Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign pastor Chuck Allen here. And today I want to join you in this thought.
[00:00:13] Why does the church matter anyway?
[00:00:17] Let's chat about that on today's weekday podcast. Let's talk about church. Not the building, not the rituals, not the check the box routines. Let's talk about what Jesus had in mind.
[00:00:30] Because sometimes times church feels more like paperwork and programs than it does the presence of God.
[00:00:39] Some of us, we bear the scars from people who did religion, minus love. And yet the invitation remains.
[00:00:47] Come home, not perfection, but to a living, breathing Jesus who crafts a family out of flawed people like me and you.
[00:00:58] The lonely, the weary, and the totally unfinished.
[00:01:02] See, it's tempting to imagine faith as this solo hike through the woods kind of spirituality on my own, on my own time, in my own way.
[00:01:13] But even Jesus didn't do it alone. He calls us to himself, but then places us in community.
[00:01:21] He literally says, just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
[00:01:33] By the way, that's in Romans. If you want to fact check me. The point is, God's idea was never for faith to be private and locked away.
[00:01:43] I mean, the scriptures say all the believers devoted themselves to fellowship, sharing in meals, to prayer, real, honest, goodness, connection.
[00:01:52] The musicians might play solo, but the beauty that happens when they all come together in the give and take and the friction and forgiveness and sharing burdens and carrying hope for one another when our legs get a little wobbly. And yes, the church is a mess, y'. All. I think we all know it. It always has been. Every letter Paul wrote was to a group of people messing up in new and creative ways. He didn't tell them to ditch it. He. He invited them to something deeper into unity, into mutual care and a slow that only happens together.
[00:02:30] When the psalmist said God places the lonely in families, he meant this. A belonging that's deeper than agreement or background or having it all figured out.
[00:02:40] So today, if you're lonely or just tired, there's a seat at the table for you because you're wanted, you're needed, and you are most definitely welcome.
[00:02:51] We need your note in this symphony, because life, real raw, unedited, together, it's always better than it is solo. Let's walk it out together.
[00:03:02] That's what we're trying to do at the corner gathering and at Sugar Hill Church. It's church without the trappings, but with the heart, the togetherness, the broken beauty. Come add your story to ours and let's see what God might do. My friend, when Jesus called us into these relationships and called us to be his church, he knew it was messy. He knew it would be messier and yet trusted us with it. Let's walk that out today.
[00:03:34] Knowing it is messy, but it's oh so glorious.
[00:03:38] Yeah, it's messy, but it's so necessary.
[00:03:42] Our lives are just better rooted when together we grow to become more like Christ. Jesus Christ. God bless you, friend. Thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast.
