‍September 13, 2026

If I love Jesus, does church matter?

What is the church?

Matthew 16:18 …I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. New Living Translation

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” New Living Translation

Jesus created and is uniquely connected to His Church.

Loving Jesus means loving His Church.

The Church is His Body.

Colossians 1:18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. New Living Translation

‍

The Church is His Bride.

Ephesians 5:25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church…31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. New Living Translation

The Church is His Family.

Ephesians 2:19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. New Living Translation

‍

The Church is His Temple.

1 Peter 2:4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. New Living Translation

Loving Jesus means loving His Church.

Love the church. Come to church. Serve at church.

‍

Elephant # 1: Jesus’ church is (currently) imperfect.

Ephesians 5:25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. New Living Translation

Hebrews 10:14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. New Living Translation

Jesus doesn’t love us because we’re lovable; He chooses to love us, so we become lovable.

“Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest and sacrificial." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Elephant # 2: If I don’t like this church, I can just go to another one.

“Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of church going, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.”

“In the second place, the search for a 'suitable' church makes the man a critic where the Enemy (God) wants him to be a pupil.”

We have passion where we’re planted.

Elephant # 3: The church has wounded you.

When people wound you, God uses people to heal you.

Ephesians 4:16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. New Living Translation

1 Corinthians 12:18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. New Living Translation

Belief saves us. Belonging changes us.‍