4 Marks of a Healthy Church

Transcription

1 Blake Jennings Grace Bible Church Suthwd 4 Marks f a Healthy Church 1 Crinthians 16 What des a healthy church lk like? D yu knw what yu shuld be lking fr? D yu knw hw yu can participate in building a healthy church? Healthy churches, and healthy Christians, dn't happen by accident. They becme healthy by intentinally pursuing the few things that really matter. Turn t 1 Crinthians 16 I hate shpping fr fruits and vegetables I can never tell if they re gd r nt! - I knw there s all these little rules - Watermeln knck n it & listen fr hllw sund all sund same t me! - Avcad firm but nt t firm s subjective! hw d I knw what s firm enugh? - Dn t even get me started n cantalupe! Just thrw ne in the cart and hpe Julie will frgive me when it turns ut t be rtten! It s frustrating when yu can t read the signs t tell whether smething s gd r nt. - Fr fruit and vegetables nt a big deal wn t cst yu that much But what abut when it s a church? - Mst f yu will leave us in the nt t distant future - Sad but reality in a cllege twn students, faculty, staff always mving n At sme pint yu ll mve and have t find a new church. S hw d yu find a gd ne? - What are the marks f a healthy church? What shuld yu be lking fr? And while yu re still here, what d yu need t d t make this church a healthy church? - Is Grace Bible Church healthy? Hw can we make it mre healthy? Bible gives us many characteristics f healthy churches we dn t have time t lk at them all But we can lk at the fur that Paul mentins in chapter 16 He gives us 4 marks f a healthy church - This is what yu want t lk fr in any church yu attend - And this is what we all need t be ding t make this church even healthier Healthy Churches 1) Give t the needy - read 16:1-4 - Explain backgrund Read Acts 11:27-30 Famine hit Rman Empire starting arund 41 AD Began in Italy and grew wrse as it mved east t Israel Really bad in AD left inhabitants f Jerusalem impverished fr years If yu were a pr nn-christian Jew gt help frm ther Jews

2 But if yu were a pr Christian Jew n Jew wuld help yu stracized frm Temple and cut ff frm their peple church in Jerusalem desperately needed help frm ther churches - S Paul made it persnal missin t raise mney frm wealthier Gentile churches - Idea f giving charity t pr peple is nt new t us but it was new t them In Grec-Rman wrld: nly gave mney t smene if it culd benefit yu bring yu praise r lyalty r sme future favr Plutarch, 1 st Century Greek histrian Rulers shuld shw philanthrpy t their friends and the friends shuld shwer them with lve and hnr. Charity was always fr the purpse f persnal gain But Paul was asking them t give t peple they d never met lived far away culd never pay them back in any way That idea f sacrificial charity was a ttally new idea in Paul s day unprecedented And yet it is the first mark he gives f a healthy church - Healthy churches give t thse in need - They give Regularly v2 - n the first day f every week Charity shuld be a habit nt just at end f year a nrmal part f yur life Universally v2 - each ne f yu Nt just thse with the spiritual gift f giving All f us withut exceptin includes thse wh are wealthy AND thse wh aren t Prprtinally v2 - as he may prsper = give prprtinal t hw Gd has blessed yu. Turn t 2 Cr 8 Often when we think f charity: think tithing giving 10% - that was Old Testament New Testament des nt give any particular % - varies based n ability t give Fr sme f us it s just a few bucks sme are pr, in a lt f debt Yu can t give much but yu still must give smething Read 2 Cr 8:1-4 The Macednian church was desperately pr But they recgnized that pverty is nt an excuse fr nt giving There s always smene prer than yu wh yu can help Pverty means yu can t give much but yu still must give On the ther hand sme f us can give much mre than 10% Sme f yu are very wealth have much t share with the needy Thse wh have much are t give much Generusly Gd wants us t give sacrificially t thse in need nt just ut f ur surplus after we ve bught everything we want we need t give t the pr till it hurts CS Lewis I d nt believe ne can settle hw much we ught t give. I am afraid the nly safe rule is t give mre than we can spare. That s hw the Macednian church gave they gave beynd their ability

3 Jhn the Baptist Luke 3 persn with 2 tunics must share with persn wh has nne Guy isn t rich!! Just has 1 fr tday, 1 fr tm. must give 1 away That s sacrificial giving nt 10% - it s 50%!! I knw yu ve wrked hard fr yur mney; sacrificed; saved; invested Yu ve built yur wealth - it s hard t part with And yet Paul says t thse wh are rich 1 Tim 6:18 Instruct thse wh are rich in this present wrld t d gd, t be rich in gd wrks, t be generus and ready t share Be generus be extravagant twards thse in need I want yu t knw we re nt ging t twist yur arm t give mre That s nt hw Gd wants this t wrk Genersity that s frced is nt genersity Gd wants us t give Jyfully Nt ut f cmpulsin r guilt r peer pressure Why Paul desn t want a cllectin taken in 1 Cr 16 that wuld create cmpulsin, peer-pressure Gd wants ur charity t be a persnal, private decisin we make A decisin mtivated by jy, nt guilt! Yu see, it really is better t give than t receive that s nt just a cliché we tell ur children it s true! there s a jy that cmes frm giving that s better than any temprary gratificatin yu get frm buying a new pssessin 2 Cr 9:7 Dn t give ut f guilt r pressure - give ut f jy Jy because it pleases Gd when we give Jy because Gd first gave t us the gift f His Sn Jy because Gd has s richly blessed us - But wh exactly shuld we give ur mney t a few pprtunities: Give t smene yu knw wh is in need Family, friend, neighbr, c-wrker Best ptin because Gd has placed that persn in yur life yur respnsibility Give t ur Peple in Need fund Peple wh g t Grace wh have significant financial needs The deacns help identify specific needs and distribute funds wisely Give t Breakaway s Shalm Prject Prvides fr Christians in Middle East & Africa wh are suffering fr their faith. That s exactly what Paul is talking abut in chapter 16 perfect fit G t the Breakaway website, click SHALOM Prject and give. Give t ne f the excellent charities in BECAUSES here are sme we partner with Cntact the church ffice fr details n giving t any f these rganizatins - Brazs Church Fd Pantry - Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach - Hpe Pregnancy Center - SOS Ministries - The Bridge Ministries Or g t website, click serve, all are listed under partner rganizatins

4 2) Supprt their leaders - Healthy churches hnr and care fr their elders and deacns, pastrs, and missinaries - Let me take each f thse three grups in turn - 1. Healthy churches hnr their elders and deacns I believe that s the pint f v15-18 read v15-18 It wuld appear that these 3 men were leaders in the Crinthian church Stephanus and family were sme f the first Christians in Greece dedicated himself t ministering t the Crinthian church Stephanus tk the ther men t visit Paul and help Nw they were back t deliver his letter S they re leaders similar t the elders and deacns in ur church v16 - be in subjectin t such men submit; fllw them v18 acknwledge such men recgnize their service; hnr them Similarly, Paul says in 1 Thess 5:12-13a But we request f yu, brethren, that yu appreciate thse wh diligently labr amng yu, and have charge ver yu in the Lrd and give yu instructin, and that yu esteem them very highly in lve because f their wrk T be an elder r a deacn at Grace is a high calling nt fr the faint f heart! I m nt ne but I get t watch them serve us and lead us They serve sacrificially dn t get paid like I d These are great men! S when yu see them say Thank yu! Deacns: easy t spt gld-clred name tags help yu find yur seat Elders: we have ne elder bard at Grace 5 elders wh attend Suthwd Get t knw these men and wmen and thank them fr their service The hurs are lng and the pay is nthing!! - 2. Healthy churches supprt their pastrs and staff Turn t chapter 9 abut a church s respnsibilities t it s pastrs and staff This is always a little uncmfrtable fr me s I ll just let Paul d the talking Read 9:7-14 It is Gd s will that churches hire men and wmen t teach and lead as a prfessin the church prvides a salary s they can spend their time studying the Wrd, sharing the Gspel, equipping the saints, caring fr the weak That s exactly what yu all have dne I want t say, Thank yu! Yu ve prvided s faithfully fr all the staff we re s blessed by yu! Even during financial crisis didn t have t lay ff anyne r reduce salaries What I wuld ask yu t d mre f is pray fr us Pray fr all the leaders f the church: elders, deacns, small grup leaders Fr staff: please pray fr ur families prtectin frm attach & temptatin Pray fr ur spiritual health getting paid t serve the Lrd is bth a blessing and a curse pray that Gd wuld prtect ur hearts and nt let this ever becme just a means t a paycheck - 3. Healthy churches care fr their missinaries Paul & Timthy were missinaries f Crinthian church planting ther churches Here s hw Paul challenges them t care fr missinaries read 16:5-6,10-11 verb send repeated v6, 11 send used in the New Testament fr sending departing travelers n their way includes mney, supplies, cmpanins, and anything else needed

5 Healthy churches send missinaries Identify and equip thse called int missins Send them nt the field well-supplied Pray, fund, and visit them while they re n the field Care, encurage, huse them when they re back S hw can yu care fr a missinary? If yu knw a missinary persnally Help financially supprt them Ask them hw yu can pray fr them When they re back: hst them, feed them, bless them If yu dn t knw a missinary but are in a Grace small grup cllege r adult Bible study, hme church, Sunday mrning grup yu already have a missinary! talk t yur grup leader t find ut hw yu can help If yu re nt in a Grace small grup glbalutreach we ll help yu find a missinary in a part f the wrld yu lve 3) Hld t the Essentials - Ocean wading ut int the surf till it s up t yur chest hard t stand still! always pushing yu ne way r anther have t fight it wears yu ut I sleep better and eat mre at the beach than anywhere else wrn ut fighting the current and the waves all day Hard t stay in ne place when the waves are cnstantly pushing against yu - Why s many churches have chsen t cmprmise the essential truths f ur faith Evangelical Christianity is nt ppular in ur wrld there s many f us but we re still a very small minrity the general currents f ur culture are nt in ur favr they find many f the things we believe t be ffensive S many churches have surrendered sme f the hard teachings f Christianity sin, hell, sexuality, marriage, miracles either deny thse truths r just never talk abut them When pressure cmes, they bw t it - That s nt what healthy churches d... Read v13 - Healthy churches expect t be attacked They re n the alert ready fr ppsitin Understand that yu can t preach Jesus t a wrld that crucified Jesus and nt expect ppsitin! - And when it cmes they stand firm in the faith They re strng - they d nt bend t the pressures f the wrld wuld rather face persecutin than surrender the truths they ve been taught read 2 Thess 2:15 S then, brethren, stand firm and hld t the traditins which yu were taught, whether by wrd f muth r by letter frm us. - Of thse traditins we must hld, #1 n the list is the Gspel We talked abut that last week read 1 Cr 15:1 If yu re at a church that desn t teach that gspel yu need t leave - Other essential truths we must hld t Trinity, inerrancy and authrity f Gd s Wrd, the reality f sin, the hpe f heaven - We can t cmprmise n these any church that des has ceased t be healthy

6 4) Lve ne anther - read 1 Cr 16:14 let all things be dne in lve - In healthy churches peple genuinely lve ne anther - Clarify ur definitin biblical lve is nt an emtin r feeling yu have twards thers it s a chice yu make t put their needs abve yur wn Biblical lve is sacrificial lve - That kind f lve that marks us as Jesus fllwers Jhn 13:34-35 A new cmmandment I give t yu, that yu lve ne anther, even as I have lved yu, that yu als lve ne anther. By this all men will knw that yu are My disciples, if yu have lve fr ne anther. - When yu visit a church ask yurself, Is this a family that really lves each ther? If peple are just there t be entertained, lk gd, make themselves feel gd nt the church yu want t attend When I was in DC I tried a bunch f churches many gd nes but I chse ne that felt kind f like a family smaller, nt as hip, fewer ptins but they cared abut each ther saw recently n Facebk that a tragedy struck a family in the church they drpped everything t care fr that family cared s well fr smene wh was hurting that s the kind f church yu want t attend a church that lves well - And as lng as yu re here: yu can help us be that kind f church Ask yurself Am I ding all things in lve twards my brthers and sisters? Are yu praying fr these peple? Are yu serving them, encuraging them? - That s hard t d if yu dn t knw ther peple here at Grace Best way t fix that is t jin a small grup Sunday Mrning Grup sme at 9:15, thers at 11 Hme Church students and families meeting in hmes Bible Studies we have lts f ptins Yu can find ut abut all f these n website r at infrmatin desk - The best place t practice the lve f Gd is in a small grup cmmunity where yu can knw thers and be knwn by thers - Get plugged in fr as lng as yu have at Grace And when yu d leave lk fr these 4 things - that s the kind f church yu want t belng t - that s the kind f church yu want t build S please help us becme a healthier church by practicing these fur disciplines