1 GREAT ENDS OF THE CHURCH Acts 2:37-47; Matthew 28:16-20 ...

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GREAT ENDS OF THE CHURCH
Acts 2:37-47; Matthew 28:16-20
First Presbyterian Church of Georgetown, Texas
Dr. Michael A. Roberts September 19, 2010
Acts 2:37-47
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Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what
should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that
your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your
children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40 And he testified with many
other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 So those who
welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
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They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 Awe
came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were
together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to
all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate
their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day
the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Matthew 28:16-20
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Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him,
they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And
remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Why does the church exist? What is our purpose? From time to time, it is very good to stop and
reflect about the overall purposes of the church.
“In our time churches often develop mission statements or vision statements. Congregations do
this, presbyteries and synods do this. The process of developing mission statements may be
valuable, but the results often vary in quality with some being quite lackluster. In a recent book,
Joseph Small says: “Church mission statements are disturbingly similar to mission statements of
grocery stores and drug companies, featuring an idealized image, quality goods, and friendly
service” (Proclaiming the Great Ends of the Church p. xi ).
“Presbyterians would be better served by focusing attention on a mission statement that has
been in the church’s constitution for over one hundred years, known as the Great Ends of the
Church. Embedded in the opening chapter of the Book of Order are six great purposes of the
church’s life- the life of every congregation and of the whole denomination. Taken together,

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they express direction for mission with a clarity and substance rarely found in the fleeting
products of church committees” (Proclaiming the Great Ends of the Church p. xi ).
“The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind;
the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;
the maintenance of divine worship;
the preservation of the truth;
the promotion of social righteousness;
and the exhibition of the Kingdom of heaven to the world” (Book of Order G-1.0200).
“With an economy of words and a surplus in meaning, the church has six great aims to direct
our life together, six basic works of the church that are foundational to who the church is and
what the church is called to do” (Proclaiming the Great Ends of the Church p. xi ).
The Great Ends of the Church were originally a part of the constitution of a smaller Presbyterian
body, the United Presbyterian Church of North America when it was first adopted in 1910. It
became a gift to the union of the northern Presbyterians in 1958 and later to all Presbyterians
when the northern and southern branches of the Presbyterian Church reunited in 1983.
The Great Ends have received greater emphasis in our denomination in the past 15 years or so.
Without a clear vision of the future, local congregations and national denominations will find
themselves in difficult waters. It is no secret that our historic denomination is searching for a
center, roaming around for an identity that will serve us in the coming decades. There are many
who think that center, the unifying vision of our identity and mission is found in the Great Ends
of the Church.
The General Assembly of 1997 called on all Presbyterians to find a new unity and sense of
purpose in the Great Ends with a special two-year emphasis upon them. The assembly said: “It
sometimes seems that we get caught up in the details of our work, telling the story of how well
we have carried out our responsibilities and lose sight of why we are doing what we do. These
principles help us refocus on Jesus as the reason for our mission… It is the fervent prayer of the
General Assembly that we indeed might be one in our commitment to proclaim the Gospel, to
build community, to worship, to seek the truth, to promote social justice, and to live our lives in
such a way as to exhibit God’s love to the world.” We did emphasize the Great Ends in 1998
and 1999 throughout our denomination.
Since that time there has been a curriculum developed on the Great Ends. There are banner
designs developed for each of the great ends. Our denomination has published a six volume
series of books on the Great Ends. One of the authors is well-known to our congregation, Dr.
Cindy Rigby, who has written the volume on the Promotion of Social Righteousness.

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Former Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick has called the Great Ends “a beautiful and succinct
vision” for the church. For 100 years now, this vision has guided the ministry and mission of
Presbyterians.
Let’s look at the Great Ends of the Church this morning.
“The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of
humankind.” This purpose is what the church has historically called “evangelism”, the
proclamation of the evangel, the good news about Jesus Christ. God was revealed to us in the
person of Jesus. He taught and healed the people, he died sacrificially for the sins of the world,
and he rose victoriously, conquering sin and death. Our salvation comes when we place our
trust in what Jesus Christ has done for us.
The church is called to proclaim this gospel to all the world. We are to make disciples of all
nations. We are called to clearly articulate this gospel and all its dimensions from the pulpit. We
are called to learn and understand the good news through our diverse education ministries. We
are called to give witness to others when called upon- to explain what we believe and how God
has worked in our lives.
This Great End has driven the worldwide mission of the church- all need to hear the good news
explained clearly and persuasively. In the last generation, Presbyterians have struggled with
this Great End. They have been reticent to share their faith. Some churches have been timid
about communicating the central message of the New Testament. Some presbyteries (not ours
by the way) have been slow in developing new congregations so that new people can hear the
proclamation. We freely, openly, I think thoughtfully proclaim the gospel for the salvation of
humankind.
“The shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God”. The church is to be a safe
place. This place is to be shelter, a safe haven both literally and symbolically. The church is to be
a place where we can be ourselves, where we can be loved and nurtured.
That nurture takes many forms. Certainly it includes Sunday School, small groups for adults,
youth ministry, Logos. The nurture includes our care ministry, Stephen Ministry, visiting,
delivering flowers, or providing meals. We find ourselves nurtured when we engage with other
members, when we, as the early church did, devote ourselves to the fellowship.
Fellowship literally refers to “what we share in common.” We share a common faith, a common
Bible, a common Savior. We share our resources with each other, we offer our gifts, our time to
serve one another. We have devotion to the spiritual fellowship of the children of God.
The church will provide a place where we can get to know other Christians, share life’s ups and
downs together, bear one another’s burdens, and love each other.

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As Jesus said (and as the children sang): “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another" (John 13:35). One of the Great Ends of the church is the shelter, nurture, and
spiritual fellowship of the children of God.
Another is “the maintenance of divine worship.” Maintenance is certainly a 1910 word. Not
many would refer to worship today using the word maintenance. We would say the spirit of
divine worship, the excitement of divine worship, the uplifting of divine worship.
But there is something to be said for being in God’s presence continually, regularly, consistently
week after week and year after year. Worship has been held every Sunday in the Christian
church for the last 2,000 years. Our congregation has maintained the worship of the living God
for 156 years now. Sunday after Sunday we have worshipped in the Sanctuary 137 years and in
the Worship Center in the Fellowship Hall for 16 years now.
Worship takes many forms in the church, even in one denomination like ours. There are
churches which have traditional services and others more contemporary and some which seek
to blend styles. Some churches are more informal and some more formal. The variety of music
available to the church has never been greater.
Our Presbyterian Book of Common Worship lifts up the importance of worship this way:
“Worship is at the very heart of the church’s life. All that the church is and does is rooted in its
worship. The community of faith, gathered in response to God’s call, is formed in its worship.
Worship is the principal influence that shapes our faith, and is the most visible way we express
the faith.”
Our constitution adds: “Christian worship joyfully ascribes all praise and honor, glory and
power to the triune God. In worship the people of God acknowledge God present in the world
and in their lives. As they respond to God’s claim and redemptive action in Jesus Christ,
believers are transformed and renewed. In worship the faithful offer themselves to God and are
equipped for God’s service in the world” (Book of Order W-1.1000).
That is worth maintaining. There are many, many people involved in preparing and leading our
worship. A significant portion of our time and attention goes into maintaining divine worship.
Next up: “The preservation of the truth”. Truth has taken quite a hit in recent years. Nowadays,
truth is perceived as relative, depending upon your perspective. I would say that we don’t
always know the truth but the task of the church is that we pursue the truth, we seek to discern
the truth, and then to live out the implications of the truth.
Jesus, of course, claimed to be the truth. And Jesus affirmed that God’s word is truth. We read
and study scripture to ascertain the truth for our lives and the world. Teachers and preachers in
the church are encouraged by the words in 2 Timothy: “proclaim the message; be persistent whether
the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in

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teaching. For the time is coming when people…will turn away from listening to the truth and wander
away to myths.”
We Presbyterians have also been huge advocates of education because we are pursuing and
preserving the truth. We preserve the truth when we tell our history accurately; when decisionmaking
is open, fair, and honest; when we seek the truth in our relationships; when we speak
the truth to each other in love.
Another of the Great Ends of the Church is: “the promotion of social righteousness”.
Righteousness is a biblical term often used in our relationship with God. Righteousness is
having a “right relationship” with God- healthy, harmonious, fulfilling, peaceful.
Social righteousness refers then to having right relationships with other human beings- healthy,
harmonious, fulfilling. We treat our fellow humans with respect, with equality, with peace.
Anybody who has studied the history of the church or society, or hears the evening news for
that matter knows that this has not always been the case. Our relationship with God though
should issue forth in changed relationships with people.
This linking is explained well in 2 Corinthians 5: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the
world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation
to us.”
Reconciliation is not only what God has done for us in Christ. Reconciliation is also the mission
of the church. We have been reconciled to be reconcilers. We have been reconciled to God in
order that we might be reconcilers in our lives and in the world. God has given to us, to you
and me, the message and ministry of reconciliation. We are to be about mending the
brokenness of our world.
One of our confessions, the Confession of 1967 states: “God's reconciling work in Jesus Christ
and the mission of reconciliation to which the church has been called are the heart of the gospel
in any age. Our generation stands in peculiar need of reconciliation in Christ.”
When Presbyterians wrote the Confession of 1967, 43 years ago, they addressed four
particularly urgent needs of reconciliation in the world: 1) breaking down racial barriers 2) the
reconciliation of nation to nation instead of war. 3) the reconciliation between the rich and poor
in our world. 4) reconciliation between women and men.
Notice in this Great End we not only practice social righteousness. We promote it. We lift it up,
we say this is what we stand for, this is who we are as the people of God.
Last Great End-“the exhibition of the Kingdom of heaven to the world.” The kingdom of
heaven is a common expression of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. The other gospels tend to

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use kingdom of God. In introducing his parables he will say the kingdom of Heaven is like “a
mustard seed” or “like yeast” or “like a treasure hidden in a field” (Matthew 13:31, 33, 44). Jesus
also teaches us to pray “thy kingdom come.”
For Jesus, the kingdom was not a physical reality. He was not interested in conquering another
people, of freeing the Jews from the Romans. The kingdom of God is not a geographical
territory. The kingdom is the dominion of God over God's people. The kingdom of heaven is the
rule of God over human lives. How does the kingdom come? By us being open to the rule of
God in our lives.
There will be a time in the future when God’s reign will be complete and full. It is only partial
now. But whenever a person allows God to be Lord of their life, then God’s kingdom has come.
And when an ever-growing group of people allow God to reign over their lives, God’s kingdom
grows.
When God’s reign is present in our lives, we will be different people. We will be people of love,
compassion, and forgiveness. We will be people with perspective, pursuing the truth, and
seeking to serve others. What the church is intended to do then is exhibit the kingdom, God’s
reign to the world. We are to live in such a way that people notice and they see God’s presence
in our lives.
Another part of our constitution puts it this way: “The Church of Jesus Christ is the provisional
demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity. The Church is called to be a sign in and
for the world of the new reality which God has made available for people in Jesus Christ…The
Church is called to undertake this mission even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in God alone
as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those deeds in the world that point
beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ” (Book of Order G-3.000 ).
This is not easy. But then none of the Great Ends are easy. Don’t ever think that we are about
little things. We are called by God to these large, overarching, significant purposes.
The Great Ends provide a hundred year old vision of the church’s ministry and mission. These
words still provide a centering vision for the church today. The Great Ends sketch out what a
healthy, vibrant congregation looks like. I believe that our congregation with God’s grace seeks
to live out those purposes. And I believe that those Great Ends will continue to guide our
ministry in the years to come.
“The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind;
the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;
the maintenance of divine worship;
the preservation of the truth;
the promotion of social righteousness;
and the exhibition of the Kingdom of heaven to the world” (Book of Order G-1.0200).