That the reason the 21st Century church isn't experiencing the power of the First Church of Jerusalem is because we refuse to have the same level of commitment? Randy Frazee in his Book The Connecting Church, points out that the problem with the lack of power in the church today could be our lack of connectedness. Randy says this:
"There's a powerful passage in Acts 2:43 that says, They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
"If you read the next several verses, you'll see the outcome of their community devotion: Miracles took place, people's lives were being changed, the believers cared deeply and sacrificially for each other, new people were coming to know Christ - and as a result their group grew rapidly. The Bible says they even enjoyed a spectacular reputation in the surrounding community. But there is one aspect of their fellowship most modern-day believers overlook - how often they got together: "Every day they continued to meet together.""
Our 'community' at TVCC is Life Groups. How are you connected and how are you caring for 'one another' within your group? I think Randy just might be on to something here!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
RADICAL INCLUSIVENESS
This message of forgiveness - what's it all about and how far does it reach? Can just anyone be saved? What about those groups we mentioned in the sermon "Finding Faith in Troubled Homes" (May 10th)? Are they included too? What is the FAITH that will repair and rebuild fractured homes?
Too many times we have the tendency to classify sins, i.e. the bad ones vs. the good ones. The best I can read, there aren't any good ones! We may give them degrees or rank and order, but we don't make the rules, God does! Too many times, we relish in the list that we exclude ourselves from such as Romans 1 where Paul says:
That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:26-27 (NLT)
But that passage has been prefaced by verse 18 which says:
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Romans 1:18 (NLT)
Then we have to realize that, "All sinful, wicked people" includes:
"Lives... full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
Romans 1:29-31 (NLT)
Hopefully we're involved less and less in this list of 'good sins' which at times, point directly to all of our hearts. You see, the Gospel is RADICALLY INCLUSIVE! For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)
Here's the bad news: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, (here's the Good News) but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (ESV)
And...
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)
Radical? YES! Inclusive? YES! We all have sinned and our best efforts fall short of the perfection we must have in order to receive God's forgiveness. But Jesus Christ radically saves everyone who comes to Him in repentance so that we may find mercy and grace and eternal salvation. What an AWESOME, ALL INCLUSIVE GOD we serve!
Too many times we have the tendency to classify sins, i.e. the bad ones vs. the good ones. The best I can read, there aren't any good ones! We may give them degrees or rank and order, but we don't make the rules, God does! Too many times, we relish in the list that we exclude ourselves from such as Romans 1 where Paul says:
That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:26-27 (NLT)
But that passage has been prefaced by verse 18 which says:
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Romans 1:18 (NLT)
Then we have to realize that, "All sinful, wicked people" includes:
"Lives... full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
Romans 1:29-31 (NLT)
Hopefully we're involved less and less in this list of 'good sins' which at times, point directly to all of our hearts. You see, the Gospel is RADICALLY INCLUSIVE! For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)
Here's the bad news: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, (here's the Good News) but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (ESV)
And...
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)
Radical? YES! Inclusive? YES! We all have sinned and our best efforts fall short of the perfection we must have in order to receive God's forgiveness. But Jesus Christ radically saves everyone who comes to Him in repentance so that we may find mercy and grace and eternal salvation. What an AWESOME, ALL INCLUSIVE GOD we serve!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Mission Impossible
S Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matthew 19:26 (NLT)
O To be on mission with God through our own provision of good deeds and great efforts is impossible; it will never bring salvation. Only God, who established the way back home has the remedy through Christ.
A Since only Jesus can fulfill the mission of redemption for us, then we have nothing to bring to the dance except faith that what is impossible for us, is possible with God. Christ was good and He completed the mission for us.
P Lord Jesus - thank you for making the way to your house so very clear; you marked it well! May we leave a clear path as well. AMEN!
O To be on mission with God through our own provision of good deeds and great efforts is impossible; it will never bring salvation. Only God, who established the way back home has the remedy through Christ.
A Since only Jesus can fulfill the mission of redemption for us, then we have nothing to bring to the dance except faith that what is impossible for us, is possible with God. Christ was good and He completed the mission for us.
P Lord Jesus - thank you for making the way to your house so very clear; you marked it well! May we leave a clear path as well. AMEN!
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