A Firm Foundation

Would you stand for the reading of God’s Word? Hear the words from Ephesians 2:19-22

Ephesians 2:19–22 CSB

So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

Pray with me. Go ahead and have a seat.

Church Vision

Imagine a gardener tending to a flower bed. She diligently waters and prunes each plant while occasionally reflecting on how much they’ve grown since spring. One day, a friend asks, 'Why bother with all the effort?' With a smile, she responds, 'If I forget how far they’ve come, I might lose sight of what they can become.' Just like her, we must appreciate our past and present to fully embrace our journey ahead with faith.

If you’ve been around for awhile you’ll know our rhythm of taking the first Sunday of the month to focus on our Church Vision. Who we are, where we are going, and what we believe God has called us to.

We need to take this time regularly, and often, to remind us what’s actually going on here. There is a great temptation within all of us to go on auto pilot. To do things without being present or having intention.

Perhaps you’ve had a moment like this driving on a long road trip. You are headed on an interstate going, cruise control on, and your mind starts to wander, and then you realize you’ve been driving for minutes without actually paying attention to the road. Perhaps you may have missed your exit. Or even worse, when you then hit the rumble strips on the side of the road and get jarred back into awareness.

Habits are good. Discipline is good. Routines even can be good - but we need faith to recognize the why behind those. We need the why.

Coming to Church is good, plugging into things is good - but we need eyes to actually see what’s going on. I think of what George Santayana once said

George Santayana Eyes that look are common. Eyes that see are rare.

Anonymous

That is part of what we attempt to do each month, in faith. Is ask God to reveal what we are doing, how to engage, and where we are going so that we can actually see what is going on.

Church can be beautifully ordinary. But if we had eyes to see what was going on in the heavens when we come together and sing - how our voices ascend to the throne of God like a pleasing aroma. How demons quake when they hear us praise God. How singing truths and reflecting on scripture, and participating in communion, how it in a very real changes the fabric of reality - how that would change us!

Think of Ephesians 2:19-22

Ephesians 2:19–22 CSB

So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

There is a movement here in this passage. There is passed, present, and future.

Past - we are no longer foreigners and strangers. Which means in the past, we WERE foreigners and strangers. and that’s putting in mildly, we were enemies of God. We were rebels. We were lost. Historically speaking we perhaps come from different nations and regions that warred with each other. NO LONGER!

We are now, present tense, fellow citizens with the saints. Fellow citizens with the saints. Don’t just skim over that brothers and sisters. In my life I’ve read about and met some incredible saints. People who, having been redeemed have changed the world through humility and service, think of Mother Theresa, Anthony the Great, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, AW Tozer, - but not just historical figures, I’ve met some people who just like ooze JEsus. You can all but see the fruit of the Spirit hanging from their limbs. Some of our grandparents were this way. Some of our family. Some of us have mentors this way - I think of one of my professors who is actually retiring this year, Dr. Meyers. Like just being around that guy you get the sense that he’s been with JEsus. He’s special.

In Christ - YOU are fellow citizens with those saints. You are right along side them. You’re counted in that same company. How? Because the righteousness of Christ is in you, and on you, and over you. If you are in Christ, it is no longer you trying and striving for goodness, but the very goodness of God is in you. IT’s the same holiness and glory that shone off Moses face. IT’s the same love that inspired and radiated off the saints - that is in you.

And we are not just citizens with the saints - but members of God’s household. You are kids of God. Kids of Grace. Children who now will inherit all that Christ has won for us. A household brings a certain level of comfort, right? Like when you are in your household, with your people, you can feel the belonging. And it means theres a certain level of identity, expectation, and occupation. If we are in the household of Christ - we ought to be about his business - the kingdom of God - that’s our Dad’s business!

Paul continues saying that this was again, past tense, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone. This is a firm foundation. The very word of God is the cornerstone that all that the prophets and apostles were talking about. That is where we stand and are being built.

In him the whole building, on the foundation of Christ and the apostles and prophets, then the saints and citizens and us, we are being put together, and we grow into the holy temple in the Lord.

Y’all. We are growing into the temple in the Lord. When we come together, there is something so incredible miraculous that happens. We come together, the kids of God, covered by the blood of Christ, and God is in this space. IF we had eyes to see that the presence of Christ in our midst as we come together, oh how that would shake things up - friends, God is here. In all of it - with the amazing music. With the technology, even when it fails. With kids laughing and giggling. We are the temple of God.

And note - it says being put together - this is an ongoing activity. Which means there are more kids of God that need to be found.

Which ties into the future - we are being build together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

And we are in Revelation - there is coming a day when God will literally dwell again with us. New Heaven and New Earth, Jesus will return, and death and pain and sadness and evil will be no more, and we will be free to live with God, forevermore.

That’s incredible. That’s the stuff. That is what we are about.

And how is any of this possible?

By grace, through faith in the work of Jesus Christ. God made all things and made it very good - but Humanity with our agency decided to disobey and sin fractured everything. But God prepared his eternally begotten son, Jesus Christ to come, live a perfect life and perfectly fulfill the law, and die a death we deserve on our behalf, and then he rose to new life, and victory, and ascended on the throne. He then commissioned his church to spread the word to all. And he is coming back again to make all things complete.

Friend - let’s never get sick of the gospel! Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ is coming back agian. Do you know it? Do you in faith receive it? If so, rejoice! If not, don’t delay. Call out to God right now, come get baptized on Easter, Do life with us as we follow Christ together.

Why talk about all this on Church Vision Sunday?

Because if we lose sight of the Gospel, if we cease to marvel at the grace of Christ, if we are moved to worship by salvation we should just close up shop. For we would be an ineffective Church.

Our mission is not to build the empire of The Seed Community Church. With big buildings, and glorious music and dynamic sermons, with a coffeeshop to boot. If that’s all it is - who cares? IT’s not about us.

It’s about Christ, and his kingdom. And there are people all around us who do not know Jesus and are perishing! We cannot forget the gospel. In the morning when I rise - thank you Jesus for salvation. As I walk through the day - thank you Jesus that by your blood I am redeemed. As I go to bed, Thank you God that I can rest and sleep for YOU have done it all.

I want to remind us - that all our strategies, all our plans - everything we do - MUST be dependent on the Gospel of JEsus Christ. Must be Driven by the Gospel of JEsus Christ. Must be sustained by the gospel of JEsus Christ. Must be bold about proclaiming the Gospel of JEsus Christ. It’s all about Jesus, for Jesus, from Jesus. Let’s be shameless about him!

So What does this have to do with us?

We have to remember the Gospel, and remember our story, and let that inform where we are going, so we can be on mission together.

Our Church started with a dream of reaching the region. Pastor Steve Walters riding his bike around south eastern South Dakota praying and feeling like God wanted to plant a church. And so Hillside Church started praying and saving money. He felt like they were called to increase the spiritual temperature of south eastern South Dakota.

At the same time, several families in and around Centerville, going to various different churches, started a Bible Study, and the dream started, really with the question - what is God doing here?

Well one of the families was going to Hillside and heard the vision and call to plant a church, and lightbulbs were lit, and introductions were made, and a plan formed. What if they tried to reach Centerville with the Gospel? And an unconventional plan was hatched - let’s start a coffeeshop first to till the soil, and start bible studies - and then we can start a church.

The Seed Coffeehouse was born, The dream was going, and then steve passed away. But Christ and his mission continued.

Bible Studies were started, community flourished, and the mission continued - we need to reach south eastern south dakota with the Gospel of JEsus.

Then church services started - without a pastor. With no idea who all would show up. But God provided. He moved a pastor here. He brought people through flyers, and invites, and connections and the coffeehouse.

And as a result we have seen people saved. People Baptized. Lives transformed. And Christ Glorified.

Now we are here, three years in. And friends - our mission is the same it’s always been, the same for all Christians across all time. Everyone in the Church is called to Love God, Love Others (our neighbors) and make disciples.

That is our mission, that is my mission, that is your mission.

Our vision that we inherited from Steve, and through prayer is the same: to increase the spiritual temperature of south eastern South Dakota.

Because, if we loved God, obey his commands, worship him, and loved others, served them, prayed for them and cared for them, and made disciples, which means proclaiming the gospel and yes evangelizing - then more and more are saved, and darkness is pushed back and the temperature increases.

We should see marriages restored. We should see kids loved and cherished and trained. We should see a love for God break out. We should see immorality decrease. All of those things are side-effects of hearts transformed by the Gospel of JEsus Christ. That’s the vision.

Now HOW? HOW do we do it. How does the organization of the Church do this? how do we as members interface with it?

This is where our language of Fully Focused, Fully Formed, and Fully Engaged comes in.

We first are fully focused on God and his word. each Sunday we gather to focus on God, worship him, learn from scripture, participate in Communion and baptisms, to tune our hearts to sing his praise. Week in and week out, we build disciplines and the foundation of worship on which the rest of the week flows out of. This time and space MATTERS. in more ways than we can imagine.

And we then are fully formed by the spirit in community. Our community groups start this week - four weeks then a break - where we wrestle out in a smaller setting what it actually means to live life with God. This allows for us to be known and to know each other. IT allows the Holy Spirit to help us actually change our behavior. It also introduces us to deep friendship and love that we are desperate for. I Love these groups - and I would just strongly encourage you to make a priority to jump in. You could also put kids church and youth group in this. Specialized times for unique members of our households. Formation is amazing - and it is slow. A long obedience in the same direction as Peterson once said.

And lastly, fully engaged with Christ on mission. Our church, and by that i mean all of the people seated here right now, all need to own loving god and others and making disciples. When we do that - oh man do i believe satan trembles. Our Coffeeshop is a lighthouse in our community where people can gather and be loved, and we pray will grow into a true gospel mission and ministry training ground. We host some small service opportunities, grill nights. But the real stuff is when you own it. You invite your friend to sit with you at church. You hear someone in need and you pray for them and encourage them.

It’s when the people of God, filled with the Spirit of God, own the mission of God, The Kingdom of God advances.

That is who we are, and what we are doing.

And if we are successful - if we do these things, can you imagine what it would look like?

What would it look like if us 80 or so people started, in faith, allowing Christ to drive us towards loving him, and our neighbors, and make disciples.

We’d see people saved, families loved, people baptized. We’d see communities reached. Churches planted. Missions funded.

We would see the spiritual temperature of south eastern South Dakota increase.

And it all comes back to Jesus and his kingdom. And our partnership with him.

I think of 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

2 Corinthians 5:16–21 CSB

From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We are ambassadors for Christ. Welcome to the family business.

So What?

So what?

Friend I want to warn you, that it is possible to attend church, even a good church one that i hope that we embody, and without faith, without stepping into it, be unchanged, unfazed, and unaffected. MAtthew 7 warns that when jesus comes back there are going to be many who thought they were saved are not. They went through the motions without knowing Christ.

This can be a church where we can come, sing some songs, argue about paint color and the style of music, wish the pastor would dress differently, enjoy a potluck, and then go home and actually live our lives.

OR if we have eyes to see, this can be a Church where the people of God join the family of God to worship their God in the presence of God.

Jesus is on the move. He is seeking and saving the lost. And he wants to use us to do so. And so this is an invitaiton to step in. Come on Sundays, but in faith that Christ is here! Worship him. whether or not you feel like it - our feelings are fickle things. I sing because God is good. I raise my Hands because I train my body to respond to the hope of Glory. I preach because I am compelled by God to tell others about Christ. I want to fully focus on him.

Join a community group. God wants to radically transform you more and more into the image of his son. And he doesn’t want you to live life alone. WE are the Church. WE are the temple of God. WE are on mission.

And we can engage with Christ. Pray for your neighbor, Pray for your kids and your spouse. Invite someone over for dinner and pray for them. Pray for our coffeeshop. Give to those in need. Serve those who need a helping hand. Love God, Love Others, and make disciples.

And I believe that as we do so - over years, we will see the kingdom break out. We will see the spirutual temperature of south eastern south dakota increased. And we will know JEsus, feel his love, and be transformed.

So I invite you into partnership with us, and with Christ. Would you join us?

Would you stand as I pray?