http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/americanchurchcrisis.html
Church – “ekklesia” word used 114
times in the N.T…
A called out assembly of believers
(used local & 4 times in universal sense)
1.
Jesus gave His life for the Church.
Acts 20:28
2.
Jesus Builds and is the Head of the Church.
Mt 16:18b; Col 1:18; Eph 5:23b
3.
Jesus fills the Church with Blessings.
Eph 1:22-23
Blessings such as…
·
Adding New
Members
– Acts 2:41-47
“And the Lord added to their
number daily those who were being saved.”
·
Cleanses &
Makes Radiant
– Eph 5:25-27
“And to present her to himself as
a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and
blameless.”
·
Grants
Grace & Peace
– 1Thes 1:1
“To the church of the
Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to
you”
·
Equalizes
Everyone
– Gal 3:28
“There is neither Jew nor Greek,
slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
·
Brings
Together in Fellowship
– Eph 2:19-22
“In him the whole building is
joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
22 And
in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives
by his Spirit”
·
Provides
spiritual Protection, Assures God’s Presence, Experiences genuine Worship, Truth
is proclaimed & believed, Finances flow, Supernatural Conversions, Spiritual &
physical Growth, Vision of what God is doing, Attractive to outsiders, etc…
The Cross Creek Membership
Covenant
“Having
received Christ as my Lord and Savior and been baptized, and being in agreement
with Cross Creek’s Statements, Strategy and Structure, I now feel led by the
Holy Spirit to unite with the Cross Creek Church family. In doing so, I commit
myself to God and to the other members to do the following:
I.
I will PROTECT the unity of my church
Romans 15:5-6
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity
among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one
heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
·
A
spirit of unity will happen as you follow Christ… don’t let the BIG EGO of SELF
get in the way.
·
In
Christ’s High Priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prays for us to be brought to
complete unity… v23.
·
Critically important in the Body of Christ… how do I protect and maintain unity?
ü
...By
acting in love toward other members
1 Peter 1:22
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have
sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
§
When you join a church you find it filled with human beings... imperfect – but
we must love them.
§
Sometimes we find EGR people – Extra Grace Required people... Love them anyway.
§
A
genuine love – not with hypocrisy – real and deep down – “agape” love toward
each other.
ü
...By
refusing to gossip
Ephes. 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is
helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may
benefit those who listen.
§
“Unwholesome” (sapros)
means rotten, foul, putrid and polluting. Speak good words.
§
Speak helpful words,
not words of gossip, not a busybody in everyone’s affairs. That is sin.
§
Digging for dirt… learning something then your tongue wags away… sin.
ü
...By
following the leaders
Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you
as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a
joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
§
This is
very important… this scares me, because someday I will give an account as your
pastor
§
Heavy
responsibility… rightly handle the Word of God, faithful in prayer & counsel…
§
Heavy
judgment will be upon you for disobedience in this area… submit to their
authority
II.
I will SHARE the responsibility of my church
Ephes. 4:16
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
·
As
members we share the responsibility by each person doing your job in area of
giftedness.
·
What
are you presently doing? Teaching a SS class? Jr Church? Nursery? Greeters?
Parkers?
·
Spending your valuable time in sharing the responsibility
ü
…By praying
for its growth
Matthew 9:37-38
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are
few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers
into his harvest field.”
§
God
raise up workers… you may complain about nobody doing anything… are you praying?
§
We
have grown 38% EVERY year for the last 8 years… keep praying for growth &
laborers.
New Church
A small town
had experienced rapid growth, and the local church congregation had outgrown
their building. The members formed a committee to plan and build a new church.
The committee told the minister to take care of the flock and they would handle
the details of church construction. The minister complied with the request and
kept his distance.
As the new
building was nearing completion, the committee chairman invited the minister to
view their new house of worship. Entering through the main doors, the minister
noted only the last row of pews had been installed.
“Since people
always fill the last row of pews first, we had a special feature installed,” the
chairman said. He pressed a button on the wall and the pew moved forward and
another popped up. The minister was impressed.
The big day
finally arrived for the first service in the new church. The minister peeked out
as the pews filled from the back and then moved forward. He was ecstatic.
When the time
came for the sermon, the mister was so filled with joy and goodwill, he
delivered his prepared message and then some… At 12 o’clock, he was still
sharing the good word when the church bells began to ring...and the pulpit and
the minister slowly descended from view.
Bill Benton,
Taken from the Mobile Home News
ü
...By
inviting the unchurched to attend
Luke 14:23
"Then the master
told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them
come in, so that my house will be full.
§
We do
Friend day twice a year, special events, special meetings, regular services…
invite!
§
God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth… not
willing any should perish
ü
...By
warmly welcoming those who visit
Romans 15:7
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring
praise to God.
§
You
come here and there is life… Cross Creek is ALIVE with people… seek out our new
guests
§
Don’t
just depend on the parkers & greeters… YOU too warmly welcome – a look, word,
touch
III.
I will SERVE the ministry of my church
1 Peter
4:10
“Each
one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms.”
·
“Every
member a minister” Every believer is gifted to serve… no excuses… where are you
serving?
·
Audio/Visual? Jr Church? Website design? Official Greeter? Teaching SS?
Nursing Homes? Prisons? Writing newsletters? Doing research? Administrative?
Accountant? Building trades?
·
You will
grow spiritually as you serve the ministry… you serve God… helping to win the
world for Christ!
ü
...By
discovering my gifts and talents
Romans 12:5-6a
“so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all
the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given
us...”
§
We
have various classes… 101, 201, 301, 401 where we learn my gifts & talents
§
Everyone is a “10” in some area… you need me, I need you, we need each other.
ü
...By being
equipped to serve by my pastors
Ephes. 4:11b-12
“...God gave some... to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's
people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
§
According to these verses, my job is to prepare/equip/mend you to do the
ministry here
§
I’m
here to give you the tools to go to a higher level in your spiritual journey
(Building my life)
ü
...By
developing a servant’s heart
Philip. 2:5-8
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made
in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
§
Our attitudes will
make us or break us… how do you respond when someone goes against you
§
It’s not about
serving me… but is about serving Christ… we stand before an audience of one!
There are four
main bones in every organization.
The
wish-bones: Wishing somebody would do something about the problem.
The
jaw-bones: Doing all the talking but very little else.
The
knuckle-bones: Those who knock everything.
The
back-bones: Those who carry the brunt of the load and do most of the work.
Bits & Pieces,
October 15, 1992, pp. 16-17
IV. I
will SUPPORT the testimony of my church
Acts 2:47
Praising God and
enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number
daily those who were being saved.
·
Personally & corporately… a good report with those around us… to win our world
for Christ
·
We
attend Cross Creek… don’t give the body of Christ a bad name/reputation. How do
we do this?
ü
...By
attending faithfully
Heb.
10:25
“Let us
not give up the habit of meeting together...but let us encourage one
another.”
§
Faithfulness to God’s family is a powerful testimony to the unchurched/unsaved
world.
§
Our
spiritual tanks get low, we need weekly fill-ups… Wednesday nights, small
groups, church
ü
...By
living a godly life
Matthew 5:16
“...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven.
§
Our
testimony changes after we’re saved… no longer living like the Devil… 1Co 6:9-11
§
Being
the salt and light of the world… lifting Jesus, drawing men to Christ… good
testimony
Remember
putting your face above a headless frame painted to represent a muscle man, a
clown, or even a bathing beauty? Many of us have had our pictures taken this
way, and the photos are humorous because the head doesn’t fit the body. If we
could picture Christ as the head of our local body of believers, would the world
laugh at the misfit? Or would they stand in awe of a human body so closely
related to a divine head?
ü
...By
giving regularly
2 Cor. 9:6-7
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has
decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver.
§
Every believer gives
cheerfully… why? I’m in love with Jesus… He has blessed me – GIVE!
§
Giving makes me more
Christlike… it allows the church to function well… building to reach!
·
That my friend is
how we get control of our “New Lives in Christ” obedience to His Word.
·
I believe God spells
it out clearly as we function together in the body of Christ – the Church…
·
Allow these words to
sink deep within our hearts… memorize them, read them everyday…
Colossians 3:12-14 12
Therefore, as God's
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each
other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive
as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on
love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
This is the
commitment we make to God and one another! AMEN!
Welcome ~ New
Members! Let’s bow in prayer together
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