* Life Church Message 2005-10-23 - The Life Church Vision
wedge Introduction
wedge Bible Reading 10/16 - 10/22: Jer 28-41; 1Tim 1 - 2Tim 1; Psalm 86-91; Prov 25:17 - 26:2
* OT Timeline:
* OT Contemporary Books:
wedge Review - Learning Organization - personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, systems thinking
wedge New Material
wedge Our Vision - Tree Of Life / Resurrection Life
* Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of the Living God - Mat 16:15-18
wedge Life Church is a growing community of Christians who are organized into small groups.
* Life groups are to the celebration as rooms are to a house
* You can't be in my house without being in a room
wedge We are called to be like the tree of life
* Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. - Rev 22:1-2
* We are fruitful - producing souls for Jesus
* We heal our communities by offering them genuine community
wedge Our Mission
* Develop Mature Believers
Our members become mature in loving God, in loving one another, and in self-control. They in turn reproduce that maturity in others -- purposely making disciples. This happens through worship services, small groups, disciplined prayer, discipleship, and systematic teaching.
* Develop Effective Leaders
We develop leaders to direct other believers in ministry activities and we develop leaders to provide pastoral care at every level -- small groups and large congregations. We develop apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to fulfill the mission of Eph 4:10-16. We do this through life groups, prayer, discipleship, and systematic training.
* Extend God's Kingdom Wherever We Go
We expand God's Kingdom by developing relationships with people. We allow the Holy Spirit to draw them to Jesus through us. Our life groups are a net for gathering the people who interact with us. We use businesses, entertainment, community activities, and educational programs to reach those who don't yet follow Jesus
wedge Our Objectives
wedge Our Core Values
* God's Word – We study God’s Word (the Holy Bible) and put it into practice
* Prayer – We practice daily intimate fellowship with God through prayer
* Worship – We practice staying in God’s presence through worship
* Fellowship – We make fellowship a habit by meeting together regularly
* Discipleship – We are faithful in discipleship
* Agreement – We walk in agreement with our pastoral leadership and with one another
* Serving – We are faithful in serving God, one another and the lost
* We gather together on Sundays for worship and instruction
wedge We meet together weekly in small groups (life groups) for fellowship and support and evangelism
wedge Basic Christian Community - Acts 2:41-47; Acts 4:31-37
wedge Devoted themselves to:
* apostolic teaching
* fellowship
* breaking of bread
* prayer
* awe, wonders, and miraculous signs
* all together, everything in common,
* selling possessions and goods, giving to meet needs
* met every day in the temple courts
* broke bread in their homes, ate together gladly and sincerely
* praising God
* favor of the people
* daily growth
* We take time to love and to get to know God and each other.
* We take time to fulfill God's mission for our lives.
* We live rich and balanced lives together.
wedge We win people in our lives and in our communities to Christ and help them
* establish godly habits
* transform godly habits into skills
* develop godly habits and skills into ministries
wedge We take time to love and to get to know God and each other.
* Life group leaders need to make sure their members know how to contact each other.
* Take personal responsibility for the ministry and for your life group
* Pray alone and with your prayer partners
wedge Love one another - 1Cor 13; 1Pet 1:22; 1John 4:7 - 5:5
* How can you love your brother/sister and not call him/her on the phone?
* How can you love your brother/sister and hot visit him/her?
* What you don't do for "the least of these" you don't do for Jesus! - Mat 25:31-46
* Has your love run cold? - Luke 24:12
wedge Your brothers and sisters are wrapped presents under the Christmas tree
* They are gifts from God
* Open them up!
wedge Resurrection
* The power of an indestructible life - Heb 7:16
wedge Eph 1:15-23
* Note - Paul's observation of their faith in Christ and their love for all the saints motivated his prayer for them.
* Enlightenment is for believers who love the saints - Eph 1:15
wedge 1 Cor 15:50-58 - flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom.
* our original thinking cannot manifest God's Kingdom
* Treasure in jars of clay - 2Cor 4:7-12
* Some of you are just trying to live a good life - you need to die and be resurrected to live God's life. - John 12:24-25
wedge Holy Spirit fill us
* break our hearts for our brothers and sisters
* give us your passion
* cause us to flow in your resurrection power