From the Pulpit: What makes the church relevant?

What makes the church relevant? Maybe, when some think about the church, what they think about are outdated rituals. Or, maybe some believe the church is out-of-touch with our world. Some might distance themselves from the church because they say, “The church isn’t relevant; it’s just not worth my time; not worth being involved in the church.” It might be that someone has been “burned” by those in the church, and maybe they say or think to themselves, “I don’t want that to happen again,” and so they stay away. Some might consider the church to be a dusty old institution, like an antiquated relic that has sat around a long time and is only something to set aside, with little practical use in our modern world.

Unfortunately, some feel that way. They will miss out on what the church offers: opportunities of being encouraged and strengthened in the most significant relationship they could ever have. No, the church is not perfect. Far from it. It is made up of people who sin and sometimes experience “brokenness” in their lives. It is made up of people who are there because they know they need the grace and righteousness that only Jesus Christ can provide. The church is made up of sinners who depend on the forgiveness that is given to them by the One who is the Lord of all creation, and yet who suffered on the cross in great humility. The church is made up of people who know the One we call “Savior”, who humbly took upon himself our deepest heartaches and the darkest iniquities. The church is relevant because God uses the church to strengthen and encourage us to know and receive the victory and the righteousness that God desires for our lives. Through the church, we are encouraged in our faith, our trust, in the One who died on the cross and rose again, who fills our lives with hope and peace that only He can give. The Church is relevant because Jesus Christ uses the church to reach a world where there are tears and laughter, joys and sorrows, despair and hope.

Christ uses the church, and that is a daunting thing. That’s because when Christ reaches out to a world in need, he uses a cross, and it is the cross that makes the church relevant. It is through the cross that Christ accomplishes our salvation and makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God. Christ works through the church, using the church to draw people into a living, dynamic relationship with him… and with one another. As he does so, the church is deeply and powerfully relevant, reaching a world that sometimes is ready to give up in despair. Through Christ, the world becomes, instead, filled with hope. It is a hope that can only be known through Jesus Christ. The church is powerfully relevant as a means of grace, used by God to share His forgiveness, grace, and mercy. It is powerfully relevant as Jesus uses the church to encourage us in the most powerful, the most significant relationship we might ever have: a relationship with Jesus Christ, our Savior.