***Sermon Audio starts at 1:26:30

Blaze Culliton // Being radical in mission requires an understanding of the mission: to bear witness to Jesus Christ as fulfillment of the Scriptures in the immediate community and abroad. Or in other words to make disciples who make disciples of Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ and members of the local church, we have been given the knowledge, understanding and conviction of the mission in knowing the what (witness), the where (everywhere) and the who (everyone) with which to share the Gospel message. We are to be radical––far-reaching and complete––in the mission through the power of the Holy Spirit and under the authority of Jesus Christ. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded.

Caleb Drahosh \\ God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit set the precedent for the fellowship we strive for as a community of faith. The Triune God is three distinct persons, but possess one unequivocally unified nature. We both recognize that those who comprise the local church are created in the image of God and therefore seek to reflect the divine unity of the Godhead, and also inhabit sinful flesh and must rely wholly on the Spirit of Christ to unite.

As God’s people, we are commanded to cultivate unity which requires a thorough investment in the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters as well as the life of the local church. As the body of Christ, we rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, and spur on to greater godliness and holy living.

Mark Reeves \\ God’s pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in him are one and the same pursuit. God’s quest to be glorified and our quest to be satisfied reach their goal in this one experience: our delight in God, which overflows in praise.

As Buffalo City Church, we desire to be faithful in worship. Faithfulness in participation in the weekly worship gathering is a sure indicator of the fervor for Christ which exists in the heart of one who claims to be a Christ-follower; a life ordered around worship is consistently oriented toward God.

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Word of God, the 66 books that make up the Old and New Testament, is given to us in order that we might know God and know what He requires. It is without error, inspired by God, and is the basis for all of preaching, teaching, discipleship, and evangelism.

As Buffalo City Church, Scripture is our foundation. It is given to us so that we might be taught, reproved, corrected, and trained in righteousness as those who are freed by the Gospel to live lives that glorify and enjoy God through obedience to His commands.

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Gospel is the good news that despite our sin and sinfulness, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to live a life of perfect obedience and to die the death that we deserve––the righteous for the unrighteous––so that if we trust Jesus and turn from our sin we will be saved.

As Buffalo City Church, this truth must be central: it is not our performance that saves us, but it's the work of Jesus on our behalf. The Gospel frees us to live lives that are gracious and godly because we are accepted and approved by God through Jesus Christ; Gospel-centeredness is the attempt to be a church that reflects this truth in everything we say and do.

Caleb Drahosh \\ At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, we find the voice that introduced the Preacher in 1:1. This voice gives us insight into the whole duty of man: to fear God and keep His commandments. We fear God and keep His commands by first delighting in the formational, firm, and final Word of Truth.

Caleb Drahosh \\ While life includes the cheer of youth, the Preacher is urging us to be reminded of our mortality – exhibited by the evidences of old age and death – as a way to remember our Creator and rejoice in our youth. We remember our Creator in light of the truth of the Gospel and what Christ has done on our behalf, overcoming sin and death so that our future is not defined by vanity of youth or aging and death, but the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Caleb Drahosh \\ We often choose the things we do based on return on investment. Conversely, the Preacher tells us that we should "cast our bread upon the waters." When it comes to following Jesus, we should invest all that we are and all that we have boldly, wisely, and faithfully––even when the risk seems too high. Why can we confidently invest this way? Because the results are up to God and the return is not in the here and now, but guaranteed in eternity.

John Baumgartner \\ Even though wisdom cannot ultimately solve the problem caused by sin, which is death, it does prevent the pervasiveness of sin and help one live a godly life. The Preacher gives us this list of proverbs to train us in wisdom. And while we cannot live so wisely as to escape life under the sun, Christ lived in perfect wisdom. Because He suffered life under the sun and tasted death, He can offer freedom from the vanity under the sun.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Our society often applauds those who do big, fast, and notable things. The Preacher shows us that a life that is approved by God is content doing small, slow, and anonymous things. By taking the practical steps to slow down, stay small, and embrace anonymity we will grow in our ability to live into God-approved activities: eating joyfully, drinking merrily, celebrating enthusiastically, loving undividedly, and working heartily.