First Mennonite Church
August 9, 2026
I Will Build My Church
Text: Matthew 16:13-19
Let us open with a word of prayer:
O, God of love, you gave your only Son, Jesus Christ, out of pure love for the world. You love the human race, whether you are loved in return or dismissed or rejected. You loved us and have helped us and continue to help our responsive hearts in our attempt at loving and serving you.
Thank you for this community of brothers and sisters here at FMC who day in and day out, who through thick and thin has followed you and cared for one another.
Thank you, O Lord for your faithfulness and abundant grace. For as you know, more than we do, we have failures and shortcomings, for which we ask your forgiveness.
This morning, dear God, we ask you to increment our trust in you and to rekindle our love for you, so that we may obey your command and extend your love, respectively.
Please open our hearts to your word this morning that we may find guidance and the strength to follow it. This we ask in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, Amen!
A common response to the casual greeting, “How are you today? is, “Everything is fine.” I have given that answer many times and maybe you have too.
Not long ago, I read an article on current trends in church life and especially about its decline where the author tells the story of an encounter with another pastor. That encounter stood up in the mind of the author for the honest conversation that transpired of it. When the author of the article asked the pastor how things were going in his congregation, the answer was, “Man, not everything is fine.”
And although that is not the conclusion, I want us to dwell on, nonetheless, I want us to take that answer as the starting point for our conversation today and for next two or three Sundays. Man, not everything is fine!
On the weeks leading to my medical leave and as I was seeking preachers to fill in while I was going to be away, an increasing sense on the condition of our congregation began to really nag me. I say this as a confession. This concern has only grown since I returned. I have been praying and waiting before God on how and when to address this issue with you. I have been praying to God about the small number that we are. I am aware that we could be a little more in numbers should everyone who has pledged a commitment to follow the Lord and to be part of our congregation would attend. But the reality, the big elephant in the room is that we are few in numbers and need to face and deal with that reality. Could there be something we are missing and or not doing right? What must we change or do differently? What must we do personally or implement as a community?
As we know, the most commonly used measuring-stick on whether a congregation is growing or not is by the number of its attendees. If we use that measuring-stick to assess our situation, it will tell us we are not growing. But that is only one way of measuring growth in a congregation. The other kind of measuring-stick is spiritual growth that takes place in a congregation. Spiritual growth always precedes any other kind of growth, including numerical growth. That means, a congregation must first grow spiritually in order to grow in other areas. Spiritual growth is reflected in the level of commitment and dedication church people have in the life and ministry of the congregation. This growth is revealed in church members’ eager participation in Bible studies group, prayer meeting, social activities, outreach and community service, regardless of the size of the church. That means that even if the number of attendees is small, most everyone is actively participating in the life and ministry of the church. This kind of growth is the contrast of what often happens in large churches where even when there is a large attendance, only a small number of people are directly involved in the life of the church. The vast majority are only consumers of whatever else the church provides.
Our reality is, however, that up until recently the only the few who had participated in what we have are the same ones who continue to participate. It’s the same people who have attended Bible studies that continue to show up. The same people who have participated in Sunday school in the past are those who continue to attend. It’s the same with the ladies’ activities. Why is this the case?
For one, if what we are doing is not good enough or of the interest, or at a convenient time in the day thus the reason for missing out, let me make this offer: Come and help us change it for the better! Share with us what it is you would like to see or do. Tells us the time that fits best in your schedule. On the other hand, if you notice that we have fallen into a rot and are having a hard time breaking away on how we do things, come help us find new ways of doing things. Help us get out of the rot. In doing so, you’d be showing signs of spiritual growth. It will help, both, us who need to breathe fresh air and you in discerning the Spirit’s lead. Again, we need to have spiritual growth before any other kind of growth to happen.
So, how do we start.
Let us start from what we have in common: our confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Each of us confess that Jesus is our Lord, Savior, and that he is the One we are following. So, let us hear what he says in Matthew 16.
Matthew 16: 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rockI will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
The people had their opinion on who Jesus was. Obviously, those who could not correctly identify who Jesus was couldn’t believe his message either and much less follow him with all their heart. They couldn’t believe nor follow him even when they trailed behind Jesus to hear him teach and see the wonders he performed. But Peter, after witnessing Jesus perform miracles and hearing him teach, had his heart enlightened by the Father’s revelation. Therefore, what he confessed was not a personal opinion, but a revelation from the Father in heaven. His heart was illuminated by God’s light. His mouth was opened to speak something beyond Peter’s best judgement; thus, he couldn’t help but confess, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
We too have made that confession. It is a confession not born out of intellectual brightness nor gained wisdom. It is a confession born from the deep conviction brought upon us by God’s revelation through the Holy Spirit about Jesus. We have been touched and moved by God’s eternal light. We have this immovable conviction that Jesus is the Son of God and that through his death we have been redeemed from sin and eternal damnation. We now confess him as our Lord and Savior. We have believed the good news of God.
But following Peter’s confession, Jesus made this assertion: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
The good news for us continues. Jesus is the one who builds the church, not the building we are in, but you and me who make up his church. Jesus is building us.
It could be that we wish the pastor and leaders do something to build the church or that whatever we do helps build the church. But building the church is the work of the Lord. “I will build my church,” Jesus says. Jesus builds his church when we allow him to shape and use us. Jesus builds his church when we allow him to put us where he wants us to be within his house.
When Jesus builds his church, that is, when Jesus works in us, we experience spiritual growth. When Jesus is working in us, we then are moved, compelled, and persuaded to do his bidding, not what we want but what he wants. And He wants us to use us but this only happens when we allow him to work in us and through us. And there is where the issue lies because we can resist his will. Therefore, ask yourselves, “Am I allowing myself to be shaped by the Lord? Have I obeyed his lead the times I felt he was calling me to do something here? Remember, Jesus is the one who builds his church. Therefore, we are the prime material he uses to do his building work. We are the living stones, as Peter says with which the Lord builds his holy temple—the church.
Jesus is the one who builds the church and hear what he says about his work: “On this rockI will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
“The gates of Hades will not prevail against it,” Jesus says. Gates guard entrances. Those outside cannot come in or those inside cannot go out if the gate is closed. Gates guard, secure, and protect, but these gates are of Hades that will not prevail, overcome, or win over the church Jesus is building. Hades is the realm of the dead. It is the equivalent to Sheol in Hebrew. Sheol is the realm of darkness and forgetfulness.
The apostle Paul says that “He (God) has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. While describing the church, the apostle Peter writes: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Before Christ, we all lived in the realm of the darkness. From that place God has called and transferred us out into the kingdom of light of Jesus. But we need to know that there can still be dark spots in the heart where the light of Christ needs to shine in us. We are the only ones who can prevail against the work God wants to do.
So, if spiritual growth is to take place in this place, it must happen in us first. If Jesus is to build his church, of which the gates of the dark realm cannot overcome, we need to allow the light of Christ to shine in every area of our lives today. Growth is possible. Jesus is working in his church. Jesus wants to work in us, let us allow his light, power, and grace to flow into our hearts today. To us the Lord wants to remind “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Amen!
Pastor Romero