It’s hard to
believe that another year has come and gone, in what seems like no time at all.
Starting
today, we need to begin anticipating Even Greater Things
for the Ridge… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
If you remember
all the way back to January 1 of last year, we started off with a challenge.
This
challenge came to light after spending some time alone with Jesus, and
wrestling through three important questions.
The
questions were: When was the last time that someone came
to faith in Jesus Christ because of MRWC?”
#2- When was the
last time that we filled the baptismal tank and baptized people as part of our
Sunday morning experience?
And
the third question was: If MRWC were to shut her doors in 2012, would she be
missed?
Out
of those 3 questions, came the 20x20 in 2012 challenge.
Ø We were trusting God for 20
salvations.
Ø We were also trusting God
for 20 baptisms in 2012.
Well,
this morning, I want to give the results of that challenge, as well as issue a
new challenge for this year; but before we do that, I think we need to stop and
pray.
I
want to let you know this morning that nine people gave their life or
recommitted their life to Jesus last year!
NINE!
That’s some shouting material right there!
But salvations
were only part of the challenge. The other part was baptisms; we were trusting
God for 20 of them.
I’m thrilled to report that
twenty people made their profession of faith public and went through the waters
of baptism! Again, this is something to be excited about!
God showed up and changed
the lives of several people at our church in an awesome way, and we celebrate and
thank-God for the lives that He has changed because of our church.
I also want to report that
we welcomed 5 people into covenant membership, and I dedicated 3 babies to God!
We took a step of faith and
hired Rev. Mike Agrell to be our family life pastor; we also installed a lift
to help people who have trouble with stairs, and we upgraded our audio and
visual systems.
I don’t think I have time to
tell you the stories of the people who came and informed me of a change that
God asked them to make this past year.
I also talked with people
who were going through personal storms, but they decided to remain faithful to
God and rely on Him for the strength needed to endure the storm.
I really do stand amazed in
the presence of Jesus the Nazarene.
All in all, it’s been a
banner year for our church. We’ve trusted God for Greater things and I believe
He has given us a glimpse of what is possible if we are willing to move forward
and make some changes.
So, with 2012 still fresh in
our minds, I would like to set up 12 stones to serve as a reminder as to what
God has done in and through our church this year.
The idea behind these 12
stones comes from Joshua chapters 3&4; where the people of Israel passed
through the Jordan River on dry ground even though: “It was the harvest
season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks.” (Josh. 3:15a, NLT2)
When all the people had crossed the Jordan River, Joshua had 12 men,
one from each tribe, chose 1 stone from the middle of the Jordan River, and “…build a
memorial.” (Josh. 4:6a, NLT2)
Joshua then went on to explain the significance of the memorial: “In the future your
children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’
7
Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us
that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went
across.’
These
stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
(Josh. 4:6b-7, NLT2)
The purpose of the stones was to remind the people of Israel of what
God had done for them; the purpose of our stones will serve as a reminder of
what God has done at MRWC in 2012.
So, if I could ask the 12 volunteers to come and lay their stone on
the stage…
As you read the Book of Joshua, you’ll notice that the people didn’t
stay at Gigal, the place they built the memorial.
Eventually, they had to leave the place where they were and had to
continue on with the plans God had for them.
The same is true for each of us. As tempted as we may be to remain
where we are, or even institutionalize the things that brought us success this
past year, we must move forward.
We can’t stay where we are, for staying where we are, will lead to
stagnation, and ultimately to us going backwards.
We have not been called to go backwards; we have been called to move
forward in faith.
The apostle Paul said the best when he said: “I press on to reach the end of the race and
receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:14, NLT2)
We want to move
forward in faith and continue seeing lives changed by Jesus Christ, because the
church is in the life changing business!
So, we
want to move forward with our Mission.
The mission of our church is to Know Christ and to make Him known.
This mission is
rooted in and flows out of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and the
Great Commandment. (Matt. 22:37-40).
We are here to know Jesus Christ. This is why we were created.
Paul said it so well when he said: “I want to know Christ and experience the
mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing
in his death, 11 so that one way or another I
will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3:10-11, NLT2)
Jesus Christ must be the highest affection of our lives. We must
want to know Him better and better each and every day.
Our Sunday morning activities and our life groups this year will
help all of us to know Christ better than we did in 2012.
But this is only part of the mission of our church. We are also here
to Make Christ
Known.
We have a responsibility to share Jesus with the people in our
corner of the world.
This is where the vision comes in. The vision of MRWC is to “Become a church
unchurched people want to attend.”
There are people outside our 4 walls who have yet to step foot
through our doors.
There are people outside our church walls, who, if they passed away
this year, would slip away to a Christ-less eternity.
I’m not sure how that makes you feel, but it fires me up. It forces
me to think of new ways to reach new people with the Good News of Jesus Christ,
because found
people find people.
We who have a personal relationship with Jesus are to be on the
look-out for ways that we can invest and invite our non-believing friends and
family to our Sunday morning gatherings.
This will force your pastoral staff and other leaders, to make the
Sunday morning experience better than any other activity of the week, because
the Bible says:
“A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!”
(Psalm 84:10a, NLT2)
We have a biblical command to make Sunday’s awesome.
So with that said, I am trusting God for Even Greater Things in 2013.
ILLUSTRATION-
AS many of you may know, I am involved in a Coaching Network, along with 9
other pastors.
Rev.
Tim Guptill is our coach, and he is helping us realize that Greater things are
possible for the churches in Atlantic Canada.
At our last CN meeting, Pastor Tim
challenged us with a question.
I’ve spent some time thinking and
praying about this question.
I’ve shared this question with Pastor
Mike, and we have prayed about it and have also talked about how God might want
us to implement this question.
With the exception of our
vice-chair, I’ve not shared this question with anyone else.
Until
now.
The
question that Pastor Tim challenged us with is: “What would it take for your church to double?”
I
keep track of our attendance each week, and I went back to the start of the
current church year, which began in May.
Since
May of 2012, we’ve had an average attendance of 148à again something to celebrate!!
So, if I take Pastor Tim’s question, and
apply it to our current context, the question becomes: What would it
take for 296 people to attend Church on the Ridge?
I don’t know what this does for you; but it does a couple things to
me.
The first thing it does is it scares me to death! Which leads
directly to the second thing this question does to me… it forces me to my
knees.
It makes me cry out to Jesus and admit that without His divine
intervention, we are sunk.
It forces me to admit that it’s “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,'
says the LORD Almighty.” (Zech. 4:6b, NIV)
For our church to double in attendance this year, we are going to
purse Salvations… Wouldn’t it be awesome for us to trust God for 30 of them!
In order for our church to double in attendance, we are going to
purse baptisms. Again, wouldn’t it be awesome if we trusted God for 30 baptisms
this year!
The church is in the business of seeing life change. We need to expect, believe,
offer and demonstrate the saving power of Jesus Christ, and this is what we are
going to do in 2013.
So what do I want you to do today? At least 3 things
1. Pray.
As good as 2012 was, I would like for you to pray for Even Greater Things for 2013.
Pray for life change.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to change you and the people you are
associated with; pray for your family and friends.
Pray for God to do even greater things in 2013 because of our church.
2.
Invite.
Invite people to our Sunday morning gatherings. People will not come
unless you ask them to come, so pray about who you can invite, and then invite
them.
If they come once, invite them to come back a second time. Keep
inviting people to come to church on the Ridge, because found people find people.
3. Get
excited.
We believe that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, right?
If God can bring Jesus back from the dead, He can do ANYTHING,
RIGHT?
Let’s believe that 2012 was only a warm up for what God is going to
do in 2013, and let’s get excited--- and allow God to do what He wants to do in
and through us and our church in 2013.
We’re going to get excited, because we know that "If God is for us, who
can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31b, NIV)
Friend, we stand on the cusp of a brand New Year. I don’t know what
this year will bring, but I do know the One who does.
And we want to take a few moments this morning and thank Him for
what He has done in our midst in 2012, but even more than that, we want to
thank God for what He has done to purchase our freedom from Sin.
The Bible says: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay
down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, NIV)
God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die the death we were
supposed to die.
So I invite you to take a moment or two in silent prayer and
reflection, preparing your heart for the Lord’s Supper.
