Work and Worship in the Church
3 Beauties of the Bride of Christ
Aaron Lee | Romans 12:3-8 | FCBCW Youth Worship | August 24, 2025
Introduction
What does worship in the church look like? Is it raising hands? Is it sitting in the seats? Is it music and singing? Is the person who is preaching the only one worshiping God? Those who are serving in the nursery doing our worship time – are they worshiping God?
Context
Romans 12:1-2 is a crucial text, saying that we are to be living sacrifices – giving worship to God with our entire lives. This is done by being transformed by the renewing of our minds – it’s being a new creation in Christ – and not conforming to the world. It’s thinking like a Christian, and then living like a Christian:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)
Paul presents a contrast to the world by bringing us into the church. The church, the bride of Christ, is different from the world. Christians make up the church, and the world should be able to see the beauty of Christ’s bride. The beauty we’re talking about here is not a physical beauty, but a spiritual beauty – a people set apart, marked by holiness and sharing in the glory of Christ.
Sermon Preview
I’m going to frame our text as three beauties of the bride of Christ. They are traits, qualities, characteristics that make her beautiful. These keywords describe how the church works together:
Humility: Siblings by Grace
Unity: Sharing in Christ
Diversity: Serving with Gifts
1. Humility
The first beauty of the bride of Christ is humility.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)
Explanation
Christians have humble hearts. Paul begins by alluding to the fact that God’s grace has given him the gifts of being an apostle, preacher, and teacher. With this authority, he asks everyone among the church in Rome, Jews and Gentiles, to be humble – not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Both Jews and Gentiles were prone to be proud. The Jews were proud because they were God’s chosen people from the beginning. The Gentiles were proud because God had offered them salvation while the unbelieving Jews were broken off because of their unbelief (Romans 11:20).
God’s people are not to be proud. Instead, we are to think with sober judgment. This means to assess yourself realistically. When you’re sober, you’re able to think straight. In the context of working together in the church, it means we do not brag, boast, or belittle others about our status or about our areas of service. Christians cannot be conceited. We are a people who have received mercy. When we have this type of humility, it leads to harmony (Romans 12:16).
A church that is not humble is like a team with players who only want to collect stats and shine the spotlight on themselves. A humble church is beautiful because we do not have to compare ourselves our compete with one another. We model the example of Christ, who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he humbled himself (Philippians 2:6-11). He was not looking out for his own advantage, but he was counting others as more significant than himself. Compared to Christ, this should be easy for us, because Christ really was superior. He really was supreme. He had an infinite amount of reasons to not be humble and he would actually be righteous in it – yet he makes himself lowly because of his love for God and for others. We must remember the mercy of God, and measure ourselves rightly in light of it.
Application
So, will you stop comparing and competing in the church? Comparison and competition are not necessarily bad. Friendly competition can help us push together toward a common goal. And I’ll talk more about how we can compare ourselves to others and appreciate our differences. But what must stop is comparing and competing out of pride. It’s the sin of thinking we are superior.
I want to talk directly to the 6th graders here today. There was once a time where I did not really want to serve in children’s ministry. I said that I would only play music in the adult service. It was not humble, I compared myself to others and thought I was better – too good for children’s ministries, and I saw myself in competition with those serving in the adult ministries. Somewhere along the line, God humbled my heart. I love children’s ministry. In fact, it’s my favorite place to worship. And I actually think those who serve in children’s ministry have very special giftings. I am not better than anyone. Children’s ministry is the most difficult area of service but also the most rewarding for me. There is no competition – it’s a totally unique and wonderful place to worship.
I understand that this can be countercultural for students because you live in a constant state of comparison and competition. “What grade did you get on that test?” “What’s your GPA now?” “What extracurriculars are you doing?” “What college will you go to?” While you might ask to be friendly, you might actually just want to see if you’re better. The humble Christian does not want to be better than anyone else. Rather, the humble Christian wants to help everyone else be better for the sake of loving Jesus more. Instead of saying I’m better than you because I’m on the leadership team, the humble Christian says how can I help you by being on the leadership team? Instead of saying I’m better than you because I come to church on Fridays and Sundays, the humble Christian invites and encourages others to come out on Fridays and Sundays. Seek to humble every area of your heart so we can become more and more like our Savior.
The bride of Christ is beautiful because she has a humble heart.
2. Unity
The second beauty of the bride of Christ is that she is united:
4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:4-5)
Explanation
Christians in the church are joined together in Jesus and with each other. Paul pushes further by giving us an analogy: The church as a body. We have many body parts: hands, eyes, arms, legs. They do different things, they serve different purposes. Yet all of these body parts still make up one body. And your body parts belong to each other. They serve and work together, in tandem, in total. And we can’t miss that the body is in Christ, meaning he holds us all together. Even more, he is our head. Jesus is in charge of the church.
The Bible has so many verses about the church being a body with Christ as the head. We are baptized in the same salvation (1 Cor 12:12-14), the body grows holds together, and builds itself up in love (Eph 4:16), we are to have unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God (Eph 4:13), we reflect the unity of the Godhead (John 17:11), we are to speak truth to each other (Eph 4:25), and we belong, commit, and give ourselves to each other (1 Cor 6:15). There is a spiritual union but also a physical union. Our minds and lives are tied together.
A church that is not united is like an orchestra without a conductor. A united church is beautiful because we show we have the same heart. It’s a heart that beats for the truths of the Bible, for God and the gospel. And the way that looks in our church is like this: To glorify God by being a vibrant church of disciple-makers, driven by a passion for God's word, God's family, and God's world that reproduces vibrant churches locally and globally. We are biblical, intergenerational, and missional. We love passionately, we live authentically, we give generously, we go courageously, and we pray fervently. This is not just said in our church, but it must be seen in our church. It begins with a commitment to be here as we live it out together.
Application
So, will you stay committed to the church? Or more specifically, will you stay committed to coming to church? I want to talk to the junior highers here today. You’re experiencing a bit more freedom than you have before. With high school will come more opportunities to learn and grow outside of church. Staying committed to coming to church is incredibly important. I thank God that my parents instilled in me at a young age that missing church was not an option. I don’t recommend this, but I remember being sick and still having to come to church, sleeping on the chairs because I couldn’t really take it. It made an impression on me!
I was in drumline in high school, and I quickly learned just how much it would take me away from church. Football games on Friday nights meant I would be missing fellowship. Rehearsals during the week and competitions on Saturdays took me away from my Christian friends. As a young adult, I was working and going to school at the same time. I would work night shifts and then go to school during the daytime. My sleep schedule was all messed up, and this made it incredibly difficult to come to church. For sure, God gives us different seasons and our church attendance might not always be up to us. You should not feel guilty if you are sick or if you have special family circumstances. But our heart should always be to be here and make it happen as much as possible. Skipping church for a test you didn’t prepare for or because you stayed up too late for no good reason shows a misplaced priority.
There will come a day when your parents will not make you come to church anymore. They might even say it’s okay for you to not come. But we have a clear command from God: Don’t neglect to meet together, don’t make it a habit, and we should meet all the more as we get closer to Christ’s return (Hebrews 10:25). If you have already committed to coming to church, keep on coming and encourage others to come back. Reach out to those you haven’t seen in a while. Commit to coming to church now and get that habit into your head and into your heart.
The bride of Christ is beautiful because she is joined together in Jesus, whole and complete.
3. Diversity
The third beauty of the bride of Christ is that she is diverse:
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)
Explanation
Christians have different gifts given by God to be used for his glory. We have a variety of gifts to use in the service of God and others. There are seven gifts listed here, and this list isn’t exhaustive, but representative — showing a sample of how God equips the church with everything she needs. We see that we are to serve in proportion to our faith – meaning, with trust in God and with how much God has gifted us. We use what God has given us. Interestingly, there is an emphasis on the attitudes of how we are to use our gifts. Tiff shared a helpful quote from John Piper in our Sunday School class: “A spiritual gift is an ability given by the Holy Spirit to express our faith effectively (in word or deed) for the strengthening of someone else’s faith.” Gifts are given and empowered by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:7-11), and we are to steward our gifts for the glory of God and the good of others (1 Peter 4:10-11).
To prophecy is to speak truth from God and build up the church. To serve is to take care of the practical tasks of running a church. To teach is to provide doctrinal instruction to God’s people. To exhort is to come alongside others and encourage them in their faith. To contribute is to share and give to meet different needs. To lead is to inspire and organize others to action. To do acts of mercy is to provide personal care for others. These must all be done within the scope of your personal maturity and spiritual gifting, as well as in accordance with biblical teaching.
A church without diversity is like a painting where every color is the same. Diversity in the church is beautiful because we get to see the different ways God has designed us. We get to showcase how God graciously gives us spiritual gifts and we steward them in our service to others.
Application
So, will you start contributing to the church? I use the word contribute because it connotes a giving of your entire self. While serving has a sense of doing, contributing has a sense of being. It’s not one and done, but it’s a constant giving of your gifts to God.
I want to speak to my high schoolers, those who have already served in the church. One danger is using your gifts for yourself to get ahead. Your gifts are not for showing off, but for serving. Your gifts are not for self-fulfillment, but for sharing. Your gifts are not for your own gain, but for giving. The church is not your own personal stage, platform, ladder to climb, network to leverage. There is a joy in serving as you give yourself to others. Another pitfall of thinking through spiritual gifts is thinking that you can only serve in one area or in one specific way. My own personal testimony: I started serving in AV before I was a worship leader, I started serving as a Sunday School teacher before I was a preacher, I started serving in our church tape ministry before I started serving in social media. Be faithful wherever God has placed you.
To contribute more of your spiritual gifts, start welcoming newcomers, start speaking up and sharing more in small groups, engage and interact with us in Sunday School, put away chairs and pick up trash on the floor. Start contributing to the church and see how God grows you.
The bride of Christ is beautiful because she uses her different gifts to serve God and others.
Big Idea
Christians work and worship in the church with humility, unity, and diversity.
The Gospel
It’s important to remember our motivation, the reason why we work and worship:
You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
We work and serve and worship God because we belong to God. Jesus has freed us from being slaves to our sin by purchasing us with his blood. Giving our lives to Christ is the right response of the redeemed. The church is beautiful, washed in the word.
Conclusion
What does worship in the church look like? It’s more than raising hands, it’s having humble hearts. It’s not passive attendance, but an active unity of living life together. It’s more than music and singing, it’s being on mission and serving. Life in the church, life as a Christian, is practical, tangible, and beautiful.
[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:14)
Worship is both preaching and hearing. It’s changing diapers and discipling adults. When it’s done for God’s glory, all work is worship in the church. And the bride of Christ is beautiful.
The Beauty of the Bride
The beauty of the the bride
Is not in outward form
But see her eyes behold the prize:
She loves her God, the Lord
She’s gentle in her spirit
And humble in her heart
Since Jesus Christ has robed her, white
Bright light shines in the dark
United in her mission
A body, joined and whole
For holy, chosen, royal priests
God’s mercies known and shown
Talented and skillful
Diverse in gifts of grace
With joy she serves, she gives, she works
And worships, bringing praise
The beauty of the the bride
Is not in outward form
But see her eyes behold the prize:
She loves her God, the Lord
References
ESV Expository Commentary: Romans by Robert W. Yarbrough
The ESV Study Bible by Crossway
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary on Romans by Donny Ray Mathis II
Reflection Questions
How do you personally struggle with comparison or competition in the church?
When was the last time you looked down on someone else’s area of service? Why do you think you did that?
How does remembering God’s mercy help you stay humble?
What would it look like for you to serve others in the church without needing to be noticed?
How does Jesus’ example of humility (Philippians 2:6–11) challenge or encourage you?
What makes unity in the church difficult for you?
How would you describe your current level of commitment to the church?
What are some habits or priorities in your life that might be pulling you away from actively participating in the church?
How can you encourage someone else in your fellowship to keep showing up and staying connected?
In what ways do you think your presence (or absence) impacts the rest of the body?
Which of the spiritual gifts in Romans 12:6–8 do you think God may have given you?
How are you currently contributing to the church—not just with actions, but with your attitude?
What are some new ways you could step out and serve in the coming season?
Have you ever held back from serving because you didn’t think your gifts were important? How can Romans 12 challenge that thinking?
How can you affirm and encourage the different gifts you see in others around you?