In 1994, James Collins and Jerry Porras wrote the book Built to Last, which examines the deep reasons behind American long-term corporate success stories. One of the things that Porras and Collins found is that companies are successful over the longhaul because they are clear on their purpose. They understand why they exist. Because they understand their purpose, they are not driven by the latest fad or trend in the business world. I think we can apply this principal to life here at North Pointe. If we are going to survive over the long-haul, we need to be clear why we exist. We need to know why God has called us as a body of believers. This morning, as we look to the New Year, I d like to take a few minutes to consider the question, Why do we exist? If you have a Bible would you turn to Ezekiel 37:1-14? For we will look art these verses and try and answer the question, Why do we as North Pointe Community Church exist? To begin answering our question, let s look at God s working in the life of the prophet Ezekiel. As we turn to our passage, we need to remember what Ezekiel has experienced. He has lived through Israel s rebellion against God. In a vision he witnessed the leaders of Israel worshipping false gods right in the temple. Then, in a subsequent vision, Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord depart from the temple. Not long after, Ezekiel and the nation witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by invading armies. On a personal note, Ezekiel has suffered the loss of his wife. Ezekiel has many reasons to be discouraged. In the midst of these circumstances, in verses 1 and 2, God comes to Ezekiel again. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among then round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo they were very dry. Please note, there are very dry bones. That is another way of saying that these are very dead bones. When I was a kid, we would often save the wishbone from a chicken. Just for fun, two of us would pull on it to see who got the bigger piece. Obviously, the chicken and its bones were already dead at the time of our meal, but before pulling on it, we d let it dry out a few more days. We wanted a real dry wishbone so we could get a good, clean break. In the same way, these bones in our passage are really, really dry, which is to say they are really, really dead. In the midst of these really, really dead bones, God asks Ezekiel a question, Son of man, can these bones live? Considering the circumstances, this is a tough question. Theologically, we know the right answer is Yes, Lord, by all means, these bones can live. Practically, it is a little tougher for Ezekiel. He is looking at some dry, dry bones. So, in one of the great dodges of all time, Ezekiel says, O Lord God, You know. Ezekiel does not want to doubt God, but I think he is having trouble believing that the bones can live again. So, he puts it back on God. O Lord God, You know. Ezekiel s answer is good enough for God, because starting in verse 4, He commands Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones. Ezekiel say to them O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. We see Ezekiel s words to the bones in verses 5 and 6. Thus says the lord God to these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews back on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin
and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord. And so Ezekiel is obedient to the Lord and as we see in verses 7 through 10, the bones come back to life. God gives the interpretation of the vision in verses 11 through 14. Several weeks ago, I sat listening to the Huskers play Washington for the national championship in volleyball. When it reached match point, with the Huskers down 2 games to none, I thought this would be a comeback for the ages, if they could pull this match out. As bad as the Huskers were down at that point, God s people are in a far worse situation. Their land has been destroyed. Many of them have been killed. A high percentage of the survivors have been shipped off to foreign lands. From a human perspective God s people are dead, gone history, no mas. But God is not limited by human perspective. And so he says, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold they say, Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the LORD God, Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will being you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord have spoken and done it declares the Lord. God says, I will bring life to this hopeless situation. This is the God we serve, able to bring life in the darkest of circumstances. And this is the reason we exist. God brings life. And we want to share that message To any who will listen, we want to say, No matter, what your circumstances, God can give you life and hope. Why do we exist? We exist to share the message that the Spirit of God breathes life into anyone that believes in Jesus. We exist to share the message that the Spirit of God breathes life into anyone that believes in Jesus. Many of you know the experience of Ezekiel 37. You faced seemingly hopeless circumstances and, via your faith in Jesus Christ, God brought you life. Amy Trout has agreed to share her testimony of how God brought her life after a painful childhood and in the midst of overwhelming personal circumstances. Let s hear how God has worked in Amy s life. Amy s testimony As in the case of the nation of Israel, as in the case of Amy Trout, we still believe God is at work. We still believe He changes lives. We still believe He brings life and hope to any who would follow Him, regardless of circumstances. And what is the reason for this life change? We see it in verses 6, 13 and 14, and you will know that I am the Lord. We believe that changed lives, like the life of Israel and the life of Amy Trout, glorify God. That is why we exist. That is why North Pointe Community Church was planted last fall. We exist to share the message that The Spirit of God breathes life into anyone who believes in Jesus so that God might be glorified through the changed life.
There are some key components in God bringing about life-change that we might glorify Him. We call these key components our 7 core values. Let s consider how we have done in each of these during 2005 and where we would like to be at the end of 2006. To assist you in following the explanation of our seven core values, you will find a bookmark in your bulletin that has them listed. The first core value is Outreach Introducing those next door and around the world to the Savior. In 2005, most of you had a part in planting this North Pointe Community Church for the purpose of building relationships and reaching the folks in north Lincoln. We praise God for your joining us on this journey. To supplement your personal contacts to the households in this area, we sent out over 7,000 invitations in both August and December to invite others to join us for worship. For 2006, we want to continue to reach out and build relationships with a neighbor, a person at work or a friend and invite them to join us on the journey, as we seek God- Together. 2. Worship Exalting God together. In 2005, you have heard us say that Worship is the one of our 3 key environments. During this past quarter, Andy completed the teaching of First John, we began monthly communions, had our first baby dedication ceremony and have averaged 300 in attendance at the 10:30 worship hour and child care time. For 2006, beginning next Sunday, Andy will start our study of First Peter, and then follow with Second Peter, then James. We will structure our worship to provide an environment where you meet God on a cognitive and emotional level. 3. Instruction - Studying to know, understand and obey God s truth. In 2005, we have taught and modeled that our instruction should be a systematic study of the Bible, both in our worship service and in our adult sermon application time. The sermon audio and transcripts are posted on our website along with questions to encourage our congregation to study the bible on their own. For 2006, we will continue the same emphasis; and, also add a new Discovery Class, which starts January 22 nd. It will teach the purpose, core values and beliefs of North Pointe Community Church, as well as explaining the membership process. 4. Community Sharing our lives with one another.
In 2005, we intentionally planned pot luck gatherings because we think relationships and sharing time together is highly important. We set up super group meetings to help facilitate the visiting time with others and form the basis for starting new Life Groups. For 2006, we want to live out what we saw in First John, that to live in authentic community is a critical component of spiritual growth. Therefore, we will continue to emphasize participation in Life Groups. We want to expand our groups from the current 15 to 25 or more. Life Groups are the 2 nd key environment we want everyone to be involved with. 5. Prayer Acknowledging our dependence on Him to accomplish the purpose. In 2005, we have taught prayer to be a part of our daily lives, and in our Life Groups, not just on Sunday or at meal time. For 2006, we are leading the Life Group Leaders in a study on Victorious Praying so that they may have that resource for members of their own groups. 6. Service Using our time and talent to serve the church and others. In 2005, we have been blessed with many willing people who already serve as teachers, greeters, ushers, musicians and the list goes on and on. However, we need many more than this number to spread the workload and alternate jobs on weekends. For 2006, we certainly see service in the body as a high priority. We want to expand our vision of service to include service opportunities out of our body. This past month, we were able to donate books to the learning center at North Star High School, as well as help with the needs of school children from a family who lost everything in a fire. We will seek opportunities to serve the community with our time and our talent. Therefore, we will teach about discovering where to serve in our new Discovery Class. Service is our 3 rd environment that we desire everyone to be a part of. 7. Stewardship Managing what we have for maximum investment in God s kingdom. In 2005, we have been especially pleased with the way that our congregation has invested their treasure and income in God s work. Our budget for this first year of ministry is approximately $5,200 per week. The average giving has been $4,700 per week. For 2006, our prayer is for income to surpass expenses soon for several reasons. First, we want to be able to fund our growth and we think God will continue to grow us. Second, we need to acquire some vacant land; and, if God provides that land, we need to be in a position to purchase it and make plans for a new church building.
Why do we exist? We exist to share the message that the Spirit of God breathes life into anyone that believes in Jesus; and, we believe these 7 core values give us specific ways to share that message.