Call Me AL - John 1:36
January 7, 2024
start New Year with disclaimer… preached parts of this message before… have two choices… get up and leave… stay and listen again… why would you stay… because of the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve… for example, what did I preach last week…
how many have been at AL less than a year… thank you… we are better with you than without you… here to give Him glory… do everything in His name… pray…
John 14:13-14… “that the Father may be glorified… ask in My Name… I will do…”
1Cor 10:31… “eat or drink… whatever you do… do everything for glory of God…”
1Cor 12:6-7… “spiritual gift given to each person… for the benefit of all…”
Eph 4:11-16… “pastors… equip saints for ministry… whole body promotes growth…”
Phil 2:12-13… “God works in you… to will and act for His good purpose…”
Col 3:12-17… “whatever you do… word or deed… do everything in the Name…”
frequently get asked what’s Abundant Life like… website, YT, FB, APP are good choices… but the easiest, simplest answer is probably to just come and see…
Psa 66:5… “come and see the wonders of God…”
Matt 28:6… “He is not here, He is risen… come and see the place where He lay…”
John 1:46… “can anything good come from Brookings… PJ says, come and see…”
John 4:29… “come and see a Man who told me everything I ever did…”
don’t have to be theologian… simply invite them to experience the goodness and abundance of God’s house for themselves… lots of tools you can use… come and see is one of the best… each of us needs to be prepared to give an answer…
Psa 36:8… “filled with abundance of Your house… drink from refreshing stream…”
Matt 11:28… “come to Me all who are weary… and I will give you rest…”
1Cor 5:4… “when you are assembled in the Name of Jesus… there is power…”
Eph 2:19-22… “you are no longer strangers… you are members of God’s family…”
1Pet 3:15… “be ready to give an answer… about the hope that is within you…”
Purpose
the object toward which one strives or for which something exists; aim or goal… why do we meet… why do we have special events… what’s our main goal…
Rom 1:12… “when we get together… I want to encourage you in your faith… but I also want to be encouraged (present active, continuous, subject performs) by yours…”
Col 4:8… “I have sent him for this purpose… to encourage your hearts…”
1Thess 5:11… “encourage one another… build each other up… as you are doing…”
Heb 10:24-25… “do not neglect meeting together… but encourage one another…”
parakaleo… comfort, instruct, console, strengthen, teach…
The local church is God’s idea. It enables the world to look upon the canvas of God’s people and see an authentic painting of Christ’s love and holiness… not a forgery. Once you choose Christ, you must choose His people too. It’s a package deal. You have to choose the whole family… which you do thru a local church. —Jonathan Leeman
IMHO… pastors who beat the sheep should not be pastors… they are to shepherd the sheep… feed and care… guide and teach… encourage… rightly divide… no gsc…
Acts 20:28… “guard yourselves and the flock… feed and shepherd His church…”
2Tim 3:16… “scripture useful… teach, rebuke, correct, train… in righteousness…”
2Tim 4:2… “preach the Word… correct, rebuke, encourage with great patience…”
Titus 2:15… “teach and encourage… have authority to correct when necessary…”
Vision
declaration of goals… road map to hopes, dreams, plans… doctrines can divide… vision unites… Find Family, Find Jesus, Find Grace… why family first… easier to find Jesus when we’ve already found a family we trust… comes before ministry…
Gen 2… “no helper was found… made woman… became one flesh…”
Psa 68:6… “God places the lonely in families… sets prisoners free… gives joy…”
Psa 133:1… “how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live in unity…”
Prov 17:17 MSG… “families stick together in all kinds of trouble…”
Luke 8:26-39… “freed from demons… go tell your family, tell them about God…”
John 8:35… “a slave is not a member of the family… but a son remains forever…”
after we find family… we can then Find Jesus… Jesus is the center of everything we do at AL… wants to be center of your life as well… how does that happen…
1Cor 2:2… “determined to know nothing among you except Jesus crucified…”
Phil 3:8-11… “everything worthless compared to knowing Him… goal is to know Him…”
Eph 1:17… “pray God would give you Spirit of wisdom… in knowledge of Him…”
Col 1:10… “bear fruit in every good work… thru the knowledge of Him…”
Col 3… “let the message about Christ fill your lives… He is all… and He is in all…”
Heb 12:1-3… “faith depends on Jesus from start to finish…”
2Pet 1:1-3… “everything required for life… is found in the knowledge of Him…”
as we find family and find Jesus… much easier to Find Grace… not sermon series… very person of Christ… law demands from us… grace supplies and empowers us…
Acts 14:26… “entrusted to the grace of God… to do the work…”
Acts 20:32… “commit you to grace… to build you up… give you inheritance…”
Rom 1:5… “receive grace… to bring about the obedience of faith…”
Rom 3:20-26… “all have sinned and fallen short… but justified freely by grace…”
Col 2:6… “as you have received Christ (grace)… continue to walk in Him…”
1Cor 15:10-11… “by grace I am what I am… worked harder than any… by grace…”
Titus 2:11-12… “grace instructs you… to avoid sin… live godly lives…”
Mission
fulfillment of goals… build relationships that encourage each other; while fostering safe, genuine, loving environment; thru teaching and applying grace…
John 15:12-17… “love each other as I have loved you…”
Rom 12… “we are many members… one in Christ… belong to each other…”
2Cor 1:3-7… “comfort others with the same comfort God has given you…”
Gal 6:1-10… “restore others… share their burdens… work for the good of all…”
3John 4… “I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in truth…”
1Pet 4:8-11… “love each other deeply… share your home… use your gifts…”
scared world needs fearless church… more power together than alone… pray…
Eccl 4:9-12… “two are better than one… cord of three strands not easily broken…”
Acts 2:42-47… “teaching, fellowship, meals, prayer, sharing, worship… together…”
Acts 4:31… “when they prayed… all filled with HS… spoke word boldly…”
Acts 9:31… “church had peace… was strengthened… encouraged by HS… grew…”