The Divine Crash

Often time I wonder what Jesus was thinking just before he did a miracle. What was going through his head the moments before the waiter tasted the water turned wine? What was he thinking in those moments after he raised from the dead before he left the tomb? I mean these were major shifts in theology and in the average person’s understanding of God.

I sit here writing this with two days left before we launch a brand-new worship service in the church I serve. We’ve been planning this service for nearly ten months and I find myself wondering what is going through the mind of God. Is God smiling? Is God as nervous as I am? Or is God just sitting up there shaking His head at how stupid the idea is?

The fact that in two days my church is going to go through a major shift is not lost on me. I can’t believe that I am sitting here on the edge of this huge event and my only thought is whether or not Jesus approves of it.  I mean, what if no one shows up? what if everyone shows up? But those aren’t the right questions, as far as I can tell, the only correct question to ask is whether or not this is what Jesus has called me and this church to do? If it isn’t we shouldn’t be doing it, but if it is then we should run to it with everything we have.

I find myself incredibly nervous and humbled at the same time. Humbled that God would call me to this but nervous because I know how many things can go wrong. We will see what happens and all that is left to do is pray and wait for God to pull it all together.

We have started a new series called the “30-Day Challenge” and the idea is that each Sunday I preach on one of the 5 points to a church.  This is a packaged kit and honestly, I don’t know how I feel about it. But here it is, enjoy the notes and the audio is at the bottom, and on iTunes.

Today we start the 30-Day Church Challenge! My hope is that by the end of this challenge you will be deeper in your relationship to god and closer to god and gods people.

Prayer.

Find a Bible and open to Acts 2. Pew bible page 772. Also free bibles in the back if you need one.

While you are turning there. The dictionary defines a challenge as, “a call to take part in a contest or competition.” For the next thirty days, we are entering a contest designed to deepen our relationship with God and each other, and discover what the church was really meant to be. We are going to do what the church once did, in Acts chapter 2, to become the church God wants us to be and to experience spiritual life at a deeper level than we ever have before.

1. The Power of a Challenge

In 1930, a Scotsman named Kurt Hahn invented a wilderness learning experience that he called, Outward Bound. Have you heard of it? Think backpacking, white-water rafting, dog sledding, rock-climbing …

Hahn believed that character development is important, and he found that when people were put in challenging, adventurous situations, they gained confidence, redefined their perceptions of their personal capabilities, demonstrated compassion for others, and developed a spirit of camaraderie with their peers. In his leadership of Outward Bound, what Hahn discovered was that …

A. Personal growth accelerates in challenging situations.

His wilderness challenges were so effective that over the past eighty years thousands of people have given up weeks of their lives and paid significant amounts of money to climb mountains, hike challenging trails, canoe down river rapids and rappel off wicked cliffs. Today, Outward Bound sponsors wilderness adventures in more than thirty countries, helping people grow in character through the power of a challenge that stretches them in ways they wouldn’t normally stretch themselves.

Outward Bound and similar experiences has taught us about growth. And one of the things they taught us is that

B. People grow better when we do it together.

Put a single guy out in the wilderness, and unless he’s Bear Grylls, he’s probably going to flounder and die. But put a group of people out there, and the power of community bonds them together and enables them to do things they would never have attempted on their own.

By our very nature, we grow better when we decide to tackle challenges together.

For as long as anyone can remember, military men and women have issued what they call, Challenge Coins. We don’t know when the tradition started, but one of the great legends of the Challenge Coin is from World War I, when a young lieutenant gave a solid bronze medallion to each of the pilots in his fighter squadron as mementos of their service together.

One of the pilots put his in a leather pouch and tied it around his neck. He was shot down and captured behind the German line, where they confiscated all his personal belongings, except the pouch around his neck. That night he escaped and crept across no-man’s land until he came in contact with a French patrol. The French believed he was a German saboteur and threatened to execute him unless he could prove he was American. His Challenge Coin had the insignia of the U. S. Army Air Corps on it, which saved his life.

After that, his squadron mates determined that every member of their crew would carry a coin with them at all times.

In your bulletin you were all given a Challenge Coin. We’re all going to keep them with us, either in our pockets or purses—or if you want, you can construct your own pouch and wear it around your neck—as a reminder that we’re taking this 30-Day Challenge, and we’re doing it together.

Every Sunday during this series, I will issue a new challenge related to one of the five purposes of the church that we’ll be studying. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to step up to the challenge.

Monday through Saturday, we’ll all read a short daily devotional from the 30-Day Church Challenge book. Each daily entry will give us a small, simple step to take that day, which by the end of the week will help us achieve the weekly challenge I give you in my sermon the Sunday before. Your experience won’t necessarily compare to Outward Bound, but more importantly, by this time next month, you’ll have discovered how our church can help you reach your God-given potential, strengthen your own relationship with God, and how we can become a church that transforms our community and our world! Our objective is that at the end of this 30-Day Church Challenge we won’t just come to church, we will become the church: a community of faith—powerful, inspirational, and transformational—touching our community and the world with the power of the Gospel!

So, are you ready to begin the challenge? If so, say, “I’m up for it!”

Great! Then follow me as I read from Acts 2:42. (Read Acts 2:42–47.)

Every one of our challenges will be related to one of the five purposes of the church. According to the passage:

2. The Five Purposes of the Church are to …

a. Cultivate authentic community.

b. Experience worship as part of your daily lifestyle.

c. Take successive steps of spiritual growth.

d. Practice personal stewardship.

e. Reach out to the world around us.

So those are the challenges we’ll be mastering over the next five weeks, and the first is cultivating authentic community.

The Acts 2 church excelled at that; they devoted themselves to the church and to each other.

Last week we learned that one of the things that made the first church, which was born in midtown Jerusalem, so special was that the people in that church made time for relationships. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the fellowship.” Verse 44 says, “They held everything in common.” Verse 46 says, “They broke bread together in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” They cultivated authentic community.

One of the things you discover when you get involved in a really good church is that the church isn’t a building you go to, it’s a family you belong to. And for every person, the center of family life is usually a cell group that meets together regularly so that people can study spiritual truth together, and in the process, come to a place where they can know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served, celebrate and be celebrated.

So, how do you experience that?

C. How to Experience Authentic Community

1. You make time for it. You commit to an intentional group of people on a weekly basis. You join a group, and you make it such a priority that you show up every week.

If you take part in tonight’s study on Day 1 of the 30-Day Church Challenge book, you’ll read about the relationship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan was the hereditary apparent to the throne of Israel and David was the commanding general of Israel’s armies. These were two busy guys. But they knew the power of relationship, so even in the midst of all their responsibilities, they made time for each other. Both of them were better men for it.

Because relationships don’t just happen, you and I need to deliberately make time for them. We can’t have deep relationships with everyone, but we can cultivate some authentic relationships with a few.

Our first week’s challenge in the 30-Day Church Challenge is to commit to joining a cell group, class, or ministry so that we can experience the power of authentic community. Can you commit to making time for a cell group and meet with them once a week for the next five weeks?

Once you’ve made that commitment, the second step in authentic community is …

2. You contribute to it. It’s one thing to show up for a cell group, anyone can do that. A good group bonds and gels when the members of the group make a conscious effort to be contributors to the group. So somebody makes dessert for the group. And somebody calls those who are absent or late. And during the group meeting, everyone pays attention and adds a comment or two so that a really good discussion happens. The bottom line is that you learn to do life together, speak the truth in love to one another, and make each other’s lives better as a result of it.

The third step in building great community is …

3. You take a genuine interest in the lives of others.  This is usually fairly easy for women, but it’s not all that easy for men. Men compartmentalize things. But men, at least during your group every week, I’m going to ask you to take a genuine interest in what’s going on in the life of the other people in your group.  Then, in your prayer time, which I hope you’ll have every morning, I hope you’ll take a minute to sincerely pray for God’s hand on each of the members of your group each day.

So, what does authentic community feel like? What is its effect?

D. What authentic community feels like and its impact:

Turn in your Bible to Psalm 133. Pew bible page 443 Psalm 133 is almost exactly in the middle of the Bible, and it’s one of the shortest chapters in the Bible. Psalm 133 was written by King David, who experienced the power of authentic community in the company of close friends who were called, “David’s mighty men.”

(Read Psalm 133.)

That phrase in verse one, “When brothers live together in unity,” is what we call “community” around here. In other words, “unity” and “community” can be used synonymously because I believe King David is speaking much more about living together in a tight, communal relationship than simply keeping peace and not arguing or having discord. That’s why I say that Psalm 133 is a song written about the power of authentic community.

The opening verse is fairly self-explanatory: “It’s good and pleasant to be in community with a few other people.” But the next line: What’s all the talk about oil and Aaron’s beard? And then the final verse: What’s he saying about dew falling on a guy named Hermon?

So lets unpack this a little bit.

In David’s day, there were two great offices in the nation of Israel. One was the office of the king. David held that office. And the other was the office of the high priest of the nation. That position was hereditary, being passed from father to son in the lineage of the first high priest, who was Aaron, the brother of Moses.

The office of the high priest was for life, so most people only got to see the anointing of one high priest in their entire lifetime. And when that happened, it was a tremendous ceremony, because the person being anointed was the person who was going to represent the people to God on a daily basis. The high priest also would also make it possible for their sins to be forgiven through a great annual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement.

When a high priest was to be anointed, the whole nation would gather in Jerusalem, and after some prayers, a special mixture of oil and spices—a mixture only used for the anointing of the high priest and nothing and no one else in all of Israel—was poured lavishly over the head of the new high priest. So much oil was poured that it dripped down both sides of his head, ran down his beard, and splashed onto the collar of his priestly robe.

Unless they were lucky enough to outlive the high priest, the fragrance given off by this anointing oil would only be smelled this one time in a person’s life.

When David, who had experienced the power of authentic community in the company of close friends, searched for a way to describe how good and pleasant it is, he pictured a once-in-a-lifetime nation-wide event and said, “It’s like that. Authentic community with a few close friends gives off the same level of joy as the celebration of the anointing of the high priest.”

Just so nobody misses exactly how important true community is to David, he gives a second analogy in verse 3. Here he says, “It’s like the dew of Hermon falling on Mt. Zion.”

The land of Israel has a very dry climate. It only has one short rainy season. Then after that, all plants and animals have to survive on the moisture that comes from one natural source, and that’s Mt. Hermon. Mt. Hermon sits at the northern end of Israel and is the highest mountain in the country. Its summit reaches high enough that when the wind blows eastward off the Mediterranean, it catches the moisture of the sea. This moisture then flows down Mt. Hermon and waters all the surrounding area, even as far as Jerusalem, which sits on Mt. Zion.

Without the dew of Hermon, most plant life would die in Israel.

David is saying, “You know the effect Mt. Hermon has on everything around it? That’s the effect that authentic community has, not only on those experiencing it, but even on those within relational distance of the community.” Which is true. If you’ve ever been around someone who is truly happy, or truly content, his or her disposition tends to rub off on you. People in great communal relationships tend to be happier and more contented than those doing life on their own, so there is this contagious and cascading effect to community.

Community is like an anointing event for a nation and an environmental lifeboat for an eco system.

So, if real community is so precious, why aren’t we all experiencing it?

Answer: Because many of us are too busy looking for the good life elsewhere. We’re involved in our kids’ Little League, which is a good thing. And we’re involved in a career, which is a good thing. And then there are family chores, exercise, paying bills, watching TV, taking vacations, and so many other things that are at our fingertips that it’s easy to miss one of the most important things.

Let me ask you a few questions:

Do you want the joy and unity that community brings? (Yes!)

Do you want the spirit of celebration that doing life together with others brings? (Yes!)

Do you want to bring life and refreshment to your family, your friends, and your acquaintances? (Yes!)

Are you willing to invest some time in order to do that? (Yes!)

If you said yes to that last question I am going to ask you to do it.

So, as I said earlier, your first weekly challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to join, attend, and contribute to a cell group. In my opinion you’ll get the most out of this 30-Day Church Challenge by doing three things: 1) Attend the weekend service so you’re up on the subject for the week; 2) Join the 30-Day Church Challenge book study that meets Sunday Nights at 6pm; and last but not least, 3) Be part of a cell group where you can do life together with others and learn truth together.  Our Cell Groups meet on Monday’s at 7pm at the Pratt House. Tuesday at 1pm at Annie Richard’s House. And 7pm on Thursday’s at my house.

If you’re up for this challenge say, “I’m up for it!”

Friends, for the next thirty days we are entering into an accelerated learning challenge where we will do things together to make us better every week and every day. But for some of you, this weekly challenge isn’t much of a challenge because you’re already meeting with a group weekly and doing some sort of daily reading. So, for those of you who have been in Cell groups before, here’s a deeper challenge for you: If you are a veteran of Cell groups and never led one before, during these five weeks, I want you to get together with your Cell-group leader and have them teach or show you whatever you need to become a Cell-group leader the next time around. Your challenge is to say to your Cell-group leader, “Apprentice me.”

If you are currently leading a cell group, your challenge during these next five weeks is to prepare at least one member of your group to lead their own cell group.

If you’ve never been in a group, your challenge is to show up, contribute by doing your reading, and take a genuine interest in others.

Are you up for this challenge?  If so, it will change your life as you discover your God-Given Potential

Let’s pray

Sermon Audio

 

Here is the Back To Church Sunday Sermon.  It was a great sermon, but it was another one from the good people at Back To Church Sunday. So it was a purchased sermon but I did change a few parts of it.  Feel free to read the notes, leave a comment, and download the podcast on iTunes.

Acts 2:42–47

Good morning everybody!

If you are a guest this morning, we’re glad you’ve joined us. I have good news for you! Sociologist’s studies over the past twenty years show that those who attend church regularly have:

• lower blood pressure
• happy outlooks
• better marriages
• less divorces
• and longer lives!

So this really is the best place to be this morning. So let’s pray and see what we God has in store for us today.

Prayer: God open our hearts to hear your word

I want to tell you the story you may have heard before about this thing called “The Church.” I believe that the church is the most misunderstood institution on earth. I hope that you’ll walk away with a new appreciation for this institution that God loves so much.

Bill Hybels writes that the local church is the hope of the world. And I believe that.

Find a Bible and turn to Acts 2:42. Pew Bible page 772 if you don’t have a bible that is easy to understand then we have bibles in the back as our gift to you

Acts 2 is the story of the very first church, which started in Jerusalem in 33 AD. Listen to the story … [Read Acts 2:42–47.]

Napoleon Bonaparte once said that imagination rules the world.

What Bonaparte meant is that people are more often moved by powerful ideas than by charismatic personalities, legislation, or brute force. History bears that out. Throughout the centuries men and women have used extraordinary effort and demonstrated legendary devotion for a vision they really believed in.

Have you ever been compelled by a vision? Think about how far you would go because of something you believed in with your whole heart. You just KNEW in your heart of hearts what had to be done.

On September 11, 2001 as the world is falling apart a Marine named David Karnes was working as an accountant in Connecticut. When the towers fell he knew what he had to do. He walked out of his job, and went to the trade center towers and started looking for survivors. Against orders and against odds. He helped save 12 people. He understood the power of vision and knowing what “must be done.” not because it is easy or safe but because it is the right thing to do.

The history of our country is rife with examples of vision-casting leaders who captured the imaginations of the American people.

Thomas Jefferson had a vision for a free, self-ruled democratic society.

Abraham Lincoln articulated a vision of ending slavery and reuniting a nation. Franklin Roosevelt dreamed of a new prosperous society.

And who can forget Martin Luther King Jr.’s, famous, “I Have a Dream” speech that compelled our country toward a racial equality that judges people by the content of their character?

“Imagination really does rule the world.”

Two thousand years ago, a carpenter from Nazareth named Jesus burst on the scene with a vision that has changed the world. Everywhere He went Jesus inspired the imaginations of many people by painting a picture of a spiritual and relational movement like none that had ever existed before.

His teachings so riveted audiences that they went without food to hear Him tell about a God who loved them personally. They thronged to hear Him teach about a phenomenon He called the“Kingdom of God.”  Jesus explained that this Kingdom was like a mustard seed, which starts out as a very small seed and grows so big it shelters birds in its branches.

What Jesus envisioned was so valuable that He encouraged children to come to it, the poor in spirit to seek it, and the rich to be willing to let go of everything they owned to enter into it.

“The Good News of the Kingdom must be proclaimed,” He would say. People would travel for miles to hear Him speak about it.

For three years, Jesus Christ proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom and then, to the shock and dismay of every hope-filled follower, He was mocked, beaten, and put to death. His disciples huddled in fear and depression. They had envisioned Jesus delivering Israel from Roman oppression and rule, and establishing a political kingdom on this earth with Him as the King. Now with His death, all hope seemed lost. They thought the Kingdom-vision was dead.  Some gave up and went back to their jobs and just tried to move on.

But three days later Jesus rose in power announcing that the Kingdom dream was as alive as He was. He opened their minds to see that the kingdom He had been teaching about for three years was not a political kingdom, but a far greater one, a spiritual kingdom—the rule of God in people’s hearts.

Then Jesus Ascended into heaven where he still sits at the right hand of God, and scripture teaches that it is there that he is speaking on our behalf to God.

Forty days later, the Holy Spirit descended on His disciples in answer to what Jesus had promised in Acts 1:8, and suddenly the Kingdom of God had been birthed in a fresh new way.

It was powerful and compelling. People from everywhere were drawn to it. And they called this new movement “The Church.”

True to Jesus’ vision, the church was like nothing anyone had ever experienced before.

In that very first church, the people devoted themselves to teaching, to fellowship, to celebrating the Lord’s Supper, and to praying for one another. The atmosphere of welcome and excitement was so electric that a sense of awe and wonder was with them every time they met.

The Bible records that miracles took place in that church. One of the miracles was that people had such heartfelt love for one another that they willingly sold their possessions and goods, giving to anyone in the group who had a need.

This new thing called “The Church” was so compelling that the Bible says the people in the church met together every day—sometimes at the Temple for public worship, sometimes in homes for more intimate friendship.

The best part of the story is that the picture Jesus had painted rang true. Members of the church ate together with glad and sincere hearts. They praised God for letting them be part of this amazing movement and they enjoyed the favor of the entire city. That church was so irresistible—so contagious—that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” They became part of God’s family and part of the vision that Jesus had preached about, prayed about, and died for on Good Friday. That vision of Jesus expanded and expanded and after 2,000 years that vision is here at Harrisville united Methodist church.

Friends, what we read about in Acts 2 is how God envisions His Church, not just in Jerusalem, but all over the world, including right here in Harrisville I see it happening day by day.

The question becomes how does a church become like that original church in Acts 2?

That church, in Acts 2, pursued five purposes that when implemented can make any church compelling, powerful and influential. So listen carefully, because this is what God wants Harrisville UMC to be like, too. And it can happen starting today if we commit to pursuing the priorities the first church did.

Are you ready for this?

What Made the Church So Compelling:

1. They committed to authentic community.

In the Jerusalem church people got real. They owned their mistakes, admitted who they were, took off their masks and asked forgiveness. Community can be powerful because God Himself designed us to be in relationship with others.

How many of you wish that, just once in your life, you could be in a group where you were known and loved and served and celebrated just for who you are (raise your hands)? We all want that, right?

The first thing the Church did was commit to being real with each other.

The church is where you can experience relationships the way they were meant to be.

How did they do that? The text says they devoted themselves to the fellowship. “Devoted” isn’t a word we use much anymore because the distractions of life make it hard for us to devote ourselves to anything these days.

But look at a few lives, and you’ll see the power of devotion. John F. Kennedy devoted our nation to putting a man on the moon and, as a result, changed our perception of what was possible.

Michael Phelps devoted himself to the sport of swimming and, as a result, earned a record number of Olympic medals. Bill Gates devoted himself to Microsoft and earned enough money to cure several worldwide diseases. Steve Jobs devoted himself to computers and design and transformed an entire technology industry.

Billy Graham’s devotion to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ has led him to travel to almost every country in the world, something he’s done for more than fifty-five years.

Devotion is a good thing. Put a church full of people together who are fully devoted to Jesus and suddenly we have a group that can change our community, and our nation and our world. And all of us can be part of it by investing in authentic relationships.

The Church, energized by the Holy Spirit and motivated by a relational commitment to one another, has a power to change lives like nothing else on earth. The proof is found in numbers. Community is such a strong force that today more than two billion people worldwide are part of this thing called “The Church.” where people can feel loved and accepted in ways they had only previously hoped for.

The second compelling purpose that the very first church engaged in, was:

2. They gave God wholehearted worship.

Our nation is really good at worshipping athletes for what they’ve done. Any time a city wins a World Series, a Super Bowl, or an NBA championship, fans turn out by the thousands to meet their plane when it returns home. The city’s mayor will host a ticker-tape parade; the president invites them to the White House—we’re really good at appreciating athletes for their accomplishments.

Our response to a Super Bowl win is a lot like worship. The Bible says that worship is about giving God what He rightly deserves. This concept of worship is mentioned in Romans 11:36–12:1 says, “For from him and through him and for him are all things …  Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

One of the things that made the first church so attractive was its members all possessed an acute understanding that it was God who had made them, given them breath, saved them, and provided their daily bread. So they assembled for worship every week and they worshiped.

The text says, “They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” When the Communion was served, they didn’t take it for granted. When someone needed prayer, brothers and sisters laid hands on them and prayed fervently for God to come through.

Acts 2:47 says that they were “praising God.” They worshipped God for who He was and what He had done for them. When God answered their prayers, they gave God the full credit.

The church is where God gets the glory He deserved.

The third compelling purpose that the very first church committed to, was:

3. They took their spiritual growth seriously.

I get this from the phrase in Acts 2, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” Every time one of their gifted teachers was teaching, they were listening.  They didn’t sleep through church. They knew this stuff was important.

Why? Because in that church, they believed that personal spiritual growth was important. Jesus had touched them, and they wanted to become as much like Him as possible. It’s really why we’re on earth: to become like Jesus.

Lots of people take their golf game, their bank account, or their career seriously. Yet, the most important thing—our relationship with God—can often be neglected if we’re not intentional about it. The truth is that giving yourself to spiritual growth brings the greatest payoff. In 1 Timothy 4:8, the apostle Paul said, “… godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

The church is where you can become the best you you can be.

Look at the person next to you for a minute. How many of you think they could get better?

Okay, now how many of you think you could get better?

None of us have arrived. None of us are the best we can be.  We all need to grow, don’t we?

That’s why God made the Church: so you could be with God and His people and learn about God and God’s ways. Which is why, starting next week, we’re issuing what we’re calling the “30-Day Church Challenge.” So that all of us can show up and grow up and become who we were meant to be.

I’ll say more about this in a minute.

Now the fourth compelling purpose that the first church pursued and that we want to strive for is:

4. They invested in positive priorities.

They invested their time, talents, and treasures in what really mattered.

In the Acts 2 church, because they had a sense of community and a sense of gratitude to God and a desire to become more like Him, the text says, “All the believers had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”

This shows they had control of their finances so that when a need arose, they not only could meet it, they got excited about meeting it. When other members of the church were in need they sold a piece of property or tapped into their savings. Today, if we are honest, most of us can’t do that.We’ve spent ourselves out of control. Ever seen the bumper sticker that says, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go”?

These people in the first church decided they weren’t going to live that way. They got control of their finances so that they could give to positive priorities.

They lived in the anticipation that Jesus could return at anytime, so they let go of their stuff and reached out to help others and share the Good News with others. They invested in positive and eternal priorities. What are positive and eternal priorities? People. Needs. Things that last longer than a latte and go deeper than a new truck. Material things aren’t bad. But God says that the things that will last are people and His Word. So whenever possible, we ought to invest in those things.

Let me also say that I know that for some of you the budget is tight. With the struggling economy, you may be living paycheck to paycheck. But it’s not just about money. You have skills and abilities that could be used in the church and that would greatly encourage other people. Could be you can do the kind of construction work that’s always needed here at the church. Or you have a knack for computers and could help with multimedia and our online ministry. Or you are good at making people feel welcome and you could be a greeter or usher. Or you are a natural-born salesman and you could help in the outreach ministry. Maybe you have some extra time that you could invest in various ministries in the church.  That’s investing in eternal priorities, too!

An old saying, “There’s only one life, ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

While Jesus was creating vision for this thing called the church, in His sermon on the mount, He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth … but instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The reality is my life isn’t going to last that long, so I want my heart and my treasure to be in heaven with the King.

The church is where our time, talents, and treasure get invested for eternity.

The fifth compelling purpose of the first church is explained at the very end of our main passage. Acts 2:47 says that as a result of all the things going on, “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

5. They invited others to join them.

After all, who wouldn’t want to be part of something where people were genuine and authentic, where God got the credit, and people were becoming more and more kind and generous?

Inviting people to that church was very easy because the people loved their church.

The church is where people get adopted into God’s family.

This first church lived in the reality that they were entrusted with the Good News of God that had the power to change people. They had the privilege of telling people God loved them, that Jesus died for them, and they could have a relationship with Him. Second Corinthians 5:19 puts it this way: “… God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” That was their message then, and it is ours today.

The reason this message is being shared with you today is because we want our church to be like this church. And we’re committed to working to become like it: An authentic community of faith that worships God wholeheartedly, is growing spiritually, is investing in positive and eternal priorities, and is inviting our family, friends, neighbors, community, and the world to become part of His family!

So here’s what we’re going to do:

Are you up for the challenge?

I’d like to invite you to be a part of this family of god. How many of you would say either, “I’m not sure I’ve ever formally accepted God’s invitation to be part of his family, I’m not sure there’s ever been a moment when I formally invited Christ into my life?” Or, “I’ve drifted from God and want to come back to Him?”

Alright, all of you who raised your hands, and any of you who didn’t, but would like to receive Christ, just pray these words.

 

Lord Jesus,

I am inviting you into my life today.

I want you to be my Lord and Savior.

I admit I am a sinner in need of a Savior

And I invite you to be mine.

I purpose to live for you

From today forward.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The words of that prayer aren’t magical. But if you prayed them, and actually believe in the Jesus you just prayed to, all heaven is rejoicing with you right now. The Bible says that when we believe in Jesus and start following God your sins have been separated from you as far as the east is from the west, and that the Holy Spirit has come into your life.  Just because you believe your life won’t be better, there will still be bills to pay and job to go to, but in following Jesus eternity is different and that makes all the difference for today.

So now, if you believe in Jesus, the challenge is to learn to walk with God in this new relationship. And I have a final challenge for every one of us today.

I challenge all of us to make a commitment to taking part in the 30 day challenge. Where we discover how to fulfill our God-given potential by engaging in the five purposes practiced by the first church.

How many of you think we can get better as a church? And, once again, how many of you think you can get better as a person?

That’s our assignment over the next thirty days. I’m going to preach on one of these five purposes each weekend for the next five weekends. Starting on September 23 at 6pm, on Sunday Nights we will gather and study the 30-Day Church Challenge book. You will get a copy of the book when you come the first night.  We are asking all of us to join a Cell Group that meets during the week to grow together in authentic community with each other and go even deeper. Cell Groups meet 7pm on Monday’s at the Pratt House, or 1pm on Tuesday’s at Annie Richards’ house. And 7pm on Thursday’s at my house, and child-care is offered for that one. If you are interested see one of us to get directions.

Imagination rules the world. I believe that when Jesus imagined His Church, He imagined you as part of it. And I imagine all of you back here next Sunday and every Sunday as we become the Acts 2 Church that Jesus imagined.

Let’s pray together.

Sermon Audio

 

Recently I gave a sermon outlining what the Bible says about Church. This sparked some good questions and discussion.  However, I did have one person ask me “What kind of Church do you want?”  I am not sure if this person was actually asking or trying to make a disparaging remark about the current state of The Church.  My simple response was that I wanted a church that God wanted us to have. Now that I have had some time to process the question, I guess my response is that I want a church full of misfits.

You know the misfits, the outcasts, the ones society forgets and hates.

The ones that think differently, look differently, or even act differently. They are not the best at everything and sometimes they can’t give an offering.

The church I want is filled with those who don’t fit in anywhere else in society and are simply looking for a place to belong.

But the question becomes, what if they show up? What happens when the misfits arrive in church? What do I do with them? How do I love them like Jesus?  If this is what I want, how do I get it? What happens if I do get it?

This is the sermon from two weeks ago. Feel free to listen to the audio at the bottom or on iTunes.

3 expressions of the church in the Bible and even today

Global Church – Acts 2:1-11 – Someone read

- Creation

- International Mission Trips

- General Conference

Local Church – Acts 2:42-47 - Someone read

- All over

- People with similar ideals, doctrines, understandings, etc..

Small Group – met in homes Acts 20:7-12

- Go in depth into an individuals needs

- This is why cell groups are so important

Church can be 2 mentalities: 2 ways of living out church.

1. Cruise Line

2. Rescue Boat

Cruise boats are all about personal comfort. Nice pool, free booze to help you forget about real life, free room service, shows, amazing food. All for your comfort. But notice what they don’t do….save people. When that boat capsized last year the first thing the captain did was jump ship. The entire culture of the cruise ship is for your comfort. The beds are amazing, the people have painted on happy faces and their only desire is to serve you and ask you what you want. And they do this, not because they like you or want to be around but because you have paid for your spot.

On the other hand, a rescue boat exists for one reason.  To rescue people.  Rescue boats are fast-moving, uncomfortable, few amenities, little sleep, and everyone on the boat is doing one thing, saving people who aren’t on the boat. No one asks you to do something or if you want to be a part of something. It is assumed if you are on the boat you are there to serve those who are drowning.

Those are the 2 extremes of the church culture. There is no middle ground

What do we want to be?

We will be a Rescue Boat. I will not captain a Cruise Ship. Those captains jump ship when it gets difficult.

HUMC can not be a cruise ship.  Being a cruise ship is un-biblical. Being a cruise ship means we are lying to ourself about our purpose in life.  Cruise ships in reality are all about selfishness. They aren’t inherently bad and I do not believe it is a sin to go on a cruise but the entire purpose of the cruise is to satisfy yourself and your wants.

Rescue boats are about serving others, serving those who aren’t on the boat.

HUMC must exist to help those who are not in our walls.

- This means we go out

- This means we put aside our own agendas and do what is best for those who are not a part of this church

- This means no one should have to ask you to sign up and help, you should be doing it because you understand that it is serving those in need and rescuing those who are drowning

- One of the things I hear over and over and over again is that no one signs up and no one will help unless you personally ask them.  This is a very selfish idea. It is an idea born out of the cruise ship mentality of church that says “You cater to me, not the other way around.” People who are drowning can’t ask for help.  If they were able to climb into the boat and ask for help they don’t need help.  Our call and duty as a Christian is to go and help those who aren’t asking because their lungs are full of water

- This means our nursery should always be fully staffed

- Our ability to take care of children has a direct impact on whether or not new people come back.

- Our children’s worship time should have more people. We shouldn’t have to take the summer off we should have so many leaders we don’t have enough space for them.

- Our Greeter’s should have a waiting list.

- Our offering plates should be over flowing with gifts from people who want to help rescue other people. \

If you have ever been on a cruise ship you understand that if you want something someone else gets it for you. If you want a drink or you want a towel, or anything the cruise managers will get it for you. That is why you pay them.  To often this is our view of church, that we pay the pastor to do stuff for us. To serve us, pray with us, interpret the bible for us.  Some of us even go so far as pay the pastor to believe in Jesus for us, that if I believe in Jesus and act like a righteous person then you don’t have to….don’t look at me like that I have seen your Facebook status and heard your stories, some of you are either a fake christian or you believe that if I believe in Jesus you will be save. I know this is what some of you believe because I hear “I don’t have to invite people to church, that is what we pay the pastor for.” or “I don’t have to volunteer to work in the nursery because someone else will do it.” That’s not biblical. That isn’t right and it is the most messed up cruise ship theology I have ever heard.

On a rescue you boat everyone has a job. Everyone is in charge of something. WE are rescuing people who are about to die so there is no slacking off.  If this is what we are going to do then you are responsible for your own prayers, your own beliefs, you become responsible for making sure you pray.  You become responsible for helping others. You become responsible for making sure people aren’t dying without having heard about Jesus.  The response of “you’re the pastor that is your job” is not a valid excuse and it is not one that Jesus will accept when you stand at the gates of heaven.

One of my favorite scripture passages is one that Jesus quoted and I think even tells us what a good rescue boat does, it is Isaiah 61 Read 61:1-4

- A rescue boat does exactly that.

- We tell the good news of Jesus to the poor

- We bind up the brokenhearted

- We proclaim release to the captives and liberation to the prisoners

- We declare the God is not angry with you

- We bring comfort to all who are hurting

- We help rebuild the ancient ruins

So the church as an institution comes in not to rescue people but to help you to rescue people. the church as an institution can’t do that. But you as individuals can and are supposed to be. So the institution helps you make that happen. We provide the means and the opportunity to be the rescue boat and you go do the rescuing.

And so that becomes the vision of HUMC, to rescue those who are drowning. To introduce the lost, loners, and losers who are drowning in this world to the God who walks on water, Jesus.

First our goal, our vision is to rescue those who are drowning. But the question becomes how? How do we do that?

1. Sunday morning is our time of celebration of the fact that we have been rescued. So invite people to it.

2. Life Groups – This is our cell group time. at various places throughout the area. This is our time to rescue others. To get others in our rescue boat. but we are shifting our focus here, first the name. They still follow the Cell Group model but most people have sub-consciously been calling them “life Groups” so we will go with that and starting in September we will meet for 10 weeks and then have 2 weeks off. This will allow a natural ability for people to join and leave if they need to.  All groups are always open but this creates 4 natural seasons where people are able to join and leave without feeling guilty.

3. Faith Development classes – Starting September 23 with an introduction to Christianity. 6 weeks for those who want to go deeper in the faith. 4 classes per year that will train people to rescue other people. These are not easy classes. These are intense classes into the basics of our faith for people who want to go deeper. For people who are sick of the status quo and the cruise ship mentality. Because Jesus ain’t no cruise director and the church is not a cruise ship. These will be a requirement for new members and future cell group leaders. Each class and session will build on the previous class.

These three things, Celebration worship, life groups, and discipleship training work together for us to become not a cruise ship but a rescue boat. and help us to know how to be the kind of rescuers God has called us to be.

And the key is working together to spread the Gospel of Jesus to as many people as possible. It isn’t about me, you, the latest fad, or any of that kind of stuff. It is about us, as believers in Jesus, to come together and do the best we can to make sure as many people as possible know who Jesus is and how Jesus is their only chance at eternity.

We can argue, fight, complain, or even just give the silent treatment until it all goes away but when we do that Satan gets what he wants.  Or we can band together, share the gospel, and declare that Jesus is Lord and we are determined and united to rescue those who are drowning.

Sermon Audio

 

Today, five years ago, I was a mid-year pulpit supply. I stepped into the pulpit of my very first church. Tanoma United Methodist Church.  They were a loving congregation who had to show me everything from where to stand to how to speak.  They were a great group but that first Sunday I was so nervous.  I remember standing up there and saying “I haven’t got a clue, but I know that God has a plan for this.” That is still my rallying cry. I can’t believe that God uses me and I get to do this awesome work.

Praise be to Jesus!

Ask your average church attender what their church is against and you will find a huge list of things.

Gambling, Drinking, Dancing, Homosexuality, Fun, Eating, Breathing, etc… the list goes on for hundreds of pages of things that they are against.

But if you ask an average church attender what is their church “for” what is the answer? If you have a well educated church attender you might get “The church is for Jesus.”

Really? That seems somewhat limited. Shouldn’t the church be for Grace, Second-Chances, Redemption, Holiness, and even salvation?

When the organization turns into being against things it can’t survive.  Instead, what if church was no longer about what we are against and became what we are for?

Yes, we are for Jesus, we are in the business of giving grace to those who eat in the sanctuary and we are even in the business of giving second chances to those who gamble for clothes.

For churches, there are some things it is good to be against. I would suggest the only thing we should be against is Sin in all forms. That is what we should hate.  However, just as much as we hate sin we should always be on the side of people. Love all people and do whatever it takes to bring people closer to God, even if that means we have to be “For” things we wouldn’t normally agree with.

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe hating people is better? I mean the last guy who loved everyone got hung on a cross, so maybe it is better to hate people different from us? To be against all actions we don’t like.

Last week, my family went to the Carnegie Museum of Natural history.  We went to celebrate my son’s 4th birthday.  He wanted to see the dinosaurs.

Have you ever been to a museum? There are so many rules. No cell phone, no flash, no touching, no stealing, no smoking, etc… it is easy to know what not to do.

However, one thing most people miss is how to see everything.  There is an unwritten rule of etiquette for a museum.

The best way to see all the displays is to always turn right.

If you enter the front door the ticket booth is either directly in front of you or on your right. And once you enter the exhibit hall always turn right. Fall the wall and when you have an option you turn to your right.  Eventually, you will end up back at the start and you go to the next floor and do the same thing and when you are done you will have seen everything. Make sense?

but the question for me has always been, how do you know this rule?  If you don’t know it you become one of those n00bs that run around the museum like a squirrel, and it means you might miss something.

The only way to know this rule is to have someone teach it to you. If no one teaches you, you won’t know.

You can see everything without always turning right but you end up walking more, disrupting more, and just showing off how much you don’t know about museums.

I think this is what it is about church.  The big rules are put out there for all to see, but the small ones. The small unspoken rules that show a person how to fit in are often not taught to outsiders and so people don’t get to fit in and they are left to figure it out on their own which means they will leave the church.

Matthew 28 Jesus says to make disciples and teach them.  How many unreal expectations do we have for people who are not in our local church? Do you say the Lord’s Prayer on Sunday mornings? What if I don’t know the Lord’s Prayer? Suddenly, I don’t fit in, I might get to be a part of it or I might not, because no one taught me yet I am expected to know.

So then, if we are going to treat church like a museum someone needs to teach everyone else the proper etiquette.