FSM Launch Night 2023

***Opening housekeeping notes: Bulletins, Boundaries, Check in (?), etc. ***

**Pray for Robinson**

Crisis:

it’s complicated to be a teenager.

Complication:

Following Jesus carries additional complexity. Combine what’s complicated with what’s complex and you can get yourself in a real mess.

Clue:

That’s why FSM is here.

- We exist to lead students toward a lifetime of following Jesus.

Climax:

Why do we think following Jesus is so important? Because Jesus is our savior, teacher, and Lord(study 1 Cor 1:26-31 and correlated passages).

“And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousnessand sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord,’” (1 Cor 1:30-31).

In this passage, Paul gives us a great picture of who Jesus really is and can be in our lives, we see him in 3 ways: as our Savior, our Teacher, and our Lord. Let’s take a look at each of those in more detail…

Jesus is our Savior (“redemption”).

Romans 5:8 – “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Eph 1:7 – “in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”

This is the gospel. That Jesus is our Savior. First of all, that we were in need of a Savior in the first place, that we were unable to get to God on our own and that Jesus came to rescue us. Secondly, that he in fact did rescue us by coming and dying for us as a sacrifice in our place. Ultimately then he defeated sin and death by rising from the grave—in this we have hope and in this we have life! Declaring this and believing in him as our Savior is what a life of following Jesus is all based on!

Jesus is our Teacher (“wisdom from God”).

Matthew 7:24-27 – “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

I don’t want to spend too much time camped out here, but in Jesus’s most famous sermon (the Sermon on the Mount), he finishes by saying that we as his followers ought to be wise by how we respond to his words: namely, that we should listen to his words and do what he says.

Matthew 28:19-20 – “teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.”

Going to the famous words of the Great Commission, what is our call as believers in making disciples? We want to go and teach people to obey all that our Rabbi and Teacher has commanded us.

Jesus is our Lord (“righteousness and sanctification”).

Seeing Jesus as our Lord means learning to follow him and be more and more conformed into his image.

That’s why Paul uses the word “sanctification” here. The technical definition for this word means “to be made/set apart as holy,” but in our terms, sanctification can best be understood to mean “become more like Jesus.”

This is the ongoing process of following Jesus! This is why it takes a lifetime! And what I want to do is show us, according to Scripture, how this sanctification process happens. And what we’re going to see is it is a truly Trinitarian process.

1 Cor 6:11 – “but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Sanctification source: “the name of Jesus”

Hebrews 2:11 – “for he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.”

Sanctification source: God the Father

Acts 26:18 – “that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me [Jesus].”

Sanctification source: “faith in Jesus”

John 17:17 – “sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth.”

Sanctification source: the Word of God

Acts 20:32 – “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up…among all those who are sanctified.”

Sanctification source: God the Father and “the word of his grace”

Romans 15:16 – “so that the offerings of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

Sanctification source: The Holy Spirit

Conclusion:

In order to follow Jesus effectively together, we want to cultivate a space here at FSM where we have a

hospitality that heals.

Why do we use this phrase, “hospitality that heals”? Why is healing such a significant part of our hospitality?

This goes back to what we all agreed about at the beginning of tonight’s message. Being a teenager is complicated and following Jesus is complex.

Imagine the amount of hurt and brokenness that the average person in this room is carrying just simply by being a teenager alive in 2023. You don’t even have to come up with some imaginary person—just think of the scars and the baggage that you brought in with you tonight. Maybe your parents are going through a divorce, maybe you’ve been dreading the first week back at school because it’s a source of bullying and pain for you. Maybe you’re struggling with crippling anxiety or depression. Maybe you’re dealing with body dysmorphia which has led to a hidden eating disorder. Maybe you’re secretly addicted to pornography and it’s destroying the way you view people around you.

If we know that being a teenager is already a complicated journey and we also know that following Jesus adds a whole other layer of complexity, then shouldn’t that fill us with compassion for our peers around us that are equally struggling with that complicated and complex life?

Life brings brokenness and hurt and pain. By the Spirit of Jesus living and working in us, FSM can be a place that has the kind of hospitality that heals!

Isn’t that exactly why we gather here each week, to help each other find and follow Jesus? What is FSM was a space that was so hospitable and welcoming to everyone—no matter who they are or where they are in their journey of following Jesus—that it became an environment that was healing? What if our hospitality at FSM could actually make it possible for others to discover the life-changing power of following Jesus?

Wouldn’t that be a beautiful future reality? Illustration: share the story of Cross Creek and the explosion of Hydrate.

Hospitality can kind of be a fuzzy word. It can be hard to define in really practical terms. So, we’ve broken it down into two basic commitments:

I’m here with you & I’m here for you.

How to be WITH someone at FSM:

See those who are unseen.

No one sits alone.

Invite your friends.

How to be FOR someone at FSM:

Pray with those who are hurting.

Judgment free zone.

Demonstrate the love of Jesus to your peers and your leaders.

Response Time:

What if this year, FSM developed a hospitality that heals? What if people were so drawn in by this culture of hospitality and acceptance that we saw newcomers giving their lives to Jesus week after week? What if the love of Jesus was so evident in this place that people couldn’t help but feel different the moment they walk in? That’s our vision for this year. If you’re in on that with us, we want to do something special tonight. You guys by now have all seen this banner over to my right, your left. This banner is our covenant this year. If you are serious about committing to this vision of hospitality that heals, of being with others and for others this year, during this next moment, I want to invite you to sign your name on this banner. Don’t just sign it because your friend is signing it. Don’t just do it because the music is playing and it feels like the “right” thing to do. Only sign it if you’re seriously willing to commit to hospitality this year. Hospitality is going to mean sacrifice. Hospitality is going to require you to put other people’s needs ahead of your own. Hospitality is going to mean that your friend groups and your circles are going to have to change. If you’re ready for that, we want you to sign this with us.