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February 21, 2010 - Go Fish #4:
Better with Buddies! (Matthew 16:13-20)
Kernel Message:
- Better with Buddies - We were never meant to fish solo. Fishing is always better with buddies. And one of the greatest partners we have in fishing is the church as a place that invites, includes, and involves those we invite to come meet Jesus.
Practical Go Do of the Message:
- Pray each day for someone in our church family that is good at reaching out or welcoming in those who need to know Jesus. (While this activity is a commitment for the rest of our series, it would be good to make this a regular part of our day going forward as followers of Jesus.)
Core Ideas:
- Jesus called his followers to come follow him and he would make them something they weren't ... something they had never really wanted to be ... something that they had never thought of becoming ... something that would change their lives and the lives of many others. That's why Jesus said, "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." (Luke 5:10)
- The message of God's love for us in Jesus is not intuitive: it is a life lived in history, so people are not going to discover it on their own so we have to tell that story, we have to share Jesus in word and deed for people to really know Jesus.
- Whether we want to admit it or not, we often don't share Jesus because of our fear - so we must pray for boldness and also a sense of timing!
- Part of the thing that makes us hard to share Jesus, and also a key reason we fear sharing Jesus, is that we try to do it by ourself!
- Fishing was never to be a solo expedition. We have been called to partner with somebody to share Jesus. We get a glimpse of this idea in a very key passage: Matthew 16:13-20. In this passage, visitors get to "look behind the curtain" and see what church is really supposed to be about.
"Who do people say that I am."
[Now think about it a minute. This is a weird question! Don't believe me, try it!]
People found Jesus to be ... irresistable or irritating! fascinating or fanatical!
- "Lot's of questions about you Jesus, and they are really confused!"
- Now then Jesus asks "THE QUESTION!"
What about you, who do you say who I am?
- In a rare moment of insight, Peter actually got it right ... for once!
- But he got the right answer from God!
- And Jesus changed his name to "Rock." Not a common name. Adult whose name was changed - weird name! biblical proportions!
Jesus gave him a brand new name. Rock. Not a name used before Peter! Used a lot afterwards!
- Jesus said on this huge mountain of stone he would build his new community -- citizenship - this truth that he was the Christ the Son of God. Not a denomination, not a building, not a hierarchy, but a gathering of people brought together by one common element: they believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
- Think about it a minute -- as crazy as the first question was, this was so much more bold. A Jewish boy from a nowhere town not even near the center of Jewish religion shared a confession of who Jesus was and Jesus said that people confessing him in this way would become a movement so strong that nothing can stop it - not death or hell! Nothing can stop his work, his movement, his community.
- And guess what, every single one of us in here today are living testimony that this is true!
- What's the relationship between our needing to go fishing and Jesus' promise to build his church.
Jesus' partner in the fishing process is the church -- the community Jesus is building, the community Satan can't stop despite all of its messes and mistakes.
Now wait, Phil, come on ... are you for real on this ... don't you understand ... we're flawed and broken and sometimes don't treat others as we should ... and we fight about dumb stuff?
- Being real community breaks down the barriers ... why we have different porches for folks to come into the life our church.
- [Donna & unfriendliness] Unfriendliness isn't the heart of our church, but sometimes we forget how important we are to the fishing process! How powerful we are, even in our messes and confusion, if we love Jesus and welcome people in the name of Jesus.
You know why?
When we work at being community, Jesus shows up! (Matthew 18:20)
Our specific Jesus business trying to live in authentic Jesus community.
[Little boy who saw man who hurt his mom shot on the front lawn already had family at Southern Hills.]
[Group of people from Congo find family. Before them, Christian and then Josette. Nepali Bhutanese. China. and kids from all over the world.]
- God's community front porch is more than a slogan or idea. It's a key part of fishing!
Come and see! Let's make sure when they come, we're there to share Jesus with them and pray that Jesus will show up in a powerful way.
But for that to happen, we've got to understand our strategic mission. We are not here to compete with this church or that church, to have this set of features versus someone else. We're here to help people find Jesus!
- While we know we've got some real problems to overcome, we've also got to wonderful something very important: we are Jesus' partner in the fishing process. And got put us together in a very unique and wonderful way. We're a church with blue collar folks and white collar folks, and education folks and students, rich folks and poor folks, white folks and people of color, old folks and young folks.
- And a lot of people who care about lost people ... and an incredibly passionate group of people who loved international folks -- and God piled them on top of each other. One of the first people I met outside the congregation was Dennis Podryadchikov. Dennis wanted to come to Southern Hills, but Natasha was worried about being in such a big place and being in a foreign culture. But they came and fell in love with people and people fell in love with them and God opened the door through them to Russian speaking Turkish refugees and no more than a few of our folks are interested in their mission work in Russia.
- Some other folks really got revved up about LST and using the Bible to teach english and reaching out to more internationals. And God brought more. Some had a heart for those from Africa and God brought more. And others had a concern for Madagascar students and God brought more. Others fell in love with folks from Asia and got brought more.
- And students who will literally lead and change the heart of our brotherhood with a love for the lost found HIP and then Gary and Frances Green and their different works and they began growing Christian leaders and God brought more. And to see university students on the same row sitting with some of their favorite people 50 years older than them brings tears to my eyes.
- Then to know guys like Joe McKissick and Borden Manley who visit our older folks regularly. Bobby Lawson who has this passion for Africa.
- Mark Viertel who likes to use his hands and help folks. And a bunch of you who are really turned on by serving folks in things like WATS.
- And while other churches have had knock down drag outs about the women's role in the church -- meaning women primarily doing something in worship services -- we've seen women like Aaron Rodermann McGlothlin who has now left Abilene to get ready to go to Russia, DeLynda Gray, and Pat Cranfill step forward and have the vision and the passion and love to lead us to serve internationals.
- An untold folks, men and women, from every walk of life work in the kitchen for manna and more so we can be community on Wednesday, and a bunch more that teach English using the Bible loving folks in Jesus name, and men and women of all ages do the WATS.
- I am so thankful for John Risse and folks like Denisa Hubbard's and their work with evangelism and touching the hearts of so many people with sharing Jesus. And Hymonda Merkel, who has taught women, old and young, to live for Jesus. And Janet Nix and her team that loves and works with single moms.
- Larry Farr and Kimberly Henderson who quietly and lovingly care for and encourage and challenge and support those coming out of addiction. And for a group who is willing to meet and work with folks that most churches in Abilene run from and are scared of, a group we protect with privacy and prayer. Thank you.
- And our Bridge Builders ministry that connects with folks in Abilene ... and for our Baloon Fest outreach and on and on and on ...
- Now if you come here simply because it's nice place to come to church and fits your routine, but don't really want to be involved, or don't want to welcome folks different than you, or don't want other services than the one you go to succeed, then let me ask you something very kindly, but sincerely ... there are other places to go to church that don't care about those things.
- But if you are willing to love us, warts and all, and have a love for folks not connected or not included and needing to know Jesus ... we need you to be here and love folks because we believe Matthew 18:20. And when Jesus shows up, lives are changed, and nothing can stop that kind of power -- not because of us, and sometimes in spite of us.
- In fact, the Bible says something crazy. If Jesus were to ask us our true identity, then we could say, we are the presence of Jesus Christ, the Body of the Son of the Living God!
Key Focus:
- So what's the point?
- Glad you asked!
- Genuinely welcome and love folks who come - welcome them as you would welcome Jesus, or really better yet, welcome them as if they were Jesus ... because in a sense, they are!
- If you don't know what to do with folks you love and want to share Jesus with, you've shared your story and don't know what to do next, then invite them to come, introduce them to our church family, and pray for them to find Jesus here!
- Pray!!! Pray for sensitivity and boldness - work to make our community life together genuine.
- Keep reading the Gospels to see how Jesus treated and taught folks, and challenge us to do the same here ... and help us do that here ... and help us be that here!
Key Scriptures:
- Matthew 16:13-20
- Matthew 28:18-20
Drama, Media, & Connecting Pieces:
- Pre-video:
- Testimony Video: (Please use in both services some time before the Time in the Word)
- Communion Scripture Reading and Focus
- John 20:21-22; 1 Corinthians 10:15-17
As we share in the Lord's Supper, we are not only reminded of the body and blood of Jesus on the Cross, dying as a sacrifice for our sins, but we are also reminded that we who take the one bread are made into the body of Christ -- Jesus' physical presence in the world today. In fact, just as God sent His son into the world to save the world and not condemn the world (John 3:16-17), we have been sent as Jesus' Body into the world to bring salvation. As we eat this bread and drink this cup, we are committing to honor the death of our Lord by sharing His love, forgiveness, grace, and life that comes through the resurrection!
Daybreak Planning Team: David Henshaw
Refresh Planning Team: Fish, Vann, Sam
Sundown: From Max Lucado's Traveling Light
- Theme:
A Heavenly Exchange: The Burden of Guilt – Psalm 23:3
- “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
- Speaker: Phil Ware
- Worship Leader: Sam Souder
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