The Church Requel mission is to be a community loving God and loving people. Short. Simple. But not as easy as it sounds. In this past weekend's talk, I talk about the 3 aspects of "Up," "In," and "Out" that we want to be and do this year.
Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves. For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before. And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say! For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material. I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.
"CR in 2013: Up, In and Out" 01.06.13
Video: “Clear” by Journey Box Media
Introduction: This past weekend I traveled to Celina for the Hawk family Christmas. Others were showing photos of their kids and grandkids. I was showing pictures of our new church building. LOL. Examples. We are all happy about God’s provision of St. Luke’s Point of Grace. We have a feeling of legitimacy and purpose. I share that. OTOH, we must remember what “church” is supposed to be. We must not forget our mission: WHO and WHOSE we are supposed to be.
ILLUSTRATION: Andy Stanley’s book, Deep and Wide, give history of word, “church” in NT. Ekklesia - gathering, assembly. Or “basilica” (Latin), “kirika” (Gothic), “kirche” (German), “church” (English.) “The word church is not a translation from the Greek. It is a substitution for the Greek... A kirche is a location. An ekklesia is a purposeful gathering of people. You can lock the doors of a kirche. Not so with the ekklesia of Jesus.”
Let’s remember our mission -
The mission of Church Requel is to be a community loving God and loving people.
3 Ways to think about our mission - Up, In, and Out.
UP: our worship in 2013 - ___LOVING GOD___
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment." Matthew 22:37-38 ESV
Our purpose as a church starts with loving God. It should be our priority individually and should simply intensify when we gather together. All our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths means everything we are - with all of who we are. So much more than music or singing. Worship is the giving of our complete selves - individually and corporately - in complete devotion and service to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
IN: our fellowship in 2013 - ___LOVING ONE ANOTHER___.
Church happens when two or more Christ followers gather together in purposeful community, whether it’s at “church” or not! Let me say the same thing with the original languages so you understand. Ekklesia - the word in the Greek NT - happens when two or more Christ followers gather together in purposeful community, whether it’s at “kirche” or not!
I want to challenge you to make your gathering together with the other Christ-followers at Church Requel a priority in 2013.
5 Reasons Why I Need Community!
#1. I ___BELONG___ in God’s family with other believers.
“So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5 (NIV)
“You are a member of God’s very own family... and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” Ephesians 2:19 (LB)
Permit me to speak both boldly and bluntly to you this morning, as your pastor who loves you with deep affection. Too many of us view church as “optional.” I know you love CR and you want to be here. But it is not your top priority. Some of you come if there’s not something else more important at the time. This needs to change. If you are a member of this church, you need community and others need you! You belong here. When these church doors are open, you need to be here. It’s not optional. It’s as vital to your Christian growth as the very air is to our physical bodies. Without the community of Christ-followers meeting together regularly in community, you will suffocate. You’ll weaken. Eventually you will die spiritually. There is no such thing as “Lone Ranger” Christians. Why? 4 more reasons.
#2. I need ___ENCOURAGEMENT___ to grow spiritually.
“Let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24 (Ph)
We are lifted up in our faith when we gather. We are encouraged! Encouraged to love more, to do more, to live more for Christ. When we miss church, we literally miss the opportunity to be inflated with the Spirit of Christ living in and through others. Illustration of the tent pole from Pastor Bill Allen. Some of us are living throughout the week with sagging spiritual tents, and it’s because we’re missing too many opportunities for encouragement from one another.
#3. Christ is ___PRESENT___ in our community!
“For wherever two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.” Matthew 18:20 (GN)
How far would you travel if you knew you could actually see and hear Jesus teaching? If there were a time travel device, how much would you pay for a ride back to the “Sermon on the Mount?” Here’s great news. You don’t need to travel far. You don’t need a time travel device. You simply need to come to church! Jesus is here with us!
#4. There is ___POWER___ when people pray together.
“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 19:19-20 (ESV)
If there’s any one thing we have experienced as Church Requel, it is the power of prayer. Examples - Sean’s recovery. Frank’s salvation. Jack and Sheri’s marriage. Our present Sunday morning location. Jesus is not only PRESENT, but so is his POWER! This is why prayer is now and always will be such an important part of CR.
#5. I am ___OBLIGATED___ to the other Christ-followers.
“Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NCV)
“There are different kinds of service to God... together you form the body of Christ and each one of you is a necessary part of it.” 1 Cor. 12:5, 27 (LB)
The reason we each BELONG here and one of the reasons it’s so important that we be here each and every week, is that we are obligated to one another. It’s not just the encouragement that we receive from others, but the encouragement that others receive from us. Whether we ever say anything or not, our presence is an encouragement. Our absence is a discouragement!
OUT: our service in 2013 - ___LOVING OTHERS___
"And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:39 ESV
The miracle of the true church is not just what it does for Christ-followers. The miracle is also what it does for the world. It’s impossible to over estimate the importance of the church to our western civilization. Whether you’re a believer or not, the world is a very different place today 2,000 years after the birth of Christianity. There is not a single aspect of our culture and values that has not been influenced by the church. We may profess the politically important “separation of church and state,” but even our country - the United States of America - would not exist as it does were it not for the 1776 years of Christianity that came before!
All that comes from Jesus’ statement that the second most important command, close in priority to loving God with all our hearts, souls and minds, is this: loving our neighbor as ourselves. This means everyone. Not just the people we live next to or the people we sit next to in these pews. God loves people! Here’s a foundational statement for CR -
Because PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD, they'd better matter to us!
I’m convinced this will be our greatest challenge that comes with our new greatest opportunity - our location. We’ve had 2 services so far and at the end of each week, I’ve had a “neighbor” from the neighborhood come up to me with a need. 1st, for groceries. 2nd, for a pair of boots. And I haven’t had a very good answer! We need to prepare ourselves better to be able to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” God gave us this location not just so we’d have a place to meet on Sunday mornings. He also put us here to be Jesus’ hands and feet to a hurting neighborhood, to a place that needs to know the reality of Jesus today - here and now!
Yes we are planning on serving meals on Saturday nights, and I hope you all will be a part of that. We also will need to prepare for the unplanned opportunities of showing love - even when the person asking is only taking advantage of us! Which is better? To give out of love to someone who is only conning us? Or to not give out of the fear of being conned by someone and risk not loving our neighbor as we love ourselves? Jesus told his followers to be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matt. 10:16) This will also be our challenge!
Conclusion: When you think of Church Requel, what do you think of? This building? This place? Or the great and powerful gathering of God’s people who worship God, love one another, and love the world around them? This is so much harder to do than to talk about!
Consider that with just these 3 elements, (1) loving God, (2) loving one another, and (3) loving others, that there are actually 7 possibilities if we leave off one or two. Six miss the mark. Only one is the bull’s eye.
#1 - Loving God, but not (2) and (3). A Seminary. A place of learning about God, even worshipping Him, but not changing ourselves or the world around us.
#2 - Loving One Another, but not (1) or (3). A social club.
#3 - Loving Others, but not (1) or (2). A gov’t agency.
#4 - Loving one another and others , but not (1). A service club.
#5 - Loving God and one another, but not others. Diseased, inward-focused, family style - but not the Ekklesia. (Evangelical?)
#6 - Loving God and others, but not one another. Diseased, outward focused, service minded - but also not the Ekklesia (Main line?)
#7 - The True Ekklesia Church. What Jesus had in mind. What happens when built upon Jesus, the rock. What we want CR to become. Healthy church, balanced. True worship leads to loving one another and a great desire to love others. Others will know Christ’s church is real, whether they ever become a part or not. Some will join us!