Sermon Notes 11-11-2018

Why we do what we do!!

Some will be baptized today, and guess what you got, a new family!

So what is family??

Today we live in a world where the family is sometimes 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??? Well on this snowy, cold day for those of you that braved the cold and nasty roads 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 as 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 and bathrooms a mess. 

o   Do you just get your coffee, flop your butt in a chair, and leave when you're 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   You're giving way more than you're getting (in time and money).

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

o   You straighten up when you're done.

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

o   You don’t complain, you do!

§  If it's 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, they're 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.

So now you ask HOW do I make this church feel like family? 

·     You get dunked.

·     You get plugged in.

·     And you give!

First, you get Baptized!

Jesus gave us our orders!!

Matthew 28:18–20 (NIV)

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 

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

²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

·     Jesus tells us to! That’s why!!

·     But why are churches in America only worried about the one thing in this verse??

·     What about disciples??

·     What about the teaching??

·     Why do we pick and choose what we want to do?

·     We need to baptize and make disciples and teach and mentor new Christians about what God commands

Why we baptize the way we do??

·     The Catholics do it when you’re a baby with a drop or two of water!

·     Some sprinkle water, some splash ya!

·     So why do we go to the trouble of filling that old horse tank and dunk ya in that cold water??

Reference: 

Matthew 3:5–17 (NIV)

⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 

⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 

⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 

⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 

¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 

¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 

¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased.” 

·     We dunk you because that is the way Jesus did it

·     It represents the death, burial, and resurrection of our savior who conquered Satan, sin and death!!

Next, you Serve

1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV)

¹² For 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 to 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)

²⁷ For 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.

·     First that’s what your savior did.

·     And 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 an 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, their marriages are stronger, and they have folks to turn to.

Then you start Giving.

Hotel or Home? That’s the question!

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. 

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

²¹ For 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. 

²³ But 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 you tied to things more than Jesus?

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

Stewardship 

·     What is a steward? 

·     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 your 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 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 regards 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?