The Way We Walk Together

Good morning, everyone! Whether you're here with us in the room or joining online—listening live or later—I am truly glad you're here. Leaf River Baptist church exist to Know God, grow in faith, and to go make Him known.

Hey, if you’ve got kids with you this morning—now’s a great time for them to head to class. We’ve got an amazing team ready to welcome them and help them know Jesus in a way that makes sense to them

For everyone else, grab your Bible, get comfortable, and get ready for what God has for you today. Today we are starting a brand new journey as we have moved into the new year.

Now, many of you will remember that over the last couple of years we’ve had a group called the Purpose Discovery Team. Their task was not to invent something new, but to prayerfully discern who God has already been shaping us to be as a church—and what He is calling us to step into next.

We have shared our renewed vision “To KNOW God, to GROW in faith, and to GO make him known. “

Then last week we discussed a brand new vision to help us accomplish our mission, We said that,

Leaf River Baptist Church is a community rooted in God’s Word and united in Christ.

From this foundation, we strive to live as a spiritual family of growing believers—encouraging one another in faith and serving with joy.

Together, we are committed to reaching Ogle County with the Gospel of Jesus, reaching the world through missions, investing in families and future generations, embracing new opportunities, and equipping believers to share their faith boldly—all for the glory of God.

Today we are going to be looking at values and understanding what it is that we as a church truly value above all else.

Some of you may be asking why we need to write values down, can’t we just keep going like we always have been? Yeah, we could do that…however, I want to paint a quick picture for you. I’ve only been in the area for close to 7 years. Before moving out here I drove at night all the time, but in the city, there are LOTS of streetlights. So since moving out here I’ve realized how dark it gets when there are no street lights. So when it get’s dark like that, the signs on the side of the road become far more important. Something that I’ve found is that those signs that are the most important are the signs that keep my from ending up in a ditch. They are reflective and I can see that I need to turn, otherwise I’m off in a ditch.

Well, values are like those signs. They don’t replace the destination—but they guide how we travel together and ensure we don’t veer off into a ditch somewhere.

Today, we’re not talking about programs…We’re not talking about preferences…We’re talking about the way we walk together as the people of God.

So, whether a church writes them down or not, values always exist. They show up in how decisions are made, how conflict is handled, and what get’s celebrated—or ignored.

SO

Every Church has Values—Stated or Unstated

What is a value though? What is it about values that help us understand who we are as a church, and what exactly it is we are doing.

Values are fundamental beliefs about what's important, guiding our actions, decisions. That’s why defining what are values are as a church is so important. You see, many times there are unstated values, and we just expect everyone else to instinctively know what they are. Sometimes those values are strong biblical values, and sometimes those values are actually unbiblical. The thing is that

Unstated Values Still Shape Culture:

What does an unstated value look like? Well, it looks like not being able to change something that has been done before. You know the phrase, “We’ve always done it this way”, get’s thrown around.

This could arise during a conversation about what a potluck looks like, or what a Picnic looks like, or any number of other conversations. Here’s another phase you may here when there are unstated values,”Don’t rock the boat.” Listen, we know that if you decide to do that thing, that it will open up a whole can of worms, and so we just don’t wanna rock the boat, ya know. Many times these are statements that are said by only a couple of people, but they direct everything the church says or does.

There’s another one I want to throw out…”As long as we can pay the bills” Listen, this is one that comes with history doesn’t it? I mean this is the phrase that comes from a place of not always being able to pay the bills…but is it pleasing to God for us to function as a church with any of these phrases?

No, and these are all phrases that we’ve all heard, or maybe said over the last 40 years as a church. This shows us that there are values—even if no one voted on them to be official values of the church.

That’s not all though

Gospel-Shaped Values must be Intentional

Here’s what that means. If the Gospel doesn’t shape our values, something else will—comfort, tradition, fear, or even preference.

However, none of those things are Gospel shaped values, are they? None of those things are the things that truly matter to God, are they? No. God never left his people guessing and trying to figure out what truly matters to him. Let’s take a look at what matters to God

Micah 6:8 ESV

8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

This is what is important to God. This is why God hates child sacrifice because it is not just—it is not kind—and it is not walking humbly with God.

The thing is that God’s people have always been marked by shared convictions about how they live together.

So what does it actually look like when the Gospel takes root in a church?

Well the best place to look is the first century church that walked and talked with Jesus. So we will look at Acts 2 in a minute. We’re looking there becuase we don’t see a perfect church—just like we are not perfect. What we do see is a healthy church culture that is formed by the Gospel. Let’s look at…

A Gospel-Shaped Culture

In the first century as the church was growing in numbers. The church spread, but they knew that as they spread, there were some unifying values as a group of men and women who followed “The Way”.

Let’s take a look at that together. Now, this is nothing new, but it’s still important to listen to what they devoted themselves to—and what naturally flowed from that devotion.

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Pay attention to this real quick: before they changed the world, they were shaped as a group of people. That’s becuase there was…

Devotion Before Growth

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles. Listen, they may not have always liked the apostles, or what they were being told, but they were devoted to what was being taught becuase that was what was true.

They devoted themselves to fellowship, they lived lives lives together, they ate meals together, and they prayed together.

As they were devoted to these things…the result was amazing growth both within themselves, and within the numbers of those who were being saved.

The mission advanced because the people were formed together, and becuase of that…

A Watching World Noticed

It’s truly amazing to think about folks. What we read is that, “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.”

They had favor with all people—not just other Christians…no, all people. Their values didn’t repel outsiders—instead, their values revealed Christ. And when Christ was revealed, people believed and followed Christ.

Let’s take a look at this passage in

Colossians 3:12–13 ESV

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Listen…values are not slogans to try and sound cool. Values are lived realities. Your values describe how you live! For the first church, those values were obvious. Sometimes today we need to be a bit more clear about what it is that we value.

So, if our values shape our culture—and culture shapes our witness—then we need to clearly name the values that will guide us as a church.

Let’s take a look at these together this morning.

LRBC Values

Now, as I begin to share with you what the team prayed over, and discussed, I want to make clear that these are not aspiration buzzwords. These are values that are rooted deeply in Scripture, and are already being used to to shape us into who God has called us to be—both as a church, and individually.

So, let’s take a look at

VALUE 1: PRAYER

Prayer is our first and most important value because we believe that everything begins and ends with dependance on God.

Colossians 4:2 ESV

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Before every decision we make as a church we pray. Before any ministry opportunities, or conflicts—we pray first, not last. Prayer is our first response, not an afterthought.

You see, a praying church is a listening church. That leads us to

VALUE 2: BIBLICAL TEACHING

Every time someone is preaching in this building, or teaching a class in this building, what is being taught will be based in Scripture—nothing else. God’s word shapes our beliefs, corrects our lives, and anchors our unity as a church family.

Remember the passage in Acts we read that told us what the first church was devoted too…

Acts 2:42 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…

From the pulpit, to Sunday School, to conversations at home—we open the Bible.

The truth of God’s word, always leads to transformation, which leads to

VALUE 3: WORSHIP

Worship is a response to who God is—it’s not performance, but participation. That why we label everything we do around here as worship. Look at

Colossians 3:16 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Singing is the way that most people recognize worship. With that in mind, we sing together across generations, styles, and preferences. However we also recognize that everything we do is an act of worship to the Lord.

Of course, true worship sends us outward, not inward, which is why

VALUE 4: REACHING THE LOST

We’ve talked about this alot over the last few years. We aren’t done talking about it either. Pretty soon we’re going to have visuals when we come into church reminding us that we better be about sharing the Gospel. Remember

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Listen, the reality is that we believe the Gospel is good news meant to be shared—both locally and globally. Ogle County is our primary mission field, and missions is not optional.

While we don’t exist for ourselves, we all need this next one.

VALUE 5: FELLOWSHIP

So we’ve talked about this for a very long time. We’ve talked about how we exist as a family and how we care for each other as a family, we bear each others burdens ad we celebrate together. Every week I welcome you as part of the family, or those online as part of the extended family. Why is that?

Because throughout Scripture we see verses like this

Ephesians 2:19 ESV

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

What does this look like practically? Well, we show up for each other when life is hard, not just when it’s convenient. We pray for each other and hold each other up. We take meals to each other, and help each other financially when the need arises. When people outside of the faith see the care and concern that believers have for each other, they should desire that same type of relationship, which opens up opportunities for you to share the Gospel.

Now, everything we’ve talked about so far—prayer, Biblical teaching, worship, mission, fellowship—tells us what we do. This final value tells us how we do it. Not halfway. Not casually. Not for ourselves. But as an offering to the Lord.

VALUE 6: EXCELLENCE

We give God our best…not our leftovers, not for applause, but for his glory. Why is that? Because everything we do is done for the Lord and when we realize that, we are compelled to give our best.

Look at

Colossians 3:23 ESV

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Our facilities need to be well taken care of, not as a reflection on us, but because this is God’s house. Our classes have prepared teachers ready to teach kids or adults, not for a pat on the back, but because this is God’s word being imparted to others, and that compels us to give our best. Every ministry we have, is done for the Lord…not for each other.

Now here’s the deal church…these values don’t replace our faith—they express it!

The reality is that values are how the Gospel takes shape in everyday life. They tell our children what matters, and they show our community who Christ it. These values are the fruit of a people who are living to please the Lord.

However, some of you may be listening today and thinking , I could never live like this. And the truth is—you’re right, none of us can.

The gospel doesn’t begin with what we do for God, but with what God has already for us in Christ.

You see, Jesus lived the live you failed to live. He loved perfectly. He obeyed fully. He gave himself completely. Then, on the cross, he took our sin, our failure, our self-centerdness, and our rebeliion upon himself.

Jesus died in our place. And then three days later, he rose again—so that forgiveness, new life, and a new heart could be offered freely.

Christianity isn’t about becoming a better version of yourself. It’s about recieving a new life in Christ.

If you’ve never trusted in Jesus, or you don’t know for sure if you have—today is not about church values for you. Today is about salvation. Repent of your sin. Turn to Christ. Admit you are a sinner, believe he died for your sins, and commit your life to Christ.

(Pause)

But church—this call is not only for those outside of Christ this morning.

The thing is that many people here love Jesus, but if you’re honest, you’ve drifted. You pray less. You’ve grown casual with Scripture. You’ve withheld forgiveness from others. You’ve resisted the mission Jesus gave to us. And to be honest…you’ve been offering God your leftovers instead of your best. You know it’s time to repent and return to Gods design.

Now, imagine a church shaped not by fear, but by faith. Not by comfort, but by conviction. Not by the past…but by the gospel.

Imagin what God can do through a people who pray first, love deeply, speak truth, pursue the lost, walk together, and offer him their best.

So listen up tdoay, whoever you are—If you need to trust Christ for the first time, call out to him. If you need to return to him in repentance, do that now. If you need to realign your life with what honors him, don’t resist that work.

God is not done with you—God is not done with this church—The best days of God’s faithfulness are not behind us—they are ahead.

This is not about following a pastor’s ideas. This is about walking together as the people God has called LRBC to be.

May we be a church where the gospel doesn’t just save us, but it shapes us and sends us out together as 1 body here in Ogle County.

Let’s pray