Genesis Church - Sermons

This morning we will look at Psalm 120, the first Psalm of Ascent, a song from sojourners who are far away from home, who are being harassed and suffering. Yet, they know their God is the source of hope and peace that fills their longings. They are beginning a journey to meet Him face to face.

Today closes out the series, The Recipe, on our vision for making disciples. Over the past weeks, we revealed 10 ingredients that we hope to “bake” in to the lives of people and we have looked at the different types of people we are called to disciple. We have created a grid for disciple making that will help every ministry in our church evaluate and cast vision for the central task Jesus has given our church.

Our final sermon in this series will cast vision about the ways Genesis is already being intentional about Jesus’ commission and share the strategies we hope to implement in order to improve our recipe going forward.

With only a couple weeks left in our series, The Recipe, on our task of making disciples, this morning we come back to where we began—with Jesus’ commission to make disciples of all nations.

We believe that Christ has entrusted us, Genesis Church, with the commission to make disciples here in Eureka/Pacific and the surrounding area. We are an outpost of Christ’s Kingdom in our community with this task. But, we are also part of the task of taking the Gospel to the nations.

Today we will take a look at the layers of people reached by the ministry of Jesus, from those who were far from God all the way up to the most religious, and from individuals to large crowds. Hopefully we will learn that following Jesus and obeying His commission will lead us to make disciples of all sorts of people, from those who are completely uninterested in church to those who are serving as leaders and pastors and everyone in between.

We come to the last of the ten ingredients in our recipe for making disciples, - the ingredient of witness. To be a disciple of Jesus is to be an ambassador sent to our world as a representative of Jesus’ Kingdom to proclaim His message of reconciliation.

Love for neighbor includes the desire to see them come to Christ. The discipleship found in the Gospels and lived out in Acts is clear… that those who have the Spirit will be Christ’s witnesses. We represent Christ by sharing the good news of Jesus and sharing our own stories of redemption. Discipleship in the church must include both equipping and motivation for this task.

The Gospel has an engine that propels disciples out as missionaries. We see this clearly in Jesus’ ministry with His disciples. He invested in their lives, taught them the truths of the Gospel, and did a lot of ministry with them. This was preparation, as Jesus then calls them to lift their eyes to see the lostness and brokenness of their culture and begin praying. The amazing thing is that they actually become the answer to their own prayers as Jesus sends the disciples on mission.

Disciples have spiritual gifts and part of spiritual growth is learning to use these gifts for the building up of the body of Christ and advancing the Kingdom of Christ. Any approach to discipleship that creates people who only sit and learn will create top-heavy Christians. The call of discipleship is to hear the call of Jesus and live as people who are sent together on mission.

Theology matters—it matters greatly. What we believe about God, Jesus, ourselves, and redemption will show up in the way we live our lives.

It is God’s design that the church teach people the great truths about God so that people will authentically worship God, standing in awe of His person and work. It is also His desire that believers in Jesus grow in these great truths so that truth shapes their lives and they can be protected from false teachers.

New disciples will probably need these truths taught on a simple level, but the goal is that they will begin to embrace the faith once for all delivered to the saints, be able to teach it to others, and be able to spot a counterfeit.

As we continue our series on the ingredients necessary for making disciples, this morning we will share the importance of holiness. The concept of holiness, or being holy, is a difficult concept for us; yet, this is actually the ingredient that provides the flavor for the Christian life.

The primary goal for disciples of Jesus is for them to be shaped day by day into the image of Christ. Disciples are people growing in the character of Jesus so that they are increasingly demonstrating Scriptural morality and values in their personal lives. This involves a transformation in our sexual ethics, integrity and honesty, kindness, generosity, justice, and care for our neighbor. God is holy, Jesus is holy. Without holiness, it is impossible for us to see and really know God. Holiness in the Christian life matters and disciples will desire the blessings of holiness.

Furthermore, we will discover that there is a deep connection between our holiness as disciples and our happiness in life … because the flavor of holiness brings glory to God and the most joy for His people.

Today we celebrate the pivotal and climactic moment for all of history, as the Son of God was delivered over to sinful people who condemned the innocent Savior to death on a cross. Jesus submitted Himself to the divine purpose for our salvation, laying down His rights and life for us. But that is not the whole story!

Jesus rose again and defeated our worst enemies: death, hell, and the grave. Before His death, Jesus predicted these events to His disciples and then made a bold demand on those who want to follow Him. True discipleship is a life of following the very path of Jesus—denying self and dying to self. The result of a sacrificed life is resurrection power.

Following Jesus does mean walking the path of Jesus but the outcome is gaining resurrection power and finding our true selves.

Darin Slater fills in for Mike Hubbard who was ill.

In the Scriptures, discipleship is never an individual event, it is a team sport. In fact, let’s just state that maybe the biggest obstacle to authentic discipleship in our culture is our rugged individualism. Yet, God designed this Christian life thing to be done in community, a group of “one anothers”.

First of all, God has ordained that our growth happens in community. This is modeled in Jesus’ calling of the 12 to Himself where He invested in them, did ministry among them, and then sent them out. Second, growth in the Christian life happens in the context of deep and meaningful relationships as people seek to follow Jesus together. Third, it is the authentic love found within community that images the glory of God to the outside world.

What this means is that disciples need both rows and circles. Rows where they gather with God’s people for worship and to hear the word taught. And, circles where authentic relationships, so important for our being, are shaped into the image of Jesus.