Vision (My Notes from Sunday Night) Part 3

Our Core Activities: Prayer, Proclamation [& Application], People

Prayer:

God himself calls, sends, equips, empowers, transforms. . . loves, plans, calls, justifies, glorifies . . . In short, God himself is the agent of change & growth.

Proclamation [& Application]:

. . . of the gospel of Jesus Christ because salvation is in the Son.

Important note: our worship (singing, giving, serving, etc) is a form of proclaiming & applying the gospel.

People:

God converts & transforms individuals, forming us into a new community/humanity

And God uses people (his servants) to teach Christ & his way of life.

Listen to and reach new people (part. 20-40)

Key Questions (not in any order)

• What do we do well?
• What are the needs of the community around us?
• Where are the people at and how do we reach them? (inside, out approach)
• What do we need to stop doing, start doing, or rework/refocus in order to be a healthy, growing church?
• Are you willing to change? Insanity is doing the same thing & expecting different results
• DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO THIS?

Core activities from "Growth Groups" from Mathias Media

Vision (My Notes from Sunday Night) Part 2

Our Goal: To Be a Healthy, Growing Church Centered on the Gospel

Healthy

What is a healthy church? (key question that we need to answer)

Here’s two thoughts:

1). What is a healthy church?: Matt 22:35-40

• Love God
• Love each other
• Love our neighbors in the city and around the world

Measures the health of our church as well as our small groups, student & children ministry, etc. How?

• Love God: prayer, Bible Study, worship
• Love each other: prayer, e & discipleship, confession, hanging out together, meeting needs
• Love neighbors & world: evangelism, missions, community events, service projects.

2) What is a healthy church?

• I think here is where the marks of a church come into play: e.g., worship, prayer, evangelism & discipleship, fellowship, ministry (Look @ Dever, 9 Marks, for lists)
• Six signs of a “healthy church”: Study, community, worship, mission, service, prayer (McKinion)

Growing

Spiritual & Numerical

Important: Growth is measured by the rule of the Gospel not numbers, activities, programs, etc.

Yet numerical growth can be a valid goal: 210 in 2010 is our numerical goal, but our focus is on healthy, Gospel growth.

• Jesus said follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17)
• Matt 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (ESV).
• Acts …look at the numerical growth.

Bottom line: We live in a growing city . . . we should be growing numerically.

Centered on the Gospel

How does everything we do connect, flow, center on the gospel?

• If it does not, should we/will we stop, change, rework? REFOCUS?

Vision (My Notes from Sunday Night) Part 1

These are my notes from Sunday Night.

Our Purpose: To Learn Christ & Live His Way of Life Together

Learning Christ

a disciple is a learner (background is theme of learning all that Christ is and all that he has done for us….as well as how to live in light of this good news from the Gospel of Matthew. Summarized in Matt 28:19-20 (Make disciples, baptizing and teaching them )

• Also Eph 4 contrasts the old life without Christ and the new life in Christ (4:17ff). Point is that learning Christ leads to transformation and re-formation & renewal in God’s likeness . . . true righteousness and holiness

• Also Col 1 & 2 with 2:6-7 being key.
• “Receive” has to do with being taught: applying the teaching to their lives.

Point: learning & embracing who Christ is & what he has done for us (all that he is & all that he has done for us)

• Key: Learning does not end when you become a Christ-follower, it’s just beginning.
• Note: evangelism/discipleship are not necessary linear nor are they separated

Living His Way of Life

• remaining faithful to & applying the Gospel to every sphere of life/relationship in life
• asking how does who Christ is and all that he has done for us shape, direct, and restrain the way I do marriage, family, work, sports & recreation, politics, money . . . all areas of life.

Together

• community commitment:
• 1 John and fellowship: partnership, sharing in the life, love, and truth of God

A Call to Work Together toward Church Renewal & Gospel Growth

Here’s what you can do as we look to God to send the “fire” of spiritual renewal & growth to ABBC.

1) Prepare to Represent Christ Well.

• At what major points does your life fail to represent Christ?
• Think about your speech, your conduct, your love, your faith, your purity?
• Think about your heart—your thoughts & ideas, your loves & desires, your choices & decision, even your worship & spirituality.
• Think about your relationships to family members, church members, co-workers, and so on.

• What habitual sins do you need to stop?
• What are practical ways that you can practice righteousness, pursue holiness, and love one another?
  

2) Preach the Gospel to Yourself.

• Are you struggling with self-righteousness? Trusting who you are or what you do for Christ instead of trusting who Jesus is and what he has done to achieve salvation for you?
• Are you struggling with persistent guilt? Trusting how you feel and what you think instead of trusting what God says and how he sees you in Christ?
• Do you fail to believe your standing in Christ?
• How will you deepen your understanding of who Christ is and what he has done for us? How will you apply this to your heart?

3) Pray.

• Ask for a sense of God’s presence and reality at ABBC.
• Pray for the growth of our church in godliness; pray for your own growth in godliness.
• Pray for opportunities to communicate to others who Jesus is and what he has done to achieve our salvation.
• Pray that many men and women will turn from sin, turn to Christ, and join us in learning Christ and his way of life.
• How will you make your prayer life more centered on seeking God and his will (rather than centered on your needs and problems).

4) Lead.

• How will you find accountability and relationships to others in our church who are more mature than you? From whom can you better learn Christ and his way of life?
• Is there anyone you can meet with each week for Bible study and prayer? Maybe lunch, Bible study and prayer (You got to eat), or maybe coffee, Bible study and prayer. The opportunities are endless.
• How do you need to change in order to be a leader? How do you need to change in order to follow the leadership around you?
• Humility is key.

As always, I write from what I read and study: The Bible, T. Keller, J. Bridges, C. J. Mahaney, and many, many more.

Everyday 1 John

Everyday 1 John will be a series of tweets during the week this summer. These tweets will challenge you (1) to apply what God is teaching us through 1 John, and (2) to become who God is calling us to be as a church family. It is one more way that we can learn Christ and his way of life together. Moreover, it is a way to extend our Sunday worship throughout the week. Take these tweets, talk about these tweets, and ask God to transform you and our church. Together let’s learn to apply God’s word to our hearts. 

 Connect at http://twitter.com/abbcfellowship. Be sure to read the terms and conditions.

Or use the link, ABBC on Twitter, on the church's webpage to see the last 20 updates posted on twitter. You can also see the last 4 updates at our homepage, www.abbcfellowship.com.