Embracing Commitment and Community in Christ
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "We're excited this morning because new members is an indication of a wholehearted commitment. It's people who are saying, we are all in in this place. And in a culture where people are backwards and forwards and fearing commitment and not quite wanting to put their whole selves in, we are so thankful when people say, these are the people that we need. These are my people, this is my place, and this is where I'm going to be. I'll take the goods and the bads, the ups and the downs, and I will worship Jesus here with these people through it all." [23:21]
2. "When we take communion, we not only remind ourselves of all that Christ has done for us on the cross as individuals, it's not just a message that's nice or life-changing for us personally. It's a sign and a reminder of the fact that Christ died for the church. Christ gave himself up for this body of believers, that we might walk with him individually, but that we might also wholeheartedly walk with these people next to us in unity." [01:11:33]
3. "Sometimes we have plans in our lives. And sometimes we have a way that we think this is going to go. And sometimes God asks us to come right out of that. And it is a huge element of trust given up your business. Giving up your financial income, you know, starting fresh, going back to uni, like all these things are huge. And even coming here and moving your whole family has been, you know, not a challenge, but at the beginning, it looked like it would be. And yet God has provided all that has been needed because you've trusted in him, which is amazing." [56:39]
4. "We don't want to be hindering that in any way. So God, help us to be right with other people in this place. Help us to release forgiveness in our own personal lives, whatever that may be. Help us to come to communion as brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us, God, to receive all of the grace that you have to offer for us in this place as we come and we take the bread and we take the cup. Lord Jesus, would you pray for us to be right with our brothers and sisters in Christ?" [01:14:24]
### Quotes for Members
1. "We've said many times this year, even just particularly this year, that the ministry here is not about any one person, when there's been so many changes. We've known the stability of God, because it hasn't been about the celebrity, or the leader, or the pastor, or whoever it is. Actually, we're a team here, and we've really noticed how much God has been at the heart of all that we've done, and the ministry here is rooted in God, and that is always our aim, and we've really seen God prove that time and time again this year, because even when there's been so many challenges, and a season of loss, and grief for us, God has moved." [01:03:14]
2. "We remind ourselves of the incredible image of the church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12. It says this, For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each of them as he chose." [26:05]
3. "Lord Jesus, we worship you this morning, and we ask you, would you pour out your spirit on Barry and Esther and all that they have to bring to this church? Lord Jesus, I thank you for the individual ways you've gifted them, and Lord, I pray that you will help them as they shape their ministry here, as they think about where you've called them, as they ask you to lead them and guide them, as we gather around them and help them and support them. Lord Jesus, would you pour out your blessing on them in their lives, their personal lives, their professional lives, everything they offer to you, everything they surrender?" [01:05:54]
4. "We are the family of God in this place with these people and we see this even in Jesus' example because when he shared this meal with the disciples, we're told that the night he was betrayed, we're told that he took the bread and he broke it and he gave thanks to his disciples and he passed it on to the next generation. We're told that he took the bread and he gave thanks to them and then we're told that he took the cup and he gave thanks for it and he passed it round to his disciples as well. And we're told on that night that as he gathered with these disciples amongst them was his disciple Judas, the one who had betrayed him." [01:12:51]
5. "Father God, we thank you for Esther and for Barry. We thank you for their gifts. We thank you for their calling. We thank you for their servant hearts. We thank you for their humility. We thank you, God, for their journey, because you have been with them even before this, and God, we give you all the glory this morning, and we give you thanks for your provision, because it was you who knew that we would be sitting in the morning of welcoming Barry to the team, knowing that we were grieving a devastating loss. None of these things were a surprise to you, and yet in your provision, you have somehow worked these things together, so that we can still have strength in this church to, to lead forward and to glorify you in the midst of it." [01:05:54]
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1. "We're excited this morning because new members is an indication of a wholehearted commitment. It's people who are saying, we are all in in this place. And in a culture where people are backwards and forwards and fearing commitment and not quite wanting to put their whole selves in, we are so thankful when people say, these are the people that we need. These are my people, this is my place, and this is where I'm going to be. I'll take the goods and the bads, the ups and the downs, and I will worship Jesus here with these people through it all." [23:21]
2. "When we take communion, we not only remind ourselves of all that Christ has done for us on the cross as individuals, it's not just a message that's nice or life-changing for us personally. It's a sign and a reminder of the fact that Christ died for the church. Christ gave himself up for this body of believers, that we might walk with him individually, but that we might also wholeheartedly walk with these people next to us in unity." [01:11:33]
3. "Sometimes we have plans in our lives. And sometimes we have a way that we think this is going to go. And sometimes God asks us to come right out of that. And it is a huge element of trust given up your business. Giving up your financial income, you know, starting fresh, going back to uni, like all these things are huge. And even coming here and moving your whole family has been, you know, not a challenge, but at the beginning, it looked like it would be. And yet God has provided all that has been needed because you've trusted in him, which is amazing." [56:39]
4. "We don't want to be hindering that in any way. So God, help us to be right with other people in this place. Help us to release forgiveness in our own personal lives, whatever that may be. Help us to come to communion as brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us, God, to receive all of the grace that you have to offer for us in this place as we come and we take the bread and we take the cup. Lord Jesus, would you pray for us to be right with our brothers and sisters in Christ?" [01:14:24]
### Quotes for Members
1. "We've said many times this year, even just particularly this year, that the ministry here is not about any one person, when there's been so many changes. We've known the stability of God, because it hasn't been about the celebrity, or the leader, or the pastor, or whoever it is. Actually, we're a team here, and we've really noticed how much God has been at the heart of all that we've done, and the ministry here is rooted in God, and that is always our aim, and we've really seen God prove that time and time again this year, because even when there's been so many challenges, and a season of loss, and grief for us, God has moved." [01:03:14]
2. "We remind ourselves of the incredible image of the church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12. It says this, For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each of them as he chose." [26:05]
3. "Lord Jesus, we worship you this morning, and we ask you, would you pour out your spirit on Barry and Esther and all that they have to bring to this church? Lord Jesus, I thank you for the individual ways you've gifted them, and Lord, I pray that you will help them as they shape their ministry here, as they think about where you've called them, as they ask you to lead them and guide them, as we gather around them and help them and support them. Lord Jesus, would you pour out your blessing on them in their lives, their personal lives, their professional lives, everything they offer to you, everything they surrender?" [01:05:54]
4. "We are the family of God in this place with these people and we see this even in Jesus' example because when he shared this meal with the disciples, we're told that the night he was betrayed, we're told that he took the bread and he broke it and he gave thanks to his disciples and he passed it on to the next generation. We're told that he took the bread and he gave thanks to them and then we're told that he took the cup and he gave thanks for it and he passed it round to his disciples as well. And we're told on that night that as he gathered with these disciples amongst them was his disciple Judas, the one who had betrayed him." [01:12:51]
5. "Father God, we thank you for Esther and for Barry. We thank you for their gifts. We thank you for their calling. We thank you for their servant hearts. We thank you for their humility. We thank you, God, for their journey, because you have been with them even before this, and God, we give you all the glory this morning, and we give you thanks for your provision, because it was you who knew that we would be sitting in the morning of welcoming Barry to the team, knowing that we were grieving a devastating loss. None of these things were a surprise to you, and yet in your provision, you have somehow worked these things together, so that we can still have strength in this church to, to lead forward and to glorify you in the midst of it." [01:05:54]
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