US | US AND CHURCH

Sermon Series: “US - Loved People Love People” Sermon #2: “Us And Church”

1 John 4:19 (NIV) “We love because He first loved us.”

John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

The American Bible Society’s 2025 State of the Bible report indicates that 45% of self-identified American Christians have not attended church in the past six months. Only 33% attend at least monthly.

Matthew 16:18 “I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

Ephesians 1:22-23 “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Ephesians 3:10-11 “…to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,”

Romans 16:3-5 “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house”

Church (Ekklesia):— an assembly of people called out.
Two ways church is used: 1. Universal Church. 2. Local Church

Acts 20:7 “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”

Hebrews 10:25 (Message) “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.”

Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs — Belonging Is A Real Human Need!

I Gather For Three Reasons:
1. I Belong To God 2. I Belong At Impact Church. 3. I Belong On Purpose

1. I Belong To God
John 15:16-19 (NIV) “You did not choose me, but I chose you and… If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. …As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Isaiah 56:2-5 (Message) “Make sure no outsider who now follows God ever has occasion to say, ‘God put me in second-class. I don’t really belong … ‘I’m damaged goods. I don’t really belong …”

2. I Belong At Impact
Psalm 92:13-14 “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,…”

Ephesians 2:19-20 (Message) “That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building.”

1 Corinthians 12:18, 20 “But now God has set (tithēmi:— to set, fix, establish) the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased … But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.”

Wander and you waste.
Belong and you build.
We waste when we wander, what could have been built through belonging.
A consumer attends. A son builds.
When you know where you belong — hell loses its leverage.

3. I Belong On Purpose
1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Romans 12:6 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:…”

Belonging On Purpose Means:
1. I’m Known
2. I’m Unpacked
3. I Contribute
4. I’m Responsible
5. I Speak The Language

Acts 20:28 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.”

Galatians 6:9-10 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

The House of God where you belong is not to contain you or constrict you but it is to strengthen you, protect you, and to give you value. 
A place that serves your specific purpose and brings out the best in you. 

The Kingdom does not ask you to attend. It asks you to awaken.
What you seek outwardly is waiting inwardly.
Begin where Jesus began — within. From there, all true gathering flows.