Philippians 2:1-13
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Way In
Reading Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi
Got me thinking about the perfect church
Did some “serious” research
I Googled “perfect church”
What I found about the perfect church
85,200,000 hits
Serious and humorous
Some churches that believe they have achieved the perfect church
Atlanta, GA perfectcurch.org
Founded in 1957 and, “the message went from the pulpit to the radio airwaves, from television to newspapers and worldwide magazines.”
Another perfect church – perfectchurch.com
Hard to tell where it is, lists “family” in Hawaii, Illinois, Texas, and South Carolina
Some make fun of the notion of a perfect church
Looking for a cool church
with authentic, non-judgmental members
convicted to serving God with the right mixture of tradition and cutting-edge
People forgive each other and love children (even welcome children)
Enthusiastic and energetic preacher
Makes the Bible come alive
Tells great stories, inspirational
Preaches just long enough
Works with kids and spends all their time with shut-ins
Makes 15 visits every day and is always at the office when needed
Church is neither liberal nor conservative, but just the right mix of both for the full truth
Worship is a smooth and seamless flow of beautiful hymns everybody knows, with prayers and liturgy that make us weep every week
Also among those 82.5 million hits (didn’t go past 1st page) was a poem
If you should find
the perfect church
without fault or smear,
Please, don’t join that church,
you’d spoil the atmosphere.If you should find the perfect church
where all anxieties cease,
Then pass it by lest joining it
you mar the masterpiece.If you should find the perfect church,
then don’t you ever dare
To tread upon such holy ground
you’d be a misfit there.But since no perfect church exists…
made of imperfect men and women,
Then let’s cease looking for that church,
and love the one we’re in.Of course it’s not a perfect church,
that’s simple to discern,
But you and I and all of us
could cause the tide to turn.So let’s keep working in our church
until the resurrection,
And then we each will join God’s church
without an imperfection.Bridge
Paul started the church at Philippi
wrote the church this letter from prison
“I thank God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.”
Not a perfect church, Paul wrote to encourage them anyway
Church is the people
No perfect people
So, no perfect church
but here’s what the church can do
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Tell the Story
“Make my joy complete”
You don’t have to be Christ (we can’t)
but be filled with love, compassion, and sympathy
don’t worry so much about WWJD
rather, let us commit to DWJD – Do What Jesus Did
welcome the stranger
seek out the outcast, the ones that don’t seem to fit in
visit the sick, even the ones in jail
feed the hungry, clothe the naked
Do What Jesus Did
Notice how he walked through the community
Taking time to get to know people
Inviting them to come and follow him
…to come – taste and see – that God is good
“be of the same mind,” the church can strive to be like Christ, a living reminder. How?
Do not operate out of selfish ambition or deceit
Don’t do it for what you can get out of it
Look upon others before yourself
Not your interests but the interest of others
God is in Christ, Jesus is Lord, but this is his lordship:
emptied himself, poured out for others, a servant
humble and obedient before God, even to death on a cross
This is the one we call “Lord” and “King”
“Therefore …”
the church’s job is to work out your (pl.) own salvation
for God is at work in you
to work for his pleasure
“Obey God as you have always obeyed me”
“Make my joy complete”
As it does for God
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So What?
God never requires us to be the perfect church
Just like god doesn’t care if we can all sing as beautifully as others
A beautiful singing voice is a true gift – one to be enjoyed
But that never means that those of us who have just a regular singing voice are left out
The Bible says only to “make a joyful noise.”
(again) God never requires us to be the perfect church
given the candidates for membership and leadership; regular imperfect people, and pastors, this is not possible.
God knows that
Jesus did say something about being perfect – twice in the gospels, both in Matthew
Mat. 6:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
“therefore” means we have to look at what he said before, which is:
“love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you”
Mat. 19:21, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor … then come, follow me.”
These 2 ways of perfection aren’t a trap Jesus sets for us – they are ideals
But his best disciples never had to do these things
Followers of Jesus don’t have to be perfect
“love your enemies”
We know what that means
We can understand the attitude
We feel Jesus on this, but we can’t be perfect
How do we know who all our enemies are?
Some may be obvious, but there may be some we don’t even know about
Sell everything you own and give the money to the poor
Everything? Yes, everything. Jesus is plain on that.
But the 12 never had to do this to be disciples
Peter never had to do this to be the Rock Jesus built the church on
But we know what Jesus means
We know that he wants us to have the attitude of compassion, reconciliation, and forgiveness
Perfect? We don’t need to be heroes – perfect saints
Just follow in his ways
What God wants
to do his will, be the living reminder of Christ, the Body of Christ
be like Christ, be of the same mind
he is Lord, and poured himself out for the sake of others
“Work out your own salvation”
Does not mean we can save ourselves, or can earn it
That is the work of God in Jesus Christ
“Work it out” is to be responsible for living as if we are his followers, working out our living after the example of Christ
work it out “with fear and trembling”
doesn’t mean to live as if we’re scared to death of God
but to remember that we do stand accountable before God
the fear and trembling comes from respect and honor – awe, not fear of God’s reprimand
trust in God, he hasn’t poured out himself in Christ as a living example of love and commitment, trying to have us live cowering in fear
rather empowered us in his example to live as the beloved community
Our lives, as the people of God, have been transformed by the image of Christ.
The church, acting as the body of Christ, is called and sent to complete the ministry he began
To unite all people as the kingdom of heaven
What about us?
We see the example given to us, and have heard the command of Christ to go and be the church, spreading the good news
There is no perfect church, so don’t waste your time looking for it
This will never be the perfect church
But if you’re committed to it being your church, anyway
Trust that by grace, we may be perfected, getting better all the time … a perfecting church
What it means to be a “perfecting church”
Following the living example of Christ
Humility, seeking the welfare of others
Imagine the community built around everybody looking about for everybody else
Don’t look for the church that has it all worked out, look for
Dreamers
People who welcome kids
People who make mistakes
People who enjoy being together – in fellowship
People who don’t mind working for a living
People who turn up with the best they have to offer Jesus, for his church, and for his sake
I had an image of that as you were greeting your new pastor
Before I met all of you, in the warm reception I got from the PNC
Then as I met more and more of you
Hearing how you prepared for me
Panting our rooms in the manse
Providing the goodies I mentioned last week
The continued warm welcome with meals and snacks
Hearing your stories, getting to know you
“It’s a little thing” you may say – “it’s just how we treat each other.”
But it’s a beautiful thing to experience
You know what I mean
You’ve been cared for when you were sick or in need of support
Pastoral care or a call from a concerned member of the church family
To me, it’s more than just a little thing, more than just “the way we do it.”
It’s like little glimpses of the kingdom of God
A peek at the perfecting church, the one that’s getting better all the time
So let’s pay attention to that – perfecting – getting better all the time.
Pay attention to what it’s like to experience god’s love in the love we know in each other
This is the church God is calling us to be
Standing with and for each other – in prayer and presence together
Enjoying being together
Sharing our stories, our hospitality, our lives
Now we know what makes God happy
Keep this text before us >
Not perfect, but perfecting – getting better all the time
Be the church, the living reminder of Christ
Like the beloved church at Philippi that Paul writes to
Make my joy complete
Be of the same mind
Having the same love
Being in full accord, and one mind
Getting better all the time
So may it be with us. Amen
