How Do We Do That?

Introduction

Are you someone who believes that life has purpose? Do you believe that you have a God-given mission on this earth? Do you believe that there is more to life than a rock whirling around a ball of gas until it stops?

What is the purpose of the church?

What does a mature church look like?

These are questions that our series in Ephesians begs, but it also begs the question, how do we get there?

Shifting Ground

The American church is now operating in a context that it isn’t used to

Some of you won’t be surprised when I say that, but you might be surprised at how true it is

Barna Statistics

The Letter to the Ephesians sets a grand vision for the church that stands in stark contrast

So what are we supposed to do?

Ancient Answers

Let’s go back to the first question: what is the purpose of the church?

When we pass the faith on, when we teach others about Jesus Christ, when … we are honoring those who have come before us and our commitment

I’m going to guess that a good number of us, particularly those who have been a part of this congregation and its predecessors the longest, may feel a bit of failure when we think of Sunday School and other church programs in the past and compare them to now

We feel loyalty to those who came before us

Yet I’m going to guess that if I were to tell my Sunday School teachers, my pastors, my mothers and fathers in the faith that I passed on the faith, I made disciples, I advanced the kingdom, not one of them would ask if it was done by having a robust Sunday School. They wouldn’t ask how it was done, because what they wanted was the faith formed in me and for me to form it in others

That’s what the believers in Acts were doing. They were in our context and focused on the core practices

Ministry in this new context will require that we change some things, and that will be difficult

Being devoted to Scripture:

Loss of time —> to spend it in God’s word

Loss of pride —>when we struggle to understand God’s word

Loss of status —>when we give up time to advance in some areas to devote ourselves to the understanding of Scripture

The result will be magnificent

Has anyone heard of Abraham Maslow?

Heirarchy of needs

Self-actualization at top

To be the manifold wisdom of God, made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms

To be made alive in Jesus Christ - to know what life is actually meant to be like

To accomplish that which God has set out for us to do