Embracing Faith: Prayer, Community, and Global Mission
Summary
On this beautiful day, we gather in the house of the Lord, reminded of the importance of daily prayer and commitment to God's kingdom. As we embark on a 30-day evangelism initiative, we are called to pray for our church, community, and each other, preparing ourselves to share the story of Christ beyond our church walls. This initiative begins with proclaiming the gospel to one another, reinforcing our faith amidst worldly temptations and distractions. We are reminded of the narrow road we walk, which requires intentional focus on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
Our mission extends beyond our local community, as we support clean water projects in Kenya and pastoral families in Ethiopia. These efforts reflect our calling to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, as described in Acts 1:8. We are encouraged to give generously, knowing that our offerings support transformative work both locally and globally.
The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 challenges us to examine the condition of our hearts. Are we fertile soil, producing a bountiful harvest, or are we hindered by thorns, rocky ground, or shallow roots? This parable invites us to till the soil of our lives, ensuring that we remain receptive to God's word and produce fruit in abundance. We are reminded that spiritual growth requires community, accountability, and a commitment to discipleship.
As we prepare for Holy Communion, we reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus, who gave His life for our redemption. We are called to repent, seek forgiveness, and live in unity with one another. Through the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup, we remember Christ's love and are strengthened to continue our journey of faith.
Key Takeaways:
- Daily prayer and commitment to God's kingdom are essential for spiritual growth. As we rise each morning, we should seek to be about God's business, lifting Him up so that others may know and worship Him. This daily practice strengthens our relationship with God and prepares us to share His love with the world. [00:00]
- The parable of the sower challenges us to examine the condition of our hearts. Are we fertile soil, producing a bountiful harvest, or are we hindered by thorns, rocky ground, or shallow roots? This parable invites us to till the soil of our lives, ensuring that we remain receptive to God's word and produce fruit in abundance. [42:10]
- Our mission extends beyond our local community, as we support clean water projects in Kenya and pastoral families in Ethiopia. These efforts reflect our calling to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, as described in Acts 1:8. We are encouraged to give generously, knowing that our offerings support transformative work both locally and globally. [25:41]
- Spiritual growth requires community, accountability, and a commitment to discipleship. We are reminded that we are not meant to journey alone but to walk alongside one another, encouraging and supporting each other in our faith. This communal aspect of our faith helps us remain steadfast and fruitful. [55:06]
- As we prepare for Holy Communion, we reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus, who gave His life for our redemption. We are called to repent, seek forgiveness, and live in unity with one another. Through the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup, we remember Christ's love and are strengthened to continue our journey of faith. [01:13:26]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:30] - Daily Prayer and Commitment
[02:00] - Evangelism Initiative
[05:00] - Proclaiming the Gospel to Each Other
[08:00] - Walking the Narrow Road
[12:00] - Global Mission Efforts
[15:00] - Parable of the Sower
[20:00] - Examining Our Hearts
[25:00] - Community and Accountability
[30:00] - Preparing for Holy Communion
[35:00] - Reflecting on Christ's Sacrifice
[40:00] - Living in Unity
[45:00] - Closing Prayer and Benediction
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 13:1-23 (Parable of the Sower)
2. Acts 1:8
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Observation Questions:
1. In the Parable of the Sower, what are the different types of soil mentioned, and what do they represent in terms of receiving God's word? [42:10]
2. How does the sermon describe the "narrow road" and its challenges? What does it mean to keep our eyes on Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter of our faith? [08:00]
3. What are the two global mission efforts mentioned in the sermon, and how do they reflect the church's calling as described in Acts 1:8? [25:41]
4. How does the sermon connect the practice of daily prayer to spiritual growth and commitment to God's kingdom? [00:30]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How might the different types of soil in the Parable of the Sower reflect various aspects of a believer's life? Can a person exhibit more than one type of soil at the same time? [48:40]
2. What does the sermon suggest about the importance of community and accountability in spiritual growth? How does this relate to the concept of discipleship? [55:06]
3. How does the sermon interpret the call to be witnesses "in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" in Acts 1:8? What practical implications does this have for the church's mission? [25:41]
4. In what ways does the sermon suggest that Holy Communion serves as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice and a call to unity and repentance? [01:13:26]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your daily prayer life. How can you incorporate a more intentional focus on God's kingdom in your morning routine? What specific steps will you take this week to make this a habit? [00:30]
2. Consider the condition of your heart as described in the Parable of the Sower. Are there areas in your life where you feel like rocky or thorny soil? What actions can you take to become more like fertile soil? [42:10]
3. The sermon emphasizes the importance of community and accountability. Identify one person in your life who can hold you accountable in your spiritual journey. How will you approach them to establish this relationship? [55:06]
4. The church is involved in global mission efforts. How can you personally contribute to these efforts, either through giving, prayer, or other means? What specific action will you take this month? [25:41]
5. As you prepare for Holy Communion, what steps will you take to seek forgiveness and live in unity with others? Is there someone you need to reconcile with before participating in Communion? [01:13:26]
6. The sermon discusses the challenges of walking the narrow road. Identify a specific distraction or temptation in your life that diverts your focus from Jesus. What practical steps can you take to overcome this distraction? [08:00]
7. How can you be a witness to those around you, both locally and globally, as described in Acts 1:8? Identify one person or group you will reach out to this week to share the love of Christ. [25:41]
Devotional
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Quotes
"Welcome to the house of the Lord. As we gather together. I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray, I pray that that is a prayer that you I pray, I pray that you don't just say on Sunday morning, but that you say some version of that prayer every day. That as we rise up in the morning, we say, Lord, I want to be about your business. I want to be about your kingdom. I want to lift you up that all may know you, that they may seek you, and that they may worship you. Praise be to God. Let's rise up and praise the Lord our God this day." [00:10:06] (54 seconds)
"And our flesh kind of leans every once in a while Toward worldly things And we know that we go out in the world And there are all sorts of things baiting us And drawing us to say Put your trust here Find your peace here Find your future here And so we need to come together To worship To remind one another To encourage one another On this walk Talks about that walk being one In which we walk the narrow road And that the narrow road is difficult It's challenging It takes intention to keep on And it means keeping our eyes on Jesus The pioneer and the perfecter of our faith." [00:20:41] (36 seconds)
"Lord we pray That you would give us A boldness Take us beyond Our fears And our apprehensions And let us trust Lord that You will place The words In our mouths That it is you Who have shaped Our hearts And that your Holy Spirit Dwells with us Always Strengthening Empowering Leading and guiding Us To be your Disciples To be your Witnesses." [00:28:16] (29 seconds)
"Heavenly Father you showed your deep love for us in sending your son our dear and precious Savior we give you all honor and glory and praise we pray forever in the name of Christ our Savior Amen well friends as exciting as it is when we talk about lifting up missional offerings and transforming situations around the world we come every week and we lift up our tithes and our offerings because God calls us to be a witness and when it talks about being a witness in Acts 1 -8 it says do it in Jerusalem do it in Judea do it in Samaria do it in the outermost reaches of the world and so he's talking about it do it amongst the lives of the people that you know the people that are similar to you do it to the neighbors that maybe you don't know or even those you don't get along with all that well pray for them and be God's witness be a witness to the whole world that's who we're called to that's who we're called to be and so as we come today we lift up our tithes and our offerings because we seek to be that church that lifts up the light of Christ so let us come this day and give our gifts unto the Lord." [00:30:57] (76 seconds)
"Are there areas of your life where maybe you, you are still stuck in that place where, where your faith is shallower when persecution comes? I mean, in this area of your life over here, persecution comes and you're ready to stand strong and hold in the word and do whatever the Lord calls you to. But then there's other areas where there's these vulnerabilities, these challenges, these places where, where you're a little more apprehensive. You're a little, you know, you just kind of wither a little bit. You shrink back from those situations." [00:47:14] (31 seconds)
"Is it possible that we have both of those things in our life? Is it possible that when we talk about living amongst the thorns, that there are certain areas of our life where we are absolutely uncompromising, where we as a people say, the Lord, my God spoke to this. He has called me to this in my life. And this is how I'm going to live. I'm going to honor his word. And even when everything in my flesh wants to lean back into the way of the world, even though there's things speaking to my mind, saying, trying to bait me, trying to tempt me, trying to draw me back in, I hold fast to the truth that my God has spoken to me." [00:47:45] (37 seconds)
"Whether we look at this as you're one of the four soils or one of the six soils or you're a mixture of all of them, if this is being spoken to the people of God, if this is being spoken to the body of Christ, then the invitation is to till the soil, right? Because how many have ever encountered that kind of hard rock or hard ground that is so hard you can barely penetrate it with a shovel? You know what I'm talking about? Uh -huh. And somebody said, that would be a great place for a flower bed or a vegetable garden. Uh -huh. I had that happen a few years ago. We thought we'd put a nice little spice garden right up close to the house that sounded really good." [00:50:26] (44 seconds)
"But that's what we battle with, right? I mean, we battle with that in our lives where if we leave things untended, the world in all its temptations, in all that it pours out, Satan in all of his deceptions, all of his lies tries to pour into our lives and bait us to go back and lean into ourselves, lean into worldly ways and to stop trusting the Lord our God. If we decide to stand still and not till the soil, every area of our life will begin to ebb toward being more calloused, more rigid, more hard and unfertile." [00:52:50] (37 seconds)
"So every day, every time, every time we come together for worship and we encourage one another and we build one another up and we challenge one another in the way that we're walking, every accountability relationship that we end in, end up with where we say, okay, this area of my life, I see it doesn't line up with God's word. And so I want to, I want to work on that area. I've been convicted in that area. And so I'm going to talk to my, my brother, Joe. I'm going to talk to my sister, Ethel. I'm going to say, I want you to hold me accountable. A few weeks ago, I talked to you about praying every day when I came in here, right? Into the church." [00:53:27] (36 seconds)
"But if we keep tilling the soil, if we keep in these accountable relationships, if we keep on leaning into each other and encouraging each other and loving each other, if we end up in discipleship groups where, where we're going to start, we've got a couple going on right now, but we're going to start a couple more here on the other side of our resurrection Sunday in which we come together. And what are discipleship groups? They're things in which we are, we are looking at our lives in light of the word and saying, okay, do our lives, do our lives reflect the word?" [00:55:50] (31 seconds)
"Why is it that we look back to the days when Christians would sit there and come together on Sunday and worship and come together on Saturday and do a barn raising in one day? And we say, whoa, weren't those incredible days where everybody cared about their neighbor and everything? But if we keep on being independent as the body of Christ, we are continuing to witness what the world is witnessing to us." [01:00:15] (24 seconds)
"Christ our Lord invites to His table all who truly love Him, who earnestly repent of their sin, who dwell in charity with their neighbors, and who intend to live a holy life. Draw near with faith and take this holy sacrament to your comfort, making your humble confession to Almighty God. Let us pray." [01:10:55] (22 seconds)
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