Faith In Christ Makes Us New

We have the joy and the privilege of welcoming 2 new members into our family today.

As we think about Church membership, we realize it is more than

Voting at Business Meetings.

It is the applicants’ declaration that they want to be a part of the family on New Life.

They want to contribute to it accomplishing what God has called this church to do.

They are saying: “You can count on me.”

Yes, at its heart, church membership is about being Family and how we relate to each other — how we build one another up in Jesus.

D. A while back I discussed current trends in the American church.

One trend is to de-emphasize membership.

A lot of that has to do with most churches now being “nondenominational.”

Unfortunately, a lack of formal membership leads to a lack of church governance.

Such “non-governance” causes pastors to become untethered from accountability.

I’ve talked to people who said that at other churches they:

Never had a business meeting.

They never knew anything about finances.

They didn’t know who made the decisions — big or small.

As we are constantly seeing, most churches decisions are being made by CEO-type pastors.

And too many are unaccountable to anyone for their decisions.

Folks, this is a congregational church.

The membership, through a majority vote, has the final word in all decisions.

But, I can tell you right now, that I, as the pastor, do not like to have 51/49% votes.

If we have that, I feel that I have failed and that we need to go back to the drawing board.

You see, my goal as the pastor, as the leader RESPONSIBLE to God (Hebrews 13:17 (such leaders) “… keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account”)

I will give an account of what I did to foster unity or to foster discord.

As I stand before God I want to give an account “with joy and not with groaning.”

My joy is to bring us to a place of unity.

Ephesians 4:2–3 (LSB) [Exhorts us] … with all humility and gentleness, with patience, [to] bear… with one another in love, 3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The formal step of church membership goes along way to help us achieve that goal.

E. Yes, church membership is important.

1. Taking this formal step emphasizes that a light has come on in your thinking.

2. That you understand and want to obey God’s design for the Christian life.

i. BIBLICAL Christianity ALWAYS involves individual Christians being a part of a local Body of believers.

ii. The Bible does NOT teach the concept of “Lone Ranger” Christians.

iii. Too many people today have NO community.

3. BUT, Biblical Christians understand that God has placed them in “Community” in the Body of Christ.

i. Whether or not you make a formal commitment you recognize:

ii. 1 Corinthians 12:18, 27 (NASB95) But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

D. Ephesians 3:10 reminds us that: His [God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.

E. I like what Jeff Harris in his: Warrior Poet Daily Devotional says.

He says the church reveals the wisdom of God to all.

That … the mystery of Jesus is revealed in the Church!

A Christianity devoid of community is an anomaly that is incongruent with Jesus’ vision and the reality of a unified body. If you are to progress in your faith, the progress always includes the local body of believers, not just a select affinity group, but the messiness of the book of Acts. To serve God divorced from the Body is to deny a local body its vitality. No greater wounded-ness is revealed than by those who live their faith in Jesus alienated from a local body. No amount of hyper-hermeneutics will slither through Jesus' intent through the local body.

F. Words to ponder and pray about!

G. We need the local church to fulfill Jesus’ command in:

1. John 13:34–35 (NASB95) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

All people will know you are the disciples of Christ if you can love one another through the messiness church family relations.

Bring Members Forward

A. So, this morning New Life Family Church has the privilege of welcoming, loving and COVENENTING WITH 2 new ADULT members and 1 new junior members.

1. 2 sisters who have elected to put down roots not only in Christ, but also in this church.

2. Becky (and your daughter Olivia) and Amy Gill, would you come forward?

3. Please face the congregation.

B. Would the Board, Madeline, Jay, George, Michelle, and Cecelia Funderburk who is serving as Corporate Secretary. Will all of you come and join these new members?

C.These newest members have…

1. … made proper application and have been approved by the Official Board of the church

I sat down with them and talked to them about what church membership involves.

We even went through the Constitution!

So, they are now ready to receive the right hand of fellowship by this congregation.

G. Our new members, and we as a church are going to remind each other of our responsibilities and privileges.

1. Our FAMILY COVENANT together.

H. I will begin with our newest members:

1. I am going to read a statement and ask that if you agree with it that you say, “I do.”

I. Here goes:

J. Having been led by the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and desiring fellowship with people of like precious faith, and now in the presence of God and this assembly you are entering into a covenant relationship with these members of the Body of Christ.

K. So, do you promise that with the help of the Holy Spirit you will:

1. walk together with the other members of this church in Christian love?

2. work for the advancement of this church?

3. help it pursue holiness and a deeper knowledge of Jesus?

4. promote its prosperity and spirituality?

5. sustain its worship, doctrines and disciplines?

6. contribute regularly and cheerfully to the support of its ministries and activities?

7. If so answer: I do.

L. Do you promise to:

1. maintain your personal devotions?

2. seek the salvation of the lost?

3. avoid sin by avoiding the very appearance of evil?

4. seek that love which thinks no evil?

5. If so answer: I do.

M. Do you further promise to:

1. watch over the other members of this church in Christian love?

2. to remember each other in prayer?

3. to aid each other in distress and sickness

4. to be courteous and forgiving to one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you?

5. If so answer: I do.

N. Church, please stand. Do you promise to:

1. watch over Paul AND Matthew in Christian love?

2. to remember them in prayer?

3. to aid them in distress and sickness?

4. to be courteous and forgiving to them even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you?

5. If so answer: I do.

O. We therefore, as the Church of Jesus Christ and members of His Body, now receive you, into our fellowship and communion, recognizing that God has already added you to His Church. And we pray that the blessing of the Lord be upon you always.

P. Prayer with the Board.

Q. ALL come and welcome!

W.

Made New: Week 1

Christ Makes Everything New

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10 // 2 Corinthians 5:17 // Romans 10:9

PRAYER: Holy Spirit give understanding

Today is the first Sunday after remembering the death and burial of Jesus on Good Friday and then celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead on Sunday morning.

Today we begin a sermon series called Made New.

Jesus’ defeat of sin and death on the Cross has changed everything.

His resurrection 3 days later changed everything even more.

The effects of the resurrection have reverberated throughout history.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us as well.

It changes us. It renews us. It breathes fresh life into us.

As I prepared for the message this morning I was reflecting on what Jesus did when He died and then rose again.

A New Relationship

First when He died, Jesus completely changed the way we relate to God.

He Made a NEW covenant between us and God.

Write this reference down:

Hebrews 9:13–15 (NLT) Under the old system [the old covenant], the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

No longer do we relate to God through a covenant of law — instead we relate to Him through a covenant of Grace.

Ephesians 2:4–5 (LSB) But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

The covenant of law is a covenant of death.

Romans 7:9–13 (NLT) At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. 13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

But, according to Ephesians 2:5 the Covenant of Grace brings life.

Because Jesus died for my sins.

Because He shed His precious Blood to cleanse me from sin I no longer relate to God dead in sins and trespasses.

I relate to the Father ALIVE in Christ.

So, through Jesus’ death, He Made a New way of relating to God.

We remember that new covenant of grace whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper together:

Luke 22:19–20 (NLT) … Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

So, when Jesus died, our relationship with the Father was MADE NEW through the sacrifice of Jesus’ Body and spilling of His Blood.

A New Destiny

And then…

When He rose from the dead, He did what had NEVER been done before.

You see there were several people through history who died and then they were made alive again.

As I talked to my wife about this I said: those people were not actually resurrected — they were revived.

Sandra said, “That sounds like they were only dead a few moments and someone did CPR on them.”

So, that’s not what I mean.

Many, like Lazarus, had been dead for a while.

They were raised back to life.

But that wasn’t like the resurrection of Jesus.

You see, when those others came back to life, they did so in their old body — and so, eventually, they died again and their bodies stayed dead.

But Jesus…

When He rose from the dead, He did so in a NEW body.

A glorified Body.

A body that will never suffer sickness, decay or death EVER again.

In so doing Jesus gives us a NEW hope.

The hope that one day WE will have a glorified body.

1 Corinthians 15:20–23 (NLT)… Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

Are You Made New?

I had planned to speak of the women’s encounter with the Risen Christ in Matthew 28.

Of the proper response to the resurrection.

Of how we are new creatures when we put our faith in Jesus.

But let me stop here and ask you to think about just 2 things:

First, how Jesus Made a New way of relating to the Father.

That He did so through His sacrifice on the Cross.

Are you walking in that New covenant?

Or are you trying to relate to God by being a “good” person?

A person of the law.

That is hopeless — you can’t do it.

James 2:10 (LSB) For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Second, when Jesus rose from the dead, He Made a New destiny for us.

We are destined to have a glorified body such as He has.

Living every day with the hope of a glorified body should change how we live.

No more fear of death.

Hebrews 2:14–15 (NLT) Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

How can we take advantage of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

Jesus makes a way, where there seems to be no way.

Because He is the Way Maker.

As the worship team comes to lead us in singing some of that chorus again.

I would like to invite you to embrace what Jesus has Made New for us.

I, and others will meet you here to pray with you to:

Step into the grace of Jesus.

To embrace the new destiny that comes by believing on Jesus.