To become a people of God’s mission, we must be a prophetic people. To be clear, I do not mean by that a people who prophesy (though that might be a legitimate use of the phrase). I mean a church that first sees clearly (the prophets were known as seers—see-ers) the idols of our age and rid our own lives of those idols.

The hardest idols to root out of our lives are those we have reimagined as Christian. Just as the Israelites in the wilderness made a golden calf and named it Yahweh, declaring it had brought them out of Egypt, so believers through the ages have renamed various idols as God or Christian. We must see these for what they are.

The seductive nature of these idols combined with their ability to masquerade as Christian virtue require supernatural discernment. Join us as we explore the idols of our own making as well as the connection between idolatry and mission.

There is often a grave inconsistency in the lives of those who profess faith in the Lord Jesus. This is not unique to the Christian faith. It was certainly a significant factor in Israel’s community in the Old Testament. People today might call it hypocrisy, which indeed it is.

Not hypocrisy in the traditional sense of the word— “professing to be one thing and living as another” —but a deeper hypocrisy. It might be described as “freely receiving an outrageous mercy and not proactively extending it to others.”

So far (and I am almost finished), the word “hypocrisy” has not made it into my sermon. It probably won’t. However, we will be speaking about how God’s redemptive acts toward us must inform our lives. Redemption must lead to redemptive living. We will see how this is a pattern both in the Exodus and in the Cross of the Lord Jesus.

Join us in worship as we continue discovering how we start becoming people of God’s mission.

Text: 1 Cor 10:23-33; Col 3:12-17
Headings:
1. Context Matters
2. Relationships Matter
3. Everything Matters

Text: James 1:27

Themes: Gospel Mercy as an essential of Being a People of God’s Mission

The Bible tells us we are a kingdom of priests and a holy people. What does that mean?

Since the Reformation conversation about that has largely focused on the priesthood of all believers, but while that is a thing, it isn’t really what that phrase in Scripture (Exodus 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9) is about. That phrase envisions a whole community of priests.

Why does God want a priesthood and what does that have to do with His mission? And why does He want a community to do it instead of a bunch of individuals? What does a community require that a collection of individuals doesn’t?

Join us this Sunday in worship as we seek answers to these questions in our continuing series: Becoming People of God’s Mission.

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday which is sadly one of the more neglected days on the church calendar. For some “Pentecost” is merely a reference to one particular strain of Christians that emphasize emotionalism (as described pejoratively by their detractors). It can bring to mind debates about supernatural gifts of the Spirit. But Pentecost is so much bigger than this.

To grasp the significance of Pentecost we will explore the events of Acts 2 this Sunday setting out to answer 3 things. First, what was Pentecost before it was Pentecost? (I.e. what was Jewish Pentecost in the 1st century, before it became known as the Christian event on the church calendar?) Second, how does Pentecost help us understand Paul? And finally, how did Pentecost change everything?

Join us in worship as we celebrate this momentous day in the history of God’s people.

Themes: Life and abortion

As a pastor, it’s not uncommon to be asked the question, “What is the church’s mission?” It’s a fair question but I am not sure if it is the right question. At least, I don’t think it is the right question for the church to be asking itself.

The right question for the church to ask itself is, “What is God’s mission?” Once we find out what that is, we certainly ought to do everything we can by His grace to join right in. In fact, Genesis 1–2  tell us that we were made to be God’s representatives in His mission in the world.

What is God’s original mission? What is God’s redemptive and restorative mission? How do the two relate? What is our role in them?

Join us this Sunday as we begin a new series “Becoming People of God’s Mission” and explore the answers to those questions right from the start.

What does it mean to be a praying church? How do we become one? What would a praying church pray for?

We’ve spent 4 weeks focused on Becoming a Praying Church as an essential part of what it means to fulfill our calling as a royal priesthood and holy people. This Sunday we will explore what has been given to us as an essential tool for formation into a church becoming a praying church.

Join us this Sunday as we explore 3 key ways the Lord’s Prayer shapes us into a people that are becoming a praying church that knows what it ought to be praying for.

Themes: God’s people are blessed. What does this mean and look like? We are to bless others. What does this mean and look like?

The blessing of God as He involves us in His mission as we bless others we too are blessed.

What does this look like over history and for us now?

Texts: Gal 3:8-9. Gen 1:22, Gen 12:1-3, Ex 19:5-6, Acts 1:8