New year, New you
Same Jesus!
I ask my self this
question all the time, where do we go from here? What should we do next? What
needs fixed, tweaked, done away with, started up. But as a church congregation,
and individuals in that congregation, what do those questions look like to each
one of us?
After careful thought
and prayer, I have some things for you to think about in the coming year,
things to consider. And the best place to start is in Acts 2.
After Peter delivered a big sermon, and the church grew quickly, the way the
churchs response might give us a peak in to what we should do next!
Let me set this
set of verses up
·
Peter had just
preached a sermon of a life time
·
Proclaiming the
Gospel boldly
·
And all of a
sudden a church off a 100 became a church of 3000
·
And they didn’t
sit back and say “look at us” or “we don’t want this many people”
·
They dug in and
kept doing the lords work!
Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and
signs were being done through the apostles.
44And all who believed were together and had all things
in common.
45And they were selling their possessions and belongings
and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46And day by day, attending the temple together and
breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous
hearts,
47praising God and having favor with all the people. And
the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
1st thing we need to do, is make our
church healthier!
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and
signs were being done through the apostles.
·
I like to call
this tightening up the four walls!
o We must evaluate if we have the right classes
o Enough bible studies
o Things for every maturity level
o Do we do enough on Sunday morning (our party) to
make guest welcome?
·
What do we need
to do with the facilities?
o We need room for our kids
o Events that our church can attend
§ Where can you get plugged in
§ Where can you help to make our church more well
rounded
o Good solid expository preaching
·
And basically,
getting ready to welcome more people in and expecting God to send us more every
week
2nd we have to come
together, and start working together to get ready for our guest!
44And all who believed were together and had all things
in common.
·
How do we come
together?
·
How do we get
one common goal?
·
We do that by
making sure all our spiritual needs are meet
How do we do that you ask?
We
look at the different segments of growth we all walk through spiritually and
make sure we are fitting the needs of all segments!
There are four segments
Exploring Christ: The people in this segment have a basic belief in God, but they are
unsure about Christ and his role in their lives.
·
They need
activities
·
They need fun
·
They need
fellowship
·
They need this
to start building trust and relationships
·
Salvation is
not about a prayer it’s about a relationship with Jesus and his people
Growing in Christ: The people in this segment have a personal relationship with Christ.
They’ve made a commitment to trust him with their souls’ salvation and for
eternity, but they are just beginning to learn what it means and what it takes
to develop a relationship with him.
·
This is new
believers and represents most of our church congregation
·
They need small
groups
·
They need bible
studies
·
And they need a
place to serve
·
If you’re in
this segment get plugged in and get involved
Close to Christ: The people in this segment depend on Christ every day. They see Christ
as someone who assists them in life. Daily, they turn to him for help and
guidance for the issues they face.
·
These folks
have a solid growing relationship in Christ
·
Instead of
being fed they need to be feeding others
·
If you’re in
this segment step up and lead a small group or bible study
·
You should be a
member of the church and on a consensus team somewhere
Christ-Centered: The people in this segment would identify their relationship with
Christ as the most important relationship in their entire lives. They see their
lives as fully surrendered to Jesus and his agenda, subordinating everything to
his will and his desires.
·
These people
should be leading the direction of the church
·
Looking at the
churches needs not their own
More questions?
·
What segment
are you??
·
What do you
need to be doing to help yourself grow?
·
Show up on
Wednesday for a class?
·
Get plugged in
to a small group?
·
Lead a small
group?
·
Get on a team?
·
Become a
member?
3rd We must support the church and those
in it!
45And they were selling their possessions and belongings
and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
·
There is no
reason when there is body of committed believers that the church should
struggle
o It shouldn’t struggle to support the pastor
o It shouldn’t struggle to support the mission of the
church
o It just should never happen
·
In the state of
the church address you will hear more but here are a few of the facts
o 20 families supported approximately 85% of the financial
burden of this church
o our budget is that of a traditional church of less than
100
·
if you are a
regular attender of this church you should support your church
o regularly
o specifically, when needed
o sacrificially
o joyfully
·
if you can’t
support your church and its mission, why are you here???
o These are tough questions
o you need to ask yourself that question
Hebrews
5:11–13 (NLT)
11There is much more we would like to say about this,
but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and
don’t seem to listen.
12You have been believers so long now that you ought
to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic
things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid
food.
13For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and
doesn’t know how to do what is right.
4th we have to build relationships in the
local church, we need a local church and we need to belong to it!
46And day by day, attending the temple together and
breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous
hearts,
What does it mean to be a member of a
church?
·
Publicly
o We acknowledge we are a member of the church
publicly
o Through baptism
o Regular attendance
o And participating in the business on the church
·
Socially
o We form our relationships in the church
o Are social calendar revolves around the church
·
Affectionately
o Our close relationships come from the church
o The people we call family is in the church
o We lovingly help and hold accountable the people in
the church
o My dad always said “be around the people you want to
be like”
§ That sometimes means changing your friends
§ That sometimes means walking away from some folks
§ But take it from me it works
§ I have been with rich people and found money
§ I have run with rebels and been a rebel
§ I have run with outlaws, and been an outlaw
o But the most rewarding change in my life is when I
surround myself with true believers in Christ!
§ Not Sunday social butterflies
§ Not “blessed” Christians
§ But true heartfelt, bible believing, Jesus
followers!
·
Financially
o We support the mission and needs of the church
·
Ethically
o We live a life that will not bring shame to our
church
o We strive to hold other members to that standard
·
Spiritually
o Our spiritual growth comes from the church
·
SUBMITTING TO
UGLINESS
o We are about the ugly business of living our ugly
lives together
o And helping others with there ugly lives
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