A New Year, a New Balanced YOU!

On this 1st Sunday of Advent the Church celebrates New Years! The New Year of the Church is an opportunity for us to get ahead of the world and lead.

Sermon Outline:

A New Year: A New Balanced YOU!  The Triangle: Balancing our Life Relationships

 

Power Walking:

Micah 6: ⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Luke 6: ¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. ¹⁷ He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, ¹⁹ and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. ²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

1. UP means to __walk__ humbly with our God.

Abiding:

Walking:

“Not asking God to __bless___ what we are doing but go where God is __blessing__

2. IN means to __love______ mercy     Goes with UP: Covenant with God: Lev 26: ¹² I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.

Group of _3_ : Peter, James & _James_ In is about __relationships___

What did the 9 & 72 think? We are “in Christ” Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Social Beings: Facebook and Twitter +++ Huddles, Small Groups, Clusters, Gatherings

John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Relationship is about love, encouragement, living life together. LCMS is a _Synod___ which means “walking together.” We also want to see the Acts 2:42 Church as an example: ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

3. OUT means to _act__justly Goes with UP & IN ….. Church in ANTIOCH

Balloon: You __receive_from God, You _share_together what God has given & and You  _give_ to others what you have…..

Matthew 9:³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

The Lord desires that the Relationship we have with HIM and then with His Family, His Body the Church would be shared with the Community around us.

Fishers of men: this is the example Jesus gave…. Why is it so complicated?

Two-Dimensional Churches: (Examples of ways we can be unbalanced)

1. Up and Inners – lots of praise and worship, study of the Bible, and do a good job of building community; but people can come and go anonymously, and in the larger crowd people can attend without making commitments.
2. Up and Outers – committed to the Upward and high regard for the Bible and prayer, also concerned with reaching outside of the walls of the church, lots of outreach, strong support of missions; but the Inward is lacking, small group ministry is more duty than desire, “we” is not as important as “they.”
3. In and Outers – perhaps in older mainline denominations stressing incarnational ministry, with a heart for the cities, caring for the hurting and lost; prayer is more by rote rather than due to passion or personal petition, Scripture reading is part of the service format but not expounded.

Why do Christians Struggle?   Balancing our Relationships:

A culture of disconnection – fractured families, disenfranchised friends, independent individuals, reality TV that allows people to experience living together by proxy.

Jesus was not worried about being fair – many pastors keep their distance from their people so as to not play favorites. Jesus had three very close friends, the inner circle. What did the other nine think of this? Apparently Jesus did not care what they thought! What did the 72 think about the 12? He did not try to be fair.

Balancing outreach: getting out of our comfort zones, finding that uncomfortable balance.

We are to live out of purpose – how can we find our personal mission in life? Practice will get you into this rhythm of walking, and walking with God is the definition of a disciple. So how will we be __balanced__ in our relationship in Church Year 2011.

Challenges and Opportunities:

 

Outline for Nov 21, 2010

New Year’s Resolution: REMAIN! The Semi-Circle: Living in Rhythm with Life

 1. Once upon a time...

2. Reality is not:_________

3. Genesis 1:28: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

4. What did God do on the day after he created Adam and Eve? ____________________

5. What was the example for them: They were to ______________ before they named the animals and worked at tending the garden.

6. We were not created to be human “doings” but human _”________”_.

7. True human beings are those who __________ in Christ and know they belong to him.

8. Satan wants us to think we have to ____________ our way to God.

9. Yet we know that Christ has done it all and that we work because we ________ to.

10. We are called like Adam and Eve to be _____________________.

11. So how? John 15:1-4 (Message) The Vine and the Branches

"I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.-- 
12. So the Word makes us _______ and allows us to be _______by our Heavenly Father.
13. The goal is that we are fruitful and that the pruning, even when painful, will be viewed as of great ________.
14. We rest and are pruned in order to be even ____________- fruitful.
15. Evaluation: We want to be healthy and in rhythm with life, creation and our Lord. So..
a. How many days a week do you work? 6 or 7?
b. How many hours a day? 10 or more?
c. How often do you work through lunch?
d. Do you take work with you on vacation?
e. Do you answer work-related emails or voice mail after you get home at night or on weekends?
f. Have you ever canceled a vacation because you have too much work to do?
g. Do you think about work while eating with your family?
h. Do you talk about work more than family while on a date with your spouse?
We are called to be faithful, fruitful and healthy. But we are also shown by the Lord Jesus how to keep a healthy rhythm in life.
How Jesus Rested in this Rhythm of Life

1. Resting through extended times of retreat (Mark 1:12-13)
2. Regular daily times of quiet resting with the Lord (Mark 1:35-39)
3. Teaching the disciples to rest (Mark 6:30-32)

Other examples…

1. Jesus alone at the lake before teaching – Mark 2:13
2. Jesus withdraws with his disciples – Mark 3:7
3. Jesus goes to the mountainside and calls his disciples – Mark 3:13
4. Jesus leaves the crowds and gets into the boat – Mark 4:35
5. Jesus at the lake/hillside – Mark 5:1
6. Jesus crosses the lake to the other side – Mark 5:21
7. Jesus sends the disciples ahead, dismisses the crowd and goes to the mountain to pray – Mark 6:45-46

We are a church who wants to grow as a body of believer who follow Christ, listening to his word and following his example. As we come to the New Year of the Church will you REMAIN IN CHRIST and be MORE FRUITFUL? This is a God pleasing Resolution!

Last Sunday of the Church Year: Christ the King Sunday: REMAIN!

This is the last Sunday of this Church Year. As we approach the New Year of the Church, do we set resolutions like the world does for New Years? I don't really appreciate resolutions but if I were to make one, it would be to learn what the Lord intended for us as His Creation. He said in Genesis 1:28 "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it..." but what does that mean? For us it means letting the Lord decide the size of our family, but I think it means MORE in that we are called to be fruitful beyond procreation. It is obvious to me that we should resolve to hear the Word and follow the example of Christ as his disciples. So we are going to learn about the Semi-Circle, Lifeshape 2 this Sunday and the importance of knowing we were designed to Rest for work rather than work to rest. Look at how God showed Adam and Eve the priorities as He modeled resting during their first Day together before they set out to be stewards of the garden. We also recognize the truth of John 15:1-4 :
¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
We are clean because of the Word, we are being pruned to be even MORE FRUITFUL but this only comes by REMAINING or ABIDING in Christ! We belong to him and therefore we are able to abide in His Rest and be pruned to be more fruitful. We go from "human doings" to "human beings" and live our life of sanctification because of our justification and relationship with the Lord. We want to grow in our faith and life as disciples because of what Christ has done and because we belong to him.
As we approach "Thanksgiving Day!" Do we count our blessings and desire, because of who we are in Christ and because of what HE has done and continues to do by His Holy Spirit, to live lives of thankfulness and praise? I hope we resolve to remain or abide in Christ so that he will remain in us and we can bear much fruit. 

Pentecost 25 or Second last Sunday of the Church Year

Because we want to grow as disciples we are asking the question: "How is God SHAPING us?" We are going to look at "Lifeshapes" as a system for growing us as disciples. We are a church with a vision of striving “to know Christ and make Him Known” by being the “visible presence of the Kingdom of God in our community” as “a spirit-filled, sacramental, family-oriented community” holding to the motto: belong, believe, become.  We will only grow if we know the amazing truth of the Forgiveness of Sins and the truth of a repentant life! We as forgiven sinners, saints made holy by the blood of Christ, living our lives together encouraging each other as we desire to grow in sanctification. This Sunday we will learn the "Circle" and the importance and significance of Kairos moments in our lives as we follow Christ's words in Mark 1:15 "The time has come! Jesus said: The Kindom of God has come near! Repent and believe the Good News!" Jesus is the fulfillment of the Kingdom and we belong to him as his children, his heirs, his ambassadors, his followers, his disciples! I love being part of a family who desire to grow in the Spirit and as Children of God. Today we will be praying for Veteran's to remember their sacrifice and service. We honor them!

All Saint's Sunday on November 7, 2010

It was wonderful to celebrate the truth of the Communion of Saint's in the celebration of All Saint's Sunday. I love to ring the bell for those we remember who are with the Lord and were great examples for us. I thought it was really a cool experience to go to an Orthodox Wedding on Sunday afternoon. I know they go a little overboard with the Saint's but I think we forget that God has given us a great gift in remembering those who have departed in the faith. It is also very cool that this Sunday is right before Veteran's Day in the USA and Remembrance Day in Canada. May we not only celebrate and remember the examples of the faithful but also celebrate those who sacrificially serve for our freedom.