THE 3 C’s OF CHRISTIAN IDENTITY
Pastor Mark Warda
Woodland Church
Sunday, August 17, 2025
I identify as ______________.
“Identity” comes from the Latin idem meaning same.
Your identity is based upon the distinguishing characteristics of both your inner character and your outer conduct.
Do outer circumstances influence someone’s wrong perception of your inner identity?
(Proverbs 27:19) “As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”
(Proverbs 21:2) “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.”
1. CHRIST
(2 Corinthians 5:17) “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
When we trust in Christ for our salvation, we are changed from Slave to Son.
(Romans 8:15-17) “You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.”
2. CHURCH
a. The Church is People.
(Ephesians 4:4-6, 15-16) “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. …speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
b. The Church is People Worshiping God.
(Psalm 95:1-2) “Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.”
(Hebrews 10:25) “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
c. The Church is People Serving Each Other.
(1 Corinthians 12:12, 18-21, 24-26) “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
God has put the body together … so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.”
d. The Church is People Reaching the Lost.
(Romans 10:14) “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
3. COMMUNITY
(John 12:46) “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”
(Matthew 5:14-16) “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
(Ephesians 5:8) “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”
The greater the contrast of our world view with that of those around us, the more we can shine for Christ.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun, we show the love of Christ by reflecting the Son of God through our lives.
The only way we will be united with one another is if we are united in Christ.
God has made each of us unique.
Unity and Unique both begin with U (You).
GROWTHWORK
- How do you show Christ’s love in Woodland Church?
- How do you show Christ’s love in your Community?
- How do you show Christ’s love to your Community through Woodland Church?
- How do you worship Christ at Woodland Church?
- How does your Community recognize Christ in you?
- How does your Community recognize Woodland Church because of you?