Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Vision of Redemption Church - We exist as a local church in Roseville, CA to submit all of life to our King and to bring hope to all (hurting, lost and broken) people through the love and grace of Jesus.

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1. Worship – trusting and treasuring Jesus with informed minds and inflamed hearts.

1. Week 1 – Worship – trusting and treasuring Jesus with informed minds and inflamed hearts.

2. Fellowship – treating each other life family, with love.

3. Discipleship – teaching others that the Gospel saves us and teaching each other that the Gospel shapes us.

4. Servant Leadership – taking initiative to serve our neighbor and stand for the marginalized in our society.

We have structured our church documents this way because we want to be a church that is making disciples and planting churches.

Today we are commissioning each of these servant leaders to lead in specific areas of ministry.

In God’s design of the Church, every member of the body has been given a gift and is expected by God to use their gift for His glory.

But for the sake of clarity, these are not the only ministers at Redemption Church.

In fact it’s probably not wise to think of these men and women as ministers, but as equippers.

According to , those who are being commissioned are being commissioned so that you could be effective ministers.

First, we are commissioning several ladies as deaconesses.

Each of these ladies are passionate about serving the Church and reaching the lost for God’s glory.

This is very exciting!

Gen Azzarello - Lead Kid’s Ministry

Paula Bennett - Mercy and Prayer Ministry

Amy Harris - Ladies and Prayer Ministry

Sharon Johnson - Administrative and Prayer Ministry

Janis Schmenk - Administrative and Prayer

Sonia Vasquez - Ladies and Mercy Ministry

Next, we are commissioning three men as deacons.

We have gone for several years now with one deacon, and he has served faithfully.

But we are excited about the expansion of this team as each one of these men have a desire to serve the people.

Dan Azzarello - Student Ministry (camp this week)

Richard Crumley - Mercy and Prayer Ministry (Gospel Fellowship)

Fidel Garcia - Music Ministry and Prayer (Gospel Fellowship)

Lastly, we will commission three men as elders.

As many as 8 out of 10 church plants fail within the first five years for a number of reasons, but more often than not it’s because there is no shared leadership.

We are embarking on our 7th birthday in October and we have much to be thankful for.

God has been so gracious to sustain us—and while we have not arrived, we are certainly reaching a milestone today.

To have men who are not only qualified but willing to answer the call to oversee a local body (of any size) is nothing short of miraculous.

None of these men are perfect.

None of these men have reached full Spiritual maturity.

But each of these men know Jesus and they’re humbly seeking Him.

Each one of these men will pastor the congregation.

Each one of these men will oversee ministry.

But as God has gifted each of these men uniquely, we will seek to learn and grow towards that end.

David Bennett - Teaching Ministry and Financial Oversight

Mario Vasquez - Oversee Sunday Ministry’s and Worship Services

Why are we going through all of this?

Because we want to be a church that is making disciples and planting churches.

How many of you believe that is a worthy goal?

I admit I struggle.

I don’t always see God’s power in my life

I read about OT and NT

I read about Spiritual Awakenings in world history, but don’t see it here and now

Reading and hearing those things inspires me to desire for that to happen right here in Sac.

The negative that comes from that desire is that the Church has sought to manufacture the experience so we could say, “Look at what God did!”

Preachers have done massive damage trying to create revival - a movement of God so big that only he could get the credit for it.

We start to scheme and plan “Revival meetings” believing that we are the “X Factor” - and I know, nobody thinks they’re the X-factor, but how many of you have thought, “I just don’t feel capable of ministry?”

I’m not capable of leading or serving.

In other words, “If I just knew more, had more experience, read another book, took another class, listened to another podcast, THEN I’d be ready.”

So, yes, you believe you are the X-factor.

The secret ingredient.

So I wanted to spend a little time looking at Scripture that sets us straight when we’re thinking that way.

Text:

Turn with me to .

Matthew is one of four biographies of the life and works of Jesus.

Matthew is written to a Jewish audience and up to this point, Jesus has done his ministry to the Jews.

But there is a shift that happens mid-way through chapter 15, Jesus ideologically and geographically walks away from the Jews.

Jesus is weary from his fruitless ministry to the Jews, so he does something unthinkable for a Jewish Rabbi to do, he turns to the Gentiles.

Not just any Gentile group, he interacts with a Canaanite woman…

This Canaanite woman is crying out for His attention, “O Lord, Son of David, have mercy, my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

Jesus says nothing.

But he feels something incredibly strong within.

But his silence would not be acceptable to the Canaanite woman, so she keeps crying out and begging for his attention.

And as the Jewish disciples had done with the children who cried out for Jesus’ attention, they try to dissuade Jesus from talking with this Canaanite who was a woman.

Jewish men did not interact with women who were not their wife or mother.

And as the disciples are pushing him down the road, he turns and says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

And that’s when time stood still as the Canaanite woman came before Jesus and got on her knees and said, “Lord, help me.”

Jesus had one more rebuttal before he could contain himself no longer, he said something that would have made any Jew stand up and walk away, he said, “It is not right to take the children’s (Jews) bread and throw it to the dogs.”

And I know it sounds extremely rude, all I can say is that Jesus wasn’t seeking to insult her as much as he was seeking to give her a word picture to illustrate that the time for the Gentiles (who were largely in rebellion to God) to come to repentance.

But instead of taking it personal, she actually got the word picture and because of her persistent faith, she responded with, “Hey, even the dogs get the scraps.”

Joy welled up in the heart of Jesus and he couldn’t help it, but he explodes with, “O woman, great is your faith!

Be it done for you as you desire.”

And her daughter was healed instantly.

The Lesson is...

This story reveals that there are still people who have been awakened who want to hear the message of Jesus.

This woman did not seek only for healing for her daughter, this woman sought a new King.

Her first words directed at Jesus were not, teacher, not healer, not friend, they were, “O LORD.”

And those words were only followed up with words that informed those around that she was not hoping that he was some Gentile version of the Messiah, but she knew her history, she knew the OT prophecy, he would be of the line of David.

She believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and she was courageous enough to let Him know that Jesus was her KING!

This story reveals that the ministers of Jesus don’t always understand the mission of Jesus.

What were the ministers of Jesus doing?

They were trying to prevent Jesus from giving this woman what she was asking for.

How often are we informed about the mission of Jesus from the media, or politics, or religion, to the point that we actually stand in the way of the work of Jesus instead of working with Jesus?

Don’t let anyone convince you that some group is beyond the transforming message and love of Jesus.

I have had to repent of thinking that I actually could predict if someone was going to receive or reject the message of the Gospel.

I’ve actually said before, “I wish that guy would become a Christian, because they’d make a great Christian.”

This story reminds us, that we’re not the X-Factor.

The ministers of Jesus aren’t the X-Factor.

So what then is the role of ministers?

The Role of Ministers...

Just before this happened hoards of people start showing up with their friends and family members who were lame, blind, crippled, deaf, and many others… and Jesus healed them...

You’ve got to picture this assembly line of people who looked liked they were waiting for the mall Santa only when they would be seen Jesus was lovingly healing and speaking to them like there wasn’t another thing in the world more important than giving of himself for the marginalized people of that society.

This goes on for three solid days...

And instead of people leaving, they just hung around this man who treated them humans with dignity and care and love.

And Jesus looks out now at the whole crowd and his heart again is just overcome with emotion for everyone who he knew he couldn’t send away without offering them something to sustain them physically so they could make it home.