Week 4 of Why Church?

Luke 19:1-10

Week 3 of Why Church?

All Kinds Of People 9/3

Matthew 1:1-3, Genesis 14:17-20, Joshua 24:2, 2 Samuel 11, Psalm 51, Hebrews 7, Rev 7:9-10, Gal 3:26-29

• God is always pursuing those who don’t yet believe
• He is never satisfied by those who are "already in"
• God loves those who are stuck in patterns of sin and brokenness
• God welcomes both the wounded and the one who wounds

Glimmers of Grace by Kathryn Butler

Visit us at lmbc.us

Week 2 of Why Church - “Glorifying God”

2 Thess 1:11-12, John 15:7-8, Matt 5:16, Psalm 23, Isaiah 46, Psalm 24, 2 Cor 3:18

"The very reason that the light of God is to shine through us is so that the world might look on and Glorify God”

We exist to GLORIFY GOD by helping all kinds of people find and follow Jesus through gospel-centered ministry.

Week 1 of "Why Church?"

"What is the church? It's the institution that Jesus created and authorized to pronounce the gospel of the kingdom, to affirm gospel professors, to oversee their discipleship, and to expose impostors."

-Jonathan Leeman

Separate slides:

To pronounce the gospel of the kingdom

To affirm gospel professors

To oversee their discipleship

To expose impostors.

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the LOrd's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father in everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"

(Ephesians 5:15-20, NIV).

Matthew 16:13-20 & 18:15-20

Week 5 of Made For Purpose

Text: Mark 10:17-27, Matthew 6:24

"God doesn't have a problem with wealth, He has a problem with idolatry...there is no greater competition for the trust and affection of your heart than money."

Ephesians 5:21 & 6:5-9

"All work is a calling of God and should be done for His glory"

Title: “When Life is Heavy”

Text: Psalm 23 — Additional texts: Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:11-13

Quotes:

“All the care, all the work, all the alert watchfulness, all the skill, all the concern, all the self-sacrifice are born of His love—the love of One who loves His sheep, loves His work, loves His roles a Shepherd.” —W. Phillip Keller

Week 1 of Made for Purpose: Image & Purpose

Text: Genesis 1:26-30

Supporting: Psalm 8:1-9; Romans 8:18-23

Quotes:

“Being in God’s image, man and woman are to rule the world in God’s name. Inherent in this command to rule in God’s stead is the God-given capacity to know, worship, and enjoy the Creator.” –David Allan Hubbard 

“We are God’s royal stewards, put here to develop the hidden potentials in God’s creation so that the whole of it may celebrate his glory.” –Craig Bartholomew

“God himself is revealed or ‘imaged’ in his creation precisely as we are busy within the creation developing its hidden potentials in agriculture, art, music, commerce, politics, scholarship, family life, church, leisure, and so on, in ways that honor God.”         –Craig Bartholomew

You exist to be image-bearers of God, bringing his good rule and reign into every domain of his creation, to his glory and praise. (can you just have this sentence ready to put up—underlines and all?)   

“We are made for God, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in him.” –Augustine

Title: “Kingdom-Focused Service”

Main text: Mark 10:35-41

Supporting texts: Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10

Quotes:

"True service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need. It knows that the ‘feeling to serve’ can often be a hindrance to true service.”

—Richard Foster

“More than any other single way, the grace of humility is worked into our lives through the discipline of service. Of all the classical spiritual disciplines, service is the most conducive to the growth of humility.” 

—Richard Foster

“When the Spirit of Jesus the Messiah comes to dwell in Christians, individually and corporately, this happens so that they can be—all together—the place where his genuinely human life actually and physically continues within the life of the present world.” —N.T. Wright