We have one foundation
What makes us the church that we are
Churches come in all shapes and sizes. They have personality, habits, culture, philosophy, and even idiosyncrasies. A church in any given community can do many things well and will do some things poorly. After all, there has never been a perfect church. Those imperfections often stand out to an unbelieving and skeptical world that is looking for reasons to dislike the church. This becomes a compelling reason for Christians to be the truest version of the church that they can be, and to have the world reject (or accept them) for the right reasons.
The church was birthed in an upper room by the power of the Holy Spirit and by that same power expanded rapidly throughout the Roman world and beyond as the first believers sought to fulfill Jesus’ mandate to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Running side by side through the New Testament are the themes of “here’s how to do it,” “here’s what you’re doing well,” and “here’s how you messed it up.” There’s no hiding the struggle that it is to be what God intends in a world that is often hostile to what we are doing and who we are. Through it all, good and bad, Jesus remains the head of the church and believers are compelled to work hard at being the church.
As far as this local church is concerned, we are Harvest. It is not a boast but an aspiration. This series is specific to what we believe God has called Harvest Bible Chapel Barrie to be. We will look at the universal and foundational truths that should transfer to any New Testament church, but we will also look at the distinctive identity markers, vision, and values that are particular to our context in an effort to be true to what God has called us to be in this city and beyond.
Series: We Are Harvest
Message: We have one foundation
Text: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11; Matt 16:18; Luke 6:46-49
Pastor Todd Dugard
Harvest Bible Chapel
January 16, 2022
1 Peter 2:9-10
We are Harvest…
…an imperfect expression of the universal church
Church - ἐκκλησία; - called out ones; assembly
The universal church is a heavenly and eschatological assembly of everyone—past, present, and future—who belongs to Christ’s new covenant and kingdom.
Jonathan Leeman
…called to be a distinctive local church
A local church is a mutually-affirming group of new covenant members and kingdom citizens, identified by regularly gathering together in Jesus’ name through preaching the gospel and celebrating the ordinances.
Jonathan Leeman
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-church-universal-and-local/
As such, we have one foundation, Jesus Christ…
1 Corinthians 3:10-11
…the solid Rock on which we stand
Matthew 16:18
Our Foundation
Jesus Christ is fully God (Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20), eternally pre-existent and Creator of all things (John 1:1-3). He is also fully human (Hebrews 2:14-15) having been born of a virgin who conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-38), and, as a human, he was tempted to sin. Yet, having never done so (Luke 4:1-13; Hebrews 4:15), he took our punishment for sin upon himself (Isaiah 53; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:10) by dying on the cross (Luke 23). His life for ours. He died, was buried, and yet rose from the grave (Luke 24), and having been seen alive by many witnesses, he ascended to heaven (Acts 1:1-11). From there he mediates for us before the throne (Hebrews 7:25) awaiting the day when he will come again, this time in all his glory, to take us to himself for all eternity (Matthew 24:30; Revelation 19:11-16)
1 Corinthians 2:2
The Core Five: what we’re willing to die for
• Verbal inspiration of the Bible
• Virgin birth of Christ
• Vicarious atonement of Christ
• Victorious resurrection of Christ
• Visible return of Christ
Luke 6:46-48
…all other ground is sinking sand (Luke 6:49)
You will never be on a right foundation until you are off the wrong one.
Charles Spurgeon