Mission

Series title is Identity

Our mission statement starts with the words Bethel exists...

that term exist is reflective of our identity

After Jesus was baptized, he went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil

those temptations are the root of the same temptations we face today

and we can trace the root of every identity crisis to these three things

and Jesus conquered them,

When Jesus was tempted to turn the rocks into bread, it is like the temptation we all face to

allow ourselves to be identified by what we do

our jobs, our hobbies, our skills, our knowledge

think about it, when we are getting to know someone new,

we often ask “What do you do” “Where do you work”

our culture sees that as a defining feature of who a person is

and what we do should be separate from who we are

Jesus said that Man does not live by bread alone

2.

For the second temptation, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, and they stood on the highest point of the temple

overlooking the crowds of people, the devil tried to get Jesus to jump and command the angels to save him

the location chosen here was the key to onderstanding this temptation

the devil wanted Jesus to do this miraculous stunt to openly display to all the people there that he was the messiah

We face the same challenge to our identity when we allow what others think of us become more important than anything else

we become people pleasers instead of living to please the creator God who saved us

God is faithful, it’s a part of who he is

people will always let us down, if we let their opinion of us be the foundation of our identity

Jesus said to not put the Lord your God to the test

3.

The final temptation was for Jesus to bow before Satan, and he would recieve all that He could see

at that time Satan had dominion of the earth

But Jesus conquered death, and took back the keys to earth when he rose again from the grave

Satan is a defeated foe, but that does not stop us from facing that same tempations

The temptation was to allow ourselves to be identified by what we have,

the material things of this world that are passing away,

our homes, our cars, having the newest phone, the amount of money we have in the bank

Jesus response to the devil was to rebuke satan and say that the Bible says to worship the lord your god, and serve him only

Our Identity is more than what we do

We are more than what others think of us

we are more than what we have

for we are citizens of heaven

children of the creator

loved and forgiven

redeemed

we call Him Father

and he calls us his child

that is the defining feature of who we are

As a church we face those same temptations,

we are tempted to focus on what we do when we become focused on our works and prioritize our programs

we are tempted to focus on other people think when we compromise Biblical values and prioritize our PR and appearance

we are tempted to focus on what we have when we put too much value on the building, the newest instruments and sound, the paint, and we forget that there are churches in africa meeting in open air tents without even benches to sit on

SAILOR”S WHEEL

Having mission statement, vision statement, and core values are one way we prevent these wrong courses and can check our trajectory.

when a sailboat is at sea, the wind and the waves are constantly battering the ship off course

and there is a need to constantly check the course using specifically designed navigation tools

that’s what these are

they are navigation tools

to help Bethel check our course

and stay on course

TRANSITION TO MISSION/VISIONS

our mission statement is the answer to the why of what we do here at Bethel

We exist to exalt the lord, edify and equip believers to serve our community and evangelize the world for jesus

Our vision statement is the How of what we do here at Bethel

We Exalt, Edify, Equip, and Evangelize by Loving Jesus, Giving hope, and Serving Others

Finally, our core values are the ruberic we use to measure everything we do.

They are simultaneously what we value most and what we strive to be.

They reflect both the vision statement, and our mission statement

but they allow us to look at every thing we do here, and apply it to a core value

We serve a free community meal on Mondays

because our core value to Serve says that we pursue God’s justice and righteousness by generously meeting the needs of our community

it is also reflected in our vision to serve others

and our mission statement specifically says that we serve our community

We get together on Sundays to both worship, connect, and grow

we give to missions and do outreach events as we live to evangelize the our community and the world

In the coming weeks we will break down each of these, but today I want to focus in on our mission statement

Bethel exists to We exist to exalt the lord, edify and equip believers to serve our community and evangelize the world for jesus

Every church’s mission statement should reflect three things:

Love God

Love your Neighbor

Make Disciples

Matthew 22:37–39 NASB95

37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

The great Commandment focuses on the behavior system Christ modeled

The Great Commission focuses on the belief system which Christ taught

Matthew 28:19–20 NASB95

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

These missions are the answer to the why we exist as a church, love God, love people, make disciples

Bethel exists to EXALT the Lord

first and foremost in our mission statement, we Love God

Edify and equip believers...and evangelize the world for Jesus

we are growing believers and making disciples

and finally we are edified and equiped as believers to serve our community

we love people

our mission

Provides long-term direction and stability

declares our understanding of core biblical philosophy

captures the heart of our ministry

Invitation cards

studies suggest that about 80% of people would attend church if invited by a friend

7 out of 10 unchurched people have never been invited to church

on average, only 2% of church members have invited an unchurched person to church