A Supernatural Community

A Supernatural Community

26 July, 2026

Thesis: The church is a supernatural community created and sustained by the work of Christ, which transcends natural similarities and distinctions to form a unified body of believers united in love, faith, and service.

Summary: The sermon emphasizes that the church is a supernatural community built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, distinct from ordinary communities that are often based on shared interests or commonalities. The preacher highlights how the gospel brings together people from different backgrounds and cultures, creating a new humanity united by their faith in Christ. This unity is not limited to superficial similarities but is rooted in the supernatural work of God through the gospel, which transcends earthly distinctions such as ethnicity, social position, and biological sex. The church's diversity and unity are seen as a display of the manifold wisdom of God, and its existence is a living testimony to Jesus' power to create a family out of people who would have otherwise remained strangers.

Sermon

# A Supernatural Community

Thank you for that prayer, Pastor Blake. Today, we’re discussing one of our core values at Sojourn: being a compelling community. Specifically, we’ll focus on the idea of being supernatural. As Pastor Blake has emphasized, a compelling community is ultimately a supernatural one.

I want to introduce this topic by considering the ordinary communities we encounter every day. Most communities form around shared interests or backgrounds. People bond over hobbies, like Josh and Blake’s Jiu-Jitsu, or careers, as Jonathan and I did at EMS. Political views, economic status, culture, or stages of life bring others together.

These communities are not necessarily wrong. In fact, it’s natural for people to gather around shared interests. But I want you to consider this: Could these communities exist without God? Many of them do. They don’t gather to worship or pray; they gather simply because they have something in common. Because of that, these communities are limited. They’re built upon commonality and sameness.

The church, however, is fundamentally different. It’s a community created not by natural similarities, but by the supernatural work of God through the gospel, bringing diverse people together. The church exists in Christ, through Christ, and because of Christ.

He brings us together, holds us together, and sustains us together as a community. Colossians 1:17-18 tells us, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” And He is the head of the body, which is the church.

So, who brings us together? It’s Christ. Who holds the church together? It’s Christ. Therefore, the church is a supernatural community built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ Himself. Without Him, it would not exist.

The church is not a collection of people who naturally fit together. Look around this room. We’re different. We’re unique. Yet we’ve been brought together because of Christ—because He has redeemed us, ransomed us, and made us His own.

The church is a people whom Christ has united to Himself, people who, apart from Him, may never have crossed paths. United by Him, we live on mission for Him.

I want you to consider, this morning, the disciples whom Jesus chose. They were not naturally unified; they came from different backgrounds and occupations. Some were fishermen—Peter, James, Andrew, and John. Matthew was a tax collector, which wasn’t popular, but there he was. Then there was Simon the Zealot, who hated Romans and anyone who worked for them.

These men had differing political views, yet Jesus called them all to follow Him, creating an unlikely, supernatural community. The group of disciples is the church in miniature. That’s what it looks like: Jesus bringing together a supernatural community.

The gospel creates a people that natural communities cannot create. Many people ask, “What do we have in common?” They look for those who think like them, talk like them, dress like them, act like them, and believe like them.

Even in churches, people seek out the ones that suit their preferences: the church with the cool pastor everyone wants to hear, the awesome band that entertains them, or the best youth group. If a church doesn’t check all the boxes, they’re out.

But that’s not what supernatural community is about. The question isn’t, “What do we have in common?” The question is, “Who has made us one?” Despite our differences, it’s Christ. Once again, it all comes back to Christ.

If a church is not built upon Christ and his teachings, it’s built upon shifting sand and fads that will quickly fade away. Then what happens? The whole structure falls apart because it wasn’t built upon Christ. Differences begin to divide. But if the church is built upon Christ, petty differences don’t matter.

Paul describes this supernatural unity in Ephesians 2. There, he speaks of Jews and Gentiles who were naturally divided because of cultural and religious differences. Yet through the cross, Christ saved them both and united them.

In Ephesians 2:14-15, Paul writes, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility... creating in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace.”

We’re not just a group of people gathered in a building or a house. We are literally a new humanity, a new family, related through the blood of Christ. That bond is stronger and deeper than natural blood relations. It’s amazing, isn’t it? In Christ, we’re all one.

The gospel also transcends earthly distinctions. Paul captures this in Galatians 3:28, saying, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, nor slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Now, Paul is not saying that these distinctions no longer exist. Clearly, they do. He’s not denying differences in ethnicity, social position, or biological sex. Rather, he declares that these distinctions no longer determine one’s standing before God.

We are all equal; the gospel creates equality before God. Jew and Greek stand on equal ground. Slave and free share the same Savior and receive the same inheritance. Men and women are equally adopted as God’s children. In God’s family, we are united.

The church is a family made up of former strangers. Once estranged from God, separated from Him and from each other without hope, we are now fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household through the work of Christ.

That is why the church consists of people with diverse stories, experiences, cultures, and backgrounds. Yet they share one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. As John saw in Revelation, there are people around the throne from every tribe and nation and tongue who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ.

Lastly, the church displays the wisdom of God. This diversity and unity within the church display the manifold wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:10 says that through the church—the supernatural community—the manifold wisdom of God might be made known.

Who could have devised such a plan? Through the death of Christ, all of us would be united together. Therefore, a church where everyone looks alike, thinks alike, and comes from the same background may display human compatibility. But a church like this, where different generations, cultures, histories, and backgrounds are reconciled together—that’s a supernatural community. That’s a gospel community. That is, shall we say, a compelling community.

In conclusion, I like the words back there: Jesus is the center. He’s the foundation. He’s the reason we belong together and the reason we’re held together—tax collectors and fishermen, zealots, all in one. It is Christ who makes us one.

Jesus tells us in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” Loved ones, the church exists as a living testimony that Jesus is powerful enough to create a family out of people who, apart from Him, would have remained strangers.

Listen, loved ones, I’m leaving you with this: A diverse body of believers who truly and fiercely love each other is the most compelling community we can be.

As people looked through the window, they thought, “What on earth are all those people doing here?” I wondered if they thought somebody had died, because nobody gets together unless somebody dies, right?

But no. They’re asking, “What’s going on? Wait a second—nobody died? In this neighborhood, it’s usually drugs. Maybe it’s drugs? Wait a second—nobody died, and you’re not doing drugs?”

We do have some delicious coffee, though.

But then they see a group of people who love each other, who would do anything for one another, who meet each other’s needs, and who would even lay down their lives for each other. That’s a compelling community. It makes people say, “I want that. I want what they have.”

May we become a compelling community. Let’s join together now in prayer as we ask our Father to make us such.

Father, we’ve read in your word of instances when You brought people together in unlikely ways. Lord, You’ve made us one, united us to Yourself, and caused us to love each other with a fierce, fervent love—so much so that we would lay down our lives for one another, just as You loved us.

Lord, You’ve called us to be a salty and bright community that creates a thirst for You, shining light into darkness and making others desire our unity.

So, Lord, we petition You: Make us that community. Help us to love each other more and more. Let us be more compelling. Let our very existence put the gospel on display. Let people see Sojourn Church and say, “That group of people has something about them that draws us in because they love each other. They’ve experienced the life-transforming power of the gospel.”

Lord, let us be that community. Each one of us comes from a unique background, has unique opportunities, works in different places, and encounters people with their own stories. May we reach them all with the gospel, being a compelling, supernatural community that points to Jesus’ power.

We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

All right, everyone. Join us as we sing the song “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.”