This week, we are looking at a section of perhaps
the most famous sermon that Jesus preached while on earth, called the Sermon on
the Mount. In Matthew 5:14-16, we discovered that Just like a city on a hill;
just like a lamp that is placed on a lampstand, as Jesus followers we are to
live our day to day lives in a way that reveals and reflects Christ to those
around us. Wednesday, we talked about the reality that the church is the only
organization that does not exist for the sake of its members? The church has
been divinely designed to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus
to the world. And God places the local church in distinctive environments to be
distinctively different.
We talked about the fact that the church, that I
serve at, which is City Bible Church, has been placed by God in Bullhead City
to be a city within a city that loves and serves those around us. And when we love and serve others in a way
that reveals and reflects Christ, the result is that we glorify God in Heaven.
That is why we believe and are focused on the goal that God has given us as a
church to be a city in a city that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as
we love and serve the city. We believe that as we live life together in
community with a focus on engaging those in this city in a way that reveals and
reflects Christ by loving and serving those in the city, we will be the vehicle
that God uses to advance His kingdom mission and bring Him glory.
Today, you might be wondering “well that’s great
Dave, but how do we reach that goal as a church? And how do I get to a place in
my life where I am following Jesus is a way that reveals and reflects Christ”?
If you are asking those questions, I just want you to know that they are great
questions to be asking. And my answer to those questions would be this; when we
read the Bible, we consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in
a growing and maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ invest
their lives in three specific ways.
First, we see that those who are involved in a
growing and maturing relationship with Christ invested their time with other
Christians as they gathered corporately for regular weekly worship gatherings
and as they scattered to experience community in homes throughout the week.
Second, we see that those who are involved in a growing and maturing
relationship with Christ invested their talents serving God by serving others
through the exercise of their spiritual gifts. Third, we see that those who are
involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Christ invested their treasure
to support God’s kingdom mission through regular and proportional giving.
And we believe that as individual followers of Jesus
consistently invest their time by being involved in a regular worship gathering
and a community group; as individual followers of Jesus consistently invest
their talents serving God by serving others through being a part of a ministry
team; and as individual followers of Jesus consistently invest their treasure
in order to help create environments where people can explore and grow in their
faith while experiencing community, we will continue to be a city in a city
that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city.
We desire that we would be a church that creates
environments where people grow in their relationship with Christ and are able
to move from being consumers who view the church as a place where they receive
spiritual goods and services to being investors who embrace and invest their
time, talent, and treasure to advance the kingdom mission that God has given
us.
And, because followers of Jesus grow and mature in
their relationship with Jesus when they
are investing their time in a community group, their talents in a
ministry, and their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity
of Jesus, as a church, we believe God calls us to plan for the future with
three specific goals that will help people grow in their relationship with Jesus
from being consumers who are searching and shopping when it comes to Jesus to
owners who own a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus to investors who
reveal and reflect Christ in their character and conduct and who have fully
embraced and are fully engaged in God’s kingdom mission.
First, we have set as a goal for the future that
every regular attender is investing their time, in addition to attending one of
the three worship gatherings that we have on Sundays, in a community group. We
feel strongly about this goal because we believe that transformational
spiritual growth occurs in circles, not rows. And community groups create those
transformational environments where people can develop loving and supportive
relationships that challenge us to take that next step when it comes to our
relationship with Jesus. Current community groups are listed in your bulletin
and other community groups will be starting in the future.
Second, we have set as a goal for the future that
every regular attender is investing their talents serving God by serving others
as part of a ministry team. We feel strongly about this goal because we believe
that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging the
spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us in a selfless way
that serves others.
We encounter God as we use the spiritual gifts we
have been given to help others encounter God. We experience God’s
transformational activity in our lives as we help others experience God’s
transformational activity in their lives. In your bulletin, you will see the
ministry classifieds, which list some of the many ways that you can invest your
talents serving God by serving others as part of a ministry.
Third, we have set as a goal for the future that
every regular attender is investing their treasure in a way that reveals and
reflects the generosity of Jesus. We feel strongly about this goal because we
believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging
the treasure that we have been given to create environments where people can
explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience genuine and authentic
community. As followers of
Jesus Christ, we are to be generous because Jesus Christ is generous. And when
we reflect the generosity of Jesus by being generous, we reveal and reflect
Jesus to others.
As a church, we are inviting those
who attend to join us in the kingdom mission and vision that God has given us
by planning for the future in three specific ways with three specific goals. As
a church, we are not inviting those who attend to commit to more than this, but
we are not inviting those who attend to commit to less than this. We are
inviting those who attend to plan for the future by partnering with us in the
kingdom mission that we have been given as a church by investing their time in
a community group, their talents in a ministry, and their treasure in a way
that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus.
So here are some questions for
you to consider this New Year: Where are you at when it comes to a relationship
with Jesus? Are you a consumer who views the church as
a place where they receive spiritual goods and services? Are you a consumer who
is shopping when it comes to a relationship with Jesus because you are
searching, seeking, or skeptical? Are you an owner who owns a genuine and
authentic relationship with Jesus but is simply treading water when it comes to
your relationship with Jesus and are not investing in the mission He has given
us? Or are you an investor who is embracing and investing their time, talent,
and treasure to advance the kingdom mission that God has given us?
And based on where you are at when it comes to your
relationship with Jesus, what is the next step that you need to take in order
to take the next step in your relationship with Jesus? Is that next step to
invest your time in a community group? Is that next step to invest your talent
in a ministry? Is that next step to invest your treasure in a way that reflects
the generosity of Jesus?
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