Grace Alone Online

Well, you know - THANKSGIVING.  THINGS to be thankful for?  More than THINGS.  Deuteronomy gives a different perspective on Thanksgiving than the usual Gospel text of the one-out-of-ten Leper who returned to Jesus to give thanks.  Listen in on this Thanksgiving Eve sermon.

In God's Mission we, His saints, those belonging to the body of Christ, are called for salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that we are His children because He called us and made it possible, through His own work, to be that!  We are - not what we are but - what Christ made us: a new creation.  We have a new relationship with God through Christ, forgiven, to live eternally with Him.  Talk about motivation to GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES.  Yet, a good number of people fell that they don't know what to say and have no special gifts to offer.  Today we talk about stereotypical attitudes towards witnessing and evangelism and explore what the Apostles, their example of doing God's Mission, have taught us for the last few weeks of this sermon series on Re-discovering God's Mission individually, and as a congregation.  Hint: We are faithful to our calling only because He is faithful in His.  Tune in....

Equipping the Saints for ministry is the call of every pastor if they are continuing the line of the Apostles.  Regardless of denomination, the call of the pastor as one of the Priesthood of All Believers (1 Peter 2) is to prepare the community for ministry. There are, however, two major setbacks in this which are leftovers from before the Reformation.  These are misconceptions regarding the Pastor in the congregation AND the misconception of being a member of a church. Listen in and see where you fit in.

In rediscovering God's Mission for His Church we have arrived at the Reformation.  For 1200 years (32AD - 1517AD), the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) ruled politically, spiritually, economically and powerfully over the powers of Europe.  since the time it was legal (32AD), as the official religion of the Roman Empire, it took on characteristics of the Emperor Caesar himself.  ti centralized all religious power in Rome, the Bishop of Rome - once an appointed office by the apostles to care for the congregations that were going through persecution in the area as they carried out the mandate to GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES - became corrupt in politics and secular activities.  It became a business, selling indulgences, the forgiveness of sins, and invented offices of power in a hierarchical political structure for a price.  In other words, it strayed entirely from what the body of Christ ought to look like in this world.  Luther learned through the Scriptures that salvation was through faith in Christ, not through the church and obedience to the pope.  Listen to how this man rediscovered the purpose of all believers in the body of Christ, and liberated the church into a potential powerhouse of Christian brothers and sisters like in the days of the apostles.

We continue our sermon series discovering our purpose in the overall mission of the church. Today, as we gather, our focus is on how the Church developed from the time it became legal (325AD) until the time of the Reformation. What became the focus of the Apostle’s ‘mission statement’? With the legalization of Christianity by the emperor Constantine in 320AD, the Church that was victorious over persecution through faith in Christ did not "Keep its eye on the ball;" it lost focus of the centrality of the mandate to GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES with the proclamation of Christ.  Instead, when the church emerged as a legal entity, a structure of leaders, servants and teachers of the Gospel became political and tempted by personal ambition, power and wealth.  the church was no longer the all the faithful that were called out of the world through faith, but just a select few: the bishops and all who had received the successive laying on of hands through the apostles.  For the next 1200 years, (300AD - 1517AD), the Church saved; not Christ.  The mission proclamation that was centered in the preaching of God's Word as the central power and authority, now became centered in the Bishop of Rome (the Pope).  It was his political authority that overrode the Gospel in a desire for power and wealth.  The Church became the Savior through obedience and membership; not through faith in Christ.  How did this happen during 300 years after Christ?  What does it say for us today?  Listen in...

Continuing our series on Re-Discovering God's Mission, we meet the first challenge that the Apostle's encountered.  A challenge between tradition (or personal preference as it is today) and Biblical Truth (God's Word and command).  When Jesus told the disciples to Go and Make Disciples, there was no game plan.  eh did not provide them with a manual.  And there was a good reason for it.  Whereas a game-plan may have provided a "how to do it..." as a fool-proof method, our Lord is not a God of coercion and forcefulness.  He want a relationship with his creation.  A coercion would demand that people meet God where HE is at...as something that they must to in order to be saved.  God, however, created us beautifully IN HIS IMAGE; meaning, to have a relationship, to fellowship, to commune.  And think with the diversity of language, culture, and art, how the world groups and communes in fellowships with other in that group.  God want to be a part of that group with His message of Christ.  Humans are made for fellowship and ultimately, fellowship with God.  Christ, therefore, must speak to and be a part of culture in order to bring hope, salvation, love and compassion, to a specific people because that's how people operate; not effectively but affectively.  In order to do this, the Apostle's needed to discern between what was personal preference or a cultural tradition and the biblical truth of GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES.  Would their traditions stand in the way of someone who is not from their tradition?  Would their language, customs, religious traditions? What were they to do so that Christ became real for those who were not Jewish?  Find out.... 

Re-disovering god's mission is to rediscover your place, and your congregation's place, in that mission.  While churches are thriving, growing, have large numbers, many times, the impetus of size is what drives a congregation into ministry.  Many people + telling many people = more people.  And, more often than not, a diversity of activities and events allow people personal preferences.  However, when churches decline in membership or attendance, most start to ask, "what happened?" This question starts a process of analysis that can lead to discovering God's Mission.  It can be quite illuminating as we rediscover that "getting more people in the pews" is NOT God's primary mission objective.  there are many reasons why churches want to get more people "in the pew" and it usually is for sustaining and maintaining what has always been done in the past, in order to continue in the future.  No. God's primary mission objective is GO AND TELL....regardless if people come to your congregation and fill the pews.  A nice outcome would be that they "join" your fellowship, but God's primary mandate to us is to GO AND TELL!  Today we look at the organization of the early, early Christian church and how, from it's humble beginnings, people were added (convinced of the Gospel message) to belong to the fellowship of other Christians like them.  Was it programs?  Was it entertainment?  No.  Find out. (Acts 14:21-28; Romans 16:1-16; Acts 6:1-7 form the basis for the messsage)

Last week we heard where the 12 Apostles journeyed to throughout the world.  From Spain to India.  From Ethiopia to Armenia.  Today, we look at what is commonly known among Christians as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:16-20 where Jesus tells the eleven to "Go and make disciples of all nations...."  This was the beginning of the Christian movement.  Perhaps it was not as simple as it seems.  We know this movement NOW, as the Christian Church, and cannot conceive of it as it first started out.  Even as the disciples went to the appointed mountain to meet with Jesus, the text says that that "some doubted."  What did they doubt?  Their ability? the truth? Jesus? the reality of it all? But then, some exciting things happened to them.  And, when they went out, they could not "go and make disciples" if it were not for two important things.  1. The prayers of the believers and 2. their offerings, both money and material needs, for the needy.  We look at how prayer and offerings is mentioned by St. Paul, almost inseparably, in these early beginnings of the Church. How do you support the proclamation of Jesus Christ as Savior as part of your congregation?  How do you pray for your pastor and congregation to remain as living witnesses of the Gospel today?  Listen to the details!

Rediscovering God's Mission for our congregation - week 2:  We look at the Apostles.  As Jesus sent them out with "power and authority" even Judas was included.  Matthew names the 12 apostles.  Where did they go after Pentecost?  We mostly hear about Peter, John and a little about James.  then, Paul comes on the scene and sort of steals the show.  Most of what we know doctrinally comes form his pen.  Today we look at where the Apostles went and the martyrdom that they faced.  If it were not for them, we would not be here today.  in fact, none of the church would be here today.  How does this impact our mission and our witness as we pass the baton of Christ from generation to generation.

Today's Gospel talks about wayward, lost sheep.  I don't know about sheep, but we had a beagle once.  Perhaps beagle is much more relatable to an urban society than a sheep.  Beagles act like sheep, which makes the point as Isaiah prophecies about the coming Messiah saying, "All we like "beagles" have gone astray.  Everyone has turned to his own way. And, the Lord placed on Him the iniquity of us all."  What is it about a beagle or a shepherd who abandons a whole flock to look for one sheep, or even about the woman who turned her house upside down to find a lost coin have to do with God's love for us.  Find out how we all howl like beagles.