Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“We Are a Bridge between Christ & the World”
(Part 2 of Mission & Vision of FUMC)
February 15, 2015
Scripture
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light.
Core Idea, challenge and summary
Core Idea: As a chosen and holy priesthood, we are a mighty bridge connecting
Christ to the world.
Challenge: To exhort people to seek holiness so they can be a bridge
connecting Christ to the world.
Summary: Bridges are extraordinary feats of engineering. Consider the Seven
Mile Bridge connecting the northern and southern keys at the tip of Florida or the
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. In Louisiana there’s a bridge that is 23.87
miles long! It is part of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and it takes about 30
minutes to cross it. As magnificent as these bridges are, they all pale in
comparison to the greatest bridge of all. This bridge is the church and it connects
Christ in heaven to the world. This is reflected in the vision statement of First
United Methodist Church of Sanford, “First United Methodist Church of Sanford is
a bridge between Christ and our community to make disciples for transforming
the world"
The Apostle Peter described how the church connects Christ to the world when
he wrote, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light.” When Peter wrote this, he was writing to
the church as whole, not just pastors and church leaders. All Christians are holy
and chosen by God to be priests.
In the Old Testament, the priests were mediators between God and the people.
They presented the animal sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. These
sacrifices atoned for (paid for/wiped away) the sins of the people and brought
them into a loving relationship with God. These sacrifices foreshadowed how
Jesus would sacrifice Himself on the cross to pay for our sins. With our sins paid
for once and for all by Jesus, we can receive God’s forgiveness and have a
loving relationship with God through faith in Jesus. God then uses us as holy
priests to bring people to Christ. In this way, we become a bridge between the
world and Christ.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“We Are a Bridge between Christ & the World”
(Part 2 of Mission & Vision of FUMC)
February 15, 2015
Bridges don’t force people to cross a body of water to reach the other side.
Bridges simply make it possible for people to cross the body of water and reach
the other side. In the same way, the church makes it possible for people to
connect with Christ and cross from death to life.
We act as a bridge between the world and Christ by 1) sharing our faith with
other people, and 2) loving and serving people in the name of Christ.
The more holy we become, the more we are able to act as the bridge between
Christ and the world. Holiness is loving God, neighbor and self with the same
type of love Jesus has for us. As we learn to love God, neighbor and self with the
same type of love Jesus has for us, we become a bigger and better bridge.
We must learn to submit to the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. As we do this,
the Holy Spirit changes and empowers us to love God, neighbor and self with the
same type of love Jesus has for us. This is done primarily through prayer, Bible
study, worship, fasting and service. As we learn to love with God’s type of love,
we become a bigger and stronger bridge connecting Christ to the world.
What kind of bridge are you? What kind of bridge do you want to be? Are you
content with being a small, wooden covered bridge or do you want to be a bridge
like the Golden Gate or Seven Mile Bridge? It’s up to you. If you really want to be
a big, strong bridge like the Golden Gate, then you’ll get serious about your
prayer life, Bible study, worship, fasting and Christian service. Then you will look
for ways to connect people to Christ through witnessing and loving service.
Sermon
I.
Introduction: Bridges: Magnificent feats of engineering
A. Consider the following

Seven Mile Bridge connecting the northern and southern keys at
the tip of Florida

Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

In Louisiana there’s a bridge that is 23.87 miles long! It is part of the
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and it takes about 30 minutes to
cross it.
B. When I consider the magnificent bridges of the world, I wonder about the

Engineering involved
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“We Are a Bridge between Christ & the World”
(Part 2 of Mission & Vision of FUMC)
February 15, 2015

The Laws of physics that must be considered

The amount of labor, material and time involved
C. As magnificent as these bridges are, they all pale in comparison to the
greatest bridge of all.

This bridge was not built by people but by God Himself!!

This bridge is the church
 It connects Christ in heaven to the world
 What is more magnificent or significant than that?

This is reflected in the vision statement of First United Methodist
Church of Sanford, “First United Methodist Church of Sanford is a
bridge between Christ and our community to make disciples for
transforming the world"

First Peter 2:9 describes how the church acts as a bridge by
connecting Christ to the world
II.
1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
A. This verse is addressed to every Christian, not just the ‘official’ church
leadership

When Peter wrote this, he was writing to the church as whole, not
just pastors and church leaders. (1 Peter 1:1-2)

All Christians are holy and chosen by God to be priests.
B. To understand what it means for all Christians to be priests, we must first
understand the role the priests played in the Jewish tradition (The Old
Testament understanding of priests)

In the Old Testament, the priests were mediators between God and
the people.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“We Are a Bridge between Christ & the World”
(Part 2 of Mission & Vision of FUMC)
February 15, 2015

They presented the animal sacrifices to God on behalf of the
people.

These sacrifices atoned for (paid for/wiped away) the sins of the
people and brought them into a loving relationship with God.

They foreshadowed how Jesus would sacrifice Himself on the cross
to pay for our sins.
C. With our sins paid for once and for all by Jesus

We can receive God’s forgiveness and have a loving relationship
with God through faith in Jesus.

Then, as forgiven and redeemed people, God uses us as holy
priests to bring people to Christ.

III.
In this way, we become a bridge between the world and Christ.
The church as a bridge between Christ and the world
A. The function of a bridge

Bridges don’t force people to cross a body of water to reach the
other side.

Bridges simply make it possible for people to cross the body of
water and reach the other side.

In the same way, the church makes it possible for people to
connect with Christ and cross from death to life. In this way, we
become a bridge between Christ and the world.

We make it possible for people to connect with Christ by 1) sharing
our faith with other people, and 2) loving and serving people in the
name of Christ.
B. Sharing our faith with other people

As redeemed recipients of God’s forgiveness, we should want to
tell people the good news about Jesus
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“We Are a Bridge between Christ & the World”
(Part 2 of Mission & Vision of FUMC)
February 15, 2015

We pray for the opportunity to share our faith with other people and
then look for those opportunities in our daily lives

When given the opportunity, we tell people why we love and follow
Jesus. We explain what Jesus has done for us and how He has
changed our lives. We simply tell our faith journey.

We don’t have to answer every question. We simply explain what
we know and tell our story. The rest is up to the Holy Spirit.
C. Loving and serving people in the name of Christ

People will not listen to what we have to say about Jesus if they
believe we do not love them

So, we must genuinely love people

We demonstrate this love through service
 Providing support to Scout Troops and Packs
 Serving at ‘Grace & Grits’ to feed the hungry
 Visiting people in hospitals, nursing homes and jails
 Being there for a friend in need
 Giving someone a ride
 Helping with house repairs etc…..
D. Being a bridge that connects Christ to the world requires us to be holy
IV.
Becoming holy so we can be a bridge that connects Christ to the world
A. 1 Peter 2:9 states: “…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation”
B. The more holy we become, the more we are able to act as the bridge
between Christ and the world.
C. What is holiness?

It’s not being able to follow a long list of specific rules better than
anyone else.
 It’s about following the spirit of the law rather than the letter
of the law
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“We Are a Bridge between Christ & the World”
(Part 2 of Mission & Vision of FUMC)
February 15, 2015
 The spirit of God’s law is love: “Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second
is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the
Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew
22:37-40)

Holiness is loving God, neighbor and self with the same type of love
Jesus has for us. As we learn to love God, neighbor and self with
the same type of love Jesus has for us, we become a bigger and
better bridge that connects Christ to the world.

To become more holy, we must learn to submit to the Holy Spirit
who dwells within us.
 As we do this, the Holy Spirit changes and empowers us to
love God, neighbor and self with the same type of love Jesus
has for us.
 This is done primarily through prayer, Bible study, worship,
fasting and service.
 As we learn to love with God’s type of love, we become a
bigger and stronger bridge connecting Christ to the world.
V.
Conclusion: What kind of bridge are you? What kind of bridge do you want to be?
A. It starts with acknowledging Jesus as your Savior and Lord and becoming
a follower of Jesus
B. Then, as a redeemed, forgiven follower of Jesus, you must ask yourself:
“Am I content with being a small, wooden covered bridge or do I want to
be a bridge like the Golden Gate or Seven Mile Bridge?”

If you really want to be a big, strong bridge like the Golden Gate,
then you’ll get serious about your prayer life, Bible study, worship,
fasting and Christian service.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“We Are a Bridge between Christ & the World”
(Part 2 of Mission & Vision of FUMC)
February 15, 2015

Then you will look for ways to connect people to Christ through
witnessing and loving service.
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