Sermon Discussion Guide: The Foundation of the Church
Text: Matthew 16:13–19
The following outline and discussion questions have been prepared to accompany the sermon from September 16, “The Foundation of the Church” (Phil 2:12-13). The questions can be used for discussion in small groups, family devotions, or for personal reflection (Link to PDF).
Main Question: What is this thing that we call the church? What is it? Where did it come from? How long will it exist?
Sermon Outline:
I. The Church is a People not a Place or an Institution (Matt 16:18)
II. The Church is the Culmination of God’s OT Promises to Israel (Matt 16:15–17)
III. The Church is an Indestructible Community (Matt 16:18)
Discussion Questions:
1. If you asked someone on the street to explain why the Church exists, what do you think they would say?
2. As a believer, have you ever struggled with the Church’s relevance in our culture today?
3. According to the sermon, why should we think about the Church—first and foremost—as a people and not a place?
4. Pastor Mark noted that Jesus and the NT writers talk about the church in two different but complimentary ways.
5. What were these two manifestations of the church and how would you describe them in your own words?
6. According to the sermon, how does God’s OT promises to Israel help us understand God’s purposes in, for, and through the Church?
Application Questions:
1. How can the Biblical truth that the Church is—first and foremost—a people not a place protect us from depreciating the importance of the Church?
2. How does this truth protect us from being “spiritual consumers” who measure a Church by their personal ideas and felt-needs?
3. How should this truth impact our goals, behaviors, and interactions with our fellow Church-members when we gather together for worship, study, or fellowship?
4. How should the clear Biblical truth that Jesus founded the Church and is building the Church impact our ministry goals and methods in the local church?