Sermon Notes 9-2-2018 (Church in the dirt)

Welcome to our mission field!

  

If you’re new I want you to know 4 things.

1. Jesus loves you.

John 3:16 (ESV)

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

·      Jesus loved us so much He came to earth

·      Lived a homeless life

·      Was made fun of

·      Beaten

·      And ultimately died for you

·      Even though you were His enemy, He died for you!

Romans 5:8–10 (ESV)

⁸ but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. 

¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. 

2. We are a hospital for the sick!

Matthew 9:12 (NLT)

¹² When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”

·      Everyone in this church is sick and in need of the great doctor

·      None of us are perfect, we are all a hot mess

·      And everyone here needs Jesus every day

·      We are real people, with real problems, serving a real God, trying to make a difference

3. We want you to find Jesus

·      There is no magic prayer

·      True belief starts small

o   Just a conversation with Jesus

o   Start to understand who He is and what He did for you

o   I’m not going to bore you with a bunch of stuff you don’t understand

·      Do you feel in your heart that it's time for something different?

·      Time to start down a different path?

·      If so, we would love to help you with that!

  

4. Finally we want to add you to the Body of believers!

The decision is costly, so it must be carefully considered.

Luke 9:62 (NLT)

⁶² But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

·      There is no turning back

·      So consider it carefully

·      Gods wants all of you

·      Or nothing

The decision is urgent, so make it soon. 

Luke 12:20 (NLT)

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?"

·      I have spent more time in the hospital this week than I care to

·      I see death at all ages

·      It can come way too soon

The decision is worth it, so you want to make it.

John 10:10–11 (NLT)

¹⁰ "The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep."

·     My life has never been the same

·     My marriage has never been stronger

·     I was by the world's standards a successful man

·     My life was in a mess

·     My marriage was broken

·     Jesus fixed all that, and He can for you too!

  

And for you who call this church your home, its time to be on mission!

1. It's not about the numbers, it's about the souls.

We have a great commission

Matthew 28:19–20 (NLT)

¹⁹ "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

²⁰ "Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

·      We can't worry about numbers

·      We have to be concerned with lives changing

·      People not just showing up, but converting their lives through:

o   Faith

o   Repentance

o   Prayer

o   Showing grace and mercy

o   We have to live it daily, to truly show a lost world who Jesus is

We have to always make it about Jesus

·      No matter what we do

·      No matter what we say

·      We can't save anyone

·      Only Jesus can

Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)

⁸ God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 

So if we are in the arena, or Sunday morning service, we have to be gracious, humble servants giving God the glory and the praise. Love must be spoken here!

2. We have to be a church on mission!

We have to spread the “Good news of Jesus”

·      I don’t care if it's at church Sunday

·      Or at an arena event

·      Or outreach opportunity

·      At work, at the store

·      I DON’T CARE WHERE IT IS

·      We have to be a church on mission!

2 Corinthians 5:11 (NLT)

¹¹ Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this too. 

·      I was so disheartened at our two arena events

·      I only know of one person who went in to the crowd and touched people

·      We can't huddle together 

·      We have to be on mission!

·      We need you out in the crowds, talking to people

·      We can have the best arena in town, but what good is it if we aren’t spreading the “Good news”!?

Don’t be afraid to share your faith!

Acts 18:9–10 (NLT)

⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!"

¹⁰ "For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.”

·      It is not my responsibility to be in the crowd

·      It's all our responsibility

·      We have to go at this with a purpose

·      We have to go at this boldly

·      We have to be just like our savior!

·      BOLDY, PURPOSEFULLY ON MISSION!

So church, are you ready to be on mission?

We have to be a body hungry to see God's Kingdom grow, lives changed, marriages saved, people being baptized, and Jesus' love and message spread across our corner of the world! So are you ready??

And if you're new, we want you to see just how much Jesus loves you, and wants you to be a part of His family. Are you ready?