We are invited to follow Christ and become fishers of people. Read Matthew 4:18-22 and listen to the third sermon in Pastor Shannon’s series on being totally committed followers of Jesus Christ.
We are invited to follow Christ and become fishers of people. Read Matthew 4:18-22 and listen to the third sermon in Pastor Shannon’s series on being totally committed followers of Jesus Christ.
Sermon from April 17, 2016
We are called to follow Christ, no distractions. Read Luke 10:1-20 and listen to the second sermon in Pastor Shannon’s new series on being totally committed followers of Jesus Christ.
Sermon from April 10, 2016
We are called to follow Christ, no excuses. Read Luke 9:57-62 and listen to this first sermon in Pastor Shannon’s new series on being totally committed followers of Jesus Christ.
We (along with the rest of the Church of God Movement) have been commissioned to answer three very important questions. All three hope to address the more pressing question: why do we exist as a Movement? Jonathan posted about the purpose of the Church of God movement and Joe shared in response to query about the Church of God’s unique contribution to the Kingdom. The third question is this:
Upon what should the Movement focus going forward?
This is the question I was asked to explore. But how can I be so bold as to propose the focus for the whole Church of God as we move forward into the future? I began to sweat as I thought about what I could possibly suggest. But then it hit me. The question could just as well be “where should my focus be?” As I live my life as a follower of Christ and as a Church of God Pastor, where should my focus be? Because the truth is, if I can’t get on board with the answer to this question (or the others) that we are asking for the Church of God at large, than why am I part of this Movement?
And so, for better or worse, I approach this question for myself. As I move forward (in life, in ministry, as a believer) what is to be my focus? As I think about this question it occurs to me that I don’t have to come up with something new or brilliant. Jesus laid out for us the perfect focus for now and for our future: make disciples (Matthew 28:19). If this was the focus of the Church of God – the world would be changed. If we spent our time and energy on this call – we could transform the lives around us.
I am aware that this focus should be the focus of all churches and not just the Church of God, but I find myself wondering why we have to separate ourselves out before we get to doing the work that God called us to. Wasn’t the whole point of why the Church of God came to be? To “come out of denominational Babylon”? Isn’t that why the Movement was formed? And here we are once again trying to define our uniqueness in the family of God rather than just accepting that we are part of it and that we have work to do.
There are so many people who are truly lost (outside of relationship with God) and we’re worried about our Movement being lost in the tide of denominations. There are so many lost people (people who God created and who God loves) who are separated from God. There are so many people who are dying and need what we have. We are so distracted about things that don’t matter that we’ve forgotten why we do exist – and it’s not to be unique. We exist because we know God and we want other people to know God too.
So for me, what has to be our focus as we move forward is those lost people and the work that still needs to be done. We cannot lose sight of the mission that we are called to: 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-21).
“It is the kingdom story that the Bible is telling all along…” Joe stated in his post “A Kingdom of God Church.” From the very beginning we see YHWH in relationship with humanity and giving instruction to them. From the first stories of scripture there is evidence of a committed and hands-on ruler – involved in the lives of the faithful and calling them to join together. Even from Adam and Eve, the intention is clear – God, and God alone, is to be the leader of the people that God created.
When discussing the Kingdom of God, there is a story that always sticks out to me addressing how God’s people act regarding having a divine king. The ever present danger for God’s people is the desire to be like everyone else. This is not new to our generation. In 1 Samuel 8 Israel, who were God’s chosen people, asked Samuel for a king. Israel already had a king, YHWH was their king. But Samuel takes their request to the Lord. The Lord’s response is this “they have rejected me from being king over them.” (vs. 7) The Lord told Samuel to return to Israel with a warning, but the people would not listen, they replied (vs. 19-20) “we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations.”
As we begin the series “Church of God at the Crossroads” we come with the question posed by Dr. Stafford in his book, “what kind of church is pleasing to God?”
It’s a good question, but not an easy one to answer. Many church groups over the years have given answers to this question. The answers vary greatly, so who is right? Perhaps it’s not any one thing, but a combination of things that make a church that is pleasing to God.
The first idea we are going to discuss here is that a church that is pleasing to God is a gospel church. The word “gospel” means “good news” or “glad tidings.” The good news in this context is that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) has come and that humanity has been given the opportunity to be redeemed. With this in mind, what then is a gospel church? It is a church that proclaims, sings, teaches and repeats this news that Jesus Christ has come and that every person has the chance to take part in the salvation he brings. If we are not proclaiming this message then we have missed the point; and if we replace the proclamation of this good news with other agendas, no matter how worthy, we have ceased to be a gospel church.