Sermon Notes 1-28-2018

So where do we go from here??

4. are you giving to the mission?

  

So, the big question is where do we go from here in 2018??

·      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.

WE are all family

Mark 3:32–35 (ESV)

³²And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”

³³And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

³⁴And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

³⁵For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

(Video)

Is your Church your Family??

So what is family??

Today we live in a world where family is disconnected, dysfunctional, broken, divorced, absent and even abusive. We live in a world where when you say family to some it brings a rush of horrible memories, hurt, anger and sadly for some no memories at all!

So when we say that the church is a family what are we even talking about???

·      I want you to look to your left and right, because for you this is family!!

Does it feel like family???

·      Does it feel like a business

o   Are you trying to get at much as you can for as little as you can

o   You don’t pick up your trash when you leave

o   You leave the counters in the coffee bar a mess, or the bathroom

o   Do you just get your coffee, flop your butt in a chair, and leave when your done

o   Do you complain about things in the church

§  Are you the one that knows every fault in the church

§  Are you the person that sees every mistake that everyone makes

If I just described you then this is not your family, it’s a business!

·      When it feels like family

o   Your giving way more than your getting (in time and money)

o   You stick around after church hand pick up the trash that everyone else leaves behind

o   You straighten up when your done

o   You are walking around talking to new faces and making feel welcome

o   You don’t complain you do!

§  If its broke you fix it

§  If someone is struggling you pray for them and try and help

You do all this, because this is your family

·      Yes there annoying

·      Yes they get on your last nerve

·      Yes they hurt you sometimes

o   But in your family, you always come back, you always try and you always invest

HOW do I make this church feel like family?

1. Serve

1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV)

¹²For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Are you waited on or served??

·      You want to be in the family you have to stop being served and start serving others

·      That’s what your savior did!

·      He said I come to serve not be served

·      He washed feet, feed the homeless, calmed the storm, healed the broken, comforted many and transformed his family.

·      What are you doing for yours??

·      I am not talking about doing things that make you look good, I’m talking about things that help others

Why serve??

Luke 22:27 (ESV)

²⁷For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

·      What better way to get to know your family than to serve next to them

·      Get plugged in!

o   Find a team and get on it

o   Look for a upcoming project and show up

o   Stop hiding behind the it’s too big, or I don’t know anyone

o   Talk to the team leader, talk to the lay pastor

o   It amazes me to see people and their attitudes when they are truly serving in the church Vs folks who don’t

o   Their lives are better, there marriages are stronger, and they have folks to turn to

Loving people isn’t easy!!!!

Being involved with people is

·      time consuming,

·      messy,

·      and complicated.

These are the very reasons why community is such a big part of God’s plan to transform us into the image of Christ. Living in community pushes us to die to ourselves. There will be times when loving others and allowing others to serve and love us will feel like death, but this is the pathway to real life in Christ. The more we understand our own hearts, the more we see that it takes a work of God’s grace to transform self-absorbed individuals into a community of love. Being in redemptive relationships shows us our need for change and helps bring it about!

2. We Give! That’s right I’m talking a money, Benjamin’s, cheddar, green backs!

Acts 2:45 (ESV)

⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

So why Give??

·      Obedience

·      It all belongs to God anyway

·      What better way to figure that out than to give to him first

What does Jesus say about it???

·      First fruit

o   The first check you make out

o   The first penny you spend Goes to him through His church

·      Cheerfully

o   Give with a glad heart

o   Give gladly knowing God is in control and will use it for his good

o   I use to take $75 bibles to jail

·      Sacrificially

o   You give something up

o   For a single mom $5 is a lot

o   For some 10% is nothing

o   You need to give something

·      Regularly

o   Not when the church finally does something right in your eyes

o   Not when you have extra

o   But on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, what ever it looks like to you)

Ultimately it’s used to reach the lost, from coffee, to lights, to sound, to arena events, to bibles for the kids. Its all used to reach the lost!

Do you even know the needs of your church???

·      How many of you if I ask what does the church need could answer that question?

·      What would it take to pay off the debt we owe?

·      What can you do to make an impact?

To get rid of our debt

·      Let’s say we have 250 family’s attending we all agree that sounds fair right??

·      So, let’s say these 250-family’s want to pay off the debt in 2 years’ time

·      That’s $83.00 dollars a month over and above what you are giving now!

·      Doesn’t sound like much now does it??

·      Let’s break it down further

·      That’s 16 $5 value meals a month per family

·      Or 41 $1.99 sodas

·      Or $2.76 a day

How crazy is that, so my question to you is what is one souls worth???? If your family, you give to help the family meet its goal! To meet its needs.

How much have you given? To help us continue to do what God has called us all to do???

So you don’t think family is important! Think again!

God wants you and needs you to be a part of his big old messed up family! For you to learn and grow, to love and laugh. We will never be perfect, we will disappoint you and hurt you, but just like my family growing up we will always be there for you! So jump on in to the old Station Wagon and lets take her for a spin!!!

Giving and Serving

Matthew 6:19–24 (NIV)

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

²³But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Where is your treasure?

·      Are you storing it all up here?

·      Are tied to things more than Jesus?

·      If things matter more than Jesus your heart will never truly be his!

Stewardship

·      Do you see yourself as a steward of God’s wealth?

·      How is that tangible or not tangible in your life today?

·      Where are you tempted to see your possessions as yours and not God’s?

·      What conflicts does the idea of stewardship raise up in you?

·      Where do you need to grow in you stewardship?

·      What can you start doing today to be a better steward?

Money and Worship.

·      How is money related to worship in your life?

·      Where do you see money/things competing with Jesus for glory in you your life?

·      What things have you sought after for joy but left you wanting after you possessed them? What do see as the highest purpose for the use of money?

·      How does your concept of money need to change for you to realign your worship with God?

Prayer:  Take time to Reflect and meditate on the death of Christ.

·      Praise God for his faithfulness and generosity.

·      Pray for correction where it is needed in regard to stewardship.

·      Pray that the money we steward is converted into souls won for Jesus.

Do you worship God or money?

·      To truly serve, money has to be a secondary issue

·      To truly give your heart has to belong to Jesus

·      Are you giving first fruit or the leftovers?

·      Are you part of the family?