Sermon Tone Analysis

*Making the Connection*

 

 

*Making the Connection to the World*

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“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8 NIV

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*1.

By living in God’s power*

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8 NIV

 

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* *

*2.

By living for God’s purpose*

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8 NIV

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*Making the Connection:*

You were made for a mission!

Have you made the connection to your mission?

According to the surveys of George Gallup, the number one need people have is /"the need to believe that life is meaningful and has a purpose."/

People want their lives to count.

Someone said, /"The great purpose of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it."

/

 

In attempting to recruit John Sculley, the 38-year-old President of Pepsi-Cola, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, issued a tremendous challenge to Sculley.

He asked: /"Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?"/

In a Peanuts comic strip, there was a conversation between Lucy and Charlie Brown.

Lucy said that life is like a deck chair.

Some place it so they can see where they are going; some place it so they can see where they have been; and some place it so they can see where they are at present.

Charlie Brown’s reply: /"I can’t even get mine unfolded."

/

 

Many people today are afraid that their lives will be lived without any real sense of fulfilling the real purpose God has for them.

People everywhere feel this dissatisfaction, this uneasiness about the way in which their lives are unfolding, or not unfolding.

Today many young people feel it.

Somehow they know that there is more to life than merely going to school, getting an education, finding a job, marrying the right person, raising a family, gathering the usual security symbols and settling into the ruts of routine.

Deep down within us we all know this is true.

The thought of working all your life only to retire and do nothing  just somehow doesn’t seem like enough.

Shouldn’t there be some overriding purpose and significance to our pilgrimage on this earth?

Surely God is up to more than this.

Well, God is up to more than this.

Unfortunately, we miss the connection…

 

What is God up to?

As I conclude the series today…Making the Connection…I want to share what God is up to…at VBC

 

The Vision:

/To build bridges to people in our community in order that, together, we may become fully devoted, passionate followers of Jesus Christ./

Bridges are made to connect…not to collapse

 

God has called us to build bridges to this community…to build bridges that connect…not collapse!!!

 

God’s vision for our church is to build:

1. Bridges to Christ

 

2.

Bridges to others

 

3.

Bridges to ministry

 

*4.

Bridges to the world*

 

*Today I want to talk about:*

*Building Bridges to the world*

 

Making the connection to the world

For some of you last week was the first time you’ve ever heard:

 

Every member is a minister!

This week I want to stretch you a little bit more…

 

Every member is a missionary!

What do you think of when you think of a missionary?

 

{give stereotypes}

 

The English word mission comes from the Latin word for “sending”.

Being a Christian includes being sent into the world as a representative of Jesus Christ.

Show Simon Birch????

Or other video clip…CP video clip

 

The question is how can I be a missionary?

How can I connect to God’s mission for my life…to be His representative?

The answer is found in: Acts 1:8

 

We need to become an Acts 1:8 Christian…

 

We need to become an Acts 1:8 Church…

 

HOW????

 

 

 

Making the Connection to the World

 

*1.

By living in God’s Power*

 

As the book of Acts unfolds, several important things have happened.

The Lord has been crucified and raised from the dead.

He has appeared to many of His disciples.

He has spoken to them about the Kingdom of God.

And He is about to be taken away from them into Heaven.

In Acts 1:8 He says to them…

 

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8 NIV

 

The promise of Jesus to His followers was the promise of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a major theme in Luke and Acts and is the major point of continuity between the life of Jesus and the ministry of the church.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

God is three persons in one—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God became a man in Jesus so that Jesus could die for our sins.

Jesus rose from the dead to offer salvation to all people through spiritual renewal and rebirth.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, his physical presence left the earth, but he promised to send the Holy Spirit so that his spiritual presence would still be among mankind (see Luke 24:49).

The Holy Spirit first became available to all believers at Pentecost (Acts 2).

Whereas in Old Testament days the Holy Spirit empowered specific individuals for specific purposes, now all believers have the power of the Holy Spirit available to them.

*/Power/*…GK word Dunamis…from which we get our English word…dynamite….explosive

power.

As a believer if we have this kind of power then it ought to make a difference.

Why doesn’t it?

Part of the answer is illustrated in a story about a lady who had a small house on the seashore of Ireland at the turn of the century.

She was quite wealthy but also quite frugal.

The people were surprised, then, when she decided to be among the first to have electricity in her home.

Several weeks after the installation, a meter reader appeared at her door.

He asked if her electricity was working well, and she assured him it was.

/“I’m wondering if you can explain something to me,”/ he said.

/“Your meter shows scarcely any usage.

Are you using your power?”/

 

/“Certainly,”/ she answered.

/“Each evening when the sun sets, I turn on my lights just long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off.”/

She’s tapped into the power but doesn’t use it.

Her house is connected but not altered.

Don’t we make the same mistake?

We, too—with our souls saved but our hearts unchanged—are connected but not altered.

Trusting Christ for salvation but resisting transformation.