you pay your dues and people will serve you.
    But with being a biblical church member, you give abundantly and serve without hesitation or with strings attached, and you do it with joy.
    The point is, biblical membership is a functioning and active membership.
    And without that, the body will not function properly.
    Which is why we need EVERYONE using their specific gifting for God’s glory and our joy.
    This week, or even this afternoon.
    I would encourage all us to sit down and examine ourselves, asking:
    “How and where am I serving?”
    “How and where should I might be be serving where I am not.”
    “Who am I discipling?”
    Because that’s the great commission our Lord gave to us.
    And if we aren’t discipling anyone - we are disobeying Christ AND we aren’t functioning as a healthy, biblical church member.
    Because think about it.
    Serving as a church member doesn’t mean you have to do everything, anymore than the hand has to fulfill the function of the foot.
    But it doest mean you help other parts of the body grow in Christ so they start functioning as they should.
    When it comes to biblical membership,
    The sad reality is most churches have membership roles with names who are members in name only.
    Yes, their name is on the list,
    But they rarely or never serve or give.
    In fact, one study by Lifeway found that only about one-third of Protestant churchgoers serve in a regular role at their church.
    And just over half of those who answered the giving question said they gave at least 10% of their before-tax income to their church.
    When it comes to being a healthy church member, we must be willing to say:
    I like the metaphor of membership. It’s not membership as in a civic organization or a country club. It’s the kind of membership given to us in 1 Corinthians 12: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). Because I am a member of the body of Christ, I must be a functioning member, whether I am an “eye,” an “ear,” or a “hand.” As a functioning member, I will give. I will serve. I will minister. I will evangelize. I will study. I will seek to be a blessing to others. I will remember that “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26).
    1. When We Don’t Get Our Way
    When a church decision doesn’t go the way we hoped, how can we tell whether we’re defending a biblical conviction or just wanting our own way? What would a loving response look like when it really is a matter of preference?
    2. Finding Our Part
    Suppose someone says, “I’m not a teacher or musician, so I don’t have much to offer.” How could we help that person find a useful place to serve? What abilities do we see in one another that could meet needs in our church but aren’t being used yet?
    3. More Than Sunday Acquaintances
    What keeps our relationships at “Good morning, how are you?” rather than knowing when someone is hurting or has a reason to rejoice? What could we do differently during fellowship time and throughout the week to actually share one another’s burdens and joys?
    4. Loving When It’s Difficult
    Without naming names, what are some ways we make our love for other church members depend on how they treat us? How should remembering God’s love for us change the way we pray for, speak to, and serve someone who has disappointed us?
    5. Making Room to Give
    When we think about giving more generously, what fears or competing priorities make us hesitate? What practical changes could help us make giving a deliberate part of caring for our church rather than something we do only when money happens to be left over?
    6. Helping Someone Grow
    Who has helped you grow in Christ, and what did they actually do that made a difference? What could you do this month to offer that kind of help to someone else, and how could this group help you follow through?

      • Mark 10:43–44ESV

      • Mark 9:35ESV

      • Luke 22:27ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 12:27–28ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 12:26ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 13:4–5ESV

Eagles Nest Church
pastorzach@eaglesnestmn.org
(218) 562-5252
http://www.eaglesnestmn.org
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