Who We Are And What We Are About (Part 2)

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Who We Are And What We Are About (Part 2)</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id445.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Who We Are And What We Are About"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id447.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Future of Berean Bible Church"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Who We Are and What We Are About (Part 2)</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, March 28, 2004</B></div> <bR> <div>      St. Francis Episcopal Church, Stamford, Connecticut, is giving Holy Communion to pets and offering them special worship services as part of a new monthly initiative. Not all members are happy with animals attending their services, however. One longtime parishioner complained that his relative had an allergy attack and that allowing dogs at the after-church coffee hour could lead to children being bitten. /    The Wall Street Journal reports some clergy are welcoming animals into the flock because of a fall in church attendance numbers. And some clergy now provide pet-friendly worship services, house calls for sick animals and officiating at pet funerals. Inquiring minds want to know if the animals tithe. It's as though some say, "we aren't reaching people anymore, so lets try reaching animals!"</div> <div>      Some churches would probably more quickly welcome animals and pets than they currently welcome people. The church is for people. Jesus became a man and he died for other people, and our work as a church to share Jesus' love with the people who are around us.</div> <div>      Our mission as a church is to 1) be active, growing, developing followers of Jesus and 2) reach out and invite others to be followers of Jesus Christ. We are motivated by a coming evaluation of our faithfulness, and by the love Christ has poured out on us. Our message is, be reconciled with God. He is not counting your sins against you anymore, if you will believe in Jesus.</div> <div>      We must invite people to Belong, to Grow, and to Serve. Berean is a place to belong (to Christ, to other believers), a place to grow, and a place to serve (make a difference, advance the cause of Jesus Christ).</div> <div> <I>     </I>How can you contribute to the mission of making disciples, as an ambassador of Christ? Here are six ways you can make a difference.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1. Realize that accomplishing the mission is a team effort.</B></div> <div>      Your participation is required, but not yours alone. In evangelism,some people are gifted at reaching outside of their normal web of relationships. If that is not your gift, don't feel bad about that - just do your part, which God has designed you for. We must identify and support those who are gifted in sharing the gospel with unbelievers. If we are concerned about evangelism, but don't have the gift of evangelism, what are we supposed to do? Get involved in a small group, and work together as a small group to reach those you are connected with.</div> <div>      Ephesians 4:11-13 says, "It was he who gave <I>some</I> to be apostles, <I>some</I> to be prophets, <I>some</I> to be evangelists, and <I>some</I> to be pastors and teachers,  to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up , until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." He gave some people certain gifts, and others have other gifts, so that we can all work together to accomplish the work of Jesus Christ on earth.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2. Learn how to share your faith.  </B></div> <div>      Know the facts of the gospel, and what it means to respond and believe (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=1Cor+15:1-11" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>1 Corinthians 15:1-11</U></A>). Be able to tell your story, of what Christ has done for you. Our "getting-involved" process will teach what we believe and how we share it with others, for those who don't know.</div> <div>      Someone wrote in <I>Leadership Journal</I> (Fall 2000): "A missionary (friend) serves in a restricted access country. For many years the government of this country has taught the people that there is no God.  My friend had the opportunity to interact on a regular basis with a nonbeliever of that country who is a highly educated professional. After developing a friendship with the professional, my friend had the opportunity to share the gospel story with him. My friend was taken aback by the man's response: "What you have told me cannot be true. If it were true, it is such good news that someone would have told this to me before."</div> <bR> <div> <B>3. Pray for and look for opportunities to share Jesus among the people you already know. </B></div> <div>      Consider when you first came to Christ - who led you to him? About 90% of time, when someone comes to faith in Christ or they come to church, it is through a relationship they share with a Christian. Sharing Christ happens best in the context of relationships - among the people you already know and spend any time with.</div> <div>      Colossians 4:3 says, "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains."</div> <bR> <div> <B>4. Commit to growing spiritually, because a changed life makes a difference. </B></div> <div>      2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Colossians 1:28-29 says, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." The goal is not just to add people to the family, but to help people become complete or wholly mature in Christ.</div> <div>      Philippians 2:12 says, "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." This last phrase stresses the seriousness with which we pursue spiritual growth.</div> <div>      A growing Christian is one who: Worships wholeheartedly, lives in community, spends time with God through the Word and prayer, believes that which is true, serves Jesus and people, lives by grace, and strives to please God, among other things. We offer good news that is able to transform people's lives, but if it hasn't transformed our lives, we offer the good news in vain.</div> <bR> <div> <B>5. Get connected and contribute to the unity of the church. </B></div> <div>      Read <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Rom+12:9-21" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Romans 12:9-21</U></A> for what this looks like - be devoted to one another in brotherly love.</div> <div>      John 17:23 says, "I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."</div> <div>      Romans 15:7 says, "Accept one another, then, <I>just as Christ</I> accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."</div> <div> Romans 14:20 says, don't destroy the work of God over disagreements about food. Our disunity has the power to destroy our effectiveness as a church in reaching the lost.</div> <bR> <div>      In relation to points 5 and 6, consider these thoughts. Brian McLaren, a pastor in Maryland, wrote an article as a response to the idea that the movie, <I>The Passion of the Christ</I>, is the "greatest outreach opportunity in 2000 years." </div> <div>      He writes, "In [the modern] world, modern American Christians can be trusted to bounce and bound like golden retrievers from one silver-bullet "outreach opportunity" to the next-seeking single source shortcuts to complete our mission, which we hope to finish as soon as possible, I guess so we can all get to heaven so the world and its troubles are left behind™. Maybe it's a boxed set of books and videos, mass rallies, radio/TV/satellites, the Internet, PowerPoint, or seeker services. Or else it's adult contemporary praise music, electing Republicans, or a new booklet or tract. Maybe it's candles! Or a new model (take your pick from traditional-modern, contemporary-modern, or postmodern-modern) for "doing church." Or a new film....</div> <div>      "No doubt, Mel G's film will be powerful and will help many-millions, I hope-for it is a sincere labor of love about the ultimate labor of love. But it's not the greatest outreach opportunity in 2,000 years, at least, not for the emerging culture. I'll tell you what is.</div> <div>      "Actually, I won't, because there isn't one thing. Rather, there are uncountable great outreach opportunities. For example, there are millions of people, precious to God, dying of AIDs. And their orphans too. Do you want the emerging culture to sit up and take notice? Don't show them another movie, however great it is. Show them Christians around the world (starting with those who have been given the most: us) who care and give and love and move to serve.</div> <div>      "There are millions of poor Muslims who see the West as decadent, strident, arrogant, selfish, careless, and pugilistic, and of course, they are right. Can you see how offering them a fine movie could just make things worse? Instead, why don't we show them some Christians (in the West but not of it) who are honest, upright, peacemakers, compassionate, humble, and generous?</div> <div>      "Our world is torn by ethnic, class, and religious hatred. Don't show the emerging culture a movie about Jesus: show them a movement of people living like Jesus-people who like him love the different, even the enemy, whose doors are open and tables are set with welcome."</div> <bR> <div> <B>6. Discover and put to use your spiritual gift (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Rom+12:3-8" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Romans 12:3-8</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      We don't all do the same thing, but we are all on the same team, working toward the same purpose. If you could pick anything you could do that would impact the world on behalf of Jesus Christ, what would it be? What has he put in your heart to do? What has he gifted you to do?</div> <div>      Don't just come for a "spiritual pick-me-up," for spiritual "feel-good" medicine. We are not about the comfort and entertainment of the saints. Get involved in helping others find Christ and growing up in him.</div> <bR> <div>      The church has to be at its best, <U>now more than ever</U>. People need forgiveness and salvation that Jesus offers, families need God's help in order to make, relationships need a new dose of love, we need a sense of purpose and direction for our personal lives to counteract the selfishness with which we live. People need to be rescued by Jesus from a lifetime of painful, foolish choices that wreck their lives and ruin their eternity.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Questions for Thought and Discussion:</B></div> <div> 1. What would it mean in your life right now to please God? What do you need to change in order to be pleasing to God?</div> <div>  </div> <div> 2. Do you know what your spiritual gift is? If not, make it a point this week to ask at least three of your good Christian friends what gift they see in you. Then after you discover your gift, try a ministry that uses that gift. If you do know, are you serving in the area that maximizes the effectiveness of this gift?</div> <div>  </div> <div> 3. Are you committed to growth in your spiritual life? Have you become connected somewhere so you can have accountability with another believer in this area? If not, look into joining a cell or small group.</div> <div>  </div> <div> 4. Is there an area where you are causing disunity in your church? If so, you need to confess it, ask for forgiveness and rectify the situation. Take steps this week to make things right.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2004, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>