Why Church Sucks
The Imperfect Church
Pastor Doug talks about Church history, culture problems, people, and God. He explains what the loss of “why” stops the “be” means and how we should act as Christians in the church.
We are called to partner with Jesus to be passionate with what HE is passionate about. We are to rise above the mundane living and seek the highest meaning and purpose. We are called the build the Kingdom of God. We are called to be unified, not in dress, not in music or culture but in the single declaration that Jesus is the Messiah God and Savior. Make this truth known that this is your mission in life. Only then will the church be what it should be.
Matthew 16:16-18 – Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it.
1 Corinthians 1:10 – I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Ephesians 4:2-6 – Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Casting Judgement
We are not very good at accurately judging where we are at in our own personal growth and vision of our life. There are not only two sides to a situation, we should instead be focused on whether we expect more out of other people than we expect in our-self.
Free yourselves from the propensity of focusing on how others around you are doing. Comparison is a trap that will rob you of the joy of your faith and salvation and build an unrealistic expectation of those around you and create disappointment in your life. It will frustrate, aggravate, and seed bitterness in your heart.
Matthew 7:1-6
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Guilt and the Church
No one likes to feel guilty, but we feel guilty all the time. We feel guilty about things we do, we feel guilty about things we don’t do, we feel guilty about things we ought to do, we feel guilty about not being able to make a difference. Our society does not like guilt and will do anything to assuage it. Carrying around guilt is an unhealthy thing in an emotional sense, but no one agrees how to deal with it.
Remember your baptism and rejoice. Anytime that the world tries to pull you back remember you have a moment in time that were set free by the promise of God. Do you have a divine moment to set you free that will turn you to God instead of making you run? Guilt is a real thing your conscience has been wounded. Do you wonder why even though things are good it’s hard to feel good about your circumstance? Do you start the day with the breakfast drink of shame? Today is the day of your salvation! Don’t run from guilt or hide from the truth. Turn to God to set you free from the bondage of guilt. Let Him raise you from the dead and rise from you a wellspring of life that can only come from Him. Quench your thirst with him so that you will never thirst again. Don’t run to that which binds you, run to Jesus who sets you free so that CHURCH WILL NEVER SUCK!
2 Timothy 4:1-5
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
