Power To - Week 1

"I want to invite you to open your Bibles with me to Acts chapter 1. So, over the past few weeks, I’ve been having some serious issues with mowing the grass at the parsonage. It all started on April 22nd when I mowed for the first time by the old septic system. As I was mowing by the leach field, the blades suddenly stopped, and the mower shut down. Naturally, I thought, ‘What in the world just happened?’ It fired back up right away, but when I tried to engage the deck again, it stalled. Long story short, I eventually found a piece of wire hanging out from the side of the mower, and when I looked underneath, I discovered something even crazier: someone had thrown a whole bundle of electrical Romex wire in the weeds, and I had run over it! But that wasn’t the end of the story. A week later, the same thing happened. The mower stalled, started up, but the deck wouldn’t engage. I went back to the garage and found that there was an inner tube hidden somewhere on the property, and, of course, I found it. And the saga continued… another week, another breakdown. This time, I hit a string of barbed wire. After dealing with that, I thought, “Okay, surely this will be the last of my mower problems.” But no, it gets worse. The next week, as I mowed along the front of the house near the highway, the mower locked up again. This time, when I went to the garage to check, I found rebar wrapped around the blades. Now, have you ever tried to bend rebar? It’s tough. I tried everything—my hands, my feet—nothing worked. So I grabbed my torch, thinking I could heat it up and make it more pliable… but nothing. No matter what I did, I couldn’t bend it. So I pulled out the big guns—the Craftsman oscillating tool and a reciprocating saw. It was amazing to me that I couldn’t do it with my own strength, but the tools had all the power I needed to cut through that stubborn rebar and get the mower working again. And now, the churches mower is in the garage, broken, waiting for Luke to come fix it—somehow, the pullies for the blades are seized. But that’s a whole different story.

Now, what’s the point of all this? Here’s what I want to highlight: So often in our spiritual lives, we’re trying to live for Christ with trying to fix our hardships with our own hands—we’re trying to do everything in our own strength, relying on our own power. But, just like I couldn’t get that mower to work without the right power tools, we can’t live the Christian life the way we’re meant to without the power of the Holy Spirit. Power is something we all crave. In fact, it’s something that, if we’re not careful, can be dangerous. Power, if used the wrong way, can hurt you. We’ve all seen it—power can corrupt. Sir John Dalberg-Acton said in the mid-1800s: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He was warning us that power, when misused, can destroy a person morally, leading to pride and selfishness. Now, the disciples weren’t any different. They wanted power too. In Acts 1:6, look with me, it says: “So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, ‘Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?’” What were they asking? They wanted power. They were looking for deliverance from the Romans and not just deliverance, but revenge, and they were hoping Jesus would use His power to set them free in a way they understood—political power. They wanted the reciprocating saw power. They wanted to cut through their enemies, get rid of their oppressors, and take back control. That makes me think of James and John, the sons of thunder. They were with Jesus in Samaria when the people there rejected them. The two of them, fired up and feeling a bit offended, said to Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (Luke 9:54). And as I think about that, I can’t help but laugh—because it's so human. I mean, how many times have we been offended or angered, and deep down, we’ve wanted revenge? How many of us have looked at situations in our lives where we’ve felt mistreated or wronged, and in our hearts, we've wanted the power to make it right— but we wanted not make it right, our way?

But what did Jesus say in response to James and John? “You don’t know what kind of spirit you are of.” (Luke 9:55). “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” Can you imagine in your life when you want to harm someone, or let something harm someone because of your anger? Like when someone cuts us off on the road because there in a hurry… oh man I hope you get pulled over by the cops. And get a ticket.. and then when I pass you.. i’m gonna honk and wave. That’s a destructive attitude. One that would aim to Destry or harm a life, not save it. So, what did Jesus say? How did He respond to their thirst for power? How does He respond to our thirst for power—our own version of control and revenge? His response redefines everything. And these words are the foundation of our new series: He says to the disciples in acts, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). Jesus isn’t offering them the power to destroy or to retaliate. He’s offering them the power to be witnesses of His grace. Think about this.. “Jesus redefines power—not as control, but to have the courage to carry the gospel.

Let me push that even further, because I think we're missing something huge here. This isn't just courage to stand behind a pulpit and preach—though that can be scary enough, trust me. This is courage to love. It's the power to show up in people's lives when everything in our flesh wants to pack up and go home. And here's where Jesus gets really practical with them. He doesn't just say, "Go love everybody." He gives them a roadmap on how to witness. Look at what He tells them: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Have you ver thought about these three places?” Let's start with Jerusalem. That’s home, right? That’s supposed to be the easy one. That’s where your people are—the ones who recognize your face, the ones who watched you grow up, who nod when they see you at the market. You’d think it would be the safest place to begin. But it’s not. Because that’s the city that just crucified Jesus. Seriously, think about that. The people Jesus healed… the ones He taught… the ones He fed—they’re the same ones who screamed for His death. And now Jesus turns to His disciples and says, “Yeah, I want you to go back there. I want you to walk back into that city and tell them I love them. I want you to go right back to the ones who killed Me—and offer them eternal life.” That’s insane. Who does that? I wouldn’t want to go back. Would you? Like… are you kidding me? The last time I was in Jerusalem, they were shouting for blood. And now I’m supposed to go back and say, “Hey, remember Jesus? The one you rejected? He still wants you.” That’s hard. That’s uncomfortable. That’s painful. But that’s the gospel. Jesus isn’t calling us to something safe or easy—He’s calling us to something holy. And I just wonder… are we willing to love like that? Are we willing to go back to the people who hurt us… who hate us… and offer them grace? Because that’s what Jesus did. For me. For you. We were His Jerusalem. And He came into our lives anyway.

Jesus doesn’t just say, “Start in Jerusalem.” He keeps going: “and in all Judea… and Samaria.” And now it’s getting real. Because Judea, okay, that’s still kinda local—still familiar. But Samaria? That hits different. That’s uncomfortable. That’s where the lines get crossed. That’s where the tension is. You’ve got to understand—Jews and Samaritans didn’t just not get along… they had generations of hatred between them. This wasn’t just a rivalry. This was deep. Religious, cultural, racial division. They wouldn’t even walk through each other’s towns. They’d go miles out of the way just to avoid each other. And Jesus says, “Go there.” Can you imagine how that felt? Like, "Wait, what? You want me to go where my grandparents told me never to go? To love the people I was raised to avoid? To serve the ones I was taught to look down on?” It’s like Jesus looking at someone from Denver and saying, “I want you to walk into a tailgate full of Broncos fans wearing Raiders gear… and go wash their feet.” Or telling a lifelong skier, “Your mission? Go up to the top of the mountain and serve the snowboarders.” And some of you laugh… but isn’t it true? You felt that. You got a little uncomfortable, didn’t you? And that’s the point. Jesus is saying, “You’re not going to do this in your own strength. I’m giving you a power that breaks through the walls you’ve spent your whole life building. I’m going to enable you to love the people you were taught to hate.” Because before you can go to the ends of the earth, you’ve got to go to the edge of your comfort. Before you can be My witness out there… you have to love the one you’ve refused to love right here. And I just wonder—are we ready for that? Are we ready to love like that here at this church? Or are we still building fences around our faith?

And then, as if that wasn't challenging enough, He says, "and to the ends of the earth." Now we're talking about complete strangers. People in different countries, with different languages, different customs and culture. People who don't know you, don't care about you, and might even be hostile toward you. But you're going to love them anyway. Do you see what He’s doing here? He’s not handing out some easy, power-tool version of Christianity. This isn’t a reciprocating saw that cuts through problems and makes everything smooth. He’s giving them—and us—something far more powerful and way more difficult: The power to love when love doesn’t make sense. This is supernatural. Don’t miss that. This is not something you muster up on your own. You don’t just decide to love like this one day. No. This is Holy Spirit power. Because loving the people who crucified your Savior? That’s not human. Loving the people you were taught to avoid or despise? That’s not natural. Loving strangers who don’t care if you live or die? That’s not safe. But Jesus never promised safe—He promised power.And here’s the part that hits me hardest: you don’t have to fly across an ocean to obey this command. All three of those groups? They’re right here in Falcon. We’ve got people who hate us because we follow Jesus. They think we’re narrow-minded or outdated or foolish. We’ve got people—if we’re honest—that we’ve looked at with judgment or bias. People we wouldn’t want sitting in our living rooms or serving on our teams. And we’ve got people who know nothing about us—nothing about Jesus—living across the street. And we haven’t even said hello. But Jesus died for every single one of them. And He died for us, too.

But here’s what I need you to hear: this kind of obedience—this going back to Jerusalem, this loving the Samaritans, this reaching out to the ends of the earth—this kind of obedience isn’t driven by pressure. It’s not because the church made you feel guilty. It’s not because your pastor gave you a spiritual to-do list. No—this kind of obedience is born from something way deeper. It comes from intimacy. From love. It comes from the kind of relationship with Jesus where you trust Him so much, and you’re so captivated by His love, that you’d go anywhere and love anyone just to be close to His heart.

Think about it: the disciples didn’t go back to Jerusalem because it was safe. They didn’t go because they felt like heroes. They went because they knew Jesus. They loved Him. And when you love someone that much, you don’t argue with their mission—you embrace it. They would’ve walked straight into danger if it meant Jesus got glory. And honestly, they did. And that brings me to something I think we need to talk about. When it comes to being a church of witness—when it comes to having that courage to love people who seem unlovable—do you know what the single greatest truth is that you and I can carry? It's not our education. I mean, having a degree is great, but I've met some highly educated people who couldn't love their way out of a paper bag. It's not how much money we have in the bank. Money can open doors, but it can't change hearts. It's not even passion— No, the single greatest thing that fans into flame the call to missions—the thing that gives us supernatural power to love, and th courage to obey this commandment—is our intimate love relationship with Jesus.

Here’s why: Everything Jesus desires to do through you, He will do out of the overflow of what He's doing in you. Did you catch that? It's not about what you can muster up for Jesus. It's about what flows out of you because of what Jesus is doing in your heart. When you're deeply in love with Jesus, when you're experiencing His love for you every single day, that love naturally spills over into how you treat other people. It's like a well that never runs dry. When you're constantly being filled up with Jesus's love, you have love to give away—even to the difficult people, even to the ones who've hurt you, even to the strangers who don't care about you.

So, how do we fan into flames the heart for courageous mission to witness to others? Well, let's look at what these early disciples did. Look with me at verse 14: "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer.” This phrase "one mind" in the Greek language literally means one will, one heart, one passion. And that brings me to the second truth we find in the early church that fans into flames the mission: They had a passion that produced unity. Now, can I ask us all a very humble question? It's personal, and sometimes personal questions help us ask the tough questions of our faith that we sometimes aren't willing to ask. How have we invested in the unity of Christ in this church? How have you invested in others here at this church—to get to know them, to actively love on them, to let them know you're praying for them? Do we have a passion to invest in one another? Do we have one will, one heart, one passion here at this church? What's our passion? What stirs our souls and ignites our hearts? Because I hope it's Jesus. I hope you are here because in your heart you have a burning passion to know Jesus more. You know, sometimes I get a little emotional when I think of that verse in Hebrews: "Without faith it is impossible to please God." I get emotional because I also couple that verse with this one in Romans: "Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” And what that means is that any attempt at obedience on my part—or any other act that isn't springing from a heart of faith in Jesus—winds up just being sin because it displeases the Lord. So I've got to get this heart of mine redirected. I've got to have this heart of mine recalibrated, because I know it's very easy at times to get unfocused on Jesus and focus on myself or focus on what I think are the problems around me. And then use my own power to accomplish God’s will. It's learning to have that relationship like David had when he repented and said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” And so I find a place—like my office, or I often like to go to sit by our ponds and just sit and focus on the cross at the Lutheran church. I say with my heart, "I want to know more of you, Jesus, and I pray that I would delight in you, Jesus, as I meditate on you," and I get the whole Christ before me. When I do this, faith will rise because grace is coming through it, and then obedience flows out from it. I've come to realize that true passion often emerges from a place of desperation. You see, passion doesn't wait for convenient circumstances; passion thrives in the midst of our desperation. Now, desperation is often misunderstood and seen as a sign of weakness or vulnerability. I disagree with that. I believe desperation is just like meekness, or kindness, and patience. These are things we think are weak, but actually they're strong because they all require a deep faith and trust in God's plan and timing. When we are desperate, we're driven by a deep longing or intense desire for change. Think about it... think about one moment in your life where everything felt like it was falling apart, or crashing down, or just everything seemed like it was against you. How did you feel in that moment? You wanted change. We say it all the time in the midst of our hardships… —something needs to change. Amen? But yet, in these moments of desperation, we realize the limitations of our current situation and we become willing to push beyond our comfort zones. The issue, though, is that many times in our desperation we think we've got to take matters into our own hands. And trust me, any time we take things into our own hands, that's not trusting in God.

So what did the disciples do in their desperation? They did something simple... they prayed. Prayer became the foundation of their desperation. The Bible says they got in that upper room and they devoted themselves to prayer, and they didn't stop praying together until God showed up to do what He said He was going to do. If you dig deep enough anywhere in the world where God is actively at work, let me tell you what you'll find. You'll find a remnant of people that have sought the face of God in prayer for that to happen.

Every time something extraordinary happened in the book of Acts, it started the same way—through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. Every time. Not one exception. There was a rhythm to it: unity among the believers… earnest prayer… the Spirit shows up… and then—power. And power always led to change. So it makes me wonder… what did they pray for in that upper room? Have you ever wondered that? What was the prayer that brought down the holy Spirit into their lives? What was their cry? What was the plea that poured out of their hearts when they were huddled together, waiting, uncertain, probably afraid… but expectant? Honestly… I have no clue. Scripture doesn’t give us the exact words. I wish it did. I wish we had the full transcript of their prayers in that moment. But here’s what we do have—we get a glimpse of what their hearts were like just a few chapters later. Because in Acts 3 and 4, after Peter and John had healed a lame man… after they were arrested, threatened, and commanded to stay silent about Jesus… they come back to the church, and guess what, they, together, as the church pray again. And this time, we do see what they prayed… Listen to their prayer… They said: “Now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” Do you feel the weight of that? They didn’t pray for safety. They didn’t ask for protection. They didn’t say, “God, make this easier.” No, they said, “God, make us bolder.” They asked for courage—not comfort. They prayed, not that the storm would pass, but that they would have the strength to stand in it. That’s not the prayer of people in love with this world. That’s the prayer of people consumed with the glory of Christ.

And I read that—and my heart burns. Because that’s what I want. That’s what I long for. I don’t want to live a safe life. I don’t want to waste my days clinging to comfort and calling it blessing. I want to burn with the name of Jesus on my lips. I want the gospel to be so alive in me that it spills out—even when it costs me. Especially when it costs me. I would rather Christ be magnified in my death than for me to live quietly and miss the joy of proclaiming Him. I want my life to be a loud and holy echo of heaven’s anthem: “Worthy is the Lamb!”

So here’s my prayer— Oh God, let Your gospel ring louder than my fear. Let Your name rise higher than my comfort. Let Your glory matter more than my convenience. Stretch out Your hand. Shake what needs to be shaken. Break what needs to be broken. Do whatever You need to do, Lord, but don’t let me settle for a Christianity that plays it safe. Don’t let me grow numb to the miracle of the gospel. I want to live for You—fully, freely, fearlessly. Because You are worthy. Worthy of every breath, every step, every sacrifice. Worthy of it all.

As Peter comes up… I wanna ask.. So what do we do with this? We don’t leave this room today talking about boldness as if it’s some personality trait for the spiritually elite. No. Boldness is the byproduct of beholding. Boldness is what happens when the Spirit of the living God fills ordinary people with an extraordinary vision of Jesus. And if that’s true—then hear me: the greatest danger in your life is not persecution. It’s comfort. The greatest threat to your soul is not the world out there… it’s apathy in here. It’s going through life never truly needing God because you never truly trusted Him. So here’s the question that’s ringing in my own heart, and maybe it’s ringing in yours too: Is Jesus enough? Is He enough when the threats come? Is He enough when the cost is high? Is He enough when the calling feels impossible? Is He enough when it means losing the approval of others, the security of your plans, or the dreams you thought would fulfill you? Because if He is—if Christ is truly your treasure—then let the world shake. Let the storms come. Let the fire fall. If I have Him, I have everything. So here’s my invitation to you. Don’t walk out of this moment unchanged. Don’t trade boldness for safety. Don’t settle for a version of Christianity that knows the words but has lost the wonder. Fall on your knees today—right here, right now—and say with trembling joy: “Whatever it costs, Lord—You are worthy.” And may we become a people who pray like the early church, love like Jesus, live by the power of the Spirit, and proclaim the gospel with lives that scream: Christ is all. Christ is all. Christ is all. And don’t miss this—when the church in Acts 4 prayed, they asked for signs, wonders, and miracles. And do you know what the miracle was? It wasn’t fire from heaven. It wasn’t chains falling off. It wasn’t spectacle. The miracle… was boldness. The miracle was that the Holy Spirit showed up again. He filled them again. He empowered them again. And what followed wasn’t just noise—it was salvation. That’s the greatest wonder. That hearts could turn. That lives could be raised. That people who were once dead in sin could be made alive in Christ. Maybe that’s the miracle you need today. Not a change in your situation—but a change in your heart. Not more control, but more surrender. Not a louder voice, but a Spirit-filled one. So right now, I want to create space for you to respond. Why not stand right now? Sometimes that’s half the battle. The other half… is being honest about where your heart is. If you need to kneel, kneel. If you need to come to the front and pray, come. If you just need to sit and say, “Holy Spirit, I’m available”—then let that be your offering. This moment is not about a performance—it’s about a posture. A posture of saying: “Holy Spirit, You are welcome here—in this room, in this heart, in this life.”*

Power to Belong

I want to invite you to open your Bible with me to the book of Acts, chapter 2. Acts is right after the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—toward the latter part of your Bible.

We’re in week two of a series called "The Power to…" Last week, we talked about The Power to Witness, and today we’re looking at The Power to Belong. Our world is more connected than ever. You can FaceTime across the globe, scroll through hundreds of highlight reels on social media, and yet feel completely alone. It’s like we’re surrounded by noise but starving for presence. We’re always seeing news reports about recession. Economically, we’re feeling it. But just as concerning as an economic recession, I believe we’re in the middle of a friendship recession as well. According to a study by the Survey Center on American Life and Gallup, the percentage of men with at least six close friends has dropped by half between 1990 and 2021. Today, 36% of all Americans report feeling serious loneliness. That includes 61% of young adults and over half of mothers with young children. SO, THE REPORT IS IN… Loneliness is at an all-time high. Why? Because connection isn’t the same thing as belonging. In his book The Path to Purpose, psychologist William Damon writes, “Belonging is that sense of being somewhere where you can be confident that you will fit in and feel safe in your identity.” Connection gives us contact, but not necessarily confidence. Belonging is what gives us roots. Even Scripture points us here: in Psalm 68:6 it says, "God sets the lonely in families." Not just friendships. Not just acquaintances. Families. That’s what belonging is—a place where you're more than welcomed. You're woven in. You’re rooted. Cared for and you become a family.

So let’s look at Acts 2:42–47. This section gives us the first full picture of what it looked like when the Holy Spirit weaves and creates a new kind of people—a Spirit-shaped community. Are you ready… lets read this together… So they devoted themselves whenever it was convenient on their busy calendars. They came together on time but at different times. They walked into an air-conditioned building and found a comfortable seat. They nodded to the other people in their row, some offered a smile, but they hardly looked at each other again. Instead, they fixed their eyes on the stage. They stood; some of them sang. Then they sat and watched and listened to someone speak for a while until they stood to sing one more time, after which they peeled back some cellophane to uncover a small snack. As soon as they were finished eating and drinking, they got out of there as fast as possible in order to beat the traffic. Then they waited to do it again the next week, or whenever it would work well again with their schedule… and they called it “church.” Is that what you read in acts Acts 2:42–47? To be clear, that is not in the Bible. That is not Acts 2:42–47. Yet, it is how many people experience church today. And I’m not saying the singing, or the teaching, or the air conditioning are wrong. Those things can be good. But if that’s all church becomes—an hour of consumption once a week—we’ve missed something profound. What I want to show you is how the church becomes a true community—not through convenience or comfort. When the people of God draw near to Him and to each other, something powerful happens. Real needs are met. Lives are changed. People are healed. Chains are broken. Hope is restored. And others are sent out—not as spectators, but as Spirit-empowered witnesses. So I want to invite us as a church—not to settle for a watered-down version of church that fits neatly into our schedules, but to pursue what God describes in His Word. To stop seeing church as something we attend and start seeing it as a family we belong to—a mission we live out. That’s what we read in Acts 2:42–47. Let’s look at it together: 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Yes, that’s the church. Don’t you want to be a part of that? Don’t you want to experience that? So let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about what it means to have the power to belong.

After the Holy Spirit fills the room in Acts 2, what was the result? The power to witness… right. We saw that last week. But what happened first? They were united together in prayer. Thats what acts 2: verses 1 says, When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. So in the Spirits prevenient grace before pentecost, the Spirit of God did what… he led them to be in one place, and together, and then what? When Pentecost happened and the Spirit was poured out—what marked this new move of God? The first sign of belonging was proximity.They were together. In one place. United in prayer. I believe that is what the Spirit does. He gathers. And I believe that’s what the Holy Spirit does—He gathers. He draws people together. He draws hearts near. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you’re here today. I believe the Spirit led you here. In fact, there are probably two kinds of people in the room right now:\ There are those of you being drawn in by prevenient grace—the grace that goes before, that stirs your heart, that led you to show up even if you didn’t fully know why. And then there are others—those of you who have already responded, and now you’re living off of grace—united in prayer, anchored in faith, and still showing up because you know it’s grace that sustains you. Either way—you’re here because the Spirit is moving.

Look at what our main Scripture says, “And all who believed were together…” (Acts 2:44) They were close. Close enough to know each other’s needs. Close enough to share meals. Close enough to share their lives. That’s the beginning of belonging—being together, and showing up in each others lives. And that’s not just Acts—it’s the same pattern we see in the gospels. Lok at how this in Matthew 4. After Jesus comes out of the wilderness, look at what he starts doing… 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. Jesus, the teacher—the rabbi—looked into the eyes of some rugged fishermen and gave them the invitation of a lifetime: “Follow me.” He drew them in with a simple invitation to come close. You see, every Jewish boy longed to hear those words from a rabbi. Follow me. Come and belong. If you were good enough, smart enough, spiritual enough, a rabbi might say, “Come, follow me.” But most boys didn’t make the cut. They went home. They picked up hammers or fishing nets and went to work. So when Jesus showed up on the shore, He wasn’t choosing from the elite. He went to the margins. To the forgotten, the least of these, the invisible people. And he invited them in. That’s why this moment wrecks me—in the best way. Jesus looked at these ordinary boys and said, “Drop what you’re doing. I have something greater for you.” And they did. Immediately. Not because they understood everything. Not because they had it all together. But because they believed that being near Jesus was worth everything they’d have to leave behind. And that’s where I see myself. That’s where maybe you see yourself. Ordinary. Unqualified. Yet called. I don’t understand the Bible. I’m not a theologian… I'm just me. But that’s where Jesus began.. he began with fresh clay. And the first response was what? They dropped everything and came close. I think about this moment, and notice this… He was gathering people who would walk with Him. Live with Him. Learn from Him. Mess up and be restored by him. And even Doubt and still be sent by him. That’s the beauty of proximity. It’s not clean or convenient. It’s simply being willing to show up and be near.. . So they dropped their nets. They walked away from predictable. And they followed Him. And I’ll just say this: some of us want community without commitment. We want deep friendships, but we don’t want to show up. We want to feel like we belong, but we don’t want to be consistent. And have you ever noticed this…… Jesus didn’t ask for maturity. He simply asked for availability. And He’s still asking. Will you show up? Will you stay near? Even when you mess up… will you stay? Listen church, you can’t build real community if you’re always drifting in and out of it.

And here’s the thing about proximity—it eventually leads to vulnerability. Think about it.. when you get close to people, what happens? Masks EVENTUALLY come off. People begin to see the real you. You can’t hide behind performance or fakeness when people are actually in your life. Close to your life. Eventually, the real you will come out. And here me… that’s fine. Be you. Stop trying to be perfect through your hidden imperfection. I was a firefighter and chaplain, and house fires were insane. Especially if we were the entry engine for search and rescue. The guys would get into the engine, and the officer would hit the tape and some heavy metal song would come on over the engine’s speaker. The guys would be sitting in the back, gearing up, getting packs on, adrenaline flowing, knowing we were about to go stare hell’s fire in the face. And then there’s me. Ol’ Pastor-Chaplain Matthew. Gearing up and wanting all of this. And they’d go, “Oh, we can’t curse, pastor is with us today.” And I’d be there, looking at them and saying, “It’s okay… be you.” I tell people, “If you’ll be you, then I will be me.” But knowing the real you helps me know where your heart is and how to walk with you. The early church didn’t just share space. They shared lives. Look again at Acts 2:44–45: “All who believed were together and had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” That kind of generosity doesn’t happen without vulnerability. Someone had to say, “I have a need.” And someone else had to say, “I can meet it.” A few weeks ago I was at Mike and Laurel’s house and Laurel had made a delicious rhubarb cake. And my mother in law just arrived, and Alicia was home with her, and I said, I have a need. I need to take some of this cake home so that my wife and her mom could enjoy it.. And laurel answered by saying, I can meet that need. And to only did she meet the need, but she gave me rhubarb and the recipe as well. She met the need, and then went behind the need. That only happens when people are willing to, open their hearts, and let each other in. And we see this play out in Jesus’ life, too. Look with me to Matthew 8:23–27. This is the story of the storm. “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’” These men had been with Jesus. But now they’re afraid. They’re desperate. And in that moment, they cry out—not in polished, proper prayers—but in raw honesty: “Lord, save us!” Think about this.. for a moment… the vulnerability was, I have a need. Lord, save us. And someone else had to say, I can meet it. They were vulnerable. And Jesus didn’t reject them. He responded. “He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”

Can I just ask… when we gather as the church, do we really think we’ll never experience storms together? You and I both know that’s not true. We’ll face storms of misunderstanding. Storms of disappointment—being let down by someone we trusted. Storms of hardship—financial stress, broken things, broken hearts, people walking away. And how many times does it feel like we’re following Jesus—sincerely obeying His call—only to find ourselves right in the middle of a storm? And in that moment, we run to Jesus, and it feels like… He’s asleep. “Where are You, Jesus? Are You not seeing this? I wouldn’t even be in this boat if You hadn’t called me to it.” You said follow me, and I came.. I obeyed. And now, look at what my obedience got… im scared. Anyone else ever felt that way? Here’s what I’ve learned about faith: There are going to be moments when God doesn’t fix the storm immediately—because He wants us to feel the weight of it, to reach the end of ourselves, and to realize just how much we need Him. I have a need, and its for a savior… and I thank our God that he sent one, Jesus. God leads us into storms to bring us deeper to the Savior. And here’s what I believe God is doing—right in the middle of our storms, and right in the middle of a community of believers who aren’t pretending they’ve got it all together… God is answering our cry, help… by saying, I am here. The issue we face so often is this—we tend to privatize vulnerability. We keep it hidden. We’re afraid to cry in front of others. We’re afraid to show emotion. We’re afraid to make mistakes or ask questions. And why? Because we’re worried. Worried about what others will say. Worried about how we’ll be seen. Worried that being vulnerable will make us look weak. But listen—when a community sweats together, is scared together, gets hurt together… that kind of shared vulnerability builds a deeper intimacy. A real bond. You see this clearly in war. Men who fight for their lives together… who sit in the trenches together… who bleed and suffer and survive together—they form a bond that runs deeper than surface friendships. And the same is true in the church. A flowing, growing, Jesus-centered community requires vulnerability.

So we've talked about proximity—getting close. We’ve talked about vulnerability—getting real. But there's something else the early church shows us: they didn’t just gather and get honest—they practiced together. Look again at Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” They didn’t just meet once a week and then vanish until next time. They had rhythms. Practices. Shared habits of faith. They opened the Word. They broke bread. They prayed. They lived this stuff—together. Because spiritual maturity isn’t accidental—it’s intentional. It’s formed through rhythms, through obedience, through showing up over and over again even when it’s hard. And I love how Jesus models this too—especially in how He calls people into community. LOOK A THIS IN Matthew 9:9–10: “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.” Do you see the pattern? Jesus doesn’t just say, “Follow me,” and then leave Matthew alone to figure it out. No—He invites him into a shared life. A shared table. A new practice of living that involves community, meals, presence, and formation. Now, did you read what happened.. where does He take Matthew next? Straight to the table. A place of forgiveness. Of intimacy. Of belonging. Right? Here is Jesus, newly called to follow, Matthew, the disciples who have already been called, they were in the group already, proximity and vulnerability, and now at a tax collectors house eating with the sinful? Now imagine this—these fishermen grew up memorizing the Torah. They followed the rules. They loved God. And now they’re sitting across from the people they were raised to avoid. Laughing. Eating. Passing bread. And the Pharisees are watching. This is so uncomfortable—but it’s intentional. Jesus is teaching them something powerful: YOU PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH. And this is where Acts 2:42 comes back in: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” You see practicing isn’t about just getting spiritual content, its about spiritual formation. The Spirit wasn’t forming ideas. He was forming a people. Learning to forgive. Learning to serve. Learning to welcome the outcast. Learning to love even when it’s awkward or uncomfortable. Even practicing in front of those who would persecute or mock them. Jesus doesn’t just change who we follow—He changes how we live. And we learn that by practicing together. Doing life together. Being vulnerable together. I love this phrase—the laboratory of holiness. Think about what a laboratory is. It’s a place for testing. For experimenting. For trying… and failing… and trying again. You don’t go into a lab expecting perfection. You go in expecting to learn. And that’s exactly what community is like. We’re learning how to follow Jesus together. We’re learning how to love when it’s hard. How to forgive when it hurts. How to serve when we’re tired. And guess what? Sometimes we get it wrong. Sometimes we lose our patience. Sometimes we hold a grudge. But the beauty of the lab? There’s grace for that. In the laboratory of holiness, God isn’t looking for people who never mess up—He’s looking for people who keep showing up. People who are willing to stay in the room. Stay in the process. Let the Spirit shape them through real relationships. Because holiness isn’t forged in isolation. It’s formed in the messy, beautiful middle of life together.

What are you practicing—and how does that flow over to your family? To your children? Because whether you realize it or not, you’re discipling someone. They’re watching what you do when life is hard. They’re watching how you treat church—whether it’s optional or essential. They’re watching how you show up—or if you don’t. So when we say we’re practicing together, we’re not just talking about what happens in a Bible study. We’re talking about forming a lifestyle that ripples into our homes, into our friendships, into our workplaces.

And let’s look at what kind of reaction this kind of community produces— Because when a church lives out proximity, vulnerability, and shared practice—the result is unmistakable: mission. Spirit-led, others-focused, joy-filled mission. Look again at Acts 2:47: “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” That’s not because Peter had a viral sermon. It’s not because the music was polished. It’s because people saw a different kind of life—a Jesus-shaped, Spirit-formed community—and said, “I want that.” Listen… to this… Mission wasn’t a separate program. Mission was, and still is today the natural overflow of their belonging. Jesus sent his disciples. Look at Matthew chapter 10, “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness… (v.1)” Then in verse 8, He says: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” And don’t forget—this group wasn’t perfect. Fishermen. Tax collectors. Doubters. Betrayers. Zealots. Different personalities. Different pasts. Different perspectives. But He still gathered them, took then into moments of vultneravblty, made them practice their faith, and then he sent them out. Together. And here’s the honest truth: When people say, “I’m scared to share my faith,” my first question is this— Who are you walking with? Who’s holding you accountable? Who knows your salvation story? Are you part of a community that’s more than Sunday morning attendance?. We said it before You are what you practice. But let’s take it deeper—you reflect what you rehearse in community. And if you’ve been walking with Jesus… if you’ve received His love, His grace, His Spirit… Then Jesus says, “Freely you have received—now freely give.”

So today, we want to practice that right here. As our worship team comes up… We’re going to take communion—but not just as individuals. We’re going to do it as a community. In a moment, I’m going to invite one side of the room to get up, collect a communion cup, and instead of going back to your seat, I want you to walk across the aisle and serve someone on the other side. Hand them the cup. Look them in the eyes. And speak these words: 🕊️ “This is the body broken for you. This is the blood shed for you—so that you would know you belong here.” I will have this up on the slides for you to remember what to say..… But Church… This is our Jerusalem. Right here in our congregation. Listen, This is where mission starts—right here with one another. Let’s not just talk about belonging. Let’s practice it. Let’s show it. Because the Spirit doesn’t just form individuals. He forms a family. As you get the cup, let take it together…,

Let’s hold the cup together for a moment… and just pause. Look around you—this is the family God has placed you in. You weren’t meant to follow Jesus alone. And this bread and this cup? They are reminders that Jesus didn’t just die to save you—He died to bring you into something bigger than yourself. A kingdom. A people. A community. Let’s pray. Jesus, thank You for drawing us near—not just to You, but to one another. Thank You for breaking Your body and shedding Your blood so that we could belong—not just to heaven one day, but to a family today. Make us more than just a crowd. Make us a community. Teach us to love deeply. To live sent. To belong. And as we take this bread and cup, may we remember: We are Yours. And we are one. In Your name, Jesus. Amen. Power to belong. *

Presence Matters Most

Good morning church family. You know, there's something beautiful about a snow day. Everything slows down. The world gets quiet. And while this weather might keep us from gathering in our building today, I think God has something special for us in these moments. Sometimes when our normal routines are interrupted, it creates space for us to think about deeper truths. And today, I want to talk about something I've learned largely through the teaching of the man who was my district superintendent - something that feels especially relevant when we're all scattered in our homes: what it means to carry God's presence wherever we are. You see, the church was never meant to be confined to a building. Even on a snowy morning like this, when we can't physically be together, each of us can be carriers of God's presence right where we are. And that's what I want to explore with you today. So, if you have your bibles with you… open them up with me to Acts chapter 1, and find verse 8 with me.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus makes this incredible promise. He says, 'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses.'

You know, I want us to pause right there for a moment. Notice Jesus didn't say 'you might receive' or 'you could be' or even 'try to be.' He said 'you WILL receive' and 'you WILL be.' That's not a suggestion or a maybe - it's a promise. There's power in those words 'you will.' When Jesus says 'you will,' He's not hoping it might happen - He's declaring what He's going to do in us.

And then, look at what Paul tells us in Philippians 2:13. He says 'God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.'

You know, I've always noticed something both as a Christian and as a pastor - the people of God always crave the presence of God. Have you felt that? That deep desire within you to want to pray? That hunger to read the Scriptures? That drive to study, to know more, to seek answers? That's exactly what Paul is talking about here. These desires - they're not coming from us. They're coming from God Himself. He plants these holy longings in our hearts. And here's what's beautiful - we have a choice. We can either feed these desires or starve them. But they're God's gift to us, His way of drawing us closer to Himself. It doesn't say God might work in you, or God will work in you if you get everything right. It says God IS working in you. Present tense. Right now. This very moment. And He's not just giving us the power - He's giving us those desires too. Isn't that amazing? We don't have to drum up these spiritual longings on our own. God is already at work, placing His desires in our hearts and giving us the power to live them out.

Presence, Not Performance

Think about this - every morning when we wake up, we have a choice. We can either try to face the day in our own strength, or we can say, like Moses did, 'Lord, if your presence isn't going with me, I'm not going.'

There are two things I love about this moment between God and Moses - First, God was giving Moses everything he had already promised. You can have the land of promise, I will make a way, just go.. but yet, I wont go with you… Moses knew presence was more important than the present of comfort in the new land. But secondly, we learn that it takes the pressure off of us to perform. We don't have to have all the answers. We don't have to be perfect. We just have to be available and willing to carry His presence.

I was struck by this illustration recently - you know how a fish lives in our pond? Well, the pond also lives in the fish. That's what God wants for us - not just to live in His presence, but to have His presence living in us.

Showing Up

Now, you might be thinking, 'That sounds great, but what does it actually look like?' Well, it's beautifully simple. Sometimes it's just about showing up and being present. Maybe it's taking time to really listen to someone who's hurting. Maybe it's sending that text to check on a friend. Maybe it's just bringing God's peace into a tense situation.

You see, when we carry God's presence, we become like mobile sanctuaries. Every room we walk into should feel different - not because of us, but because of Who we bring with us.

Living It Out

Today, even though we're physically scattered because of the snow, we have an opportunity. Each of us can be carriers of God's presence right where we are. Whether that's with our families at home, on a phone call with a coworker, with the garbage man that shows up weekly, or even in how we interact with the person plowing our driveway

Remember, it's not about what we can do - it's about being available for what God wants to do through us.

Presence Matters Most

You know, on days like today when snow keeps us physically apart, I'm reminded that God's presence isn't confined to our church building. We had a saying in the Philadelphia district that goes like this… ’presence matters most.' When we get up tomorrow morning, and the next day, and the day after that - we have this incredible opportunity. We're not just going into another day; we're carrying the presence of the living God where ever we go.

Remember - performance isn't the goal. Perfection isn't the requirement. God just wants us to be available, to show up, and to let His presence flow through us to others.

Do you want to know what the single most important objective is when it comes to connection? It’s simply Two words… to care.

Simple right.. yet that is what we witness in the life of Jesus. To simply care for others around us.

I hope you all have a great week. And I hope the snow melts and life gets back on track. But more importantly, as the church, I hope we become people that are called and sent out into our community to care. God bless.

We Are the Church - Week 2: Power

I want to invite you to open your bibles and return with me to the book of Acts chapter 1 and 2. Last week, for those of you online and here that missed last weeks message. We begun a new series called, We are the Church. Its a phrase that reminds us that when the day of pentecost came, when the Holy Spirit showed up as we see in Acts chapter 2, the local church was born. And we learned last week, that the Holy Spirit gathers all kinds of people together. Not just the believers, but also the unbelievers.. if you recall, there were the believers of Jesus, the devout Jews, and those who sneered at them. In this gathering, as the Spirit draws people together, he seeks a response. Peter stood by faith, preached his first sermon, with the first line being, “They’re not drunk! It’s only 9:00 in the morning.” What an amazing first line to a sermon. Now, Peter goes on and preaches about Christ and he comes to this point at the end to which he finishes his sermon with this amazing point, if your wanting to follow along, you can see it for yourself in verse 36 where the Bible tells us, Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” The Bible continues to say, after hearing this, these people were cut to the heart. And Peter finishes his first sermon, by giving an altar call, saying to the people in verse 38, Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And look with me in verse 40, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” And in a moment, those who received this message were saved and baptized and we learn that 3,000 people were added to their numbers. Thats an amazing growth. Think about it for a moment. 120 people, seem drunk to others, they are off, they are different than the crowd, something is going on with them, and those looking upon them can only equate that to them being drunk. But yet, in the power of the Spirit, Peter stands up with the eleven behind him and he preaches this message pointing people to Jesus, and in a moment 3,000 souls say, I want that. I want what you have. Now that I know whats going on, I want what you have. And If you do the math, thats a 2500% increase in church attendance in one day. And now, get this.. if that were to happen right now. We would see roughly 250 people following us through that door to be baptized and to be a part of this fellowship. I dunno about you, But wouldn’t that be an amazing day!

And so, I want to take this moment and ask… what do we call this moment in church history? How do we define what these people were experiencing? Because, we do call this the beginning of the church. And in many of your bibles, I’m sure just like mine, the header to these paragraphs say something to the effect of this being, A generous and growing church. So, here is this word church and we look into verses 42 through 47, and I dunno about you, but I sense that theres a little difference to what we’ve been taught what the church is and how we think church should look like, verses what we’re noticing in these scriptures on how the early Christians experienced church. Because I would ask when it comes to this word church, how would you define it? In the midst of these verses we learned last week, lets ask the question… What genre of music were they listening to? What Bible translation were they using? What were they wearing? Did the apostles wear suits or jeans? Did they have pews or chairs? Did they wear robes or use hymnals? What liturgy did they follow? How big was the building? What programs did they have? How many small groups did they create from the 3,000 people? How do they define “Church?” Because When I read these verses, I see nothing about a building, rows, pews, robes, hymnals, bands, liturgy, etc. I see devotion. I see unity. I see joy. I see communion and prayer and compassion….. and I see my heart saying, I want that. But what do you call it? Well, in the Bible this word is called ekklesia. When Jesus said, “I will build my church”, he said, I will build“my Ekklesia” He was not talking about a building; He was talking about people: about YOU and me, when we gather, we’re a church. Some scholars believe that it was around 300ad when the word church was described as this German word “KIRCHE” which means lords house. The problem with this really bad translation is that church becomes about a place rather than a movement of people or gathering. It was tamed. Localized and Controlled by the people who controlled the building. But when Jesus says, I will build my church, he was simple meaning this movement was to be where people gathered together, and what did they believe? They believed in this one belief: that Jesus was the risen Christ, the son of the living God.

So, what does this movement look like? Well, turn with me to chapter 4 of the book of acts. As your turning there, let me set the scene. The church has just been born a couple chapters ago. Peter and John tell a lame man that money and gold they do not have, but they will give what they do have to the man who needs a miracle. They offer him Jesus, and guess what, the lame man is able to walk. But yet, not just walking but he begins to leap for joy into the temple. Making this huge scene, and of course, just like any group of people, whispering begins to happen and people begin to ask.. isn’t that the dude always begging outside of the gate called beautiful? What happens? When the people see the commotion with the lame man who’s holding onto Peter and John, they start running towards them… again, remember, the Holy Spirit draws people. And Peter and John give the gospel message of Jesus and a calling for what? For a decision. Theres this pattern, preach the gospel, offer a decision. By the time we get to acts 4, we have two reactions… the first one were told in verse 4 of chapter 4, that 5,000 people receive Jesus as their savior, and then there are some people who get pretty upset. They start to approach Peter and John. They pull them away from the crowds, put them in jail and the next day they bring them before the Sanhedrin and basically they are starting to make threats against them. They tell Peter and John, You can’t stand up and proclaim Jesus! And so they experienced persecution and suffering on a level that they had not experienced to this point. And I think… about these things.. Peter was known as a runaway when things got tough.. Right? Peter was always bold in the gospels until it came to associating with Jesus in his death. He was known to give in to the pressure of persecution. But what does he do in this moment, in chapter 4? He boldly proclaims the name of Jesus. And I live how he finishes his little sermonettee. In verse 12 it says, There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”Now, what

Amazing! Such boldness. Like I picture Peter doing a mic drop in this moment and going boom! But u mention this because hear this…. What kind of super Christian does it take to do that? To stand I boldness in the Holy Spirit and proclaim Jesus… it takes just ordinary people like you and me.

Look with me in verse 13. Verse 13 says, this after Peter proclaims the gospel… When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. Two things I want to speak into about this moment… the first thing is this: They were untrained and uneducated men. Untrained and uneducated meant they were ordinary people. Why are we here today? We’re here today because God is gracious to us. And so, hear what I am about to say with kindness and love, you and I are not that special. There is nothing in you or myself that makes us different than anyone else. Every single person in this room and listening online, are people who have fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone of us has been born of sin. We deserve to be separated from God, yet in our sin we’ve been reconciled unto him, through Jesus Christ. Brought together, by his grace and through the Spirit of God. And so, the church, is a movement of ordinary people saved by grace by an extraordinary God. And that goes against our whole existence, or at least from my experience, in what this world teaches us from the day we’re born that we need to be special to have any kind of meaning. To have a purpose in your life there must be something special about you. And we gravitate towards special people, and we make our life about mimicking how special they are. We make so much effort into becoming recognized, being the best, and having it all that we forget that being like the world is our demise. Because in the midst of the gospel, we can confirm Jesus words, And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? Peter and John were ordinary men, with an extraordinary person living within them. And so, in boldness, as ordinary men, as uneducated and untrained men, they stand up and proclaim the gospel.

The second thing about this movement, is the second part of this Scripture that is so important to understanding where their boldness came from… it says, When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. How would you react if the people around you began seeing nothing but Jesus in you? What in your life do you want to be recognized for? Maybe its being the best sports player? Or the smartest, or prettiest, or strongest? Maybe its being the best mom, or wife, or husband or father. Maybe it’s being the best at your job or the best in school. We’re always told in our life to be the best at everything we do. I remember one time, I was working for Halliburton in Colorado, and I went in for my yearly review and I just knew this year I was going to get exceeded expectation. Within the year, I moved to Colorado, I took all the engineering classes they would offer, I worked the most, and put in the most overtime. I learned everything I needed to learn, and even created a new fluid solution that would save the company millions. I stepped into the office for my review, and this was what was written, “Matthew Waggoner met expectation.” I was devastated. I poured everything into this job to be the best. I created things no one else had ever created. And heres the thing, I was an uneducated and untrained guy doing the things that other people had gone to college for…. And they saw that as meeting expectation. Do you want to know what my manager told me… which was the only negative remark I got on my review… Written on my review were these words…. Matthew is an over zealous worker. My pursuit to be the best, to work the hardest, to make myself available was negatively seen as being to zealous for the company. Because being over zealous meant I was showing too much energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.

What were Peter and John known for? This verse in acts 4 says, they were untrained and uneducated men, who had been with Jesus. Man, thats what I pray for. That when people see me, they don’t see Matthew, a pastor with extra-ordinary abilities and gifts at this or that. Wouldn’t it be awesome to be just known as a person who has been with Jesus. That, The Holy Spirit in us just oozes out of us, and we reflect, His character, and His life, in our life. And I believe this is the Christian life. A oneness with God. I think about Galatians 2:20, “I’ve been crucified with Christ. I no longer live. Christ lives in me,” and when that becomes a reality, then it will be evident to others around us. I think of Moses, when he came away from God's presence and his face was shining, and everyone who sees him knowns he’s been in God's presence. And so, in this moment, we’re seeing like a glow here. Something is different about Peter and John because they’ve been with Jesus because the spirit of Jesus is in them. And just think… just think for a moment… not only in them but the people coming to a saving relationship with Christ as well. Becoming a part of this movement, this fluid movement. This body. I pray, May that be said of you and me, that when we leave this building today, that people will be drawn to us because the Spirit is drawing people, and maybe we wont see a group come, like seeing 5,000 people being drawn to us in this instance, but what if, we left here today and went out to eat, and the waitress comes and somehow sees a difference in you. Maybe they witness some compassion or gentleness like no one else they are serving? Or maybe, you swing by Weis to grab some food for memorial day lunch tomorrow and you begin a conversation with someone in the check out line and the opportunity to say something about Jesus comes up. Maybe, they wonder to themselves, What makes this person so different? Why am I drawn to them? And within a conversation you go, im a christian.

What if the seeking the lost and growing the body of the church isn’t so dependent upon our church building programs. Because we can accomplish a lot without the Spirit of God. We don’t need the Holy Spirit for programs to keep people busy. We don't need the holy Spirit for witnessing to others, we have advertising for that. But what if, evangelism is others recognizing Jesus in you…. They’ve been with Jesus.

Because lets talk about that. What happens when ordinary men and woman who’s been spending time with an extra-ordinary God. The outcome is that they become witnesses. Think about this… Jesus promised the Spirit would come. If you recall, in Lukes gospel Jesus says, And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.” This power… is the same power we witness when Jesus says in acts one verse 8… Think about how Jesus gives this instruction..… Not only will you receive power when the holy Spirit is upon you, but that power will be used so that you will become my witnesses. You’ve all heard me say it… What is the first gift you receive after coming to a saving relationship with Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit… the first gift you and I receive is our testimony. Its our testimony on what Jesus has done for us and in us. Now get this scene… In acts 1 when Jesus is telling them that this power to be witnesses is coming… what do you think was going on in their hearts? I mean, were just 50 days after the resurrection. Some were leaving, some were doubting, some had given up and walked away to go fishing, and Jesus has now brought the gang back together. And so, hear these words and put yourself in the same sandals of these witnesses. Jesus says, “All right, guys. Here’s the plan. We’re going to start right here in Jerusalem. Once you get this power of the Holy Spirit we’re beginning right here. The same place where they have just crucified me. The same place where the angry mob came to take me to an unfair trial. The same place where they killed me because of their selfish desires for power and control. And If you’re listening to Jesus say this, I can imagine all kinds of thoughts going off in my head… and most of them start like this.. what if… what if I get wrongly accused. What if, I get martyred for my faith. What if, they think of me in the same way as you, Jesus?… What if I fail? I think of Thomas wondering if he’d doubt again... I think of Peter, wondering if he’d fail again. I think of John wondering if he’s still the one Jesus loves. I think of any one of the 120 wondering if they will walk away discouraged or fail. I think of myself.. will the people in Montoursville believe me? Will I be able to take a gospel to a whole community. To reach the lost. How will I even do that? Who in the church I shepherd will be willing to go all out to reach the lost around us? How would we as a small church of 10-12 step out by faith and reach people who might already hate Christianity? We’re talking about lost people.. people who don’t know why we do what we do.. because we’ve been changed from the inside out. There were powerful men who hated Jesus in Jerusalem… But Jesus says, you will be my witness here in Jerusalem, and Judea and all of Samara, and to the ends of all the earth. And so hear this.. Jesus is saying, here’s the plan.. you’ll begin where they hate you, and go where you hate them, thats Samaria… before you’ll go where they do not know you.

I need to remind myself.. the power given to me is the power to testify of Him… And so, I want to urge you on this memorial weekend. Where you might be at gatherings with others… Will you see that as an opportunity to proclaim Jesus? Here’s what I want to call us to do this week. In light of what we’ve just seen in God’s Word and the movement that we are a part of as a church, a body of believers, I want to challenge you to invite somebody in your life who does not know Jesus to be here next Sunday. Would you do me a favor, would you bow your head and close your eyes with me… Right now, would you be willing to Start picturing their faces right now. Think of them…. Would you pray for them, and ask the Spirit to give you the opportunity, and the strength to talk to them, to reach out to them. Maybe to get a cup of coffee this week, or invite them around your table. Look for ways to share your testimony. Because thats the first gift you get when you recieve the Spirit of God… the power to tell others what he’s done for you. Lets pray…. *

We Are the Church

I want to invite you to open your bibles with me to Acts chapter 2. And I want to begin in acts chapter 2, and we will begin together in verse 1. When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them.

4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. Now, thats the picture of pentecost or what we call sometimes, the upper room experience. Jesus ascends into heaven, the people were gathered in one place, the upper room praying and worshipping, and the Spirit came and filled the room, and filled the people. Now, watch what happens. Look down to verse 14..

14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. So, after the Spirit filled the people in the upper room, Peter stands up with the eleven, and proclaims the gospel.

Over the next few verses from verse 15 to verse 36, Peter stands up by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit and gives a message pointing people to the Old Testament, and he shows them that they are not drunk but filled with the Spirit of God. Which was a prophecy that the people were waiting to be fulfilled. But it wasn’t the only prophecy.. they have also been waiting for the Messiah as well.

So, Peter, points them to the resurrection of Jesus. He’s like, King David is dead and buried, but Jesus has been raised to life, and now sits at the right hand of God. And when we get to verse 37, he gives a call to repentance. What was the response of the people from hearing the gospel? Well, in verse 37, it says, they people were pierced to the heart. Right..

so this message that Peter is giving is landing on the hearts of the people in such a way that it moves them to ask the question, what should we do? So, How do the people respond? Look with me down in verse 41.. 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. One moment.. with one Spirit, with 120 people but one person stands up with 11 others standing top with him to support him and proclaims the gospel to a large group of people and within that group,3,000 souls were baptized and saved that day.

Now you have a large church. Lets see what happens to these people. Look with me in verse 42, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Very simply.. this Scripture is such a beautiful example of biblical discipleship. They were devoted to the teaching… to fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer. Everything you need to be a disciple of Jesus is right here.

Now, before we get into the meat of the message today, I want to take another journey over to Acts chapter 13. And I want to read verses 1-4… So, chapter 14 in the book of acts and then look with me in verses 1 through 4. Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off. My aim today isn’t to show you a road map on how to grow the local church. My goal, today is aimed toward being and making disciples together and being on mission together.

That’s my goal, today. If we’re doing this—if we’re making disciples and leading more and more people to know and follow Jesus—then we will inevitably multiply as a church. And I want to be very careful about this.. because hear what I am saying, Because I’m not saying I don’t want the church to grow. I want that. Theres not a pastor in the world that would go, Oh God.. I hope you don’t bring us more people.

Stop bringing in people. But our culture is very numbers driven. And in the culture that more is better, or bigger is better when it comes to numbers, we can, get caught up in how many people come to the services and events. And we can look at How many people participate. How many for this and how many for that. And I think we can very easily get discouraged when the numbers don’t match our expectations.

So, what can we learn about being the church today… So first of all… Lets begin with this truth… The Spirt of God gathers people together. God is always drawing people together. Just like today. I don’t believe you’re here by accident. I believe you are here because the Spirit has lead you to be here this morning, or has lead you to listen in online. Maybe its to repent. Maybe its to hear this message of being a part of the family of God?

Maybe its to be loved and to know you’re wanted in this family. Regardless of your failures, regardless of your physical limitations.… regardless of what sin holds you back… this is a place where rich in grace where God will do amazing things to a heart that would surrender to Him. Maybe it’s to be a discipled deeper to fulfill a calling on your life. Whatever it is.. I am sure, by faith the Spirit is laying it on your heart right now.

But heres the question, how are you going to respond to whatever the Spirit is saying to your heart? All throughout the Bible, and even in the midst of our scriptures today, like in acts chapter 2 where we actually see many different kinds of people gathering. First, the Spirit gathered the disciples in the upper room. Verse 1 of chapter 2 says, they were gathered together in one place. So the Spirit is drawing people together.

Think for a moment, In chapter two verse 6, where the Bible says, When this sound occurred, the crowd came together. And you have two kinds of people in this crowd…. You have people who are devout from all over the world, and also you have undevout people in this crowd as well. Right.. those we could say that are unbelievers. Because when you get down to verse 12, you find some were astonished, and some sneered.

But the fact still remains, the Spirit was drawing people together form all walks of life. Have you ever noticed, that in the new testament, some of the great things God does, he does when he drew people together. I mean get this picture using your imagination, of Jesus walking down the road…He’s leading the disciples. Right.. Where Jesus goes they follow. Like every time I read any story in the gospels, and it’s Jesus leading and the disciples following, each time I read this, I go, this is such Great example of what the leading of the Holy Spirit is like.

That’s what I see… men and women drawn together on Christ, following Christ. And it’s the same for men and woman drawn together in Christ. To be the body of Christ. With the Spirit of Christ within them. People are being led by the Spirit. And heres the thing.. The Spirit of God, is always going to lead you to seek to do the Will of the Father. And sometimes its tough…

Right? How do we know its tough.. we’ll life is hard. Jesus said, in this world there will be trouble… and just think.. Jesus knew this first hand. Because the The Fathers Will led Jesus to the cross. But his disciples didn’t follow. I think sometimes, Even in the midst of our failures while following Jesus or being led by the Spirit, the good news for many of us, is that Jesus didn’t leave to walk alone.

He didn’t discard us. Just like in the gospels, and after the resurrection, Jesus comes back to bring those who were scattered by failure back together. When Jesus was resurrected, what did he do.. he didn’t leave his sheep scattered, but he drew them together. He heals their hearts. The Emmaus road.. he goes after them, points them to himself, they have a heart of worship restored within them, they break bread, and they return to the group…

can you imagine… some of them almost missed this moment of the outpouring of the holy Spirit. Like, when I read acts 2, I’m encouraged because, the fact that this same Holy Spirit who did this on that day is the same Holy Spirit who lives in you and me today. Just let that soak in. The Holy Spirit who came down at Pentecost dwells in every single follower of Jesus.

And it all began because the Spirit has been drawing people to be in one place together with others. I can look to you and you can look to me and we can go… were here because God has drawn us together. Different people with different lives, all coming to one place to dwell in the presence of God, together. I wish God’s people all over the world would see Sunday mornings as more than just coming to a church service…

but as a moment in our week, that is a holy moment where the people of God are seeking and treasuring the presence of God, together. How awesome would that be… treasuring God together. I remember, just last year at this time where we had our three days of revival, and we had a filled sanctuary. And I sat back at the sound booth with this on my heart, the people of God, were gathering and treasuring Christ together.

People from all different walks of life, people who loved different styles of music, all gathering together, to treasure Christ. And in the midst of this gathering, we had burning hearts and we had some people who didn’t know Christ. And I believe with all of my heart, that they were led to the church to hear the gospel, and make a response. Because the second truth about being drawn together is that the Spirit is seeking a response.

In our Scripture, the first response was what? People were astounded, perplexed and some sneered. And since were talking about, we are the church.. how did the people respond when the gospel was preached by Peter… they were cut to the heart, and responded with, “What shall we do”… and Peter says, repent. I always loved this moment.. because repenting meant that forgiveness was coming. It meant that there was going to be a place where the soil was rich in grace, and love and where there is forgiveness, there is unity.

I’m a firm believer that most division is due to a lack of forgiveness. But there needs to be a response. So Peter says to this crowd, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with every response, there is a reaction… For some, those that sneered, perhaps they left that day witnessing the Spirit move, but rejecting the gospel.

Such a sad moment if that is true… but then there were 3,000 people that heard and responded. And what we can gather from this moment is the church in it purist form. Think about how beautiful a new born baby is. In its purest form. Adorable, and moldable, and teachable. Here in acts 2:42. Right.. you now have almost 3,000 new Christians. It means we get to see, in the midst of acts 2 what it means to be a new believer in its purist form.

This is a picture of a church before it had the opportunity to be affected in any way by the sinfulness of people. And it doesn’t take long for sin to come into the church. In acts 5, we witness self-seeking and self-service and dishonesty on the part of Ananias and Sapphira. In Acts 6, we find people who were murmuring and complaining. In acts 8, we can see bribery and a person wanting the Holy Spirit to glorify himself.

But right here, in acts 2, is such a beautiful newborn church. And we ask the question, where do we go from here? Well, these new christians invested in the body of Christ. These christians in their purest form did four things… First, they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Secondly, they did life together. You may have heard this word before… it’s the word “koinonia.” It means “association with, participation with, partnership in or sharing in.” What were they partnering in or sharing in?

One, is authentic worship. And this wasn't just any worship.. but worship the sprung from a heart that was redeemed. Sacrificial giving was another. Its here where the Bible says, they were selling off property and houses and land to make sure everyone in the congregation is taken care of. And let me just say, before I move on.. this isn’t a communist thing.. like, hey, church, go sell your property and bring it to the church.

This was not a sell everything you’ve got and give it to the church kind of deal. They weren’t being forced to sell. But the point of a sacrificial giving and generous heart was to make sure everyone within your church was cared for. This was a group of people that was so committed to one another that they were willing to leverage everything they had in order to supply the need of someone else who didn’t have anything.

And so, heres the thing… they were constantly assessing the needs of others. The Bible says here, they had a genersou heart. Do you know what that means? This is the only time it’s used in the New Testament. It’s used nowhere else. Do you know what it means? It means… “Free of rocks.” Like when it comes to authentic worship and caring fro each other, generous hearts meant that they were free of rocks.

They were bent on worship in gratitude to God and it gave them generosity. Generosity poured out from a heart of worship. It compelled them to say, “I want to come together and put that together with the rest of these people and exalt the Lord.” That’s why we come and we do this. That’s why we play instruments and sing songs and pray prayers. We come praising God and we do it with hearts that are bent on worship.

And we combine those with the hearts of other people who are bent on worship as well because our God deserves it. Thirdly, they took Communion together. And fourthly, they prayed. Theres so much I can talk about prayer and communion. But in these moments being devoted to, the teaching, the generosity, communion and prayer, they were four emphasis to grow as a disciple. And here is where I want to bring us towards our closing…

theres a maturing process that takes place for the believer who’s devoted to these four things., because there’s a calling on your life to be on mission for God. Listen, a christian wont be on mission for God if they do not make much of the local gathering. Because with all of my heart, I believe that God gathers people to send them out. And when they are sent, they return to the local church and give an account to what God has done.

That why I chose acts 13… Because in acts 13 we see this pattern of the local church… It says, in verse 1 of chapter 13 that there were prophets and teachers. That means these people were gathering around the word of God, they were being taught. We see over and over again this one foundation in the church: The Word of God is proclaimed and taught. The church was not built by man, but through the word.

They are gathering around the word. Then in verse 2, it says, they were worshipping and fasting. Within this worship, I believe there is generosity, and authentic worship from a heart that wants to know God more, but even in the midst of this word worship, theres without a doubt communion and praying happening. They were yearning for God’s will together. And heres the beauty, they ended up laying hands on Barnabas and Paul, and sending their best people out form among them.

Verse 3 says, they “Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” What if… this growth we so desire within the church wasn’t in adding more programs, or more attractional things into the setting of the local church… what if, we put an emphasis on, Devoting ourselves to the teaching of the word of God, loving one another, communion and prayer as the holy Spirit draws people in to hear the gospel…

What if ,the success of a church is not determined by how many people come into a building, but by how many people leave that building to take on the world with the gospel? And we witnessed pentecost happening in living rooms and coffee shops all over our community and the world? What if the most important metric in a church is not how many seats we can fill to capacity, but its sending capacity?

What if we became a missional church, living on mission right here where we are. What if, every Sunday we gathered together, and left here with Matthew 28:19-20 on our hearts. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I guess the what if would depend *

Kingdom Building

Let’s open our bibles together to Acts chapter 1. I was laughing in prayer this week because the Spirit has been kind of leading me backwards in my study for Sundays mornings. Typically I would assume most pastors would preach acts 1 and move to acts two, but we're rewinding a bit today to explore the beginnings of how the Holy Spirit-filled missions came to be. This week I’ve had the chance to speak the gospel to a lot of different lives.

I counseling moment with a person who’s been struggling. And as Alicia and I were praying with this person, I began to think about a phrase Peter said in Acts chapter 3, verse 6 where Peter says to a lame man, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” I began to think about todays sermon and I asked myself this question, what if our greatest treasure that we have, is also the greatest treasure we get to share with others?

Church, Can you think of anything more important in your life to give to someone else than the good news of how they can be reconciled to God for all eternity? It’s the greatest gift we can give, the greatest thing we can share. But here’s a question—this will lead right into our text today—if this is the greatest gift we can give, the greatest thing we can share with someone else, why are we so hesitant to share it?

This is where I think it would be helpful for us to be honest with each other. Many of us didn’t share the gospel with another person this last week. Maybe some of us haven’t shared the gospel with somebody in the last month. For some of us, maybe it’s been years. Maybe we can’t remember the last time we shared the gospel with somebody else. I’m not just talking about Jesus talk or God talk.

Just because we mention Jesus or God in a sentence doesn’t mean we’re sharing the gospel. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are talking about Jesus all the time, but they’re not sharing the good news. I’m talking about having a conversation with someone where you’re talking about Who God is and how we sinned against Him and Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done, and you actually invite somebody—your neighbor, your co-worker, friend, family member—to turn from their sin and trust in Jesus.

I think, whenever we hear the word evangelist or mission, we have a tendency to dismiss ourselves, because we say, how could God use me in that way and if you were to ask me, those parts of ministry are for those really, really called Christians. Those, navy seal kind of Christians that God has called to become a part of his kingdom building special forces. And the truth is… it’s not.

My prayer this week for this church and all churches, meaning all people who have placed their faith in Jesus, would get it out of thier heads that only certain people are called to be missional people. What if instead of saying, I believe by Faith, and the Holy Spirit is in me to sit on the sidelines, we actually said, the Holy Spirit is in me, and now I have the boldness, In Christ to tell someone about Jesus.

If you were to ask me… every church in the world who is a Jesus led church should be a church working in the kingdom growing business. I want to read this passage to you in the book of acts chapter 1, and then, I want to explore three things of a missional church that fans the flames of mission. My hope is that by the end of this message, every follower of Christ in this gathering will be encouraged and emboldened in a fresh way to share the gospel with somebody this week.

Just one person. So that’s where all of this is headed. There is a vast mission field waiting beyond the walls of this church, ready for the harvest. But that's not all. In recent weeks, God has also been working in our own community, expanding the harvest field right in our backyard, offering us incredible opportunities for a fruitful harvest. But the truth of the saying goes… the harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few.

My prayer is that we be encouraged to be laborers, and in turn, this church, Momentum church will passionately engage in the mission and purpose of seeing people come to Jesus Christ.. Let’s read Acts 1, beginning in verse 4.. acts 1:4-14 The first truth we find in the early church that become bold in fanning the flames of mission was this: “They had a faith that produced obedience.” They wholeheartedly trusted God and faithfully followed His instructions.

You see, Prior to Jesus’s ascension, Jesus conveyed to them, 'You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth' (Acts 1:8, HCSB). That’s the last place I think anyone of those early Christians wanted to be because not too long ago, that whole city just told every person in the world what they thought about Jesus… they crucified him! And it boggles my mind…

why would they wan to go back? Have you ever thought about the Barrabbas moment with Jesus.. Think about it, Jesus and Barrabbas come out before the crowd. Jesus is there standing side by side with Barrabbas, the murderer before a shouting crowd. And Pilot said, I’ll release one of these two men to you and the crowd begins to shout Barrabbas. What was going on in Jesus’s head in that moment?

I know I would have been, Uh… are you serious? I would have been like hold up… Wait a minute. This guy actually killed people.. I at least brought people back to life, and you want to set him free? But what caused Jesus to remain silent in that moment? What caused him to do nothing, while facing death… He didn't protest, didn't argue, didn't defend Himself. And why? Because Jesus had a faith that produced obedience.

He had an unwavering trust in His Father's plan, even in the face of death. You see, obedience without faith is nothing more than going through the motions. It's compliance without conviction. It's doing things because we feel obligated or because it's the expected thing to do. But true obedience, the kind that Jesus exemplified, is rooted in deep faith and trust in God. It’s kind of like this.. it’s going to do a service project like pick up trash along the river bed.

And the person next to you is passionate about picking up the trash. Thier talking about how straws are getting stuck in turtle noses, and six pack plastic pieces are getting wrapped around the heads of the wildlife and killing them. They are there because they are convicted deep within their core that something needs to change. We’ve got to take care of our world. And then there’s you… you’re there because you got a free t-shirt and that girl you like, or that boy you like joined.

No conviction, no position or stance on the issues affecting wildlife, just compliance. You’re just there. Those early christians were given instructions. They were told to go back into Jerusalem, into the very place that just showed what they thought about this Jesus, and they were told to go back and wait. I dunno about you, but it’s easy to have faith when we're actively doing things, when we're witnessing God's work firsthand.

But when we're called to wait, when there's uncertainty and a lack of visible progress, that's when our faith is truly tested. Waiting goes against our human nature because We want to take control, to make things happen, to see immediate results. No one likes to see things that are unsettling. NO one desires to witness chaos around us while we wait. No one wants to see things crumble into almost nothing.

But God often calls us to wait, to trust in His timing and His plans. And it's in those waiting seasons that our faith is stretched and refined. You see church, waiting requires great faith because it forces us to surrender our need for control and to rely fully on God. It requires us to trust that He is working behind the scenes, orchestrating the perfect timing and preparing us for what lies ahead.

That’s the season we are in. We’re in the season of preparing. And while we prepare, while we wait, while we place our faith in Jesus… we have a choice. We can either grow weary and impatient, allowing doubt and fear to creep into our lives.. or we can anchor ourselves in Jesus, and put our faith in Him, knowing that God is faithful and His promises never fail. Obedience isn’t driven by circumstance, it’s driven by intimacy and love.

We respond in obedience and faith because our of our relationship to Jesus. When it comes to being a church on mission, do you truly know what the single most greatest truth is that you and I can carry? It’s not our education, it’s not how much money we have, It’s not even passion to which we will talk about here in moment.. the single most greatest thing, that fans into flame the call to missions is our intimate love relationship with Jesus.

Because “Everything Jesus desires to do through you he will do out of the overflow of what he’s doing in you. Look with me in verse 14… “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer” (NASB). This phrase “one mind” in the Greek language literally means one will, one heart, one passion. The second truth we find in the early church that Fans into flames the mission was this: They had a passion that produced unity.

Can I ask us all a very humble question…… It’s personal… Sometimes personal questions help us ask the tough questions of our faith that we sometimes aren’t willing to ask. How have we invested in the unity of Christ in this church, with those of us who are here at this church? How have you invested in others in this church. To get to know others, to actively love on others.

To let others know you’re praying for them? Do we have a passion to invest in one another? Do we have one will, one heart, one passion here at this church. What’s our passion? What stirs our souls and ignites our hearts? Because, I hope it’s Jesus. Sometimes I get a little emotional when I think of this verse, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” I get emotional because I also couple that verse with this one in Romans, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin,” And what that means is that any attempt at obedience on my part, or any other act that isn’t springing from a heart of faith in Jesus, winds up just being sin because it displeases the Lord.

And so, I’ve got to get this heart of mine redirected. I’ve got to have this heart of mine recalibrated because I know it’s very easy at times to get unfocused on Jesus, and focus on myself or focus on what I think is the problems around me. It’s learning to have that relationship like David, when he repented, and said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” And so, I find a place, like my office, or I often like to come to the front of the church and jsut sit and focus on the cross. I say with my heart… I want to know more of you, Jesus, and I pray that I would delight in you Jesus, as I meditate on you; and I get the whole Christ before me.

When I do this, Faith will rise because grace would be coming through it, and then obedience flows out from it. I have come to realize that true passion often emerges from a place of desperation. You see, "Passion doesn't wait for convenient circumstances; Passion thrives in the midst of desperation.” Desperation is often misunderstood and seen as a sign of weakness or vulnerability. I disagree with that. I believe desperation is just like meekness, or kindness, and patience.

These are things we think are weak, but actually they are strong because they all require a deep faith and trust in God’s plan and timing. When we are desperate, we’re driven by a deep longing or intense desire for change. Think about it… think about one moment in our life where everything felt like it was failing apart, or crashing down, or just everything seems like its against you… how did you feel in that moment?

You wanted change. We say it all the time… something needs to change. But yet, in these moments of desperation we realize the limitations of our current situation and we become willing to push beyond our comfort zones. The issue though, many times in our desperation we think we’ve got to take matters into our own hands…. And trust me, any times we take things into our own hands, that’s not trusting in God.

So what did they do in their desperation? They did something simple… they prayed. Prayer became their foundation of their desperation. Waiting in prayer is not a passive; it is an active posture of trust and surrender. The Bible says they got in that upper room and they devoted themselves to prayer, and they didn’t stop praying together until God showed up to do what he said he was going to do.

I just want you to know this.. prayer isn’t powerful. The God we pray too is powerful. If you dig deep enough anywhere in the world where God is actively at work, let me tell you what you’ll find. You’ll find a remnant of people that have sought the face of God in prayer for that to happen. If we at momentum church, if we are truly passionate about the growth of the kingdom, wouldn’t our passions say that about us?

I once heard this phrase, “Actions speak louder than words — but desires speak loudest.” You see, the gospel always confronts our desires. That’s what Peter and the 11 did in chapter two when they stood up by faith together. Peter preached the gospel to the people because he and the 11 had one will, one heart, one passion. To see people transformed by the Power that was witnessed in that upper room.

The gospel always confronts the passions of our life and it leads us to ask the question, who and what are we more desperate for? And that’s a question I can’t answer for you… I can only lead you to the place of prayer and sit with you, and pray for you, and with you. What’s your passion? What fuels your passion? Unity without passion is just a collection of disconnected individuals.

It’s like a bunch of electric cords stored in box. They have a purpose, but their not connected to any power. Do you know what we need right now at this new beginning of Momentum Church? We need to be connected to one another, but more importantly, we need to be connected to the power of God. And the only way that happens is to be in Jesus Christ. We can debate for days in lecture halls and classrooms what really happened on the Day of Pentecost.

But here’s one thing we can all agree on: on that day, the church was empowered as it had never been before. We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God. And that begins with a faith that obeys, a passion that craves unity, and a desperation that calls for prayer. And when those three things happen to a surrendered vessels for the Lord’s presence, I believe those vessels will witness the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within each and every one of them, and then they can say as Jesus said in Luke 4, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Missional minded people are Spirit filled people. *

Embedded Church - Pennsville

Let’s open our bibles to Acts chapter 17. At our last General Assembly in Indianapolis, Alicia and I watched a worship service on Friday night. The speaker for Friday night was our General Superintendent Dr. Duarte. His message was around the theme, Jesus is Lord, and he commissions us to go. Now, I don’t know about you. But when I heard those words, "Jesus is Lord, Go.” I felt God say to my heart what he asked very simply to Isaiah, Who will I send?

Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.” The mission of God is to reconcile people from death to life, in Jesus Christ. God has called us to be Christ filled and a space, a people, a bride, the local church that embodies the rescue plan for the entire world. And what an honor it is to be a part of what God is doing here in the local church.

One great prayer I have for us is that we together will see with eyes wide open the call to be missional mined people carrying the light of Christ into a dark world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We carry the gospel in us. Have you ever thought about this.. the gospel as an invitation. Don’t we all like receiving invitations in the mail? Don’t you remember as a kid, being invited to a party through an invitation.

That feeling you got to be included and welcomed. The treats and food set out before you for the celebration. Don’t you remember how good it felt to have the resources to invite others to your celebration? The friends and family that would come surround you to celebrate with you. Everyday God is inviting you and me with great love and compassion to the table to witness the grace of being in his great presence.

Every week, we come to the church to celebrate this great invitation to come… Isaiah speaks of the compassion of the Lord, 55 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55 When I think of the free invitation, I also think of Revelation 22, where the Spirit and the Bride say together, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

All throughout history God has called his people to come, because he is an inviting God. As we learned during Easter he calls us to become curious. To be willing to be like Mary and Mary to hear the invitation and have the curiosity to come and see for ourselves that God is good and faithful and indeed that Jesus is not in the tomb. He calls us to step out by faith to witness the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And then once we witness the goodness of God, through the Fathers plan for our great salvation in Jesus Christ, he calls us to go and tell. So we are invited to come, and then with great love and passion we are called to go… we are invited and called, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was resurrected in three days, and asked to step into the great commission shackled not to sin, or to our past life, but to be as a servant, and begging debtor, anchored by faith, to Jesus Christ to go and be light to the world.

Isaiah begins to set the tone for the great commission, he says, “I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Is. 49:6” Jesus tells us through John’s gospel, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” John 12:46 And then in Matthew, Jesus gives us a foretaste of the great commission by saying, You are the light of the world…

How many of you know that the gospel is not as powerful or effective if we keep it within the walls of the church? What would be the point of laughter and joy within the walls if it never pours out from the four walls of the church to the people living in darkness? We see paintings of people in hell crying out to God to save them. We read Bible accounts of the rich man begging Abraham to have Lazerus to come and give a drop of water.

Where’s the compassion in our hearts to witness first hand, neighbors and coworkers and family members of our own community living in a physical hell, right now, without Christ, without hope, without life, without light because everyday we watch people in our community live in darkness keeping the joy and the light within us and holding it from pouring out of us because we’re afraid to be labeled Christ followers. .

Keeping the gospel within the walls of the church is not going and telling. I believe that is why God brought us outside today. To show us that we are, at this moment standing in the mission field. A year ago or so, Pastor bob and I drove the car down into the ball field and we got out and with great deepness his in voice, Pastor bob began to cry out to God to bless this church and to bless this field.

It’s to be a field of growth and building. It’s to be a field of mission and to see the gospel being lived out as we serve one another and the community. Almost a year later, God has blessed us with amazing opportunity to do just that. He has in the last two weeks brought over 250 people to this property through little league and 4-h. You and I are literally standing in the mission field today.

The gospel is alive. It’s alive within you and me. The light of Christ is in you and me… The gospel doesn’t need anything added to it. One thing we do no need to do is dress up or adorn, or to make the gospel more appealing than what it already is. It’s already appealing. It’s already good and life changing and of course, it’s simple. I believe it’s simple, because I am not an educated man.

The gospel is simple enough for my heart and mind to grasp, it’s simple enough for anyone. Let me give you a promise. I am not an expert. I have no expertise in what God is calling you and me into reaching this community. I am nothing but a sinner saved by grace, and the gospel is my testimony to the world, being lived out in the world that Jesus loves us.

And because of his Spirit in me, and with me, and for me… I can hear the call in Matthew 28 where Jesus says, I commission you to go and tell the world that Jesus is alive, The Lord commands us to Go. Dr. Duarte said “If God is calling you to GO, don’t wait until you have all the answers. Be like Abraham and go now.” How would you respond to that?

I’ve been praying for this church since my sabbatical asking God, “what is the future of this church”, and I believe God is calling Momentum Church to be a missional church. One Church with multiple congregations serving and witnessing to the community. Look with me in Acts 17 and verse 17, it says: 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

Paul in Acts 17 began at the temple, but then in verse 17 Paul moved from the temple into the marketplace to become a tourist, to ask questions to be curious of what the community they were embedded in beloved. He wanted to build relationship with the people to ask them what they believe, and what they were experiencing in life. And through relationship and simple conversation he was able to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To be a missional minded church we must learn to move from the temple to the marketplace. That means we need to be where people are if we’re ever going to impact this community for Jesus. The Marketplace is where people are. That is where everyday life is lived out. The marketplace was where men and woman and children would go to buy and sell. It’s a public space. A missional church learns that we are not fixed.

I hear all the time that we’re just pilgrims, that we’re just passing through. But I need to remind us, that our church building is not meant to be our permanent residences. It’s a tool. We had church today, here, outside. A missional church must learn to move beyond the confines of the four walls of the church to enter the spaces where people gather in their daily lives. Do you want to know why I believe this is important?

I believe this is important because it gives the church the opportunity to have it’s eyes opened to the greatest need that this world needs, and the greatest need this word needs is the gospel. Look with me in verse 16, it says, 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. We’ve got to learn to see the world for what it is: It’s Broken.

This week I was at Koenobles and I met a lady that knew me from the school board meetings. And we were talking about praying before the meetings and I was telling her that I knew one of the meetings were going to be harsh. There was a lot of uproar about Covid and wearing masks in school and I went to that meeting and I walked up to the pulpit and I began to pray for God’s presence, and peace and unity.

And when I turned around I began to get emotional and the further I got up the ramp to leave, the more emotional I got. And by the time I got to the main doors, tears were pouring out of my eyes and once I got into my car, I began to weep uncontrollably. Why? What happened? The Spirit had whispered into my heart this Scripture, (Luke 19:41-44) “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!

But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” I saw the world for what it was, it was broken and it desperately needed Jesus.

And just as important, I needed Jesus. We’ve become numb to the fact that this world, including those of us who showed up today need Jesus. Paul saw the idols of Athens and so his eyes were open to seeing they needed Jesus. It’s easy to become numb to our surroundings.… My bottom drawer in my dresser is broken. I fixed it once, but it broke again. And over time I began to just not care that it’s broken.

Right now, it’s still broken. And so, Alicia washes our clothes and she folds them and she takes my white t’s and she opens up that broken drawer and puts them in, and closes that broken drawer. It’s ugly…. The drawer not my wife. It’s ugly, but it also has became normal to her and i.. We have found a way to live around the fact that it needs fixed. What it has done is that, it has created within her and I this mindset that this broken drawer is normal.

We’ve worked around the issue long enough that it has become a familiar thing to us. Church, We can becomes so familiar to the broken things around us that we no longer see them as broken. If we’re ever going to pour of of this church and see the need in this community we need to show up to where they are, and then we need to pray that God gives us the eyes to see the world for how it truly is, it’s broken and full of idols.

What are some familiar things in your life that prevent you from seeing the brokenness of the world? Ya know, a part of repenting is being honest with how we are living our life. How we interact with people, and how we live a life that s contrary to the gospel we believe. Paul tells us, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, He also reminds us in Romans, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Jesus puts it plainly to us when he tell us in John, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” That to me, would be a missional minded church. An embedded church is a church that embeds itself within the community to serve its community, to build deep meaningful relationships within the community. And you know what? To build relationships with anyone, many times takes Longevity.

You see, the Bible tells us that Paul preached at the synagogue, then at the marketplace, and was then he was invited to the Areopagus. He went from church, to the community, and basically, to a place of intimate conversation. And it’s there, when we are in those private and intimate conversations where a decisions are truly made. Yes, Church, evangelism works. We can lay tracks, we can preach in the open air, proclaiming that Jesus is coming.

All of these methods have their place and can be effective in reaching a wide audience. But, if we truly desire to make the greatest impact in our community, we must recognize the power of being where people are and having intentional relationships that are rooted in authenticity. And keep in mind, not everyone we encounter will immediately come to know Jesus. The reality is that, like in Paul's story, some will ridicule and reject the message we share.

But there will also be those who are genuinely interested, who desire to know more. It’s not solely about the quantity of people we reach, as much as it’s also about the quality of the relationships we build with one another. When we have meaningful relationships that open up opportunities to walk alongside others, engaging in conversations that dive deeper into their doubts, thier questions, and life struggles. It’s in these relationships that provide space for vulnerability, trust, and mutual understanding.

It is within these contexts that the transformative power of the gospel can be fully realized. It creates a safe place where people will be more receptive to ask, why are you at peace? Why do you have faith.. and it’s there, in the laboratory of relationships that we can point them to Jesus, and say… because I know he, who is peace. You see church, Sometimes, we’ve got to reach people in our world that first become companions and friends of us before they will ever be willing to be introduced to Jesus.

*

I Will, Attitude

I grew up in one of the most iconic moments in basketball history. In the 90’s everyone knew who Micheal Jordon was, and of course, like the commercials, everyone, including us kids, wanted to be like Mike. When I was in 7th grade our school had called all the boys who was interested in playing basketball to come to the office so that we could walk across the street to the Saint Patricks Gym to try out for our schools basketball team.

One of my core memories of that day was standing in line at the half court line, and we were asked to make layups. Now, I had no clue what a layup was. So, what I did, was, I position myself near the end of the line so I could study all the other failed attempts of layups so that when it was my turn, I had a better understanding of what was being asked of me.

And let me just tell you, I failed miserably. Thankfully, there was like 20 other boys before me that did so too. And it wasn't just layups, I didn’t even know what a foul shot was. I didn’t know the rules of the game. I didn’t know what traveling was, or how to do a double dribble, although for some reason I kept getting called on all of those things. I literally had no clue what I was doing.

Needless to say, I did not make the team. That next summer, was one of the most iconic moments for me. I was determined to become a better basketball player. Everyday, I would dribble my ball 1-2 miles to the Jane Lew basketball court and I taught myself ball handling skills. I would get involved in pick up games and teach myself offensive and defensive moves. I would watch sports center every morning to see what the pros were doing, and then I would go and recreate their moves.

My favorite player was Dennis Rodman. I loved how he would just rebound with aggression and with power. And of course I chose Rodman because my best friend would always pick to pretend he was Jordan. Another friend would be Pippin or Steve Kerr. For two years, I worked hard on playing basketball. Every moment of every day I would dribble, I would workout by running and doing suicides, I would train relentlessly.

Every summer our coaches would have open gyms for practice. I was a kid with a single mom, and so we couldn’t afford it. But they would let anyone come to watch and shoot around, and I would show up with my basketball, and I would watch Coach Stout teach the girls team drills and he had these straps that would go on your guide arm to keep it in place to teach your shooting form.

And I would, shoot around on one and as he trained the girls on the other, and I would mimic what they were doing. And then after two years of training, and hustling, and working hard, a friend and I decided to try out for the 9th grace basketball team together. Jordan and Rodman. We would be unstoppable. At try outs, I was the fastest kid on the team. I beat every person in all of my 1 on 1 competitions.

I had the best and most razzle dazzle passes, my ball handling skills were top notch… but the issue came on the final day of tryouts. Close to the end of the practice, I twisted my ankle for the umpteenth time. Every practice, I played like Rodman. Aggression. Speed. Power. And every practice I got hurt in some way, I would walk it off and come back for the next day of tryouts.

ON the final day of tryouts, Practice was over and we all waited for the coach to come back out to post the list of those on the team. I will admit, I was still nervous. I hobbled over to the list that our coach had just taped to the wall, and to my surprised, I was cut! It was the worse day of my life. And to top it off, my best friend made the team, and I looked over and saw my mom had showed up early and she watched how fast and awesome I was, but yet in my heart, she showed up to see me lose.

As I was gathering my things to leave, coach put his arm around me and pulled me aside and said, Matthew, You were the best at everything I asked for you to do You can tell you spent a lot of time working hard. You had ball handling skills, you had court awareness, your shots were on target, you won match and every obstacle I put in front of you. But before you leave, I want to just tell you why I cut you, First, you’ve never played organized basketball and so since you’ve only played street ball, you don’t know simple plays.

Simple plays that you would have learned on a team in little league basketball. And secondly, you have the wrong attitude. You were too prideful. You were cocky, you were the best and you knew it and you made sure everyone else knew it as well. And in your pridefulness, you twisted you ankle. Every tryout you’ve gotten injured in some way, and And I need a guard that can stay healthy and has the right attitude.

I learned that day, that you can have all the skill required to do something, but skill doesn’t trump having the right attitude. I’m sure we all can sit around a table and tell similar stories. How important is attitude in life? Maybe it’s when we’re driving down the freeway and someone cuts us off and our attitude is to throw some sort of obscenities at them, or give them some sort of hand getures.

I remmeder one time back in 2017 when we lived by serve pro. I was on my way here to church and hill I was at mcdonads they told me to pull up to the front because my mean wasnt done. The guy behind me must have not realized that for some reason. He pulled up beside me, slammed on his horn, and as I looked over he was yelling something and giving me some sign language and then drove off.

I was like, man, you need Jesus. Maybe its when we walk up to the return desk at a store and they won’t take our return without a receipt. What is our attitude like? How idd that effect your attitude when you had one thought of getting your money back, but they sad no. What about family arguments when emotions run high and individuals resort to shouting, name-calling, or disrespecting one another.

I want to make this very clear, “Our attitudes determine our success to forge our future more than any factor in life.” There’s a book by John Maxwell called, the Power of attitude and he writes: “Never underestimate the power of your attitude. It is the advance man of our true selves. Its roots are inward, but its fruit is outward. It is our best friend, or our worst enemy. It is more honest and more consistent than our words.

It has an outward look based on past experiences. It is the thing which draws people to us or repels them. It is never content until it is expressed. It is the librarian of our past; it’s the speaker of our present, and it’s the prophet of our future.” So, what we learn is that Our Attitude is the key too many things God calls us into. It’s the key to getting along with others and moving ahead in life.

It’s the key to listening to the Holy Spirit, hearing him, and obeying and walking forward into what God calls you into. And not just walking forward, but walking forward in peace and with Joy. And so, what we learn is the a worker with the right attitude will learn to do the job better and proceed cheerfully in doing that job. We can go to work and be happy about it, even when our job is the worse.

The husband or wife with the right attitude will handle difficult situations in a much more effective way and enhance the relationship substantially. You can respect your spouse with the right attitude when you’re willing to love one anther as Christ loved the church. And When everything else is equal or if there is any doubt, the coach will always choose the athlete with the best attitude. So will the employer or the man or woman seeking a someone to spend their life with.

Your attitude in life will determine your success. So what can we learn about attitudes in the Bible? Well first, Attitudes are not caused by people or circumstances. Some people would say, I would be happy if it wasn't for all the jerks in my life. That guy that cut me off on the interstate… I would be happen if they would get a flat tire. Or that guy who sped past me going 100.

I hope you get pulled over and an expositive ticket… in Jesus name. If it wasn’t for all the idiots around me and I would be just fine… that isn’t true. Adam and Eve had a perfect life, living in paradise. They had perfect bodies. They would never die because they had access to the tree of life. They had daddy walking around with them and was in perfect union with him.

They never experienced chicken pox or covid. They never had to experience death and sickness. They’ve never been poor, or homeless. They never had to feel the loneliness, anxiety, depression. Nothing negative ever happened to them And yet, in all of this goodness they still were unsatisfied, and ungrateful and rebellious. King David is another curious person when it comes to attitude. Because think about this, in the worst time of his life, he had the best attitude.

And the best times of his life, he had the worst attitudes. Most of your psalms in the Bible are written from David life of all the wrong things happening. The philistreans tried to kill him, King Saul tried to kill him. He was running away all the time. And yet, in these moments, his attitude was what? One of praise and adoration to God. He had a trusting heart and a yearning heart for God.

What happened in all the good times? There’s war and instead of going and fighting with his men, he was successful enough that he had the choice to stay behind and have others fight his battles for him. What happened? He met Bathsheba and had this great sin. We can also look at the consensus. Where he got to a moment of great growth and took a consensus to see how powerful he had become, and in his pridefulness many people died.

In the worst time of his life, he had the best attitude. And the best times of his life, he had the worst attitude. The apostle Paul in acts 16 was in Philippi, he had the Bible tells us that on Sabbath he had gone down to the river to find a place for prayer and of course, like any of us extroverts we see people and we being conversation with them.

The lady invited him to her house, and it turned out that this lady wa sa fortune teller, So Paul realized it and cast out the demon in her. Of course that makes no sense because people are mad now, because this woman is free but the owners of the woman dint like it. SO they had Paul and Silas whipped, flogged, and thrown into jail. What did Paul and Silas do.

They sang. They worshipped. They praised GOd. I want to believe, they saw the living God heal that woman, and it was worthy of praise. There s deception in life… if I had a better circumstance, I would have a better attitude. That’s false. It’s untrue. I remember when I was working in the lab down in Mill Hall and when I would get mad, or frustrated at someone or something.

You’d catch me singing a song under my breath. I would sing to myself, Don’t worry, about a thing, because every little thing, is going to be alright. What was I doing? I was adjusting and calibrating my attitude. I was reminding myself, It’s gonna be ok. There’s always tomorrow. And if I mess-up to where it’s really bad, there’s always grace. Proverbs 23:7 tells us, "As a person thinks in their heart, so is he/she.” Attitude is determined not by our circumstance, but by where our heart is.

If you wake up and go, work sucks. It’s hot out there.. I hate these people. You’re gonna calibrate your heart to see every situation, and see every person in a negative way. You can’t speak the gospel into anyones life with an attitude of hate towards others. Paul teaches us in Philippians, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” What would happen at work, or in your home, or when you’re at the grocery store and you had the attitude of, kindness and gentleness and compassion?

What would happen if our heart was calibrated to see others as better than ourself. What would happen if we looked not only for your interest, but also to the interest of others? Did you know a key to Spiritual growth, and church growth is having the right kind of relationship. It’s true.. first, it’s with Jesus. And second, it’s with others. Love God, with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, and then love others as you would love yourself.

Can I ask you, how many of you here today desire unity? I meanI’ve preached it for four years. Anyone? Would you say, unity right now, between you and me, through Christ and in Christ would be what we need? And maybe not what we need as much as what we desire and crave? Well, just like attitude, and making a daily decision in our mind and heart to love one another as Christ taught us, it’s the same with unity.

Unity only works when individuals have made a decision to pursue it with thier whole heart. Yesterday I finished a two day conference about church planting and multiplication, and we got into a session about vision and they asked the question, what makes a church, a church? Right, easy enough question. Where would the church start. And do you know what the first answer was? Covenant. What makes a church a church is a group of 2 or more individuals making a commitment to one another as the body of believers, to love one another.

Each individual in the group must decide on whether or not to meet the needs and the good of the group before his or her own needs. Listen, this is me being transparent. NO one will walk in that door, and watch us have poor attitudes, and not love for one another and say, I want that. Our conference leader said this, I can walk into any church and tell you immediately whether or not there’s unity in that church.

And do you want to know how I can know that? If there is joy in the church there is unity. But if I walk in and I find no joy, I can guarantee you, I’ll find a church that is back biting one another, murmering about one another, selfish and conceited. If there is no joy, they are not pursuing the manifest presence of God together. And I took that personal.

That stabbed me in the heart, because let’s be honest, do we find a group of Christians here, living in joy? No one at this conference knew me, and they didnt know our situation.. but I was convicted. SO, I asked myself, how can we have the attitude of joy, and seeking unity? Paul teaches us in Romans, (5:1-5) Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

It’s realizing we have been stifled by faith, and now we have peace available to us with God, through Jesus. The only way momentum church is going to gain the momentum that we crave, is when we in unity begin to realize that we have been saved by grace, through faith in Jesus. And when we put the needs of each other above our own, we can stand together and rejoice in the hope that we have in the glory of God.

And we will see our sufferings, as moments of God not just testing us… but as moments where God is growing us. He’s taking us from grace to grace… from faith to faith, from victory to victory… because his desire is to sancifty us. To make us holy. And that begins, right here… at this very moment… for you and I to make a decision. Unity only works when we decide to love one another, as Christ loved us.

I want to close with some application… just bear with me… because this will helps. In life there are four attitude killers. These are attitudes that we calibrate our life with that kill relationships with others. First one, having wrong expectations. It’s living life saying, life will be easy, and people will like me. I can guarantee you, life isn’t easy, and not everyone will like you. Some wrong expectations are, God’s Love for Us Should Look Just Like What We Want.

We Won’t Be Persecuted for Our Faith. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18, NIV). Another wrong expectation is that Jesus Must Return in Our Lifetime. There’s a story that goes along with this, but I’ll just give you the just of it… A soldier fighting in Vietnam was captured and he and his men were tortured. There were two groups of men, and the one groups leader kept telling the men, don’t worry, we’ll be out by Christmas.

Christmas came and they were still there. We’ll be out by easter. Easter came and they were still there. The leader of the other group looked at his men and said, I can’t guarantee you when we will be rescued, but have hope, I can promise you it will happen. I just don’t know when. After some years in the prison, do you know which group made it out? The one who’s hope was set far in the future.

Every man of that other leader who kept giving timelines and and false hope died. The writer of this story had said, those men died of broken hope. Jesus is coming back, and I don’t know when. I never cared about the when because I know there are those I love not ready. There might even be some here today, that your heart, and attitude isn’t of Christ. Are you sure you’re ready for Jesus to return?

Another attitude killer is this, Entitlement. Entitlement is Believing that everyone owes you something. Paul said, I’m a debtor, first to Christ, and im a debtor as a servant to others. Entitlement is killed at the cross when we pick up the humility of Christ and we’re robbed in his righteousness. The third attitude killer is this: Negativity. All one ever does is focuses on what is wrong. Ya know something?

I can tell you all kinds of things I find wrong with anything, and anyone. You know what’s wrong… the fact that biscuits and gravy doesnt make you skinny. That’s wrong. But that negative view doesn’t stop me from having biscuits and gravy. If something is wrong, first ask yourself, is it me? I mean, I might be wearing the wrong lens to see this situation. Maybe it’s wrong because I have set a wrong expectation?

Maybe it’s wrong because I feel entitled? Maybe it’s wrong because I see it in a negative. Way? These are attitude killers, What are some attitude builders? Gratitude. Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.” Did you know that God will not allow grumblers in his presence. Let me report that… CS lewis wrote: Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others.

Bily Graham said, “Grumbling and gratitude are, for the child of God, in conflict. Be grateful and you won't grumble. Grumble and you won't be grateful. You want an attuned that builds, then begin by seeking a heart of gratitude, and a life of servitude. Second, Faith. Faith builds attitude. Faith is focusing on God and not on people. David prays, “I have set the LORD always before me.” That means we put God first.

God is before me. That means everything I walk into, I walk where God has already been. When I set God before me. I know God is with me. Whatever comes, has to come through God first to get to me. So no matter what I face, I face it as a second hand witness. And let me just remind yo, faith isn’t just living comfortable, it’s stepping into the unknown with the God that knows.

That’s faith, that’s trust. Finally, respect. Be respectful to people. I love this thought… you don’t know everyone’s story, so be respectful of what they are going through and how they are handling it. Not everyone is holy and fully trusting in God. Jesus tells us, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” This is literally "the golden rule" of the Bible.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Paul tells us, Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. You can’t honor a person by smearing their name. Or by lifting yourself up over them. That’s pride. And a attitude killer. You can’t honor someone by refusing to serve someone else. I want to challenge you this week. Work on your attitude. Let’s stand together.

I learned this at family camp. There’s a tribe in south america that missionaries brought he gospel to. Over some time they returned to see how they had grown in the Lord, and they noticed that whey they prayed, instead of holding thier hands up ot receive blessing, they would first hold their hands down. So they asked them, where dod you learn this and they said, we can’t receive blessing when we’re holding onto other things.

So we pray with our hands down, to let go of everything else, and then when we have let it go, we raise our hands to receive what God is wanting us to have… and if your wondering, what is it that God wants me to have.. it’s Jesus. Let’s pray… *

Forgive

Let’s open our bibles to the book of Ephesians, and find chapter 4 and while you’re going to Ephesians I will join you in a moment as I’m gonna go to Hosea and read again our series Scripture. This is our overarching theme… and it’s found in the book of Hosea, chapter 14 and verse 4… God tells His people… that when you repent and turn to him… he says, “I will heal their faithlessness , I will freely love them.” Now, I ask for grace as I turn to Ephesians to join you, and as I find chapter 4 where you should already be…

and now find with me verse 25. We’re gonna read 25 down to verse 32… it should take us to the end of the chapter. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal.

Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.

Here’s the Scripture that’s on my heart this morning… it’s in verse 32…. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you, in Christ. And all of God's people said, Amen. Over the course of the last two weeks, we’ve learned that God Fully loves. He desires faithful love from his people, and last week we learned that living in perfect love requires intentional effort to love God and to love others well, even in the face of fear and uncertainty.

And we learned that fear never stands a chance when we are living and pursing God’s perfect love. In laymen terms what that means, is that we, as God’s children, pursue holiness in our lives. John reminds us that perfect love is complete love. It’s love that is whole. It’s without measure… and it’s a love that is available in it’s entirety and fullness to us through Jesus Christ. So when we take the knowledge that God truly and fully loves us without measure, right, and we take faith, and we couple our faith with repentance.

What we find is that this union brings us forgiveness. And so this morning I’d like to talk a little about forgiveness.. But before we get to forgiveness, let’s look at the requirement of forgiveness.… What’s the requirement for forgiveness… It’s simply this…. Paul tells the Ephesians… that Kindness, compassion forgiveness must be, In Christ. Two words are the requirement. In Christ… everything we do must be in Christ. When we woke up this morning, our first breath of grace must be in Christ.

When we lay our heads down on the pillow filled with the days joys and sorrows of today and already carrying the worries of tomorrow, we must “in Christ” yield them to his calming hand. The moment a sinner looks to Christ, the burden of his sin rolls from off his shoulders. If Christ has washed you and clothed you in scarlet, and delivered you from sin, then your eyes must stay upon the one who went to the cross and made a way..

That’s the requirement, For Love, That’s the requirement, for kindness, That’s the requirement. for compassion and forgiveness… the requirement begins “in Christ”. There is no other substitutes…. And when we come to Christ with repentance on our hearts, and a desire to turn from our old ways… there you will find a savior who’s ready and willing to forgive. I found a definition on forgiveness this week and it makes my heart tender…

It said this: Forgiveness is to surrender the right to hurt others in response to the way they’ve hurt us. Where could you find a better definition when you think of Jesus? Can you imagine, Jesus, laying upon the cross, Stripped, bleeding, humiliated. Being nailed to the cross and in pain and agony, but with kind, and compassion bursting out of every wound, and in humility, looking into the eyes of the ones hurting him, and saying with the very precious life giving breathe he had left, Father, forgive them…

because they do not understand what they are doing. Can you imagine what kind of compassion and love, and kindness Jesus has, to pray blessings over the one hurting him. But yet, in His love, and in his forgiveness, Jesus is hoisted up for the world to see…. Look, world!!… it’s Love on a stick!!… but people don’t see it when they are blinded by their own selfishness… When we are blinded by our own selfishness and greed and desires and preferences, they will try with all of their might to hurt those they feel that are taking away thier comfort…

isn’t that the way the world works. Isn’t that the life we’ve been saved from? Isn’t that the life that has been washed away in the crimson tide? You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours… but if you stab me in the back, I will stab yours. There’s no difference to the evil in this world and to the selfishness of this world when it comes to those hoisting love on a stick.

But just as they hoisted love they also hoisted thief's and robbers on a stick as well…. I guess the mindset is this… we are no respecters of persons… we will crucify sinners and saints alike. But for those who have come to love Jesus, they see the cross as a beautiful thing. The cross and crucifixion upon calvary is the most beautiful moment to the Christian. Yes, it pains us to see our beloved Lord in agony.

Yes, it hurts to watch him struggle to breath…. But without the cross and the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins, there can be no other way to the Father… and without a way to the father there can be no access to faithful love. Jesus says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If we want to taste the sweetness of kindness, and the warmth of compassion and the grace of foreignness, then it must come, personally by one means, and one means only…

it must come through being, in Christ. That’s the beginning to forgiveness…. Jesus showed it on the cross as he was being nailed to it… It’s easily defined as…to surrender the right to hurt others in response to the way they’ve hurt us. Isn’t that calvary? Jesus surrendering the right to hurt others in response to the way they hurt him? Here’s the greatest hindrance to a Christian… One of the greatest hindrance to the Christian, is a Christian who creates suffering more than they seeks to love those who are suffering.

I believe, that when hurt comes, one of the greatest issues within a Christian is when it wants to take that hurt and churn it. They want to agitate it and before long, hurt turns into bitterness. Bitterness is the butter of the enemy… And when we have bitterness on our hands, we can’t cling to Jesus. We cannot hold onto both. But God gives us forgiveness… Forgiveness is when the salve of grace can come and take all of sin, and hate and bitterness and by faith and grace it gives us the ability to come, and to cling to Christ.

If you feel you’re struggling to walk with Jesus or to forgives others as Christ has forgiven you, perhaps you need grace. More, and abundantly sufficient grace. Paul tells the Colossians: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. I do not know how to put this next word, that I am going to say. There must forgiveness of others or there cannot be salvation; at the same time you must not do it from compulsion; you must do it freely.

Remember, God told us in Hosea, I will freely love them, and I desire faithful love. Did you know you’ve got to love your enemy to get into heaven? I’ve said this before, but you can’t tell me anyone has Christ in then, yet they show the fruit of having no love for others. No kindness, no compassion and no forgiveness. You can’t force love, you can’t imitate love either… it must be a genuine love the world can’t reproduce.

It’s a love that money can not buy… listen church.. There is no grace where there is no willingness to overlook the faults of others. There’s no forgiveness for one, without that one extending it to another. John said, Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

You can’t receive forgiveness from God and not extend it to others. Paul said, forgive one another, as God has forgiven you. How do we extend it to others? We extend forgiveness through opportunities of kindness and compassion for them. Have you ever thought about the meaning of the word kind? Kind has two amazing meanings. First it means to show kindness, to be kind to others. It’s the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate to others.

But the second meaning, means this…to be similar and to mean to be alike To be kind means, to draw them into your group. Into the loving embrace of the church. It mean to be of one accord, to be of kind means that there is unity. Luke tells us in the early part of Pentecost that the early christians lived in unity. They lived to encourage, to show compassion for one another.

They came together and sold their belongings, and land and brought the money to the church. It's a sense of familiarity. It's a sense of unity, it's a sense of love. It was so no one in their group would suffer. Could you imagine right now, if every person who calls themself a member of this church, sold every single possession that they own, and sold everything that they had, and then they brought the money to the church, just to make sure that everyone in the church was living in unity, and now one had more than the other.

I often think about that, that we are called to be kind, we are called to be kind to those who are around us, we are called to see the marginalized, and those who are the least of these, we are called to love and to be compassionate. Is that not the second thing that we learned in our Scripture today? Paul says that we are to be kind and we are to be compassionate to one another?

What does it mean to be compassionate? What does it mean to show compassion to one another, to show compassionate moments of our life? It means that we show sympathy and empathy for others. It means that when we see them in a situation that we know that could be a situation of bondage, we are tender hearted, we are soft hearted, we are sensitive to what they are going through, we are sensitive to what they are dealing with.

And when we look upon a brother or sister with a caring heart, a compassionate heart, and we have a desire burning within our heart to be christlike, and to bring them to into the fold to be of a kind, to be one one accord, what we'll realize is that we will begin to be who Christ has called us to be. God’s love must come into us, and through us.

Without hindrance to us wanting to control his love. Can I ask you something this morning… Does your life point others to the cross? It can. We need more forgiveness so that we can lead others to forgiveness. We need people who point life to life itself. Jesus. This week, someone sent me a song and it’s touched me deeply. I was sitting in my office praying for the message today and I began listening to this song she had sent.

She had asked me if she could sing it this week, and Of course, I said, you do what the Holy Spirt is leading you. I trust God and I trust you. And I do trust her. Gods anointing is on her life and she’s shining brighter today than she has ever before. You can tell she’s walking with Jesus… But as I was listening to this song that she had sent me, I began to focus on these words…

I wanna heart that loves everybody, even my enemies I wanna love like You, be like You, just like You did. That’s love. That’s love that points to the cross. A heart that’s willing to forgive is a heart that loves and points others to the cross. They point others to Jesus…. As this song plays… I simply ask, for you to ask… do I have this kind of love?

To forgive as I’ve been forgiven? The early Christians.. it says in acts 2: They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. We take the elements because it represents the Lords Death… the body that was broken for you, and the blood that was shed for you… Holy God, We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed.

Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again. On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you.

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Matthew 26:27–29, Luke 22:19) And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.

By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. As you eat this, Do so in the remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. As you drink this, Do so in the remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful. Prayer.. may we point others to the cross. *

Generational Unity

For the past couple weeks God has impressed a Scripture upon my Spirit. And I’ve been fixated on this one thought that sprouted roots within my heart and burst forth a truth that we all need to hear. And it’s this…. “ In the final days the old and young will dream together.” My first ever board meeting as a Christian led me to believe that ministry is a war between the older generations and the younger.

I was a youth leader pursuing a calling to be a pastor. The Senior pastor had asked if I would come to the next board meeting to kind of see what goes on behind the scenes in leadership. But Before long in this meeting, I was called by the pastor to give to the board what would help our teens grow physically but also spiritually. And so I poured out my heart.

The teens don’t feel like their group is their group. They are put in a large rectangle Sunday school room with four extremely white walls, a metal desk, and about 25 metal chairs. Half of the room was closed off with a wooden divider. The teens have mentioned coming in, painting, getting some couches, some modern decorations and making the room an extension of their culture. An extension of their generation and who they are and becoming in Christ.

And since the teens were not allowed to have fundraisers, it would be nice that the teen budget could increase from $25 dollars per quarter to something a little higher to help encourage and fund fellowship moments and outings. And finally, I would suggest that the older generation make a commitment to come down to the teen room and interact, pray with, tell the stories of faith and to encourage the teens.

There was a pause that felt like forever and then one older gentleman, who’s I would say was over 60 Spoke and said, When I was a teen. We served the older generation because the older generation had the wisdom and we had the strength. Our generation served at the fellowships, we served in church services, we played softball and we did everything that was asked of us….We’ve paid our tithes, we’ve done what was asked and now we’re the older generations and we’re looking at retirement and it’s our time to be served by the younger.

Immediately in that moment, I just realized that there was a great divide between those who were over 60 and those under 20. From the moment we’re born, our birthdate begins to define you and me within a generation. Every person here today, whether you’re 8 or 80.. you are a part of a specific group of people that define what you as a group will be known for.

You have the traditionalist’s born between 1922 - 1945. Traditionalist were raise in the depression and fought in WWII and the Korean War. They are known for their hard work, their respect for people in positions of authority and they followed the rules. With heroes like FDR, General Patton & Winston Churchill. This generation is loyal, stable and detailed oriented. But they are uncomfortable with conflict, they are hesitant to buck the system and tend to be reserved when they disagree with you.

The baby Boomers were born between 1946-1964. Baby boomers were raised when there was a remarkable increase in the standard of living in America. They lived in a era of turbulent times such as the Assassination of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. Baby Boomers has a tendency to be optimist and focused more on personal gratification, growth, health and wellness and youth. They are team players, but often sensitive to critique, they tend to be judgmental and not naturally budget minded.

The GenXer’s were born roughly between 1965 - 1980 This generation were the first latch key kids. Meaning they had duel working parents and would return home often from school to an empty house. GenXer’s were children of divorce, a declining educational system, and government scandals. They witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Persian gulf war and the aids pandemic. GenXer’s are a bit impatient and tend to lack people skills.

However, they are technically literate, independent and creative and adaptable. Finally, millennials born between 1981 - 2000 This group challenged the size and impact made by the baby boomers. Raised by child focused parents, these children lead extremely busy, stressful lives full of sports, lessons and other activities which has created a generation of confident and sociable multitaskers. They are tech savvy, highly tolerant, and optimistic generation. They witnessed the Columbine shooting, the Twin Towers attack & Hurricane Katrina.

Those events have instilled into the hearts of the millennial with the strong sense for civic duty and ethical response. However, this generation needs supervision and structure, and more attention and praise than any of the previous generations. Where do you fit into this spectrum? Now, I’m not going to split us into who’s young and old. You can do that yourself and it will save me the embarrassment of saying that you’re old when you might believe you’re still young.

But what I am going to do is ask you to think real hard about this question… Regardless of whatever camp or tribe or generation you decide to claim to be a part of…. “Are you still drawn to the local church to pursue being a part of the unified body with the unified message of Jesus to glorify Jesus Christ among the nations and among all generations? Let’s stand as we read Acts 2:17 together.

(And all of God’s people said? Amen.) There is a lot we can take from our Scripture today… One, this is Peters first sermon filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Two, this is a quote from the book of Joel of a prophecy where God called Israel to repent. And if they did repent, He would pour out his Spirit on all people. But three… I see this as a unifying message of when Peter reminds us that the final last days are here.

We need the Holy Spirit in HIs fullness to be poured out into our lives. Every generation. Every person, male and female… Needs to hear this message. It’s the final days and in the final days, “Your Sons and Daughters will prophecy. You’re young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams” Not one generation or person of gender will be left out. And When the Spirit comes, he does what?

He draws together in ministry and the Sons and daughters will prophesy (v. 17) and servants will prophesy (v. 18). The Spirit will draw men and women together in ministry, he will draw low and upper class together in ministry, and he will draw old and young together in ministry (v. 17). The Spirit comes upon all, and gives His fullness to all who have bene born again by faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul reminds us that the Spirit fills all in Ephesians 5:18: 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, Paul also reminds the Corinthians that the Spirit gives gifts to all… 1 Corinthians 12:7 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. Peter reminds us the same in I Peter 4:10: 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.

Use them well to serve one another. But here is some truth.… It is not of the Spirit when old or young withdraw from the other or from the ministry. God gives the Spirit to make, or to transform the believer who has come by faith into a witness of the gospel that serves in ministry. Now, before you get scared when I say ministry I do not mean that every person here is called into pastoral ministry, or to sell all of your belonging and become a missionary.

If God has called you then yes, hear this as an encouragement to serve hear or wherever God Calls you in a more intimate way to glorify Jesus. But God pouring out His Spirit should be an encouragement. *

Embedded Church - Colorado Springs

Let’s open our bibles together to Acts chapter 17. As your opening your Bible. Let me just say one of the parts of unity I believe in the local church is that we get the privilege to come to worship, with our bibles, and open them up together. there’s just something special about open our bibles together as a group of believers as we anticipate gods Spirit to move among us, and in our hearts to hear his word together.

Read acts 17: 16-21 - 32 At our last General Assembly in Indianapolis. The speaker for the Friday night message was our General Superintendent Dr. Duarte. His message was around the theme, Jesus is Lord, and he commissions us as Nazarenes to go. Now, I don’t know about you. But when I hear those words, "Jesus is Lord, Go.” I felt God say to my heart what he asked very simply to Isaiah, Who will I send?

Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.” The mission of God is to reconcile people from death to life, in Jesus Christ. God has called us to be Christ filled and a space, a people, a bride, the local church that embodies the rescue plan for the entire world. And what an honor it is to be a part of what God is doing here in the local church.

One great prayer I have for us as the body of Christ is that we together will see with eyes wide open the call to be missional mined people, carrying the light of Christ into a dark world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We carry the gospel in us. Have you ever thought about this.. the gospel is an invitation. Don’t we all like receiving invitations in the mail? Don’t you remember as a kid, being invited to a party through an invitation.

That feeling you get to be included and welcomed. The treats and food set out before you for the celebration. Don’t you remember how good it felt to have the resources to invite others to your celebration? The friends and family that would come surround you to celebrate with you. Everyday God is inviting you and me with great love and compassion to the table to witness the grace of being in his great presence.

Every week, we come to the church to celebrate this great invitation to come… Isaiah speaks of the compassion of the Lord, 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55 When I think of the free invitation, I also think of Revelation 22, where the Spirit and the Bride say together, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

All throughout history God has called his people to come, because he is an inviting God. Think of the two of John the baptists disciples in John chapter one where they asked Jesus where are hyou staying, what did Jesus do.. he gave them an invitation to come and see. Do you know what kind of invitation that is… its an invitation that requires no commitment. It’s only an invitation to come and witness for yourself.

Is that that what Mary and Mary experienced at the tomb after the resurrection of JEsus? Mary and Mary heard the invitation to come and see for yourselves that God is good and faithful and indeed that Jesus is not in the tomb. He calls us to step out by faith to witness the death and resurrection of Jesus. And then once we witness the goodness of God, through the Fathers plan for our great salvation in Jesus Christ, he calls us to go and tell.

So we are invited to come, and then with great love and passion we are called to go… we are invited and called, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was resurrected in three days, and asked to step into the great commission shackled not to sin, or to our past life, but to be as a servant, and begging debtor, anchored by faith, to Jesus Christ to go and be light to the world.

Isaiah 49:6 begins to set the tone for the great commission, he says, “I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Is. 49:6” Jesus tells us through John’s gospel 12:46, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” John 12:46 And then in Matthew 5:14, Jesus gives us a foretaste of the great commission by saying, You are the light of the world…

How many of you know that the gospel is not as powerful or effective if we keep it within the walls of the church? What would be the point of laughter and joy within the walls if it never pours out from the four walls of the church to the people living in darkness? We see paintings of people in hell crying out to God to save them. We read Bible accounts of the rich man begging Abraham to have Lazerus to come and give a drop of water.

Where’s the compassion in our hearts to witness first hand, neighbors and coworkers and family members of our own community living in a physical hell, right now, without Christ, without hope, without life, without light because everyday we watch people in our community live in darkness keeping the joy and the light within us and holding it from pouring out of us because we’re afraid to be labeled Christ followers. .

Keeping the gospel within the walls of the church is not going and telling. I believe that is why God has brought you to this school. To show that you are, at this very moment sitting in the mission field. You and I are literally in the mission field today. The gospel is alive. It’s alive within you and me. The light of Christ is in you and me… The gospel doesn’t need anything added to it.

One thing we do no need to do is dress up or adorn, or to make the gospel more appealing than what it already is. It’s already appealing. It’s already good and life changing and of course, it’s simple. I believe it’s simple, because I am not an educated man. If the gospel is simple enough for my Appalachian hillbilly heart and mind to grasp, it’s simple enough for anyone. So Let me give you a promise.

I am not an expert. I have no expertise in what God is calling you and me into reaching the community that is around us. I am nothing but a sinner saved by grace, and the gospel is my testimony to the world, being lived out in the world that Jesus loves us. And because of his Spirit that is within me, and with me, and for me… I can hear the call of Matthew 28 where Jesus says, I commission you to go and tell the world that Jesus is alive, IN Dr.

Duarte message he finished like this… he said “If God is calling you to GO, don’t wait until you have all the answers. Be like Abraham and go now.” How would you respond to that? Look with me in Acts 17 and verse 17, it says: 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

Paul in Acts 17 began at the temple, but then in verse 17 Paul moved from the temple into the marketplace to become a tourist, to ask questions to be curious of what the community they were embedded in beloved. He wanted to build relationship with the people to ask them what they believe, and what they were experiencing in life. And through relationship and simple conversation he was able to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So if you take notes, heres you first point… To be a missional minded church we must learn to move from the temple to the marketplace. That means we need to be where people are if we’re ever going to impact this community for Jesus. The Marketplace is where people are. That is where everyday life is lived out. The marketplace was where men and woman and children would go to buy and sell.

It’s a public space. A missional church learns that we are not fixed. And I hear all the time that we’re just pilgrims, that we’re just passing through. But I need to remind us, that our church building is not meant to be our permanent residences. It’s a tool. A missional church must learn to move beyond the confines of the four walls of the church to enter the spaces where people gather in their daily lives.

Yesterday, Stan and Anna took alicia and i out to dinner and we got to see the pinnacle of the area.. the Peyton Post office. It was magnificent. But then he began to tell us of this little store they go and meet with people. I was so encouraged. In my heart i kept saying yes, yes, this is the church. Getting out of the walls into where people live, and eat, and conversations are rich.

Do you want to know why I believe this is important? I believe this is important because it gives the church the opportunity to have it’s eyes opened to the greatest need that this world needs, and the greatest need this word needs is the gospel. Look with me in verse 16, it says, 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

If you’re to know the needs of the community you’ve to have your eyes opened. So, here is your second point… We’ve got to learn to see the world for what it is: It’s Broken. I’ll never forget the first time the Holy Spirit broke my heart for my community. There was a lot of uproar about Covid and wearing masks in school and I went to that meeting and I walked up to the pulpit and I began to pray for God’s presence, and peace and unity.

And when I turned around I began to get emotional and the further I got up the ramp to leave, the more emotional I got. And by the time I got to the main doors, tears were pouring out of my eyes and once I got into my car, I began to weep uncontrollably. Why? What happened? The Spirit had whispered into my heart this Scripture, (Luke 19:41-44) “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!

But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” I saw the world for what it was, it was broken and it desperately needed Jesus.

And just as important, I needed Jesus. We’ve become numb to the fact that this world, including those of us who showed up today need Jesus. Paul saw the idols of Athens and so his eyes were open to seeing they needed Jesus. It’s easy to become numb to our surroundings.… My bottom drawer in my dresser is broken. I fixed it once, but it broke again. And over time I began to just not care that it’s broken.

Right now, it’s still broken. And so, Alicia washes our clothes and she folds them and she takes my white t’s and she opens up that broken drawer and puts them in, and closes that broken drawer. It’s ugly…. The drawer not my wife. It’s ugly, but it also has became normal to her and i.. We have found a way to live around the fact that it needs fixed. What it has done is that, it has created within her and I this mindset that this broken drawer is normal.

We’ve worked around the issue long enough that it has become a familiar thing to us. Church, We can becomes so familiar to the broken things around us that we no longer see them as broken. If we’re ever going to pour out of the church and see the need in our communities, we need to show up to where they are, and then we need to pray that God gives us the eyes to see the world for how it truly is, it’s broken and full of idols.

What are some familiar things in your life that prevent you from seeing the brokenness of the world? Ya know, a part of repenting is being honest with how we are living our life. How we interact with people, and how we live a life that is contrary to the gospel we believe. Paul tells us romans that, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, He also reminds us in Romans, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Jesus puts it plainly to us when he tell us in John, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” That to me, would be a missional minded church. A missional minded church is an embedded church. It’s a church that embeds itself within the community to serve its community, to build deep meaningful relationships within the community. And you know what?

To build relationships with anyone, it takes Longevity. You see, the Bible tells us that Paul preached at the synagogue, then at the marketplace, and he was then invited to the Areopagus. He went from church, to the community, and basically, to a place of intimate conversation. And it’s there, when we are in those private and intimate conversations where a decisions are truly made. Yes, Church, evangelism works. We can lay tracks, we can preach in the open air, proclaiming that Jesus is coming.

All of these methods have their place and can be effective in reaching a wide audience. But, if we truly desire to make the greatest impact in our communities, we must recognize the power of being where people are and having intentional relationships that are rooted in authenticity. And keep in mind, not everyone we encounter will immediately come to know Jesus. The reality is that, like in Paul's story, some will ridicule and reject the message we share.

But there will also be those who are genuinely interested, who desire to know more. It’s not solely about the quantity of people we reach, as much as it’s also about the quality of the relationships we build with one another. When we have meaningful relationships that open up opportunities to walk alongside others, engaging in conversations that dive deeper into their doubts, thier questions, and life struggles. It’s in these relationships that provide space for vulnerability, trust, and mutual understanding.

It is within these contexts that the transformative power of the gospel can be fully realized. It creates a safe place where people will be more receptive to ask, why are you at peace? Why do you have faith.. and it’s there, in the laboratory of relationships that we can point them to Jesus, and say… because I know he, who is peace. You see church, Sometimes, we’ve got to reach people in our world that first become companions and friends of us before they will ever be willing to be introduced to Jesus.

Let us pray.. *