Our Alliance is Christ-Centered

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1 Sermon Series: Fall Vision Refresh 2015 Song of Songs Colossians 1:15-18; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-18 We re Part of An Alliance Pastor Sam Parsons: August 16th, 2015 Big Idea: We are part of a Christ-Centered, Acts 1:8 family! 1 Welcome to week two of our Fall Vision Refresh Series. This is the time of year where I invite you to hit pause for a moment in the journey we call church and lift your eyes to be refreshed and revived in the unmatched, invaluable, divine beauty of the Church and our part in it. Each year this series seeks to revisit who we are as the church and why we do what we do week in and week out, year after year. So many of you are dedicated in season and out of season to keep your head down and heart to the task. But, every now and then it is super important to pause and take stock once again in why we are going to all the time, work, and financial investment. Last week I started our series by sharing with you that I have been captured by a phrase from Jesus when he said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18) It is hugely reassuring to know that we are part of a movement that Jesus started, that Jesus owns as his, and that Jesus commits to building with his power and authority. And as bad and threatening as things look in our world, no force will be able to prevail over Jesus and his church. That is the church we are all invited into and called to use our gifts and abilities to advance. I d like to thank Mark Monroe who did a courageous job speaking out from the perspective of one who had been shaped his entire life by the ministries of this church. This week I want to let you know or remind you that our church here in these foothills is part of a much bigger alliance. We are part of global movement of churches called the The Alliance the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Today I want to spend our time helping you acquainted or reacquainted with this Alliance we are a part of. The first thing I want you to know is that the Alliance we re part of is Christcentered. Turn in your Bibles to Colossians 1:15-18

2 2 Colossians 1:15-18 says, The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Our Alliance is Christ-Centered The Alliance we are a part of starts with Jesus. He is the source of our love. He is the cause of our worship. And he is the core of our message. Sometimes, if we re not careful, we can get confused about what Church is really about. In extreme cases we might begin to think that church is really about me, and my needs. The Alliance we are a part is 100% centered on Jesus. It s all about him. It starts with him and it ends with him. He is the source of our love. He is the cause of our worship. And he is the core of our message. He started his church to bring his love and message to the world. That s our core calling!! Our leadership is committed to keeping Jesus and his message central here in our church. It s so easy to get distracted or impassioned about things that might be related to Jesus or his message in one-way or another, but we cannot let it dilute our calling as his church. One classic example of this might be when churches become more politically-centered, rather than Christ-centered. Now, please hear my heart on this. There have been times when I ve addressed certain political or legislative issues from the pulpit, spoken about candidates in an upcoming election, or asked you to consider signing a petition. These are times when the Elder team and I have judged that the issues in view directly contradict Biblical teaching or our Biblically informed values. The challenge is that in our world today, depending on your opinion on the matter, there are so many causes or political issues that offend or marginally offend our Biblical conscience. They are all important in one way or another. We could feature one of them every week at church or build entire programs around political protest. However, we ve tried to be very selective in what we bring before you or invite you to respond to

3 3 because we don t want you to be called to sign a petition or boycott some other corporation every time you come to church. It s so easy to obsess about these things and let them consume us as a church. So, I ll ask you for an umbrella of grace in those instances when we ve had to say No to your request to emphasize an issue, or promote a petition. But, our heart in the matter is that Church of the Foothills would remain Christ-centered in all we do. Personally, while I understand there are times where both are necessary, I much prefer to promote what we re FOR rather than feature what we are against. The Alliance we are a part of is Christ-Centered and we are committed to keeping our church Christ-centered as well. The second thing I want you to know about the Alliance we are a part of is that it is an Acts 1:8 Alliance. Turn in your Bibles to Acts 1:8 and I ll Our Alliance is an Acts 1:8 movement Acts 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. To be an Acts 1:8 Alliance means we are filled with, yielded to, and empowered by the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in our lives together as the church. Jesus was clear with his early followers. Don t you even think about going out and trying to go out and being the church in the world until you have been filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember the phrase I said has been capturing me in this series? Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, I will build. There s a sobering question. If the Holy Spirit left your church, would you notice? I believe we would. We recognize that nothing meaningful happens in your life or in the church without the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit being free and welcomed People can t experience God in worship. People can t see and admit their sin Confession will not happen Forgiveness will be given a chance Hearts cannot be changed Marriages cannot be healed Hurts, habits, and hang-ups cannot be overcome

4 4 But, as Jesus says in Acts 1:8, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you Look at the verses again With the Holy Spirit being present and appropriated, being an Acts 1:8 Alliance means we are called to bring the love and news of Jesus to: 1. Our Jerusalem (neighborhoods) 2. Our Judea (Foothills Region) (Those people who are like us) 3. Our Samaria (Those people who are different than us) 4. AND to the ends of the earth (The genius of the AND) In other words, as a Church that s part of an Acts 1:8 Alliance, we rely on the Holy Spirit as we seek to fulfill our calling to every segment of society. Now, One final piece I want you to know about our Alliance. It is a family. The Alliance we are part of is a Christ-Centered, Acts 1:8 Family! Our Alliance is a family In other words, we are at our best when we do all of this together serving in a local church and among a community of local churches. The Alliance will fulfill our God-appointed role more powerfully and effectively if we work together rather than independently. The New Testament writers make it clear church is to be done in community. All ministry is for team! To be at our best, we must do this together. This is why Paul uses the illustration of the human body in 1 Corinthians 12. He writes, 12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ [THAT IS A REFERENCE TO THE CHURCH]. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand, that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, I am not part of the body because I am

5 5 not an eye, would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. You see as believers together we are a body we are a community we are a family that is called to bring our combined unique gifts, talents, and abilities to the effort to advance his message. I whole-heartedly agree with Dr. John Stumbo, the President of our Alliance when he said, The Alliance is one of God s end-times families that he has raised up to complete the great commission. This is the Alliance we are a part of. It is a Christ-Centered, Acts 1:8 family. And this Christ-Centered, Acts 1:8 family has four key objectives to answer God s call. In the time we have remaining I want to review them with you. The Alliance we are a part of calls us to help fulfill four main objectives: 1. We will love! When you boil the calling of Christ on our lives down to it s very essence it s really all about Love. As the Church Jesus has called us provide the single most needed resource in our world today the love of Jesus. Love simply must motivate, fuel, and characterize all that we do. In Matthew 22 Jesus said the two most important, most critical, most powerful laws of life are number 1 Love God with everything you got. And 2 Love others with everything you got. Love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love others like you love yourself. Sometimes love is nice and neighborly. But sometimes love has to be tough. The truly loving thing might not feel that way at first. We have to be wise and loving. We have to lean into the Holy Spirit to show us what it means to love well in different situations. Do the people of our community see us as a loving people? How are you helping to build that loving reputation in your neighborhood?

6 6 Not only is the Alliance we re part of committed to being loving, it is committed to proclaiming the transforming message of Jesus. 2. We will proclaim! As participants in this Alliance are called to proclaim God s message in word and deed. The Bible is our text. That s our message. We ll get more into this in two weeks when we talk about our four core values. But for now I want you to know that the Alliance we are part of is committed to the Word of God as our fundamental rule and guide for life. And we are committed to proclaiming it s message until our last breath. The Alliance will love, the Alliance will proclaim, and third objective: We will reach. 3. We will reach! As we have already seen this morning, Acts 1:8 makes it clear that Christ s followers in the church are called to reach all people Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. But, this past May Dr. John Stumbo, the President of The Alliance, wanted us to know that in this present season the Alliance is sensing a special prompting to emphasize our reach to three special groups of people. People on the move The world s population is shifting and in these days nations are now coming to our neighborhoods. Going forward how can our church fully participate in this unprecedented opportunity to reach the utter most parts of the world for Christ right in our own foothill region? People of all ages particularly children, the disabled, the senior adult. The Alliance feels a special calling to these sometimes overlooked peoples in our culture. People lacking access These are people who lack access to the message of the gospel around the world. Currently there are 4,075 completely unreached people groups. These folks do not have any spoken or written testimony of Jesus language. The Alliance is committed to a continued focus on reaching these unreached peoples.

7 7 I want to invite you to begin praying for these unreached peoples. Today on your way out, I ve asked the ushers to give each of you, or each household, a small prayer reminder card that will remind you to pray for unreached people groups in various sections of the world. Over the next several months I will give you a different card with people groups listed on it from different segments of the world and invite you to pray for them. Because our church is part of an Alliance that is committed to reaching these unreached people groups. The fourth and final objective is: The Alliance will launch. 4. We will launch! The Alliance is focused on launching new waves of godly, Holy-Spiritgifted people as God s servants evangelizing, teaching, church planting, generously giving, boldly praying, and joyfully creating. As a church participating in this Alliance, we will want to keep up the effort to open as many avenues and reduce as many hindrances as possible for service and using our gifts, talents, abilities, and passions. The abbreviated summary of this information about The Alliance I m sharing with you today is captured in the together brochure you received on your way in this morning. Take a quick look at that with me. The web address to learn more about The Alliance and what they are doing around the world is on the back. There are a number of helpful devotional and educational resources for you there on the website, as well. On one of the flaps there are some overall stats about the Alliance s worldwide work. Also, the social media sources are listed there as well so you can connect, engage, and stay updated in a way that works best for you. I hope you can come back next week because I want to show you how our specific local purpose and ministries are informed by and aligned with the objectives of the Alliance. Church of the Foothills 2015