Youth Sunday

The Elephant: Our Tongue Love’s Characteristics: 1.Love values the other person 2.Love is vulnerable 3.Love entails a cost

The Great Commission: Multi-ethnic movement The Church in Antioch: Acts 11-13 (12:25-13:5) (1) The Holy Spirit brought people together from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. (2 )The Holy Spirit led them to worship in loving unity. (3) The Holy Spirit led them to do missionary work together.

“Even when falling into sin, we can say, with Paul: This is not the real me; this is not what I really want. I want God and His will.” – Timothy KellerSo how do you win this battle against your sin nature?

We have purpose: A people called of God to be a missionary community (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 2:5-9)Problem: When we get essentials & non-essentials confused, lack of clarity hinders our effective witness of the Gospel to the community.Think Missionally, Live Morally to Win Converts to Christ.

What? There's nothing to see here! - the sins we tolerate in the Church: Need for comfort, Fear of sharing the Gospel, Gluttony, Spiritual retirement (or a very long vacation) are a few of the sins we tolerate or look the other way as Christians.

The Filter: Guiding Principles Concerning Disputable Matters1) Basic Assumption for all Christians: Jesus’ teachings are authoritative (Matthew 28:18-20)2) Therefore: the Old Testament Moral Law still applies because Jesus affirmed them (read the Gospels, specifically Matthew 5:17-20)3) But: the OT Ceremonial Law doesn’t apply because it was fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:17-18; Hebrews 9-10)4) And: The OT Cultural Laws only apply to Jews because the Spirit guided the early Church to realize they hinder the Gospel (Acts 15:25 & 28)5) Now: The basic OT Laws that need to be followed for Table Fellowship to abstain from Idolatry & Immorality (Acts 15:20; 29; Leviticus 17-18).6) Clarification: the rest of the New Testament gives commentary and instruction of how to apply all the above.7) Therefore: Christians are called to follow all explicit commands in NT.8) And: Christians are to seek Holy Spirit guidance when NT is unclear.9) And: Christians need to realize the Spirit will not contradict the NT.10) And: Accept the weak concerning disputable matters, but don’t judge their opinions (Romans 14:1)11) And: Don’t let your liberty be a stumbling block (Rom. 14:13; 1 Cor. 8:9)12) And: If you insist on your liberty, you are not acting in love (Romans 14:15)13) And: Christian mission (and building each other up) comes before your Christian liberty (Romans 14:19-20; 1 Cor. 9:19-23)14) And: Seek the good of your neighbor first (Romans 14:21; 1 Cor. 10:24)15) And: Don’t flaunt your liberty for sake of their conscience (1 Cor. 10:27-29)16) And: The mature are to bear with the failings of the weak (Rom. 15:1-6)

Many Christians have questions about controversial topics, over which churches divide and about which Pastors are afraid to speak. today, we will begin a new series on ‘The Elephant in the Room’. This series will give a biblical filter through which to make decisions. Our theme “On essentials, unity; on non-essentials, diversity.” Some of the key texts of Scripture guiding us will be Acts 15, Romans 14, and 1 Corinthians 8. I believe this is a timely series for a nation wrought with questions of politics, morality, and political correctness. May we come through this more unified in Christ, and better able to engage people with questions seeking answers.

The original American vision was religious freedom and self-governance accountable to God.

“The gospel—the message we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope—creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth, for obedience, for love.” – Tim KellerNow how do we live the Gospel today?