Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

(Worship, study, aspiring seminary student, nurse manager for hospice company, Christian since I was 13 but didn’t get serious till 2013) (Use the dry erase, write discipleship on the left with four blanks on the right and fill them in as we go.)

(Worship, study, aspiring seminary student, nurse manager for hospice company, Christian since I was 13 but didn’t get serious till 2013) (Use the dry erase, write discipleship on the left with four blanks on the right and fill them in as we go.)

The problem as I see it:

, “but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,”

a. Php 3:12b, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

I don’t see very many runners.

We have a few walkers on the track and a whole lot of people still sitting on the bench.

“The greatest single cause of atheism today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.

That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Brennan Manning

Most churches don’t appear to be growing.

Many of those that are have questionable theological ideologies.

We have 1,500 members, 500 of which come on sundays, and 100 of which are actively involved in lifegroups, serving, etc.

Sometimes we need a chnage in order to succeed.

It’s time to think outside the box.

That’s why we are here.

Many of us have been working with the youth for years, I am proposing that we reevaluate how we approach the youth.

I believe that what we do here can have a huge impact on the rest of the church.

We are on the front lines, our youth are under attack (GSA versus FCA).

We have to be ready, we have to take it seriously

Mission of Crave: Discipleship

Goal of discipleship is Christ-like maturity

LBD defines: The disciple is a servant who must reject worldly expectations and concentrate on God’s way, which travels through suffering and servanthood.

1.

But what is discipleship?

(ask leaders for their definition)

But what is discipleship?

(ask leaders for their definition)

Covered in the dust of their Rabbi

Disciples in 2nd temple Judaism attached themselves to their Rabbi

Who is following you?

And what are they being taught?

(let this hang in the air for a moment)

Much of what disciples learned was not taught, it was caught

1st Principle: Disciples are made through imitation

(We must do the fundamentals well)

It starts with us

One definition for discipleship that I ran across is “teaching someone to be what you already are”

Youth pastor most influential person in most people’s life; this includes youth leaders

Talk about Phil Todd, still a spiritual mentor

What we do and say will have a profound impact on the lives of the youth.

We will be held to a higher standard

Socrates, “A life unexamined is not worth living.”

How is your Christian walk?

We must be doers of the word.

The bar is set high

Make no mistake, the world rejoices when a Christian does not live according to their calling.

The five critical areas of a mature Christian walk.

Think of it like a house.

With Christ as our foundation, there are five essential load-bearing support structures that maintain the integrity of the house.

If any of these are weak then the whole structure is weak.

1: Prayer

Start small, expectation is that you pray for your students but you have to start somewhere.

2: Service

This is integral to the Christian walk.

You should be giving financially in some form to the church.

But, I believe that the greatest gift we can give is our time.

Crave leadership is a time commitment.

3: Bible study

is 176 verses that talk about the richness of the word of God and Jesus said

When most of the disciples had abandoned Jesus after he teaching on communion, he asked Peter if he was leaving and Peter said

Once you get a taste of the richness of God’s word, you will find it beginning to consume you.

Your thoughts, you time, your life.

Immerse yourself in His word if you aren’t already.

Develop a study pattern (See Leader’s binder)

4: Community

d.

Community

I once had a friend give me her laundry list of stuff to do over the weekend, I asked if church was on her list and she said, “Jesus knows that I love him.”

Perhaps iti.

You should be in a life group, find a group you can grow in and that will encourage you.

Monthly crave leader meetings?

What if coming to church wasn’t about you but about the person that you were suppose to encourage for today?

You should be coming to church.

Sit with your kids if possible.

One more analogy:

A member of the church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.

After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

It was a chilly evening.

The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

It was a chilly evening.

The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the

reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The pastor made himself at home but said nothing.

In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The pastor made himself at home but said nothing.

In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the

flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a

brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation.

As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.