A Caring Church

Psalm 145 ESV

A Song of Praise. Of David. I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Intro:

AG: Churches can be known by their community or unknown. The goal is to be known. The next hurdle has to do with for what are we known? That can be good or bad.

When we moved to Jacksonville, as I answered the inevitable question, “What brings you to Jacksonville?”, I said I was called as pastor at Craft Baptist Church. Almost without exception, people knew about the church! And the next statement from them would be telling. Would it be good or bad? Almost always, they said things like they loved the people here. Or they are a caring church. The only negative was many who said they used to attend. They had been here, loved us, but for some reason left us.

That is why we are going through the Activate Process. We wanted to know if it is something we are doing or neglecting to do that led to them leaving. God calls people to churches and to leave churches as they are needed. I’m not denying that. However, we need to close the back door if possible.

TS: In the last couple of weeks, we have been reviewing our process and steps in our Activate journey. So far we examined our motivation, love, and our mission, making disciples.

We developed our vision statement after examining our history and God’s word. Out of the great commandments and great commission, we stated :

Caring by Honoring God

Honoring God is our top priority

A beautiful example is in Rev 4

Revelation 4:10–11 ESV

the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

We honor God because of His glory:

Glory: a quality inherent in the one being glorified

His attributes and Nature

His awesome works

He is worthy of all glory

Honor: perceived value, to render esteem glorious

It is our recognition of God’s glory!

Honor originates in our heart and refers to the value we place on something or someone.

IL: I have a nephew who is into coin collecting. So much so, he brought it with him on vacation and took time to show each of us. I reached in my pocket and pulled out what change I had, and he examined them closely. He recognized a coin which I thought was worthless that had value. He was thrilled to see it and share its worth with me.

THAT is showing honor! Recognizing the value and praising

We should all honor God!

He is of infinite worth.

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

How do we Honor God?

Honor God by worshipping Him

Psalm 145:2 ESV

Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

If we love Him, If we really grasp His infinite worth, honor will flow from our hearts!

We will praise Him:

In songs, prayers, testimony

Out of our heart will flow blessing and praise!

This happens:

Privately:

anywhere and anytime

We should live a life of worship

With our family:

worship as a family!

Speak of Him, recognize His works, etc.

With our church:

Ephesians 3:21 ESV

to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We are to gather and worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ

Psalm 145:21 ESV

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

MHonor God by M

Honor God by Meditating on His Works

Psalm 145:5 ESV

On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

Focusing on God’s

majesty

Think on who He is

Think about His:

Power, Love, Goodness, Grace

wonderful works

creation

Psalm 8:3–8 ESV

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

Salvation

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

There is no end to the meditations on God.

Honor God by Proclaiming His great Deeds

Psalm 145:4 ESV

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

Psalm 145:6 ESV

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.

We honor Him by telling others about Him!

I’ve known people who love something or someone deeply and can tell you everything about them.

They are passionate about it, and want you to share their passion.

We should all be like that when it comes to talking about God.

Why is this important?

Psalm 145:12 ESV

to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Honor God by living for Him

Romans 14:8 ESV

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

There are many passages in the Bible which describe how we are to live.

We honor Him by living by the Book!

Our lives should speak volumes to the world.

We should display our honor by living by His standards

IL: School organizations have contracts of behavior. If they don’t abide by them, they can’t participate.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Conclusion

Craft Baptist Church is a caring church by honoring God.