NorthBridge | January 11, 2026 | Who Needs Church (Part 2)

I accept you right where you are. I hold nothing against you. There's nothing between us. Do you know what that kind of safety does? That safety leads people to honesty, And honesty is the pathway to hope and help and healing. And many in the church today, churches all across America, sit hiding, fearful because they don't think anybody would expect what they're in the middle of. Let alone when they hear about it, they feel like people wouldn't accept them. They would feel like, oh, wow. You need to go get your stuff together. [01:01:08] (40 seconds)

Imagine if people were convinced that when they showed up at church, they'd be expected. They'd be accepted, and they'd get connected at the help that they need. And not just any kind of help, helped by people who love them, who are willing to put their hands to work, to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their lives, and lead them towards to use their gifts, be led by the spirit, and help them to experience the help that only God can provide in their lives. I'll tell you what would happen. [01:08:43] (40 seconds)

Now I just want to pause for a second. I want to ask you an important question. If you found yourself in need, in need of significant help, do you have four friends that you know would know where to take you for help and stop at nothing to get you there? Do you have four friends that would come around you and go, we know we see your need. We know where to take you for help. Even if you don't want it, even if even if you're resistant of it, we know where to take you, and we're going to stop at nothing to get you the help that you need. That's what was remarkable about this man's friends. [00:49:20] (41 seconds)

The real barrier is shame. Don't miss this. The paralyzed man, this is my favorite part of the story. He believed his condition was his fault. So Jesus speaks to his shame first, And here's why. Because shame has a traumatizing effect emotionally and oftentimes physically. [00:58:10] (23 seconds)

You know, when Jesus handed the baton, there's one part one part of our church or one part of our our the his history of the church that thought he passed it to Peter, but he didn't. He passed it to the church, to a group of people. That's why we're the body of Christ. And he said, I'm gonna hand off my power and my authority, and I'm gonna place it by my spirit inside of you, and you are gonna help people. You're gonna meet people's needs, which this leads me back to what we think about when we think about church. [00:54:46] (31 seconds)

What if everyone expected the church to be the place you turned when you need help? And what if when you showed up looking for help, you were met with the same sort of kindness and compassion Jesus offered the paralyzed man? I mean, imagine if peep if this was the reputation. I'm gonna go to church. They're expecting that that I'm gonna show up because I need help. And regardless of what church I go to, I know that when I show up, I will be accepted at that church. [00:57:39] (30 seconds)

where they can experience what the New Testament church was meant to be. It was instructed to be. And we do this for students, we do this for children. We do this at every stage and age because we want it to be normal, that people are practicing what the church was meant to practice in terms of the one another. Some of you have seen this. As you read your Bible, You see this phrase pop up, one another. If you during the New Testament, you see a lot. It occurs over a 100 times in the New Testament. We're instructed among other things to love one another, restore one another, carry one another, bear with one another, forgive one another. There's our word, accept one another, Encourage one another. Submit to one another. This is what the the church, the ecclesia was meant to do. Not the building. [01:02:35] (44 seconds)

Lastly, what if people knew they'd find real tangible support and assistance in the life in the midst of life's most difficult struggles? That whether they're facing financial or relational, emotional, or professional challenges, that people, when they show up at church, they know if I take a step and I get connected and I get connected here, the truth is is I can find the help that I need here in the church. What if people knew they were being expected, knew they'd be accepted, and knew that when they took a step to get connected, they'd find it. See, people don't avoid church because they don't need help. They avoid church because they're not sure church will actually help. [01:03:38] (49 seconds)