Before leaving earth, Jesus gave a command to His followers to make disciples.  If you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to be a disciple maker.  Today, Pastor Rich will show how the church is to follow this command.

Philippians 1:21-27

Prayer is simply talking to God.  God hears and answers the prayers of His people.  Today Pastor Rich will discuss what it looks like when a church prays.

Acts 12:1-18

What is your motivation for serving others?  If you serve others out of guilt, you will not reach your full potential. These phrases are examples of guilt driven motivation: "The church needs people..." ; "the community needs people..." ; "We're good people and we do this thing."   Having these attitudes will limit your service in scope, duration, and/or impact.  Guilt is a terrible motivation and will only take you so far, and people know when you're doing things only because you have to do them.

Jesus is our ultimate example of service - He didn't come to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.  Serving will cost you your life, but it will be invested in eternity.  

1 Peter 4_7-11

Caring for others means living in community with others, putting the needs of others ahead of your own desires.  

In our passage today we'll see how the church actively cares for each other in regards to holiness, responsibility, and the harvest.

Galatians 6:1-10

Today we'll look at how a poor church in Macedonia was an illustration of joyful, generous giving.  

2 Corinthians 8:1-9

The Bible discusses two different forms of the church in the New Testament, the church universal, and the church particular.  

Church universal - has in mind all people throughout the world who are brothers and sisters in Christ

Church particular (local church) - most references to the church in the New Testament reference specific, local churches

If we love Jesus, we love His bride (the church) and we should seek to spend time with His bride.

Revelation 2:1-7

Today we'll see that church is an army, not an audience.  As God's army, the church has been given a mission by God to take the gospel to places it has not been taken before.  

Throughout scripture, God gives us several pictures to describe what the church is.  Today we'll see that the church is pictured as God's family.  In Titus 2, Paul shows us how the family of God should act. 

A house with no residents is just an empty building, often falling into disrepair.  A family with no place to live would be called homeless.  In the book of Ephesians, Paul shows us that God is building a house for Himself through His people.  Today Pastor Rich will show us that the church is a house of God for the people of God.

Eph 2:11-22

Think about all the different body parts that make up your body.  Each individual part has a specific function, yet the parts work together to help your body function properly.

The church functions like this.  It is a beautiful picture of unity through diversity. In a church you'll find folks of different ages, different income ranges, and varied racial backgrounds that come together, working in harmony to fulfill the mission Christ gave to the church.  

1 Corinthians 12:12-31