Aug 31, 2014 - About 2/3 of the Builder generation (those born before. 1946) are Christian. .... Discipleship App â a
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I Love My Church
I Love My Church Dr. Brandon Park | August 31, 2014
H Hebrews ebrews 10:24-‐ 0:24 2 25, 5, “And let u s consider how to stir up one a nother to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging o ne another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” We need to understand that the c hurch is God’s idea – not some plan or program invented by humans. The church is the only institution God promised to sustain forever. Church attendance isn’t always an accurate measurement of the state of a person’s heart, but it’s a good place to start. If a “Christian” i sn’t bothered enough to even make it to church, their spiritual sentiment must not run very deep. According to George Barna, the number of adults who either didn’t attend church or only when to church on major holidays increased by 92%. A Profile of “Church-‐Dater” Who Is Not Committed to the Church: 1. An attitude toward church that tends to be ______-‐________________. We go to a church for what we can get –social interaction, programs, or activities. The driving question is, “What c an church do for me?” 2. A second sign of a church-‐dater is being ________________________. We go to church because that’s what Christians are supposed to do – but we’re careful to avoid getting involved too much – especially with people. So we just go through the motions without really investing ourselves. 3. A church-‐dater tends to be ____________________. We are s hort on allegiance and quick to find fault in our church. We treat church with a consumer mentality – looking for the best product for the price of our Sunday morning. As a result, we’re fickle and not invested for the long-‐term. When we don’t have a passion and a commitment for our church – everyone gets cheated out of God’s best. Ephesians 5 tells us that “husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church.” If Jesus loved the church enough to give His life ________ it, we ought to love the church enough to give our life ________ it. Acts 20:28 says that Jesus bought the church with His own blood. How can I not give it my life? Are you a “consumer” or a “communer”? A local church is a visible, tangible, real-‐world expression of the body of Christ. Chuck Colson said, “Of course every believer is part of the universal church, but for any Christian who has a choice in the matter, failure to cleave to a particular church is failure to obey Christ.” Nehemiah 10:39 says, ''We will not neglect the house of our God.'' The word ''neglect'' literally means ''to let go'' or ''to let loose.'' It is a word that describes how a man, after twenty-‐five years of faithful marriage, would leave his wife for a younger woman. It literally means to forsake or desert. When you withhold from the church, you withhold from Jesus. When you refuse to give to the church, you refuse to give to Jesus. When you refuse to help the c hurch, you refuse to help the Lord Jesus. Where do I get that i dea? When Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, Jesus asked him an interesting question: “Saul, Saul, why a re you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Jesus was saying that anything you do to the church, you do to Him. First Baptist Raytown exists for three reasons:
We are here to ____________ our Community with the _________ and ________________ of Jesus Christ
Luke 14:23, “Go out into the highways a nd a long the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.” According to LifeWay Research, ______ out of every ______ churches in America are declining or growing at a pace that is slower than that of their communities. Another way to look at it is generationally. About 2/3 of the Builder generation ( those born before 1946) are Christian. But only 15% of the Millenials (born between 1980 and 2000) are Christian. George Gallup wrote a book entitled, Saints Among Us and he said, “Though many Americans are religious, in a loose sense, the core population living deeply s piritual lives is 13%.” Leith Anderson said, “We read the B ook of Acts and we celebrate the fact that on the day of Pentecost 3,000 people came to know Christ. But today, if you combine mainland China, Sub-‐Saharan Africa, and Latin America – there i s nearly a Pentecost every HOUR.” In the United States, we are closing _______ churches every week! The church is the __________________ that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people.
Pentecost 3,000 people came to know Christ. But today, if you combine mainland China, Sub-‐Saharan Africa, and Latin America – there i s nearly a Pentecost every HOUR.” In the United States, we are closing _______ churches every week! The church is the __________________ that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people. Jesus said in John 20:21, “As the F Jesus said in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.” The church matters because Jesus chose it to tell and sho only hope! because Jesus chose it to tell and show the world the message of His love. The message that thhe church as is this world’s church has is this world’s only hope! It is in the local church that we a It is in the local church that we are ___________________ to God’s work around t he world. said, “If the church is c John Stott John Stott said, “If the church is central to God’s purpose as seen in both history and the sgurely ospel, it be central to our liv must also must surely also be central to our lives. How can we take lightly what God takes so seriously? ow to the circumference w dare we pHush dare we push to the circumference what God has placed at the center?” During the month of September, During the month of September, we are launching the I L ove My Church campaign. Today we a1re distributing ,000 t-‐shirts and encou distributing 1,000 t-‐shirts and encouraging you to wear your shirts every Saturday during the month of our prayer that God September. It’s September. It’s our prayer that God can use what He i s doing here i n your church as atalk springboard to others tao bout Jesus! talk to others about Jesus! We are here to ___________ 2
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We are here to ___________ our Congregation with _____________ _______________ to Reach T _______________ to Reach Their Full Potential The reason why you are to come
The reason why you are to come to church is because you need to deepen and to strengthen fellowship ywour ith God. You cannot __ fellowship with God. You cannot ___________ like you should if you do not ________ ought. l ike Any ylou iving organism i s comprised o Any living organism i s comprised of cells and cells need two basic things to survive: other 1.) They need cells to live with and interact w other cells to live with and interact with and 2.) they need food. When you give cells tthey hose ntaturally wo things, reproduce. What is tr they naturally reproduce. What is true of the body is also true of the Body of Christ. W e equip with God’s principles in th ourselves ourselves with God’s principles in the community of God’s people. Ephesians 6 tells us that God’s Wo Ephesians 6 tells us that God’s Word is the “sword of the Spirit.” If we are going to equipped be fully in the Word, we need to fu equipped in the Word, we need to fully grasp it with these 5 practices: 1.) ____________ -‐ We reme 1.) ____________ -‐ We remember 15% of what we hear 24 hours after hearing it. Just hearing the Word is not enough. C the Word is not enough. Can you imagine having a sword fight and only holding your swith word your pinky? with your pinky? 2.) _____________ -‐ We rem 2.) _____________ -‐ We remember 30% of what we read. Spend time reading God’s Word each week. Shoot for 7 a each week. Shoot for 7 and hit 5. Make it a goal to just read one chapter of the Bible Are a day. putting the Word you Are you putting the Word of G od into your life? Are you a self-‐feeder? 3.) _________________ -‐ W 3.) _________________ -‐ We We remember 60% of what we s tudy. Studying means that you just don’t read i t but you begin just read it i t but you begin to ask questions and i nvestigate. It means digging deeper into the text. text. 4.) _____________________ 4.) _____________________ – We We remember 100% of what we memorize. When you come across a Scripture that jum ible across a Scripture that jumps out at you and you feel that God put that verse in the B ib just for you, you need to just for you, you need to transfer it to an index card and place it in a location where you’ll see it often. see it often. 5.) _____________________ 5.) _____________________ -‐ This This means taking memorized Scriptures and like a prism, yhold ou them up to the light hold them up to the light of God and look at all the different ways you can think about and it the different applicat and the different applications it has in our daily life. One of the primary ways that we equ One of the primary ways that we equip our church is through small groups. FBR is not we a large are ac hurch, collection of small churches we are a collection of small churches. My dream for FBR’s future is that we will have 4people paths cthat an take to get involved in Gr roupLife. people can take to get involved in GroupLife • Life________________ -‐ • based, deeper B•ible sLife________________ Life________________ -‐ on-‐campus small groups, many lecture-‐based, tudy. -‐ • campus small groups meeting in community/neighborhoods ommunity/neighborhoods Life________________ -‐ off-‐campus • Life________________ -‐ • Life________________ e________________ -‐ support groups for those struggling with specific life issue. • Life________________ -‐ • Life________________ -‐ for those who share common interests and activities. We are here to ___________
We are here to _____________ ____________ our Core for _______________ in in the Church and _________________ in the W _________________ _________________ in in the World orld The Bible says in Ephesians 4:11-‐1
The The Bible says in Ephesians 4:11 :11-‐13 that it is the pastor’s job to “equip the saints for the work oWf e the ministry.” are a part of a bigger ministry.” We We are a part of a bigger cause that i s so much greater than ourselves. Philippians :3, “I God for your partnersh always t1hank ow.” What you _______________ from always thank God for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now What you _______________ _______________ from from the church is in direct proportion to what y ou are willing to to the church. ___________ ___________ to the church. • Ministry in the Church – • hurch – 1 1 Peter 4:10. Vision for the Future: 1.) EngageU, ngageU, EquipU, EquipU, EmpowerU, 2.) Leadershi Ministry in the Church EmpowerU, 2.) Leadership Training for Business Leaders, 3.) Life Lessons over Lunch, 4Church .) Revitalization and Church Revitalization and Multi-‐site site Strategy. trategy. • Mission in the World – V • Mission in the World – Vision for the Future: 1.) International Missions, 2.) Local KC missions, 3.) Personal eva missions, 3.) Personal evangelism, 4.) Discipleship App – a a Church of Disciples Making Disciples. Disciples.
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I Love My Church
I Love My Church Dr. Brandon Park | August 31, 2014
H Hebrews ebrews 10:24-‐ 0:24 2 25, 5, “And let u s consider how to stir up one a nother to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging o ne another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” We need to understand that the c hurch is God’s idea – not some plan or program invented by humans. The church is the only institution God promised to sustain forever. Church attendance isn’t always an accurate measurement of the state of a person’s heart, but it’s a good place to start. If a “Christian” i sn’t bothered enough to even make it to church, their spiritual sentiment must not run very deep. According to George Barna, the number of adults who either didn’t attend church or only when to church on major holidays increased by 92%. A Profile of “Church-‐Dater” Who Is Not Committed to the Church: me ________________. centered 1. An attitude toward church that tends to be ______-‐ We go to a church for what we can get –social interaction, programs, or activities. The driving question is, “What c an church do for me?” independent 2. A second sign of a church-‐dater is being ________________________. We go to church because that’s what Christians are supposed to do – but we’re careful to avoid getting involved too much – especially with people. So we just go through the motions without really investing ourselves. 3. A church-‐dater tends to be ____________________. We are s hort on allegiance and quick critical to find fault in our church. We treat church with a consumer mentality – looking for the best product for the price of our Sunday morning. As a result, we’re fickle and not invested for the long-‐term. When we don’t have a passion and a commitment for our church – everyone gets cheated out of God’s best. Ephesians 5 tells us that “husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church.” FOR it, we ought to love the church enough If Jesus loved the church enough to give His life ________ to give our life ________ TO it. Acts 20:28 says that Jesus bought the church with His own blood. How can I not give it my life? Are you a “consumer” or a “communer”? A local church is a visible, tangible, real-‐world expression of the body of Christ. Chuck Colson said, “Of course every believer is part of the universal church, but for any Christian who has a choice in the matter, failure to cleave to a particular church is failure to obey Christ.” Nehemiah 10:39 says, ''We will not neglect the house of our God.'' The word ''neglect'' literally means ''to let go'' or ''to let loose.'' It is a word that describes how a man, after twenty-‐five years of faithful marriage, would leave his wife for a younger woman. It literally means to forsake or desert. When you withhold from the church, you withhold from Jesus. When you refuse to give to the church, you refuse to give to Jesus. When you refuse to help the c hurch, you refuse to help the Lord Jesus. Where do I get that i dea? When Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, Jesus asked him an interesting question: “Saul, Saul, why a re you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Jesus was saying that anything you do to the church, you do to Him. First Baptist Raytown exists for three reasons:
We are here to ____________ and ENGAGE our Community with the _________ love ________________ of Jesus Christ message
Luke 14:23, “Go out into the highways a nd a long the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.” 9 out of every ______ 10 churches in America are declining or According to LifeWay Research, ______ growing at a pace that is slower than that of their communities. Another way to look at it is generationally. About 2/3 of the Builder generation ( those born before 1946) are Christian. But only 15% of the Millenials (born between 1980 and 2000) are Christian. George Gallup wrote a book entitled, Saints Among Us and he said, “Though many Americans are religious, in a loose sense, the core population living deeply s piritual lives is 13%.” Leith Anderson said, “We read the B ook of Acts and we celebrate the fact that on the day of Pentecost 3,000 people came to know Christ. But today, if you combine mainland China, Sub-‐Saharan Africa, and Latin America – there i s nearly a Pentecost every HOUR.” 60 churches every week! In the United States, we are closing _______ The church is the __________________ that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people.
Africa, and Latin America – there i s nearly a Pentecost every HOUR.” In the United States, we are closing _______ churches every week! vehicle The church is the __________________ that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people. Jesus said in John 20:21, “As th Jesus said in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.” The church matters because Jesus chose it to tell and only hop because Jesus chose it to tell and show the world the message of His love. The message that thhe church as is this world’s church has is this world’s only hope! It is in the local church that w attached It is in the local church that we are ___________________ to God’s work around t he world. said, “If the church John Stott John Stott said, “If the church is central to God’s purpose as seen in both history and the sgurely ospel, it be central to our must also must surely also be central to our lives. How can we take lightly what God takes so seriously? ow to the circumferenc dare we pHush dare we push to the circumference what God has placed at the center?” During the month of Septemb During the month of September, we are launching the I L ove My Church campaign. Today we a1re distributing ,000 t-‐shirts and enc distributing 1,000 t-‐shirts and encouraging you to wear your shirts every Saturday during the month of our prayer that G September. It’s September. It’s our prayer that God can use what He i s doing here i n your church as atalk springboard to others tao bout Jesus! talk to others about Jesus! We are here to _________ 2
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We are here to ___________ our Congregation with _____________ EQUIP biblical _______________ to Reac _______________ to Reach Their Full Potential principles The reason why you are to com
The reason why you are to come to church is because you need to deepen and to strengthen fellowship ywour ith God. You cannot fellowship with God. You cannot ___________ ought. grow like you should if you do not ________ go l ike Any ylou iving organism i s comprise Any living organism i s comprised of cells and cells need two basic things to survive: other 1.) They need cells to live with and interac other cells to live with and interact with and 2.) they need food. When you give cells tthey hose ntaturally wo things, reproduce. What is they naturally reproduce. What is true of the body is also true of the Body of Christ. W e equip with God’s principles in ourselves ourselves with God’s principles in the community of God’s people. Ephesians 6 tells us that God’s Ephesians 6 tells us that God’s Word is the “sword of the Spirit.” If we are going to equipped be fully in the Word, we need to equipped in the Word, we need to fully grasp it with these 5 practices: 1.) ____________ -‐ We re Hear 1.) ____________ -‐ We remember 15% of what we hear 24 hours after hearing it. Just hearing the Word is not enoug the Word is not enough. Can you imagine having a sword fight and only holding your swith word your pinky? with your pinky? 2.) _____________ -‐ We r Read 2.) _____________ -‐ We remember 30% of what we read. Spend time reading God’s Word each week. Shoot for each week. Shoot for 7 and hit 5. Make it a goal to just read one chapter of the Bible Are a day. putting the W you Are you putting the Word of G od into your life? Are you a self-‐feeder? 3.) _________________ -‐ Study 3.) _________________ -‐ We We remember 60% of what we s tudy. Studying means that you just don’t read i t but you beg just read it i t but you begin to ask questions and i nvestigate. It means digging deeper into the text. text. 4.) ___________________ Memorize 4.) _____________________ – We We remember 100% of what we memorize. When you come across a Scripture that ible across a Scripture that jumps out at you and you feel that God put that verse in the B ib just for you, you need just for you, you need to transfer it to an index card and place it in a location where you’ll see it often. see it often. 5.) ___________________ Meditate 5.) _____________________ -‐ This This means taking memorized Scriptures and like a prism, yhold ou them up to the lig hold them up to the light of God and look at all the different ways you can think about and it the different appli and the different applications it has in our daily life. One of the primary ways that we One of the primary ways that we equip our church is through small groups. FBR is not we a large are ac hurch, collection of small churc we are a collection of small churches. My dream for FBR’s future is that we will have 4people paths cthat an take to get involved in roupLife. people can take to get involved in GroupLife • Life________________ • -‐ on-‐campus small groups, many lecture-‐based, based, deeper B•ible sLife________________ Life________________ tudy. Studies Lines • -‐ off-‐campus campus small groups meeting in community/neighborhoods ommunity/neighborhoods Life________________ • Life________________ • Life________________ -‐ support groups for those struggling with specific life issue. e________________ Groups • Life________________ • -‐ for those who share common interests and activities. Life________________ Share We are here to _________
EMPOWER our Core for _______________ ministry We are here to _____________ ____________ in in the Church and _________________ in the _________________ in _________________ in the World orld mission The Bible says in Ephesians 4:1
The The Bible says in Ephesians 4:11 :11-‐13 that it is the pastor’s job to “equip the saints for the work oWf e the ministry.” are a part of a bigg ministry.” We We are a part of a bigger cause that i s so much greater than ourselves. Philippians :3, “I God for your partne always t1hank ow.” What you _______________ f always thank God for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now receive What you _______________ _______________ from the church is in direct proportion to what y ou are from willing to to the church. ___________ ___________ to the church. give • Ministry in the Church • hurch – 1 1 Peter 4:10. Vision for the Future: 1.) EngageU, ngageU, EquipU, EquipU, EmpowerU, 2.) Leader Ministry in the Church EmpowerU, 2.) Leadership Training for Business Leaders, 3.) Life Lessons over Lunch, 4Church .) Revitalization a Church Revitalization and Multi-‐site site Strategy. trategy. • Mission in the World – • Mission in the World – Vision for the Future: 1.) International Missions, 2.) Local KC missions, 3.) Personal missions, 3.) Personal evangelism, 4.) Discipleship App – a a Church of Disciples Making Disciples. Disciples.