Archive for the ‘The Church’ Category
The Method: Missionaries

Audio – Part A: 23 min
Audio – Part B: 21 min
Audio – Full message:
Bible Verses: Acts 13:1-3, Acts 14:8-28
Introduction:
God sent out some of the first missionaries through His Church. These missionaries were committed to following Jesus wherever He led them, even if that meant facing opposition to and suffering for the gospel message they proclaimed. God used these missionaries not only to bring others into His family but also to strengthen and encourage the church itself as they saw God at work.
Theological Theme:
God’s kingdom expands through mission to the unreached.
Christ Connection:
Jesus told His disciples that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. This image helps us see God’s people as “on offense,” taking the powerful and good news of Jesus to places of deep spiritual darkness with full confidence that Jesus will build His church.
Missional Application:
God-Father-Son-and-Spirit calls His Church to send and support missionaries to those who have never heard the gospel.
Photo Compliments YouTube
The Messenger – Converted and Called!

Audio – Part A: 25 min
Audio – Part B: 24 min
Audio – Full message:
Bible Verses: Acts 9: 1-25
Introduction:
“The most meaningful changes in life are the ones that move us closer to fulfilling our God-given purpose—starting with being converted as new followers of Christ. We don’t change and grow to be better people with better lives with the goal of feeling better about who we are. We grow to become faithful Christ-followers sent by the God who sends.
Saul, later known as Paul, collided with God on the road to Damascus. More precisely, it was “the God who sends” who collided with Paul, and this Pharisee’s life was never the same. Paul’s story reminds us how God can transform even the hardest of hearts and what it looks like to become a converted, called messenger of the God who sends us on mission with His Son.”
Theological Theme:
Conversion to Christ comes with a calling to ministry with God [Father, Son and Holy Spirit]
Christ Connection:
The conversion and calling of Saul, later Paul, is a demonstration of God’s power to save. Through an encounter with the crucified and risen Jesus, this once-hardened persecutor of God’s people began his journey to becoming the greatest missionary the world has ever known. Only the gospel can transform a public opponent of Christ into a fervent witness to His salvation.
Missional Application:
God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to pray with full confidence that God can transform even the hardest heart.
Photo Compliments YouTube
On Mission With Jesus Wherever You Are!

Audio – Part A: 29min
Audio – Part B: 33min
Audio – Full Message:
Bible Verses: 1Peter 4:1-11 Matthew 28:18-20 Acts 18 Acts 20 Ephesians 4: 23 and 24 Romans 12: 2 Philippians 2: 5-9 Romans 10: 13 -14 John 6: 63
INTRODUCTION:
“What does life in the Holy Spirit look like? In the most comprehensive sense, it looks like conformity to Christ—mirroring in our lives the kind of relationships he had with the Father, the Spirit, and with others. That life is often summarized in Scripture as receptivity of and positive response to the revelation and reconciliation achieved by Jesus Christ. Those responses are often summed up by the biblical words repentance and belief (or faith). It can also be summarized as having faith, hope, and love for God because of and through Jesus Christ.
Most particularly, life in the Spirit of Christ looks like a joyful, free “obedience of faith” in God through Christ that works itself out in following the many commands, imperatives, and exhortations and correctives addressed to the church found throughout the New Testament. It involves a deliberate and purposeful participation in ministry as worship and witness that follows the patterns and priorities set out in the New Testament as enabled and gifted by the Holy Spirit. We can summarize all this under the heading of the Great Commandments of love for God (with all we are and have) and love for our neighbors (as God’s representatives).” – Clarifying Our Theological Vision, by Gary Deddo
“Only in living with Jesus by The Spirit that we are able to go and make and teach. That is the only way we can do the work that Jesus has called us to do.
The only way we can fulfill the mission that Jesus Christ has called us to is to live that life with Jesus, by The Spirit so that His purposes and His plans can be made known to those who don’t know Him.
As we live in The Spirit, on mission with Jesus Christ:
- We are called to recognize the pre-eminence of Jesus as our source for everything and emulate Him.
- We have to live a transformed life by putting off the old.
- We put on a NEW LIFE that is found in Jesus Christ. “
-Pastor Richard Andrews
THEOLOGICAL THEME:
All the Father-Son-and-Spirit-God’s people are called to live on mission wherever He has placed them.
CHRIST CONNECTION:
On his second and third missionary journeys, the apostle Paul saw whatever situation he was in as an opportunity for spreading the gospel and strengthening the church. His way of life reflected the selflessness and grace of Jesus, who taught us to tell the truth, help the weak, and give generously as an act of worship. Paul’s endurance was a testimony to the supreme worth of Jesus Christ, the One who called him.
MISSIONAL APPLICATION:
God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to see our earthly circumstances as opportunities to spread the gospel and strengthen the church.
CONCLUSION:
“Your primary calling is not your career, occupation, or family. You have the same primary calling as the missionary who is leading people to Christ in central China, the janitor in your neighborhood school who walks the halls and prays for the students, the pastor in rural Kentucky who is preparing a sermon, and the investment banker on Wall Street who is struggling to figure out how his faith meshes with his morals. If you are a follower of Christ, your primary calling is to be on God’s mission proclaiming the gospel to those far from God and strengthening those around you. Let us answer that call in faith and share the good news about Jesus, our Savior, and Lord.”
Photo Compliments: https://www.penbaypilot.com/
The Converts: All Kinds of People!

Audio – Full Message: 37min
Bible Verses: Acts 16
Romans 3: 23 John 10: 10 John 3: 16 -17 1Cor 15: 22 Matt 18: 14 1Tim 1: 15 Romans 3: 9
“It’s important that we be ready and willing to share the gospel with anyone around us at anytime. The gospel crosses over all divisions and barriers that man has established—culture, ethnicity, socio-economics, politics, and more—and so should our love and compassion. So build relationships with your lost neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family. Live out the gospel before them. Embody the gospel sent to them. And pray for an opportunity to share the gospel with them—to preach the same message that Paul preached and that we all need: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”
THEOLOGICAL THEME:
God [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] uses different methods to reach different
kinds of people.
“The Lord is the one who graciously opens hearts to repent and believe the gospel. Because God is powerful and does this, it encourages us to pray for those who do not
yet believe.” –Justin S. Holcomb
CHRIST CONNECTION:
The gospel reaches different people in different ways. In Philippi, Paul and Silas saw converts from different social and economic backgrounds come to faith through their witness and testimony. Their message was the same for all: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”
“When a person places faith in Christ, that person undergoes a fundamental change of identity. He or she goes from being an enemy under God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3) tbeing welcomed into God’s family as a beloved child (Eph. 2:19). The believer in Christ is declared righteous on account of Christ’s perfect life and substitutionary death and resurrection. No longer is the person a slave to sin, defined by past failures or present struggles. The person has been delivered from the realm of darkness and now belongs to the kingdom of light (Col.1:13). Anyone who is in Christ is a “new creation” in whom the old, sinful self is passed away and the new, redeemed self is alive and progressing, becoming more and more like Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).”
MISSIONAL APPLICATION:
God. through His Holy Spirit, calls us to be faithful to deliver His message to all kinds of people, using a variety of methods.
“God often works through adversity and closed doors…..He may have a plan and a purpose for you to reach somebody and all of a sudden you may find your life taking a different direction.” – Pastor Tony Marra
Photo Compliments: https://twitter.com/csbible/ – The Gospel Project
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