Hypocrisy. Infighting. Deceit. What do these things have in common? For everyone, they represent some of the worst aspects of human relationships and community one can experience. But for some, they represent their experiences with individual Christians, or sometimes whole churches, that have left them hurt, broken, or skeptical of any person or group claiming the name of Jesus. What should be a fragrant aroma that draws people closer to God and one another, the church at times can be more like a toxic repellent that drives people away.
The Bible does not lack examples of believers guilty of harmful behavior. It is painfully honest about situations that arose in the early days of Christianity or that could arise today, but it never permits the failures of a few to have the last word for the life of the many. The first Christians did not dismiss their problems, but addressed them with both truth and love, thereby setting the pattern for all generations of believers to follow.
For those today who have been repelled by the noxious odors of toxic church life, Citronella Church is a series of sermons addressing common ways in which communities of faith can fail. But it is also hopeful and optimistic in what Jesus does to present his bride “holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.” (Ephesians 5:26)
For those who make up the church, these sermons will call us to be imitators of Christ in all that we do. (Ephesians 5:1) We will be challenged to consider our own contribution to the condition of our local churches and the impacts they have, for good or for bad, on the world around us.
The Bible does not dismiss the failures of people of faith, nor is it silent on how they may be remedied. The fragrant aroma of Christ (Ephesians 5:2) may yet still be smelled in our midst!
Series Playlist
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A Community of Distrust
Apr 24, 2022 • 48:38
The Bible is not ignorant of the issues that trouble human relationships, nor is it dismissive of the types of failures the church is capable of. God’s word provides everything we need to be all we are called to be: a community where truth in love reigns supreme. Speaker: Sean…
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It's My Way or the Highway
May 1, 2022 • 45:48
Because we are all works in progress, we who make up the church can’t expect to always agree on things. For good-willed people who agree on the essentials, the question isn’t if differences and disagreements will arise, but when—and when they do, how will they be handled? Speaker: Sean Scribner…
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The Person Behind the Mask
May 8, 2022 • 49:25
When the Holy Spirit has access to your heart and transforms you into the likeness of Christ, and all the masks you hide behind are removed, he will use you, and the sweet fragrance of your life, however pressed, to bring glory to God and reach the world with the…
“But these are written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” (John 20:31)
“But these are written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” (John 20:31)
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.” (Micah 5:2, NLT)
One of the most helpful ways of understanding the Christian life is by viewing it as a journey. From cover to cover, the Bible is filled with this sort of imagery: Abraham stepping out in faith by leaving the land of his fathers; his descendants wandering through the wilderness of Sinai; Israel experiencing captivity and exile. The New Testament builds off of these Old Testament themes and refers to Christians as pilgrims traveling through a foreign land. The Christian life as journey provides a tangible and relatable rubric for grasping the life of faith. 
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