Jesus' Witnesses
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And he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything that is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
As a child, I assumed everyone went to church
Luke 24:4-8
So when they had come together, they began asking him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” But he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth.”
Acts 1:6-8
As we all know this is no longer an assumption that we can make
In 2013, the Barna Group did a survey asking over 1,000 American adults the following question: "What do you think about going to church?”: 30% said attending church is very important, 40 percent were ambivalent about attending church, and 30 percent said attending church is not important at all
In response, 30 percent said attending church is very important, 40 percent were ambivalent about attending church, and 30 percent said attending church is not important at all
For those who were ambivalent about attending church the two top reasons for their ambivalence were: "I find God elsewhere" (40 percent) and it's not "personally relevant" (35 percent)
Today, the largest religious group in the US is the “religiously unaffiliated” (“nones”: 34%; Protestant: 33%; Catholic: 21%) (https://religionnews.com/2017/11/16/religious-nones-are-gaining-ground-in-america-and-theyre-worried-about-the-economy-says-new-study/)
As we look to the future, we must discern how we as a church will respond to this new reality
As we look to the future, we must discern how we as a church will respond to this new reality
records Jesus’ last command before his ascension
So when they had come together, they began asking him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” But he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth.”
These early Christians were living in a world that was not particularly welcoming of the Christian message
If you read through Acts—especially the early chapters—you can’t help but notice that the early Christians not only witnessed verbally
Clearly, it was their actions and their words combined that resulted in the church’s explosive growth
So what does this mean for us?
First, many have observed that the culture in which we minister in 2018 has more in common with first century Rome than 1950s America
Second, showing people we care is more important than telling them we care
Third, this means we must be intentional about reaching into the community
All of this together means that we must be more concerned about the ministry of Jesus than the survival of our church
One church we served took leadership in offering a free meal to the community every Thanksgiving
I know another church that has a group that repairs cars for people who cannot afford regular repair shops
Another church that helps people develop resumes and helps them learn how to interview for jobs effectively
Churches are finding lots of creative ways to show the love of Jesus in their community
In a culture that is becoming increasingly complacent about religion, the example of the early church is increasingly important
So, how can FCC show Canton and Fulton County that we care?