Pastor Brian Wilkie - Lego Church; Some Assembly Required (08/30/2026) [Live Messy Church Service]

Aug 30, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Lego Pieces Scattered on the Carpet

The church is not a building but scattered people needing assembly. Like forgotten Lego underfoot, disconnected believers lose their purpose until joined together. God declared isolation “not good” from Eden onward, designing humanity to reflect His image through diverse collaboration. Individualism betrays this design, leaving sharp edges of loneliness and impotent faith. Yet every piece matters – the misfit brick and the worn cylinder await their place in God’s blueprint. [44:41]

“Come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
(1 Peter 2:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you felt like a disconnected Lego piece in God’s assembly? How might reaching out to one church member this week restore your purpose?

Day 2: The Grocery Store Mask Rebellion

Assembling isn’t about convenience but covenant. Like the Hebrews who abandoned gatherings when commanded, we risk valuing independence over Christ’s call to communal witness. Early Christians met daily, their togetherness a rebuke to empire and isolation. COVID revealed how quickly we justify disconnection, forgetting that pews don’t make church – but neither do livestreams replace flesh-and-blood encouragement. [39:37]

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
(Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: What practical sacrifice (time, preference, comfort) could you make this month to prioritize gathering with imperfect believers?

Day 3: Newborns Who Don’t Do Sarcasm

Spiritual infancy requires rejecting the toxins we call maturity. Like babies craving pure milk, believers must shed cynicism, envy, and performative faith – the very pollutants that corrode assemblies. A church filled with “clever” critics cannot nurse spiritual orphans. Christ rebuilds us as living stones through childlike trust, not jaded superiority. [01:00:51]

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”
(1 Peter 2:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: What “adult” attitude (sarcasm, skepticism, self-reliance) might God be asking you to unlearn to receive His simple nourishment?

Day 4: The Eiffel Tower in a Ziploc Bag

Individual purpose emerges in collective assembly. A lone Lego brick – whether cross-shaped or curved – remains useless until connected. So too with believers: our gifts only manifest in community. The early church’s potency came not from superstar apostles but fishermen, tax collectors, and former demoniacs interlocked like plastic studs. [45:00]

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
(Genesis 1:27, ESV)

Reflection: What unique “shape” has God given you that feels dormant? Who in your church needs that piece to complete their ministry?

Day 5: Statues That Don’t Do Dishes

Dead religion cannot reflect a living God. Unlike stone idols, the church – Christ’s assembled image-bearers – feeds the hungry, comforts the grieving, and confronts injustice. When we gather not just to sing but to serve, our collective movement displays God’s heartbeat. The world notices when Lego people build shelters instead of fortresses. [54:10]

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
(Matthew 18:20, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane act of service (dishes, rides, hospital visits) could your small group undertake together to manifest Christ’s presence this week?

Sermon Summary

The church begins with God’s own judgment that it is “not good” for Adam to be alone. The image of God appears in humanity as male and female, as people made for relationship, not as isolated spiritual projects. Individualism may sound free, but it is man’s idea, not God’s idea. The church therefore is not a bunch of people trying to represent God alone and wondering why the witness does not work very well.

The church is Christ’s own building project. Jesus promises to build his church on faith in him, and the New Testament shows churches full of strange people, fractured relationships, doctrinal arguments, and real problems. The early church does not offer a picture of perfect people getting along effortlessly. The early church shows God giving instructions to hold people together in the middle of all their diversity.

The assembly is not optional, even though the form of assembling can look different in different seasons. The word ecclesia means people called together, not a building with a steeple. The building may be useful, but the people are the church. The gathering may happen in worship, around meals, in homes, in Bible studies, through a community meal, in support for single moms, or alongside other churches working for Christ.

The Lego image shows why the church needs assembly. One Lego piece does not express what Lego is for, and one Christian does not fully express what God made his people to be. The same pieces may be put together in different ways for different ministries, and the wider church may share pieces across assemblies, communities, and mission organizations. The kingdom of God can save women from trafficking, feed hungry people, teach literacy, and bring the gospel to far places because God assembles his people for more than one small task.

The living-stone image in 1 Peter presses the point further. Christ is the living cornerstone, rejected by people but chosen and precious to God. God makes his people living stones and builds them into a spiritual house. Dead statues, dead buildings, and disconnected ideologies cannot show the world what the invisible God is like, but a people learning mercy, justice, and love can.

The contrast between power and mercy exposes false gods. God’s justice is not cold punishment for its own sake but making things right at his expense, caring for the poor, lifting the helpless, and welcoming the stranger. The church cannot represent Jesus while loving power more than mercy. The church represents God when people who are needy, difficult, wounded, proud, messy, and still being healed learn to love one another.

The assembly becomes part of the healing. God cleans dirty pieces, restores trust where hurts are tender, and teaches each piece that it matters. God gently and purposefully puts the pieces together for his glory.

Key Takeaways

1. Individualism is not God’s design God’s first “not good” was human aloneness. Spiritual independence can look strong, but it cannot carry the full image of God or display his love very well. The church calls people out of lonely self-sufficiency into the hard, fruitful work of belonging. [34:19]
2. The church is people, not buildings Ecclesia means an assembly called together. A church building can serve the people of God, but it cannot replace their shared life, encouragement, prayer, meals, and ministry. The church exists wherever Christ’s people are being assembled for his purposes. [42:27]
3. Every piece matters in God’s work The Lego picture leaves no room for disposable people. Different gifts, backgrounds, capacities, and callings can fit together in ways that one person could never manage alone. God’s kingdom work grows when the pieces stop competing and start assembling. [49:24]
4. Mercy and justice belong together God’s justice makes things right for those crushed by sin, poverty, neglect, and power. Mercy is not softness toward evil, and justice is not harshness without compassion. God’s people show his character when they refuse to prize power above mercy. [56:52]
5. Love makes God visible The church is not credible because its people are naturally impressive. Christ gathers people who need mercy and teaches them to love across pride, wounds, habits, and differences. That kind of love gives the world a living picture of the God who saves messed-up people.

## [67:14]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:25] - Some Assembly Required
[32:17] - God Says Aloneness Is Not Good
[34:02] - The Problem With Individualism
[37:11] - Jesus Builds His Church
[38:49] - Do Not Neglect Gathering Together
[42:01] - The Church Is the Assembly
[44:23] - The Lego Picture of Church
[46:33] - Assembled for Ministry and Mission
[50:24] - The Cost and Fruitfulness of Church
[53:03] - Made to Show the Image of God
[56:33] - God’s Mercy and Justice
[59:13] - Power Is Not the God of Jesus
[60:14] - Living Stones Built Into God’s House
[64:21] - Love One Another Despite the Struggle
[69:12] - Every Piece Matters
[77:36] - Do Not Give Up Assembling

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Genesis 2:18 — “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” [33:19]

Matthew 16:18 — “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [37:24]

Hebrews 10:24–25 — “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” [40:06]

1 Peter 2:4–5 — “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” [01:00:14]

Observation questions

In Genesis 2, what had God called “good” before he said that Adam being alone was “not good”? What does that contrast show about human aloneness? [32:50]
In Hebrews 10:24–25, what are believers meant to do for one another when they meet together?
What different ways can God’s people assemble besides a large Sunday gathering in one building? [46:31]
In 1 Peter 2:4–5, who is the living stone at the center, and what are believers being built into together? [01:02:06]

Interpretation questions

If Jesus promises to build his church on faith in him, why is a church with struggles, differences, and imperfect people not necessarily a failed church? [37:33]
Hebrews says gathering helps believers stir one another toward love and good works. What might be lost when a believer treats church only as a service to watch rather than a people to know?
The image of Lego shows that the same people may be assembled in different ways for different ministries. How does this help a believer see ministry beyond one program, one building, or one group of friends? [46:39]
God’s justice is described as making things right, caring for the poor, lifting the helpless, and welcoming the stranger. How does this understanding keep mercy and justice together rather than treating them as opposites? [56:52]

Application questions

Where is individualism most tempting right now—perhaps in avoiding help, keeping struggles private, or serving only when it is convenient? What would one small step toward real connection look like this week? [34:19]
Is there someone in the church community who has been missed lately—a person who may need a call, card, meal, visit, or simple encouragement? What could be done to reconnect with them? [01:17:46]
Every piece matters, but it can be easy either to feel unimportant or to assume others are less necessary. Which temptation is more familiar, and how could it be replaced with gratitude for the gifts God has given others? [01:10:37]
When difficult personalities, different backgrounds, or old wounds make connection hard, what helps a believer remain present and loving instead of pulling away? [01:07:14]
Are there hurts or trust issues that make it difficult to “fit together” with others? What safe, honest step could be taken toward healing and trust rather than carrying that hurt alone? [01:11:14]
Where might love of comfort, control, influence, or power be competing with mercy in daily life? How could care for someone weak, overlooked, poor, or lonely make God’s mercy visible this week? [59:16]
What ability, experience, resource, or burden has God given that could become part of a shared ministry—whether through prayer, hospitality, practical help, Bible study, community care, or partnership with other believers? [49:24]

Sermon Clips

44s

#JusticeIsMercy

“his idea of justice isn't throw them in jail and throw away the key. His idea of justice is caring for the poor and lifting up the helpless and the stranger in our midst. His idea of justice sounds an awful lot like mercy, doesn't it? Did did you do you ever see the prophet saying the sentences aren't long enough for criminals, that's why you're going into exile? Instead he says, because you have enriched yourself at the expense of the weakest in your society, that's why you're going in exile.”

46s

#GratefulForMercy

“Jesus started revealing to them some of the ways they've been selfish, some of the ways they've been they've been mean to others, some of the ways they've been been following another god and they go, how did you how did you accept me when all this stuff that I didn't even realize was wrong with me was wrong with me? That's I think that's a wonderful place to be sometimes. We just go, okay, God. Apparently, I needed mercy, and you gave it. Thank you, Jesus.”

49s

#AssemblyHeals

“But there's parts of me that really, really do well in the assembly. And there's parts of me that aren't quite ready yet. There's issues of trust that come into it. Aren't there for you? There's issues of hurts that are still tender, and you don't connect on that side, please. But God, that's his plan. As we learn that there's some parts that aren't working quite like God intended them to, the assembly itself will be part of the healing.”

46s

#TrustAndInnocence

“The time spent together getting to learn to trust other people. It's God's purpose. It's beautiful. And the maturity that we come to when we're no longer infants but mature, but we haven't stopped being childlike in our innocence. Or maybe we've regained some of that childlike innocence that doesn't care about envy or slander or malice, doesn't care about being the most important or doesn't always feel like you're the least important. That's equally damaging.”

53s

#PeopleCalledTogether

“The word for church in the old testament, we really translate it badly because our word for church comes from the German word kirke which is actually describes a building. Church in that sense means building, but that's not what the Bible means by church, is it? The word in the in the New Testament is ecclesia. Ecclesia. And that means a lot to you, right? It actually means people called together. It was the word used in Athens in their democracy when they had it to, describe the public assembly of the people. The assembly of the people.”

49s

#ChurchIsPeople

“Coming together of people. We have that little you remember that thing when you were little? Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people. Okay, that's cool. That's cute and all that. But really, here's a building that has a steeple. Open the doors and see the church. Right? The church is the assembly of the people. I think and and frankly, our Pentecostal friends have it right when they call their churches the assemblies of God. It's a good term. It's a really, really good term. Some places have called themselves the gathering.”

46s

#ManyPiecesOneBody

“It's actually it's made to be assembled. Right? It's not like, what's a single piece of Lego? Nothing. Oh, this is this is, this is the Eiffel Tower and this is the moonlander and this is the Titanic. One piece really doesn't express what Lego is for, does it? Instead, you get a whole set of pieces and then the magic begins, right? I suppose I should use a generic term like building blocks or whatever, but let's keep with Lego.”

44s

#TogetherInGodsImage

“We need this assembly. And I think when Jesus says wherever two or three are gathered, he's saying something about the importance assembling together. He's also saying something about the image of God because we, you and I were made to be in the image of God. Right? And yet we don't do a good job of it when we're sinning. We do a better job. We we are capable of being the image of God, which is something you can't say for any statue, a graven image, any ideology.”

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