Sermon Tone Analysis

Our Mission Statement

There will be great days ahead!

Great Days Ahead

In order for churches to be relevant in the task of destroying the works of the devil () we must move beyond our own limits.

Move forward and avoid confusion about the church!

First generation fights for the discovery and establishment of the church - Erie Baptist Temple

I believe the following priorities should be at the top of every pastor’s prayer and vision list.

Churches which live out these priorities will play a significant role in ministry for Jesus Christ.

And I believe that one can understand what the Bible says about the church.

I don’t think that’s intended to be ambiguous.

I don’t think the Lord said, “Now go out and build the church and it’s all going to be a riddle and see if you can figure the riddle out.”

I think it’s patently obvious what the church is to be.

And so once you discern that in the Scripture, you can move to implementing that in the lives of people.

First generation fights for the discovery and establishment of the church - Erie Baptist Temple

First generation fights for the discovery and establishment of the church - Erie Baptist Temple

And now we’re in the second generation and what we’re seeing now is this desire to maintain the truth, to guard the truth, to secondly, extend the truth.

The second generation this desire to maintain the church,

But, there’s a third phase, and historically this is kind of the way it flows.

The third generation is apathetic.

The third generation is apathetic.

They weren’t a part of the process of discovery.

They weren’t a part of the process of refinement.

So they don’t understand the pain, and the endurance, and the relentlessness that you went through to get there.

And they really weren’t, because they weren’t there fighting to understand that truth, they weren’t there fighting to defend that truth, they just kind of show up at some time.

They come and go over preferences, programs and people.

If I like it I will stay if not then

Sometimes they get confused over doctrine vs preferences -

Sometimes they get aggravated and drama break out

That’s when people are worried about whether the air conditioner is blowing on the back of their neck or not, the nursery worker did not change my child, the choir music is boring or too loud, my child did not get picked, I don't like the words on the screen, I like preaching on sin and hell, you preach too much on judgement .

People dress up too much and are stiff

The church is too casual and immodest in clothing

The church is legalistic

the church has no standards

I’ve read enough about church history and even contemporary and more modern church history to know there’s a time in the life of the church when that becomes the dominant characteristic of the church because that third generation weren’t a part of the struggle, and that is a frightening thing.

We are not here to entertain the converted

We are not here for food fellowships and be an island unto ourselves

We are not here to meet the converted felt needs

We exist to fulfill the great commission as defined in scripture.

Today we are launching out in a new generation that will have a pioneering spirit.

Over the next 10 years our we will experience the best days this church has ever had ....

I could go over the demographics of our area

I could talk about those that have walked away from the church

I could tell you that 90% of our county does not go to church anywhere

but rather than doing that lets look at our Mission statement as a church

The Best days are ahead!

Prepare for Greater Things

Prepare for Greater Things

The person who expects to have a completed house to live in tomorrow must lay a foundation for that house today.

Likewise, if we expect to see spiritual revival and renewal in the community and nation where we live, we must first lay the appropriate foundation.

We need to live our lives in a constant state of preparation for that which God wants to do through us.

Wherever we are in our personal life or in the ministry of our church we need to prepare for greater things to take place.

I believe that is the message of : “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Sanctifying ourselves means making ourselves holy--repenting from sin and cleansing our lives to become vessels of honor fit for His service ().

The uncleanness of sin can disqualify us and delay us from God’s mission.

It will not do for us to take the Lord’s service casually.

We must hunger and thirst for righteousness (; ).

We must intensify our prayer life with times of intercession accompanied by fasting.

Our Mission Statement

We as a church exist to make a difference in our community through proclaiming the Gospel by:

I Worshiping God – Faithfully Attending the Worship Services

Worship is transforming.

Do you want to look like Jesus?

When we become Christians we are a new creation () but the spiritual transformation doesn’t stop there.

Paul would say that we must continue our transformation “through the renewing of your mind” ().

One of the main avenues of spiritual renewal and spiritual transformation is the collective worship of the saints.

It is in worship that we are kept from an evil heart of unbelief () and through which we stir up love and good works within us ().

Yes, our personal worship is transforming, but so is the corporate worship of the children of God (; ).

Because God’s love is compelling.

I want you to think for a moment about what you are saying to God when you get up on Sunday morning and think, “Ugh, well we HAVE to go to worship.”

Did Jesus act like this when it came to our salvation?

Did he begrudgingly take upon himself the crucifixion?

His love for the Father and His love for us compelled Him to do it ().

Paul would say that the love of Christ compels us as well ().

When I think about the great love that God has shown to me, why wouldn’t I want to worship and learn about Him every chance I get?

Because God’s family is encouraging.

My mother used to say,

“You go into the world to get torn down, you come back home to be built up”—so too is it with our spiritual family.

We go out into the world and we deal with rejection, hatred, loneliness, hopelessness, etc. and we come to worship to be encouraged by people who genuinely love and care about our souls ().

Don’t be deceived—every Christian needs constant encouragement.

The 1st century family loved getting together (), why shouldn’t we?

Because God’s children are hungering.

You know what one of the greatest marks of a true Christian is?

Their desire and hunger for God.

Jesus said His kingdom would be made up of people who hunger and thirst for righteousness ().

Peter would say that we are to yearn for the word of God like newborn infants ().

You know how often my kids get hungry?

Every day.

If we don’t have an insatiable desire to worship God and learn about Him every chance we get, then we need to do some self-examination ().

Because God’s enemy is prowling.

Satan never stops trying to open a door for you to walk right into hell.

He is the lion, constantly prowling and looking for the right opportunity to strike ().

One of the ways he gets his foot in the door is when Christians stop attending worship services.

Before they know it, they are back to their old ways, living the life they so desperately wanted to leave behind.

Over the last 19 years those that causally attend every now and then usually drop off ...

We make the attendance to the Worship service a big deal.

It takes priority over everything

We as a church exist to make a difference in our community through proclaiming the Gospel by:

II Praying Corporately

II Pray Corporately as a Church

2 Cronicles