Read Philip Yancy’s retelling of the Prodigal Son story from “What’s so amazing about Grace?”
That is why we are here. To be the body of X in the world welcoming back those who God the father is calling to himself.
Tried to capture what we are called by God to do as a church, in a mission and vision statement. Designed to help us maintain our focus on what god has called us to do. Give us a means to evaluate all that we do, and make sure that we are moving in the right direction.
Present that this morning, focus on the mission. Briefly present our vision of what we desire to be and do. Focus on that in the coming weeks.
Tried to Keep it Simple and memorable. So that we can all know it.
Mission Statement: A community of believers committed to Christ’s call.
Community of believers-spent a lot of time talking about community over the past few months.
-A group that is united by a common belief, purpose. We as a group of believers are united by X, by our belief and commitment to Him as our Lord and Savior and by a shared purpose. To fulfill His call on us as believers.
Example of the early church from Acts 2
-joined together
-devoted to apostles teaching and fellowship
-met together constantly and shared everything they had
-shared with those in need
-worshiped together, met in homes, shared meals.
Practical terms for us today as believes we are to be a body, brothers and sisters in Christ who are actively living out the one anothers of the NT in our relationships.
Rom. 12:10-Love one another (Eph. 5:2-Love as X loved)
Rom. 12:10-Honor one another
Rom. 14:19-Build up one another
Rom. 15:7-Accept one another as X accepted us
I cor. 12:25-Care for one another
Gal. 5:13-Serve one another
Eph. 4:32-Be kind to one another
Col. 3:13-Forgive one another
I Thes. 4:18-comfort one another
I Thes. 5:11-encourage one another
I thes. 5:13-Live in peace w/ one another
James 5:16-confess sins to one another and pray for one another
We are to be a community of people united by X and our commitment to fulfilling His calling. This is the expression of that unity-we are the family of God, brothers and sisters in X. As we live this out, we are to show the world the love of God, the forgiveness God has shown us, and the acceptance that is ours through X.
Committed to Christ’s Call-Fulfilling His calling on our lives must be our goal.
Great Commandment-(Matt. 22:37-40)Love God, Love Others-
Dig into this next week. How do we live this out?
Great Commission-Matt. 28:19-20-Go and make disciples.
This is what He has called us to, each of us as individuals and all of us collectively as the body of X, the church. We must be about doing these things and helping you be more effective at doing them.
Vision:
That we will be a community of believers that live out the following values:
Love God, Love Others (Matt. 22:37-40 “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets.”ESV
Impact our community (Matt. 25:34-40 “then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you in prison and visit you?’ and the King will answer them, ‘truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”ESV
We desire to have an impact in our community through having relevant ministries that are reaching people where they are at. Meeting needs, not just teaching biblical knowledge, but ministries where God is meeting needs, changing lives, where we are seeing true spiritual transformation.
Family (Mark 3:33-35 Titus 2:1-6 “but as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober minded, dignified, self-conrolled, sound in faith, in love and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.” ESV
Effectively minister to the entire family of God
Every member a minister- (I Cor. 12:7 “Now all of you together are X’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.”NLT
We are committed to helping every member of the body of Christ here at Lifegate discover their unique SHAPE for ministry and find a place in the body to serve.
Groups (Acts 2:42-45, Col. 1:28, Heb. 10:24-25-read)
We desire to see every member involved in a small group where they can be encouraged to grow and develop deeper relationships with other believers. These groups should foster biblical fellowship, be the core of our care ministries and provide accountability for those who attend.
Always changing (Acts 17:16-34, I Cor. 9:22 “when I am with those who are oppressed, I share their oppression so that I might bring them to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to X.”
Pauls’ story
Not change for the sake of change, but always seeking the most effective ways that we can do ministry.
Talking to God (Acts 2:42, Eph. 6:19 “And pray for me too. Ask God to give me the right words as I boldly explain God’s secret plan.” I Thes. 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”)
Every ministry and minister under girded with prayer support.
Evangelism (Matt. 28:19-20, Col. 1:28 “So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about X. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to X.” 2 Tim. 2:2 “You have heard me teach many things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others.”
Commitment to oikos evangelism, with every member consciously seeking to reach their 8-15 and a commitment to the spread of the gospel worldwide through continued support of missions.
Conclusion-Call for Commitment
Salvation-talk to the person who brought you come up and talk to me after the service
-interested in learning more about Lifegate, join us for the Basics Class 9/24, sign up w/ me or call the office.
-commit to X’s call as an individual, renew your commitment to fulfilling the Great commandment and the Great commission and pray about How God might have you involved in doing that here at Lifegate. -
-Be here for the next 8 weeks and hear our vision for the future of Lifegate, if you miss a week pick up the tape, partner with us in fulfilling our calling here.
