sermon Notes 1-6-2019

So where do we go from here??

1. We Learn Together! 

So, the big question is where do we go from here in 2019??

·     Peter had just preached a sermon of a lifetime

·     Proclaiming the Gospel boldly

·     And all of a sudden, a church of 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 Lord's work!

Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 

⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 

⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 

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

⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 

⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. 

Recap!

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

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

²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So, what did the first church formed after Jesus ascended do that was so special, so awe-inspiring that lead to the making of so many disciples?  

1. They learned together

2. They had one common mission

3. They hung out and spent time together

4. They gave for the common mission

It’s hard to believe that it is that simple, but it was. And simple does not mean easy!

·     It takes commitment

·     It takes your time

·     And it takes a purpose!

Learning and growing together is important

I know why it’s important, you know why too!

·     Most of us know why it’s important 

·     We grow in wisdom

·     We grow in knowledge

·     We find more joy

·     We find more peace

·     We find healthy relationships

·     We are just plain happier when we are in the word and with our church family.

John 10:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

·     God wants to give you a full and productive joy-filled life! 

·     Satan wants to steal your time

o   Kill your joy

o   And destroy your relationship with Jesus and His followers

So why don’t we spend more time together?

·     Because we are too hung up in the world!

·     Our phones grab us

·     Our TV grabs us

·     And we waste so much of our life doing the things that at the end won’t help us at all!

·     We spend on average 33 hours a week watching TV

·     We spend on average 3 hours a day on our phones!

·     That’s why you have no time!!

We have cluttered our lives with so much useless stuff that we think we have no time to do what really matters! 

  

So why is learning together so important? 

It's biblical

Hebrews 10:24–25 (NIV)

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 

²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 

·     We all need encouraging

·     We all need reminding of our true purpose

·     We all need to meet together

·     I love Wednesday nights

o   Seeing people visiting

o   Catching up

o   Praying for each other

o   And building relationships

We all need to be fed!

John 21:15–17 (NIV)

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep."

·     Jesu knows we need to be fed

·     Jesus knows that the world will try and grab all your time 

·     And without regular feeding everything dies

·     We need regular feeding 

·      Feeding of the word

·     feeding of encouragement

·     feeding of hope

·     feeding of fellowship

·     feeding of love

·     the world only feeds junk food

o   in small doses  

o   the news

o   the gossip

o   the drama

o   the hate

o   the rage

·     Jesus wants you to get some good nourishing food through meeting and learning together

We need hey stupid friends!

Colossians 3:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 

·     We need wise counsel

·     We need good solid teaching

·     We need to be held accountable

·     We need loving advice

·     And we can only do that through relationships

·     Your phone won’t do that

·     The TV won’t do that

·     Only learning and growing together in a relationship will do that

We cannot survive this world alone, we need each other and we need Jesus

Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

·     When the wolves come, we can’t handle it alone

·     I don’t care how long you have been a believer

·     I don’t care how strong you think you are

·     You can’t survive alone

·     And when we gather, Jesus is with us!