United In Christ · Growing In Grace · Reaching Out In Love

Sunday Morning Sermon Summary

 “TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK”

Ephesians 4:11-16

UNITY SUNDAY

Sunday, May 17, 2009

PAUL: Serving on multiple committees, watching the culture suffer under the weight of sin.  Facing the facts: almost 90% of American churches are plateaued or declining, 2500 net churches are lost each year, None of the churches in Atwater are growing, couldn’t add up much more than 100 kids in our youth combined groups, little passion for reaching our culture.  Wanted an Acts 2 church where the Lord was adding to their number daily those that were being saved.  I read what they were doing and it sounded a lot like Ephesians 4:  so I set the vision: create an Ephesians 4 culture that results in an Acts 2 church

JOHN: Ephesians 4 describes “teamwork” (John Jackson: “I want to be on the team that wins because each member played his part and we accomplished the goal.”)

ILLUSTRATION: Football team:  All 11 offensive players; all 11 defensive players, all the coaches, all the office personal, all the trainers, all the ticket sellers, ad people, etc., etc., etc….even the janitors that clean the stands when you go home.

P.     What does an Ephesians 4 culture look like?

Ephesians 4:11-13 It was he (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

J:      “Unity in the faith” (Community)

            Unity occurs when A GROUP of people are all working toward the same goals

            (ABChurch Values: Interdependence, Nurture and accountability, Common        values and vision, shared experiences over time)

P:     “Knowledge of the Son of God” (“Come, follow me”)

            Illustration: When Jesus said, come, follow me He was inviting his disciples to    walk with him 24/7 for the purpose of becoming like Him; we do that by spending             time learning about Jesus and imitating His lifestyle.

J:      Maturity – speak (and hear) the truth in love, actively making disciples

            Illustration: (re helping each other mature)

            “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”

“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” (Max De Pree)

P:     What do each of us bring to the party?

         ABChurch: Small groups, week day activities for seniors, choir, Women’s and        children’s programs (VBS into school clubs during the year) in the works

J:      NLCC: Youth programs, young families, worship team, films, concerts         

         SYNERGY! (Whole greater than parts):  celebrate our differences, produce programs that we can do together: Spring Fling, Ugandan Children’s Choir, Superbowl breakfast, MISSION PROJECTS: Slovenia, Mexico, Wendells to Czech Republic

P.     What we’re working toward (vss. 14-16): Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching … Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

P: I believe that, even though we face a culture of indifference, even hostility to our “good news”, I still have a dream that’s deeply rooted in the power of God to “add to our number daily such as are being saved.” A place where people not only are saved, but are transformed by the power of our gospel. I dream of so many people coming to Christ that the whole culture of the community changes.

J:  “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

             What each church contributes (for instance: ___). Who does our churches exist for?  Us in here or them out there? 

P: In my dream I see two churches whose UNITY is based on a common faith, a common vision for the future and a common mission for the present. Two churches that depend on each other for fulfilling different parts of the vision and mission.

J:  “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

            What each church contributes;

P:: My vision includes two churches, working together, sharing the individual insights and discoveries of gifted apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers until (as the Message Bible says it) we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. (Ephesians 4:12, 13 The Message)

J:  “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

             Together we can do more than we could do individually (synergy).

P: This synergy makes it possible for us to attract and reach out to all of the people of Atwater, connect them to God and one another, and help them grow to spiritual maturity through discipleship, serve in ministry by using their spiritual gifts, and reproduce themselves by reaching out to others.

J: The first step: Larry Osborne (The Unity Factor) “Churches that push forward with programs, activities, and structure without unity do so at their own peril”

        “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

P: How do we develop this kind of unity? “WE TAKE OUR LEAD FROM CHRIST, WHO IS THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING WE DO. HE KEEPS US IN STEP WITH EACH OTHER. HIS VERY BREATH AND BLOOD FLOW THROUGH US, NOURISHING US SO THAT WE WILL GROW UP HEALTHY IN GOD, ROBUST IN LOVE. (Ephesians 4:15,16, The Message)

 P:   “RIGHT NOW COMMITMENT”: Discovering, promoting, encouraging, developing, insisting on UNITY

J:    Closing prayer

Legend:

Green: Mission and Vision
Blue: Illustrations and quotes
Red: Scripture

Note to the visitor:  These are Pastor Paul’s sermon notes from Sunday Morning.  They probably won’t make much sense if you weren’t in the service.  Feel free to contact Pastor Paul if you’d like more detailed information.
For past sermons, please visit the Sermon Archive. 

E-MAIL THIS LINK TO A FRIEND
Enter recipient's e-mail: