Ingredients for a Healthy Church
Notes
Transcript
Main Idea: A healthy church thrives when it focuses on the Gospel, shares the ministry, and supports one another in carrying the burdens.
Good Morning Church! I am so excited to be here this morning! I dont know about you but I just love being around Gods People. You guys always uplift my soul I can come in this place after a long week and always leave better then when I came in! I will never understand how people can choose to walk with Christ Alone! Its so much better with a Church Family behind you! but Before I get started I do want to tell you guys about an Adventure Kayla and I had yesterday! We had the Chance to go and Celebrate her Great Great Aunt Melbas 100TH Birthday Party!! yes you heard me right 100th! in that Something I Learned that you can have an Anxiety attack a 100 year olds birthday Party! I have never seen so many life alerts in my life!! Between Life alerts and my kids stealing canes we had to be on our toes! But as I was reflecting on a 100 year old life I couldnt help but think about all that she had witnessed in 100 years.
1926- The Us started numbering highways - 2 Years
1929: The Great Depression- 5 Years old
1931: The Empire state building was finished -7 Years old
World war II 1939-1945- 21 years old
1950: Koren War- 26
1963: JFk Assassinated -39
1965: The Civil Rights movement- 41
1968 MLK Assassinated
1969: Moon Landing -45
1975 VietnamWar ends
1983: The Birth of the Internet
Gulf Wars
9/11
Facebook Launched
I Believe
In the Next 100 Years We will see thousands of lives transformed by The Power of the Gospel
I believe we will see families restored by Moms and Dads taking back their homes and centering them back Around Christ.
I believe we will see The Next Generation go from Hopeless to being Filled with the Hope of Christ
I believe we will see the Church leaders of tomorrow Answer the Call into Ministry
I believe Reliant will become a Catalyst by planting a Minimum of 50 Churches
I believe we will see Generational Brokenness begin to Heal in the City of Dallas
In Order for us to make our 100 Year Mark at Reliant I need we to focus on three key ingredients
The Gospel, Sharing the Ministry, Sharing the Burden
So as we get started if you have your bible go ahead and turn to Exodus Chapter 18.
1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,”
Who was Jethro?
Who was Jethro?
A Midianite
The Father in-law of Moses
A Pagan Priest
So picture Jethro as your co-worker who you know believes differently then you
Or picture Jethro as that Family member who you pray comes to the faith.
Jethro was most likely on Moseses impact Card.
7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.” 12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
Focus on the Gospel
Focus on the Gospel
John Stott: "The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales."
N.T. Wright: "The gospel is the announcement that Jesus is Lord, that he has won the victory over sin and death, and that a new world has opened up, and we are invited to belong to it."Who you were before Christ
Tim Keller: "The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope."
Focus on your story
Focus on your story
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Who you were after Christ
Who you were after Christ
25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
How has living by Faith impacted your life?
How has living by Faith impacted your life?
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Share the Ministry
Share the Ministry
“It is better to set a hundred men to work than to do the work of a hundred men.” (D.L. Moody
13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Have a Heart of Humility
Step off the Platform
Learn How to Delegate Share the Burden
Delegation: The Act of Empowering to Act for Another
Share the Burden
Share the Burden
22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Next Steps
Next Steps
Write down your story and commit it to memory
Find ways to Jump in and Serve
Be Ready to Carry the Burden
R-Group Questions
How does Jethro's advice to Moses about sharing the burden of leadership apply to our church today? What practical steps can we take to ensure that responsibilities are shared among capable and trustworthy individuals?
This Sermon Encourages us to write down our story and commit it to memory. How can sharing our personal testimonies of what Jesus has done in our lives impact others and strengthen our faith community?
Jethro advised Moses to select men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate bribes. How can we identify and encourage the use of spiritual gifts and passions within our congregation to better serve the church and its mission?
Moses initially tried to handle all the disputes and inquiries of the people by himself, which was unsustainable. How can we as a church ensure that our leaders are not overburdened and that we are effectively delegating tasks to maintain a healthy and functioning church body?